Now and Then, Here and There - Discord and Doom (Vol. 1)

Amazon.com

Shu, a spirited schoolboy and overeager kendo student, is whisked off to a galaxy far, far away by an alien SWAT team on snakelike ships. The lovely images of Earth are replaced with the grand and imposing designs of a military world, and Shu's happy-go-lucky life turns much darker. He's hunted, interrogated, tortured, and finally drafted into a sadistic king's army of lost boys kidnapped from worlds all over the galaxy. The initial five episodes of this 13-part manga series from Akitaroh Daichi (Jubei-Chan the Ninja Girl) are strung together as a two-hour interstellar adventure (though the opening and closing credits of each episode remain intact). New characters and intriguing ideas are layered in with each installment, but it all feels like a setup for the coming story of galactic war and brewing revolution. A slow start to a promising epic. Rated 16 and up. --Sean Axmaker

Description

Dragged through a time warp, Shu is thrust into a hellish future of slavery and war. There he is captured by an army of kidnapped children. Caught between reluctant soldiers and the madman who has stolen their innocence, Shu fights to save the future! Episodes 1-5.

Customer Reviews:

A Terrific (And Prophetical) Anime Series.......2007-03-18

I can't really add too much to the great reviews already written for this series except a few things:

1) If you watch this series English Dubbed, you won't enjoy it as much. The actors do a good enough job (which in itself is unusual in an anime show), but the ages aren't correct - hearing college-aged voices coming out of the mouths of adolescents really ruins the setting, at least for me. And while the evil Hando is clearly insane in Japanese, he just sounds too over the top in English - like a video game villain or something.

2) The price for each volume is so low for used copies (in some cases NEW), that any anime lover NEEDS to get these volumes now. I think the series is that good.

3) While watching this first volume, I felt some deja vu during the second episode - an usurper leader invading countries "for their own good", stealing their valuable liquid (water), becomes so hated that he starts to lose his mind - oh, and quelches human rights and tortures his enemies, too. Isn't there another leader who rose to power through questionable means, invaded a country "for their own good" and stole their valuable liquid (oil), became unbelievably hated, quelches human rights and tortures his enemies?

Now whatever your political affiliation might be doesn't matter - I at first believed this to be another recent Japanese anime subtly (or not so much) using the west's actions as a plot device (it's very subtle in the Ishbala storyline in Full Metal Alchemist, for example - the military invading an ancient middle-eastern settlement, insulting their religious beliefs and customs, with dire results).

The big difference is that Now And Then, Here And There was made in 1999! Debuted in U.S. in 2002) This startled me because I was amazed by just how NOT-subtle they were in introducing Hamda that I was thinking they may have really turned off right wing anime fans (there's are a few). This reminded me of the old old book called "Futility" by Morgan Robertson - about the 'unsinkable' ship called Titan. It came out about 15 years before the Titanic's maiden voyage.

But don't worry - by the time you get to the second volume (Flight And Fall), you'll be completely immersed in Lala Ru's world and Shu's problems in it. It's an amazing journey with gorgeous animation (once in a while the animation looks a bit ugly, like an afterschool 30-min cartoon but that's rare) - but like I said, other reviewers described the virties of this series much better than I could...

Now & Then, Here & There
released through US Manga Corps
13 episodes
(Vol 1)
1 A Girl Admiring the Sunset
2 A Boy and A Mad King
3 A Feast In the Dark
4 Discord
5 Murder

(Vol 2)
6 Disappearance In A Sandstorm
7 Night of Flight
8 Two Lone Souls
9 In the Chasm

(Vol 3)
10 Prelude to Chaos
11 Eve of Destruction
12 This Bloody Earth
13 Now and Then, Here and There

Where is the pendant... WHERE IS IT?!?!?!.......2006-09-23

Wow... What a wonderful little anime we have here! It's surprising it's not more popular than it is. True, the animation style is a little more simplistic than your typical anime, but it has its unique charm that strengthens the anime rather than mitigates.

This is quite the depressing anime. You watch different characters going through horrible situations, such as torture, murdering, rape (although, it's done tastefully. It's not a total gorefest or anything, but it suggests and shows enough for the viewer to get the point)... All the characters are struggling to survive, each with the glimmer of hope of better things to come, including the protagonists, antagonists, and all the characters in the blurry line in-between.

The characters are each pushed further and further onto the brink of sanity, and you'll have to wonder what their motivations are. Why is Shu always so blindly optimistic? Why is Lala Ru so cold and detached? Why is Hamdo a total psycho and why is Abelia so loyal to him? Not all questions are answered, leaving the viewer to wonder about some of the characters past lives that influence their present decisions - which is a good thing, in my opinion.

Character development is very well done and it's sad seeing some of those characters start to fall apart emotionally and beaten up physically, but the anime leaves you with an important lesson at the end - something you'll need to watch for yourself.

This is the first of three volumes, though, and contains 5 episodes. It starts off well - introducing you to the most important characters. It has its funny, shocking, and disturbing moments, and it quickly introduces you to the conflict. It's fast-paced, but not too fast where all the characters are lost in the action. You might want to get all three volumes simultaneously because you'll want to see the other two volumes after finishing this one.

Painful but Excellent..........2005-04-22

I thought I'd give this series a spin since I'd heard it was good. The story is basically about a boy named Shu who gets transported to a war ravaged world where the twisted king Hamdo is searching for a magic pendant. The first thing I noticed was the fantastic music and fast pacing. This show is exciting every step of the way. The character designs are a little simple but the animation on a whole is excellent.

The main character Shu has the strongest willpower and emotional stability I've ever seen in any character. Can ANYTHING break this kid? The only thing the viewer has to depend on is Shu who never seems to lose hope in the face of horrible situations and bleak odds. The show contains torture and training of children to kill in battle, so I wouldn't recommend it for the weak of heart. This show will bring your mood down like nothing else.

You'll never look at life the same .......2004-10-16

Like some other people who wrote a review I rented now and then here and there from a local blockbuster and if I didn't see the first episode on comcast I may have never seen this wonderful anime creation.This is one of the best drama anime serie's i have ever seen.This serie's is almost like Escaflwone but very depressing as in There Is No Hope. I don't like to spoil reviews by revealing things about the story so I only encourage readers to see it.This is such a powerful anime show that it starts to make you feel for the characters right off the bat. Some things in this story are hard to understand like why lalaru acts the way she does evan after act's of good she holds the same face only smiling here and there, and why shu will stop a nothing to protect her, he is so concentrated on protecting her that he doesn't think a lot about his parent's or sister but he makes you love and respect him for his strength and dedication.Even tho this is a depressing story Shu brings a little hope back when it seems to be completley gone. Now and Then Here and There leaves a very strong memory in your mind it makes you appriciate life and see that torcher seems worse than death. Even tho this is a animated show it shows what a lot of children in the world suffer and to see a child this brave and strong go threw this and still keep the will to survive will inspire all .viewers

Prepared to be shocked..........2002-10-26

WOW, this whole series took me completely by surprised. I was not at all ready to be bombarded with so much violence and sadness. The first set of episodes practically ruined my night and I could not get over it (hard to believe that a "cartoon" can effect you so much).
The next night, I rented the rest of the series-glad I did. The whole story is just awesome. Even though the hardships and issues the children are facing are horrendous, it really gives you a picture of how children really suffer in a world without law.
Each character in this series is just amazing. You really feel for everyone of them, from the evil Hamdo to the little boy, Boo. Each situation and background just really hits home.
Shu's pureness and good heart really touched me. Kabuca's (don't know if I spelled that right) horrible situation where he is forced to murder innocent people just broke my heart. Every character was portrayed and drawn magnficantly. The story is very well written.
This anime is for someone who is looking to be challenged mentally and emotionally. Be prepared to see terrible images of little children suffering and people being faced with brutal predicaments. Yet, to some people this is real life. I believe it is good to know that bad things do happen, however a strong, determined heart like the main character Shu to change one world's terrible dilemma.
Highly recommend to anyone who loves anime and also to those who love to experience an astounding drama.

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