Now and Then, Here and There

Picture, if you will, a young spirited boy, named Shu. Shu gets transported to this forsaken land ruled by an evil dictator that kidnaps children. He uses the children as his soldiers. These children are trained to be unemotional and to do whatever it takes to get back to their own home worlds. Well, that's the bases of this anime.
The story is amazing. Not one to allow children under 13 to watch, but it's great for adults. You see a young boy's innocence unfazed of the acts of evil that goes on around him. Instead he tries to help those that even oppose him. Its a tale of good versus evil, when all seems to be anything but good.
The animation is solid. From futuristic machines to the children's facial expressions, the mood of this animation puts you in the horrible world our hero has to face.
Now and Then, Here and There's timing and storytelling is what also keeps its audience. The pace sets you up for great despair. Only to give you a slimmer of hope and take it away from you moments later. I found myself asking how bad a situation could get only to have my question answered in the next few episodes to come.
The anime takes you on a roller coaster of a ride, and doesn't let you off until the story's all told and finished. I wouldn't recommend it to the most ideal of peoples. Simply because it's quite disturbing at times. It shows how bad human nature can be and as well how good human nature is.

-Zojitzu

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