Now and Then, Here and There (Ima Soko Ni Iru Boko)

Non-Eva Anime and Manga discussion

Moderators: Rebuild/OT Moderators, Board Staff

C.T.1290
Zeruel
Zeruel
Age: 33
Posts: 837
Joined: Apr 22, 2017
Location: U.S.A.
Gender: Male
Contact:

Now and Then, Here and There (Ima Soko Ni Iru Boko)

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby C.T.1290 » Sat Jan 16, 2021 1:31 am

Ever seen an anime series so underrated yet so good? Looking for a dark and depressing series that tackles some of the real world elements? Well look no further! Ima Soko Ni Iru Boku, translated as Now and Then Here and There, has that package.

A synopsis is this, A boy named Shuzo Natsutani aka Shu is a happy go lucky kid with a positive attitude of life, but that all changed on one particular day.

[Spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.]

SPOILER: Show
While a his way home from Kendo practice, Shu meets a mysterious girl named Lala Ru on top of a smoke stack. When suddenly, a mysterious group of people came abducted her, taking Shu with her. He is transported into a distant future, where the earth has become a desert planet where the water resources are scarce, and is torn by war. Shu along with Lala Ru find themselves in a battle fortress Hellywood, ruled by a tyrannical madman King Hamdo. And by madman, I mean a totally crazy, possibly schizophrenic, paranoid megalomaniac with a mentality of a child. He uses child soldiers as a part of his forces in his quest for world domination. He is obsessed with Lala Ru and her ability to control water with her mystical pendant, as Hamdo relies on water as a source of fuel for his battleship Hellywood. But as water is so scarce, that is an unlikely possibility.

As Shu was taken prisoner after his interrogation, he meets a fragile named Sara Ringwalt, who is also from Shu’s world. Apparently, she was abducted by Hellywood because they’ve mistaken her for Lala Ru, due the similarities she shared with her. However, she was taken prisoner and is used as a sex slave to produce more soldiers for Hamdo’s cause. It wasn’t until later that she was able to escape after almost being raped for a third by killing her attacker. She was later rescued by Sis, a woman who found her in the desert and took her in the village of Zari Bars.

Shu was later conscripted into Nabbuca’s child soldier corp, under the orders of Hamdo’s right hand woman Abelia. Tabool, one of the boys in Nabbuca’s group, beats up and interrogated Shu, demanding to know where Lala Ru’s pendant is, after it got lost at the beginning. He was caught by Nabbuca and was whipped by a senior officer for his offense of attacking a fellow soldier. During an expedition of recruiting more soldiers, albeit by force, Shu interfered by freeing the captured children, but was caught by Nabbuca and is brought back to Hellywood to be sentenced to death. He managed to escape when he found Lala Ru’s pendant and went to rescue her. Lala Ru used her pendant to unleash a vast wave of water in Hellywood, allowing her and Shu to escape.

Days later, Shu and Lala Ru came to the village of Zari Bars, where Sis took them in to live with her and the orphans under her care. Unbeknownst to them, Hellywood has enough water resources to give it fuel. Hamdo has ordered his soldiers to spread out and find Zari Bars so he can use Hellywood to wipe them out. One of the soldiers, a man named Kazham, entered Zari Bars on the verge of death, claiming that there was a mass desertion at Hellywood due to Hamdo’s increasing madness. However, that was a ruse to pinpoint the village’s location for the attack. At the village, Shu is later reunited with Sara, who saw Lala Ru. She blames Lala Ru for what happened to her and proceeded to beat her, but was stopped by Shu.

Sara’s suffering didn’t end here. After she collapsed from exhaustion and stress, she was taken to the doctor, who revealed that Sara was pregnant, a result from the trauma she suffered at Hellywood. Unable to cope the torment that she suffered, Sara choose the night to end it all, by attempting to drown herself in the watering caverns. Shu was able to stop her, and prevent her from slamming a rock into her abdomen to abort her unborn child and kill herself in the process. He attempts to talk her out of suicide and spare the life of her unborn child, and promises to leave the village with Lala Ru.

Back at village, Elamba, one of the citizens who was sending various assassins to kill Hamdo, seeks out Lala Ru to use for the negotiation to bring Hamdo to him to settle his vendetta for the deaths of his family. That soon backfired as Hellywood descends to the village and began its massacre, and Elamba was gunned down in his attempted negotiation. As Shu was protecting Sis’s children, Nabbuca attempts to execute them. While admitting that he killed the assassins after Hamdo, Soon, the daughter of one of the said assassins, aims the gun she picked up to kill Nabbuca, only for the small boy and fellow soldier named Boo to take the bullet for him. Nabbuca then retaliated by shooting Soon, killing the child instantly. Shu, witnessing the horror of the two children murdered before him, tries to shoot Nabbuca’s gun at him, only for him to fire at the ground instead due his strong belief in not killing. Tabool was about to kill Shu and the children, but Nabbuca tried to stop him, finally fed up with all the killing. Abelia then ordered all troops to cease fire, sparing Shu and the children as they were taken prisoners along with the surviving people of Zari Bars.

With Zari Bars decimated and its people imprisioned, the world is now at Hamdo’s mercy. But because of his ever increasing paranoia, Hamdo sets his sights to shot the rest of the world. Nabbuca, now crestfallen at the loss of his friend Boo and his decision of killing, believed for the war to be over and is now free to return to his home village, only for Tabool to inform him that it was all a lie, and that he has no real desire to return home since Hellywood is the most powerful force on earth. He then betrays Nabbuca by shooting him in the gut, promising he would one day take over Hellywood.

Sara, along with Sis, were taken prisoner aboard Hellywood. Sis was slowly dying due to her bullet wound in the leg by Elamba, and had lost a lot of blood. Before dying, she begged Sara to not hate her unborn baby, telling her that “No child comes into this world wanting to be rejected by its mother.” With those last words, Sis has passed away, and Sara held her hands close to her as she wept. An injured Nabbuca came to Shu returning his stick that he brought from his world, and told him go back to where he came from, and that’s where he belongs before dying. Shu with his newfound resolve, frees himself and the others and sets out to save Lala Ru, who is being held captive by Hamdo, demanding her to refuel Hellywood with her water. Shu was attacked by Tabool and the other child soldiers, but was saved by Lala Ru with her rush of water. Abelia attempts to shoot Shu, but he knocked the gun out of her hands, only for the demented Hamdo to shoot at him, grazing Abelia in the process. Shu attacks Hamdo by slamming him with his stick until it breaks, causing Hamdo to flee in panic. Hellywood soon begins to crash due to Lala Ru’s water damaging the core. Lala Ru then proceeds to use the last of her strength to restore water to the whole world. Tabool and the other soldiers drowned as the water flooded the falling fortress.Sara was able to save the kids along with two of small child soldiers, with one nearly drowning when Kazham sacrificed himself to save the child. Hamdo, in the portal chamber, calls for Abelia to send him anywhere outside of Hellywood, only for her to abandon him because of his madness. While raving frantically, the chamber flooded as the waves crashed into him as drowns, with Abelia watching.

Water was then restored to the earth, and humanity were given a second chance. Shu watched the sunset with Lala Ru, who suddenly vanished with Shu’s hand on her shoulder. Sara decided to stay behind to take care of the children, along with her own and start a new life in this rejuvenated world. Abelia use the portal system to send Shu back. The people of Zari Bars were about to execute Abelia, but Sara stopped them, choosing to give the woman a second chance. Shu then returned to his own world, with a new outlook on life and the things he taken for granted.



Sorry for this incredibly long post.

I enjoyed this series overall, despite it only being 13 episodes long. This series can be really dark and depressing, but it was all worth it in the end. Out of all characters who suffered a great ordeal, Sara had it worse. The poor girl had suffered too much, I don’t know how she can recover from all that. At least she has taken her first step on the road to recovery. Shu had had it rough too, but thanks to his belief that things will work out somehow, he kept going. There had been many atrocities presented in this series, such as war and the effects it has on the innocent.

If you haven’t seen the series, I highly recommend it.

I put the plot synopsis into a spoiler tab to make the post into lighter reading.
-Zusuchan
“This is the way”-The Mandalorian

pwhodges
A Lilin in Wonderland
A Lilin in Wonderland
User avatar
Age: 77
Posts: 11035
Joined: Nov 18, 2012
Location: Oxford, UK
Contact:

Re: Now and Then, Here and There (Ima Soko Ni Iru Boko)

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby pwhodges » Sat Jan 16, 2021 6:01 am

I have long recommended this, but I know that some people find it hard to take - their reservations have been expressed recently after you mentioned the show in the general anime thread:
https://forum.evageeks.org/post/905854/What-anime-are-you-watching-right-now-Summer-2016-to-now/#905854

For me the quibbles are not wrong, but do not detract from the harsh messages of the show - but I understand that for some people the pessimism is really hard to take.

So yes, still recommended - but comes with a mental health warning.
"Being human, having your health; that's what's important." (from: Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi )
"As long as we're all living, and as long as we're all having fun, that should do it, right?" (from: The Eccentric Family )
Avatar: The end of the journey (details); Past avatars.
Before 3.0+1.0 there was Afterwards... my post-Q Evangelion fanfic (discussion)

Ray
Elder God
Elder God
User avatar
Posts: 5660
Joined: Feb 10, 2014
Location: Somewhere

Re: Now and Then, Here and There (Ima Soko Ni Iru Boko)

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby Ray » Sun Jan 17, 2021 3:30 am

I've made several posts about how much I do not care for this series. It really messed with my head .

If I could change anything I would change the ending. The last episode of the series really made me mad with how it handled a certain characters story arc conclusion. But I don't want to rag on that. Instead I'll link to my comments on the 'What are you watching' thread.

thread/18462/What-anime-are-you-watching-right-now-Summer-2016-to-now/1140/#p906107

SPOILER: Show
Who the hell thought it was a good idea to have a 12 year old rape victims story end with her choosing to stay behind with the woman who enabled her rapist in getting her pregnant?
Last edited by Ray on Sun Feb 14, 2021 6:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

C.T.1290
Zeruel
Zeruel
Age: 33
Posts: 837
Joined: Apr 22, 2017
Location: U.S.A.
Gender: Male
Contact:

Re: Now and Then, Here and There (Ima Soko Ni Iru Boko)

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby C.T.1290 » Mon Jan 18, 2021 11:47 am

View Original PostRay wrote:
SPOILER: Show
Who the hell thought it was a good idea to have a 12 year old rape victims story end with her choosing to stay behind with the woman who enabled her rapist in getting her pregnant?

I was fairly certain she was a little older than that. But yes, what she went through was horrible. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

SPOILER: Show
Initially, she was eager to return to her own world, so it’s understandable to question her decision to stay behind. I guess Sis’s dying words were so powerful that she decided to give the new life inside her a chance to see the world reborn, though I think we knew that much.
“This is the way”-The Mandalorian

Ray
Elder God
Elder God
User avatar
Posts: 5660
Joined: Feb 10, 2014
Location: Somewhere

Re: Now and Then, Here and There (Ima Soko Ni Iru Boko)

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby Ray » Mon Jan 18, 2021 9:59 pm

View Original PostC.T.1290 wrote:
View Original PostRay#907146 wrote:
SPOILER: Show
Who the hell thought it was a good idea to have a 12 year old rape victims story end with her choosing to stay behind with the woman who enabled her rapist in getting her pregnant?

I was fairly certain she was a little older than that. But yes, what she went through was horrible. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

SPOILER: Show
Initially, she was eager to return to her own world, so it’s understandable to question her decision to stay behind. I guess Sis’s dying words were so powerful that she decided to give the new life inside her a chance to see the world reborn, though I think we knew that much.



SPOILER: Show
I get what it was trying to do with the theme of 'choosing to keep hope even in an apocalyptic world'. It just doesn't really make any sense with what she went through or the overall theme of the show. I personally found it to be a very troubling message to send to people who actually have gone through that sort of thing. It didn't stick the thematic landing.

That's the real horror that stays in my head after I watched this show. It shows us a picture of what the human race will become in the future. It says that in a billion years when humanity is on it's last legs and going extinct, we will end up sinking to the point where we will do something as morally repugnant as raping children to save our species. That doesn't just depress me. It pisses me off. What kind of a message is that? What's the point of saying this is our future and there's no point in struggling for anything because we're all going to go extinct anyways? What message are you sending? Not one that I personally feel is worth saying.
Last edited by Ray on Sat Jun 19, 2021 1:17 am, edited 4 times in total.

C.T.1290
Zeruel
Zeruel
Age: 33
Posts: 837
Joined: Apr 22, 2017
Location: U.S.A.
Gender: Male
Contact:

Re: Now and Then, Here and There (Ima Soko Ni Iru Boko)

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby C.T.1290 » Thu Jan 28, 2021 11:54 pm

There’s something I’ve been wondering as of late; why did Sara chose to keep her child despite the upbringing and the ordeal she went through?

Viewing the posts on Myanimelist, a lot of people had pointed out that it undermined her character. Also, most rape victims wouldn’t consider keeping their children because of how they were conceived, and they didn’t wanted to be reminded of the pain they endured. Some people had complained that this series had a bit of a pro-life agenda in it, and how that message was forced.

So, maybe it was Sis’s words that somehow convinced her to keep the child, despite the horrible circumstances she endured.
“This is the way”-The Mandalorian

Ray
Elder God
Elder God
User avatar
Posts: 5660
Joined: Feb 10, 2014
Location: Somewhere

Re: Now and Then, Here and There (Ima Soko Ni Iru Boko)

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby Ray » Fri Jan 29, 2021 3:34 am

View Original PostC.T.1290 wrote:There’s something I’ve been wondering as of late; why did Sara chose to keep her child despite the upbringing and the ordeal she went through?

Viewing the posts on Myanimelist, a lot of people had pointed out that it undermined her character. Also, most rape victims wouldn’t consider keeping their children because of how they were conceived, and they didn’t wanted to be reminded of the pain they endured. Some people had complained that this series had a bit of a pro-life agenda in it, and how that message was forced.

So, maybe it was Sis’s words that somehow convinced her to keep the child, despite the horrible circumstances she endured.


SPOILER: Show
The idea of a rape victim choosing to keep and raise her child despite how it was conceived I can get behind. How the series executed said themes? notsomuch. The series could have used maybe two or three more episodes to have her at least come to terms with what happened to her instead of just having her 'get over it'. It needed more time to earn the ending it had to Saras arc.


Also in regards to another story line.
SPOILER: Show
It also makes me very angry how Hamdos right hand woman gets away with what she did. Oh sure, she only aided a crazed maniac in his campaign of raping children and stealing resources to 'save the human race' but she gets away with it because she had a change of heart at the last minute? No.


Return to “Anime and Manga”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests