MANGA REVIEW | "He’s Expecting" - Volume One
It’s a premise that would make any woman smirk: what if men could get pregnant? This sort of argument is brought up every time a law comes around to try to sheriff a woman’s right to her own body. After all, if dudes could have babies, things like abortions and maternal leave would be made legal and better in an instant, right? Well, as Eri Sakai’s He’s Expecting shows, that’s unfortunately still wishful thinking.
The story begins with Kentaro Himiya, who finds himself 12 weeks pregnant. It’s a world where one in ten pregnancies have the man carrying the baby, with the reason behind it still up for debate. Quickly, Kentaro finds out that male abortions are dangerous, and that it’s easier for men to just go through the motions and have the kid. But that’s not the reason why he decides to go through the pregnancy; it’s because of how male pregnancy is portrayed in the real world.
There’s little-to-no respect for men who get pregnant. While women are celebrated for it, men are laughed at for it. It’s this situation that inspires Kentaro to talk openly about his pregnancy, even seeking solutions to help better the world’s perspective about this scientific anomaly. But Kentaro isn’t alone, as he befriends Mizuki Kawabata, a pregnant woman who has her own fair share of problems. Then there’s Aki Seto, who may or may not be the child’s mother.
I will admit that a premise like He’s Expecting sounds wild. Then again, I did watch that Arnold Schwarzenegger film Junior when I was younger, and that was entertaining. But where that movie was played for laughs, He’s Expecting instead tries to be smart with such a silly situation. Surprisingly, most of the manga works well with showcasing the issues with how pregnant people are treated as a whole.
From finding a seat on public transportation to simply talking about pregnancy, He’s Expecting does a good job with pointing out many of the issues with today’s society. We all seem to want to bring children into the world and shower them with love, but when a pregnant person comes around and asks for a seat, many folks would like to avoid eye contact and pretend that they’re non-existent. This manga puts a light on how people behave around pregnancy, as well as how those dealing with it have to put up with a form of bigotry. And it’s not just pregnancy that’s being focused on.
One narrative follows Tsubasa Utsumi, who gets pregnant and decides to have an abortion. His pregnancy affects how his parents look at him, whereas his abortion puts a cloud on his relationship with his girlfriend. It demonstrates well what would happen if the tables were turned, and a man had to go for an abortion instead of a man. On top of that, it goes to great lengths to show how couples can overcome a situation as tough as terminating a fetus.
Although He’s Expecting can be seen as fantasy, the social issues it brings up is nowhere near fictional. Readers may raise an eyebrow or two with this story, but in the end, He’s Expecting delivers a narrative that’s both sweet and eye-opening. We may be tens of thousands of years of evolution away from men being able to become pregnant, but Eri Sakai’s story here can at least prepare the very, very far future for if and when such a situation can occur.
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Kodansha Manga.
