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I Saw It (6 Points)

 There's one thing that really gets my blood boiling, and that would be war. Stories from war that depict the truth behind it- the lives we lose to war, the carnage of the lands it's touched, the ever lasting effects on those who are exposed to the harmful shock, bombings, gas, etc. Everything about war just adds into the sick and twisted desires of those who orchestrate it. I would say that that is just my personal opinion on the matter, but I think these stories introduce the proof that nothing good comes out of war.

Keiji Nakasawa does a beautiful job of illustrating the misfortune he experienced during the WWII era. It really hits me hard knowing that Hiroshima was a city filled with people who had their own lives and were just barely managing to get by. And for what... just so we can destroy it all? I feel so bad for Keiji and his family, and for anyone who was affected by the war in any way. The grief he must have felt- or in fact lack there-of due to his and his mother's shock, must have been excruciating. I'm just so glad that he did what he set out to do- to educate those on the reality of what happened in Hiroshima and how it affected him and everyone around him.

I actually looked up what the victims of the bomb looked like because Nakasawa's depiction of them looking like zombies seemed almost far-fetched, but I found other artist's renditions that looked almost verbatim of Keiji's artwork. They walked like zombies; their flesh falling off as they beg for water... I can't imagine. It's so outlandish to think that's what they had to experience, that it doesn't seem real, but it is. It's a part of history, and it's engrained in their minds forever.

If anything were to come form this, I think Nakasawa made the best decision he could by educating others of the experience and promoting anti-war sentiments. I think it's important to know how much it affected innocent civilians they try to make us think are our enemies. I hope that some day we can truly find peace.

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