Guardian of Fukushima
By: Fabien Grolleau, Ewen Blain (Illustrator)
Genre: Graphic Novel, Nonfiction
Number of Pages: 144
Published: February 23, 2023
Publisher: TOKYOPOP
Dates Read: October 28, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

On March 11, 2011 a massive earthquake triggered a devastating tsunami, which in turn, destroyed the core three reactors of the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. Farmer Naoto Matsumura is unwilling to abandon his beloved animals and the animals left behind by those who evacuated. 

I love the weaving of Japanese folklore into this story to not only give you a history of the very tragic event of the 2011 tsunami, but to also give you the history of Japanese culture as well.

I was aware of a farmer staying behind in a village after a nuclear issue, but I wasn’t aware of Naoto Matsumura’s full story and I’m so glad I picked this novel up to read it. 

Stunning and amazing artwork from Ewen Blain. So colorful and captivating, even the not-so-great- photos of the aftermath, it never looked muddy or overloaded.