Barefoot Gen and Elric: The Dreaming City

Barefoot Gen and Elric: The Dreaming City 

            To be honest, I had a busy week, and didn’t get very far with Maus. I did love Barefoot Gen though. As a child living in Asia, I grew up with anime and manga; never having touched a comic until about fourth grade. Barefoot Gen had the classic symptoms of a 80s Anime; movements straight out of Tetsujin 28, Astroboy or Gatchaman. Of course, the story is far from being fantastical; On the contrary, I’m inclined to believe it is largely autobiographical. It struck me right at heart to watch the movie; and the bombing could not be more foreshadowed than it was in the line, “All the other major cities were bombed, but not Hiroshima.”

            The bombing was sad, the atmosphere heavy; it was horrible. It was not, however, what I cared for the most; it was the narrative of the bonds shared within the family of Gen that kept me invested in the story. From my personal experiences, I can safely say that, East Asian culture, namely Japanese, Chinese and Korean; place a huge emphasis on teamwork and sibling bonds. I’ve grown up with my brother calling me brother my whole life, only having stopped once he hit the ripe age of 18. To this day, despite being 21, I still call my sister, well, sister. In Asia, siblings are taught to look after one another, no matter what the cost of doing so is. Examples of this include Akira, Tekkon Kinkreet, Gurren Lagann, Grave of the Fireflies, Full Metal Alchemist…so on and so forth.

            And so, when Gen lost his brother, Shinji, it hit pretty close to home. Gen’s sadness of losing his brother is a lot more than what it may seem. To many viewers, I’m sure that it seems that Gen mourns the loss of his brother. From a cultural point of view, the impact is more inclusive of other factors; trust, guilt and the inability to be there until his final moments. To Gen, he may as well have killed his brother, having betrayed the honor and respect his brother placed in him. I would imagine Gen went to sleep, wishing he died in that fire in his brother’s place.
            On the topic of Elric: The Dreaming City. It was great. Reminded me of Jean Giraud’s work. I am greatly looking forward to seeing his works in class.