Now and Then, Here and There Forum

This is a fantastic series with a very imo childishly "aloof" protagonist.

It tackles some interesting concepts / situations. i am proud to say i own the dvd boxset...i think you'll like this one Tom

All I will say is that this show has stuck with me, in sort of the way the The Walking Dead comic sticks with me. It's because I fear the depths humanity will go when it is at the height of its corruption, or it's left unchecked.

I think that's all you need. Whether you like it or not is not in my hands.

I hate this show with a passion (way too heavy handed with it's messages, protag whose optimism borders on insanity and makes Luffy and Naruto seem like suicidal pessimists in comparison, and a really terribly voice acted bad guy that seems straight from Goof Troop and makes it hard to believe that anyone actually follows him) but you're in for a nice surprise if you think it's along the lines of the standard girl falls from the sky and gives access to/his own magic/science powers that they use to save the world and develop a crush on each other show.

Would any of you more learned lunatics care to shed a little more light on it for me, and perhaps offer up some explanations that might explain some of the qualities that I’ve observed here?

Yeeeeeeeeah......no. Probably better that you don't ask that because, as much as I liked this series, it's not for the faint of heart as you'll see later on. That and this W&L would benefit from as little spoilers as possible.

I will say this though: This is probably one of the few things I can use as proof that the actors 4Kids normally used CAN be good. (Ironically Crispin Freeman in this show's dub too and most people I've asked say he was terrible in this)

@sickVisionz:

You say the same thing to Rock Lee and His Ninja Pals or something similar. I end up watching it and enjoying it. I might try this series.

This is a tremendously written and beautifully shot series, but it's also one of the most depressing things I've ever seen. A few flat characters and contrived melodramatic platitudes in the plot make me stop short at calling it a true masterpiece, but it's still amazing. If you can stomach it it's worth watching.

@takashichea said:

@sickVisionz:

You say the same thing to Rock Lee and His Ninja Pals or something similar. I end up watching it and enjoying it. I might try this series.

The only similar thing I would have said about this and Rock Lee are that I dislike them. They don't have anything in common other than really broad stuff like being anime, having male and female characters, having background music, etc.

@Destinyheroknight said:

protag whose optimism borders on insanity and makes Luffy and Naruto seem like suicidal pessimists in comparison

It wasn't that bad

He gets beaten to a pulp, a girl raped (and impregnated), people are murdered and his attitude is that life is a-ok. I can understand not letting your spirit get broken but this guy couldn't even admit that they might be in a bad situation.

@Petiew: He was too much of a goofball for me. It might be because the dub was really bad, but he never came off as a figure to be feared. He was like the Joker in both Batman films except never menacing in the least and just 100% goofy. He didn't seem particularly smart or persuasive so I couldn't even jump to the conclusion maybe he slick talked his way into power. I just couldn't buy into the idea of why any soldier would fear him or why there wasn't mutiny, especially when he didn't seem to be backed up by any higher power.

@zaldar: In the real world someone this goofy would have been over thrown by their brother, sister, uncle, cousin, or a strong general that had popularity among the population or even just a coup d'etat. If you like it, you like it but I didn't. He was so slapstick, comically, goofy that I couldn't buy into anyone ever following him to the degree that they do in the anime.

He makes the goofy, crying, whining, pouty version of Hitler in Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds seem like the most ultra serious hardcore no joke ever tyrant ever depicted in the history of storytelling in any medium.