Fukushima Devil Fish Paperback

With a title like Fukushima Devil Fish: Anti-Nuclear Manga, I was expecting a manga about, well, Fukushima and the recent nuclear disaster. Instead, this is an anthology of 9 short stories, only two of which are about anything nuclear, and those stories were created in 1984 and 1989! The other stories feature kappa, tanuki, and others adjusting to the changes in Japan in the mid-20th century. They tug at your heart, but definitely weren't the type of stories I was expecting; would have been nice of the publisher to provide a synopsis of the book! That gripe aside, this is a good manga anthology. There are essays in the back that delve into the author's life and influences on his works. He is anti-nuclear power, and has studied it and did indeed visit the Fukushima plant in the 80's. It is interesting to compare this book with the more pro-nuclear "Ichi F: a Worker's Graphic Memoir of the Fukushima Power Plant" by Kazuto Tatsuta. As for the other stories from the 60's and 70's, they aren't as sexually graphic as some other manga of the era, but there are some sexual situations/nudity in the book. The treatment of female kappa is also a pretty loaded topic from today's point of view...yikes! I do recommend this book, I just think buyers should be able to know what it's about before they get it! My book came from the UK, and the cover looks very different from the stock photo; not sure if a US edition will look different.

beautiful quality, very compelling write up