My Brother's Husband is a manga series by Gengoroh Tagame. Serialized in Monthly Action from 2014 to 2017, and adapted into a live-action television drama by NHK in 2018, the series follows the relationship between single father Yaichi, his daughter Kana, and Mike Flanagan, the Canadian husband of Yaichi's estranged and recently deceased twin brother. The series, which focuses on themes of homophobia, cultural difference, and family, has been noted as a significant departure from Tagame's previous works, which focus on erotic and sadomasochistic subject material. My Brother's Husband has received overwhelming acclaim from critics, and has won an Eisner Award, a Japan Media Arts Award, and a Japan Cartoonists Association Award.
Plot
Yaichi, a stay-at-home single father, lives with his daughter Kana in suburban Tokyo. They are visited by Mike Flanagan, the widower of Yaichi's estranged twin brother Ryōji, who has traveled from his native Canada for three weeks to learn about Ryōji's past. Kana is fascinated by Mike and is immediately accepting of him, though Yaichi is hesitant to accept Mike as family. While Yaichi is not overtly homophobic, Mike suggests that his tacit discomfort over his brother's sexuality drove a wedge between them that led to their estrangement. Mike's interactions with the family and neighborhood over the subsequent three weeks prompt Yaichi to confront his own prejudices around sex and sexuality, as his growing tolerance and eventual acceptance of Mike parallel his overcoming of his own homophobia. Shortly before Mike's departure, he reveals to Yaichi that Ryōji expressed guilt over never reconciling his relationship with his brother, and promised Mike that they would one day travel to Japan as a couple to meet his family. As Ryōji died before the promise could be fulfilled, Mike traveled to Japan alone so that he could honor Ryōji's wish of becoming family with Yaichi. Yaichi and Kana bid Mike goodbye as family, and he returns to Canada.
Characters
; Yaichi Origuchi ; Mike Flanagan ; Kana Origuchi ; Natsuki ; Ryōji ; Yuki Shinohara ; Tomoya Ogawa ; Kazuya Ogawa ; Katō or Katoyan ; Mr. Yokoyama
James Yeh of Vice commented on how the series deals with the issue of gay marriage, which is unrecognized in Japan, and wrote that Tagame's artwork, writing and muscular male characters make My Brother's Husband "a beautiful, stirring, and deeply human work". Rachel Cooke wrote in The Guardian that "Not only is it very touching; it’s also, for the non-Japanese reader, unexpectedly fascinating." Charles Pulliam-Moore, writing for io9, commented on how the manga deals with homophobia in modern-day Japan, saying that, "My Brother's Husband gently alludes to the sort of small, everyday aspects of homophobia that ultimately drove Yaichi's brother to leave" and that: "The message the Tagame's trying to get across—that quiet, subtle bigotry can be just as harmful as loud, bombastic bigotry—isn't always an easy one to process. Tagame understands that and hopefully, as the rest of the book unfolds, readers will too." Rebecca Silverman praised the series in Anime News Network, giving it an A− grade, writing:
My Brother's Husband is an honest, quietly emotional look at how prejudices and preconceptions can hurt not only the people we're biased against, but also ourselves. Both heartbreaking and heartwarming, this first volume is well worth reading, and Tagame's solid, clean artwork with attention to details like body hair that we don't often see in mainstream manga, help to ground the story in reality. It's the kind of book that you can devour in one sitting but wish that you didn't – not only because there's so much to think about, but also because it's good enough that you don't actually want it to end.
However, Silverman criticised the length of time it takes for Mike to develop as a character, and some issues with the artwork. Ian Wolf gave the series 10 out of 10 in MyM, commenting positively on how the manga manages to confront homophobia, and how it stands out from most LGBT-themed manga released in the English, which are normally yaoi series depicting bishōnen. American comics author Alison Bechdel gave a positive reception to the comic. The French edition has been reviewed by a prominent gay magazine, Têtu, which regarded Tagame's foray into gay rights positively.
Accolades
My Brother's Husband received an Excellence Prize at the 19thJapan Media Arts Festival in 2015. In December 2016, the French edition of the manga was nominated for the "Best Comic" at the 44th annual Angoulême International Comics Festival. In 2018, it received the Excellence Award at the 47th Japan Cartoonists Association Award. The first volume of the Pantheon edition of the manga won the 2018 Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia.
