Anime Nerds United: Throwback Thursdays: Here and Now, There and Then (1999)

Konichiwa!

So it's been about a year now since I became a devout watcher of anime series and films. I began with Attack on Titan in TV Shows and Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke for films. In a year, I think I've gotten to know what A) I've come to expect and B) like. I'm the sort of guy who will watch anime that has action, clever plot, comedy and/or romance. However, with today's offering, I had very mixed feelings about it. It has clever plot and action but the themes presented in it made me really freak out.

Series: Here and Now, There and Then
Year: 1999
Director: Akitaro Daichi
Screenplay: Hideyuki Kurata
Studio: Anime International Company
Original Run: October 14th, 1999 - January 20th, 2000
Episodes: 13

Here and Now, There and Then is a series that I can only decribe as being an emotional trainwreck. Despite the fact that Akitaro Daichi's most famous credits are for romantic comedies such as Fruits Basket, he created a genuinely dark and disturbing anime series which analyzes themes of depression, hopelessness, rape, child abuse and war. Although the series begins a light-hearted adventure, don't be fooled: This is, in terms of plotting and themes, one of the most hardcore anime that a fan could hope to watch.

Story: 10/10

Hellywood, the bleak and miserable setting
of this story.

The story is excellently plotted but not so complicated that we have a hard time following it. Shu is a carefree teenage boy who decides to one day climb atop of some smokestacks. There he meets Lala-Ru, a mysterious girl who barely speaks. All of a sudden, soldiers riding mechanical snakes appear and time is stopped by Lady Abellia, who takes Shu and Lala-Ru to her home, Hellywood. And this is where any notion of lightheartedness stops. The story suddenly takes a dark turn in episode two and the viewer discovers that this is not a stereotypical adventure anime. No, this is a story that contains extreme themes, some graphic, others not, but still enough to make the viewer feel extremely uncomfortable. Hellywood is a place where children are forced to fight alongside men in order to make King Hamdo, the ruthless dictator's, dreams come true. The series may only be thirteen episodes long but that is more than enough for Daichi to keep his viewers on the edge of their seats. The overall feeling is one of tenseness and fear. The viewer comes to actually fear what may happen next. This is a world where child slavery is rampant and women are nothing but tools to produce more soldiers for King Hamdo's army. There are practically no bright spots apart from Shu having his moments but to find out more we need to look at the characters.

Shu and Sara are easily the best-written characters
in this anime.

Characters: 9/10

All of the characters are extremely well-written, especially Shu, who is the only person to provide a spark of hope in a world of ultimate human degradation. Despite being tortured (which is extremely graphic) and forced to serve in Hamdo's army, Shu maintains hope that people can be good to one another and that one day there will be peace. Shu is an ultimate representation of everything good about humanity: he never kills, never wants to hurt anyone and just wants a peaceful life. King Hamdo, on the other hand, is the ultimate representation of evil: selfish and cruel, he will hurt and kill anyone standing in the way of his goals. His right hand woman, Lady Abellia, carries out all of his orders without question. Nabuca, one of the soldiers Shu meets, hopes one day to return to his village, whereas Tabool doesn't want to return and craves power over others. However, out of the entirety of the characters, the best-written is Sara, a girl who was mistakenly taken from Shu's world and imprisoned in Hellywood. Sara is the person who suffers the most in this anime: she is kidnapped, raped, forced to commit murder, almost dies and becomes pregnant because of her treatment in Hellywood. She sees very little point in living after all of this and tries to commit suicide but Shu, being the essence of good, stops her and by the end of the story, she decides not to return to her and Shu's world, instead raising Sis, the woman who saved her's, orphan children and her own child. All of the characters go through a pain of some kind and many would see the anime because of this as just a pointless exercise in showing the worst of humanity. However, I believe, because of Shu, that this is an anime that shows how, ultimately, good triumphs over evil and that good things can still come after so much pain. The only bad thing I have to say is that some of the characters motivations are not explained. Why does Abellia follow a man whom she seems to know is insane without question? Never explained. Why is Tabool so needlessly cruel to others? Sort of explained but not really. These do bring the anime down

King Hamdo, the ultimate representation
of evil.

somewhat but overall all of the characters are well-written, other than Lala-Ru, who is reduced down to basically nothing other than the McGuffin of the series.

Animation & Sound: 7/10
This is where the anime actually falters most of the time. The animation is fluid and the cinematography in very theatrical in its own right but the art is a little too cartoony and not as anime-ish. However, I am slightly thankful that it wasn't as detailed as others since more detail would have made this series almost unwatchable. As for sound, this is where major complaints come in. The English Dub isn't horrendous, but there are several really poorly acted roles, such as Jack Taylor as King Hamdo, where the problem is in the character's name: way too much ham and not nearly as creepy as Kouji Ishii's portrayal. I also thought that Dana Halsted as Abelia was just flat and boring but the real surprising awful role was Crispin Freeman as Tabool. Yes, that's right, Crispin Freeman, one of the best voice actors currently alive, was terrible in a role. The man who played iconic anime characters such as Alucard (Hellsing & Hellsing Ultimate), Kyon (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya) and Itachi Uchiha (Naruto & Naruto Shippuden) was just terrible as Tabool. However, I was pleasantly surprised by Ed Paul as Shu, Dan Green as Nabuca and Kayzie Rogers as Sara. I also feel that the opening and ending themes were not exactly fit for the anime and kind of down-graded it for me but with that said, the animation and sound is all-round good.

Akitaro Daichi, the man who
directed Here and Now, There
and Then

Overall Enjoyment: 8/10
I like this anime. Notice I said "like" and not "enjoyed". I like this anime for its story and characters. The animation and sound aren't bad either. When it comes to judging my overall enjoyment of this anime, enjoy would be the wrong word to use. No human being in the right state of mind would enjoy this but they would be invested in Shu and the other characters so much that they have to keep watching. The anime is a lot like watching a bad car crash: you wish that you could stop watching but you simply can't because the horrific things happening before you are so terrible that it's impossible. With that in mind, I can't give a full 10 or even 9 for my overall enjoyment, as to do that would make me fear for my immortal soul. However, this is an anime that I think needs more attention and I consider it a severely underrated contribution to the genre.

Final Verdict: 8.5/10 with a very reluctant

I give it a very reluctant "Goku Seal" because really the "Goku Seal" represents the fact that it's an anime everyone can enjoy or should view. Eventually, I decided to put it on because this is absolutely a series that everyone should view for its plot and characters, both of which are of a rare high quality. This anime was originally licensed by Central Park Media but after their liquidation and bankruptcy in 2009, it was given to ADV Films, who re-released a boxset, which is unfortunately now out of print. I absolutely recommend buying this series, as it is a must-have. For other recommendations, I point you in the direction of Grave of the Fireflies, Isao Takahata's masterful war film showing the suffering of two Japanese children at the end of World War II, and Future Boy Conan, another anime that shows the effects of war and suffering on the planet and holds similar themes to HNTT whilst maintaining a more optimistic perspective. Between these two, you might find something to your liking.