Reviewing an Mpreg Show

Sounds | Nicole Bielicka

Mpreg is defined as male pregnancy. Mpreg is a common fan fiction trope, typically centered around a man impregnating another man. Stories using mpreg tend to focus on the pornographic elements of “getting bred,” the domestic interactions of taking care of a pregnant person, and the physical changes that occur during pregnancy. As a bitch with a uterus, the idea of cis-men being forced directly into the shoes of being pregnant feels like an opportunity for them to more deeply relate to the experiences of pregnancy.

These transgressive ideas are explored in a TV show named He’s Expecting. It deviates from usual fanfiction mpreg tropes by following the life of a heterosexual couple, Takumi and Juri. In the show, Takumi and his love, Juri, are in a situationship and get very freaky. Following the freakiness, Takumi starts experiencing pain and consults a doctor, where he discovers the fact that he is, in fact, pregnant. At the start of his pregnancy, Takumi wanted to get an abortion since the baby would impact his career and cause him a lot of pain. His baby-mama also agrees, but this soon changes. The show dissects how difficult deciding to get an abortion is, with the protagonist having moments of wanting and not wanting to get one, a dilemma faced everyday by many women. As the pregnancy progresses, so does Takumi’s notoriety, and he becomes an mpreg influencer. He even starts meeting up with other pregnant men and finds out his own dad gave birth to him before becoming a deadbeat. In the end, the baby is kept for Takumi to use to regain his position in his marketing job, and for Juri to be able to have a child without dealing with pregnancy herself. The show finishes with Takumi giving birth to a baby boy and the couple raising the baby together. I wonder if they would become a family channel, considering how Takumi was making money off his pregnancy; let's hope not.

I give it a 7/10. It’s an enjoyable watch, but some problematic gender stereotypes were still present, such as when Takumi was interested in selling male pads and wanted to advertise them in a masculine way. Fanfiction tropes are a great way to entice viewers with unique and funny scenarios that can still be profound. Let’s show some love to mpreg so a remake of Junior (1994) with Patrick Schwarzenegger playing his dad's role gets greenlit.