Barefoot Gen
 |
| Barefoot Gen | |
| Genre | Drama, Anti-war |
|---|---|
| Manga | |
| Written by | Keiji Nakazawa |
| Published by |  Chuokoron-Shinsha Conrad |
| Anime | |
| Directed by | Mamoru Shinzaki |
| Studio | Madhouse Studio |
Barefoot Gen (はだしのゲン, Hadashi no Gen) (German: barfuss durch hiroshima) is a manga novel written and illustrated by Keiji Nakazawa. It begins in 1945 in and around Hiroshima, Japan, where the six-year-old boy Gen lives with his family. After Hiroshima is destroyed by atomic bombing, Gen and other survivors are left to deal with the aftermath. The story is loosely based on Nakazawa's own experiences as a Hiroshima survivor.
History
Hadashi no Gen was originally serialized beginning in 1973 in the mass-market manga anthology Weekly Shonen Jump (Shukan Shonen Jampu), which had earlier published Nakazawa's autobiographical Hiroshima story "Ore wa Mita" ("I Saw It"). It was cancelled after a year and a half, and moved to three other less widely distributed magazines: Shimin (Citizen), Bunka Hyoron (Cultural Criticism), and Kyoiku Hyoron (Educational Criticism). It was published in book collections in Japan beginning in 1975. A volunteer organization, Project Gen, formed in 1976 to produce English translations, which were released in four volumes.
The English volume was re-released with an introduction by Art Spiegelman, who has compared the work to his own work, Maus.
Themes
Major themes throughout the work are power, hegemony, resistance and loyalty. Gen's family suffers as all families do in war. They must conduct themselves as proper members of society, as all Japanese are instructed in paying tribute to the Emperor. But because of a belief that their involvement in the war is due to the greed of the rich ruling class, Gen's father rejects the military propaganda and the family comes to be treated as traitors. Gen's family struggles with their bond of loyalty to each other and to a government that is willing to send teenagers on suicide missions in battle. This push and pull relationship is seen many times as Gen is ridiculed in school, mimicking his father's views on Japan's role in the war, and then is subsequently punished by his father for spouting things he learned through rote brainwashing in school. Many of these themes are put into a much harsher perspective when portrayed alongside themes of the struggle between war and peace.
Film
Plot
Template:Spoiler The story begins with the everyday life of Gen and his younger brother Senji during the second World War. It shows the struggle to find food and points out that Hiroshima has not been bombed unlike the other cities. When the bomb drops there is a long sequence of the immediate horrors of the bomb and the death of all of Gens family apart from him and his mother. The film then focuses on the struggle to find food for Gen's mother who has given birth and milk for the baby. They eventually rebuild a version of their house and adopt a boy similar to Gen's brother. The baby dies later from malnutrition. The film ends with plants growing in spite of predictions that there would be no food for sixty years. Template:Endspoiler
Production
Despite the serious subject matter of this film, the animation style is very childish in comparison to other anime. Often action, dialogue and the images are almost expressionistic to add to the impact of the film. The falling of the bomb is shown first from the American point of view which is very orderly and impassive. Then, when the bomb explodes, the view is from the Japanese showing powerful images of people being vapourised, buildings exploding and multi-color explosions.
Influences
This film influenced the anime "Grave of the Fireflies" which is also about survival during World War II but differs from this film considerably in style.
Sequels
- In 1976 Tengo Yamada directed a live-action version.
- Two animated films were based on the manga, Barefoot Gen (1982) and Barefoot Gen 2 (1983), both directed by Mori Masaki for a production company that Nakazawa founded.
Barefoot Gen 2 is set three years after the bomb fell. It focuses on the continuing survival of Gen and orphans in Hiroshima.
Editions
Barefoot Gen Series
- Volume One: ISBN 0867196025
- Volume Two: ISBN 086719619X
- Volume Three: ISBN 0867195940
- Volume Four: ISBN 0867195959