Edit
Storyline
A Japanese boy named Shu tries to save a strange girl, Lala Ru, from kidnappers and is transported to an alternate Earth on the brink of being swallowed by the sun. There he meets an American girl from his time, Sara, who was mistakenly captured because of her resemblance to Lala Ru. Shu becomes and unwilling member of the crazy and cowardly King Hamdo's army, and Sara is forced to have sex with the adult soldiers so that she can become pregnant and bear mores soldiers or slaves. Lala Ru, who can create water--a rarity in that time--using her pendant, is both a savior and a victim in a world where factions are willing to fight and die for her abilities, and at the same time keep her locked up. Written by
Jeremy Bristol
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Edit
Details
Also Known As:
Now and Then, Here and There
See more »
Company Credits
Edit
Did You Know?
Quotes
Opening Subtitle:
Because ten billion years' time is so fragile, so ephemeral... it arouses such a bittersweet, almost heartbreaking fondness.
See more »
Crazy Credits
Scenes of Syu's hometown are shown
See more »
For most of the first episode of this series I was thinking it would be fairly worthless. The main character, Shu, is annoying and not too bright, and I actually fast forwarded through about 15 minutes of the show just to see if anything would ever happen.
This opener, however, is just a brief taste of the life Shu will be leaving behind. Once he is transported to a disturbing other world (it is never explained how he gets there or where there actually is) the show takes on a completely different tone. It is, in fact, a horrific study of the consequences of war that contains murder, kidnapping, pedophiliac rape, child soldiers and mass murder.
The show has a very clear perspective: the people who wage war are evil, insane or dupes, and are sometimes all three. But while the series is incredibly grim, it does insist that a few good people can make a difference.
While the series has some typical anime elements, including weird technology, mystic powers and a heroic, headstrong boy, episodes are true to the human experience, with characters acting pretty much as one would expect. Fairly uncompromising, horrible things happen with great frequency, and for the most part, nothing can be done.
I think it would be pretty easy to find huge plot holes and inconsistencies. But the show doesn't really care about that, never even bothering to explain who or what Lala Rue is. All that matters is, war is very very bad, and peace cannot be won through war.