ลูกชายฉันดูเหมือนจะเป็นเกย์ เล่ม 1

うちの息子はたぶんゲイ [Uchi no Musuko wa Tabun Gay] #1

by Okura

สามีต้องไปทำงานต่างจังหวัด ปกติก็เลยอาศัยกับลูกชายสองคน อาจจะดูเหมือนแม่ที่หลงลูกไปหน่อย แต่ทั้งสองก็เป็นเด็กดี ถ้าพูดถึงเรื่องที่ติดใจก็คงเป็นเรื่องคนที่ฮิโรคิ ลูกชายคนโตชอบอาจเป็นผู้ชายก็ได้ ถึงเจ้าตัวจะพยายามปิดเอาไว้ แต่ก็มีตอนที่ความแตกเหมือนกัน ถึงจะยังไม่ได้คุยกับลูกชายเรื่องนั้น แต่ฉันคงจำกัดความสิ่งที่ตัวเองคิดได้ว่า

“ลูกชายฉันดูเหมือนจะเป็นเกย์ที่ซื่อตรงและน่ารักมาก”

เรื่องราวในครอบครัวที่เปี่ยมไปด้วยความรักของคุณแม่กับลูกชาย

Genres: Manga, LGBT, Queer, Graphic Novels, Comics, Young Adult, Contemporary

130 pages, Paperback

First published August 22, 2019

About the author

Okura (おくら) is a Japanese mangaka.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that this is an LGBTQIA+ book that isn't a tortured coming out narrative, a story about isolation or bullying, or a drama of any kind. That it just focuses on a mother who loves her son no matter who he's attracted to as she patiently lets him know through her actions that he can tell her at any time is much needed in this genre. Yes, it could have more conflict, but I think I love it because it doesn't.

After all, how can we have acceptance if we constantly make stories about dramatizing differences?

[Phu · Rating 4 out of 5]

"For our son who's likely gay and hiding it it may still be difficult to talk about "anything with his family". I just want him to know that his mom, his dad and his little brother all care him about very much."

Tại gia đình Aoyama. Hiroki - cậu học sinh trung học đang che giấu bản thân là gay với gia đình. Nhưng Hiroki không biết rằng mẹ cậu ấy, Tomoko, đã biết tẹt hết nhưng bà ấy không thúc giục và muốn con trai mình tự come out.



Ngay từ việc câu chuyện chọn góc nhìn của người mẹ là mình đã thấy thú vị, so với các cuốn khác cùng thể loại thì I Think Our Son Is Gay, Vol. 1 mang không khí nhẹ nhàng và mới mẻ về gia đình. Mình thực sự thích nhân vật người mẹ Tomoko - một người mẹ với suy nghĩ thoáng về LGBT, luôn dõi theo những cử chỉ và hành động của cậu con trai lớn Hiroki. Cậu em trai Yuri trông có vẻ lạnh lùng và có vẻ khó gần, nhưng thực chất Yuri lại quan tâm anh trai lắm íiiiiiiii. (´-ω-`)



Với sự đáng yêu của Hiroki, sự hài hước trước tình huống của người mẹ Tomoko luôn làm mình bật cười. Các nét vẽ tròn trịa cute gì đâu. Ở Vol.1 thì bối cảnh và nhân vật vẫn hạn chế và đơn giản. Nhưng mình thích nó, và nó là một cuốn manga mà mình nghĩ một vài phụ huynh có thể xem qua để hiểu một chút về con mình.

"No matter how much i wonder at the truth it doesn't really make a difference, one way or the other. Our son's right here growing up every day before my eyes. [...] I think our son is probably gay. He's also, quite simply a precious of member of our family."

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been meaning to read this for ages and I’m glad that I made the decision to finally pick it up. This was cute. Slightly over the top, but still definitely worth a read.

[Jesse (JesseTheReader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was so wholesome! I enjoyed it, but never felt super attached to any of the characters and I wish we were able to go a bit deeper with some of the conversations that were brought up.

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Should have read it a long time ago nags my old reader spirit.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is really quick and sweet. I really liked the family dynamic, but there is something just a little too perfect about it. There's nothing wrong with that, though. I think this is just meant to be a feel good manga and I liked reading it.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

The humor is very gentle and a bit repetitive but still exceedingly cute as a doting and accepting mother suspects her son may be gay due to constant slips of the tongue and lack of poker face when he talks about or sees that one certain boy. The slice of life adventures are divided up into six-page strips with an emphasis on laughs and sappiness. An often absent and oblivious father is set up to provide a potentially dramatic turn in the story in some future volume.

Definitely watching out for the next volume.

[Johnee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, I wish I read this sooner. This book is so darn endearing, sweet, and just heartwarming. It reminded me very much of how I felt when I was younger and in the closet.

Told mostly from the perspective of the mother, I thought this was perfect.

Absolutely recommend to everyone!

[Anniek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the ultimate funny, feelgood, kindhearted read

[Maia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very gentle slice of life story, told from the POV of a mother of two teen boys. She suspects her older son, in high school, is probably gay and has a crush on one of his classmates. She begins trying to support him in subtle ways and slowly educates herself more about the queer community, while wondering how to share this information with her husband (who is often away on work trips and sees their children less often than she does). The chapters are very short and often silly, giving the book overall a very light tone.

[Arsnoctis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il rischio più grande di condensare un webcomic in un albo è proprio tra queste pagine: la ripetitività. Se presi singolarmente questi episodi sono freschi e simpatici, messi gli uni accanto agli altri si appesantiscono di espressioni e situazioni che sembrano ripresentarsi di continuo, mentre in rete sono il filo conduttore che da un senso a quei frammenti estrapolati dal contesto.

Il tutto è un po'ingenuotto, ma è al tempo stesso rassicurante. Se le storie di coming out finiti male ci insegnano qualcosa, è proprio che uno che potrebbe andare bene, merita un sorriso e un sospiro di sollievo.

Il segno è quello tipico della commedia, con linee morbide e spesse. Non mancano i volti chibi e deformed ulteriomente stilizzati. Il formato più grande di questo volumetto lo rende particolarmente adatto a essere letto anche dagli occhi più affaticati.

Letto nell'edizione italiana di Star comics che ha curato questo numero in ogni dettaglio, il mio contiene anche il segnalibro abbinato. Dal punto di vista del contenitore, è tanto rifinito da essere adatto per un regalo.

[Medusa :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very interesting because it’s from the perspective of the “gay” character’s mom! We didn’t get Hiroki’s POV at all which kind of sucked, but also made the story interesting because we get to see everything from an outsiders POV.

I’m glad that the characters in this manga have some fat on their bones instead of being super thin. I think that a lot of manga with gay characters make the gay characters or guys skinny and it makes it seem like all queer guys are skinny (which isn’t true).

I will be checking out volume 2!

[Esme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a sweet manga!!!

We mostly follow a mom who suspects her son is gay and just tries so hard to support her son and get him to open up. It’s full of love and acceptance (for the most part) but it just feels like a sweet slice of life manga.

So excited to keep going with this series!

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Think Our Son Is Gay is the first volume of serialized comics from social media bound into a short little manga. The book is told from the mother’s point of view who feels her son might be gay. Her oldest son, Hiroki, is starting high school. She has a younger son also, and the father spends time way for work. In each little vignette, the mother investigates more and more to figure out if her son is gay and how to help him. We get flashbacks of scenes that hinted to the mother her son is gay.

I thought this book was really sweet. There are some funny scenes and the younger brother is really funny. I like that this is from the mom’s point of view, one we don’t get very often in this format. This is the first volume translated to English and I look forward to the next one.▪️

[Brigi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really refreshing to get the POV of a mother who suspects her teenager son is gay. She's lovely and supportive, so this was a really sweet read!

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great manga about a mum knowing her son is gay but not pressuring him it’s so heart warming and wholesome.

[Elynn]

cute

[Chi · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMFG - that was sooooo wholesome!!! 😍😍😍

A story about a a mum of two boys, Hiroki & Yuri, and her growing understanding and realisation that her eldest (Hiroki) might be gay, was so utterly wholesome and so sweet! The way she let his slip ups slide (such as the use of "boyfriend" rather than "girlfriend"), understanding that he has thought through a lot of issues (such as not potentially not being able to have children in a gay relationship), allowing him to reveal his preferences at his own pace - I could go on, but let's just say that it's utterly adorable, relatable (no matter where your preferences lie) and should to be read! ❤️

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute, simple read. Moms always know. His younger brother Yuri, by a couple years, totally gets it. Dad is not around enough to see it. And Hiroki in high school is in denial. My local library also has book 2, so I'll continue the story.

[Literary Lusts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable. There is some homophobia from the father of the family but I appreciated how the mom responded.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I think our son is probably gay. He’s also quite simply… a precious part of our family.” OK why am I crying.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a tender and funny take on both the queer experience and parenthood, really enjoying this. Onto volume 2!

3.5/5 stars

[Ash says Free Palestine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a cute, simple manga about a mom who thinks her son is gay. Yes, each chapter follows a similar formula, but not everything needs to be deep and complex. It's a bit over the top, but I quite enjoyed this book. And it was nice to read something about LGBT+ folks that doesn't really have homophobia (the dad comments that watching men kiss is gay. The context is he was talking about a TV show). :)

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hiroki’s at that age, but he’s not exactly skewing heteronormative and his mother, Tomoko, has begun to notice. Actually, given how ridiculously poor Hiroki is at hiding things, he might as well just join a pride parade and call it a day.

If nothing else, this book’s heart is in the right place. A story of a kid figuring out his sexuality (although the flashbacks imply he should have known since first grade or so) while his mom is two steps ahead and supportive as all get out is practically guaranteed to be heartwarming.

My problem is that it’s not much of anything else. It’s not terribly funny and at times the narration gets a little repetitive. It’s rough - I feel genuinely bad picking on a book that’s trying so darn hard to be a sweet story and a comedy, but it only gets half the equation correct and the rest is trying but just not there.

The heartfelt stuff is really good - Hiroki’s dad travels for work and the way he means well but completely throws off the family dynamic and can’t read the room when he is there is a nice contrast to everything Tomoko does. There’s also a satisfying ending to this volume that shows she had to learn to be the ally she’s become.

Hiroki is arguably less important to all this than Tomoko, though he gets a couple of good moments. Mostly he’s just a typical teenager, though gay, and it doesn’t translate into anything interesting in the storytelling. He plays video games and hangs with his friends like everybody else, but I can do that on my own time too so this book needs a bit more oomph.

I think my stance on this is basically that this book is very good at showing a relationship between a mother and son where the former loves the latter no matter what and you can’t really fault it there. But it’s not compelling and that’s got nothing to do with its LGBQT+ positive story - in fact, that’s the only part that makes it at all interesting. Minus one obvious joke about search histories the “gags” are all just Hiroki being flustered and that’s... not actually funny.

3 stars. I just don’t think there’s enough here to hold my interest. Keeping in mind, BL is not typically my genre and I am very tough to get a laugh out of with the written word, so this is certainly partly on me. This may work better for you, and I am rather jealous if it does.

[Frank Chillura (OhYouRead) · Rating 5 out of 5]

No matter how many times I read a book with a loving, supportive Mother, I always feel surprised… and I’m not sure why.

I Think Our Son is Gay is an incredible Manga that centers around a stay at home Mother who, while taking care of her children, starts to get clues that lead her to believe that her eldest son is Gay. She never once comes out and asks him. She doesn’t snoop through his things. She waits and hopes that he’ll tell her when he is ready. She is that person for him to turn to and the voice that helps lead him to the right choices.

She is an incredible Mother!

I loved this story and can’t wait to see what happens in Book 2.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really cute.

Sure the main kid is kind of over the top and flipping out at every little slip of the tongue. And wish we progressed a little with his mother saying she understands what her son is. But liked they're tackling the father angle of him saying things about gay lifestyle without realizing his own son is gay. Can really help make future storyline even more interesting. Overall will read more.

[Sharra · Rating 5 out of 5]

so cute how the kid is so oblivious to how obvious he is. and the mother and brother who know what he's feeling and pretending not to

[lapetitepritt · Rating 4 out of 5]

written by: langa hasegawa's mother

[Curious Madra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say, this was quite a wholesome manga with the mum knowing her son, Hiroki is in love with his best friend Daigo. It was good to see a change of direction by using a supportive mum in this situation because there’s hardly any manga out there that I’ve come across to which doesn’t talk about the parents perceptive on their kids perceptions.

Now I wouldn’t say this book is perfect because it misses the charm by trying too hard to be funny (e.g. showing Hiroki always going way over the top if his mum asks about his likes in things which relate to public figures who are men) doesn’t really show much of the dads perceptive on what he expects with his eldest son and adds in a pointless love triangle with the love crazy childhood friend next door.

Regardless this manga produces a feel good factor that everyone should check out!

[Elizabeth A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Translated from the Japanese by Leo McDonagh.

A sweet, slice of life Manga about a teen who might or might not be queer. Delighted by Mom's supportiveness, but honestly my fave character is the younger brother. Will be continuing with the series.