Barefoot Gen

As World War II nears its end, an atomic bombing devastates Japan. Almost the entire family of a boy named Gen is killed, and from that moment on, the responsibility for his mother and his unborn little sister falls on his shoulders.

One of the most piercing and honest anti-war anime ever made, Barefoot Gen is based on Keiji Nakazawa’s autobiographical manga and tells the story of a boy growing up in Japan during World War II. This is neither a heroic epic nor an abstract parable, but a child’s view of a world slowly coming apart. The simple, almost naïve animation style stands in stark contrast to themes of hunger, propaganda, and fear, making what unfolds on screen even more painful and devastating.