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.

Future Boy Conan: A more light-hearted
take on the post-apocalyptic genre.

Grave of the Fireflies: One of the saddest
war films ever made.

So, until next time, 

Sayonara!

Movie Mondays: My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

Konichiwa!

So, this is a new feature that I have decided to do as part of my blog. Movie Mondays is when every Monday I review an anime film. That's basically it. And, as a follow-up to the article on Studio Ghibli, I have decided to start with My Neighbour Totoro, arguably Ghibli's first really successful film.

Film: My Neighbour Totoro
Year: 1988
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Screenplay: Hayao Miyazaki
Music: Joe Hisaishi
Studio: Studio Ghibli
Genre: Fantasy
Running Time: 86 minutes

This is a movie that all Ghibli fans love. It's praised for it's characters, it's story, the overall presentation, etc... Basically this is a flawless movie from the eyes of practically every Hayao Miyazaki fan I've met. Roger Ebert listed it as one of his Great Movies, with 4 stars out of 4 given. What do I think of My Neighbour Totoro? Well, I think it's a great family film. And you will find out why if you get on my Catbus and read the rest of my review.


Story: 10/10
The overall story of this film is a melancholic trip through the lives of a small family who have recently moved to the countryside in Japan circa 1958. The mother is in a hospital, extremely ill with a disease unknown to the viewer. The two girls, Satsuki and Mei, discover that forest spirits exist and interact with the great spirit of the forest, whom Mei decides to call Totoro after he emits a series of roars she interprets as his name. And the whole movie is basically little instances where the girls play with the spirits and await the return of their mother. The story of the film works because it is made up more of moments rather than overarching story. One minute the girls could be playing with Totoro, the next they could be waiting for their father to return from work. If there was one word that could describe the story of My Neighbour Totoro, it would be "life". What we the viewers experience are the lives of two girls at a particularly difficult time, which is fascinating because not many other films try to do that. This film not only functions on the concept of life but also on emotions - again, something very few films try and are successful at. Comparisons between this film and the early Disney films such as Snow White (1939), Fantasia (1940) and Bambi (1942) can be easily made, as they are all films that at basic levels function solely on emotion. The story of My Neighbour Totoro is one of emotion and childhood and it has rarely been done as well since.

Characters: 10/10
Of all the characters in Miyazaki and Ghibli's roster, I don't think they come as iconic as this. Every anime fan knows what the Totoro and Catbus are. In toy stores in Japan, you can find little Ghibli toys and the Totoro and Catbus are the most sold. The logo of Studio Ghibli features Totoro! Of course, the characters in Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away are just as famous as the ones in My Neighbour Totoro but, from a personal viewpoint, I see these characters as the definitive Ghibli creations. Of course, Totoro and Catbus are the most-loved but I have to also praise Satsuki and Mei. Mei, in my opinion, is a perfect representation of a little girl. She's cheeky, she's pouty, she likes to explore and play and do all of the things that little girls do and she's actually much more clever than her age tells us she is. Satsuki is also a good archetype of an older sister, as she is always concerned about where her sister is and what she is doing. As for the rest of the characters, they are not as important as these four but are still wonderful in their own right. The granny and the boy Kanta are both realistic interpretations of their ages, as is Satsuki and Mei's father, who is a typical hard-working dad. Overall, I find the characters to be wonderful creations and probably the most definitive cast of all the Studio Ghibli films.

Animation & Sound: 10/10
The animation is typical Miyazaki: hand-drawn and beautifully rendered. But the although the animation is top notch, it's the sound that is the best part of this film. The effects used that mimic the sounds of the country are very accurate and it almost feels as though you yourself are being sucked into that world with just how good the sound design is. The score is fantastic, as it always is when Miyazaki works with Joe Hisaishi and both dubs are very well-acted, although the Japanese version typically flows better. However, props to Dakota Fanning for her role as Satsuki. You could watch this movie in either language and it will be as good any way.

Overall Enjoyment: 8/10
Although this is an excellent movie, this is the most childish of Miyazaki's movies. The majority of Miyazaki's movies have been meant for both adults and children but this is a movie that I typically think is meant for kids. I do love this film, just not as much as other works like Princess Mononoke (1997) or Nausicäa of the Valley of the Wind (1985). But I could easily sit down and watch this movie for an afternoon. Plus the running time's quite short and is perfectly paced.

Final Verdict: 9.5/10 with

With that rating, are you even surprised that I am telling you that you should buy it? The film and all of the Studio Ghibli works are currently licensed by The Walt Disney Company, where you can find this and all of their films on DVD and Blu-Ray. For other recommendations, I point you to Howl's Moving Castle, another of Miyazaki's Fantasy masterpieces, and Wolf Children, a Mamoru Hosoda film that is similar in setting, characters and themes. Between these two you should find something to your liking.

Wolf Children: My favourite Mamoru Hosoda
film about a young mother raising half-human,
half-wolf children.

Howl's Moving Castle: A wonderful Fantasy
adventure about a girl who gets turned into
an old woman.

So, until next time,

Sayonara!