My Brother's Husband, Volume 1

Gengoroh Tagame — 2017

***WINNER OF THE 2018 EISNER AWARD FOR BEST U.S. EDITION OF INTERNATIONAL MATERIAL — ASIA*** Yaichi is a work-at-home suburban dad in contemporary Tokyo; formerly married to Natsuki and father to their young daughter, Kana. Their lives suddenly change with the arrival at their doorstep of a hulking, affable Canadian named Mike Flanagan, who declares himself the widower of Yaichi’s estranged gay twin, Ryoji. Mike is on a quest to explore Ryoji’s past, and the family reluctantly but dutifully takes him in. What follows is an unprecedented and heartbreaking look at the state of a largely still-closeted Japanese gay culture: how it’s been affected by the West, and how the next generation can change the preconceptions about it and prejudices against it. (Please note: This book is a traditional work of manga, and reads back to front and right to left.)

Reviews

Nora @ngoldie

Jun 1, 2023

My Brother’s Husband is one of the most touching and heart warming stories I’ve ever come across. Yaichi is a single father bringing up his young daughter Kana in a small Japanese town. His estranged twin brother has recently passed away while living in Canada. He receives a surprise visit from his brother’s widow, Mike. Mike, in the throes of grief, wants to learn about his husband’s country and culture. For their part, Yaichi and Kana’s quiet life is turned upside down as they learn about the openly gay life his brother lived. The story follows the day-to-day struggle of overcoming cultural differences, and the changes they must all make. The book takes the reader through a fascinating cross-cultural education around gay stereotypes, Japanese taboos, and dealing with grief.

Sydney Alston@slipsnslidez

Nov 5, 2022

A sweet and touching story about love, family, and acceptance. While this story is so foreign to me it also felt deeply relatable and close.

Emelie@swedishbookowl

Oct 31, 2022

Second read 11-12/1-21: I love it, I love it, I love it!! First read 16/2-20: So pure and heartbreaking but also so wonderful and cute!

Kailey Rios@anniebannani

Aug 22, 2022

this was so cute and heartwarming! i absolutely adored it and can’t wait to read the second volume.

Maggie Gordon@maggieg

Aug 13, 2022

Tagame is more well known for his gay erotica, but My Brother's Husband has him branching out into slice-of-life with nary a sexualised naked dude in sight. It's a story about Yaichi, father to Kana, when Mike, the husband of Yaichi's recently deceased twin comes to visit. Yaichi and his twin grew apart when they were teens, after the brother announced that he was gay. Yaichi never really thought about this until Mike ends up on his doorstop after travelling all the way from Canada. Now Yaichi has to come to grips with his homophobia and how he wants to change. My Brother's Husband is a very quiet manga. It's mostly a few people talking to each other about everyday things, with a lot of internal debates on the part of Yaichi. It's a powerful story about homophobia in Japan and about how we can hurt people even unintentionally. Very much looking forward to volume 2!