I’m behind on my reviews. In the works I have (finally catching up with the cool kids) Witch Hat Atelier and Kowloon Generic Romance. But, first, in honor of Pride Month, I give you Why I Adopted My Husband: The True Story of a Gay Couple Seeking Legal Recognition in Japan / Douseikon de Oyako ni Narimashita.

SPOILERS

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When I was looking for some information on this title, I stumbled across a three-star review on Goodreads that basically praised this book, but felt that it was a deeply depressing comment on the state of the world, but specifically Japan, a country that exports so much LGBTQIA+ content. 

They’re not wrong.

It’s also a somewhat difficult read because it’s incredibly basic. I suspect this manga is incredibly important when it was first released in Japan in April of 2017 (同性婚で親子になりました from Bunkasha.) In a lot of ways it reminds me of My Brother’s Husband, in that, in the midst of some of the personal stories there are long chapter inserts that are how-tos. At one point, there is even a line-by-line instruction manual as to how to fill out the adoption papers, including directions for lesbian couples doing the same.

Unlike My Brother’s Husband, the story of Why I Adopted My Husband… is 100% autobiographical and, thus, a lot lighter. There are a couple of cute stories about how the couple broke the news to their respective parents, but largely it is meant to guide couples through getting legal recognition, which gave me huge flashbacks to life in, as my friend calls it, “the late 1900s.” When my now-wife and I were first together, we had to pay a lawyer a lot of money to try to legally cover all the things that married couples are simply granted by law once they tie the knot. Things like inheritance, hospital visitation rights, financial power of attorney, etc. 

So, if you read this as an American, think of it as a kind of time capsule. In the US, adult adoption is not common, but when you hit one of those walls of texts Yagi-sensei does list out all the things you need to try to cover legally if adoption is not on the table. It is, as he notes, much more complex and messy–since much of it still depends on whether or not your family will respect your wishes (or that of your partner.) And, yeah, that? That was my wife and I in the 90s. 

Is it a fun read? I mean, the chibi art is kind of cute. Yagi-sensei does not shy away from implied sex–though, obviously, there is no real smut in this manga. It’s complete in one volume and if you are fond of these kinds of autobiographical things, it is a very quick, fun read. It’s officially licensed in English (from Tokyopop), though I got my version from ComicsPlus Library.  If you need/want a pirated/scanlated version, the link is provided in the first paragraph of this review as usual, although now that I investigate it further, it looks as though they don’t have any chapters yet. Here’s a link to a place where you can read the first chapter for free: https://comics.inkr.com/title/2262-why-i-adopted-my-husband-the-true-story-of-a-gay-couple-seeking-legal-recognition-in-japan.

It’s hard to recommend that you spend a lot of money on it since it’s not really much of a story? But, if my library had it, maybe yours will too!