My Brother's Husband, Volume 2

The second volume of this omnibus knocks it out of the park. In the first volume, I had wondered why the story focused so much on Yaichi. Here, it becomes clear that the strategy of focusing on the thoughts that people have as they begin to learn about and encounter LGBT people works. Yaichi's continuing arc is relatable and understandable as he explores both the source of his tensions around Mike and reevaluates they way that he treated Ryoji. The culmination of this maturation is Yaichi's willingness to stand up for Mike and Kana, and his final ability to learn about Ryoji's life in Canada. I still wonder what Mike must be feeling inside, but what he displays is an incredibly admirable unflappability that will bear him in good stead. Kana and Natsuki round out the story and make it apparent that this is not just about Mike and Yaichi, but about the family they are building together. I was really hoping for a cute epilogue where they visit Canada, but I guess there's always something to keep waiting for. Read this for a touching, happy, beautiful conclusion to the story.

When I finished Volume 1, it was in the middle of lunchtime the other day. I loved the book so much, but most of the time when I'm reading over lunch, I just want to be left alone. But I carried My Brother's Husband over to a coworker, who is Japanese, and said, “I'm reading manga!” He said he was surprised at how much manga has been translated into English, and asked what it was about.

It's about Yaichi, a single dad living in Japan, and his young daughter, Kana. One day, a big Canadian man named Mike shows up at their front door, announcing that he was the husband of Yaichi's recently deceased twin brother, Ryoji. Yaichi accepts Mike into their home, but struggles a lot with the cultural differences between Japan and other parts of the world, what is acceptable here vs. there. He struggles with what it means that his brother was gay and built a life that Yaichi doesn't know, that Yaichi and Ryoji drifted apart after Ryoji came out, what it would feel like if Kana grew up and decided she wanted to marry a woman.

Anyway, as her new Canadian uncle, Kana LOOOOOOOVES Mike, and the three of them spend a lot of time touristing and eating yummy-looking things over his three-week visit to Japan, and it was a really delightful world to be in, even amongst the moments of sadness and growth and frustration. Kana sees the world through her child lens, and Yaichi sees how it must have been for Ryoji, and Mike sees the homeland of his husband, whom he never got to come home with.

The second volume is basically a direct continuation from the first. Both are gorgeous and lovely and hopeful.