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Ima, Sokoni Iru Boku
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Animation - 8.0 |
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Sound - 8.5 |
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Story - 9.1 |
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Character - 9.1 |
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Value - 9.2 |
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Enjoyment - 9.1 |
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Average - 8.8 |
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| Average |
6.7 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
| Now and Then, Here and There would be believable if the average IQ and gravity of the world were a lot lower + maybe masterchief's exoskeleton.
The idea is that "a good natured average boy gets transported an evil natured world". Thing is average boy isn't all that average. Throughout the anime he does things that even the most trained combat special ops aren't able to do.
The "bad guy" of the story is plainly ridiculous. Thats one of the main problems of the anime. He's not intelligent, strong, or even good looking. He has no strong qualities. So when you tell your super strong super righteous main character to go fight the retarded kid, its just not interesting to watch.
Overall its not so bad, if this is one of your first anime you might like it. Although I would suggest Escaflowne instead if your into these type of stories.
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1 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Bokusha |
(2007-04-12 07:21:31) 2007-02-10 18:47:41 |
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| Average |
7.2 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
0 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| Somewhat reminiscent of Miyazaki's Nausikaa, Now & There displays a bleak world consumed by greed-fueled war over the world's rarest resource: water.
While sometimes seeming a bit overly moralistic, in the end the series doesn't just feed answers to it's audience and leaves ample room for thought.
The animation is definitely the series' weak point and it's cliché'd shounen-style start makes the ensueing hell-on-earth that much more shocking, but that could be seen as a good thing.
While the first time I saw the series it really impressed me, it's reliance on violence to impress the viewer makes it a lot less interesting on a second watch because you have a much better idea what to expect. Plus, as serious as the themes of the series are, in the end they really don't provide much depth story-wise and in that sense watching Now & There really isn't much different from watching a documentary about a real warzone. Shocking and thought provoking, but I don't expect to feel the need to see it a third time.
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Summoner |
(2006-12-13 06:42:37) 2006-10-08 05:36:14 |
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| Average |
8.0 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| Ever tried to imagine hell? Well don't worry, it does exist and it's depicted in this anime. A hell where one insane person commands most of the humanity. A hell where kids are forced to kill each other. A hell where even the leaders can't quench their thirst with water. Existance is based on water, all living things function thanks to water. How is decaying, nearly waterless earth different from hell? Simply, it's not. Watch this anime and experience the hell from its core.
Finally, an idealistic boy gets thrown in this world from our present times, where one of the biggest problems we have is asking a girl for a date. What will happen to him? Will he even survive the hell he's thrown into? Or will he die from horrible tortures which leaders of the new world have put on him? Or could he just die from a war which is waging on the decaying planet? A boy whose way of thinking was explained in the very first minutes of the first episode, "I charge blindly and then kinda go with the flow, seeing what will happen next". Well, with a way of thinking like this, he won't be very successful or happy in this hell.
Recommending this is a toughie though, firstly, if you are scared by the thought of kids' being tortured or kids killing each other, then I guess you should overlook this anime. On the other hand, if you are totally ignorat and do not care about kids' being tortured or them killing each other, this anime wont touch you much, as in my case. I believe that you would enjoy this show to the fullest if you do feel some sympathy for the kids, but you're not the type of a person to freak out after somebody is violated or killed. All in all, this is a great show, carried out with a lot of thought and professionalism, yet I believe it has quite a narrow fanbase, since it's too one sided. In my case though, it's a good thing, as for you - you should think about it for yourself. If you love such shows as Bleach, I could only advice you to stay away from Now and Then, Here and There.
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2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
6.2 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
4 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| 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 arn't 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 whats 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 reccomend it to others despite the lack of background and the inconcsistencies. However, there are many anime which are better than this one.
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Kaj |
(2006-08-31 16:38:41) 2006-08-10 01:45:17 |
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| Average |
6.7 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| I never liked the Lord of the Ring books all that much. One of the main reasons for this was that there were moments when I seem to be reading a fairy tale adventure for kids (the Tom Bombadil part especially), and then the next moment, it goes all serious again, trying to be an adult's fantasy novel. As a result I was confused over what frame of mind I should read it in.
Unfortunately, Now and Then, Here and There suffers from the same problem. My initial impression was that it was an anime aimed for younger viewers, due to the basic character design style which made me think it was made by Studio Ghibli. In episode 2 or 3 the anime started showing its true colours, portraying the kind of violence and cruelty to children that makes it obvious it wasn't meant for kids. And yet, and yet... the kids animation is still there, glaring out at me from the screen and sending contradicting signals into my brain and confusing the hell out of me. The early sudden change of settings in the beginning definitely didn't help me get to grips with this anime either.
This anime seem to have a purpose in mind, of what the morals they want to tell. It succeeds at times, mainly through some really shocking and tear jerking moments that may have caused another viewer to forget its flaws. However, overall, the attempt too is amateurish because simply because the story and characters don't hold water.
The primary example here is King Hamdo. No doubt other viewers has already pointed out that history has shown how such a person can exist, and most likely pointed to dictators such as Hitler as evidence. But, in reality, there are always complications that give rise to such situations whilst in contrast, this is a retarded version that just shouts at you: "the leader is mad... just like it can be in real life!!" You can only get away with this kind of simplification of "Mad King ruler" if you're spoonfeeding a fairy tale to children, for whom the content of this anime obviously isn't suitable for. I haven't studied other dictators in history lessons, but I can tell you a thing or two about Hitler (and even this version is the dumbed down version for school kids, the reality will contain many more complications). Yes, Hitler was mad. He was also a bloody genius in terms of leadership ability. Being one of the finest orators of the 20th century, he wove a magic spell over the German population, raising morale, restoring German pride and giving them hope when the nation was suffering in the wake of an economic collapse in combination to the backlash of losing World War I. And whats more, he delivered. Germany was on its knees when he came to power, and not only did he led them recovery, he led them back up pecking order into a position to challenge the most powerful nations at the time. Although in retrospect, it seems crazy someone like he could have gotten power, it does make you see how it could have happened.
Now lets take a look at King Hamdo. He's mad. Um... that's it. Oh yea and he's incompetent. Hmmm, why was he in power again?? Sure his fortress caused his army to become powerful, but that wasn't exactly because of his competency. A muppet could have sat there and produced the same result. It seems infeasible that he could stay in power like that, especially considering it doesn't seem to be a real monarchy, but more of a pseudo-monarchy that's evolved from a military organisation. How can someone as useless and mad as King Hamdo keep his grip on absolute power in a military evolved dictatorship system when he can't even keep his hold on his own sanity (or even give the illusion that he is anything other than mad)?
Then we have Hamdo's second in command Abelia, who isn't a really a bad person at all. I can't understand why she hasn't taken power over from Hamdo, especially in this military environment that requires discipline in cool headed decision making. As clearly King Hamdo was in no condition to rule, you'd think someone like Abelia would just confine him somewhere, take care of him, and stop him from hurting everyone including himself, instead of having her conscience knocked around and being abused on a daily basis. But of course, if she did this, there would be no half-arsed setting for the messages this anime wants to convey -_- I kept waiting to see why Abelia was so obedient to Hamdo. I waited and waited, but still couldn't find the answer by the end, and can only conclude they haven't really thought it through properly.
Instead of showing some of the natural dilemmas of war like Gundam Seed, it opted to go for the simplified, one sided "fighting is bad, full stop" version, and so ends up contradicts itself by illustrating Sis in a saintly light as being the sensible mother type who is against any sort of action against Hamdo, and also illustrating all those who wants to take action against Hamdo as being villains. But at the same time, it unwittingly showed the fact that doing nothing probably is why things have become so bad in the first place. How many people were killed because the passiveness of others? It's a bit someone like preaching against violence of any kind, including fighting back, whilst a crazy guy is running around in the background with a chainsaw killing people.
Unlike Lord of the Rings, the fantasy world in *this* story is severely lacking in details. We are thrown straight into this chaotic world, and at no point in the anime did they really attempt to explain how it got into this mess. I want to know how it happened, and also about all this strange technology this world possesses. Why are they so desperately short of water when they have all this technology to go to other worlds? Can't they just appear near a massive lake in one of these other worlds and collect water?! You could argue this isn't the point of the anime. But because of the omission of such information, it's not really easy to understand how the situation could have gotten so dire or to sympathise with the unwillingness of the characters to do the right thing. In the end, I can't stop myself constantly questioning many aspects of the anime "Can't they do this? Can't they do that?" And in these situations it's almost impossible to really enjoy the show. Perhaps if more background was provided, then I *maybe* able to understand why Kind Hamdo held so much power over his subjects.
I wouldn't say this anime is bad... some of the emotions were just too real and touching for this to be called bad. But trying to convey moral messages in an adult way whilst at the same time living in a black and white simplified kids realm just doesn't work. It's a bit like reading a twisted version of Snow white, in which she gets raped by the seven dwarves or something - it's just... wrong! Being in almost all the critics' top 10 lists, I expected something better constructed than this.
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Avalanche |
(2007-12-11 03:47:05) 2006-07-31 00:58:04 |
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| Average |
8.5 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| Ima, Sukino Iru Boku aka Now and Then, Here and There (NTHT from here on) is an yet another example of how mature an anime series can be. NTHT is a grim story, which is told in a masterful manner without any touch up, any sort of toning down, and most of all, deviod of any involvement and emotion from the director. Confused from the last phrase? Read on....
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2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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|
| Average |
7.7 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| Animation has that dated look. Characters are drawn basic, with simple shadows, lighting, and details. Background is quite blotchy, another example showing the dated graphics. Special effects are few and just as simply drawn as everything else. There's nothing here that's awe-inspiring.
Opening theme has simple lyrics, and a simple beat. It's not fast paced but has a nice smooth feel to it. Ending theme is slow but has that memorial, sad tone to it. I would say it's a good end song, but not a very good song overall. Both do not feel like they have any connection to the anime. Music in the anime is the typical kind: instrumental and fits into the events. Overall the music is nice to hear, but there's no special feel for them.
The story doesn't contain much originality at all. Basically, a person gets transferred to another world, saves someone, and transfers back to the original world. But with that foundation, the plot takes in a couple of twists and turns. The whole part of the story contains a war-driven world where people kill to survive. It ultimately reflects how the human race used to do war: tricking victims of war into being soldiers, using female prisoners to create more soldiers, etc. Actually, none of the story seems original. But even so, the plot is sown together very nicely. Like how the anime emphasizes crucial events by using stills and gives the whole ordeal that there are still some good people that don't want to fight but have to fight to live on. From start to finish, everything flowed very nicely, with no confusions or left out scenes that connect one event to another.
In this anime, there is a great variety of characters, but just like the other fields, characters lacked originality. The main character Shu is the typical good guy. He believes that everything will be okay. But he is also bold and will go against the odds to rescue Lala Ru. But like typical characters, he doesn't give up. But even if the characters are unoriginal, the wide range of variety of personalities gives this anime a unique feel. There's the crazy evil villian Hamdo, that'll do anything to get Lala Ru and her pendant; there's Lala Ru who has an empty-like personality; and there's Nabuca and Boo, who fights so that when the war is over, they can go back to where ever they came from. Each character's personality plays an important role that determines what's going to happen in the story. For example, Hamdo's obsessed and crazy intentions to kill Shu but also hurt his assistant Abelia later leads to his demise. Or how Shu's antic behavior gets him to save the day.
Now and Then, Here and There has the right "pieces to the puzzle". Everything seems to flow and connect. Dramatic events are focused and emphasized with stills. There's nothing original, but the presentation leaves an everlasting feel. Like how Shu gave in to eating the horrible food on the garbage pit because of his hunger. These small but crucial bits played a significance in presenting the characters personalities and the plot.
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|
| Average |
1.8 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
2 |
| Story |
1 |
| Character |
1 |
| Value |
1 |
| Enjoyment |
1 |
| overall i was really disappointed because this isn't what i expected to see. when i first came across this anime i was browsing through ANN' and thought it had enough average rating for me to check it out and besides it was a mecha type anime but little i know this was going forwardly on my most hateful anime of all time. i hated it so much that i kept skimming through the whole episodes so that i could finish it already.
ANIMATION: the animation looked average for a mecha type anime as i felt an emptiness through the scenes with the world the author emphasized to create that was formed overall into the story was plain boring. the set was designed to be a world located outside another dimension from the main character real world and that world was vastly to be a desert and as that world lack people around and the inhabitants lived in caves with no sign of evolution. the mecha looked average and it wasn't much a mecha as you would think it be.
SOUND: the songs were the worst reflection in the anime, with the opening theme as not much with a song but the theme presentation was a slideshow of overall pictures of the characters with an old kinky song playing along. the ops were as bad as everything else. with the hated feelings i grew throughout the anime i could'nt help but to realize that the voices of the characters were also annoying to hear.
STORY: in summary, shu is a normal kid coming from his own world and as a unusual day he saw some bizzare people coming from another world kidnapping a young girl, he vowed to bring her back but that other world he came accross to was vastly different from his and the girl he wanted to save has an important role in all that is about to happen. now the plot wasn't unique as obvious we've seen before a main character acting as a savior but surprisingly weird for someone you had just met and you don't even recognize. the story tediously has its own environment and wasn't reflecting on any reality and the atmosphere insensitively lack the depth of a liveliness creation. the anime is a : adventure , mecha , shounen , drama overall type and eveything is a fact but for a mecha it has to be the dullest of all and also because you feel unable to comprehend the importance of how everything works , although if it is a mecha or not ins't the whole central of the anime. and another wrongful aspect i saw was the story develops or the people around evolves more on mecha than in focusing on their natural surrounding habitat because as i mentioned some people live in caves and no sign of evolvement and that is in general unrealistic and difficult to interpret. the ending wasn't perfect but mostly rushed. there are characters we are still unable to understand or what was it their objectives, therefore the ending didn't fit at all. to summarize it the whole plot was bad.
characters: if a crazy guy with a strange imagination wants to conquer a world and sacrifice everyone who opposes him, what would you do A) try to kill that guy or B) bitching around about not to kill a human being as your own life depend on it and everyone else. well the main character is a type B person and that really took a toll on me in a really more hateful mood over this single notice of how major idiot this character was. there wasn't any development in between the main character "shu" as because the story was kinda short and it only filled 13 episodes. i found his role to be overall annoying with no importance than complicating things even more. it is true he did have an impact on the other characters but that impact resulted in an more approachable destruction which i thought a role like this was too unique but meaningly imbecile. there was another person in general similarity like him and her role filled with the same aspect. the villain role character was a over egocentric , maniac , self-centered person with his objective about conquering everything but we never had to understand how his background was and how did he achieve such power. the characters who were following him had no sane mind or they were much as zombies doing what they been told to and that's self-explanatory. lala ru is the other character accompanied with shu. her role also wasn't understandable and till the end we never achieved to grasp who she was ? or how did she manage to have that power she had? specifically the characters were handed in the story with no depth explanation of who they are and what is exactly their intentions were.
VALUE: i wouldn't recommend this anime because simply it wasnt my type but everyone has it's own opinion
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Glasbead |
(2006-12-23 18:53:10) 2006-06-13 23:31:04 |
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| Average |
9.7 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| One of my favorite animes of all time. Some have called it indescribable, but I'm not afraid give it a try.
Now And Then, Here And There is beautiful. Dreary. Painful. Evocative. Informative. Soulful. Heartfelt. Pessimistic. Optimistic. Immortal. The truth. Somber. Passionate. Stark. Affecting. Depressing. Sentimental. Bleak. Illustrative. Melancholy.
That doesn't explain anything even close to Now And Then, Here And There, however. NATHAT is an anime, a work of art beyond words. It defies description and definition due to it's sheer perfection. You don't even need to read the rest of this review. None of that stuff can really describe this show either.
Just watch it.
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|
|
| Average |
9.5 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| I haven't seen an anime with this much intensity since Grave of the Fireflies. Now and Then, Here and There (NaTHaT) is an anime which explores human morals. If we were to sudden be put in a way of life where its values are opposite to those you were born and raised on, would you be able to maintain those inner values as well as encouraging others to accept those values? Along with human morals, the anime explores a dark and disturbing reality looking at the possibility of a militiant government using their youth as their soldiers in combat. Heck, even throw in a case of child rape plus children actually being killed on the battlefield and you have one of the most intense anime plots you will come across. This shows you that NaTHaT is an anime not for the young or sensitive. Storywise, NaTHaT combines these elements quite brilliantly to create an intense storyline despite occasionally getting on the melodramatic side. Unlike most anime though, there are no character soliloquies reflecting a character's thoughts in NatHaT. Just straight out fighting, intensity, and insanity.
Character-wise, NaTHaT features excellent characterization to reflect its themes. Shu represents the outsider of a war being fought between as he tries to encourage the people in the world he enters that violence is not always a resolution to settle conflict. Every character we meet in this world have their own personal losses which they hope to recover or get vengenance for through either allying or opposing Hellywood and its ruler, Hamdo. To some extent, Hamdo reminded me of Hitler due to his physical appearance. But, his appearance goes well with his personality being a tyrannical and mentally unstable ruler who is merciless towards anyone opposing his rule. He is certainly an unconventional anime villian as many villians are mentally stable and intelligently plan their moves.
Animation wise, the scenery of the settings are vibrant and serene when outside Hellywood and dark and dreary while inside Hellywood. However, some of the character designs for the show, one of which include Lala Ru, could have looked better as their looks do not stand in too well in the intense environment of NaTHaT. Soundwise, the musical pieces of either serenity or intensity fit in perfectly with the scenes in which they are reflected. I especially loved the serene singing that came out of the outro song reflecting the themes of the show. The voice acting was done very well with a wide range of character personalities reflected through each of the voices heard. Hamdo's voice is the one which stands out from the others for the overall intensity that comes from his voice reflecting the insanity of the Hellywood leader brilliantly.
NaTHat is an anime which will not be for the young and sensitive because of its intense themes. But, it has a number of powerful messages reflecting war and morality that are presented intensely without holding back anything. If you are a person who enjoys any war or drama anime, then you will enjoy NaTHaT.
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petran79 |
(2006-04-14 17:10:11) 2006-04-14 17:07:58 |
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| Average |
5.8 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
4 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
| Many viewers compared the series to ''Grave of the Fireflies''. While I was moved by the Ghibili film, this series failed to impress me. Maybe 13 episodes for such kind of story were too much for my taste and I'd have prefered it in a 2 hour movie format instead. I'm certain that then it would have better results. As it is it doesnt reach the magic of Studio Ghibili.
Some moments were really very emotional, especially in the last episodes. The naturalist approach works well and creates some moments of tension. Characters such as Sarah are rarely seen in animated features (in comics very often though). I was amazed at the ordeal she had to go through and her sudden character change. If it wasnt for her the whole series would collapse.
The problem is the sudden change of the setting. When Shu is transfered to another world where warfare was going on for ages
he meets characters that have a completely different mindset than his, who was used to live in peace. It is a fact than in times of war people change. The wicked become heroes and the virtuous are scorned and ridiculed. In times of peace children bury their parents while in times of war parents their children. The nations forget their preaches about justice and try the vilest means to win. Such is the case here in the world of the series. The problem is that it just shows the characters as they are and not how they did turn into this. If they had showed things from Shu's perspective it could have worked, but here is interaction between so many characters for which the viewer hardly knows anything. The series shows the obvious about the reality of war, but 13 episodes are too much to handle. Because though the characters were very convincing in form they werent so in content. Most of them die before one gets the chance to meet them. The dialogs are perhaps of the most flat and boring I ever heard. Shu and Lala-ru (what a name!) are of the most unsympathetic characters I've met. The dictator on the other hand performed very well , if a little too excessive in the moments of his madness. He showed the decay of the world that he ruled. THe people he ruled were even more rotten than him.
This sums it all up.
This is worth watching once since it is of the most serious animes I've watched. I'm sure if this was one of the first animated features I saw or if I was a child this anime would have influenced me profoundly.
But now I've seen a lot of films and animation to be able to be more critical instead of sentimental for features of this kind.
Overall 2-3 good moments but they're not sufficient to make it stand above the rest in my humble opinion
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|
|
| Average |
9.0 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| There’s something about mystical, magical otherworld stories that never fails to draw me. I think it’s safe to say that all people have some comfort zone in which they are drawn to other worlds and realms within the imagination. Whether those stories come in the form of books or visual media, the most rewarding aspect of such stories is that you can feel yourself immersed in them and identifying with the characters who find themselves in such scenarios. It’s not simply a matter of whether it seems real or is real, but how it presents itself as a reality or an alternative reality to the observer.
I have seen and read of such imaginative stories….but I do not think I have ever encountered one as intriguingly dark and yet beautiful as Now and Then, Here and There. On one level, it is primarily a story of a boy’s journey to another world while helping a mysterious stranger he greets on one sunset filled evening, and the impact he makes on the people he encounters in a realm that seems much different from his own. On another, it’s a heartbreaking tale of a city falling under the rule of mad ruler whose ignorance, maniacal, and covetous qualities lead to the suffering of those who reside in his world and fall under his rule.
The animation of this series may not meet the standards of what other series have come to follow…but I loved the character designs, settings, colors, backgrounds and cels this series had to offer. The music is probably average to above average with me, but not outstanding when juxtaposed with other series. However, the story, characters, and overall value of this series is simply no less than exceptional with very little cons working against it….I cannot say enough how engrossed in this series I was from beginning to end.
Overall, I very highly recommend this series to any anime viewer looking for a mature and epic storyline, though I have to warn that there are some strong themes that may not be suitable for the young or sensitive at heart (violence, mature sexual themes).
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.0 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Dispel any thoughts that this anime is a work of fiction, all you need to do is look through any history book and you will see King Hamdo in every single one of them; the best example I guess, would be Hitler.
Dispel any thoughts that human beings aren't basically very selfish creatures, because we are; deep down inside we are all very selfish and self-centred.
This anime brought together all of these things in such a way that will make the viewer feel very uncomfortable, very angry and at times even slightly queasy. Myself, I was engrossed and the same time I was grossed out, I felt a seething anger throughout the whole experience, but by god what a wonderful anime! If only the animation/character design were a little better and the music was something to write home about, I would have rated this an almost perfect 10/10 (rewatch value wouldn't have me tearing at the bit, so it would still be a 9).
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
3.8 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
3 |
| Character |
3 |
| Value |
2 |
| Enjoyment |
2 |
| Possibley one of the most serious animes to date, but too melodramatic for it's own good. The espect of Now and Then, Here and There was to potray inhumanity that cannot be deminished. Ignorance and greed rule in this series, as it takes depression to a whole new level.
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CyBeR |
(2006-01-25 09:49:33) 2006-01-22 11:33:45 |
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| Average |
9.3 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| 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.
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| Average |
8.0 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| Set in an arid planet plagued by warfare, this anime is combarable to Last Exile in that it makes me feel thirsty all the time (The water I get here is grade 5 at best). However, although they both have flying war machines, "Ima, Sokoni Iru Boku" is primarily based on a moral anti-war message.
Animation and sound:
Not noticably good or bad, but the dramatic scenes could have used more touch for effect, especially with regards to music.
Story:
The story is slowly paced and fairly predictable, but is well organized. This anime can't simply be fit into the Action/Adventure category as it's not very exciting in those respects. But the story shines in that it delievers its message against war/violence/revenge/abortion very well, much better than Graveyard of the Fireflies does in my opinion.
Characters:
Here, I find alot of the characters fairly annoying, and didn't really care about all but two death (there were alot more than 2). The problem is that many of the characters lacked dimension and the dichotomy between right and wrong is obvious. Both the collaborators and the avengers could have better argued their positions rather than being obviously unjustified.
Value:
The value here is that it delivers its side of the story well. This serves as a good dose of medicine after watching war/empire glorification series like "Seikai no Senki".
Enjoyment:
I didn't enjoy this anime as much as I could have because though well delivered, the message is too simplistic (It's more humanity than philosophy). In addition, I'm a big adventure/mystery fan, and this anime didn't realize its potential in these areas.
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
8.5 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Now and Then, Here and There is those types of shows that weren't meant for entertainment. They were meant to teach and educate. It sounds unappealing at first, but it teaches you the hardships, the consequences that war provides. It's quite similar to Black Hawk Down and Saving Private Ryan in a sense that portrays how war is really like. But the small difference in Now and Then, Here and There is that it extracts the bad portions of the war, and leave out most of the glory that most media products tend to only display.
Shu was returning home from his daily workout at the dojo he enrolled in. He spots a unique looking girl hanging out in the junkyard on the way. She was a silent girl that had fearless blue eyes that carried no worries at all. Her eyes matched her hair, which flourished in a rich blue colour. Shu made many attempts to get her to talked, but she simply continued watching the sunset. Then, time freezes around them, and men in mechanical snakes appear out of nowhere. They appeared to have come for Lala Ru, the blue haired girl. But Shu refused to let that happen, and battled these monsters with his wooden stick. Then, time moved forward again, but Shu now found himself in a battleship filled with soldiers his age.
Now and Then, Here and There not only deals with losses and hardships that are caused by war, but other things that branch out from that basic concept. Sarah is a girl who was mistaken to be Lala Ru, and was made a prisoner of the battleship Hellywood that Shu's also in. The soldiers made use out of her by raping her without moderation of pregneancy. There are other characters who have become victims of war, and now strive through limited crops they plant themselves, and solely depend on their leader to look up to. Then there are the soldiers themselves who were forcefully recruited by the leader of Hellywood, invading near by villages in order to strengthen their military power, promising them they'll bring them back to the village once the war is done.
The various struggles each character has to go through is rather emotional, but beyond that, that appears to be the only area that the anime excels in. Shu is a rather obnoxious and naive character. While his actions are used to point out how wrong everyone is, there are much better ways to do it. But aside from him, the other characters, such as his soldier comrades--he was also forcefully recruited after being discovered--who will do anything to go home, did a good job of their roles. The animation also seems to be rather outdated, and the music isn't really anything worth downloading over.
Now and Then, Here and There is those animes that achieves so much in the little time it has been provided with. If it was stretched out for a couple more episodes, it would have been better, but it's still an excellent series worth watching. Fans of war movies should definitely check it out, unless you're in it for the action scenes.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.8 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Hah! ... almost 10..
Animation - I thought this was made in 1992 >__>;; But this didn't let me down... The animation reminds me of a movie's animation in 1992 XD XD ... lolol
It's very good, regardless what year it was animated in >__>;;
Sound - It's very touching and.. accurate for the scenes.. ED was very... sweet and sad
Story - Very creative and ripped off from those historical past faults by humans, like dictators, war, kidnapping, raping, assaulting, murdering... etc.. abuse is also another thing..
What intrigues me is that this anime is very Timeless. If you read Shakespeare, his writing is excellent, people pick his work because it is Timeless, it doesn't occur in one time, but throughout the world from when it started to today and it never changes. Like love, hate, assault.... murderers... such and such.. war is still on today.. and I don't think it'll ever end because of foolish humans...
The story is very touching.. and made me watched it in one whole day with my brother.. almost made me want to cry... and pity and.. >__<;; frustrated.. ahh! ;o;!!
Character - Well builted and planned. The character development was grandly well done. I was hoping more from Lala Ru's side.. like any scenes from her very recent years living.. o_O;; like where she came from... or something...
Value - awesome man..
Enjoyment - Yes, I enjoyed it all the way... couldn't close or put down the thingy majiger... lolol.. it's awesome...
I recommend this to anyone who wants a piece of the real world, anyone who's into serious drama and action plus a piece of reality into the mixed... like humane society..
what's odd that they call the desert world "Earth" .... >__>;; or maybe the translation did that so it's... like a similation of Earth but more of the crucial side.. I suppose.. like the darker theme of the world as timeless..
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Tatsurou |
(2005-11-19 23:14:34) 2005-11-19 22:48:45 |
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| Average |
9.0 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Ima, soko ni iru boku is an anime gem that is for mature viewers who can appreciate the underlying issues and morality better. It started out like a normal schoolboy anime but were quickly changed to a much darker and harsh anime where subjects such as torture, killings, rape are thrown to the viewers, sometimes very openly, sometimes very subtly. The way it presented conflicts of beliefs while not trying to impose who's right or wrong on the viewers is very impressive. A well recommended anime for mature anime viewers.
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The Kid |
(2005-11-22 03:58:06) 2005-11-15 04:11:53 |
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| Average |
9.7 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| INCREDIBLE! I have just been introducing my girlfriend to the world of anime. First upp was Silver Fang, which she loved but thought was a bit on the childish side. Then we watched this show together and we both wept and sheered as the show progressed. Many times we looked at eachother and stated "This is NOT a Disney-feature!", due to the serious content; Rape, war, loss, abortion, death and so forth... We were moved by the story and really loved the productionvalues of it; the music is wonderful, the animation is among the best I have EVER seen on a series, the story is superb... Everything is just topnotch! I didn´t expect to be saying this at this age of my life (I´m 28) but : This IS the BEST anime I have ever watched! My girlfriend is completely hooked on anime from now on and we regularly watch anime-series together. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
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