My Brother's Husband, Vol. 1

 My Brother's Husband Vol. 1 by Gengoroh Tagame, 352 pages.

Yaichi is a stay-at-home single dad in Tokyo, raising his daughter Kana. The action of this book starts when Mike Flanagan, his estranged brother's Canadian husband, comes to stay with them after his husband Ryoji's death, hoping to see all of the places his late husband told him about. Yaichi isn't sure what to make of Mike, and had never met him before he showed up on their doorstep, but Kana instantly falls in love with her cool foreign uncle.

I was expecting a really cute little manga (just look at that cover), but this book was heavier than I expected. Which isn't to say that it's not also very cute at times (Kana is a treat), but a lot of the manga also focuses on Yaichi unpacking both hos own personal prejudices and the prejudices of modern Japanese society. Beyond that, the story is very interested in looking at what is passed on to future generations, and all of the many ways that process can go. It's a book with a lot of heart, even if it's not always fluffy, and I am definitely planning on reading the next volume.