Volumes: 2/2 (2 in 1 Omnibuses, Complete), In Print
Everyone
Genres: LGBT, Family
Summary: Yaichi had a twin brother, Ryoji, but they drifted apart. Ten years ago Ryoji left Japan and moved to far away Canada and married a man there, named Mike. After Ryoji’s unexpected death a month ago, Mike is visiting Japan to meet Ryoji’s family and see where he grew up. An unexpected invitation from Yaichi’s little daughter, Kana, has Mike uncomfortably staying in their house while he is visiting. Can Yaichi make peace with the fact his brother was gay? Can he accept Mike as part of the family?
Review: Overall, it’s a very sweet family story with an LGBT theme. The story can basically be divided into two parts to it. One is the family acceptance story. The story is mostly from Yaichi’s point of view and narrates his thoughts as he re-examines many preconceptions he has about gay people. Many concepts- everything from gay marriage to coming out and such he never has really thought about it until after he meets Mike. Then, there’s Kana’s story. She pretty much accepts Mike from the very beginning, being a friendly little girl who is somewhat lonely from missing her mother since Yaichi got divorced. But for her, she begins to struggle with the concept that other people do not like or accept her uncle, even though he’s a good person.
The other major part of the story reads kind of like an introduction to gay issues for children and other newbies, as they tackle many issues of gay people have from not being accepted in society in Japan. Honestly I felt kind of mixed about this. It’s awesome if you’re looking to give this book to someone who wants to learn more about gay issues, but as far as convincing people, this isn’t really the kind of book that would change anyone’s mind who is against gay rights. It reads more like preaching to the choir, and the anti-gay sentiment in the book felt like straw-man arguments.
Lastly, I was also really relieved this didn’t turn out to be some twisted romance as this mangaka is best known for more adult comics of a genre called Bara (gay manga for gay men). When they were setting it up like Yaichi and Ryoji being identical twins, and Yaichi feeling guilty for not being closer to his brother when he died; I was worried it was going to turn into Mike falling in love with Yaichi as his brother’s replacement. Thankfully that did not happen, but I was holding my breath for a while there. But no, this story is 100% wholesome and safe for children.
Age Rating: PG for some non-sexual non explicit nudity of the shower/bathing kind. Also a gay slur at the very beginning.
LGBT Friendly: 10/10
Other Works in English from this mangaka: Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men who Make it (One Story in an Anthology) (Pornography)
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