Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku - Anime Reviews - AniDB (2025)

Overview

It is seldom you come across an anime series with such pure, restrained narrative focus as in Ima, Sokuni Iru Boku. All other details, such as characters, ethical questions, and emotional byplay are secondary to the narrative. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, all these secondaries are highly effective and deeply memorable.

While the background setting is fantastic, it never struck me as unreal because petty despotism of the sort exemplified by King Hamido is the norm, rather than the exception in the course of human history, and his obvious insanity just made him all the more terrifying. The sheer desperation he imposed upon his underlings is palpable, as the system exposes human instinct that modern civilization tries to camouflage. Each and every one of his soldiers is forced to commit what are indisputably evil acts, perhaps even inhuman ones. There's a strong sense of mob mentality, and while some soldiers balk mentally at what they are doing, they still follow orders. Others thrive in this circumstance, and it is all too easy to draw comparisons to real life acquaintances.

Years ago, when 9/11 profoundly affected me (and many others), a common discussion was why the passengers let a handful of terrorists armed with little more than a few blades take over the planes, and in consequence take the lives of thousands, including their own. Certainly not a new thought, and I concluded in fairly short order that I would be one of the "heroes" who would be willing to take a stand in such a situation and attempt to muster effective resistance, and I mentally rehearsed my vague course of actions in such an event, as I had done dozens, if not hundreds of times in the past, so as to be ready rather than be frozen if the time came to pass. When watching this anime, it was only natural for me to run through the anime's scenario myself, to see possible courses of action to escape the nightmare they live in. I found none. None were the least bit practical, and all available information showed that, to steal a phrase, resistance is futile. It is always distressing to acknowledge that there are situations where your free will is meaningless, that you too would standby and help murder innocents, watch your friends get raped, kidnap small children, and all in the name of survival.

Music

The introduction melody initially seemed a short, simple melody that seemed vaguely appropriate for the show, but unmemorable and rather uninspired. Yet, as each episode fell away, I found myself listening to the melody, and somehow the song took on a melancholic character with a theme of desperation and hope. I found it particularly painful that the intro simply featured each character's portrait of them at a happy time, smiling. The contrast between each smiling character and their present situation was enough to send twinges of emotion through me. Particularly Sara, whose very appearance was different in the show, and quite possibly, the portrait in the opening melody was the only time she is *ever* shown smiling. I am certain that the music is very carefully timed with each character's portrait, at the very least.

Character

Each major character, in fact, is a distinct human reaction to the situation they find themselves in. Each person's reaction is perfectly plausible, and often only a few shades apart. For example, while Nabuca and Tabool come from the exact same circumstances, they deal with their situation in completely different ways. However, it is important to realize that while it appears they have taken a different path to the viewer, their course of actions are so close as to be outwardly almost indistinguishable. The differences are almost entirely mental, which is exemplified by Nabuca not even realizing Tabool is different from him until near the very end. A similar situation is seen with Sara. Sara, who is only here by sheer mistake, is given out as a prize to whatever soldier has particularly distinguished himself. The first man is shown as little more than a monstrous caricature of a human. Later ones attempt to show some compassion, attempting to exchange pleasantries. One man in particular seems to have convinced himself they have a workable relationship, perhaps he has even fallen in love with her. To Sara, he was simply another rapist who was attempting to take her very self away from her. In fact, the character I found it most difficult to relate to, other than the insane despot Hamido, was the lead Shu. But then, he is supposed to be special, a single chaotic element that can bring the entire house of cards crashing down.

Story

Regarding the social and political structure of Hellywood, it is clear that Hellywood is the remnant of some bygone military juggernaut, where King Hamido was the captain of this particular ship and Abelia was likely second-in-command. Yes, Hamido is insane, but the soldiers don't take their orders from him, they take their orders from their direct superiors. And they take their orders from their superiors, all the way up to Abelia, who is obviously competent enough to glue it all together. Why Abelia continues to follow Hamido is never made completely clear, but it is quite clear that she does have her reasons, and primary among them are probably loyalty and duty. Certainly she shows devotion and possessiveness concerning Hamido, and it would not be a shot in the dark to suggests she actually loves him. But really, all you need to know is that it's based on military discipline. Abelia is easily one of the best characters in the anime, though I declined to comment on her up until now, precisely because her exact reasons for her actions are never made explicit or even obvious. As for why the soldiers don't mutiny, mutiny is historically extremely rare, even under extremely bad conditions. Very harsh rule such as Hamido instated tends to cut mutiny out entirely, rather than encourage it. The lack of options for any deserters discourages that as well. The will to survive tends to trump all else. Furthermore, Hamido's propaganda is likely extremely effective on his child recruits, most of which doubtless believe in his cause entirely. The combination of young, malleable minds and lack of exposure to any other opinion makes it likely that most would willingly die for Hamido's cause. Through this as much as anything else, Now and Then, Here and There becomes commentary on war, military ideals, human psychology, and propaganda. It's such details that propel what might have been a simple tale of adventure into something greater.

Errata

A strong element in the story is a single character, the hero, and his ability to make a difference. But at the end of the day, he goes home, and it might as well have never been. It has made no change at all in the world he lives in, except, perhaps, to himself. Except for the fact that his ability to stay true to himself is what makes him special. It's somewhat unsatisfying, to tell the truth.

I was somewhat bothered by the overall story, solely because of the line in the beginning "Because 10 billion years is so short a time..." I instantly seized upon 10 billion years as being something close to the total lifespan of the Earth, or perhaps the Sun. This forced me to consider the world Shu ends up in as a future, post-apocalyptic Earth. In turn, this conclusion leads to the next logical conclusion that Lalaru is the embodiment of the Earth in some way. Nothing in the anime ever completely contradicts this interpretation, and it is rather easy to find statements that apparently back it up, if not conclusively. Yet, I hated this interpretation. In a story that needs no such cheap connective strings, allowing the possibility of such interpretation, and even reinforcing it only weakens the entirety, and ever so slightly lifted me out of immersion as I hunted for little snippets that would support my hated interpretation.

The "alternative world" types of animes are known to be interesting and built heavily upon the elements of fantasy and/or sci-fi (I wondered for a long time if those two genres can really coexist but then I remembered the Final Fantasy phenomenon). Not only animes, I can't think of one such Hollywood movie or series which doesn't fit the description above (think about Stargate or... um... hell, The Matrix trilogy can also put into that category, I liked them all). So is Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku another great and entertaining show like the rest of them? Here are the answers from my point of view:

So my short conclusion for this one, using and properly modifying the description before - it's depressing and heavily built upon the elements of pain AND suffering (physically and mentally speaking of course). Yeah, it's true, you won't find this anime from my list of favourites, in fact, you'd find it somewhere in the bottom, not that the anime is bad or anything, I just didn't enjoy it at all.
Well, I lied, the first episode was actually good and also the last episode (but that was because I was just so happy about it being the last episode that it seemed enjoyable). For real though, it started really good, except for the main character, talk about annoying. When you look at the cover image, it seems quite fascinating, doesn't it... at least it seemed for me, because of the cover I already liked it before I had ever watched it, that's because the scenario, or rather the setting of that cover is taken from the first episode. These huge and aged smokestacks reaching for the sky and two lone souls on top of them, then suddenly the action begins and the actual story starts. It all goes downhill from now on, the word "melancholy" gets a new meaning in this anime... or actually it's not sad at all, it never starts from that phase, it goes straight up to being depressing without any preparation at all. I mean, if you've seen SaiKano, then when you think about it, at first it's just a little sad, then it becomes more serious and reaches the depression spot, but you already saw that coming, well then, Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku (argh.. I'll just say NTHT from now on, it's shorter and these letters are the initials of the original English title - Now and Then, Here and There, which by the way is not the translation of the original Japanese title, or it is, but a bad one, it should be Me, Who is Here Now or something like that) goes straight to that D-Spot (Depression Spot) which is greater than what you see in SaiKano, just for the comparison.

It has almost no BG (background music) and the OP/ED are not the kind of anime OST's (original soundtrack) that you just must have, but who knows, the world is full of different tastes.
The animation only acknowledges 4 colors: the color of the desert sand, the color of prison cells/torture chambers/barracks/etc (yes, it's more and less the same color for them all, namely bluish black or something close to that), the color of human skin and the color of blood. It was all symbolically speaking of course, it has other colors as well, but the animation overall is dim and dull for the eye. Speaking of which, since the animation wasn't bright, the only eye-candy was this unfortunate girl, unlike the main female character, this girl was pretty and charming, maybe because she still had emotions. The main female character was like a lifeless doll, I have to use 2 of my favourite words to describe her - apathy and vanity. She's like... let's just say she doesn't care much about anything, which is for a reason. Where there's shadow, there's always light... yes I know it's the other way around, but since I talked about the "shadow" first, I changed the order. Anyway... the "light" is our loud little brat, that guy cares a little too much, always speaks, or rather screams with that annoying voice of his, runs around, wastes his energy, in a nutshell - he's way too genki (Japanese for energetic). We all know the stereotypical high school girls where at least one is overly hyper, always happy, speaks with a really high voice and usually annoys the brooding protagonist, the type of character you wish to kill on sight (at least I feel that way), well... the protagonist in NTHT is even WORSE than that.

When speaking about characters, they are all the negative types, each representing a certain bad personality, except for the main guy, being too genki can't really be considered a bad trait, but when we speak about the villain then the best word to describe him would be - fuckin' insane... so I still needed 2 words to describe him. Seriously, he's the worst villain ever and I don't mean he's a badass, on the contrary, he's a complete wussy, human scum would describe him just perfectly. The characters are the next reason why I didn't like NTHT much, if you don't like any of the characters, it's almost certain that you won't like the series at all.

I must say though, if NTHT was a Hollywood movie, it would probably win a few Oscars as good dramas usually do, despite what I've said, this series is still a classic, I mean, I despise Grave of the Fireflies which in some aspects is very similar to NTHT (it's similar in the aspects of pain and suffering, OK?! I know that in setting, they are completely different), yet it has received very good reviews from the critics, quoting Roger Ebert: "It belongs on any list of the greatest war films ever made.". The reason why I consider it a good drama is because of the aspects of the story - how the main character influences and changes the lives of those around him, it's clear that he has a more positive way of thinking about life than others and since he's too genki, he loudly states his opinions and annoys others to the point that they actually start having a positive way of thinking as well, instead of just shooting him (fine, I admit that maybe others who have seen NHTH or who will see it describe the method a bit differently, but the idea is still the same).

To watch it or not to watch it, that is the question... well I watched it and don't recommend it for others to watch simply because I didn't enjoy it at all, but then again, I'm not into this kind of stuff anyway. If you liked Grave of the Fireflies, you might also like this one, or if you're trying to find something that shows the nature of humanity's darker side and puts it to a test against the sense of reasoning and morality, then maybe you'll find it all in NTHT (I'm not sure as I'm still trying to figure out what the hell did I just said ), or... if you like to see people suffer (you sick bastards ).

(Updated review. There are some very minor spoilers.)

Whoa. This was not what I was expecting at all. Whilst I've just become aware that this anime has many fans, and that I'm not going to be considered one of them, I'll try to justify my opinions as best I can.

Visuals:
The visuals, first of all, I do not think much of. The character artwork and detail is very very lacking and is my main point of complaint. It reminds me (at times) of the simplicity of Pokemon and Hunter X Hunter. Overall, it feels a bit rushed and under-budget, as thought the studio wasn't quite wanting to make the anime so felt reluctant to actually put much money into making it look better.

The backgrounds and other scenery also look the same way - as though there was a low production budget for the anime. To be honest, the anime feels as though it came out of the 80s, as opposed to the late 90s when it was made. The lighting is gourdy, and there is never quite the look to the anime that makes you not notice it. If you're watching other animes from the same time period as when this was made, you cannot help but feel that this just doesn't quite cut it.

The only thing I liked about the visuals was that, despite the flaws and technicalities, it still had the ability to make me FEEL engrossed in the surroundings, and imagine the environment the artists were trying to get across. However, overall, the visuals were just below average.

Sound:
I found the sound pretty average. I was never into any of the musical score - hardly giving it a second thought most of the time. Usually I find myself noticing the music in animes very distinctly if I like or dislike it, but this just felt neither here nor there.

The voice acting was quite decent, with no particularly annoying voices, but no particularly stand out performances either. The sound effects inside Hellywood were pretty atmospheric, but once again, that's about it. The whole audio aspect of the anime was only ever average in every field, and nothing more.

Story and Characters:
Oh dear. At first, I had mixed thoughts about the story and characters, and felt that they were good. But that just didn't quite sit right with me, because I realised that I was thinking positively of the anime due to its tone and subject matter, rather than actually being objective about how well I thought it was executed. It wasn't until I admitted to myself that they WEREN'T actually very good, that I found myself more comfortable.

The story revolves around a young naive boy called Shu, who is one day magically transported to an alternate world / future, where an evil King rules over everyone and goes about enslaving everyone. The King presides in his moving fortress/tank called Hellywood, where he and his soldiers operate from. Shu is quickly enslaved and ordered to join the soldiers or die. Once there, he tries to find a way to defeat the King and get out, and keep as many people from being enslaved as possible.

As far as characters go, it's ONLY Sara that's any good and keeps me from announcing the characters as truly pathetic. She showed an immense emotion and I found myself really engrossed in the way her character responds to all the horrors that she has to go through.

This may have been enough to rate the characters higher, but everyone else is SO bad that I can't. Shu is highly irritating - after the first episode of the anime, I was hoping like crazy he would be injected with some kind of anti-naivity juice for the rest of the series. But his character is one of such naivity that it's a wonder he has any friends. I realise that the cliche good-guy character with ideals has to be somewhere in an anime, but he's so naive it's sickening; and for such a serious series, it doesn't work to have such a silly character. Some have argued that having a character so "innocent" as Shu is the perfect way to show the contrast between him and the evil characters, but the anime never gives you any satisfaction to watch him try and overcome the horrors he's trying to defeat. I was never even rooting for him to win - contantly I wished he would be put aside for some other protagonist to take over who I could emotionally or intellectually invest in.

Another character, Lala Ru, who is quite pivotal to the plot, is bland. Bland bland bland. I know she is not meant to be human, but the way they've portrayed her blandness just makes it dull to see her on screen.

The characters Nabuca, Abelia and the King tie in the faults that I find with the story. The King is so insane that I constantly wondered why no one dare go against his authority, or even how he got to where he is in the first place. Even if his soldiers feared him, or didn't realise his insanity, Abelia (his first in command) certainly did. And she never showed any pleasure in carrying out the tasks he told her to - what could she possibly gain by following the King, and not just shooting him? She had plenty of opportunity, and hardly had a "happy" life by sticking with him. None of the soldiers really did. It was never established just what motivation anyone had and that's a key issue as far as I'm concerned, which is enough to break this anime.

Another flaw with the story was how Nabuca (a yound teen who is enslaved and now a soldier for the king) so readily kept following orders instead of breaking free of the slavery he was under, when he had so many chances. Pier-pressure and mob mentality can be plausible reasons for part of it, but overall it just didn't appear enough.

I can understand that, even with all the kidnapped children, it would be hard to mutiny since you never really knew who would truly join you without selling you out; but with the amount of freedom that was given to the child soldiers, even one could easily go around Hellywood planting bombs and bring the whole place down. IF Hellywood was SUPPOSED to be presented as a more secure place, with practical means to stop mutinies, it just wasn't shown. And just how on earth did the King - that particular King - amass such a loyal number of troops in the first place? He's projected as a psycho jackass to the viewer, and that fact seems to be clear to his troops. It never felt plausible that everyone would just blindly follow his ideals. I would expect mutinies to erupt every minute.

These constant plot holes irritated me beyond what I thought was previously possible. And don't get me started on Lala Ru waiting until the last minute to finally save the day when there were so many other opportunities - if for some reason she had to wait until that particular moment, the series did not explain why so. Rather than being true to what the anime's world would believe to be realistic, the creators have decided to make events play out the way they want them, without good enough reasons to make you think they should be done so.

Value:
with the atmosphere generated by the sights and sounds, combined with the sometimes shocking events (kids murdering people; rape), I sat through the whole series with morbid curiosity. However, with it's many flaws, I won't be watching this series again.

Enjoyment:
I'd ONLY recommend this series to those who can overlook the not-well-thought-out and ridiculous presentation of the story, even though it's nature is actually interesting. (Though younger viewers should definately stay away - there are some adult themes here that are not apparent from the outset.) Unfortunately, I myself couldn't see past the techical, character and plot-specific flaws. This anime would have indeed worked - rather well in fact - if it gave a decent explanation for having things the way there were, showing motivation for actions and plot progression. But (in my humble opinion) it didn't.

“Now and Then, Here and There definitely is a great emotional stirrer. It is a must see for drama anime lovers.”

Animation [/b]
The animation of Now and Then, Here and There (NTHT) is a bit plain. There aren’t any special CGI effects or anything remotely spectacular. However, it has nice crisp, clear flowing animation that is pleasing to the eyes. The animation style is quite well done for its time. Characters do not have big glassy eyes, but rather normal circular ones with a little depth. Though work was put into creating distinctive animated characters, it was just enough to make them appealing. The opening sequence is quite plain and serves more of an opening credits introducing the characters. The ending sequence is beautiful, soft-hearted and shows nice background scenes.

Sound [/b]
In my opinion, this is the one area that NTHT was most deficient. The only memorable songs were the opening and closing theme "Komoriuta." While the opening theme was a bit warm like, it didn’t quite fit the overall feeling of NTHT. However, the closing theme perfectly fits the dramatic, melancholy tone of the series. Background music was good enough to just be there, but it didn’t quite invoke major mood changes. Moreover, voice acting for all the characters was well done. It is clear that the seiyuu tried their best to express as much emotion as possible into every character.

Story [/b]
Brief Synopsis: “Shu is a typical Japanese boy, but has an unbeatable, optimistic and determined attitude. However, when he sees a mysterious girl with strange eyes named Lala-Ru up on a smokestack, he is soon pulled into a strange desert world. Shu soon discovers the true terrors of war, which includes genocide, brutal torture, hunger, thirst, and child exploitation. Now Shu is trying to save Lala-Ru, as well as his hard earned, and often reluctant, new friends from the insane dictator, Hamdo. Whether Shu can possibly accomplish saving those he cares about while still holding up to his values remains to be seen.” -ANN

Though usually I come up with my own synopsizes, ANN’s synopsis would have been similar to what I would have written. Kudos to whoever wrote it.

The story is the best part of the series. It would be best to note that NTHT’s plot develops slowly at first. So if you don’t like lots of dialogue and want more action, this anime probably would not be a good watch. NTHT’s strength lies in its ability to stir emotions through great plot and character development. The beginning episodes focus on laying out the story, characters, and setting. In the middle of the plot, expect a bit of dialogue because it is slowly building up momentum to the series' great climax. The ending has its own twists and turns, and it will keep you on the edge of your chair till the very end.

Character[/b]
The characters in NTHT are quite memorable. The creator apparently carefully devised good distinctive characters with different personalities that allow you to associate with them. Shu is a typical Japanese boy that is forced to face the hardships of a new desert world. He always looks forward to the future and tries not comfort others the best he can in their times of need. Although Lala-Ru plays an important role in the story, she serves more as a passive main character. She doesn’t speak much, but there is much more to her than how she appears. Sara is another girl that was forcibly taken into the desert world. Of all the characters in the series, I believe that she is the most memorable. Her personality throughout the duration of the series changes significantly. As mentioned before, this anime is a drama, so expect more dialogue than explosive action scenes. The distinctiveness of each character is what makes NTHT unique and special.

Value/Enjoyment[/b]

I really loved this anime. It has a special flare like Crest of the Stars (Seikai no Monshou). When you first watch the anime, you probably will be thinking, "Well this isn’t really exciting." But this anime definitely has a natural charm, leaving you with the feeling to see the next episode. And before you know it, you become sucked into the characters and plot, and you’ll just want to see the end. NTHT is a definite must see for drama anime watchers.

Now and Then Here and There is a groundbreaking anime. It makes extremely good use of the 13 episode format. There was not one moment in this where I thought "we've hit filler town!". Whatever scenes were reused added to the affecting moments of the series. Surely, these scenes are not meant to be pleasant to watch but they definitely make you feel. So for just that reason, one can see the greatness of Now and Then Here and There. However it does not stop there, Akitaro Daichi has made a masterpiece using all elements that make one: involving story, complex characters, moving music and at times brilliant visuals.

The animation in this series is the only thing that is not up to the standard of the other elements. This is mainly due to the character design, it is just a little plain to look at. However this allows the creators to show what the characters go through to better effect, when they get bashed up, violated or murdered the bruising is shocking. You can actually feel their pain because of the depth and intensity of what is happening to them. Other aspects of the visuals are quite breathtaking. The backgrounds are wonderful to look at, from the textured empty deserts to the detailed wastes of Hellywood to the beautiful blue of the fountains. The action scenes are also beautifully co-ordinated. These scenes are the most fluid of the anime (as they should be) and their intensity is great.

The sound is definitely one of the series strengths. The opening theme is wonderful. It really suits the series and has a tribal feel to it that does not fail to remind me of "The Mysterious Cities of Gold" music. The ending theme is like a soothing lullaby after the carnage of some of the episodes here which is a welcomed thing. It adds an element of hope to the series. The background music is excellent here, so good that I actually bought a copy of the soundtrack! With Taku Iwasaki in charge of the soundtrack though, could you expect any less?

The story is excellent in portraying the struggles of the characters. The way it unfolds really develops the characters and the overall narrative. As I have pointed out before, this is not a pleasant anime to watch. It portrays the struggles of a world at war. Women and children getting enslaved while their husbands and father are killed will not be everyone' cup of tea. It's just that the storytelling is so strong that you can't help but be moved by it.

The characters really help with that. They are all individuals and show the rainbow of human emotions. From Shu's self-reliance and determination, Sarah's pain and frustration, Nabuca's hope and devotion, to Hamdo's unstable and irrational madness; they are all portrayed beautifully, realistically and with conviction. The seiyuus are to thank for this, they really deliver in making the characters the best they can be.

This series has recently been repriced by US Distributor CPM and you can get the whole thing + a bonus disc for aroung US $25. This should definitely belong in everyone's collection (if they are 16 yrs old and up). You can't get a better deal than that!

I have tremendously enjoyed this anime. Its exploration of the human condition without holding back themes or scenes makes it one of the jewels of animation. It is very unpleasant to watch at times but the raw emotion it could get out of me makes it one of the titles I will revisit.

Note: This review is based on KAA fansubs. Recommended.

Composed by Kurata Hideyuki (R.O.D, Kannagi) and directed by Daichi Akitarou (Kodocha, Fruits Basket) Now and Then, Here and There[/b] is a... dark fairy tale-like show about the violent nature of humanity. Set in post-apocalyptic future it is centered on a present day boy named Shu who due to an unfortunate incident ends up in that hellhole few survivors still call earth. Unlike the usual epic adventure many who are familiar with 'woops I fell into a parallel world' theme would come to expect, NTHT rather concentrates on offering as much shocking violence and sinister atmosphere as possible throwing its lead into torture chambers before he could even say huh?. This show actually comes off more like an anti-epic (if such thing even exists) showing supposedly grand scale wars and victories so empty and pointless that shooting yourself in the head is about the only logical course of action you get left with. Nonetheless, the very well conveyed thought-provoking atmosphere, perfectly timed pace of the plot and the overall freshness this show is completely soaked in make it as compelling to watch as any other great work in anime realm.

Now and Then, Here and There is a show I will likely never forget. Not because of a relatively entertaining cast of characters or even the great well-planned out plot, but simply because it offers a setting which is so far the most sinister I have ever seen. To tell the truth, it's not as much I enjoyed this show as I was fascinated by it. While I found the protagonist very far from my tastes, didn't really notice any memorable persona from the cast of characters which are still relatively sane (King Hamdo is, of course, as memorable as a childhood's trauma) and never particularly cared about what will happen to Lala Ru, I was still completely sucked in this show from the beginning to an end. Probably mostly creditable to the sheer originality and the obvious existence of the soul in the work; of course I might have been foremost fascinated by the unprecedented violence which mutually touches both physical and mental areas. Either way, I have to thank Now and Then, Here and There for giving me some fresh fuel to contemplate about how warped can humans become. It might not strike as hard as Neon Genesis Evangelion or Yoshitoshi Abe's works, but this show is certainly a thinker's anime and a good one at that.

Animation: 7/10

The best part of Now and Then, Here and There's animation by AIC is its picturesque backgrounds critical for conveying the beautifully sick atmosphere of it. You will find many nice sights to behold, be it a village in the mountains or an outtake of the sickening mushroom-like form of Hellywood itself in the middle of the deserts. Detail might not be particularly impressive nowadays and color palette is realistically bland, but when it comes to atmosphere Now and Then, Here and There delivers with a bang. You wont even notice how fast you'll be sucked in. It's really nice to see someone who knows how to direct doing the "camera" work in anime for a change. Individually taken angles make the show feel very alive and in some cases camera work is enough to make a point in the story, credit the setting or even flesh out a trait of a character. Direction is not particularly artsy (though you can notice a few cases of surreal coloring and some nice shots at sunsets or deserts), but it's obvious it was done by an experienced person; and is also very creditable for the Now and Then, Here and There's awesomely crafted atmosphere.

The only glaring downside of animation is the generic character designs. Doubtless you wont remember anyone's figure, save maybe for Lala Ru, few weeks after watching the show. Main cast is so generic you'll have trouble telling important and one-stand characters apart. They also blend with the backgrounds very well, so well you'll find them hard to notice in some scenes. At the same time, however, these designs give the show 'realistic' atmosphere; which in one sense helps to keep it serious, and in other makes imagery much less memorable than I would have liked. Now and Then, Here and There is not a new show and it's evident from its relatively low frame rate. Nonetheless, it never cuts corners with stale images and always delivers when in action scenes. You might not be particularly impressed having watched stuff produced nowadays, but those moving objects did look quite well in the age this show has seen the light. Well, either way, while fluidity wont impress you, it will unlikely retract you from enjoying this show to the fullest.

Sound: 7/10

It takes to notice the great instrumental OP free of any flashy animations to realize the show is not your generic anime. ED imagery too, rather than the usual "fireworks" offers many relaxing outtakes on cityscapes ... which feel miserably far away from the world the show takes place in. So far away to inspire melancholy with its sad, slow and relaxing song. Soft symphonic pieces composed for BGM by Iwasaki Taku (Tengen Toppa) do wonders at conveying the melancholic atmosphere of Now and Then, Here and There. Though his compositions in this show aren't as varied as in, let's say Rurouni Kenshin OVAs, they are just as good and emotionally engrossing. Oh yeah, and don't skip on 'next episode previews', they are filled with some spectacular insanity straight from King Hamdo.

Like character designs, voice-work in this show is as bland as it gets. There are exceptions, for example, Ishii Kouji who has voiced King Hamdo pulled out some awesome schizophrenic tone changes. And that disgusting laughter certainly doesn't come out without sufficient training. Apart from him, however, I doubt you'll find anyone else's performance spectacular. Mostly due to the fact that this show hired amateurs (some of who actually became big later). Also it's likely you will find some performances annoying. For example all boys are voiced by women who sound like, well, women, (particularly Imai Yuka whose performance of Crest's Jinto I hold as the best female-to-male ever doesn't fit a stuck-up character like Nabuca), also Abelia's timbre is prone to dissipate in the background more than you would like. Shu's voice done by Ookamura Akemi is plausible (he sounds as bratty as he should), but he still doesn't stand out much. Oh yeah, I also found Lala Ru's voiceactress Nazuka Kaori (14 years old at the time) somewhat tempting in her performance, too bad she almost never speaks (though it makes her voice all the more tempting). No wonder she managed to net herself a significant amount of awesome roles later being this good for her debut.

Story: 9/10

From the first sight Now and Then, Here and There seems to be set in a modern day Japan centered on some laid back kid practicing kendo, having crushes on girls, acting like idiot; you know the drill. Then *bam* a lot of weird things suddenly happen and the guy finds himself into another planet, dimension, future or whatever you want to call it; either way, in a confusing and sinister place. Well, it still sounds like nothing new, now you just wait for him to meet some elves or other native critters and save the day in an epic adventure, right? Wrong. The guy finds himself captured and gets various torture techniques used on himself before he could even say huh?. The setting, for some reason, gives off a similar post apocalyptic fairy tale feeling Ghibli movies do, except in here bad things happen in the manner you wouldn't want to show your kids. And if little kids forced to kill each other, underage girls getting raped is not enough for you, we also have a spectacularly insane omnipotent king who is prone to rip heads off the cats to make his point. Yes, a pleasant fairy tale indeed.

The plot itself follows Shu's attempts to, well, survive in the world he has fallen into, concentrating more on atmospheric story-telling than actual adventures. You can notice some vicious critters pleading to be hunted and there are some war scenes in the show, nonetheless, all these work as a foreshadow, at best, for showing how people cope with insane orders from Hamdo or with results his thoughtless actions bring about. Pace never lets up for the whole thirteen episodes and, while not particularly fast, shows a lot of stuff through that time. All episodes are important and fully entertaining. The show might lack epic twists, but the overall shocking value is strong enough to shock you... even if you predict the upcoming horror. You could, of course, bitch about how the protagonist survives many of his trials through nothing but deus ex machina (certainly hard to explain how can you fall from twenty meters height and get up with nothing but bruises), but it's not like the action of surviving is particularly important in this show, torment of living, however, is. Finally all of it is rolled up in a complete and deep ending which shows no signs of "happily ever after" and is strong enough to easily turn you teary eyed. Life... is beautiful, after all.

Characters: 7/10

The protagonist of the show, Shu, is the type of guy who'd dive down a fifty meters tall tower for a girl he has met for the first time (and didn't even speak with). In other words, he is a genuine idiot. And while I was fast to write his name down to my hate list, I soon realized I'm actually liking him in the following episodes. True, his annoying idiocy is not something I appreciate, but his ability to remain strong and stubborn even in the shittiest of worst situations kind of made me go lenient on him. It's also true that his idiocy is what moves the show forward very well, as any smarter protagonist would go insane if he had the brains to worry about what will become of him in the future. His idiocy is also outweighed by the other cast, who either are insane or have a refreshing common sense. Nonetheless, though Shu will never make to my cool characters list, I can't say I actually hated him and I must confess, in the end, I was happy he was picked up to lead this show. His slight development is very well carried out and he has this individuality aura around himself, certainly not a character type ripped from some generic show.

It takes half of the show for Lala Ru to finally open her mouth, even more to show some emotion. Nonetheless, her alien outward appearance and peculiar, hardly human behaviour makes her into an interesting character. Her attitude might be weak in the sense of emotional impact, but mysterious charisma, originality and character depth (which is not obvious from the first sight) all make her into a relatively exciting heroine, very well paired with the hyperactive Shu. You might find her to your liking if you have it for characters like Ayanami Rei.

King Hamdo takes the seat of a villain in this show and offers some delicious insanity for evilness lovers. When I say insanity, by the way, I don't mean he is a reckless badass or that he has hardly comprehensible motivation. I mean that the guy has some serious trouble controlling his mood, laughing happily at one moment and then stabbing someone with an anger-filled expression in the next. He also seems to be quite a megalomaniac, being quite uncooperative into considering an idea that not everyone in the world lives just so they could sacrifice themselves for him. Being completely out of touch with reality and demonstrating some fresh acts of gruesome insanity, Hamdo is not only an original and extremely hate-able villain, he is also my favourite character in the show. It's not like he exhibits lots of hidden depth or offers much emotional impact, but he is, simply, very fun to observe. Also, one has to wonder, what kind of person has he been at the time he legally became the commander of Hellywood; a back-story would have been delicious, even if impairing the now elegant pace of the plot.

Side cast is surprisingly small. There is the stuck-up model soldier Nabuca (whose sense of duty is about the last thing keeping his sanity with him), snake-tongued violent Tabool (who turns out to be a grander schemer than one would expect), black little kid Boo (who appears to be the most sane of the bunch), Hamdo's trusted lieutenant Abelia (any ruler, sane or not, would be envious of her unquestionable loyalty), abducted American girl Sara (her story is by far the most tragic of the bunch; very useful for conveying the social contrast between the two worlds, as her common sense to realize the grimness of her situation is something Shu's pathological optimism could never achieve) and finally kid-loving middle-aged woman Sis (who despite having relatively short screen-time is very well fleshed out and easy to relate to). Overall, the side cast might not be the most memorable of anime characters, but all of them are more or less nice, have their motives and develop in the directions you'd expect them to (in a good sense). Realistic reactions to surroundings and atmospheric storytelling is more common than dialogue fleshing in this show. So while you might be doubting if you know one guy's personality or not even near the end of the show you will still find yourself feeling for him. All the individual character drama, while not particularly heartbreaking, is bound to turn you watery eyed once or twice; a feat not so easily achieved by a half-season medium. Nonetheless, few from the overall cast, save for the "amusing" King Hamdo, will stay in your memories for long.

Myers-Briggs personality type indicator:

Value: 8/10

Though Now and Then, Here and There offers no surreality it's still a nice thought provoking show which is a nice thing to watch once in a while. You can never know if some new thoughts will be given birth by it after you net yourself more experience. I personally watched this show twice and loved it both times. Oh yeah, it's also plenty original; so you will want to keep it in your collection, if for freshness alone.

1. Conclusion[/b]:[/u] Now and Then, Here and There is a well crafted thought provoking show anyone looking for something fresh should try out. It is rated as 17+ and no wonder, since it offers some really sinister violence on kids which strikes you more on mental area than it would actually strike on physical... so be warned. Anyway, highly recommended for anyone who is interested in post-apocalyptic settings and prefer solid story-telling over action and thrill. When I think about a show that would come off as similar to Now and Then, Here and There, nothing in particular comes to mind, but if you've enjoyed it, I get the feeling you might also like Ghibli movies.

Overall, a solid anime, but with many technical flaws which keep it from being a great anime. Also, while the first episode gives the impression of a childish anime with a bit of action and not much violence, violence abounds, children are raped, tortured, beaten, killed, and murder others as soldiers.

The animation was average; typical of the 1999 animes, with many similarities to anime like Trigun: decent character models but very flat 2D backgrounds with little special effects to speak of.

The soundtrack was just as flat as the backgrounds; no real variety in the background music, and the opening and ending songs are not too good either, merely average.

The premise of the story has been done before: boy meets girl, girl is captured, boy follows girl to strange world to save her.
However, the one thing that stuck out to me in this anime is the string of seemingly contradictory themes throughout the storyline. While fighting is degraded as being bad and pointless, those who sit passively by and do nothing while Hamdo kills and destroys are also put into a bad light. These contradictory themes come to a head when Shu, the main character, himself states that he is confused about whether he should fight or not, and cries as he attempts to decide. It is this more realistic aspect of the anime (Shu, with his childish hatred of any fighting, vs. the reality of the need to stand up for what is right) that makes this story good.

Some major flaws in this anime, however, was the technological inconsistencies and the lack of background in the story itself.

While Hellywood fires beam-weapons, can hover thousands of feet off the ground, have mecha, have giant snake-like machines, and can transport people between worlds and times; their soldiers use old-fashioned bolt-action rifles, villagers sleep in huts or caves, and no other technology is to be found. Why is Hellywood so advanced? Why is everyone else so far behind?

The lack of background is also frustrating. How did Hamdo come to power? How does he stay in power while being mad? Why does Abelia put up with his abuse and not take power for herself? Why do other nations, after attacking Hellywood early in the series, not attack again? Why did they attack in the first place? What, exactly, is Lala Ru?

The characters were probably the best aspect of this anime. Shu, while childish and brash, is firm in his beliefs and wishes to save anyone he can despite the pain to himself. Despite being tortured, starved, and turned into a soldier, his beliefs do not change and he continues trying to fight for what he believes is right. Sara is also interesting, as she fights to keep her hope alive despite being tortured and raped herself. Lala Ru, who believes the worst of humanity, comes to change her views after coming into contact with Shu, and we learn about the violence she has endured over the centuries at the hands of humanity.

Side characters like Abelia and "Sis" are interesting, though not much background is given for either, and we never learn Abelia's motivations for sticking with Hamdo.

I don't know if I will rewatch this anime, though I would recommend it to others despite the lack of background and the inconcsistencies. However, there are many anime which are better than this one.

An eternity can be spent on this Earth and still, humanity will never chance. If one makes a jump in time, so far that all that he ever knew would no longer exist, not even in stories; if one makes a jump so far ahead that the world may have passed through death and rebirth for a hundred times; that one person would not find anything different from the humanity he leaves behind in the humanity he encounters. For mankind may simply be cursed to never see a dawn of changes.
Think of the medieval ages when a man, strong enough, would lead an army to satisfy his urges and wishes, despite all the suffering he may cause. Think of the savageness of those times; how innocents would become nothing more than pieces of flesh at the end of a spear; women raped just because they were weak and unable to resist; villages plundered and whole lives destroyed. And all of these, accomplished at the words of one man.
Now come closer to some more recent times. Take the most infamous crime in our written history: World War II. 24 million people dead, cities wiped off of the face of the Earth and more than 50% of the victims of war being civilians. From one man’s dream, to a world’s tragedy, humanity proved once again that even in a more “enlightened” era, it has not changed for centuries.
And, come to our day and think of all that goes on in the world, from terrorism to ample military operations for resources, all the while hidden behind a benevolent mask. Again, with one man that controls the fate for millions.
So, dear reader, would it strike you as odd that mankind would not have changed even if the entire river of time would have passed over it? Contemplate this as you read on.

Now & Then, Here & There is a brilliant, short and intense depiction of a world that has sunk so deep into despair, frustration and worry that it became just the proverbial “Hell on Earth”. Amidst these ruins beaten by the winds of time, war rages on, with no clear enemies or reason. One could simply say that it’s only madness that drives it on and one wouldn’t be far from the truth.
An insane king leading an army struck by fear tries to take the world for himself, believing that all his dreams would come true once he gains what he believes is true power. And with this, the machine of war ruthlessly moves on, ravenously devouring the corpses of young and old, weak and strong as it always had since the dawn of time.
Enter a boy, young in age, big in heart and strong in determination, challenging the ways of a world that is not his, which he can’t accept.
And everything else simply flows from itself, as seen by the innocent eyes of a child that would simply not abandon his beliefs.

What NTHT does in simple words is depict war and humanity, together as ever, with everything that this ensues. In so few episodes, the series throws at its viewers the cruelest things that war has done to humans. The show makes a clear contrast between the world it brings forth and the main character, making us witness innocence lost in the fires of battle, innocence raped by the evil of men, innocence slain by the wish for battle. It makes us accept all that it has to show us; makes us unable to deny it because it is all too real as history and even the present times have taught us; it takes away all that could prove to be our arguments to defend ourselves as humans.

All that it leaves us is the gentle reminder that we are only watching a work of fiction on our screens and that’s all that makes it bearable.

What this anime is… it’s a work a genius.

Animation
NTHT is one of those series in which the animation serves the anime, not lead it, because the anime’s focal point is not on visual imagery but on story and characters.

Static backgrounds, drowned in an array of sickly colors that merge in a painting-like fashion make up the wasteland that the anime brings before us. Rarely stunning, rarely ambitious as far as the imagery goes, NTHT’s world simply looks the part it’s supposed to play. And that’s all it needs; no great amount of details, no great amount of effects. The anime keeps it simple and effective because it has little need for animation in conveying its message.

Same things can be applied to characters as well so I’ll not go into greater detail. The bottom line is that the anime looks good without being jaw-dropping.

Sound
Unlike the animation, the care for the sound has been great. Appropriate to the mood of the anime and to what it tries to do, the musical score is nothing short of magnificent. We are treated to some of the best orchestral sequences that I’ve seen in my anime career. To that, add the stunning instrumental pieces that take the place of the opening and ending and I must say that listening to the OST is like basking in the glory of a classical music concert.

And, to make the dish complete, the voices are perfectly chosen and acted out on the character’s model.

Now, you may argue that finely chosen voices and performances is not something to brag about since that is what an anime MUST have, the cases for exceptions being few and worthy of despise. But, there is one element that sets this anime aside from what the standards ask for: Hamdo. To change tones from a soft voice to an insane tirade with such ease can only be marked as truly impressive because the king actually sounds like the mad-man he is depicted to be. My deepest respect goes to Koji Ishii for such an admirable job.

Story
I’ve already said what this anime does and what it portrays. Had it not been for the great care with which the producers went about the subjects they tackled, I truly believe that the anime would’ve simply seemed as a manipulative piece of trash. But, as it is, I can only say that it is much more than any anime I’ve seen up to date.

The anime is not perfect. Let me just establish this from the get go: it has its flaws but they are few and mostly, background related. For the producers have concentrated all of their efforts on Shun and his struggles against Hamdo, darkening the surrounding world to a blur that is never explained to us. I understand that the king was insane and his dreams were simply mad, as he saw attackers everywhere, but that is not enough to make his war believable. In one episode, a battle ensues. Against who and why…we’re never told. Perhaps it’s simply one symbol in the sea of many that the anime shows us; a symbol to tell us that in war, the enemy is not always clear. Or perhaps I’m exaggerating in searching for a symbol in this or in claiming this to be a flaw, because I wish for more details on the world, I wish to know it breaths so I may believe in it.

Otherwise, the anime is the grandest representation of human misery that I’ve ever seen. The promise of a simple adventure anime in the first episode is quickly forgotten as nothing prepares the viewer for what he’s about to encounter.

Nothing is purer than a child. Nothing is more untainted that a child’s heart. That’s why nothing is as gruesome as witnessing the raping of a child. And I’m not only referring to the sexual act and all that it infers. Think about giving a child a weapon and teaching him how to kill and you’ll understand all that I’m saying.

Savage and unmerciful, the anime begs for hatred from the viewer because nothing inside it can be loved, not even Shu’s actions that are nothing more than one person’s voice against a world gone mad.

Character
But that voice will not shut up; will not succumb to following the set trail as all the others. Shu is a catalyst like none other. Reflecting off him are all the other characters that define their personalities in correspondence to his. Perhaps he is too primitive, too bold, too stubborn; but he is a character that needs to be as he is for all the others to shine and make him shine as well. I’ve rarely seen in an anime such a correlation between characters

Nabuca, Boo, Sarah, Lala-Ru, Abelia…Hamdo…all of these you’ll know only by watching them interact with Shu. Each character is an individual with his or her beliefs, reasons and flaws.
One would follow blindly the promise of a return home since that’s his own light left. One would come to despise all about her because of tragic events; would come to know shame and horror at once as she is desecrated in the most brutal way imaginable.
One would rule as a mad king that surpasses any of the ancient tragic rulers; as another would blindly follow him even into the pits of Hell, for love, for obsession, for duty.
One would for ever lose hope in man’s kin after thousands of years of abuse from these petty creatures. “I will not sacrifice my life for humans any longer.” Trust me or not, I’ve waited for more than 200 anime titles for a line such as this one, which says volumes about the character at hand.

Wonderful and humane characters, NTHT fully delivers at this chapter.

Value
So dear reader, have you thought about what I’ve asked earlier? In such a world, would you succumb to the many and give way to your primal instincts of kill or be killed? Or would you speak up against all that you find resentful, keeping to the vague term of your “humanity”?

If you’d think about these things after you would have watched this, then all I can say is that this anime has done all that it set out to do. All else that I can say is that I would recommend this anime to the strong of heart because it is truly one of the most insightful anime on human nature and human relationships. It made me think about myself and about the world and I consider that a great triumph for the anime industry.

ANIME MINOR JEWELS SERIES
Full list of the review series can be found on this page, 3rd post from bottom:
http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?uid=251338&show=userpage&do=blog&blogid=29009&page=0

This anime is famous for fooling the unexpected to think it is yet another silly children’s adventure. Well it’s not because it deals with some heavy themes around the tragedies of war. And then it infamous for fooling you again by thinking it will be very serious and mature in the way it presents its story when in reality it is still doing everything superficially. And this is where the dichotomy of the audience comes; depending on which part you prefer is crucial in eventually liking or not the entire show. Of course this is an anime and it has the liberty to be as unrealistic as it wants to be. Most people by default suspend their disbelief quite easily actually (we wouldn’t have religions if they didn’t) and thus if you belong in this category of viewers, chances are you will enjoy it a lot.

The story starts in a typical fashion. A normal boy living in our normal world meets a silent girl and before he realizes it, he is magically transported to a different world, where he needs to survive and find a way to help the girl and return home. So far you probably expect some sort of Digimon or Monster Rancher variant. Yet behold, in this world almost everything is a wasteland and people are living in small communities close to bodies of water. The villains of the story are warlords who are constantly fighting for water and along the way they forcefully take away children and through propaganda make them obedient soldiers in their conflicts.

Unlike typical children’s adventures, the bad guys are humans and not generic monsters. And there is a huge amount of suffering, torture, death, even rape, elements that create a very dark and depressing setting that depicts some of the worst aspects of war. The basic theme is how children are forced to fight the wars of the grown ups and how they are brainwashed with deception to become inhuman killing machines, expendable units in the portfolio of megalomaniacs. The emotional impact this has on the viewer is tremendous. Although none of the characters are special in any way when it comes to personalities, the cruel nature of the show is making you sympathize with them. Thus the typical shonen hero, the silent damsel in distress, the insane general, all of them are caricatures but highly easy to feel something about them because of the high shock effect of the tragedy.

At the same time, this is not a realistic show in the least. There is a lot of magic convenience going around and the finale feels forced. Down to it the anime is a dark fairy tale. Dark, yet a fairy tale; easy to inflict emotions on you and easy to dismiss all its plot devises as nothing but superficial means to tell a story. If you don’t think about it much, it can work.

The production values are average to bad in overall, as there is little detail in drawing and not much shading or special effects going around, while the setting is basically a monotonous desert with occasional mechanized camps and rural villages. This very simplicity is what makes the feeling of the story to crawl on you easier, since everything is basically black or white in morals. So are the characters and their generic looks. The girl is a simple savior of sorts and nothing further; you care for her just for that. The general is an insane megalomaniac and nothing more; you hate him for being just that. And so on, and so on with the rest of the cast. Practically, the tragedy around the world and its cast is more important than them but subconsciously most can easily be fooled to redirect the feeling on the former and completely disregard how the entire show is basically a superficial anti-war propaganda show that feeds on the viewer’s sensitivity on watching children suffering. Rather cheap but it works.

But anyway, the unexpected tragedy in a children’s adventure formula is more than enough to deem the anime as something out of the ordinary and in general worthy of watching. The themes may be presented superficially but they are otherwise very true in most wars. The characters may all be caricatures but this way they are easily understood and loved or hated. Especially the evil general; I really loathed that bastard. The ending is as I said rather convenient and is mostly there to wrap things and bring closure to the tragedy in a cheery way, thus leaving the audience with tears of joy. Again, it is cheap but it works.

It is by no means a masterpiece as some may claim because of the convenient factor. There are far better war dramas, such as Area 88 or even Grave of the Fireflies. Yet it is definitely an above average series since it deals with elements most shows refuse to depict in general and by the end of the day it is good for boldly going where not many have gone before… even if it’s tripping here and there every now and then.

And now for some excused scorings.

Boy meets girl in another world. This was the starting point of many shows through the history of the japanese animation industry. It typically implies that our hero or heroine will be a key piece in solving this new world's problem, saving the day, wielding some kind of power, and ultimately either returning triumphantly to reality or becoming a legend in this fantastic place. Although some could tackle heavy themes and mature tales, it would always feel light, fantastic, heroic.

Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku (Now and Then, Here and There, which I'll simply call Now and Then) tries not to be that. This is a tale to thwart your expectation, especially because it teases to be exactly that sort of fantastic tale of heroism with its first episode. Here we have our young protagonist, Shu, meeting a strange girl at the top of an industrial chimney. This meeting, however, is interrupted by an attacking force of weird machines and military people trying to abduct the young girl, whom we learn is called Lala-ru. Shu rushes to her aid, only to be transported to another world, one devastated with war, death, and a massive dry.

1. A tale of survival
   Shu is an hyperactive boy, a typical shounen lead of movies of old. He is quick to act, lazy to think, and want to do some good although he rarely tries to understand the world around him. He is taken to a deadly new world though, one in a state of warfare, lack of water, and where the girl he is trying to save seems important for a military maniac that enslaves children. Yeah. Shu is not going to be a gifted hero here, he must survive first and foremost.

   And he is just a boy
   Although he is our main lead and can be quite vigorous and absurdly resilient, Shu is just a boy. Being pursued by soldiers, fighting his way through a colossal warship filled with hopeless children, and trying to save Lala-ru is a quest beyond his skills. This makes Now and Then more of a tale about shrugging a sad reality into the face of our protagonist, even if he takes a while to understand that.

   But he could learn more
   Yeah. A lot more. It is interesting to see Shu surviving in this world where children wield firearms and are forced to participate in a hopeless war just because a mad dictator is ordering them, but Shu is, most of the time, too much of a stereotype. His stubbornness is simply ridiculous and even after seeing death, fighting for his life, and learning about the situation of this new world he seems unaffected, maintaining his genki-boy behavior and trying things that could easily cost him his life. He is never cautious, never wary, never mistrusting. It gets annoying seem a boy that never learns take the lead of such a powerful tale...

   Because there is depth in part of the cast
   This new world is not simply sad, it is fucking wrong. Shu meets another girl from his world while imprisoned, Sara, who happens to be a north-american young girl mistakenly kidnapped. This one girl is raped, tortured, and destroyed through the course of this tale. We also have Nabuca, an enslaved soldier-boy trying to cling to a hope that things will be normal after the war ends, yet he is slowly shown this is just a sad wishful thinking of his. We got Boo, a far too young child obeying orders but trying to help whenever he can. We have Abelia, a fazed commander with a doubtful obedience. There are a lot of interesting people here, people broken by their reality, struggling to survive and suffering through it. These guys make a big point into showing how the protagonist is the only person in the world that never really learns anything.

   There are also nonsensical stereotypes too
   Along with Shu we also get the silent girl capable of saving thr world and a maniac dictator. Although these two serve decent roles for the tale, their actions make little to no sense. Lala-ru holds the power of magic, gifted with a mysterious past and pursued for her might, yet her reluctance to use them is quickly disrupted by random choices, which makes us wonder if she could've done things much earlier to avoid a LOT of problems. Hamdo, the maniac evildoer is far too insane and there's no exploration of how Abelia holds to obeying a madman that only make selfish and terrible choices. I can understand the children fearing him because they never saw the poor excuse for a ruler, but Abelia could simply kill him or lie to him in order to make things much easier from her point of view. These characters, along with a few other lesser ones, get too stuck with their lack of backstory and reasoning, which is a sad detraction from such an incredibly sad and dark setting.

   Dark themes, yes
   Torture, giving guns to young boys and brainwashing them with propaganda, kidnapping children to boost their numbers, raiding villages, rape, abortion, and death. Yeah. The boy meets girl in another world turn out to be a trip to hell with a certainty things won't go well. This is boosted by a dramatic sound-track and a mature voice-acting, which is only hampered once again by the protagonist with a voice more apt to a long-running happy shounen lead. The dark theme also gets a big help from the art department depicting a devastated world with impressive skill, although with a lack of detail to make it truly stick.

Now and Then could be massive. Many of its moments gave me glimpses of Hotaru no Haka, the desperate events unfolding made things grow more and more hopeless, and the children in it were sad, broken pieces of human beings suffering just for the sake of some madman. There is even a mention to one divisive topic such as abortion, but sadly that's where the sexist japanese society gets the ordering voice and, instead of questioning what could happen with a girl getting pregnant from a traumatic rape experience, it only simply goes through the typical bullshit of "Blame the world, blame the rapist, but not the unborn fetus!". Yeah, such a decent setting to raise this question, but sadly it is taken as if this is traditional male-ruled Japan. A wasted opportunity.

Missing the mark with a divisive topic is not really a problem for the show though, Shu is. He is a boy for a happy story, for a shounen where things are quickly fixed and where suffering means only taking a few punches. He never learns even when people around him are dying, being raped, and mentally destroyed. He also forgets things far too quickly, remembering about other people only when it gets far too obvious. Yeah, he is a pitiful excuse for a lead in a world that had every tool at its disposal to be a masterpiece of drama and sadness.

You must see it though. Perhaps you may manage to find some liking point in a basic protagonist, but everything else will certainly catch your attention as you watch this tale of a broken world unfold after each episode.