Barefoot Gen – The Movies 1 & 2
Picture:
C- Sound: C Extras: B Films: C-
Barefoot Gen 1
It is
near the end of WWII, Gen is an ordinary boy who lived in Hiroshima. Life is hard due to the war, but all that
changed in just one day. The atomic bomb
is dropped on his town, Gen being one of the survivors has to face, the
hardship that follows, only his mother survives and with the city in ashes,
food, help and kindness is in desperate short supply. Gen must somehow regardless of circumstance keep
his head up find a way to carry on. Along
the way he meets all sort of people, other survivors, some more badly scared
than other, while others have lost hope... How Gen helps others, encouraging to
not give up and live on.... no matter how bad things are.
Barefoot Gen 2
3 years
have gone past; Gen and his adopted brother are still surviving in the slum
remains of the city. Streets are filled
with homeless children, children who have lost their parents, surviving by
stealing and scrapping by with what they can. Gen becomes involved with these children and
helps them find a way to survive. But
with his mother becoming more and more ill can Gen remain strong? Children are starving in the streets and
aftermath of the atomic bomb can be still seen in the survivors...
An older
anime put onto DVD, while you can see some of the picture quality isn't as
good, most of it comes from older films where you can still see dirty frames,
sound quality is pretty low, but it is an older anime. But after while, you stop noticing and get
into the show.
And while
this doesn't have the typical giant robot, magic transforming girls, or huge
space ships you find in modern anime, Barefoot
Gen is actually based on historical contents. While the character Gen is made up, its story
and drama didn't need any imagination. Based
on the book, the story was not originally written for its historical content,
nor for entertainment, but after WWII it was written for the children who survived
atomic bomb, to give them hope and inspiration for the future.
The story
is inspirational and gives an insight not only to that time and its people but
also reminded people that regardless of loss, the human spirit can still remain
strong. To live on not only their own
sake but for those who died as well. A
lot of times these movies will remind you of simple things, family, food, home
and then touch you. It reminds one of sometimes
how hard is it for the simplest of things is important to us.
- Ricky Chiang
