Nami Sano, the manga creator of Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto died. She was 36 years old at the time of her death, and she passed away as a result of cancer. Her funeral was on August 7-8, 2023. [Thanks, Comic Natalie!]
Sano’s family did not specify what kind of cancer she had. However, it was a very fast-acting one, as she passed away a month after her diagnosis. Her family also uploaded parts of Sano’s will online. In it, she stated, “This life was a fun one. I’m going to go to a freer world… Goodbye.”
According to Harta magazine’s editorial team, Sano was in the middle of planning out a new manga series at the time of her passing. It noted that Sano was a unique manga artist and her editor was honored to have worked with her. Nami Sano was also a great influence on both other manga artists she worked with, as well as on her editors.
Aside from Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto, Sano worked on Migi to Dali. Haven’ t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto is a comedic series about a high school student, Sakamoto, who is effortlessly cool and the students at his school love him for it. Migi to Dali follows the story of twins who pretend to be a single person after a couple adopts them. Their goal is to find their mother’s murderer, who lives in their adopted family’s village.
An anime adaptation of Migi to Dali will start from October 2023. Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto is available on streaming services like Crunchyroll.