Dream Prophecy or Media Storm? 1999 Manga’s Disaster ‘Vision’ Captivates Japan and Sparks Global Buzz
A decades-old manga, once a niche publication, has sensationally resurfaced, igniting conversations across Japan and beyond thanks to its author’s startling “predictions” of future events, including a major natural disaster slated for July 2025.
Ryo Tatsuki’s “The Future I Saw” (Watashi ga Mita Mirai), first published in 1999, is no ordinary comic. It’s a compilation of the author’s own dream diaries, kept since 1985. The original cover even hinted at these visions, with one postcard illustration cryptically noting: “March 2011: A Great Disaster.” When the devastating Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami struck Japan in March 2011, Tatsuki’s work was dramatically rediscovered. Suddenly, this out-of-print manga became a sought-after collector’s item, with copies fetching astonishing prices online.
The story gained a new chapter in 2021 with the release of “The Future I Saw: Complete Edition.” This updated version included a chilling new premonition from Tatsuki: an even more catastrophic natural disaster, potentially featuring a tsunami triple the size of the 2011 event, would strike Japan in July 2025. Given the eerie accuracy attributed to her earlier “vision,” this new forecast quickly went viral on Japanese social media.
This digital buzz has had tangible, if somewhat unexpected, ripples. Some media outlets report that a number of superstitious holiday-makers, particularly in Hong Kong where a translated version of the manga is popular, are reconsidering their summer travel plans to Japan. Adding fuel to the fire, Hong Kong-based fortune-teller Master Seven has reportedly echoed concerns, suggesting a heightened earthquake risk for Japan between June and August this year.
Responding to these swirling narratives, some Hong Kong-based airlines have adjusted their schedules. Hong Kong Airlines, for instance, has cancelled its three weekly flights to Sendai (a city heavily impacted in 2011), while Greater Bay Airlines is reducing flights to Sendai and Tokushima, citing a dip in demand potentially linked to both the disaster predictions and broader economic uncertainties. However, local officials like Yoshihiro Murai, governor of Miyagi Prefecture, have publicly urged people to rely on scientific information and not be swayed by these unverified social media claims.
Unsurprisingly, all this attention has been a boon for “The Future I Saw.” By May 23rd, the Complete Edition had reportedly sold over 1 million copies – a remarkable achievement. The manga’s resurgence also serendipitously coincides with an upcoming Japanese horror movie, “July 5 2025, 4:18 AM,” set for release on June 27th. The film draws inspiration from Tatsuki’s 2025 prediction, though its title has unfortunately led to some online confusion, with some mistakenly believing it specifies the exact date of the foretold disaster. The manga’s publisher, Asuka Shinsha, has clarified that Tatsuki herself never pinpointed such a specific date or time.
While Japan is indeed a country prone to natural disasters – seismologists estimate a 70-80% chance of a Nankai Trough megaquake within the next 30 years – the Japan Meteorological Agency officially dismisses specific date predictions as “hoaxes.” Many Japanese social media users have also expressed skepticism about the current panic, with one X user commenting, “It’s stupid to believe in disaster predictions from a manga. The Nankai Trough quake could happen today or tomorrow.”
Ryo Tatsuki herself has addressed the whirlwind of attention. While she is pleased if her manga encourages increased disaster preparedness, she has also urged the public not to be “overly influenced” by her premonitions and to “act appropriately based on expert opinions,” as reported by the Mainichi Shimbun.
Ultimately, the saga of “The Future I Saw” is a captivating snapshot of how past events, creative works, and the power of social media can intertwine, turning a once-obscure manga into a viral sensation and a fascinating, if controversial, topic of global conversation.
