Journey to Tomioka by Laurent Galandon and Michaël Crouzat. Translated by Ann and Owen Smith. First Second, 2026. 9781250406712. 105pp.
After the 2011 earthquake that caused the failure of the cooling system at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, Akiko and her little brother, Osamu, have been raised by their grandmother in an area outside the contaminated zone. Akiko thinks Osamu is childish because he still believes in yokai. (In truth, he can see and talk to them.) Their grandma misses the animals at the farm she had to abandon, as well as her husband.
After their grandma passes away, a distant cousin arrives to take them to her apartment in Tokyo. Osamu insists their grandmother’s ashes need to be delivered to her farm first because their grandfather and her animals are waiting for their grandmother. The first chance he gets, Osamu flees into the forbidden zone toward the farm. Akiko soon joins him. Pursued by authorities and menaced by a pack of dogs (along with a strange, glowing yokai), they find some help in the form of a character based on Naoto Matsumura, who I believe still lives in the contaminated area to care for the animals left behind there. (He was featured in another graphic novel I reviewed: Guardian of Fukushima by Fabien Grolleau, illustrated by Ewen Blain.)
This graphic novel includes an afterword by Galandon, photos from his research trip to Fukushima (including a photo he took of Naoto Matsumura!), and character designs and sketches by Crouzat.
