Welcome back everybody, to another (late) week of Now and Then, Here and There! This week Hamdo starts to go on the offensive, Lala Ru gets found out and Sara finally returns to the screen. We have a lot to talk about so lets jump right in!
Off the bat, there were some cool set pieces this week. I was not prepared for Hellywood to take off into the air, not for the underground cave of water in the desert. Now and Then truly does have some great locations and scenery! On top of that, Hellywood also had some good animation behind its flight. A lot of work went into the detailing and selling us on the weight of the structure, plus the debris falling off of it. The weakest part was just the interior shots being largely stills with some shaking, but I don’t begrudge them those. Now and Then has never been a “sakuga” shown in my opinion, so it’s managed my expectations well there. All I ask is that it keep up this picturesque style of visuals for the last remaining episodes to come.
Getting in to the actual story, lets talk about Hellywood and the miracle of flight. I’m mostly curious what this whole thing means thematically. Is it supposed to be an analogue for nuclear power, both for its great possibilities and terrifying power? Knowing Japan’s history with nuclear I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the case. And then we have the whole “If they can’t keep up leave them behind” execution of it all. It feels like a pointed jab at modern values/attitudes rather than any specific system. Of course none of this is unique to Now and Then. Hayao Miyazaki has made an entire career off this kind of stuff via his movies. I only bring it up because I’m curious what Now and Then will do with it in the end.
As for the story implications, well… Hamdo has suddenly become a threat again. With Hellywood able to fly, Hamdo is finally able to not only transport troops long distances but to also bring heavy artillery to bear. Basically, the chimp now has a machine gun. And I don’t know how Zari Bars is going to fight this. These people have guns at most, their primary defense is hiding in a canyon that is easily missed and difficult to assault. What are they going to do against a flying fortress with cannons? My guess? Nothing. I’m actually starting to think that Now and Then is going to give us an “Everyone dies” style ending. One that teaches its lesson by showing us the inevitable end of our path rather than how to get off that path. Scare us straight, so to speak. And I don’t think I would mind that.
Beyond Hellywood, it was nice to see everyone else sort of… moving on with their lives. Soon and Lala Ru are starting to interact with others, rejoining society in a way. Playing house with rocks for food, talking with people, etc. Their past hurts didn’t go away, but through the help of others they slowly managed to overcome them. It’s a nice, calm moment showing that when you get away from the abuse, the war, the death, that you can move forward. Maybe I’m reading into it a bit much, but I really do feel like these smaller scenes exist to break up the bleakness and give us glimpses of hope in what is an otherwise truly dark world.
Of course this happiness can’t last forever though, as the Hellywood soldier arrives and throws it all into disarray. This was quite interesting to me, because the soldier turning out to be a spy actually validates the response of the Zari Bars extremists. They wanted to kill him, they didn’t trust him. But they let him in on Sis’s plea, trusting her that it was the right thing to do. And their reward? To have their location broadcast and Hellywood bearing down on their head. Its like Now and Then is determined to have the “right” way go wrong every time it can. To say that you cannot simply be “just”, because those who are “unjust” will take advantage of your kindness and morals. It’s a similar argument we have today towards “Must you tolerate the intolerable”. I’m curious what Now and Then’s answer will be.
And finally I couldn’t go this entire post without mentioning it: Sara is back! I’m so happy! I was really curious where she had been these past few episodes, especially after we saw her get rescued. I had suspected she was here in Zari Bars, but we had yet to see hide nor hair of her. Turns out? She’s been scouting for trees. And what does she find on her return? Lala Ru, the girl “responsible” for everything that happened to her, at least in her eyes. Of course this is wrong, its Hamdo’s fault. But I completely understand where she is coming from. For the longest time she’s blamed this faceless figure for everything, for looking like her, and now she’s finally in front of her. And on top of that she’s also revealed who Lala Ru is to everyone here. Suffice to say I’m really interested in what’s going to happen next episode. Will Sara come to accept and apologize to Lala Ru? Or will Shu and Lala Ru get kicked out or taken hostage, proving Lala Ru’s words about humanity true? We will have to wait and see.
So yeah, all in all I think this was another good episode. Now and Then is setting up a lot of stuff leading into its finale and I’m curious how its going to execute on it. A friend told me that the ending was actually rather contentious, so I’m really curious whats about to happen. Will everyone die? Will Lala Ru be the only one left? What about a happy ending? The wild thing is that with Now and Then, I honestly don’t know which one it will be. Whatever it ends up as though lets just hope its good.
