#otouto no otto

[queer-and-dear-books]

Title: My Brother’s Husband

Author: Gengoroh Tagame 

Genre: Comics | Family | Friendship | LGBTQ+

Content Warnings: Homophobia | Death

Overall Rating: 10/10

Personal Opinion: Quite possibly my most favorite manga of all time. I own a lot of Tagame’s works so I’ve always been a big fan of his art style. To see it in a mainstream book all about educating people on queer folks? That is just chef’s kiss perfection. It’s wholesome, it’s intelligent, it’s refreshing, and it will break and fix your heart over and over again. Please purchase a copy for yourself.

Do I Own These Books? Yes! I own both volumes and I even have the first volume signed by Tagame himself!

Spoilers Below For My Likes & Dislikes:

Likes:

- First and foremost, the art style. I personally love it. And not just because of the details of Yaichi’s and Mike’s muscles when they’re bathing. No, I just adore all of their character designs and the vibes they give off. Yaichi is a single dad who is a bit unsure of himself, I can see that in how he stands in volume 1′s cover. Kana is a precocious child but a child nonetheless, I see that in how she stands in volume 1′s cover. Mike is Mike. I see that in, well, you know already. 

- Kana is the most adorable thing. She has a very pure view of the world that was unaffected by her father’s bigoted views because he never taught them to her. And it is mainly through her that Yaichi, her father, begins to understand queer folks better. When she says she doesn’t get why gay people can’t marry, he pauses and rethinks his position. It’s adorable and inspiring witnessing a parent learn from their child and being open to learning from them too. 

- That’s the thing I love most about these books. Yaichi has a lot of bigoted and narrow-minded opinions concerning his brother’s sexuality. But a lot of that is because he was never educated on it. After Ryoji tragically passed away and Mike came into his life, he realized it wasn’t too late to learn more about his estranged brother. Because here was someone still connected to Ryoji and probably knew him better than most people. Mike taught Yaichi a lot and Yaichi was open to learning. He kept his bigoted thoughts to himself, never actually voicing them out, and instead took in everything Mike told him and grew from it. By volume 2, Yaichi was even prepared himself to tell people about his brother’s husband from overseas and how it’s perfectly normal.

- Mike is just a giant teddy bear and I find him to be adorable and hot. Mainly though, I just like him for being such a big-hearted fellow. He’s proud of himself, he’s open about his sexuality, he’s curious but respectful of the culture around him. He’s the ideal man in my opinion. And I just love the role he took up as the jolly uncle in Kana’s life. They were so wholesome playing together in basically every chapter. Ugh, my heart still breaks for Kana when Mike had to go back to Canada. She loved him so much.

- Speaking of Mike being open about his sexuality, it’s a little hard to see (for my color blind eyes anyway) but his shirt on the covers include a pink triangle. It was once a badge of shame employed by Nazis to identify LGBTQ+ people but was later reclaimed to be a symbol of pride. Mike knows this and that’s why he wears that shirt and that’s why I love him so much. Yes, know your history Mike!

- Kana’s mother, Natsuki, and Yaichi are divorced. But they maintain a healthy and friendly relationship. I fucking love that. They acknowledge that they were a bad match when they were married and that they’re better as individuals and as Kana’s parents when they’re separated and I find that to be so wholesome. But I also just love that Natsuki was so open-minded about Mike herself when she met him. These four characters all together make such an adorable family unit.  

Dislikes:

- Yaichi admits his mistakes and homophobic outbursts were wrong but damn did I cringe at some of the things he thought. The story is mainly about his growth though so I’ll give it a pass.

- There’s honestly nothing I really dislike about this story. Everyone should go purchase a copy for themselves. 

#Booksbooksbooks #Book Rec #Book Review #Book Blog #Comics #Queer Comics #Manga #My Brother's Husband #Otouto no Otto #Gengoroh Tagame #LGBTQ #Queer Representation

[waitmyturtles]

Couple of dorama notes to help me keep track of things, woop!

1) THE NEW EMPLOYEE NEW EPISODE, EEP!: I’m not going to peep the tag until after I watch it tonight. Now that I binged the manhwa, I think I know the direction of this episode, but I’m still looking forward to the NYS flashbacks and seeing how Jong Chan handles it.

2) The Makanai: Cooking For the Maiko House: A couple of IRL friends recommended this to me because they know I love shows about food -- I started it yesterday and I’m in full binge mode. It’s directed by the legendary Koreeda Hiroyuki, who directed After Life in the late 1990s and who now has the film Broker out (which is making its way around the awards circuit).

I hadn’t heard of this manga (Kiyo in Kyoto) before, but I understand it to be quite popular -- I even think NHK aired an anime of it. I want to take some time, if I can find it, to research the background and popularity of the manga, because I think the drama is a bit darker than it’s set up to be on the surface. Quickly: two 16-year-old girls leave Aomori Prefecture to apprentice as maiko, or junior geishas, in Kyoto. One of the teens is a natural at her training; the other teen (Kiyo) is expelled from the school and becomes the cook for the okiya (lodging house) (wild wild wild).

I admittedly know next to nothing about maiko/geisha culture, but it struck me as surprising that young teenagers can still leave school to apprentice and live in an okiya. (EDITING TO ADD: Phew, okay, this part is fictional, according to this interview.) I think there are a few stories being told underneath the surface (but I’m only on episode three) -- rivalries between friends and students, unrequited loves, and this undercurrent about young girls doing labor for the lodging house and for clients, including teenage maiko accompanying clients to bars.

I’m kind of in a whirlwind headspace to understand it all. BUT: THE CINEMATOGRAPHY IS SPECTACULAR, and there are some great names acting in it, including Lily Frankie (I love this guy’s name so much), Morisaki Win (a darling from Three Star Bar in Nishi Ogikubo), and Makita Aju, who is simply killing it as an antagonist against maiko culture (and who also played an amazing foil as Micchan in Okaeri Mone). Also, Hashimoto Ai and Matsuoka Mayu going head to head -- their competition is totally sizzling.

I’ll have a bigger review of this, but it looks like this dorama is extremely popular in Japan, so I’m glad I’m catching up with it in real time. 

3) Besides my real-time BLs (The New Employee, Ameiro Paradox), I’m going to start on Bad Buddy later this week as part of my essential BL series, once I’m done with The Makanai. 

4) But ALSO: I found a three-part NHK miniseries called Ototo no Otto (My Brother’s Husband), from 2018 -- and I’m seriously excited for it, because I am a huge stan for NHK’s boundary-pushing work on discrimination. The show is about a Canadian man who comes to Japan after his same-sex Japanese partner passes away. The “widower” meets his late partner’s twin brother and the twin brother’s kids, all to learn more about his late partner’s life in Japan.

The show looks like it focuses on current issues regarding LGBTQ+ discrimination, including the homophobia that the late partner’s brother himself has -- which may have led to estrangement between the twins.

There’s only a few posts about this show on Tumblr, but the posts say the show was seriously good. I’m so glad I found it, and I think I’ll need to watch it before diving into Bad Buddy.

And after Bad Buddy: Dark Blue Kiss, to prepare for the eventual GMMTV adaptation of Cherry Magic, which damn it -- I still can’t shake. 

5) FINALLY: Um, we may be getting new The Novelist/The Pornographer material?! (cc @gillianthecat). According to Twitter, there will be an announcement about something related to the franchise on 1/24. Let’s see -- the very last short film hasn’t been translated or released internationally, so maybe that’s the update? Give us SOMETHING, FUJI TV. 

YAY, updates! I honestly love writing these posts when life gets crazy, because it helps me set my priorities!

#drama accountability! #the new employee #the new recruit #the makanai cooking for the maiko house #hirokazu koreeda #turtles catches up with thai BLs #turtles catches up with the essential BLs #bad buddy is next #ototo no otto #otouto no otto #the novelist #the pornographer

[arkumami]

#my brother's husband #Otouto no Otto #Gengorou Tagame #mangacap

[nyx-b-log]

buckle in, it's a long one! on top of finishing what i was reading last week, i also got through a few manga volumes, so there's plenty to talk about!

i'll put it under a cut, but the books discussed are:

all the living and the dead by hayley campbell (finished, favourite)

take it back by kia abdullah (finished)

truth be told by kia abdullah (brief)

hikaru ga shinda natsu vol 2 (finished)

my brother's husband vol 1 (finished, favourite)

i hear the sunspot (started)

mitsuboushi colours (started)

skulduggery pleasant by derek landy (started)

children of time by adrian tchaikovsky (started, brief)

semantic error (manhwa)

i actually finished all the living and the dead on the sunday i posted last week, but it was late so i decided to do the write up this week.

i honestly got a lot out of it, i think it's a very valuable book to read if you're even remotely concerned about or interested in death, even if parts of it are emotionally difficult to read. what starts off as a more journalistic 'here's these people and here's what they do' kind of book takes something of a turn about halfway through after one of the things the author experiences sticks with her more than she expected, so there's that to be aware of. i liked it, though, and it made it easier to read in longer chunks after that.

well-written, well-researched, and features a lengthy index and 'further reading' section divided into topics so you can explore whatever you're interested in in more detail. very much recommend.

it took me a few more days to finish take it back, but i did it! well within deadline too. have very, very mixed feelings on the ending; it felt like the author just added some extra twists in purely as gotcha moments without really considering whether they made sense or the wider ramifications, which is odd for a book which is normally pays more attention to that kind of thing. but, everything up to that was tense and enjoyable in all the ways a legal thriller should be. the discussions of class and race were also appreciated.

after that i actually started book two in that series, truth be told, but my next audiobook loan came in so i've shelved it for now. i got about an hour in and found it less immediately gripping but i am looking forward to going back to it. that audiobook also only has one performer, rather than three.

cos i've had two of the later books in the series sat on my tbr pile for about 4 years now (maybe longer), i thought i'd do a reread of the skulduggery pleasant series via audiobook this time. rupert degas, the guy reading them, is really good, and i'm having a fun time with them. good cleanser after take it back. really wish the music that plays in between each chapter wasn't so long though, even if it's pleasantly jazzy.

i also started children of time tho admittedly i only got about 50 pages in and haven't picked it up since, but i liked those 50 pages! it's long, tho, this'll take a while to get through.

i would have read more of it but i got a bit distracted by the semantic error manhwa? was feeling a bit miserable and devoured the drama (which was great) in like two days to make myself feel better, and then immediately went to read the manhwa. everyone is noticeably more of a dick (and more horny) but i don't mind. very sad yu-na isn't in it as much tho, she was probably my favourite character in the drama.

right, manga!

finished vol 2 of hikaru ga shinda natsu which i think i enjoyed less than the first one, but was still very good. had some better individual moments plus some big reveals!! makes me want to reread it and pull out what i missed. vol 3 came out this week too!! but i don't have it yet :( i'm looking to collect the series in physical, so it might be a few months yet before i keep going. a bit more of the vol 1 voice comic was also released in tandem with vol 3, so i watched that too (it seems to have a slightly bigger budget? good for them).

after that i read vol 1 of otouto no otto (aka my brother's husband) which was excellent, i really really liked it. it's follows yaichi as he gets a sudden visit from his (dead) younger brother's canadian husband, and how the two of them interact. worth noting that yaichi is homophobic (even if he doesn't realise) so there's some slurs used, but the story itself challenges that homophobia. there's also some queer history lessons in between some of the chapters; in this volume it was on the legality of same-sex marriage (as of april 2015) and the history of the pink triangle.

the art is fantastic, and i'm really looking forward to reading more and following how yaichi comes to understand where and he and his brother went wrong, and how he grows as a person. also kana!! is the sweetest thing!! read it for her, honestly.

more briefly, i've started both mitsuboushi colours and hidamari ga kikoeru (aka i hear the sunspot), but am not even halfway through either.

mitusboushi colours is a sort of palette cleanser for me? cute girls doing cute things kind of manga, very simple. i'm dipping into it when i feel like it.

hidamari ga kikoeru is a BL manga set at a university about a loudmouth in need of a job becoming the notetaker for a boy in his class with hearing difficulties. enjoying it so far, taichi has great energy.

oh god is that everything? i think so. anyway congrats for reading this far, i'll update again next week! (hopefully with less 😭)

#bookblr #books #reading #manga #all the living and the dead #take it back #hikaru ga shinda natsu #otouto no otto #truth be told #children of time #skulduggery pleasant #mitsuboushi colours #hidamari ga kikoeru #semantic error #sorry for how long this is but there was a lot to say! #i'm also technically reading ouran high school host club but that doesn't really count #anyway #see you next week #kana best girl #scheduled

[cinammonelles]

Today I learned that school libraries apparently have manga now

#hello???? #i was not ready to experience a generational shock this soon??? #just 5-6 years ago you couldn't even get manga in BOOKSTORES #you had to order it online(plus it was super expensive) #AND NOW THEY HAVE IT IN SCHOOLS???? #WHAT #(like i'm obviously very happy its becoming more mainstream but holy fuck) #i hope they're also keeping stuff like shimanami tasogare and otouto no otto besides the standard shounen #cina's stuff #🍀

[thedogeveryonehates]

Gengoroh Tagame is going through another 'wholesome' phase and im here for it 🥰

#LOOK AT THESE CUTIES #this is way better than house of brutes :))) #this is making me wanna reread otouto no otto #gengoroh tagame #sakana to mizu

[maochira]

Satoshi Tsuyosa (OC) Egoist Bible profile

I don't think I've ever posted any proper info about him, except that he's dating Lorenzo. Satoshi isn't a player, but he starts working as an assistant in the Neo Egoist League!

Character colour: Wine red

Nicknames: The other Tsuyosa "It's a stupid nickname, but almost everyone in Blue Lock calls me that now."

Birthday: October 7th

Current age: 18 (third year of high school)

Zodiac sign: Libra

Birthplace: Ehime Prefecture

Family: Father. Mother. Older sister. Himself. Younger twin brother.

Current Height: 185cm (6')

Foot size: 28.5cm

Dominant foot: Right foot

Blood type: A

Started playing football: At age 3 "My father made my brother and me start, but I stopped out of stubbornness when I was 10."

Motto: "Protect those who you love."

Favourite food: Tonkotsu Ramen "I'm trying to learn how to cook it on my own."

Disliked food: Anything with chicken. "I don't like the texture of the meat."

Favourite animal: Possums "They're cute. And I'm sure my boyfriend was one in his previous life."

Favourite season: Summer. "For some reason, I enjoy the heat."

Favourite player: Takumi Tsuyosa. "My brother will always be the greatest to me."

Favourite song: 7 million ways by Rass Limit (a song about wanting "7 million ways of harm" to happen to someone else)

Favourite manga: Otouto no otto (My Brother's husband) "My brother made me read it shortly before he came out to me."

Favourite anime: Tales of Symphonia "I really liked the game when I was younger."

Mushroom shoots vs Bamboo shoots: Bamboo shoots

What goes best with rice: Furikake

Fetish: Hair

What makes him happy: Knowing the ones he loves are doing okay.

What makes him upset: "I always hated the way my father treats my brother."

What he thinks his strength is: Being overprotective

What he thinks his weakness is: Worrying too much about others and neglecting himself

Best subject: Science and Biology

Disliked/weak subject: Art

What made him cry recently: "I got very emotional when I saw my brother on the Blue Lock Eleven team."

Usual sleeping time: 7 hours

What he usually ends up buying from a convenience store: Ramune "It reminds me of my sister."

Place he washes first when taking a bath: Arms

Ideal type: Someone who's reliable and honest

At what age he experienced his first love: 12 "There was this really pretty girl in my class, but I never ended up telling her about it."

What he would do if he received 100 million yen: "I'd give half of it to my brother and half of it to my sister. I don't need the money, Lorenzo spoils me enough."

Number of chocolates he received on previous Valentines day: 10

At what age did he stop receiving gifts from Santa: 14

What was his last wish from Santa: Pens and a new notebook to write in. "I always took notes when I watched my brother's soccer team. At that time I started wanting to become a coach."

What he would do on his last day on earth: Make sure his brother will be okay without him.

#blue lock oc #bllk oc #blue lock #bllk #💟 tsuyosa twins

[doulingosakura]

As of Jan 2024: Section 1 Rookie Vocab

Unit 6 🌸

Part 1 : Get to know people

Part 2 : Describe your family

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Unit 6 pt 1: Get to know people

I : watashi : わたし : 私

Very : totemo : とても

Quiet : shizuka : しずか

Clean : kirei : きれい

Lively : nigiyaka : にぎやか

How : dou : どう

Name : onamae : おなまえ

Welcome : youkoso : ようこそ

Live/reside : sundeimasu : すんでいます

Come from/Origin : shuushin : じゅぅしん

Japan : nihon : にほん : 日本

Tokyo : tokyo : とうきょう : 東京

Kyoto: kyouto : きょうと : 京都

Osaka: oosaka : おおさか

Toronto : toronto : トロント

City : toshi : とし

Town : machi : まち

Nice to meet you 　: 　hajimemashite :　　　　　　　　　　　はじめまして

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Unit 6 pt 2: Describe your family

Four : yon : よん : 四

Mum : haha : はは : 母

Five : go : ご : 五

Six : roku : ろく : 六

Seven : nana : なな : 七

Years (aga) : sai : さい

Family : kazoku : かぞく

Dad : chichi : ちち : 父

My older sister : ane : あね

Younger sister : imouto : いもうと

My older brother : ani : あに

Office worker : kaishain : かいしゃいん

Younger brother : otouto : おとうと

My daughter : musumeむすめ

My son : musuko : むすこ

My wife : tsuma : つま

My husband : otto : おっと

Engineer: enjiniya : エンジ二ヤ

Nurse : kangoshi : かんごし

Noisy : urusai : うるさい

College student : daigakusei : だいがくせい

Famous : yuumei : ゆうめい

Busy : isogashi : いそがしい

Fashionable : oshare : おしゃれ

Smart : atamagaii : あたまがいい

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

#duolingo #duolingo japan #duolingo japanese #duolingo vocab #easy japanese #langblr #section 1 #unit 6

[piatte]

　夫と食べた食事が美味しかった。

Otto to tabeta shokuji ga oishikatta.

　乳児の頃から、息子が「弟」と呼んで大事にしている縫いぐるみに、息子の夏服を着せてあげた。育児を頑張っていたら、息子が更に良い子になった。

Nyuuji-no-koro kara, musuko ga otouto to yonde daiji ni shite-iru nuigurumi ni, musuko-no-natsufuku wo kisete-ageta. Ikuji wo ganbatte-itara, musuko ga sara ni yoiko ni natta.

#photography #happy days

[were--ralph]

Whats ur favorite wholesome Tagame manga and why is it My Brothers Husband/Otouto no Otto?

its the only one that isn't fucking WEIRD and noncon and scat and WEIRD

#its also not that good #tagame is not great

[nuncaestarassolo]

[studentofetherium]

Do you know the manga of Ao no Flag or Otouto no Otto? If the answer is yes, what did you think?

i've heard of My Brother's Husband, but i haven't read it. hadn't ehard of Blue Flag before this tho

[wutlaikalikes]

Otouto no Otto manga cover vol.1 & tv promotional poster

#otouto no otto #fave

[nyx-b-log]

really got back into manga this week so that's most of what's here!

finished maurice and yeah i don't think this was for me. the ending sort of redeemed it a bit (the conversation with clive at least) but i struggled to get into maurice as a character which really hampered my enjoyment of it. ah well.

in a complete change of tone i'm about a third of the way through ninefox gambit by yoon ha lee, a political military sci-fi about a disgraced captain enlisting the help of a former commander who went mad, going to deal with a key space station which has been taken over by 'heretics'. i'm really enjoying it so far, the characters and world are interesting and i'm looking forward to seeing how it all turns out! it's light on the explanation and heavy on the jargon which can occasionally cause problems but i'm happy to learn as i go so it's fine by me!

for manga, i read all four volumes of my husband's brother (otouto no otto) which was fantastic. vol 1 was a reread and the rest were new to me. i binged it over three days and got a little emotional at the end cos i wasn't ready to say goodbye to the characters. it has its issues but if you're looking for a fundamentally wholesome slice of life story featuring well-written children, great art, and that features queer themes, this is the series for you. content warnings for homophobia, grief and death in general, plus mentions of divorce and unhappy marriage.

i also finally got around to reading the mushishi bonus story (日蝕む翳, the shadow that devours the sun), which i thoroughly enjoyed. it features messy sibling relationships and eclipses (both lunar and solar), what's not to love? there doesn't seem to be an official english translation anywhere i could find but if you can get your hands on it and you're familiar with the rest of the series i'd very much recommend it.

my loan for orlando by virginia woolf came in from the library but i've not started it yet. we'll see how that goes!

will update again next week!

#bookblr #books #reading #manga #maruice #ninefox gambit #my brother's husband #弟の夫 #mushishi #i'd missed reading manga so much let me tell you #OH bonus shoutout to the romantic egoist oneshot at the end of ouran vol 2 #those are some devious twins #the romance is cute tho #scheduled

[idleminds]

#otouto no otto #my brother's husband #jdrama #caps

[lgbtqmanga]

My Brother’s Husband

by Gengoroh Tagame

Yaichi is a work-at-home suburban dad in contemporary Tokyo; formerly married to Natsuki and 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 reluctantly but dutifully takes him in. What follows is an unprecedented and heartbreaking look at the state of a largely still-closeted Japanese gay culture: how it’s been affected by the West, and how the next generation can change the preconceptions about it and prejudices against it.

#my brother's husband #otouto no otto #gengoroh tagame #lgbt manga #manga #gay #this is usually filed in graphic novels #at least at barnes and noble #no matter how much i complained #the buyer wants it where it is #boooo