Barefoot Gen

Hiroshima, 1945. Six-year-old Gen Nakaoka grows up in a household that is poor in money but rich in love, even as the Second World War rages across Japan. His father, Daikichi, is among the rare few brave enough to speak out against the emperor and champion the innocent civilians bearing the heaviest burdens of the conflict. In a nation swept up in fervent patriotism, such honesty carries a steep price: branded as traitors, the Nakaokas endure the cold contempt of their community. What none of them can yet imagine is that a far grimmer fate hangs over the people of their city. Then, on an otherwise quiet morning, American forces drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. In a single instant the city is annihilated, leaving thousands dead and countless others exposed to radiation. Gen survives the blast, but the life he once knew is gone forever. Reuniting with the few members of his family who remain, he must now battle starvation and crushing poverty while confronting an unsympathetic public that regards survivors as little more than disease-ridden beggars. Drawn from author Keiji Nakazawa's real-life experiences, Barefoot Gen follows Gen and his fellow survivors as they struggle to endure in postwar Hiroshima. Refusing to forgive those responsible for the atrocity and never forgetting the bomb's anguish, Gen presses forward with unwavering determination, his spirit unbroken by the tragedy that swallowed his world.