"What's their deal?! When a woman gets pregnant, it's practically law that you start celebrating! But a man? No, he's a laughingstock! I'm having the baby. "

This was surprisingly a fun read!

I say surprisingly because I really didn't know what to expect when starting. Most of the reviews I had seen said "Turn off your brain" when it came to him physically having a child, but I found I didn't have an issue.

Kentaro makes an interesting protagonist because he is full out there telling people he's pregnant. I can't say that I ever hid any of my pregnancies, but it seems that there is more pressure? Or hardship? when it comes to those who are pregnant in Japan?

While I know he opens up a cafe for pregnant men or those who have been pregnant, it made me wonder if there is a need for that kind of place for pregnant women in reality? It was a very brief moment, but the scene about the strollers because it's not easy to have or bring them on the train, so therefore someone opened a rental stroller company made me sad a little bit. I think it's normalized in the States that it's expected every new parent gets a stroller, but it doesn't sound the same in Japan?

And it wasn't just moments like this, I think that for a male pregnancy, it really captured the fears, the worries, and the joys of being pregnant. I thought we would be following one protagonist, but each chapter focused on someone new and their struggle of being pregnant or feeling the effects of someone being pregnant. Each person's struggle was very compelling and loved how the story did have a happy ending because we saw how Kentaro really DID make a difference with him proudly telling people he was pregnant.

Overall, I found this to be an insightful and fun read that I enjoyed reading! I would definitely be interested in reading volume two and seeing where the story goes!

So, this story could go a lot of different ways with this title. Having it be a story about men advocating for pregnancy rights was not what I was expecting. This one is a very interesting story. I will read the next volume to see how it finishes out. But I can see not everyone appreciating this one. Some people will be very uncomfortable with this, and I get it. If you are interested, I would recommend picking it up.

I found this to be interesting and different.
I like the message it sends also.
The artwork is great, and there’s some funny moments.

Thank you to Kodansha Comics and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this manga. I don’t know what I was expecting when it comes to this manga, but I most definitely didn’t think it would be a series. I appreciated the different perspectives; however, I will warn that there is off page cutting, teen pregnancy and on page bullying and abortion discussion. I also think it’s interesting but uncomfortable at times when it comes to the different people involved. Overall, I am intrigued but not enough to continue on. Because of these points, I have to give this a 3 out of 5 stars

A big thanks to Kodansha and NetGalley for the opportunity to read He's Expecting.

If I could summarize my thoughts with one phrase, it would be "well-intended." It's clear what Eri Sakai wants to problematize and bring to light. It's not a complete 180; men are pregnant in a world where women can still get pregnant, are taken for granted, and still have to carry the burdens they did in the past. It leads to a lot of moments that shine: Kentaro realizing how pregnant women are treated, and actually, he was the same until recently. How he was able to turn his pregnancy into an opportunity and was able to soar in his career, opening a cafe for solidarity between pregnant dads, and in contrast, there's no such opportunity or place for women. There are a lot of interesting touches. However, they are only surface-level.

I don't expect the artist to go into 'full realism turbo mode' but if your pregnant character can plop onto a bed face down with a protruding belly, or the only complication to pregnancy is 'morning sickness' and you never see fatigue, pain, or concern, it becomes apparent that this work still needs thinking through. There's only a single part where he admits that he's stretching himself thin, but pregnancy itself is a tough ordeal. In the end, I feel like Kentaro turns into a 'superwoman'; all-capable, never gets tired, is on top of everything, never needs help, he can raise a kid AND advance in his career AND open up a cafe.

To conclude, while I might seem harsh on the work, this is not a bad volume at all. I felt like it needed either more work or the content could have been expanded into more than one volume. Still, there's a lot of food for thought, and is worth giving a chance!

In He's Expecting, Japanese men suddenly gain the ability to get pregnant. At first, I was skeptical about the premise. I've read numerous (and, dare I say, well-intentioned) stories that have come across as transphobic when a cisgender creator plays with sex-based biological processes and fails to think it through. That wasn't the case here.

Looking forward to reading the next book!

This wasn't what I was expecting but it was still a delight. The characters were likeable and well fleshed out. At the end I was wondering what the future held for all of them. I also found the complex feelings women had were interesting. There was a wide range from excitement, gratefulness, and resentment and I think it shows the author really spent along time exploring this change. I also like the depiction of men being cruel to other men who got pregnant, expressing disgust, and judgment were well done and believable. The world building was also well done showing how pregnant people and children need more support and appreciation in general.

This manga is an interesting science fiction commentary on what life in Japan would be like if biological males could get pregnant. The chapters focus on different characters and their experiences with this new "genetic mutation." One man becomes pregnant and decides to try and turn into a marketable social movement, one husband gets pregnant and his wife is jealous, one woman struggles with becoming a mother without giving birth herself. The story is engaging overall, however I wish it focused on one character instead of jumping around a lot. It read more like an anthology with some consistent underlying plot. Since it is labeled as volume 1, I am interested what volume 2 entails. I work in a high school so I will not be getting this book, but that does not mean I do not recommend it or find it interesting.

I like taking chances on manga sometimes by *gasp* judging a book by its cover. It's led me to some great reads. Anyway, I thought this was going to be about a trans man getting pregnant, which is a rep I don't see often but greatly appreciate. But it's actually about a world where cis men have recently (10 years ago) developed the ability to give birth. As a concept, I thought it was iffy. Maybe even dismissive of trans men who have been pregnant? Because like... this could be bad pretty quickly, you know? But it's actually pretty good! I enjoyed it quite a lot and think it has a lot of nuance about gender, sex, and pregnancy discrimination.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for the opportunity to read and review! This was quite an interesting read with various topics covered such as abortion, pregnancy stigma, and the concept of how society would treat men who get pregnant. It does delve in through a realistic lens, but there were aspects of the book where I felt as though it was rushed and fell short for me. Such as when there was a couple in whom the wife was previously pregnant and then the husband had become pregnant, there was so much potential for discussion here but it all fell short for me when ultimately the wife somehow convinced herself that the sole focus should be on her husband when there was so much internal monologue that showed otherwise. At the same time, it was interesting to see from a western perspective how Japan had women-only- or pregnant women safe parts of the train available but if this were the case was it the same for the cafe, and thus why does the protagonist open one for pregnant men or was there some irony in it that I unfortunately missed? Overall an intriguing read.

A hilarious manga on what could happen were a man to...... Give birth!

This was so and I mean so ridiculously funny, I had to take multiple breaks to laugh out loud at the silliness of it. I had so much fun reading it, I literally finished this in one hour and needed more. An absolute rec if you're in the mood for some giggles on an easy and quick to read manga

I was curious about this one from the start! I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it and how it tackled a world in which men could get pregnant! I do wish that we got to spend more time with these characters because it felt a bit rushed!


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for a honest review.

Not going to lie, this one was weird. I liked it but I wish it was more on his journey throughout the pregnancy instead of yes I am with child and I'm doing fine and lets do all this stuff that I want to do for pregnant dads. It's ok and I want to read the next one just to see what happens, but it did fall short on the nine months part.

I went into this story with no idea what kind of tone it would have, but it was actually such a fascinating social commentary that was treated seriously - with plenty of relevant humor added in! Each story addressed societal expectations, gender roles, and other related issues that had the soc/anthro major in me absolute loving it!

Thank you Kodansha Comics for a copy of He's Expecting!

He's Expecting is for anyone looking for...
- speculative fiction
- reverse gender roles and social expectations
- cis-men getting pregnant

REVIEW:
Well, this manga is certainly something. To really enjoy this, I think readers need to forget basic biology and just ignore your brain when it goes "huh... but how will it... how can you...?" lol.

He's Expecting was fun and certainly unique! It hits deep and gets you thinking on how fast our society will change when men start to get pregnant by women (#ReverseUno). I love the play on gender roles here -- some reversed, some not!

I really enjoyed this! It's an interesting take on pregnancy with some males getting pregnant. Kentaro is a hardworking single man who suddenly finds himself pregnant. This goes through his progress with his pregnancy and his daily experiences. It also had stories about other people's experiences with being pregnant. I definitely want to read more.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for this advanced copy

First thing first, you need to forget about basic biology to enjoy this story. The manga itself exploring how society deal with pregnant people. This was good and unique.

This is a different take to the question "What if men could get pregnant?" and I think it's an interesting take. It shows the impact of pregnancy on a person and considers a lot of different angles. It's enjoyable and covers a lot of pregnancy issues. I'm not really sure how they'll continue with the series though.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

First, I would like to thank Netgally for giving me the opportunity to read this early.
The concept of this Manga is so campy. The main character, a male, is able to get pregnant. Then, it follows his life after getting pregnant. Don't get me wrong, it's a fun manga. The art style is lovely. However, the concept was hard to wrap my head around. There were a few plot holes as well. If you want something kind of silly, it's a fine read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. I thought the premise for this book sounded really cute and interesting, I was pleasantly surprised to find how much I enjoyed the story. The characters were all really fun, I found that reading dual POV's for the situation (men being able to get pregnant) was really eye-opening. I think a lot of things were surprisingly realistic, including the stigma surrounding male pregnancy and a lack of education regarding safe sex practices. The idea was really well executed, I think this being a manga was the best medium to tell the story as well.