A beautiful autobiographical story of growth, tenacity, and hope that is also brutally honest, this is an adaptation of powerful essays ("Boku ga Otto ni Deau made,” unfortunately not yet available in English) written by Nanasaki Ryousuke and adapted as a manga by Yoshi Tsukizuki. Nanasaki and his husband are regarded as the first (or one of the first) same-sex couples to be married in Japan - albeit not officially recognized by the national state, but accomplished through a local authority.
Nanasaki (both he and his husband shared the name Ryousuke) decided to write down the story of his life and of his coming out as he neared the age of 30. Throughout his early childhood, he was singled out for what others perceived as his effeminate behavior (being taunted with catcalls of “pansy” or “tranny,” depending on how you translate it). His alienation and depression grew worse until middle school, when an open, kind fellow student befriended him, becoming the first secret love of his life. Other loves followed in high school and thereafter, but they were always secret as he prayed to god to change him.
Upon moving to Tokyo, he discovers for the first time people who are like him - people attracted to the same sex. The sexual encounters and relationships of his early 20’s were rollercoaster rides with highs of joy, validation, sexual attraction, and often enough deep affection, but also perilous lies made of jealousy, doubt, self-denial and even abuse. He pulls no punches for himself, his lovers, his friends or his family.
Throughout it all, his one inner hope, the thread keeping him moving forward, was the desire to find a man whom he loved and who would love him for the rest of their lives. Perhaps due to this hope, Nanasaki starts a company that holds LGBTQ marriage ceremonies. Remarkably, the company besides a success.
It is soon there after he meets his future husband, but I won't spoil the rest of the story.
The art is gorgeous, the visual narrative excellent, and the way that Yoshi chooses representative scenes to illustrate that are true to the essays as a whole is almost always on target. A beautifully done manga for a beautifully honest and much needed autobiography.
Given that manga nor the essays are available in English, you'll need to find a safe website that offers a translation. I purchased my copy in Japanese from the Japanese Book Store (ensuring the author and artist are just compensated); I found a decent translation on a site with no advertisements or pop ups at the following address:
https://mangadex.org/title/a35a57b1-5dba-46bb-a985-244eb266b3f5
