Review of Barefoot Gen

What does the "Barefoot Gen" tell us about? About the horrors of war? Yes. About the nuclear nightmare? Also yes. However, it still seems to me that one of the main, if not the core idea of the “Gen” is the need to have your own position and be critical of the dominant social norms and standards, no matter how difficult it is. Therefore, this anime is political not only in the aspect of anti-war pathos, but also in the aspect of critical positioning of a person in relation to the authority and validity of government actions. It seems that the key words of the filmwere spoken by Gen's father shortly before the bombing: "Traitor, coward... I'm proud if they want to call me those things... You know, sometimes it takes more courage not to fight than to fight, to don't want to kill when everyone around you are calling out for blood... If you boys remember nothing else that I teach you I hope you'll remember that...".

And this is not just a youthful senseless “rebellion for the sake of rebellion” or decoration of one’s own permissiveness with a beautiful word like nonconformism - this is a conscious position in life - it must be said that it is a very difficult and thankless position, requiring enormous willpower and courage. Especially in Japanese society, with its total contextualism and “kawaii-repressive” elimination of significant personal differences. Perhaps this idea is what, for me, distinguishes the "Barefoot Gen" from other anime - where the standard of Japanese moralizing is "inclusion in context", "Gen" asserts a critique of context. Again, this is not as easy as it seems. To imagine the complexity and danger of such a position, it is enough to look at the political reality around us or try to transfer such criticism of the context to, say, Russia, North Korea or Iran.

The visual design of the anime is also of interest. I am glad that there is no fashionable “stylization” of death. The aestheticization of the inhumane within the framework of “dehumanized art”, I think, is a sign of the era - even, perhaps, a sign of a serious illness of the era. Not so in the "Barefoot Gen". The “childish” style of drawing, which at first creates a carefree mood, sharply contrasts with the spectacle of a nuclear explosion that burns out eyes, melts skin and turns “cute” anime people into disgusting walking corpses. I think everybody who watched "Gen" was struck by the image of the girl crashed by a slab, on whose face the contrast “childhood innocence” - “terrible death” is clearly shown. Perhaps, the “end of childhood” brought about by a nuclear explosion shows the viewer the need to think about their carefree life and the fact that this carefree life can end at one moment, including due to the thoughtless conformism and infantilism of the viewer himself. Let's not draw parallels here, they are too heavy.

It seems that the Japanese are not being allowed to forget the cruel lessons of history. And they are not told that the Americans are to blame, or even the stupid “Japanese government,” although the guilt of both is undeniable. No, the main reproach, it seems to me, is addressed to Japanese society: “This war can’t be right, but it’s only the cowards like me who dare say it. If there were only a few more of us.” But the fact of the matter is that among the Japanese there were no critical mass of “cowards” capable of saying “no!” to the war. And this is the problem and fault of society itself.

Nevertheless, the "Barefoot Gen" is a life-affirming anime. The strength of spirit of the main characters is simply amazing. Episodes involving carp fishing and caring for an irradiated artist are indicative. The belief that “the wheat will break through” is simply implanted in the audience’s heads. And dead relatives will be “reborn” in a stray boy or even in a hopeful tuft of hair on his head.

Perhaps, the advantages of the "Gen" give rise to its shortcomings - the protagonist's family is shown too idealized. Although, perhaps, this is exactly how his family is seen by a seven years' old. It’s difficult to give an unambiguous assessment of the “Barefoot Gen.” It seems to me, that this anime falls out of the usual range of “creations” of Japanese animation, the “value” of which can be measured. The “Barefoot Gen” is beyond comparison and is its own criterion and assessment and, I think, is worthy of being watched by everyone who expects something more from anime than entertainment and another immersion into the dream world.