Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've watched the whole series a few months ago when it first aired on cable. I have to say that no matter how many times it was replayed, I never got sick of watching it. The simplicity of this series is something that shouldn't fool you to think that it is lame or boring; it doesn't have any cute or cool flashy characters, swordfights, magic spells, romance and comedy. The characters are simple in appearance yet their emotions give them plenty of personality, to the point that you begin to feel for them as the story progresses. The plot is beautifully written and makes the quite lacking animation seem fluid. Even if the show seems to have designs similar to old classic cartoons, this show is definitely not for children, as it shows quite an amount of violence and touches topics such as killing, torture and even rape. The series is short and the whole story leaves you wondering in the end; and that is what makes it special.

This is a GREAT anime. I admit that I was at first discouraged by the very simple and somewhat goofy looking character designs (what can I say, I like pretty things). Even more so when I read a review about it that was far from encouraging. my, how misleading first impressions can be.This show touched me deeply. The characters have so much emotion and life that they feel real to you. The situations that these people are in are enough to make wanna jump in and save them yourself. The Story is about a very cheerful and optimistic boy named "Shu". He accidently gets transported to a mysterious world while trying to save a new friend. There he gets mixed up in the crazy problems of this warring world and is subjected to intense torture. This show greatly focuses on the use of severe physical abuse to train the soldiers fighting in this world, most of them still mere children. The leader of them all is a blubbering, crazy king, who I find to be one of the most interesting anime characters I've ever seen. The background art and use of color and lighting is absolutely breathtaking as well. This is a series that will never leave you bored or feel as if it's too long. It is a show definately worth puchasing.

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

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.

This is one of the best anime series or movies that I have ever seen. Although it is set in a fantastic setting, there is a level of realism rarely encountered in most "realistic movies". It is dark, but at the same time well paced and entertaining. It shows suffering and hardship without sentimentality and tear-jerking. There is at the same time a Peter-Pan - ish quality to the story of children doing battles, and at the same time the emotions and motivations of the children are complex and real - this movie portrays real children better than most movies I've seen, which tend to make children either too mature or too immature for their age. In fact the most immature person in this movie is Hamdo, the king - a person of no nobility whatsoever. Hardship brings out the best in people sometimes - there is a certain nobility and solemnity to the child soldiers that is a product of the environment they are in and the pressure put upon them.

I'm not the biggest anime fan in the world, but I was very surprised by this movie. My problem with most anime that I have seen, which hasn't been a lot, is the stories. The story of "Now and Then, Here and There- Discord and Doom," was great. In the beginning, the way the mood gave you a vague sense of fantasy and mystery worked very well. It gave you the impression that something strange and fantastic was going to happen but you weren't exactly sure what. It added to the pacing of the movie, which was great throughout the entire movie. Also, the contrast between Earth and LaLa Rue's world, after such a serene start, really emphasized the seriousness of the new world.

I felt the characters in the movie were great. The issues that they had to deal with were very realistic and made great social commentary. The soldiers and their competitiveness with each other; the sadistic King and his crazy mood swings; and Shu with his untouched and immovable spirit. The movie had real empathy. I finished the movie with a real sense of all the characters and their motivations, which I think is one of the hardest things to pull off in a story. It was great. I can't wait to watch the next one!

First of all, there is NOTHING funny about this show. Nothing. I got it because I really enjoyed the wackiness of Jubei Chan, but this was nothing like it. It's very serious, and very depressing. I still enjoyed it anyway, despite myself.

First of all, the random meeting between Lala Ru and Shu is strange. I mean, Shu is a kind-hearted boy with honor to spare, but he gets thrown into Lala Ru's world, where things are not honorable, and all everyone wants to do is survive the mad ravings of a despot. He doesn't understand what the problem is, only that there is a problem. He believes that everything will be okay, as long as they stay alive.

... And it goes on like that, detail after depressing detail. In a lot of ways, it just reminds me of a wreck, because you can't take your eyes off of it, it's just too gruesome.

The animation is adequate, the machinery/vehicles are ordinary, and even the plot is a motley patchwork of other anime storylines, what with a special pendant and a girl with special powers.

If I had to say what kept me glued, it was Shu's absolute faith and honor in the face of absolutely everything going wrong. I suppose I wish I had that kind of faith.

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

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.

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.