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barkylee15's review against another edition
3.0
3.5. I wanted to love this graphic novel, and the parts about the war and Japanese army/kamikaze pilots, and of course the dropping of the A-bomb were very well done. But, the juvenile way in which nearly every man/boy acts and reacts by "bonking" people or fighting - just the amount of violence was astounding and unnecessary to include. I'm all about seeing the daily lives of those who lived in Hiroshima in the months leading up to the atomic bomb being dropped, but every page including someone getting beaten up or someone "wahhh-ing" was exhausting and all meant to be for humor, but I didn't find it funny at all. I am interested to continue though, especially as to see how Gen and what is left of his family survives after the blast.
Overall, my rating is complicated and therefore a recommendation of reading this is complicated as well. So maybe read it? Maybe dont...I don't know. If you are looking for a great book on the topic though, read "Hiroshima" by John Hersey (having problems linking it on Goodreads).
Men and leaders and the power they wield over the people they are supposed to take care of sickens me. I wasn't aware of how much propaganda and lies there were in the Japanese Empire either. Also the idea of suicide bombers in any war, about it being "for the empire" or "for God" makes me very angry and makes me very worried for humanity sometimes. Ok, off my soapbox. I will leave you with one quote from Gen's older brother Koji who is off at pilot school:
"Why can't everyone think? Use their heads for once? Are they going to be duped by this hoax of a war forever? If the Japanese people don't all start sticking up for themselves, the war will never end. Damn! How long will it go on, anyway -- this horrible war? The time's got to come when we can all live freely, like human beings..."
Overall, my rating is complicated and therefore a recommendation of reading this is complicated as well. So maybe read it? Maybe dont...I don't know. If you are looking for a great book on the topic though, read "Hiroshima" by John Hersey (having problems linking it on Goodreads).
Men and leaders and the power they wield over the people they are supposed to take care of sickens me. I wasn't aware of how much propaganda and lies there were in the Japanese Empire either. Also the idea of suicide bombers in any war, about it being "for the empire" or "for God" makes me very angry and makes me very worried for humanity sometimes. Ok, off my soapbox. I will leave you with one quote from Gen's older brother Koji who is off at pilot school:
"Why can't everyone think? Use their heads for once? Are they going to be duped by this hoax of a war forever? If the Japanese people don't all start sticking up for themselves, the war will never end. Damn! How long will it go on, anyway -- this horrible war? The time's got to come when we can all live freely, like human beings..."
olddatainadeadmachine's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
5.0
we do not deserve forgiveness
immodddus's review against another edition
5.0
emotional bin ich nicht bereit für die weiteren bände es war auch nicht anders zu erwarten
wafer's review against another edition
4.0
Deeply important and a benchmark of anti-war literature. There is so much raw pathos in this volume with the final pages an eruption of fury and horrific pain.
roguepingu's review against another edition
5.0
This has to be the most brutally honest, heartfelt and heart-wrenching story I have ever read. And all presented in cartoon form. It is amazing how vivid an account of events Keiji Nakazawa portrays using this black-and-white, pop art format. All this clearly portrays the beautiful and truthful art of Keiji Nakazawa's storytelling.
This first volume of Barefoot Gen gives the reader an in-depth insight into the living conditions in Japan near the end of WWII and the harsh realities of the war they were experiencing, fighting and suffering under. This story turns the devastation of Hiroshima from a set of figures to an emotional narrative highlighting the importance of family and the stupidity of war and warfare. The story also shows a true portrayal of human nature and the overwhelming impact that the war had children and other ordinary citizens.
This book has the ability to touch every heart. Now all we need to do is learn from it.
This first volume of Barefoot Gen gives the reader an in-depth insight into the living conditions in Japan near the end of WWII and the harsh realities of the war they were experiencing, fighting and suffering under. This story turns the devastation of Hiroshima from a set of figures to an emotional narrative highlighting the importance of family and the stupidity of war and warfare. The story also shows a true portrayal of human nature and the overwhelming impact that the war had children and other ordinary citizens.
This book has the ability to touch every heart. Now all we need to do is learn from it.
varenyasreddy's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
4.5
Harrowing account about the Hiroshima atomic bombing and the plight of the people in Japan during world war 2. It was emotional, informative and thought provoking.
iffer's review against another edition
3.0
From a historical perspective, both of the history of World War II, and the progression of graphic storytelling, as well as as a wrenching autobiography Barefoot Gen, is indispensable. The last pages of Barefoot Gen, Vol. 1 are hard to read, and I'm amazed at Nakazawa's resilience as a human being, ability to find hope in the future, and courage in sharing his story, which needed (and needs) to be told.
However, it's difficult for me to rate my reading experience as a contemporary reader since political opinions have shifted over the decades, and manga writing and drawing has progressed since the time that Barefoot Gen was published. In a way that made me uncomfortable, Barefoot Gen read like my elementary textbook, which is to say that the anti-war sentiments expressed felt overly palatable for an American and British audience. Art Spiegelman mentions this in his Introduction (which is better than any review that I could write, so you should really read *that*), writing that "by locating the casues ofo the bombings exclusively i nthe evils of Japanese militaristic nationalism rather than in the Realpolitik of Western racism and cold-war power-jockeying, Nakazawa may make the work a little too pleasurable for American and British readers," and I agree. It is also feasible that one of the reasons for such great appeal of Barefoot Gen in in the 1970s were that these sentiments paralleled the thoughts and feelings of Americans during and shortly after the US presence in Vietnam, most notably the idea that young boys were being thrown at the frontlines when rich men were lining their pockets and getting fat while others were experiencing hardship.
Part of the problem is that Barefoot Gen is, literally and figuratively, drawn with broad strokes, in part to provide comic relief and pacing to a set of stories that could easily become unbearably bleak. At least for my preferences, though, Barefoot Gen often falls, due to some combination of simple writing, bubbly drawing, and comic relief, just short of what it needs to be to achieve maximum emotional impact and levity.
However, it's difficult for me to rate my reading experience as a contemporary reader since political opinions have shifted over the decades, and manga writing and drawing has progressed since the time that Barefoot Gen was published. In a way that made me uncomfortable, Barefoot Gen read like my elementary textbook, which is to say that the anti-war sentiments expressed felt overly palatable for an American and British audience. Art Spiegelman mentions this in his Introduction (which is better than any review that I could write, so you should really read *that*), writing that "by locating the casues ofo the bombings exclusively i nthe evils of Japanese militaristic nationalism rather than in the Realpolitik of Western racism and cold-war power-jockeying, Nakazawa may make the work a little too pleasurable for American and British readers," and I agree. It is also feasible that one of the reasons for such great appeal of Barefoot Gen in in the 1970s were that these sentiments paralleled the thoughts and feelings of Americans during and shortly after the US presence in Vietnam, most notably the idea that young boys were being thrown at the frontlines when rich men were lining their pockets and getting fat while others were experiencing hardship.
Part of the problem is that Barefoot Gen is, literally and figuratively, drawn with broad strokes, in part to provide comic relief and pacing to a set of stories that could easily become unbearably bleak. At least for my preferences, though, Barefoot Gen often falls, due to some combination of simple writing, bubbly drawing, and comic relief, just short of what it needs to be to achieve maximum emotional impact and levity.
giorgina_serron's review against another edition
5.0
Se nota que es un relato dolido y descarnado de los días previos y meses posteriores a la detonación de 'Little boy' sobre la ciudad de Hiroshima en 1945.
Gen Nakaoka es la personificación de Nakazawa, el autor, dentro del manga. La cruda realidad se verá acompañada por la naturaleza del ser humano, cruel, luchando por sobrevivir, y también veremos las distintas acciones que tomarán los individuos a la hora de sobrevivir o proteger a Japón con fervor.
Nakazawa narran de manera vívida devastación y el dolor que que se encontró a su paso, pero mostrando a su vez, las pequeñas luces de esperanza que pueblan la experiencia humana.
Debo destacar que pasé por todas las emociones habidas y por haber mientras leía estas 700 páginas. Tuve pesadillas cuando terminé de leerlo y me acosté a dormir.
Tal vez teman darle una oportunidad por su tamaño pero les puedo asegurar que se lee en horas, es super entretenido y el hecho de que sea tan simple hace que llegue directamente a quién lo lea.
Gen Nakaoka es la personificación de Nakazawa, el autor, dentro del manga. La cruda realidad se verá acompañada por la naturaleza del ser humano, cruel, luchando por sobrevivir, y también veremos las distintas acciones que tomarán los individuos a la hora de sobrevivir o proteger a Japón con fervor.
Nakazawa narran de manera vívida devastación y el dolor que que se encontró a su paso, pero mostrando a su vez, las pequeñas luces de esperanza que pueblan la experiencia humana.
Debo destacar que pasé por todas las emociones habidas y por haber mientras leía estas 700 páginas. Tuve pesadillas cuando terminé de leerlo y me acosté a dormir.
Tal vez teman darle una oportunidad por su tamaño pero les puedo asegurar que se lee en horas, es super entretenido y el hecho de que sea tan simple hace que llegue directamente a quién lo lea.
zoet's review against another edition
4.0
Read this for grad JPT manga course. It's incredibly sad. War is pointless, people. I just want to voice that into the universe.