MISC. MANGA, *Barefoot Gen

I Saw It which was the first manga to get a genuine American release. It was printed through Educomics which normally publishes educational underground comics. It was an accounting of author Keiji Nakazawa's life in Japan during World War II, and this one-shot was later expanded into the ongoing expanded storyline, Gen Of Hiroshima, which was later reprinted in full through publishers New Society Publishers and Last Gasp under the title Barefoot Gen. The manga ran from 1973-87 and was the basis for a live-action movie trilogy, a live-action mini-series, and two anime movies, but its more infamous for its historical significance and realistic account of war atrocities.

Set in Hiroshima during WWWII, life for the common citizens was perilous, and poor boy Gen struggles along with the rest of his family as they are having to surrender so much of their lives to the Japanese government. Gen's father Daikichi is branded a traitor after getting kicked out of the people's volunteer soldiers, and his actions get his family split despite his pregnant mother given birth to his baby sister Tomoko. Their situation becomes even sadder when Hiroshima is bombed by the American forces, how the war ends, and Japan's surrender to the outside world.

Barefoot Gen is of course noted for providing the point of view of war from the nation launching it in the first place and how it affects that country's citizens. Nakazawa's perspective on how these tragic events left its toll on his life are reflected better in the writing than in the slightly more cartoonish-looking artwork. The manga doesn't hide the horrors of war, so make sure to keep that in mind if you plan to delve into this real-life catastrophe.