Review of Barefoot Gen

Barefoot Gen opens showing the carefree yet equally tough lives of Japanese children of the 2nd world war. This is from the perspective of Gen and his family where food is scarce and Gen's mother is pregnant with a 4th child. However, most of the audience will be aware of what is lying in wait for Hiroshima which the film tries to remind you of at certain points of this waiting period. This is what perfectly builds the tension as you can guess (or at least I hope you can guess) that their lives will be sent into misery. The anime does not holdback and has one of the most harrowing nuclear bomb scenes that is seemingly realistic with the decay of lives humans and the pure horrors they are feeling shown through a memorable yet extremely disturbing visual sequence. As well as the momentary destruction it shows the potentially more severe aftermath in which characters struggle to make ends meet. Whilst giving a clear message about the effects and unfairness of such a bomb, it remains relatively unbiased. It criticises the leadership of Japan and the pro-war attitudes of various people. Especially as the author of the manga that it was adapted from was a Hiroshima bomb survivor and he felt that the Showa Emperor was also responsible as well as Japan’s imperial system and America.

Despite all the horrors the protagonist pushes on with a naive mindset and confident attitude. Despite people around him falling into misery, including his mother, he maintains his optimistic views. This is reminiscent of post-war Japan that had to move forwards and look past the destruction, especially those of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, in order to rebuild its cities. It is undoubtedly a disturbing and powerful film that you may have to spend some days processing yet it has an ever present optimism that reminds you that nothing happens if you just sit there mourning without devaluing those who have died. This film is an amazing demonstration, in raw form, of the power films can have which is why I would recommend it.