A dark past. An impossible journey. The will to survive. For fans of Flight Behavior and Station Eleven, a novel set on the brink of catastrophe, as a young woman chases the world’s last birds―and her own final chance for redemption. Migrations has been named a “most anticipated” book by Entertainment Weekly, Vulture, Elle, and more. Emily St. John Mandel calls this powerful novel “extraordinary.” Start reading Migrations now. To give a bit of background: in the post–World War II era, Japan saw rapid economic growth. But this unchecked expansion led to some serious consequences—namely, diseases caused by manmade industrial pollution. Guess what happens if you don’t put limits in place? Corporations will prioritize profit over safety. Capitalism, am I right? Thanks to negative publicity from these diseases and grassroots activism on behalf of those afflicted, environmental regulations were passed in the 1970s and, more importantly, enforced. By the 1990s, Japan saw lower pollution levels and the affected areas had begun to recover. And with such concrete evidence that humans could have deleterious effects on the environment, who’s surprised these ecological themes became a staple of manga? As I put together this list, I was surprised to find how dude-heavy it is. There have to be more female creators making manga with environmental themes, right? Maybe they’re unlicensed like 7 Seeds. Fingers crossed we’ll see more in the future. If you’re interested in reading more manga, check out this list of must reads.
