The Minamata story as a well written and draw book about a sad part of the history of Japan, it can teach new generations about the problems caused by the economic power that cares only for their profit.
Is a book that a everyone should read and learn from it.

I also made a spanish review here:

https://www.pananime.com/LeAn/Entries/2021/5/the-minamata-story-an-ecotragedy.html

An emotional read about how environmental disasters have lasting consequences on those that it affects. The Minamata Story: An EcoTragedy provides an insightful look at the devastating effect of mercury poisoning and Minamata disease in coastal communities of Japan in the 1950s. The illustrations are easy to read and add a lot of depth.

A heartbreaking true story made even more heartbreaking by the stirring illustrations that will hopefully awaken ecological activism in its readers.

This was an interesting read, heartbreaking and horrifying. Not a fun read, but necessary. The main story is about Minamata disease, named after Minamata, Japan, where it was first discovered. It was caused by the Chisso Corporation releasing methylmercury in industrial wastewater for 34 years, poisoning the sea and all living things within it during that time, causing countless deaths and illnesses in the citizens and animals that ate the fish and shellfish from the sea there. The disease can kill within weeks, or leave its victims with lifelong neurological disorders, including poor muscle control, inability to speak, convulsions, etc. Even though the cause of the illness was discovered within a few years of appearing, neither Chisso or the prefectural government did much to prevent or deal with the contamination. The sick were treated as scapegoats, blamed for getting sick instead of blaming those who caused the problem. It was an ugly situation, and exactly the sort of thing people should know about, as we are repeating this sort of problem in places like Flint, Michigan now.
The story is told from a modern point of view, as a university student writing a report on the Minamata story finds that his mother was born in Minamata and his grandparents had lived there during the events, which began in 1956. Tomi and his granny go to visit the area, talking to survivors, visiting the memorial, and seeing how the area is getting along now. This approach toward telling the story gives it a more personal feel, and several people featured in the book are real people, who are introduced in the afterword. A compelling read.

#TheMinamataStory #NetGalley

Sad topic.
Wonderful graphic novel.

‘The Minamata Story, an eco tragedy’ - Amazing Stone Bridge Press release from June of this year. Author Sean Michael Wilson and artist
Akiko Shimojima put together an insightful and informative Graphic Novel telling the story of Minamata Japan. Minamata unfortunately is known for the ecological disaster caused by the Chisso Corporation dumping Methyl-mercury into river and bay water, giving the entire coastal community(s) mercury poisoning and creating multi generational congenital illness. It’s fucking horrible.

The comic takes a unique approach of having college student Tomi researching the region for a school project. Tomi learns that his grandmother lived in Minamata, mother was born there, and they abandoned it when social stigma for the region started creating complications. Tomi visits, learns about the neurological disease, and learns about himself in the process.

The story focuses directly on the coastal town of Minamata and its people, but doesn’t talk much about the surrounding prefectures which were equally destroyed.

Good timing for a graphic novel release considering the 2020 movie release on the topic, told through the lens of W. Eugene Smith who was a longtime advocate for bringing info to light.

Note: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.com.

"Enjoy" is not the right word, but I am glad that I read this. I had no idea about the Minamata disaster, and this briskly tells the tale, provides context of the time, and shows the personal long-term effects of those caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time. I wish that I got to know the main character a little better, because I do think this could have been expanded out into a more fleshed out A and B plot, whereas the way it is set up, the protagonist doesn't have much of an arc or that extensive of a life going on around him. He is essentially a framing device with the research about Minamata being the main plot. Despite this, I still love what I read.

The Minamata Story by Sean Michael Wilson is a short but very emotional and powerful book that brings back to public light the events that occurred after the irresponsible actions of the Chisso factory by dumping its toxic waste directly into the sea and the direct consequences: the Minamata disease, ocean pollution and death of the fauna of the region, the loss of employment of the fishermen of Minamata and its surroundings, the ostracism to which the inhabitants of Minamata were subjected, are some of the consequences of the irresponsibility and greed.
This book should be a mandatory text in schools around the world, and should be read over and over again to create social awareness in the new generations.

This is a black and white graphic novel of the Minamata disease. It gives us a reader a brief glimpse and emotions of what it is to have someone close to you have it. Very well written story with a beautiful and bittersweet graphics about it. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read it NetGalley

**Disclaimer: I received a free early access copy of The Minamata Story: An Ecotragedy by Sean Michael Wilson through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for this opportunity.

The Minamata Story: An Ecotragedy by Sean Michael Wilson and Akiko Shimojima is a graphic novel that helps to bring light to real events.  It switches back and forth between the modern timeline and looking back on events that happened in the past.  It was published on June 15th, 2021.  I rated it three stars on Goodreads.


Here's the summary from Goodreads:

A powerful graphic novel/manga that tells the story of Minamata disease, a debilitating and sometimes fatal condition caused by the Chisso chemical factory's careless release of methylmercury into the waters of the coastal community of Minamata in southern Japan. First identified in 1956, it became a hot topic in Japan in the 1970s and 80s, growing into an iconic struggle between people versus corporations and government agencies.
The event is also the subject of the 2020 Andrew Levitas directed Johnny Depp film, Minamata.
This struggle is relevant today, not simply because many people are still living with the disease but also because, in this time of growing concern over the safety of our environment--viz. Flint, Michigan--Minamata gives us as a very moving example of such human-caused environmental disasters and what we can do about them.

The Minamata Story: An Ecotragedy was a short but very moving graphic novel. I hadn’t really heard about what happened in Minamata so it was an educational story.
The art was well done, but it easily represented what the story was trying to get across. The fact that it was in black and white emphasized certain details.  The characters were expressive, and felt unique.
I liked that they used Tomi’s university assignment as a vessel to help us learn about what happened. Tomi didn’t know enough and so as he learned, we learned.  I also really enjoyed how he went to visit real people who were living with the disease.
I also really liked how at the end it detailed about the real people who inspired the characters in the story.  It's good to pay tribute to the people you drew inspiration from.
However, I will admit that it did feel a little rushed and I would have liked to see more development and expansion on the story to learn even more about it.
It was well done and was really interesting. I highly recommend that you check out the story!

Gracias NetGalley y Stone Bridge Press por enviarme una copia de esta novela gráfica a cambio de una reseña honesta.

Los desastres naturales siempre han sido algo que temo desde niña, porque son impredecibles, al igual que la incompetencia y ambición humana.

The Minamata Story relata la tragedia ecológica sucedida en Minamata, con un estudiante investigando desde los primeros signos hasta su actualidad. Hay demasiadas cosas que podría comentar pero con la situación actual sólo podría decir que cuidemos lo que tenemos, es algo educativo pero más que nada me deja pensando¿qué estamos haciendo por el mundo?

A black and white graphic novel about crony capitalism and reckless use of chemicals in the environment. It tells story of methylmercury which was released by a Japanese factory into the water. It created health endemic of minimata disease in locals and started a long debate about handling of chemicals by industry. A wonderful graphic novel. Full of smiling faces who wilt away at last. A touching story of a grandmother and a boy.

The Minamata Story is about the disastrous effects of waste water pollution from a local manufacturing company in Minamata Japan in the 1950s. Chisso dumped its chemical by products into Minamata's main source of water that in turn poisoned the fish that the people in town ate. Many developed a type of disorder that mainly affects the nervous system. It impaired and disabled many people in the town. It is a lesson on how important it is to protect our environment and speak out when companies are careless and inadvertently pollute.

I was really impressed with how much this book was able to do in such a few pages. It took a disease and looked at it from a variety of perspectives: from the company that caused the disease bringing pollution, to the fisherman who were persecuted for catching the tainted fish to the doctors who treated patients and the people who moved away to escape the stigma. A major theme of this book was how there are always different perspectives to every story and I think the book really delivered on that idea. I especially appreciated how the people with the disease were able to share a bit of their own experiences. I love how the book ended with a call to action. Despite the sad subject, the story is hopeful and encouraging. Very nice.

The Minamata Story is a beautifully-drawn, thoughtfully-written graphic novel which highlights the horrible results of dumping industrial sludge into the water. I’d never heard of Minamata disease before, likely because the families of the victims felt ashamed and maintained secrecy, as explained in the book. My heart went out to the members of Hotto Hausu, who suffered in various ways due to the ecological disaster. I also enjoyed the biographies of the real life characters at the end. This is a five-star read!

I had no idea that this disaster ever occurred until I read this book. I was getting really upset, but this is a book made to make you upset because it reports on a massive injustice.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Minamata Story by Sean Michael Wilson is a manga/graphic novel about a horrible ecological event that impacted many Japanese citizens. Since the description of the book can say it in a much more concise way than I can, here is a quote from the description of the book: The book is about "Minamata disease," a debilitating and sometimes fatal condition caused by the Chisso chemical factory's careless release of methylmercury into the waters of the coastal community of Minamata in southern Japan." The plot of the story revolves around a high-school student who does a research project on the Minamata disease. During his research, he learns that his mother was actually from Minamata, and he learned about the dangerous and devastating effects of methylmercury on people from the area.

Overall, The Minamata Story is an excellent non-fiction manga/graphic novel. As a teacher, I've been looking for manga that portrays historical events and that have educational value. I can honestly say that I have never read a manga that connects so well with real-life events. The themes of this book tie in with global history, government, and activism. I can imagine using his book in my own curriculum and using it to teach students about the Minamata tragedy, which is basically never taught in schools. It's so important to teach students about this ecological disaster so that we can ensure that it is never repeated - both in and outside of Japan. If you're intrigued by the description above or if you're looking for a graphic novel about real, historical events, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in June!

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 author for a history lesson I needed and thank you for presenting it in such an engaging and memorable way.

I received a free e-ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Content warnings: environmental disaster, depictions of disease, depictions of cat and human deaths, prejudice, ableism.

The premise of The Minamata Story is that in 2o2o a college student, Tomi, has to do a presentation on an environmental issue, and he is assigned Minamata disease, which was mercury poisoning caused by eating contaminated seafood. At first he's kind of annoyed and ambivalent about the topic, but then he discovers that he is actually more connected than he thought. His maternal family were actually from the region, before moving away in the 1970s.

The manga essentially follows Tomi's research into the disease, what caused it, and what the lasting impacts have been. He talks about what it was like at the time with his grandmother, Sato Kimura. She talks about how people with the disease were shunned and blamed for the affect on the local economy - most people's livelihoods were connected to fishing in the waters up and down the coast around Minamata. He goes to visit Minamata with his grandmother to meet people who have been affected by the disease, whether directly or indirectly. He also eventually speaks to a doctor to supplement what he learned online.

I thought this was a powerful, emotionally charged book. I liked how we learned about the environmental disaster and disease alongside the main character, which I thought was very organic. I think it would have been better had we learned the signs and symptoms of the disease much earlier in the book, before we learned about it's impact, because I had no idea what the disease actually did to the human body until well over half way through.

Other than that, this was an excellent non-fiction graphic novel with very clear messages - damaging the environment damages us all; failing to learn from history means that we continue to make the same choices and the same mistakes; and that as a society, and as individuals, we should always stand up and make our voices heard.

This book was interesting in the sense that this is a piece of history I had never heard about. I know that situations like this are/were far from uncommon, but it's a part of history that is skimmed over.

Some parts of this book can be incredibly upsetting with depictions of Miamata Disease both in humans and in cats.

This book at it's core is a call to action, that if we let it, these types of things will be brushed under the rug. That corporations like Chisso, do not really care about the impact they have on the enviroment or people. That it is up to us in the end to speak up and hold them accountable.

Well good golly...that was quite extremely educational like before I read this book and of course, knowing the Japanese government planning to dump the Fukushima waste in the ocean, I thought Japan were sensible enough in keeping their waters clean. Turns out it wasn’t the case at all.. Of course we have to thank Chisso Corporation who made the fishermen and their families (including animals) lose their livelihoods from the disease (not everyone from the company is to blame but mostly the particular people who have caused this mess).

I really liked how the author added people’s real life stories into the university guys (sorry don’t know the name) journey along with his grandmother who experienced this awful situation as a young girl. It’s honestly so heartbreaking to see what people went through like I can’t imagine how challenging it was to lose their speech a bit and being bullied for it!

Again I’ve learned quite a lot on the Minamata disease, it’s something everyone should take a look at! Big thanks to Netgalley and Stone Bridge Press for allowing easy access to this novel!