An Japanese graphic novel about a single father meeting his late brother's husband is being turned into a TV show.

Created by Gengoroh Tagame My Brother’s Husband tells the story of Yaichi, a single father raising his daughter, and Mike Flanagan, a Canadian man married to Yaichi’s twin, Ryoji. Mike shows up After Ryoki's death, Mike makes an unexpected trip to Japan to learn about his husband's background. As he welcomes this stranger into his life, Yaichi must confront his feelings about his brother's sexuality, as well as his own homophobia and xenophobia.

Ryuta Sato will play Yaichi and ex-sumo wrestler Baruto Kaito has been cast as Mike.

Gay characters in Japanese manga are usually relegated to yaoi, a genre featuring romantic pairings of somewhat feminine men that's aimed predominantly at a young female audience.

Tagame, best known for his erotic bara manga, took a more mature route in a story with both subtlety and gravity. He also drew Yaichi and Mike as hypermasculine, a far cry from the more fey characters of yaoi.

"It's my first experience with my manga being brought to life, Tagame told Natalie. "I'm excited—like a fan rather than the original writer."

My Brother's Husband is slated to air as a three-episode series on NHK’s BS Premium starting in March 2018