Now And Then, Here And There

[ElSquibbonator]

Let's think back to the 90s, shall we? A time when anime weren't just creative, they kicked ass. We had shows like Neon Genesis Evangelion, Trigun and Cowboy Bebop taking their respective genres in new and bold directions decades before Western animators had the foggiest notion to try. But there was one anime produced during this era that you seldom heard anybody talking about. And there was a very good reason for that.

I speak, of course, of Now and Then, Here and There, a 13-episode series that many have heard of (at least in anime circles) but few have dared to watch. This is a series that makes Neon Genesis Evangelion look like the Cabbage Patch Kids. It is a show whose reputation precedes it.

OK, enough dramatic talk. Now and Then, Here and There is a postapocalyptic/dystopian/sci-fi/fantasy series about a 12-year old boy who is accidentally transported to another dimension (or maybe it's supposed to be Earth in the future; they never say) while trying to rescue a girl. It all goes downhill from there. The boy's experiences, I mean. Not the show's quality.

Has anyone here ever watched this? What did you think of it?

 

[Indigo]

I was too young for this series when I watched it. It kind of scarred me.
I don't remember any other show this bleak and political in recent or not so recent times. Maybe it was its brutal depiction of life in a post-apocalyptical dictatorship that hindered its reception for a wider audience. (On the other hand, the show is still talked about today, so it's not like the series was forgotten. It might simply have been overshadowed by other shows at the time.)

And then there is what happend to that other girl...I think this is the only anime that ever went there. That was traumatizing for teenage me.
I was too young to enjoy the show anymore at that point. But I could not look away either. It was like watching a catastrophe unfold. My desperate hope for a happy ending kept me watching through all the suffering. In the end I was more immersed in the story of the side-girl than of the main character pair.

A show like this takes courage to produce, I suppose. It is not a fun show, it is a food for thought show.

 

[Aereus]

That poor girl ... and the poor cat...

 

[ElSquibbonator]

I probably sound weird for saying this, but I thought the show could have done with more filler episodes. This is probably the only time I've ever thought that about an anime. The reason I say this is that a lot of potentially interesting questions about the world where our "hero" finds himself in that just aren't answered.

For example, what exactly is Lala-Ru? We're told that she's some sort of water spirit, but are there other beings like her out there? And is Hamdo the only evil dictator in this world, or are there others? Finally, it would be remiss of me not to point out that the show ends without resolving a major plot hole--namely, Sarah, the other girl Shu meets. The one who was still in the future the last time we saw her.

 

[Kyouri]

I loved it. Bought the DVD set when it came out, had since rewatched it many times just to introduce others to it. Loved the soundtrack for it too.

 

[Samhill]

...the poor cat...

There goes my desire to watch it.

 

[ElSquibbonator]

I almost didn't watch it for that reason too. But in the end, I'm glad I did.

 

[Hounder]

https://www2.animeseries.io/anime/now-and-then-here-and-there.html

In case anyone wanted a quick link to see it.

 

[Hounder]

@RayReignAladdin That too. Sadly though, paying for some things may be difficult for some depending on their financial situation. They may be fans of something, but then reality has to hit as some point and you end up with a choice between eating/electricity/water/rent, or the manga/anime. I agree, no question, if you can afford it, pay. And if it is really good, buy it for perpetuity.