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70-Year-Old Mother Gives Birth in Newly Published Manga
posted on by Eric Stimson
One of manga's favorite themes is fulfilling your dreams and being the best you can be, no matter what hardships and obstacles you face. It's mostly associated with shōnen or sports manga, but a new comic by Ryōsuke Time (pronounced as in English) puts a unique spin on it: it's about a 70-year-old giving birth.
Seventy Uizan ("First Child at Seventy") has a fairly self-explanatory premise. Asakazu, a 65-year-old, finally qualifies for retirement, but comes home to an unexpected announcement: his wife, Yūko, is three months pregnant. The couple had long been trying to have children, but Asakazu gave up long ago; Yūko tells him, "Now and up till now, I've never given up on anything!"
Asakazu and Yūko admire their baby, speculate on its gender, and joke about making it an actor.
The manga garnered a fan following on Kurage Bunch, a webcomic site, and is now available in book form. Customers who buy it at Miraiya Shoten will receive a complimentary postcard; Animate gives out bookmarks that double as safe-childbirth charms; and Sanseido Bookstores, Kikuya Tosho and bookstores affiliated with Bunch Comics each give out different black-and-white illustrations.
The bookmark/charm
The illustrations; their texts all thank customers.
Although very rare, giving birth at such an advanced age is not unheard of. According to the Guinness World Records, the oldest woman to conceive naturally was Dawn Brookes in 1997; she was 59.
Sources: Comic Natalie and Twitter
