Barefoot Gen

はだしのゲン

Hadashi no Gen

In 1945, six-year-old Gen Nakaoka lives with his loving but impoverished family in Hiroshima during World War II. His father Daikichi is one of the few voices speaking out against the emperor and defending the innocent civilians suffering in the war. Because of their outspokenness, they are branded as traitors in a society consumed by nationalism, leading to their isolation. On a morning that seems peaceful, the United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, instantly leveling the city and causing immense suffering from radiation. Gen survives the blast, but his life is forever changed. Amid the destruction, he finds surviving family members and faces new struggles: severe hunger, desperate poverty, and a community that now shuns survivors as carriers of disease. Based on Keiji Nakazawa’s own experiences, Hadashi no Gen follows Gen and other survivors as they fight to endure in the wake of the atomic bombing. With relentless determination, Gen vows to keep moving forward, refusing to forgive those responsible for the atrocity, never forgetting its pain, and keeping his spirit unbroken by the tragedy.

Adapted to anime

Barefoot Gen

Barefoot Gen 2

Gallery

Background

Hadashi no Gen is based on the events experienced by author Keiji Nakazawa and other survivors of Hiroshima. After publishing the one-shot Ore wa Mita, Nakazawa's editor encouraged him to write more of his experiences. The manga was first serialized in Shonen Jump in 1973, but was cancelled the following year due to low polling. It continued publication in three different magazines until concluding in 1987—Shimin (Citizen), Bunka Hyouron (Cultural Criticism), and Kyouiku Hyouron (Educational Criticism). Nakazawa planned to write a sequel following Gen becoming a mangaka in Tokyo, but this idea was scrapped when he retired due to failing eyesight and illness. Hadashi no Gen was first published in English as Gen of Hiroshima in comic book format by EduComics, in cooperation with the pacifist organization Project Gen, a group of voluntary translators that sought to bring the manga to a larger audience. Volunteers around the world likewise picked up this project, partially translating this title into French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Indonesian, Tagalog, Esperanto, and by 1994, completely into Russian. In English, only two comic book issues were released originally between January 1980 and April 1981 before the publication was cancelled. Since then, a number of publishers partially published the series as Barefoot Gen, including New Society Publishers, who published the first four volumes from September 3, 1986 to December 1, 1993; Penguin Books, who published the first two volumes from August 1, 1989 to August 1, 1990, under the Penguin Originals imprint, with a new edition published July 27, 1995; and Last Gasp, who started publication from September, 1986, initially only publishing the first four volumes. After the revival of Project Gen, Last Gasp finally published all ten volumes unabridged (with ) from September 1, 2004 to February 1, 2010.

User statistics

Reviews

Recommendations

Based on shared genres.

Berserk

Attack on Titan

Goodnight Punpun

Vinland Saga

Fullmetal Alchemist

20th Century Boys

A Silent Voice

Monster

Gantz

Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror

[Oshi no Ko]

Tower of God