The 8-Year Engagement 2017

In Okayama, Hisashi attends a restaurant party where he first crosses paths with Mai. She makes her feelings clear right away, telling him she dislikes his somber attitude. He apologizes, explaining that he has been nauseous all day, and Mai, feeling a twinge of guilt, sends him off with a bright, forgiving smile. The two begin dating, and after a few months, the shy [Hisashi] gathers the courage to ask for her hand in marriage. She says yes, and they even go as far as reserving a venue for the ceremony. But soon Mai starts to experience lapses of memory, a quiet warning that something is not quite right.

One day she endures an extreme seizure accompanied by hysteria. At the hospital, she suffers a heart attack, yet the doctors manage to save her. She lingers in a coma, and the medical team diagnoses her with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, a form of brain inflammation. [Hisashi] visits the hospital every day, helping care for her alongside her parents, [Hatsumi] and [Koji]. The family grows worried about his devotion and eventually tells him to move on, suggesting he should try to live again. He refuses, clinging to the memory of the promise he made at the start of their relationship. Hatsumi, though, remains grateful for his unwavering commitment, beginning to view him as a true member of the family.

More than a year passes before Mai wakes from the coma, but the doctors warn that she must “start over” in many ways, relearning how to speak and move her body. Years of rehabilitation follow, and Mai ends up in a wheelchair, yet she returns to her usual cheerful demeanor. A painful truth becomes clear: she remembers little, if anything, about [Hisashi] from before the illness. She searches for fragments of memory by revisiting places the couple once visited, though each attempt weighs heavily on her frail body. Meanwhile, [Hisashi] makes a difficult choice: he decides it is best not to see Mai for a while and moves to Shodo Island, stepping back to give her room to heal on her own terms.

Then a turning moment arrives. One day, Mai discovers the ceremony hall where their wedding date had long been reserved. An attendant reveals that [Hisashi] has kept the same date—March 17—untouched since they first met. The password on her phone was tied to that very day, and she realizes that he has been sending her encouraging videos for years, even while she lay in a coma. Realizing the depth of his commitment, she hurries to Shodo to reunite with him. She tells him that even if she cannot remember, she still wants to marry him. The story closes with their marriage, a quiet, enduring testament to love, perseverance, and the power of a shared future beyond memory.