8-nengoshi no Hanayome: Kiseki no Jitsuwa

A non-fiction manga about a man who cared for his comatose fiance and finally married her 8 years after their original wedding date.

The first thing I did after reading this was check the internet to see if it was true and indeed, it is. The couple got engaged 1 year after first meeting and set their wedding date for March 11, 2007. 2 months before the date the bride-to-be Mai became ill and suffered from hallucinations brought on from Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. She was hospitalized where her heart stopped beating and she was put on an artificial respirator. From there she remained unconscious for over a year. During that time the fiance Hisashi visited her everyday for her recovery. When she finally regained consciousness she underwent years of rehabilitation to recover basic functions and had no memories of her fiance. Despite this Hisashi continued to help her with rehabilitation and in 2014 they finally got married, 8 years after their engagement.

The story is incredibly touching and moving. This manga adaptation by Junko Tamura is decent but I could tell they dramatized somethings because Mai standing up from her wheelchair to tell Hisashi she loves him doesn’t come off as actual fact. Didn’t keep me from crying while I read it though.

~dakazu