Comments on: Barefoot Gen

Barefoot Gen

plep — Sun, 13 Apr 2003 03:39:59 -0800

'Barefoot Gen is a vivid autobiographical story. Artist Keiji Nakazawa was only seven years old when the Atomic Bomb destroyed his beautiful home city of Hiroshima. The Artist's "Gen" manga (visual novel), tells the tale of one family's struggle to survive in the dreadful shadow of war ... '
"I named my main character Gen in the hope that he would become a root or source of strength for a new generation, one that can tread the charred soil of Hiroshima barefoot, feel the earth beneath its feet, and have the strength to say "NO" to nuclear weapons.... "
More survivors' stories :- Nagasaki Nightmare, the art of the hibakusha, or A-bomb survivors.
Voice of Hibakusha includes eye-witness accounts of the atom bombing of Hiroshima. Here are more testimonies of survivors. (Via the A-Bomb WWW Museum). A personal record of Hiroshima A-bomb survival, posted to a message board, with responses from readers.
Remembering Nagasaki, a slide-show of Nagasaki after the A-bomb.
The story of Sadako, an A-bomb victim, and the Thousand Paper Cranes project she inspired.

By: Katemonkey

Katemonkey — Sun, 13 Apr 2003 04:20:37 -0800

Here's an eyewitness account by a priest sent in by the US forces. In a strange coincidence, I've been reading about the Pikudon for a story that I'm writing. And now you've given me more links. Thanks!

By: kaibutsu

kaibutsu — Sun, 13 Apr 2003 05:33:05 -0800

'Barefoot Gen' is an amazing piece of comic... 'Maus' could take lessons.

By: Busithoth

Busithoth — Sun, 13 Apr 2003 05:59:01 -0800

'Maus' could take lessons. kaibutsu, if only pieces of art could take lessons from other pieces. We could cut out the middlemen! Guess I miss your point. Barefoot Gen is incredibly moving and should be read by anyone who wonders what it was like to have been there.

By: cachilders

cachilders — Sun, 13 Apr 2003 06:38:02 -0800

There is a great lecture by James Foard on Audible, called "Hiroshima and the Limits of Theodicy." It's about the strain this event placed on traditional religious and social values, and how it became necessary for that culture to recompose its belief systems. He gave the lecture before the wtc attack, but the parrallels (dogmatic parralells) are interesting, such as the manufacture of heroes from simple victims.

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Sun, 13 Apr 2003 06:48:38 -0800

Only tangentially related is Young-Hae Chang's harrowing new(ish) piece, 0PERATI0N NUK0REA.

By: ZachsMind

ZachsMind — Sun, 13 Apr 2003 08:56:10 -0800

"In 1983 it was released as a full length animated feature. This brilliant anime has recently been issued on video tape by Orion Home Video. It is one of the most important animated films ever made.... I strongly recommend that you purchase it." I did. A few years back when I was still married. When we divorced, she took Barefoot Gen with her. That's how good the movie version is. I got stuck with the dog which, God love'm, just isn't as good as that movie. However I don't really miss the videotape, cuz Barefoot Gen is not something one can watch many times. I think during the time I had the movie in my possession I maybe saw it twice. It's just too gut wrenching, even though it's brilliantly produced and the story is moving. The art is eyepopping and the theme is poignant. I dunno. It just hits you over the head with a ton of bricks: "WAR IS EVIL!" ...yeah, I kinda guessed that one already. No need to shout. You're preaching to the choir. Blah blah blah.

By: madamjujujive

madamjujujive — Sun, 13 Apr 2003 09:28:42 -0800

Great links plep! I have some work to do this aft, so these links will no doubt be my procrastination! Here's another Barefoot Gen site - much is in Japanese, but the main menu is in English, and since much on the site is graphic, it is worth exploring.

By: SPrintF

SPrintF — Sun, 13 Apr 2003 11:01:53 -0800

It's not about the Bomb, but it is terribly sad: Grave of the Fireflies.

By: lotsofno

lotsofno — Sun, 13 Apr 2003 11:14:37 -0800

also see: grave of the fireflies

By: lotsofno

lotsofno — Sun, 13 Apr 2003 11:14:52 -0800

grrr... missed that. :o(

By: mr_roboto

mr_roboto — Sun, 13 Apr 2003 11:40:34 -0800

I saw Grave of the Fireflies for the first time about two weeks ago. It's gorgeous, and absolutely devastating. It's the most effective anti-war statement I've ever seen; it really shook me up. I'm never, ever going to watch it again.

By: car_bomb

car_bomb — Sun, 13 Apr 2003 12:34:04 -0800

grave of the fireflies was so sad it almost made me stop watching anime altogether. when i saw this post about barefoot gen, i logged in to say something about grave of the fireflies, if for nothing else, just to warn everyone about it. like mr_roboto said, it was worth it, but i will never ever watch it again.

By: quonsar

quonsar — Sun, 13 Apr 2003 12:45:17 -0800

what, no irc logs????

By: juv3nal

juv3nal — Sun, 13 Apr 2003 17:01:49 -0800

memoirs from hijiyama addresses hiroshima with funky typographic design warning: image intensive and somewhat less than obvious navigation (tab key helps).

By: gen

gen — Tue, 15 Apr 2003 01:56:46 -0800

Thank you so much plep. Seeing that I have the same name as Barefoot Gen, this story has a lot of resonance for me.