Guardian of Fukushima is printed simply in time for the twelfth anniversary of the nuclear catastrophe on the Fukushima energy plant as a consequence of an earthquake and a tsunami that precipitated a meltdown and mass evacuation of the cities within the area. The guardian of the title is Naoto Matsumura, an area farmer who decides to remain behind to look after all of the deserted pets and livestock within the city out of a way of obligation.

For Tokyopop writer Stuart Levy and creators Ewen Blain and Fabian Grolleau, Guardian of Fukushima is a deeply private undertaking. It is a tribute to Matsumura, an ode to his compassion and sacrifice, and a chronicle of the lack of animal life and devastation. Blain and Grolleau chart Matsamura telling his younger nephew about how the land works, tying folklore to the earthquake and tsunami to calm him down earlier than they realise this catastrophe is greater than anybody might have realized. Blain and Grolleau’s literary conceit is to put the tragedy of Fukushima as a part of the continuity of Japanese fantasy as a strategy to make sense of the catastrophe however would not reduce its influence. Matsumura’s compassion for animals comes from a Shinto Buddhist perspective, one he practices greater than lots of his fellow Japanese do. In contrast to them, he commits risking his life and well being to look after the animals deserted within the city, all of the animals.

Contemplative and heartbreaking, Guardian of Fukushima is a portrait of European and Japanese humanism. Matsumura joins the protest in opposition to nuclear energy, seeing firsthand the environmental catastrophe a nuclear meltdown would carry to land. His response is that of a civilian who was lied to by his authorities. His information of the failure of the facility plant is that of a civilian sufferer, barely hinting on the corruption, reduce corners, and lax security measures that precipitated the meltdown. The catastrophe is not over, because the Fukushima plant remains to be dumping radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean, which suggests irradiating the fish within the area that individuals throughout Asia and Southeast Asia may eat. The story’s climax is its antinuclear message, which it earns with Matsumura’s story.

Guardian of Fukushima

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Overview by Adi Tantimedh

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9/10

This graphic novel is a labour of affection, a tribute to Naoto Matsamura’s sacrifice to guard the deserted animals of Fukushima, and a warning concerning the risks of nuclear energy, combining each European and manga storytelling dynamics to create a melancholy and contemplative masterwork.