User Reviews

For a "cartoon" mainly about kids, this film presents some stunning reality and horror.

For instance, a sequence shows some of the effects on people and animals of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. A woman's face is shown to melt, a dog catches fire...... And later, the hero sees much of his family die before his eyes.

In this film and the sequel, I found the boundless enthusiasm of the two main boy characters both irritating and inspiring, by turns.

Not a kids movie in the Western sense. Hard to watch in places, but warmly recommended.

If, for one reason or another you only saw the first half of this film (before the bomb), you'd be highly confused as to why people are being so complimentary of it. It's humour is almost embarrassing to watch, the events seem to come in blocks, one after another, and as much as I hate to use the word: corny is the predominant feeling.

However, when the bomb falls, you'll see why the filmmakers opted for this approach. The contrast between the two parts of the film is extreme. The sickeningly happy garden-gnome like sense of the first half is instantly and shockingly shattered by the truly horrific and sobering atmosphere of the second. Tears are to be fully expected as the results of the attack reveal themselves, again, accurately, in the blocky way they had in the first half, and truly excellently directed to its purpose.

The focus of the movie is always on the suffering of the people, the sadness of the results of the 'Pika bomb', the consequence of war. It doesn't blame anyone and doesn't attempt to inspire patriotism, instead it only displays the cost of the decisions taken by the various political big shots on both sides, so ignorant to the true results of their choices. Certainly an important lesson today.

Why people feel they need to state their personal opinions on the war and the bomb in the other reviews is not clear and not appropriate, however it is testament to the effect this film has on the viewer. Even the most right wing of audiences would struggle to resist the peace sentiment after seeing Barefoot Gen.

Just as a note though, to those here who have said they don't feel sorry for the Japanese regarding the atomic bomb, bear in mind that it was the political and military leaders that led the war effort, that made the decisions, and that ordered the atrocities. The people that suffered from the atomic bomb, as is the nature of war, were the civilians, those who had no influence whatsoever over the action of their country - and indeed, as does Gen's father in the film, many of them believed Japan was making a mistake. Regardless of political position, age, sex and physical fitness, the terrible suffering was inflicted on many thousand people. The blame must always be placed carefully and correctly, misdirected blame only leads to discrimination.

Keiji Nakazawa survived the bombing of Hiroshima, and grew up wanting to become a manga artist. He moved to Tokyo and told nobody there about his experiences until the death of his mother triggered a determination to call everyone involved to account for the bombing and the war. In Barefoot Gen he not only exposes the horrors of nuclear war, but also criticizes the militarization of Japanese society in the war years, and the sometimes abusive nature of its family traditions. The film retains the simple graphic style of Nakazawa's original art, which makes the horrors it depicts all the more terrifying. The film's images seem expressionistic, almost surreal, but they record what actually happens under a nuclear blast. Despite all that Gen has lost and endured, he is determined to live, making this a difficult film to watch, but an important and ultimately positive one. The trauma of Hiroshima haunts many anime, but only in Barefoot Gen do you really see what it was like at ground zero.

I read the Manga before seeing this movie, so I was kind of had some high standards to the film, but haven't yet saw the live version of Barefoot Gen Part 1 (1976), Barefoot Gen: Explosion of Tears (1977), Barefoot Gen: Part 3 Battle of Hiroshima (1980). So this animated film, is the first one I had seems since reading the manga. I wasn't disappointed. The film shows the madness of war, and it's just as heartbreaking, disturbing, and yet at the same time, it's so inspiring and uplifting by the actions of Barefoot Gen who is trying to make what best for his family. Barefoot Gen proves that even in the most dired and bleak of moments, a ray of hope can shine brightly. It shows that even a cartoon can show depth and cover one of the worst events in World History. The main different between the movie, and the book is the cutting of characters and more of the backstory before the bomb. In the book, the family are treated as traitors when his father is against the war forcing Gen's older brother to join the Navy to prove that his family isn't a coward. There is also a sum story between another family relation living in the county. Mr. Pak also has a bigger part. The story reveals… the life of young Barefoot Gen surviving the horrors of Hiroshima, and it's an emotional driven story that would probably scare younger viewers. Most of the film, deals with his relationship with his mother, and his younger brother Shinji. I like the subbed version over the dubbed version when the dub is annoying, and when all the music has been changed. This isn't one of those movies. The English dubbed version is just as watchable as the sub version. The movie tends to be really, really depressing, there are parts in the movies that are just down right heart breaking. so this isn't a movie worth watching on family night… but a movie worth to be teach in history class rooms about the dangers of nuclear weapon. In this film, you will feel every person's pain after the bombing. You can see the sadness, the pain, and what real death is. Most other movies make death too cliché and dramatic. But, in this movie, it shows what real death is. That is what makes this movie powerful in it's images.

I will admit that I did not like the style of animation that was going on, but the characters were so charming that I wanted to see what happened next. I knew already that this movie was about the Hiroshima bombing, but when they showed the bombing in action, it was so tragic, I teared up and felt so sad for the women, the men, and especially the children and babies that had to endure such suffering. It is quite detailed, it shocked me as to how detailed it was considering the animation. The deaths of the father, daughter, and youngest son was also very tragic and shocking. You'd think "they're not going to die, they're going to live and somehow find a way to survive all this" - but sadly this was not the case. The mother's reaction to their deaths seemed quite realistic and disturbing, but she was able to snap out of it for her son's sake. The birth of the daughter was sweet and brought back a smile on my face, making me think "there it is, the hope we all want to see" but her death too was very sad and tragic. The movie isn't too long, but the amount of time spent with Gen makes you like him more and more throughout the film.

This movie is very much recommended for those who are interested in the Hiroshima bombing and the aftermath. This is not a kids film.

Sometimes there are events almost too tragic to capture on film. Two nuclear bombs were dropped onto Japanese cities, and it was two too many. Barefoot Gen is almost completely removed from the background of the war, the politics surrounding the surrender, the mounting firebombing of the surrounding cities. While some might point to this as a weakness, I see it as a strength. There is no need for a film like this to entangle itself into that debate which turns human lives into statistics and percentages. It depicts the innocent civilians who were far away from this process, and who had to bear the shocking tragedy instead.

Keiji Nakazawa knows the material well. He too lost his family in the bombings of Hiroshima, and first detailed his experiences in the manga series that would spawn several movie adaptations including this one. In this little animated film he has found perhaps the only suitable medium that could even begin to visualise the horrors of the nuclear bombings. There were live-action films too, but it is tremendously difficult to handle not only the calibre of special effects that would fully capture the effects of the radiation, but also to direct real actors (never mind a little boy) into reacting to such a delicate issue.

Barefoot Gen initially tricks you with its animation. Nakaoka and his brother bounce around with the freedom of characters drawn on the page, which accentuates their rounded cheeks and ears, their big saucer- eyes, the way their eyebrows snake like caterpillars to help emote. When they quarrel and chase each other for the last piece of food in the house, the walls close in and warp and move with them; a classical technique that has been used many times before to make characters seem faster than they really are. It belongs in an action sequence, but what Nakazawa is really doing here is representing the struggle from the perspective of little boys. They fight and argue, making a game out of hunger, while the world crumbles around them, because that is what children their age do. They see grown men fighting over a measly bowl of soup, and register this as absurd; not because of how wretched the situation has become, but because only a nice juicy fish would be worth fighting for. But they are also inquisitive and resourceful as boys tend to be - they ponder on whether worms could be caught and eaten, and bravely offer their own bodies for physical punishment if only to feed their heavily pregnant mother.

Nakaoka and Shinji collect their meagre rations for the day and wheel them home, although it is barely worth a second sniff. The gravity of the situation is never completely lose on them, but they sing songs about going off to war all the same, and march down the street as if it was simply another chore to complete (and playtime afterwards). "Banzai, banzai!" they cry. And then later Nakaoka last lost it all, but still maintains that streak of optimism and boyish cheer. They are little triumphs made tragic by the inevitability of blow-back; a secret horde of rice (that is treated like hidden treasure), successfully dragging a soldier to the medical tents (only to have him declared dead immediately), and in a pivotal moment, returning home with cartons of milk only to find it is all too late. Nakazawa plays the continual optimism and pluckiness of Nakaoka against the grim plot, and the juxtaposition is at first grating, but then takes on an increasingly morose tone. He can't help but react in the only way he knows, and we understand that a six year old boy should never have to face these circumstances.

The centrepiece of the film is the sequence leading up to and including the detonation of Little Boy. How could a single plane, something so innocuous even the residents are not hurried to rush to their shelters, cause so much destruction? Nakazawa builds up the fatal moment with the heavy beat of the bass drum, but it is scarcely needed, because we all recognise and know what is about to happen. It is the dreadful ringing and silence following that is the more frightening, the way the entire city is frozen in time for a split second, and how the flash of the bomb strips the frame of colour. The animations suspends the victims in the air, and strips away their very skin and flesh. In this way the film is literally ripping apart the very essence of anime, pulling apart the cleanly drawn lines, the simple facial features, the saucer-eyes and wide-open mouths. Live-action would never dare try to touch such an atrocity. Animation makes a haunting and sad attempt.

I was warned that this movie was graphic and heart wrenching, but being curious I decided to watch it as I have seen graphic dark animation before such as Grave of the Fireflies, Watership Down, Plague Dogs, When the Wind Blows, Felidae etc so I thought I would be able to handle it... Boy was I wrong.

I learned that the effects of the bomb were horrible but not this horrific. Just seeing people including young children melt away to nothing, dogs yelping in pain as it's coat caught on fire, horribly unrecognizable,graphically burnt people walking down the street like zombies (Were they still alive?) a mother laughing hysterically after losing her family... This had struck me down to the core watching this and lasted hours after watching the film. I also kept thinking... How can humankind be so cruel? This movie was hard to watch but movies like this should not be hidden. Movies like this should be view to the world for hopes on peace. Never again should this happen.

Yes, it's the Japs again. And yes, they did a splendid job once more.

Unfortunately, we all know of the A-bomb story. It's one of the saddest, most tragic moments in the entire war as well as modern human history. And yet, learning about Hiroshima and Nagasaki from magazines, documentaries, talking about plain numbers of casualties and buildings destroyed only scratches the bare surface of a very touching drama which took place that day in Japan. "Barefoot Gen" tells a moving personal story of one survivor, a boy who had to cope with all the worst malice this world could throw at him.

This brilliant anime does not deal with the questions who dropped the bomb and why. We all know who did it all to well. The plot of "Barefoot Gen" revolves around the tragic fate of a young boy Gen and his family, in the hardest possible moment. He is about to start growing into a man, but faith had other plans. In one second a scorching blast will take all that he holds dear, leaving him alone to soldier on and fight for his surviving mother and unborn brother. God, it was so hard to watch without bursting into tears... And that takes us to the second important point of "Barefoot Gen", which is the narrative aspect. All Asians and Japanese in particular have a tendency of living by extreme values, good or bad. This also applies to storytelling. "Barefoot Gen" might be an animated film made for children, but it hits with a brutal reality just as a Tolstoy's novel would. Some might say it's too much to bare, but is it really? You see, the Japanese also have another important trait - they learn from own mistakes, and they learn quickly. Therefore "Barefoot Gen" was not made to entertain, but educate. It was brought here to teach both young and old that war has nothing good to offer beside endless suffering and death. And no matter how soldiers perform on some distant battlefield, that war may easily come on to your doorstep and take away all that one cherishes. It also teaches us that living is tough, boy it's tough and unforgiving, and You have to fight for it with all the vigor. Those of life's truths must be learned, the sooner the better. I could go on and on like this for hours, that much is "Barefoot Gen" a masterpiece. It's a must see for all generations.

It might be remarked that the technical outcome did not match classic high Japanese standards. "Barefoot Gen" is nowhere close to any of Ghibli's films in the area of animation quality. Still, with such a moving and powerful story, it doesn't seem all that important. 10 points go to Gen, more than rightfully deserved. Clap, clap, clap...

I've read the comic books of barefoot gen when i was in the elementary school. My teacher had the whole series of it, and i was really horrified when i first read it, but i was very curious and was into it after all. When I saw the movie, I liked the comic book better, but still it describes the horror of the war. I watched this movie with my grand parents who was in Hiroshima at that time, who really experienced it, said this movie describes it so well. hopefully I think anyone would experience this sad incident again, but it is really important to get an idea of what had happened in the real world. this movie is the best way i know to get a sense of it.