"I didn't expect to connect with this material the way I did. I very rarely read non fiction and I knew nothing of Minamata disease before picking this up. Being presented as manga was a smart choice; it's the reason I decided to read The Minamata Story and it's a very Japanese way to present important history.
Tomi, a British Japanese student misses out on his chance to present an assignment on the Fukushima Disaster and is instead assigned Minamata Disease, to his disappointment. Once Tomi learns that his family is much closer to the disease than he knew he becomes heavily invested in researching and producing the best paper he can.
The experience leads Tomi to connect with his family in new ways and to question the passive nature of the Japanese culture. Countries around the world are protesting the harm being done to the people and the environment eg. The Flint Water Crisis and Dakota Access Pipeline protests. The Japanese don't and Tomi begins to question his responsibility as a young man living in Japan. I didn't know that Japan is planning to release Fukushima waste into the ocean and I wonder how the horrors of Minamata have been so easily forgotten or ignored.
Thank you to the authors for a history lesson I needed and thank you for presenting it in such an engaging and memorable way."
- Leesa Burns, Netgalley Rating: 4 out of 5 stars