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A review by readthesparrow
My Brother's Husband: Volume 1 by Gengoroh Tagame
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Going into this manga I expected a cute, slice-of-life story that also dealt with grief, loss, and homophobia. I got that but it was so, so much better than I expected.
The story in the first two volumes follows Yaichi, a recently divorced single father; Kana, his young daughter; and Mike, Yaichi's brother-in-law who is visiting Japan after the death of his husband, Yaichi's estranged brother. Mike is visiting Japan after his husband's death and ends up staying with Yaichi, who has to confront his own prejudices against gay people and regrets surrounding his brother. While the narrative does indeed deal with homophobia and is at times very serious, the outlook is, overall, a very hopeful one. While prejudice and gay struggles are acknowledged, the narrative moreso focuses on hope and change.
The art as well is wonderful. The character designs look like real people with real body types (and one can definitely tell that the author has had extensive experience in drawing very masculine male bodies--they're absolutely beautiful). The simpler style used for the chapter title art is absolutely precious, too. This was my first Gengoroh Tagame book and I was super impressed by his style. I hold out for hope for a sequel where the family gets to go to Canada, though I can't find anything on whether that's in the works.
Any person who is interested in queer manga and/or graphic novels would find a lot to love here, I think. I know I sure did.
The story in the first two volumes follows Yaichi, a recently divorced single father; Kana, his young daughter; and Mike, Yaichi's brother-in-law who is visiting Japan after the death of his husband, Yaichi's estranged brother. Mike is visiting Japan after his husband's death and ends up staying with Yaichi, who has to confront his own prejudices against gay people and regrets surrounding his brother. While the narrative does indeed deal with homophobia and is at times very serious, the outlook is, overall, a very hopeful one. While prejudice and gay struggles are acknowledged, the narrative moreso focuses on hope and change.
The art as well is wonderful. The character designs look like real people with real body types (and one can definitely tell that the author has had extensive experience in drawing very masculine male bodies--they're absolutely beautiful). The simpler style used for the chapter title art is absolutely precious, too. This was my first Gengoroh Tagame book and I was super impressed by his style. I hold out for hope for a sequel where the family gets to go to Canada, though I can't find anything on whether that's in the works.
Any person who is interested in queer manga and/or graphic novels would find a lot to love here, I think. I know I sure did.