To be honest, I've picked it up few years ago and I've dropped it. Well, I gave it another chance after some time passed, even rereading the volumes I've already read (which is something I rarely do) and I'm sure glad I did so.

First off, yes, one of the main reasons I didn't like this manga at first was the art. At that time I wasn't used to the older manga style at all, so it didn't appeal to me. So if you're a reader of just "new" manga (and by that I mean those released in last two decades), you might have a similar reactions. I would recommend you to just stick with the manga anyway - not only art isn't the point of this tale, it might grow on you anyway like it did for me and you'll notice that some of the pages and panels are actually quite nice.

Since I've mentioned that art isn't the point, it's obvious that the main strength of this manga is the story. And it's truly a unique one. "Unique" being a term that is tossed around meaninglessly sometimes, in this case it truly is one of a kind manga. It tells a war story, sure, but it's not a fictional - it's personal and it doesn't pull punches. It's on entirely different level than for example Grave of the Fireflies. It conveys its ideas not by being preachy, but by directly showing how those ideas were formed - the author leads us through his own journey of forming his thoughts. The story works well from both the narrative and educational view. The protagonists are likeable and you'll come to like them quickly - which also means you'll get hit by the tragedies portrayed in Barefoot Gen harder. Thankfully, they are far from being generic heroes without flaws. They get angry and they also make mistakes. But well, as it's based on real story it's now wonder the characters feel real. More importantly, they're not the annoying "oooh if I fight back I'll be the same as the bad guys" type. Anti-war is the position of the protagonist, but he also realizes that this goal cannot be reached by passivity and by staying out of conflict. Gen and Ryuuta operate on set of morals that are their own, not an empty shell of morality that someone just pushed on them and they would blindly follow.

If this was a fully fictional story, I might say that some of the plot points are too cruel and a forced drama, but in this case it only makes me realize how horrible those times were. Don't think this will give you just some basic info about Hiroshima bombing that you already know. The focus of this manga is mainly on the aftermath, and it conveys lesser know realities. To my utmost respect the author even acknowledges the faults in Japan, from the emperor's warmongering to war crimes towards Korea. I'm surprised this actually got published, but I'm glad it did.

Barefoot Gen is a work I would wholly recommend, both because the story is good and because the story is something that as many as possible people should know. But as I have mentioned in at the start, it might not click in with everyone right off the bat.