Barefoot Gen

Gen Nakaoka and his family endure food shortages and constant air raid warnings in Hiroshima. Kimie is pregnant and malnourished, while Gen's sister Eiko helps with housework as Gen and his brother Shinji assist their father Daikichi in the wheat field. The family watches the war's progress, wondering why Hiroshima has been spared from the air raids that devastated other cities.

On August 6, 1945, Gen and a friend are at school when an atomic bomb explodes above Hiroshima. The friend is killed; Gen is buried under rubble but survives. Daikichi, Eiko, and Shinji die in the ensuing fire, while Kimie briefly sinks into a mental breakdown. A neighbor helps the family begin to escape toward a safer location.

With the help of a neighbor, Gen and Kimie find a safe shelter amid the ruins. Kimie gives birth to a baby girl, Tomoko, as the city burns around them. The newborn’s cries punctuate the silence of a devastated landscape.

Dark rain begins to fall over the ruined city, the fallout from the bomb spreading through the air. Gen and Kimie grapple with fear and the new responsibility of caring for Tomoko. The harsh conditions push the family toward a fragile existence.

Gen searches for food while soldiers distribute rice, but he discovers they are handling corpses and burning them in mass graves. He carries a radiation-poisoned soldier to a makeshift hospital, where the man dies. This experience deepens Gen's trauma as he brings home some rice and vegetables for his mother.

Kimie notices bald spots on Gen's head, a reminder of the illness from their harsh conditions. Gen recalls the dying soldier and experiences a mental breakdown, overwhelmed by the war's toll. The family clings to small moments of relief amid scarcity.

On August 9, 1945, another atomic bomb strikes Nagasaki as Japan refuses to surrender. The attack compounds the sense that the war's end is still distant and uncertain for Gen's family. The couple continues to struggle for basic survival in the aftermath.

On August 15, Gen and Kimie learn of Japan's surrender after digging up the remains of their family members, but they feel the prayers for peace arrive too late. They move to a makeshift shack and try to survive on scarce food. Amid the ruins, they encounter Ryuta, a boy who was orphaned by the bomb.

Gen and Kimie take in Ryuta, recognizing their shared loss. Together they face hunger and the uncertain future, with Ryuta's presence offering a glimmer of hope. The trio continues to search for food and safety in the bomb-scarred landscape.

The boys find a job tending to Seiji, the ill-tempered brother of another survivor, for 10 yen a day. They endure mistreatment, even slapping Seiji, and eventually quit after Seiji begs them to return. Gen spends the night with the man, which inspires him to paint again.

Seiji's brother pays them 100 yen after their brief stay and work, a rare stroke of luck in the famine-struck city. The money allows them to buy milk and other essentials for Tomoko. It’s a fleeting comfort amid ongoing hardship.

When Gen and Ryuta return home, they find that Tomoko has died from malnutrition. The loss compounds their grief and strengthens their resolve to endure in the ruined city. They lean on each other as they press forward.

Weeks later, wheat begins to sprout again, signaling a fragile return of life. Gen, Kimie, and Ryuta set a paper boat lantern adrift on the river, praying for peace. They watch the lantern drift toward the sunset, a small beacon of hope amid ruin.