Gengoroh Tagame

A visitor arrives one day at Yaichi's doorstep. Mike and Yaichi's twin brother Ryoji, were married and lived in Canada, and while Ryoji and Mike had planned to someday travel together to Japan to introduce Mike to Ryoji's family, sadly that hope was never realized before Ryoji passed away. Arriving now alone, Mike has come to get to know Yaichi and his daughter Kana.

Wow, this book is beautiful and uplifting, and it will make you feel all of the emotions. Tagame is insanely talented at rendering human thought and emotion. The detailed scenes and conversations gives it a very autobiographical feel, though that may not necessarily be the case. Mike's eventual departure was heartbreaking — I ridiculously wanted Mike to move to Japan as Kana had bonded so strongly with him and clearly wanted her uncle in her life.… (mais)

4 Stars

I’m not an expert in manga by any means, but I can see how this story has hopefully made some strides in breaking some barriers towards acceptance, not only in Japan but everywhere.

Yaichi is confronted with his dead brother Ryoji’s truth in the form of Ryoji’s big Canadian widower Mike, who shows up hoping to go down memory lane and connect with Ryoji’s family whom he’s never met. Though Yaichi never rejected his twin, he wasn’t as accepting either and his natural inclination to ignore or avoid is brought down as he learns and slowly changes his preconceived notions and bigotry through his daughter Kana’s innocence and unwavering acceptance.

The manga’s simplicity points out issues plainly, hitting the mark with precision, both painful and poignant.… (mais)