My Brother's Husband, Volume 1

Many people think Japan is sort of a safe haven for homosexuality and while it isn't outwardly hostile for those of the LGBTQ+ community it does have its pitfalls. From the lack of discriminatory protections for their workers to the recent law that requires Trans people to get sterilized many people have become jaded, thanks in part to manga and anime, with this idea of Japan being a gay utopia when I have just listed reasons why it isn't.While this series is made to be more family friendly, "My brother's husband" does a decent job of showing people's discomfort and lack of understanding towards, at least in this series, gay men.Yaichi being a single father and having no real understanding of homosexuality is at first wary of meeting his twin brother's husband Mike after hearing about his brother's death. While willing to share his home with the man, Yaichi is at first reluctant to understand Mike and even calls him a "homo" when the man embraces him upon reflex as Yaichi is the spitting image of recently deceased husband Ryuji.Not only that, but Yaichi is even more defensive about letting Mike anywhere near his daughter thinking that Mike will affect her in some way, thinking that by knowing him, she will turn out gay and in the second volume even has a nightmare about his young daughter one day wanting to marry a woman.However, the two of them slowly over time bond, and gain a better understanding of one another and their cultures and while it's not perfect they begin to slowly become a family in a sense over the theme of a shared loss.Discussions upon how in Japan it's sometimes easier for people to not come out, fears of having a gay child, and Yaichi's revelation that he didn't ever truly try to understand his brother, on top of the themes of divorce and how you can't always fix a marriage are all brought up and dealt with, though at times a little hurriedly, doesn't detract from the story.I highly recommend this to anyone looking to broaden their cultural understandings or who are looking for a good story about understanding, tolerance, acceptance, and the meaning of family.

There's literally nothing bad I can say about this book. If you're into manga and stories with great humor that tackle serious issues in tandem, then this is for you. I've been a fan of Tagame's work for years, mostly his more adult stuff, but this story was so beautifully done if it's your first taste of his work its a great way to start. The artwork is perfect yet playful, i love the humor expressions he makes throughout it, but mostly the writing and the story are what got me. He has an uncanny ability to portray soooooo much depth of emotion in just one page, or even one frame, that i found myself crying before i knew i was crying. the story about these brothers, a foreign husband, and the brutal yet delicate honesty of a young girl make for material that everyone can relate to one some level. being a gay man, but having come out young, the struggles and challenges visualized in this story brought up memories and feelings i hadn't thought about in years. there's nothing bad i can say about this first chapter only that it's worth a buy and read and i'm even more excited now that this is being made into a live-action drama! hopefully they don't screw that up. ^_^

I was not prepared to fall in love with this book. BUT. The story is superb, taking unexpected turns that reveal deeper emotions and new dimensions of the characters while exploring the intersection of cultural prejudice and growing up. Tagame's visual and narrative pacing is exquisite; his use of negative space, like a pause in a symphony, rhythmically builds and releases emotional tension as much as anything he draws, demonstrating his brilliance as a storyteller. Like poetry, each scene is distilled to its essence even as it evokes multiple associations, building on and complementing every other scene until the story takes on a life of its own. I'm surprised at my reaction to this work - its triggered tears and concern for the characters that I wouldn't have expected from a comic. I am downloading the next volume right now as I can't wait to see what happens next.

(This is a review for both volumes of the story.) I read about this series somewhere online, and immediately came to Amazon to find it. I bought both books at the same time. And when they arrived, I devoured them in short order, to the point of letting my dinner get cold while I read. It's an excellent story that tells us about cultural differences, what makes a family, getting over fears of the unknown/different, how children and adults don't see things the same way, and how adults instill prejudice into children's minds. The art is excellent! Being from the western world, it's still a little strange when I get Asian books that start at the "back" and I have to remind myself to read the righthand pages before the lefthand ones, but that's just an observation, not a problem. Highly recommended.

This is a wonderful story that deals with homophobia and cross-cultural discrimination in Japan. The story is told from the point of view of a straight Japanese man who is dealing with the death of his gay brother. During this process, he thinks back over how he reacted to his brother's sexuality and how their Japanese heritage affected his brother's possible feeling of exclusion during his time in Japan. The main character's grieving process is further complicated by the presence of his brother's widow who has come to Japan to learn more about his deceased husband's childhood.The main character also has a spirited young daughter who lights up every scene that she's in. She's still learning about what homosexuality is and why some people act differently towards people who are gay. The innocent questions she asks as she attempts to make sense of this complicated cultural issue are enlightening and heartwarming.Highly recommended.

Such a beautiful story with the best manga artwork that I have ever come across. Gengoroh Tagame is known for his erotic gay manga but this book is a departure from that genre. In this volume Gengoroh Tagame has produced a beautiful story that is suitable for all ages and one that conveys thoughtful messages about homosexuality and cross cultural understandings of same sex relationships.Yaichi is a single father bringing up his lively young daughter Kana. He lives a quiet life but this changes when his Canadian brother in law visits. Mike Flanagan was married to Ryoji, Yaichi's twin brother who has died. Mike is visiting Japan to help with his grief and to get to know something more of his dead husband's country, culture and family.Yaichi finds that he is forced to confront cultural differences as he tries his best to make Mike welcome. His is a journey of discovery, not just about cultural differences with regards to sexuality, but it is also a journey of discovering his deceased brother.Initially very formal and cautious, Yaichi is surprised and bewildered by his young daughter's acceptance and love of her new uncle Mike. As she comes to understand and accept same sex relationships and her new uncle with an open hearted and unquestioning love, Yaichi is challenged to do the same and to question his own attitudes towards his brother and also to life more generally.I thought this was such a touching book. It made me laugh out loud in places but the way the story deals with grief, family and love also made me think about the pain of rejection and isolation and struggles that people may encounter when they come out. The story also illustrates some cultural differences which aren't related to sexuality but help us to understand a bit more about Yaichi.I don't want to spoil the book, but Mike also touches the lives of other people in the neighbourhood in different ways and Yaichi also changes and learns from these encounters.The artwork is so clear and so well drawn and manga fans will enjoy that. The story is told through the artwork and the prose and it has a way of engaging the reader and holding their attention.I noticed that there are three volumes in the French version and so I hope that these two other volumes will also be translated into English.This is a beautiful story of love, grief, family and life and it is definitely a story that I will return to. I do hope Gengoroh Tagame will continue creating these all age stories.

Really a nice story about social evolution. Now I just can’t wait for the second part to be released... Loving all the characters in the story and how they naturally accept the idea of there’s more to love than boy meets girl.Totally recommended reading, maybe it seems a little bit too short but it’s more because it attracts you so bad.I would recommend this book to a lot of people who still think that everything has to be black or white without any gradients in between

I loved this book series and wish we got more. I loved how it felt so real and based on real life. I also like how it came from the eyes of a straight man trying to understand not only that gay people are just normal people but trying to better understand his brother. The story is cute and I like how it ends. I kind of feel like a perv for saying this but I wish Mike and Yaichi had some kind of kiss or something but that's just me being a perv. The story if amazing but it's not my favourite from Tagame. I would definitely recommend to new bl readers or even people that liked Manga and wanted to try something different.

I honestly loved this, so much so I need volume 2 in my life now!The way this looks at cultural differences and understandings on such an important topic, as well as throwing in a child’s innocence into the mix, is just phenomenal. This had me tearing up at so many different points and will most likely sit with me forever.

Outstanding illustrations with a gently rolling storyline - great illustration of gay issues in Japanese culture. This is child friendly and great for discussion.