blog好き

Jul 27 2002

Categories: anime

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I have been following two very light-hearted anime: Ai Yori Aoshi and Chobits. Both are quite happy and cheerful series, and one could argue they fall nicely into that non-threatening group with OMG! and Love Hina. There’re both great series, and I’ve been pushing for both in chat and forums.

Lately, though, I’ve been more interested in two series that are quite opposite: Saishu Heiki Kanojo and Now and Then, Here and There. Whereas Aoi-chan and Chii-chan always manage to stumble into happy situations with the one for them, the battle is more difficult for Chise and Lala Ru.

I’ll start with Saishu… uh… I’ll just call it SaiKano for now on. The title literally means “Ultimate Weapon Girlfriend,” and the anime is just about that. Chise is a typical high school student — she’s not very smart, athletic, or glamourous, but she has just started dating Shuji, a normal, but slightly introverted, classmate. They both live in Hokkaido, one of the last remaining parts of Japan, and in this dystopia, Japan and her allies are at war with an unidentified nation and is losing. Tokyo is no more, and Osaka is being invaded. One day, bombers appeared and started attacking the city, and Shuji sees a glowing light arcing in the sky destroying all of the enemy bombers. The light suddenly drops, and he chases after it only to discover that it’s Chise. She’s the military’s final weapon against the invaders.

The series does not deal with the war or the battles — the importance of this is shown by not even giving the opposing side a name. The series focuses on Chise’s and Shuji’s relationship after he discovers that she isn’t a normal girl. Even though the series is fairly new, it’s been a very gripping and emotional ride. It’s not a sappy love story nor a war story. It’s about two people trying to survive in a world that doesn’t want them to.

With that in mind, this world and premise reminded me of another series: Now and There, Here and There, which is the polar opposite of what one would expect from Akitaroh Daichi (Jubei-chan, Child’s Toy, and Fruits Basket). The series is deadly series, edgy, dark, brooding, and full of dispair. It’s hard to guess that this is the same mind that came up with the infamous Urinal Queen. In NTHT, the protagonist male, Shu, lives in modern day Japan without a care in the world until I meets up with Lala Ru, and they are both transferred to another world. A world very similar to Earth a few billion years from now where the sun has evaporated all of the wather. In this world, there is no real hope for any of the characters, and it paints a bleak picture for everyone in this world. The evil empire, Hellywood, wants to take over the world, and it does so in draconian fashion. They attack towns, kill the elderly, and abduct the children and women. The children are conscripted to join their army while the women serve as comfort women for the officers.

The series was hard to watch because it was so dark, but it was also impossible to stop watching because the plot was so gripping. One begins to immediately feel sympathy for the characters, and it became hard for me to watch the intro because it depicts all the characters in their happier moments when you know their lives will be full of anguish and hardships. Still, this is a story about people trying to survive in a world that doesn’t want them to.

So if you’re sick of the typical shy guys lives with a house full of beautiful women genre, try either SaiKano or NTHT.

Chise before discovery.

Chise after battle.

Shu, hanging on for dear life.

Sara, crying out.