Webtoon Spotlight

Spotlight#146: My Brother's Husband

Have you ever had trouble properly celebrating an occasion? If so, you'll probably relate to me scrambling to find a Pride Month 2023 entry for the spotlights. Luckily My Brother's Husband by Gengoroh Tagame is here to add the proper color to the spotlight.

Summary

Things haven't exactly been easy for Yaichi. Not only is he a single father to an energetic young daughter named Kanna, but he also is still grappling with the death of his twin brother Ryoji. Ever since he came out as gay to him, the siblings formed a tense distance with each other, that now may never be solved.

That is until Ryoji's husband, Mike Flanagan, decides to pay a visit to him Canada upon his husband's final wish. And even know he'll only be visiting for a couple of days at most, Mike's arrival will have to force Yaichi to confront decades of unsaid feelings and instructed homophobia.

Characters

Yaichi: Our main character. Yaichi is a hospitable, thoughtful, and playful dad to his child Kanna. He is a bit of a deep thinker, often hiding his true feelings to adopt a more rational point of view. Despite his accepting nature, Yaichi still has many repressed homophobic values, which get challenged to though meeting Mike.

Mike: Compared to Yaichi, Mike is a lot kinder and doting. He's always willing to go out of his way to lend a helping hand to people and is never one to stand by the side. Nonetheless, he's a grieving husband, trying desperately to hold onto his spouse's last wishes.

Kanna: Yaichi's ever-inquisitive daughter, Kanna, is always happy in your face with a curious, bold question. Regardless she's inherently good-natured, not seeing any negative differences between Canadian culture and her own.

Overview

My Brother's Husband is the definition of short and sweet, clocking in about 24 short chapters across two volumes. There's still an impact and beautiful message here for all ages. You shouldn't be surprised if you look into Tagame's history. He's regarded as one of the most influential gay mangakas of all time, having over 20 books in his 40-year career.

This entry is particularly gaining both an Eisner Award and a live-action adaptation, which is no surprise after reading it. Most of My Brother's Husband is centered around the mundane life of Mike. As they exchange each other's cultures, though, we see just how much the traditional and, at times, conservative values of Yaichi's culture have affected him.

While it's not like he's violently homophobic or bigoted, there's a clear distance and aversion to Mike and, by extension, Ryoji's relationship. Which, in my opinion, is sometimes far more realistic and sad. Of course, I can't relate due to being cishet, but as a Black man, I know discrimination or bigotry can be slightly more subtle than slur or violent behavior.

The art also portrays this inner conflict rather well too. Whether through a harsh shadow, unsaid inner thought, or looking too longingly in the mirror. As the story progresses, these visual themes become far more apparent, along with the unconscious challenging of his views. What's so different about two men being in love? What would happen if Kanna married a girlfriend? Why am I so opposed to Mike touching me? WHY DID I BUILD UP A DISTANCE OVER SOMETHING SO SMALL?

Queries and pepper throughout the story in a rather simple but approachable way. He will never get that time back, just like Mike will never get his husband back. But they can at least do their part to build up a relationship now through several heartwarming exchanges and a supportive found family.

Epilogue

All in all, My Brother's Husband is an incredibly approachable, heartwarming, family-friendly tale. Since I haven't seen the full story on any manga site this time, I highly suggest you either buy or support the official release in some capacity. Either way, it was immensely refreshing to experience an LGBT story that didn't center around a particular romance. I need to experience more of that.

As for my other closing thoughts, a short apology is owed. The spotlights have been running slowly, but a couple of longer-form manga, novels, and Western comics have been taking up my reading time. In that span, though, I knew I wanted to do something for Pride Month.

These past couple of years have given me a lot of LGBT+ friends I cherish dearly, even though I was a lot busier this Summer. I know I wanted to do something more than give support through word of mouth. Life is so concise, and to still live in a world with a loud minority who still will let hate to cloud their eyes to the end is sad.

Even though none of it changes the simple act of love being love. It's what life is all about. And I hope in the end. I can say the same for myself. Till then, though, till the spotlight spins our way again. Let's see where the spotlight takes us next. Happy Pride Month!