Natsumi Hirota Launches New Series: A Deep Dive into Life's Unexpected Turns
There is some really interesting news for manga fans today. The famous creator Natsumi Hirota, who is very well known for her previous hits like the Power of a Nurse series and Together with Mother! ~40-Year-Old Nursing Care and Love~, has just started a brand-new series. This new story has officially kicked off in the May issue of Four Mrs. (published by Akita Shoten), which was released just today, April 3rd. It is always exciting to see a veteran mangaka return with fresh ideas that touch on real-life emotions.
The Story of Erina: Love, Work, and Heavy News
The plot of this new manga sounds quite heavy but very relatable for many people. The main character is Erina, a 40-year-old single woman. She is someone who has really put in a lot of hard work into both her career and her love life over the years. However, her life takes a very sudden and sharp turn. One day, she gets a phone call from her mother, who sounds quite different and unusual. During this call, Erina is hit with the devastating news that her mother has been diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. It is the kind of news that just stops your world in its tracks.
As if dealing with her mother’s health was not enough, Erina receives another shock. She hears from Tani, who is a single friend from her university days, that he is actually getting married. For someone in Erina's position, balancing the struggles of being a surviving single woman while facing family tragedy, these updates can feel quite overwhelming. The manga seems to be exploring these complex feelings of loneliness and responsibility in a very grounded way.
- Protagonist: Erina, a 40-year-old career woman.
- Conflict: Her mother’s stage 4 cancer diagnosis.
- Social Pressure: A long-time single friend announcing his marriage.
- Themes: Caregiving, aging, and the realities of being single in your 40s.
Special Features and Tributes in Four Mrs.
Apart from the new series launch, this issue of Four Mrs. is also very special for another reason. Right at the beginning of the book, there is a special feature that commemorates a huge milestone in the manga world. It celebrates the completion and the 100th volume of Kimiko Uehara’s legendary work, Vessel of Life. Reaching 100 volumes is no small feat, and the magazine has included some great content for the fans.
They have included feedback from many readers that was collected back in the February issue, along with a detailed interview with Uehara herself. If you want to read the full, uncut version of this interview, it will be made available on Akita Shoten’s web manga site, Souffle, starting from April 16th. They have even gone the extra mile by providing a "replica comic" of the very first volume of Vessel of Life as a separate supplement in this issue. It is a great time to be reading this surviving single manga and keeping up with these iconic industry updates.
