Danica Davidson
November 27, 2023 
Manga can cover a lot of topics, and Kyodo News, a Japanese news outlet, recently brought attention to My Wife is Developmentally Disabled, a series created by husband and wife mangaka Satoshi Kameyama and Eri Nanato. While it is fiction, it is partly based on their real experiences, as Nanato was diagnosed with a developmental disorder after they married.
She went to see a doctor after having difficulties with Kameyama. He thought she got easily distracted and did odd things, and they would fight. While the diagnosis helped in some ways, it also brought its own share of problems as they grappled with how to handle the news and the situation.
Her diagnosis caused both of them anxiety. Nanato even felt a need to apologize to Kameyama about how her brain works. A “developmental disorder” can include diagnoses like autism and ADHD. The article did not specify if Nanato were diagnosed with something more detailed than a “developmental disorder.”
Eventually, after some reflection and seeing a psychiatrist, they turned to making a manga about it. My Wife is Developmentally Disabled, which debuted in Monthly Comic Bunch in 2020 from Shinchosha Publishing Co., stars Chika, who has a developmental disorder, and her husband Satoru. Can you guess who’s based on whom? Satoru is sometimes confused by how Chika acts, but the couple will figure out ways they can get the better of their challenges.
Occasionally the characters will have disagreements or not communicate well, but at the end they find “mutual respect.”
“Each person with a developmental disorder is unique…Some find life easier, given the right environment and people,” Kameyama remarked. He points to a line his fictional counterpart Satoshi says, “Chika is indeed odd but I think odd is alright. I’m not perfect in any way, either. It’s mutual.”
While the manga has gotten a readership in Japan, it has not yet been licensed in the United States.
Source: Kyodo News
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
