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My Brother's Husband, Volume 1
(Otouto no Otto #1)
by
Yaichi is a work-at-home suburban dad in contemporary Tokyo; formerly married to Natsuki, 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 r
...more
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Hardcover, 352 pages
Published
May 2nd 2017
by Pantheon Books
(first published May 5th 2015)
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Start your review of My Brother's Husband, Volume 1 (Otouto no Otto, #1-2)

This was a heartwarming story about family, prejudice, cultural differences, and acceptance. As this was one of the first manga volumes I've ever read, I wasn't sure if I would be able to connect with the story or the characters. But after only 50 pages, I absolutely loved our three main characters. The easing tension between Yaichi and Mike felt organic and not rushed, and Kana is simply the cutest!
Pacing, art style, story, and emotions = A+! I immediately ordered the second volume from my libr ...more
Pacing, art style, story, and emotions = A+! I immediately ordered the second volume from my libr ...more

This was so perfect. SO PERFECT. If you haven't read this yet and you like queer things, READ THIS RIGHT NOW YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT
...more

Uplifting, illuminating, and endearing, My Brother's Husband is an LGBTQ+ manga that deserves to be read due to its timely content, impressive illustration, and inspirational message. The story ebbs and flows in a sonorous yet pleasurable way accentuating romantic and familial love, cultural and gender divergence, tackling homosexuality in a sexually-repressed, homophobic Japanese society, and finally bridging the gap between Eastern and Western identities. Tagame gracefully pens and illustrates
...more

Single dad Yaichi’s estranged gay brother recently passed away. In the wake of his death, his burly, friendly Canadian husband, Mike, has come to Japan to finally meet his brother-in-law and niece for the first time. Mike’s presence forces Yaichi to confront his own deeply-buried prejudices about gay people, as well as address his strangely emotionless and lonely life.
I love Japan, the people and the culture, but, speaking from personal experience/observations, I know many of its societal attit ...more
I love Japan, the people and the culture, but, speaking from personal experience/observations, I know many of its societal attit ...more

I definitely need to re-review this amazing, amazing graphic novel about living as a gay person in Japan...
Ryoji came out to his twin Yiachi at age 15 and due to the Japanese way of dealing with homosexuality by not talking about it - like ever - the brothers grew apart, with Ryoji making a life for himself in Canada and finding a loving husband in Mike Flannagan, a gentle-hearted Canadian.
However, Ryoji dies unexpectedly and Mike decides to visit Japan to meet his late husband's family: His twi ...more
Ryoji came out to his twin Yiachi at age 15 and due to the Japanese way of dealing with homosexuality by not talking about it - like ever - the brothers grew apart, with Ryoji making a life for himself in Canada and finding a loving husband in Mike Flannagan, a gentle-hearted Canadian.
However, Ryoji dies unexpectedly and Mike decides to visit Japan to meet his late husband's family: His twi ...more

Jun 24, 2017
Jaidee
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
three-ana-half-stars-books
3.5 "funny, affirming, sweet" stars !!
I read this to celebrate Pride Month and since I am a very wild person (NOT) I always try something new for this special time. I am a No longer a Manga virgin !!
First the illustrations are absolutely vivid and beautiful and it was a joy to flip these pages and follow along. Mike, a white Canadian visits Japan after his Japanese husband dies to visit his brother-in-law and niece. All the characters are adorable as they try to grapple with their new relation ...more
I read this to celebrate Pride Month and since I am a very wild person (NOT) I always try something new for this special time. I am a No longer a Manga virgin !!
First the illustrations are absolutely vivid and beautiful and it was a joy to flip these pages and follow along. Mike, a white Canadian visits Japan after his Japanese husband dies to visit his brother-in-law and niece. All the characters are adorable as they try to grapple with their new relation ...more

Heartwarming and fairly innocent, inoffensive manga about Kana, a little girl who’s raised by her single father Jaichi, whose identical and gay twin brother Ryoji dies. Ryoji lived in Canada and was married to a huge, burly Canadian Mike who pays Jaichi and his daughter Kana a visit in Japan.
Although this was an endearing all-ages story, with many touching moments, for the most part it felt too didactic and conventional to me, and I think it’s more suited for teenagers. The author attempts to t ...more
Although this was an endearing all-ages story, with many touching moments, for the most part it felt too didactic and conventional to me, and I think it’s more suited for teenagers. The author attempts to t ...more

4 Stars
I’m not an expert in manga by any means, but I can see how this story has hopefully made some strides in breaking some barriers towards acceptance, not only in Japan but everywhere.
Yaichi is confronted with his dead brother Ryoji’s truth in the form of Ryoji’s big Canadian widower Mike, who shows up hoping to go down memory lane and connect with Ryoji’s family whom he’s never met. Though Yaichi never rejected his twin, he wasn’t as accepting either and his natural inclination to ignore or ...more
I’m not an expert in manga by any means, but I can see how this story has hopefully made some strides in breaking some barriers towards acceptance, not only in Japan but everywhere.
Yaichi is confronted with his dead brother Ryoji’s truth in the form of Ryoji’s big Canadian widower Mike, who shows up hoping to go down memory lane and connect with Ryoji’s family whom he’s never met. Though Yaichi never rejected his twin, he wasn’t as accepting either and his natural inclination to ignore or ...more

Wow i loved this so much and i cried holy shit

1.) My Brother's Husband Volume 1 ★★★★★
2.) My Brother's Husband Volume 2 ★★★★★
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<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 ...more
2.) My Brother's Husband Volume 2 ★★★★★
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<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 ...more

TW: homophobia
My reading experience of this was greatly enhanced by the fact that Anderson Cooper blurbed this, and I had an out of body yet special experience knowing I was reading something that Anderson Cooper has also read. But I also enjoyed this book for what it was. The storyline of challenging your own belief systems and culture in order to be more accepting was touching, and seeing how a young girl interacted so positively with her gay uncle in a community that otherwise shunned him was ...more
My reading experience of this was greatly enhanced by the fact that Anderson Cooper blurbed this, and I had an out of body yet special experience knowing I was reading something that Anderson Cooper has also read. But I also enjoyed this book for what it was. The storyline of challenging your own belief systems and culture in order to be more accepting was touching, and seeing how a young girl interacted so positively with her gay uncle in a community that otherwise shunned him was ...more

Wow, I loved this first volume of a manga series about Yaichi, divorced father of Kana, formerly married to Netsuki, and twin brother of Ryoji, who was gay. Ryoji died a month ago, in Canada, where he was married to Mike Flanagan, who arrives at Yaichi's doorstep to see the Japan Ryoji had always talked about, and to visit his brother-in-law and niece! Not that this is initially easy, since Ryoji and Yaichi were estranged when Ryoji left Japan ten years ago. He reluctantly allows Mike to stay at
...more
![destiny ♡⚔♡ [howling libraries]](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1614916030p2/15335689.jpg)
Vol. 1 ★★★★★
Vol. 2 ★★★★★
My Brother's Husband has to be one of the most precious, heartwarming, lovable things I've ever read in my life. I was totally smitten from the very first page, and that feeling only grew stronger with each passing moment. I read the entire book over my lunch break and immediately placed a hold on the second (and final, sadly!) volume, because I have to continue it as soon as possible.
This manga covers so many emotions, it's wild — it's tragic due to both of these men ha ...more

This manga is about a lot of things - family, estrangement, the Japanese perception of homosexuality as well as other things that strike a chord of your heart. This is bittersweet, fun and utterly entertaining.
Comprehensive review to follow.
...more
Comprehensive review to follow.


Confession: this is my first manga so it took me a while to adjust to reading back to front pagewise and right to left cellwise, but it was worth the effort.
One day a bearish Canadian named Mike turns up at Yaichi's home in Japan and says he is Yaichi's twin's widower, in Japan to experience the small things that made up his husband's childhood. What follows is some cultural exchange made more possible by the curious daughter Kana.
The translation is fun because when words are used for emotions t ...more
One day a bearish Canadian named Mike turns up at Yaichi's home in Japan and says he is Yaichi's twin's widower, in Japan to experience the small things that made up his husband's childhood. What follows is some cultural exchange made more possible by the curious daughter Kana.
The translation is fun because when words are used for emotions t ...more

Rating: 3.5* of five, rounded up because half-stars will never come to Goodreads
Reading the manga way is weird for Westerners, or at any rate old ones like me. Back to front, right to left...and add in the graphic parts! Well, it was a read outside my comfort zone. The more alert among you will have noticed a favorable star rating atop the review's text. I liked the story of a man's journey from unquestioning homophobia to questioning discomfort through to earnest effort to understand and integr ...more
Reading the manga way is weird for Westerners, or at any rate old ones like me. Back to front, right to left...and add in the graphic parts! Well, it was a read outside my comfort zone. The more alert among you will have noticed a favorable star rating atop the review's text. I liked the story of a man's journey from unquestioning homophobia to questioning discomfort through to earnest effort to understand and integr ...more

Jul 13, 2017
Julie
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
i-think-i-m-turning-japanese
So, you know how supposedly there aren't any gay people in Russia?
Well, apparently there aren't too many in Japan, either.
But, somehow, a Japanese man named Ryoji becomes gay, despite the country's impeccable heterosexual record (was it contaminated green tea that did it?), and he flees to North America, the continent of the gays.
There he meets a hairy Canadian named Mike Flanagan, falls in love, gets married, then, unfortunately, dies too young.
The grief-stricken Canadian husband then travels t ...more
Well, apparently there aren't too many in Japan, either.
But, somehow, a Japanese man named Ryoji becomes gay, despite the country's impeccable heterosexual record (was it contaminated green tea that did it?), and he flees to North America, the continent of the gays.
There he meets a hairy Canadian named Mike Flanagan, falls in love, gets married, then, unfortunately, dies too young.
The grief-stricken Canadian husband then travels t ...more

Jul 02, 2020
Lois Bujold
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
manga readers interested in gendered art styles, also gentle slice-of-life tales
Recommended to Lois by:
friend
I was talking with a fellow anime-manga fan friend about the unlikely if eye-able way female manga artists portray gay guys for their primarily female audience, and wondered if actual gay guys would draw it differently; this was recced as a good basic example of the art-style differences, the story-line also dubbed "Gay 101 for straight folks", which turned out to be a fair evaluation. A Japanese man gets a visit from the Canadian widower of his late twin brother. Much learning follows on both s ...more

A sweet and slightly sentimental manga about how a child’s innocent perspective changes her prejudiced father’s idea about his late brother’s homosexuality.
Single Tokyo dad Yaichi and his daughter Kana take in Mike Flanagan, the white, Canadian husband of Yaichi’s estranged twin brother, Ryochi, who recently passed away. Mike has come looking to learn more about Ryo’s past.
Kana instantly takes to Mike, and vice versa, but it takes longer to win over Yaichi, who, while superficially polite, has ...more
Single Tokyo dad Yaichi and his daughter Kana take in Mike Flanagan, the white, Canadian husband of Yaichi’s estranged twin brother, Ryochi, who recently passed away. Mike has come looking to learn more about Ryo’s past.
Kana instantly takes to Mike, and vice versa, but it takes longer to win over Yaichi, who, while superficially polite, has ...more

I thought this was a great start to a manga series. Cute, light-hearted, and it still managed to deal with a lot of the deeper societal issues tons of people face.
Needless to say I'm a fan! And definitely interested in reading the future volumes! ...more
Needless to say I'm a fan! And definitely interested in reading the future volumes! ...more

Absolutely adored this! Highly recommend if you're in the mood for a heartwarming manga :)
...more

May 22, 2017
Lauren
added it
A "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" scenario, retold/re-framed in this endearing manga. When Yaichi's twin brother unexpectedly dies, his husband visits Japan to meet his brother-in-law, and to connect with the memories of his home country. Mike is a lovable Canadian, and immediately captures the heart of young Kana, Yaichi's daughter.
The story ended abruptly, so I was glad to see there is a Volume 2. I want to see what happens next with this fun trio.
**Reread January 2021 in prep for V2 - loved i ...more
The story ended abruptly, so I was glad to see there is a Volume 2. I want to see what happens next with this fun trio.
**Reread January 2021 in prep for V2 - loved i ...more

ALL THE STARS!!
What can I say about this manga which hasn't already been said before?! My Brother's Husband focuses on Yaichi and his daughter, Kana, who welcome Mike, a gay Canadian who was married to Yaichi's twin brother, Ryoji, into their home. What follows is a very touching and important story about Japanese culture on homosexuality.
Kana is absolutely adorable - she comes out with some very blunt questions about queer marriage and the more intimate side of these relationships, much to her ...more
What can I say about this manga which hasn't already been said before?! My Brother's Husband focuses on Yaichi and his daughter, Kana, who welcome Mike, a gay Canadian who was married to Yaichi's twin brother, Ryoji, into their home. What follows is a very touching and important story about Japanese culture on homosexuality.
Kana is absolutely adorable - she comes out with some very blunt questions about queer marriage and the more intimate side of these relationships, much to her ...more

Fascinating, heartstring-pulling graphic novel duology about a Japanese single father, Yaichi, whose estranged gay twin brother Ryoji moved to Canada and married a Canadian man named Mike. After Ryoji passes away, Mike comes to see Ryoji's Japan for the first time and get to know his lost husband's family. Yaichi has never confronted his own homophobia until Mike arrives. His daughter Kana bonds with Mike immediately, but Yaichi has a more difficult time, though he works at questioning his own a
...more

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 w ...more
Yaichi is a single father bringing up his lively young daughter Kana. He lives a quiet life but this changes w ...more

Wow, I loved this first volume of a manga series about Yaichi, divorced father of Kana, formerly married to Netsuki, and twin brother of Ryoji, who was gay. Ryoji died a month ago, in Canada, where he was married to Mike Flanagan, who arrives at Yaichi's doorstep to see the Japan Ryoji had always talked about, and to visit his brother-in-law and niece! Not that this is initially easy, since Ryoji and Yaichi were estranged when Ryoji left Japan ten years ago. He reluctantly allows Mike to stay at
...more

Not quite what I expected. It feels a little stiff and one-dimensional right now. Hoping volume two is better.

This is such a sad and sweet story. Looking forward to reading the next volume.

An interesting insight into just how conservative Japanese society is, My Brother’s Husband is a sweet story about diversity, acceptance, the innocence of children, and the weight of social expectation. Although I think these stories are important, I felt that this one barely strayed from conventional narratives and themes, so at time it struggled to hold my attention.

The one thing this manga volume makes clear is that Japan is not nearly as progressive regarding support and protection for same-sex relationships as many other open, first-world nations. Reading it was a reminder of how far many other countries have journeyed by comparison.
This was a simple, basic, quickly-absorbed story. It is likely to be much more powerful for readers who have never deeply considered what it means to have friends, family members, coworkers, or neighbors who identify as gay. ...more
This was a simple, basic, quickly-absorbed story. It is likely to be much more powerful for readers who have never deeply considered what it means to have friends, family members, coworkers, or neighbors who identify as gay. ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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Play Book Tag: My Brother's Husband I, II | Gengoroh Tagame | 4 stars | 2 | 11 | May 02, 2019 05:29AM | |
Goodreads Librari...: please delete link to illegal reading source | 2 | 32 | Jun 05, 2017 08:58PM |
Gengoroh Tagame is a Japanese manga artist who specializes in gay BDSM erotic manga, many of which depict graphic violence. The men he depicts are hypermasculine, and tend to be on the bearish side.
Born into a family descended from samurai, Tagame began his career as a manga artist in 1982, while he was studying graphic design at Tama Art University (多摩美術大学). His works have been published in sever ...more
Born into a family descended from samurai, Tagame began his career as a manga artist in 1982, while he was studying graphic design at Tama Art University (多摩美術大学). His works have been published in sever ...more
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Otouto no Otto
(4 books)
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