Graphic Novels

Barefoot Gen was a trip. I wasn't sure what I was watching when the movie started rolling. Not being very familiar with either manga or anime, I wasn't sure where the movie was going. I saw the beginnings of a familial story take place, then they started talking about war. Naive me didn't know whether it was a mech war or spirit war, the types that could be solved with a hungry main character yelling at the bad guy. Unfortunately I found out how wrong I was.

When the bomb actually dropped, I still didn't quite understand what I was in for. There was no real winner there. It was all graphic, sad, oppressing and ultimately powerful 

Barefoot Gen was my first real foray into a manga-esque film, outside Dragon Ball Z movies, and it surprised how deep it went. The many ideas it brings up in its story like the struggle of taking care of a poor family, a strong brotherhood under strain, following a government without the best interest at heart are palpable without an atomic bomb and the following aftermath wrecking the entire area and turing the story in its head. It then gets a darker tone and deals with the more darker tones of life after the bomb.

Whats really strong about the film though was the underlying message of life. The struggle of preservation, the struggle of recovery, the struggle for survival.