The 8-Year Engagement (2017) Plot Summary Explained

Mai develops anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, a rare form of brain inflammation that causes her to have a seizure, heart attack, and fall into a deep coma. This condition is what leads to her extended hospitalization and subsequent memory loss.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the film, Mai experiences subtle memory lapses that foreshadow the serious medical crisis to come.

• anti-nmda receptor encephalitis
• mai illness
• brain inflammation
• coma

Hisashi stays because of the promise he made at the beginning of their relationship. Even when Mai's parents suggest he move on and live his own life, he clings to his commitment and the memory of their engagement, visiting her every day throughout her coma.

• hisashi commitment
• promise
• love
• devotion

Hisashi decides to step back and move to Shodo Island because he believes his presence might be an obstacle to Mai's recovery. He wants to give her space to heal on her own terms without the pressure of their shared past.

• shodo island
• hisashi moves away
• space
• healing

Mai loses her memories of Hisashi as a result of the anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis damaging parts of her brain responsible for memory formation. When she wakes from the coma, she must relearn basic functions and retains no memory of their relationship.

Foreshadowing: The film's title hints at the long duration of this memory gap.

• memory loss
• amnesia
• brain damage
• recovery

March 17 was the wedding date Hisashi and Mai had reserved when they first got engaged. Even after years of Mai being in a coma and their separation, Hisashi never cancelled or changed the reservation. When Mai discovers this, she realizes he never gave up on her.

• march 17
• wedding date
• reservation
• commitment

While Mai lay in her coma, Hisashi continuously recorded and sent her encouraging videos every day, hoping she could somehow hear them. These videos were part of his daily routine at the hospital, and they continued for years until she woke up.

• videos
• coma
• encouraging
• hospital visits

After recovering enough to move around, Mai visits the locations she and Hisashi had been to during their relationship, trying to trigger her memory. Each visit exhausts her physically because her body is still weak from years of rehabilitation.

• memory search
• places
• rehabilitation
• recovery

Mai discovers the truth when she returns to the ceremony hall and learns that the March 17 wedding date is still reserved. She also realizes her phone password was that same date, and an attendant tells her about the encouraging videos Hisashi had been sending throughout her coma.

• revelation
• ceremony hall
• discovery
• truth

Even though Mai cannot remember her relationship with Hisashi, the discovery of his unwavering commitment over the years moves her deeply. She realizes his love was real and enduring, so she travels to Shodo Island to tell him she wants to marry him anyway.

• marriage
• love
• memory
• acceptance

Mai is in a coma for more than a year. After waking up, she faces years of rehabilitation to relearn basic skills like speaking and walking before she can begin to rebuild her life.

• coma duration
• recovery
• rehabilitation
• years

Mai's parents, Hatsumi and Koji, become concerned about Hisashi's future. They worry he is wasting his youth waiting for someone who may never wake up, so they suggest he should try to live his own life and move on from their daughter.

• parents
• concern
• future
• sacrifice