Barefoot Gen is the most serious manga I've ever read.  It is an autobiographical story of the bombing of Hiroshima and what happens after, based on what the author saw when he was a little boy.  The story is very emotional and it serves as a manga version of a documentary of the bombing of Hiroshima. 

The pictures that Keiji portrayed are very graphic and and it's a shock to me how the survivors handle this tragedy.  Even though I am not a fan of the author's style of drawing, but the story itself is extremely captivating.  I don't know if this manga would be suitable for children because it's so graphic, but it's supposed to be acceptable for young adults. 

The way Gen lost his father, sister, and younger brother were the same way that the author lost his.  I have a feeling that that part of the story was completely what the author experienced and remembered.  Even the name of the little baby Gen's mother gave birth to has the same name as the little sister that the author lost.  I can't imagine the feeling that the author was going through when drawing that part of the story.  It is just so sad.

Barefoot Gen: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima (Volume 1)

I guess the title of the manga says it all.  This volume describes how life was for Gen and his family before the bombing of Hiroshima.  Food was scarce, and it was even worse for Gen and his family because his father is anti-war, which was looked down upon by other Japanese.  The whole family was viewed and treatead as traitors just because Gen's father voices his own opinion and is against the war.  

First, Gen's father was locked up and beat up in jail for the crime of voicing his disapproval of the war.  In retaliation, Gen and his little brother, Shinji, attack the city chairman, who turned Gen's father in, and Gen bit off the man's finger.  After that, the family had to battle everyone else.  First, Gen was beat up for writing an essay that supports peace, and his sister, Eiko was accused of stealing at school.  The neighors forbids their kids from playing with Shinji. And to make things worse, Koji, the family's oldest son, insists on joining the navy so the family would no longer be viewed as traitors. 

The family had no food to eat and had to catch locust for food.   Their only grace was Mr. Pak, who is their Korean neighbor, who received discrimination from the other Japanese, himself.  As all the citizens were suffering from the consequences of war, they were also supporting the war, as they believe in what the emperor tells them, and were misinformed by the emperor that they are winning the war.  Everyone is willing and happily to die for the country, and think that it's an honor to die for the war.   

Akira, who was sent to evacuation camp, didn't do much better than the people in the city.  He tries to escape from the camp but was only sent back to the camp, and he almost lost his mind because of the stress of his living condition.  With not enough nutrition for Gen's mother, who's pregnant, she collapses.  Gen and Shinji find the solution to raise money by posing as orphan beggars who lost their parents in war.  Finally, the family receives sweet potatos from their friends, but the food was taken by the Military police, who accused that they must have bought the food from the black market.   The condition at Koji's camp wasn't any better.  Even the volunteers were mistreated by their superiors.  People's thinking was so corrupted that Koji's camp mate hanged himself, and the family was proud of his actions. 

Finally, on August 5, 1945, the Americans dropped its first atomic bomb, "Enola Gay", on Hiroshima.  Gen and his mother were lucky enough to not be harmed, but Gen's father, Eiko, and Shinji all were trapped under the collapsed house.  Gen and his mother couldn't move the beams off the three, and had leave the three or they'd be burned alive, also.  Gen's mother then went into labor and gave birth to a baby girl.

Barefoot Gen: The Day After (Volume 2)

Gen and his mother are the only two survivors of the bombing; his father, sister, and brother were all consumed in the fire after the bombing.  With his mother just gave birth to a baby girl, Gen is the strength of the two and has to find ways to keep the mother, the baby, and himself alive. 

Gen sets out far away from the city to find some rice.  On the way he saw numerous of people suffering from the result of the bombing.  Gen tries to help the ones that he could, and he witnesses how some people cope with the tragedy by being superstitious, such as consuming crushed to powder human skull would heal the injured.  Gen, himself, was having a hard time believing that his father, sister and brother were all dead.  He convinced himself that they'll return, and dreamed about their return.  Gen even met a girl who looked like his sister from behind, and a boy who both Gen and his mother thought looked exactly like Shinji, his younger brother. 

Gen's mother decides to go to her friend's house to seek help.  Besides her friend, the family rejected Gen and his mother, and even accused Gen's mother of stealing their rice.  Gen's mother was placed in jail and was told that unless she confesses that she did commit larceny, she would not be released.  Worried about Gen, she admitted it against her will and was called a thief.  After that, Gen and his mother left her friend's house, knowing that they can't stay where they are not welcome.