Anime Review: Now and Then, Here and There

Review Now and Then, Here and There AKA Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku Written by Warpshadow Rating very good

Having a good deal of drama is what can distinguish a good show from a merely average one. This is good for Now and then, Here and There because the show has drama coming out it's wazoo.

Shuzo (but You can call him Shu) enthusiastic boy who lives in a nondescript Japanese town. One day he sees a girl siting on top of a smokestack. He climbs up to talk and finds out that the girl's name is Lala Ru. Then out of nowhere a light and a serpentine robot appears. The robot kidnaps Lala Ru and transports both of them to a gigantic mechanical tower called Hellywood. The people there under the rule of King Hamdo want to gain control of Lala Ru's special pendant but she gives it to Shu for safe keeping.

The most pervasive element of Now and then, Here and there is that the show is an utterly brutal assault on the senses and the characters. Where as many upbeat characters in anime can feel weak and shallow Shu works as a contrast to Hellywood and it's surroundings. The scenery is usually either a desert or the metal landscape of Hellywood, either way it is bleak. It is this bleakness that lends the story power, making the characters and their feeling have impact, from the most tragic of heroines to the most despicable of villains (and Hamdo, the main villain in this show is someone you will learn to hate, and I usually like the villains). This is something I recommend.