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Mainichi Weekly Publishes Abridged Barefoot Gen Manga in English Online
posted on by Alex Mateo
The Mainichi Shimbun's Mainichi Weekly website began publishing an abridged English version of Keiji Nakazawa's Barefoot Gen (Hadashi no Gen) manga on Friday. The abridged version, previously published in print in Japan, features select scenes and includes explanations for Japanese speakers who are learning English.
The website will upload the series every morning in a total of 20 parts until August 5, the day before the anniversary date of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The abridged manga will remain online until the end of August.
Through publishing the manga, Mainichi Shimbun hopes to spread Nakazawa's messages of "No more Hiroshimas," "No more Nagasakis," and "No more Hibakusha" (atomic bomb victims).
Nakazawa was born in Hiroshima in 1939. At the age of 6, he survived the 1945 Hiroshima bombing and the loss of most of his immediate family — his father, older sister, younger brother, and younger sister. Only he, his mother, and two brothers who were not at home survived.
He drew Barefoot Gen from 1973 to 1985, based on his experiences during the bombing and of his struggle to survive in the aftermath. The resulting 10 volumes of Barefoot Gen have since sold over 10 million copies and have been translated in English, Russian, Korean, and many other languages.
Nakazawa underwent treatment for lung cancer and related ailments in 2010 and 2011. He abandoned plans for a new Barefoot Gen sequel in 2009 due to his worsening eyesight from a cataract and a damaged retina. However, he said, "Our generation must continue to tell of the horrors of atomic bombs and war." Nakazawa passed away in 2012 due to lung cancer. He was 73.
Last Gasp Publishing already republished the manga in North America. The manga inspired two animated films and a live-action television drama special in Japan.
Discotek released the 1983 and 1986 Barefoot Gen movies together on Blu-ray Disc and DVD in Japanese with English subtitles. The release also included the English dub for the first film. Discotek describes the story:
Hiroshima, August 1945. Gen is a cheerful elementary school student living in Japan during World War II. After years of living with difficult wartime rationing and impoverished conditions, Gen and his family have managed to maintain a relatively normal and happy life. All that is about to change when an atomic bomb destroys their city in an instant. While Gen and his mother manage to survive the attack, the rest of their family is not so lucky. In the face of adversity, Gen manages to maintain his cheerful spirit and never loses hope that things will get better for him, and for the entire nation of Japan.
Streamline Pictures and Orion released the first film on an English-dubbed VHS tape, and Image Entertainment released the dub on DVD in 1999. Geneon Entertainment then released both films together on a subtitled DVD in 2006.
Source: The Mainichi via The OASG
