TAB: Tom's Anime Blog

Now and Then, Here and There is the lightest dark show I've seen.

What's light about it is the animation. The character designs are simple, like one would expect from a funny show, and everything is well-lit and so on.

What's dark is the story, and the various things that happen to the characters. This is no funny show. People die, get raped, get pregnant, consider having an abortion, and more people die. Children are drafted into an army, and forced to shoot innocents in cold blood, under penalty of torture or execution. It's set in a post-apocalyptic world ruled by Hamdo, a sort of insane prince with his own flying battle fortress, Hellywood.

Caught up in this is Shu, a normal Japanese kid interested in Kendo, Lala-ru, a girl who has the power to control water, the source of steampunk power, and Sara, an American girl caught because she looked like Lala-ru. These characters sorta try to do the right thing in an evil world.

It's hard to rate this show. While at times I was at the edge of my seat wanting to see more, at the same time I never really identified with or felt anything for the characters. Instead, I just wanted to see where the story went. (It had an ending that was definitive but not overly interesting or special.)

I guess I'll call this an okay show.