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Now and Then, Here and There

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Now and Then, Here and There

今、そこにいる僕 (Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku)
Demographic	Seinen
Genre	Adventure, Drama, Mecha, Military, Science Fiction
TV anime
Director	Akitaro Daichi
Studio	AIC, Geneon Entertainment
Network	WOWOW AXN-Asia Anime Selects, AZN Network (formerly International Channel)
Original run	October 14, 1999 – January 20, 2000
Episodes	13

Now and Then, Here and There (今、そこにいる僕, Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku^?) is a Japanese 13-episode anime series, that premiered in Japan on WOWOW between October 1999 to January 2000. The plot centers around a young boy named Shūzo "Shu" Matsutani who meets a girl named Lala Ru. Though it starts off relatively lighthearted and carefree, it quickly becomes rather deep, giving insight into how war affects different people. Even though the main characters are mostly all children, there is a fair amount of violence in this anime. This is not due to any overly explicit scenes, but rather to the fact that most acts of violence are committed amongst children, although some of the more disturbing scenes of violence and abuse toward the children are indeed committed by the adults. It is mostly non-comical; each episode has a very dark ambience, and the whole series portrays various acts of torture, brutal beatings, child rape, and murder - be it directly or indirectly. It is directed by Akitaro Daichi, who took a serious break from his otherwise happy shows. Now and Then, Here and There has been released in the United States by U.S. Manga Corps as three region 1 DVD, containing all the episodes with Japanese and English audio tracks, subtitles and extras such as storyboard clips. The box set contains an additional fourth DVD with a mini-documentary on the dubbing process. The DVD is suggested for years 16 and up.

1 Plot summary
2 Main characters
3 List of episodes
4 Soundtrack
5 Trivia
6 Reception
7 External links

Plot summary

The story begins with Shuzo "Shu" Matsutani coming home from kendo practice, whereupon he sees a girl sitting atop of some unused factory smokestacks. He climbs up another smokestack close by, to try to talk to her - she is watching the sun set. Time seems to stop everywhere outside of the immediate area around the smokestacks, and giants snake robots appear to try to capture this girl, Lala Ru. They have come from 10 billion years from the future and Shu manages to get taken back with them to their time. In this world, it seems that they have been fighting so long that the army Shu lands in the midst of has begun conscripting children into their ranks, so they may indoctrinate them from a young age. The children are taken from their villages, and it has been said they can return once all the enemies have been defeated, after which they won't need to fight any more. They try to conscript Shu as well, but they underestimate his resolve - he wants to do what he believes is right, and not to be bowed into actions he thinks immoral. Also, in the future the Sun has grown into a red giant, so big that its close proximity to Earth has caused most of the water to have evaporated. It is now mostly a desert planet, and water is a rare commodity and highly sought after.

Main characters

Shuzo 'Shu' Matsutani (松谷修造 Matsutani Shūzō; シュウ Shū): He is the protagonist of the series; accidentally teleported into the future from his 'home', Tokyo, he ends up having to fight in Hamdo's army, where many soldiers are mere children that have been captured from villages the army conquered. He's a kendo fighter and his primary weapon for most of the series is a wooden stick that he uses in various ways. He's strong-willed, almost pathologically optimistic and refuses to compromise his principles under ANY circumstances. The name and the seiyū for Shuzo are also used for the main character in a Japanese children's anime called Legendz. (Japanese seiyū: Akemi Okamura, English VA: Ed Paul)
Lala-Ru (ララ・ルゥ Rara Rū): A mysterious blue-haired girl whose chance encounter with Shu is the starting point for the whole series. She has the power to manipulate water and has a compressed reservoir stored in her pendant, making her highly sought-after in the desert world that Earth has become. So much turmoil has surrounded her over the centuries that she's become emotionless and pessimistic. Her dim view of the world starts expanding in her interactions with Shu and the discovery that there are good people in the world. She rarely speaks. (Japanese seiyū: Kaori Nazuka, English VA: Lisa Ortiz)
Hamdo（ハムド Hamudo）: The mad king of Hellywood. He is obsessed with ruling the world since he thinks he can use LaLa Ru's powers to do it, she becomes the focus of his disturbing attentions. He is a megalomaniac with a lust for power, however he also suffers from paranoid personality and panic disorder which is the reason for many of his hysterical outbursts. He may have a powerful military fortress on his hands but his mental instability would affect the implementation of his strategies, eventually leading to his downfall. Dies in the last episode while attempting to escape through the transporter, instead getting crushed and drowned by waves as the fortress crashed.
Abelia（アベリア Aberia）: She's the commanding officer of Hamdo's army, and the only person admittedly close to the emperor. She knows of his madness, but continues to give him her unwavering devotion. She's a strong and efficient military officer.
Nabuca（ナブカ Nabuka）: An efficient, courageous boy soldier who leads the unit that Shu is eventually assigned to. He resents Shu for saving him during their first fight. He has devoted himself entirely to the military, hoping to earn a trip home with loyal service, like the king promised him and the other kidnapped children. (Japanese seiyū: Yuka Imai, English VA: Dan Green)
Boo (ブゥ Bū): The youngest soldier in Nabuca's unit, and the one with the most principles still intact. Like Nabuca, he works to end the war and earn his freedom, but he actively detests what he's doing and eventually helps Shu escape. He is killed when trying to protect Nabuca. (English VA: Rachael Lillis)
Sara Ringwalt（サラ・リングワルト Sara Ringuwaruto）:An American girl who was kidnapped and taken to Hellywood because she was mistaken for Lala Ru. She quickly befriends Shu and latches on to his message of hope. However, she is later abused and violated by the adult soldiers, one whom she murders in self-defense in order to escape. (English VA: Kayzie Rogers)
Tabool（タブール Tabūru）: Boy soldier in Nabuca's unit who came from the same village as Nabuca. He is always trying to show up his commander, is uninterested in returning home, and is attracted to the strength of the military. He bullies and harasses the other kids in the unit and is one of the few blatant antagonists in the series. (English VA: Crispin Freeman)
Sis（シス Shisu）: A respected member of the city-state Zari-Bars. She takes care of all of the orphans as though they were her own, and advocates living a peaceful life. She often clashes with more military-minded villagers. (English VA: Rachael Lillis)

List of episodes

A Girl Admiring the Sunset
A Boy and a Mad King
A Feast in the Dark
Discord
Murder
Disappearance in a Sandstorm
Night of Flight
Two Lone Souls
In the Chasm
Prelude to Chaos
Eve of Destruction
This Bloody Earth
Now and Then, Here and There

Soundtrack

Released 1999, includes 17 tracks with the Opening and Ending sequences. Tracks 1-15 are by Taku Iwasaki (岩崎琢)
Tracks 16-17 are by Toshiro Masuda (増田俊郎)
Track 17 vocals are Reiko Yasuhara (安原麗子), who was the voice actor of Abelia in the series.

Standing In The Sunset Glow
Decadence
Run Up
Rescuer
The Bottom
Tears
Tumbling
Calmative
Deadlock
A Raw Deal
Pazzia
Miss...
One Calm
Fearful Dream
Here And There
Now and Then, Here and There [今、そこにいる僕] (Opening Theme)
Lullaby... [子守歌...] (Ending Theme)

Trivia

Shu also appears in the anime version of Legendz. Legendz is an entirely different series that is marketed towards young children. In addition, in Legendz Shu is from New York and his name is ordered in the Western order (given name, family name: "Shuzo Matsutani") in the Japanese version of the series (in the Japanese version of Now and Then, Here and There, his name follows the traditional Japanese order (family name, given name), Matsutani Shūzō).

Reception

Source	Reviewer	Grade / Score	Notes
Anime News Network	Theron Martin	Overall (dub): A Overall (sub): A Story: A Animation: B Art: B Music: A-	DVD/Anime Review
AnimeOnDVD	Chris Beveridge	Content: A- Audio: A- Video: A- Packaging: B+ Menus: A- Extras: A-	DVD/Anime Review (Box Set) Volumes 1-3 reviewed separately
Spectrum Nexus	Fusiongt	5 out of 5	Anime Review
THEM Anime Reviews	Jason Bustard	4 out of 5	Anime Review