Now and Then, Here and There

Now and Then, Here and There
File:Ntht-anime.gif Shu and Lalaru
Genre	Action, Drama, Science Fiction
Anime
Directed by	Akitaro Daichi
Studio	AIC, Geneon Entertainment

Now and Then, Here and There (Japanese title:今、そこにいる僕; Ima Soko ni iru Boku) is a 13-episode anime series that was broadcast on Japanese TV from October 1999 to January 2000.

It is a fictional story about a young boy named Shu who meets a girl named Lala Ru. Though it starts off relatively lighthearted and carefree, it quickly becomes rather deep, giving insight into how war affects different people.

Even though the main characters are mostly all children, there is a fair amount of violence in this anime. This is not due to any overly explicit scenes, but rather to the fact that most acts of violence are committed amongst children. Although some of the more disturbing scenes of violence and abuse toward the children are indeed committed by the adults. It is mostly non-comical; each episode has a very dark ambience, and the whole series portrays various acts of torture, brutal beatings, child rape and murder. It is directed by Akitaroh Daichi, who took a serious break from his otherwise happy shows.

Now and Then, Here and There has been released in the United States by Central Park Media as a region 1 DVD, consisting of a three disc set, containing all the episodes with Japanese and English audio tracks, subtitles and a few extras like storyboard clips. The DVD is rated for years 16 and up.

Plot Summary

"Because ten billion
years time is so fragile,
so ephemeral...
it arouses such a
bittersweet,
almost heartbreaking fondness." 
-Opening to Now and Then, Here and There

Plot

The story begins with the boy Shu coming home from kendo practice, whereupon he sees a girl sitting atop of some unused factory smokestacks. He climbs up another smokestack close by, to try to talk to her - she is watching the sun set. Time seems to stop everywhere outside of the immediate area around the smokestacks, and giants snake robots appear to try to capture this girl, Lala Ru. They are 1 billion years into the future and Shu manages to get taken back with them to their time.

In this world, it seems that they have been fighting so long that the army Shu lands in the midst of has begun conscripting children into their armies, so they may indoctrinate them from a young age. The children are taken from their villages, and it has been said they can return once all the enemies have been defeated, and they are needed to fight no more. They try to conscript Shu as well, but underestimate his resolve and want to do what he believes in right, and not to be bowed into actions he thinks immoral. Also, in the future the Sun has grown into a "Red Giant", (Red Giant is a term used to describe an old star that has fused most of its hydrogen into helium) so big that its close proximity to Earth has caused most of the water to have evaporated. It is now mostly a desert planet.

Main Characters

• Shuzo 'Shu' Matsutani: he is the protagonist of the series; accidentally teleported into the future from his 'home', Tokyo, he ends up having to fight in Hamdo's army, where many soldiers are mere children that have been captured from villages the army conquered. With his outsider attitude, he stands out from the crowd, having an unusual amount of kindness and manners in comparison to the other children. Despite being a kendo fighter he's extremely clumsy, overly enthusiastic and overtly optimistic which usually causes him trouble as he's often being tortured, interrogated or otherwise getting in trouble.

• Lala Ru: The revolving point of the whole story is the child-like being that Shu encountered in the first episode; she has special water powers which can be invoked with her pendant, but she no longer wants these powers to be used by humans in general (she specifically does not want them to be used by Hamdo for his deeds). Apart from the fact that each use of these powers permanently weakens her physical state, she has also found that the initial gratitude people show for the use of these powers later turns violent when she refuses to use them. She rarely talks, nor does she show any emotion. (voice actress: Lisa Ortiz)

• Hamdo: The mad king, who craves for Lala Ru in a kind of naive love, trying to care for her - when rejected by Lala Ru, he goes into raving fits, screaming at her, destroying things in the vicinity, but never hurting Lala Ru (though he does pull her hair). She has special powers involving water which on the desert planet is something he craves for, to make him achieve his ultimate victory.

• Abelia: She's the commanding officer of Hamdo's army, and the only person admitted close to the emperor. He calls upon her for support and comfort, but also abuses her when she does not fill his needs, especially concerning the case Lala Ru and military matters. She seems to be obsessed with helping him. It's presumed that this is because she loves him.

• Nabuca: He is one of the children that have been previously captured by Hamdo and forced to fight as soldiers. He is a good soldier and seems to be loyal in a mixed sense; he is hoping that when he has fulfilled his duty, Hamdo will free him as promise. He's the leader of the group of soldiers that Shu gets assigned to and one of his main 'contacts' among them, although they often dispute about philosophical aspects and fight each other. He resents Shu for having saved him while they were fighting. (voice actor: Dan Green)

• Sara Ringwalt: She was captured accidentally as she had been mistaken for Lala Ru; she meets Shu in a prison cell, being comforted by his ideas of everything working out all right in the end. Then, she gets abused and raped by some of the other (adult) soldiers and loses faith in what Shu said to her.

• Tabool: One of the soldiers in Hamdo's army. He serves under Nabuca and is always trying to one-up his commander. He is from the same village as Nabuca. Having an almost identical history to Nabuca's, he shows a contrast in how war can affect people entirely differently. One of the few obvious antagonists in the series.

• Sis: A respected member of the city-state Zari-Bars. She takes care of all of the orphans as though they were her own, and advocates living a peaceful life over attacking Hellywood.

Differences from typical anime

Unlike typical science fiction anime, the series does not feature comic relief characters as do Cowboy Bebop or Trigun, nor is there much normal sexuality (the only mentions of sex are solely in the context of rape); it is a very brooding atmosphere. In the world Shu enters, everybody seems to be harsh, hardened and totally opposed to his kind, earthly concepts, resulting in escalations of violence not only due to aggression but difference in ideas.

There is relative realism in the series: there are no invincible super-heroes or overpowering protagonists. Shu does not fight like he has been doing it for a lifetime, and injuries he or others receive do not heal quickly. It is relatively safe to assume that someone who got shot or stabbed is, actually, dead. It shows the evil side of humans, soldiers, and war in general: senseless slaughter and rape.

There are no show offs or clever punch lines delivered as one-liners in this series; the evil villain (where evil is hard to define) usually does not stop before death or maiming has been reached. There is no gloating, it is just naked survival. Suspense is created in most fights, as they are without fluff and thus fast-paced, and, even though clearly the main character won't be killed in the second episode yet, there is a great chance of him being seriously hurt and captured.

In short, it is a rather cruel display of brutality which does not carry an implicit moralistic undertone. Rather, it portrays the range of human characteristics and behavior in the most extreme and absurd of circumstances - hope, resignation, insanity, resilience.

External links

• Official Homepage
• IMDb entry
• AnimeNFO page