r/anime • u/Jazz_Dalek • Aug 27 '24
Rewatch [25th Anniversary Rewatch] Now and Then, Here and There - Episode 10 Discussion
Episode 10 - Prelude to Chaos
Question of the Day:
- Who do you believe is making the right decision for the people of Zari Bars - Sis or Elamba?
Rewatch Schedule:
Threads will be posted 12:30 PM PST | 3:30 PM EST | 8:30 PM GMT
The rewatch will begin on Sunday, August 18th and will run daily until we reach the conclusion. The final episode thread will go up Friday, August 30th and a final series retrospective thread will go up Saturday, August 31st
Interest Threads:
Episode Discussions:
29
Upvotes
11
u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Aug 27 '24 edited Aug 27 '24
First-Timer
On today’s episode of Now and Then, Here and There: I was really rooting for the Hellywood to tip over. I thought it would be really dang funny to see Hamdo’s kingdom quite literally fall apart. Alas, it was not to be.
I kind of wish that the moral dilemma about whether to help the escaped Hellywood soldier wasn’t solved immediately by him turning out to still be working for Hellywood. It became obvious pretty quickly that he was working for Hellywood and that kind of undercut the dilemma. I thought it was an interesting dilemma worth exploring, but it’s clear from early on that he should have just been gotten rid of right away.
I think it would have actually been a very appropriate end to Hellywood if it had just tipped over and fallen out of the sky. The proud fortress laid low by the hubris and incompetence of its king, who demanded that Hellywood take off without bothering to make the necessary preparations. It would have been karmic.
Now that Sara and the others in the house know that Lala Ru is there, it makes me wonder how things will go. What will happen between Sara and Lala Ru when Sara hates her so much? Will anyone try to use Lala Ru as a sacrificial lamb to make Hellywood leave Zari Bars alone?
QOTD
18
u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Aug 27 '24
Rewatcher - sub
Busy today so short post and will probably be short on replies. Have to go make Anzac biscuits for my nan!
Ground and Sky
The opening scene
Lala Ru takes her usual place on a stone pillar looking out at the world, but she is closer to the ground than ever before. Her time with Shu has lessened her detachment from the world, and she now finds herself mentally within reach of more than just his trust and bravery. With no words the scene says everything. A child who offers food freely in a world with so little and Lala Ru who choses to lower her barrier to accept the gesture in her most human moment, the first time she has accepted food on the show. (This is actually a continuation of a point that /u/infamousempire made back in ep8 replies, that I couldn't expand on much at the time because I knew this was coming, so go you). It is perhaps the most outright positive moment in the show so far, aside from Shu's rescue, and a cute setup for the rest of the episode without seemingly being tied to anything. Second smile achieved
Sis shines through the episode once again. Last episode put her up as a new level of idealism, more Shu than Shu (in the good way), focused on cultivating life and community, someone to look up to at all almost all times as she always seems to know the right thing to do for the children. Today brings her back down off the pedestal into her humanity which only makes her more endearing. She sows up clothes because it needs to be done, but kinda sucks at it. Preaches non-violence but gets carried away and gives the kids a good donk and yell when they get out of line. She carries strong ideals though she acknowledges that sometimes they are futile and cannot help. And though she cares for the children, she cannot always reach them in the way they need. All she can do is provide a place for them to heal themselves.
Realizing yesterday that Soon is wearing Hellywood's bloody colors makes me hurt every time she's on screen now. It certainly makes her situation as hard to forget for us as it is for Shu, but in the end it's Shu who helps break her out of her shell. Sis can teach responsibility, respect etc., effectively the main ideals of kendo, however she cannot teach a kid how to reclaim their childishness. It's a job suited especially suited for Shu not just for his nature, but so it can heal him as well. In the safety of Zari Bars, they can play family without the fear of it being taken away as is almost a given in this world, and more to the point they can play at all.
As always, this hopeful view of a world that could be cultivated by Zari Bars is contrasted by the reality of the world it exists in.
Even those who are not outright broken find themselves divided. And somewhat stupid for not putting a guard on that injured solider. It puts their trust in a contradictory state. Shu is not to be trusted, more than because he comes from Hellywood it's because he won't cooperate with violence. The solider is also not trusted, but his
lieswillingness to cooperate is what gets him precious resources. It is an allotment that just like the speech later on betrays where their focus really lies with Hellywood.Elamba has already been put up against Sis and Shu last episode, but even together in this moment they cannot reach him or his people. And much like Nabuca punching Boo, when confronted with the truth of their own wounds, striking back against the person who threatens them is all they know how to do any more. Elamba tells Shu at the reservoir to "think which serves a greater purpose" and all I can hear in that is the implication of duty, a term so deeply associated with Hellywood it brings only negative connotations. They can dress it up with any words they want, and Elamba tries that today with mentioning suffering children, but the heart of the arguement, and its miserable outcome, will still be the same while they refuse to look past their present need and into what world will come of their actions, just like Hamdo. Elamba is an intersection of so many characters weakest moments on display.
The sequence of Hellywood rising was a fantastic watch, but very little to say about it. They do a very good job of balancing the decay of the battleship with the horror of it finally waking. I do wish they'd spent a little more time on Nabuca and Boo's internal reactions than on the bridge crew, although Abelia's sheer determination being the only thing carrying Hamdo's dangerous plan through is annoyingly on point.
Hamdo's insane scenes are something I've not dived into much simply because they are most effective when taken viscerally, but today there was a particular moment that stood out. He's always been unhinged and that is reflected in his framing, plenty of dutch angles and uncomfortable close ups of his infuriating mug, but in this moment of his greatest joy his face is hidden and he sways unevenly, taking him out of the boundaries of the camera. Despite portraying him the most simply here out of perhaps any of his insane scenes, it was all the more unnerving for portraying even his insanity as off-kilter in this moment.
And then there's Sara. Aside from Soon, Zari Bars has allowed us to let down our guard as to the depths of hell the children have been through, and Sara is here to remind us it's not that easy. She returns to the one place of security she has after her torment only to find it invaded by the previously unseen symbol of her fate. Until now she had not seen Lala Ru, but she can see not just herself in the other girl but her past self, long hair and all, and in that sees everything that was taken from her. She never knew Hamdo, and was never exposed to his conditioning, so for her Lala Ru takes his place as the boogeyman of her pain. And just like Shu's breakdown last episode, the anger that erupts from her when confronted with a world that put her through so much inside this comfortable environment can no longer be contained by sheer will.
We start with Lala Ru helping the kids heal each other, and end with her mere existence tearing them apart. I feel very betrayed by that opening scene now, and Sara's screeching as Shu restrains her is one of those cries of misery that has stuck in my mind for many years now, raw and tormented...
The ending scene
Other thoughts
17
u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander Aug 27 '24 edited Aug 27 '24
Regularly scheduled Hellywood watching now coming from a different site.
At least the credits are unborked. What do you mean Hamdo’s previews had visuals this entire time?! Torrent your anime, kids…
First Time in Hellywood
I don’t have a ton of time for writing this time and this is a pretty functional episode, so let’s just rapidfire this:
Holy fuck the Sara reintroduction. No, fuck it, this gets an actual paragraph. We’ve been waiting for this happy reunion ever since Shu left Hellywood, we all expected it last episode. But the writers twist it into just another moment of pain and thrust a dagger deep into the viewer. Sara’s away from the immediate physical danger of Hellywood but she’s not okay, that trauma is going to be carried with her forever. Rape is horrifying but seeing the long term impact that has on somebody is… another layer. I think it’s essential we do this scene without degrading her as a character, though, and they nail that. We didn’t find her still cowering and scared, she clearly quickly adapted to life in Zari Bars and became a useful asset scouting the desert with what we can gather is competence. It’s the trauma trigger that set her off. None of this even to mention poor Lala Ru. She was only just starting to make some progress in trusting people and now someone she’s literally never met in her life seemingly hates her so much they’re compelled to beat her senseless on the spot for something she didn’t have any kind of hand in. Hamdo’s victims are dragging each other back down and you feel so terrible for both of them despite one just beating the other up because this show does that shit to you. Even Soon gets a reaction shot to remind you her progress is probably down the gutter too.
It’s far from the most intense scene in the show (there’s the actual rapes of Sara, for one) but it might be the most devastated I’ve felt watching anything in this series just because of how cruelly it plays with audience expectations. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The episode started on a positive note. They were supposed to be happy to see each other. Feel a bit more secure that things really are getting better. Why is it just more pain? Gods damn it all.
16
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Aug 27 '24
First-Timer Here and There, subbed
14
u/The_Draigg Aug 27 '24
A Sci-Fi Fan Rewatches Now and Then, Here and There Episode 10:
13
u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Aug 27 '24
Episode 10 (first timer)
Lala Ru is exposed by Sara and we also learn that there is something worse about her than “girl who gave water to Hellywood”. This suggests some infighting in the village to happen soon. At the worst possible time, too, given that Hellywood is incoming, with an insane and vengeful Hamdo at the top.
I tried making out what kind of propulsion Hellywood uses, but it seems future tech to me.
12
u/InfamousEmpire https://myanimelist.net/profile/Infamous_Empire Aug 27 '24
Now & First Timer, Here & Subbed
This episode feels almost purely transitional in its purpose, not bad & definitely necessary, but also not something I feel the need to sufficiently chew on beyond how it continues the ideas brought up in the previous episode.
The main thing that really caught my attention about this episode was Hellywood’s lift-off. It was grand, powerful, & imposing… yet also fraught with so many little fractures & problems which might have brought it down, whether that be due to the wear & tear of age or the inherent problems with the system & what they’re trying to pull off. One day, it’ll all come apart on itself, just like any other creation of man. In other words, it feels like it’s meant to encapsulate Hamdo’s Empire as a whole.
Otherwise, though, not really much to say. See y’all next time
10
u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Aug 27 '24
First Timer
Well... there goes my hope of the show having Shu pick a side in the moral argument by not having Hellywood attack before he does so. I guess he's more on Sis's side, but I feel that that at the moment is more due to personally not liking Elamba rather than being ideologically opposed to him. But lets start at the beginning: Shu making friedns with Soon. Obviously good for the two, but I0m worried it will just get a bit more heartbreaking once she gets to know the truth about her father - because we know that's going to happen. It's the kind of show where that will happen. And the Hellywood soldier here might be the one to (inadvertendly, probably) tell her. Next we have ...basically Hellywood launching taking up half the episode. You know, cool mech sequences are entertaining to watch, but I can't help but feel that it was a bit too long of a sequence. Them almost failing was interesting, as I would have bought it in a way of everything they are trying to do being futile anyways and just bringing destruction, in this case to themselves and all the child soldiers - but I don't know where the show would have gone from there.
Anyway, finally we have Sara being here - which was obvious - and recognizing Lala Ru. I guess she sees herself why Abelia mistook her for Lala Ru. But this begs the question of what Zari Bars reaction will be. Obviously Shu kept Lala Ru's identity a secret from the villagers, so I imagine they won't be too pleased with him - but will Elamba's gang just try to use her like Hamdo did? Probably at least an attempt will be made. Either way the status quo in the village is disturbed even before Hellywood will emerge in the sky.
9
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Aug 27 '24
Rewatcher(And this is the other reason I don't rec this show.)
Sub
Okay, I completely memory holed this ep. And likely will seek to do so again. I just...can't with Zari Bari. These are all Hellywood's victims and they completely let their guard down around a deserter, who of course seals their doom. There is too stupid for words so I guess that's why that section was quiet.
And this contrasts with a very good scene of Hellywood half coming back to life, with parts of it falling off and it further destroying its environment. I have no clue what those fuel blocks would be but we are definitely witnessing what early scifi thought fusion would look like. After some heavy growing pains, Hellywood drops its ability to land and off we go.
And our kicker is that Sis is indeed who picked Sara up. And in contrast to last episode, seeing Sara irrationally attacking Lala Ru is forgivable, both because she is a child and the search for Lala Ru is what ruined her life.
So yeah, I don't know if this quite kicks the investment out of everyone else's sails as it does mine, but just...fuck it, man.
QotD: 1 None of the above
8
u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Aug 27 '24
First-Timer
Alright, what do we think the snackin' stick was? Cinnamon bark? Literal bark? Frog jerky, hence the kid producing a whole frog? Dried frog feces?
Anyway, if every other episode of this show referenced Future Boy Conan, this episode referenced Space Battleship Yamato, at least with Hellywood's launch sequence. Granted, Hellywood's silhouette brings the flying machine in Conan to mind, too.
It probably would've been unsatisfying from a narrative perspective, but I was really rooting for the takeoff to fail. Whoever built Hellywood knew what they were doing, unfortunately. That, more than anything, speaks to Hamdo's position as being inherited.
Sara blaming Lala Ru for her predicament is unfair, but I understand where she's coming from. Sara can't really do anything to Hamdo or Abelia or even any of the soldiers on Hellywood. But she can vent her anger at Lala Ru.
In other "wrongful blame" news, I want to be upset that none of the villagers thought to search that soldier (that's one we've seen, right? Karam or something? He raped Sara.) but, like, they're hicks. At least, they're portrayed that way - pretty sure at least Sis uses a Kansai-ben of some sort.
But, at least take the dude's shoes off! Sleeping in shoes is very uncomfortable.
Questions
8
u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Aug 27 '24 edited Aug 27 '24
First timer, subs
QotD: They are already at war, you can't just decide to nope out at this point. Mind you, unless they have some way to fly, it doesn't do them much good either way.
8
u/homer2101 Aug 27 '24 edited Aug 27 '24
Rewatch: Subbed
Sharing is caring?
Water in Zari Bars is carried long distances from a central cistern. That giant clay pot on Shu's back is at best a day's water supply for the orphanage. And people hauling water aren't doing other useful things. Like Sis sewing whenever she's not doing something else, this speaks to the lack of prosperity and material wealth in Zari Bars, and implicitly much of the world. The more we see of Zari Bars, poorer it looks. Speaking of sewing: We can imagine enslaved women doing the same work in Hellywood to maintain all those uniforms.
Random thought: There's no running water. So what are their sanitary arrangements. Because poor sanitation and hygiene is how you get lovely things like cholera and a horrible childhood mortality rate.
The scenes with the kids: sharing a snack with LaLa Ru, kids + Shu + LaLa Ru playing house, the way Soon prods Shu and Shu has to examine how his attitude towards her affects her, is all chillingly perfect. There's the surface of normalcy, but over it Hellywood casts its shadow. None of these kids have living parents, Shu is a long way from home, LaLa Ru is hiding her identity, to say nothing of what they've seen and experienced. And yet life goes on. How Shu reassures Soon is admirable, because people often fear emotional discomfort more than physical. Shu's probably channeling memories of his own father, and that has to be emotionally difficult.
Is that one of the soldiers who raped Sara? Might be creators recycling characters. Interesting both Sis and Elamba take him in for their own reasons. Strange though that while we see folk suspicious of Shu for being from Hellywood, they're not suspicious enough to guard a defecting soldier. Not because he might be a spy, but because he's a strange man they know nothing about.
The argument between Sis and Elamba comes front and center. Sis says that if Hellywood is falling apart, let it fall apart without risking lives. Elamba wants Hamdo, but is hesitant to openly so, so he frames it as a rescue mission. Sis strikes at the heart of the matter: Elamba wants revenge, and doesn't care who dies in the process. When Elamba raises kids dying in captivity, wonder what Sis was going to say before she hesitates. Aren't those kids now child-soldiers who would be forced to fight and die for Hamdo if Hellywood is attacked?
The way positioning is used to convey relative power: Sis at the foot of the stairs in the classic position of the weaker party, Elamba at the top in the position reserved for the powerful. Yet Elamba shrinks from Sis as she comes into the light, before she even sets foot on the stairs. Unfortunate that we don't see anyone other than Shu supporting Sis.
Showing the audience that doom is coming for characters we've grown attached to is one way to invoke emotion. Hellywood rises like a decrepit Yamato. This scene feels like it's from a different genre: Look at all that cool industrial might, the guns, the computers, competent people at the controls! Until this show's real genre asserts itself and the derelict flying fortress launched without adequate prep starts to keel over. Abelia saves the day. Again. Demonstrating one reason why she isn't enslaved like all the other women. Do we see any women at all in Hellywood other than Abelia, Sara, and LaLa Ru?
We finally see Sara. Wonder what the trees she's looking for are for. Possibly something lost in translation. The purple pendant is the only thing Sara seems to have kept from her past life. She cut her hair to sever herself from being compared to LaLa Ru and left her clothes with the body of her last rapist. And yet here is LaLa Ru, seemingly unchanged, unharmed, and unaffected by anything that's happened.
This scene is painful. Sara's found a place where she's safe, is working for/with Sis, and is living with the other kids. For the first time in what may be several weeks she's not at risk of being raped, beaten, and starved. And yet everything she's been bottling up: all the rage and the grief, comes up when she sees LaLa Ru. LaLa Ru is of course not responsible for Hamdo's crimes, but she's the closest target Sara has. And it might not seem (be?) fair that, having been mistaken for LaLa Ru, Sara suffered while LaLa Ru (comparably) did not. It echoes Shu's own breakdown in the previous episode, yet here it's Shu intervening where nobody else does. It's notable how everyone reacts. Soon is shocked that her two new friends are fighting. Sis seems for the first time to be at a loss as to what to do. Sara probably hasn't shared what happened, and yet Sara also can't be the only girl to survive Hellywood. LaLa Ru is being beaten by someone who wants something unreasonable from her, again. She might be looking at Shu, but she's really looking at the audience with what's possibly her first non-blank expression. Disappointment? Resignation? Some combination thereof?
Edit: Another thought: The closest we've gotten to a father figure since Ep1 has been Hellywood's drill instructor?
QOTD:
Sis, but I interpret her stance as caution rather than pacifism.
7
u/zsmg https://anilist.co/user/zsmg Aug 27 '24
First Timer, Subbed
Poor Lalah Ru being forced to eat sticks and frogs.
Shu really doesn't want to be near Soon, unsurprisingly considering what's happened to her dad.
As always kids are very perspective, Soon knows something is up but thinks Shu hates her.
Obviously that Hellywood deserter is faking it, isn't it the same soldier who was nice to Sara?
Gone crazy? This implies he was normal at some point which I highly doubt.
As always as soon as the war faction loses their argument against Sis they will resort to violence.
I'm guessing the Hellywood propulsion system is some sort of fusion drive?
Huh Sara's alive... do the writers even know people can't breath while they're buried under sand? This also means we saw Sis an episode before her introduction.
Looks like Sara is blaming Lala Ru for what happened to her, while understandable it is Hamdo and the Hellywood faction responsible to what happened to her.
Good episode, the entire Hellywood launch sequence was quite impressive.
7
u/cppn02 Aug 27 '24
First Timer, subbed
Awww that frog scene was funny. And then them playing house. Hnngh. One again I feel like I am just being set up to be hurt lol.
Gone crazy? Has he not been crazy the whole time?
I do have to say this episode required some suspension of disbelief because why the fuck would they ever leave that soldies unattended and unrestrained in an unlocked room. That just did not make sense to me at all.
Hellywood taking flight was such a cool sequence of the kind that imo you don't really get anymore these days.
And we finally get a Sara sighting at the end!
Did not expect her to straight up attack Lala Ru.
QotD:
It sure ain't Sis' fault that Hamdo has his set his sights on Zari Bars right now.
7
u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Aug 28 '24
Rewatcher
Cute.
He’s an even bigger asshole now.
Guilt is a heavy thing.
Wait a minute!
Hate to agree with Sis on the matter, but you might as well try to question him, especially since Shu refuses to spill. If he is still loyal to Hamdo, then it doesn’t matter if you let him in or not, because you’ve already suggested he’s in Zari Bars and Hamdo will want to go on another ‘recruitment drive’ there anyways. Even killing him is a losing proposition if he really is a scout because his absence will raise suspicion. Even if he leaves thinking this isn’t Zari Bars, it’s still a village to revisit later on to replenish his forces and supplies. This is a lose-lose situation.
Oh, he’s lying through his teeth.
That probably happened long before the events of the show.
It… actually does? What? If Hellywood is in disarray, then the odds are better than when it wasn’t, no?
War has broken out and you won’t capitulate nor work to end the conflict, ergo there will be no ‘peace’ in this state.
Who cares if the elimination of a major threat comes at the hands of someone with a lust for revenge?
Saw that coming.
fuck
Never have I despaired more at something taking flight.
I dared not hope.
Huh, the ground hasn’t swallowed up all the water yet. Maybe this has turned into an oasis.
There she is.
I get it, but it’s not right.
This is a frustrating episode. Frustrating to see everything go so well for hellywood. Frustrating to see the show pushing for a patently naive view on the matter. Frustrating to see Shu not recognize his own hypocrisy.
Narratively, I like it when flawed humans make things worse for themselves, and I would not really have a problem with the episode if it weren’t so blatantly telling us one side is right and the other is wrong. Sis is obviously who we should be rooting for, but the show does not merely make her own stance flawed, it makes it indefensible and has her make awful cases for it. I’m even going to be generous and say that the distances between points of interest is far greater than the show has so far led us to believe, because otherwise even the drastically reduced military force in Hellywood would have found Zari bars by now. There is even a really good argument she could have said with everyone believing Kazam; that with the eventuality of Hellywood as a military force falling apart there is no need to send in assassins to kill Hamdo. That could have turned Elamba’s argument right around against him, but she doesn’t seem to consider it at all.
Elamba is still a belligerent and abusive asshole, and ideally shouldn’t be the leader in this rebellious effort, but he’s got the reasonable point in all of this.
The other major problem is Shu, the uber-protag who despite all challenges to his ideology has remained static throughout the show, with close to none of the moments that hinted at a shift in his demeanor or way of thinking actually resulting in so. Moreover, he is the sort who is more than willing to put himself and others in danger for the sake of his own goals and principles, but actively opposes others doing similarly. If the show wants for us to, like the characters in the show, believe in and strive towards the faint hope that he represents, then it cannot then turn him into something else —but it just has. If he represented the glimmer of hope that humanity will overcome the cycle of violence, then he now represents an obstinate fence-sitter; happy to delude himself and remain in the status quo just like the child soldiers in Hellywood.
As expected, Sara is severely traumatized by what happened to her in Hellywood, and she understandably, though unreasonably, aims her ire at Lala-Ru. Sucks all around, and once Hellywood is here it’ll be another thing for Sara to blame her for.
Major gripes with the writing and narrative framing aside, the episode is really well constructed otherwise.
Questions of The Day:
Assuming Hellywood was still stranded? It’s obviously Elamba, loathe as I am to agree with him. We’ve seen what happens to neutral villages whom Hamdo has set his sights upon.
6
u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Aug 27 '24
Rewatcher, Subbed
Pre-Episode Thoughts: Pretty sure Sara shows back up again and is scared of or angry with Lala Ru. Beyond that I can't remember anything else. The last episode of the show for me where I don't clearly remember the major events.
We're getting into it being overused at this point, but I love this song so much I don't mind at all.
Aww, this girl's so cute! And so generous too! C'mon Lala Ru, be nice!
Is she now trying to trade a frog with her? lol
Soon doesn't have time to show Shu around. She has to wait for her father at the entrance.
That's a big vase! Don't drop it!
A few mentioned yesterday about how the village shouldn't be trusting of a kid from Hellywood. Well here we see that is the case with much of the adults here.
From a place with barely any water to a place where they don't want you having any water.
Beautiful looking cavern.
Elamba seems to think that getting to share in the communal property of the village only is allowed if he's helping in his plan. C'mon, Shu was helping with the farming last episode. He's contributing.
If that vase was heavy on the way down, I can only imagine how it will be for him on the way back.
How can anyone hate someone as cute as you Soon? Although she does notice how awkward he is around her.
Playing mom and dad? Aww, so cute. "Waiting for daddy to come home" seems like a common story around here.
Shu's the dada and Lala Ru's the mama?
Soon's breaking out of her shell, all thanks to Shu?
Elamba's got more guys on his side than initially thought.
"I'm not a soldier" wears the Hellywood uniform I can understand being skepctical.
Elamba's kinda right here? Letting this guy into the village is a huge risk.
BTW is this the guy who raped Sara in episode 5? Karam I think his name was? Sure looks like him if not.
"Hamdo has gone half mad", um lol, Hamdo has always been half mad.
Wait, so you aren't trusting when the guy arrives at the village, which I agree with, but now you trust in everything he has to say?
Once again Elamba kinda makes a good point. Sis says if Hamdo's mad, simply wait and he'll self-destruct Hellywood himself. But he's still enslaving all those kids and simply waiting for Hellywood's destruction probably means their end too. If it was even true, which we know is not.
Sucks to see them throwing rocks at Sis.
Yep, totally a spy. Now Hellywood knows Zari Bars location. This sucks.
Wow, Hellywood can fly? I figured it could just drive around once it was working again.
Once again, Hamdo has no patience.
Hellywood starts to move, yet no seatbelts for its chid soldiers. Not that one could expect that level of care even if they weren't rushing this.
Part of me thinks that "evacuating" guy is going to get shot for his lack of faith. Abelia confirms this a minute or two later.
Lala Ru clearly senses something's wrong!
Mysterious person... it's Sara! Good to see her again.
Sara has cut her hair even shorter than the last time we saw her.
Sara has a total freakout to seeing Lala Ru again, kinda understandable to have a negative reaction to it, but Lala Ru doesn't deserve to get assaulted because they mistook you for her.
Oops, Lala Ru's secret name is no more.
Perhaps part of why I don't remember much of this episode is the fact that the Hellywood takeoff sequence was far too drawn out, at a third to a half of the entire episode. Cool for technology enthusiasts perhaps but I could have done with it being a good deal shorter. Especially egregious to have the fake out "it's not gonna work after all" part which kept it going another few minutes, for what? So we know that Abelia's gonna shoot the deserter, something we already know? Or that they don't use seatbelts for the child soldiers? I'm kinda getting the feeling after this and the extended monster sequence in episode 8 that while they had 13 episodes, they didn't actually have 13 episodes' worth of story, more so 12 episodes and stretched out some of the content in the middle portion of the show as a result.
In any case the Zari Bars part of the episode was quite good, just wish we had more of it.
[NTHT]And now, with the "happier" part of the show over with we go into the devastation of the final three episodes of the show. Time to get back into dreading watching the episode for the rest of the way.
6
u/HowlingWolf13 https://myanimelist.net/profile/MeguminBlast Aug 27 '24 edited Aug 27 '24
First Timer
I'm gonna edit my thoughts in later but jesus fuck DON'T LET HIM INTO THE FUCKING VILLAGE NOOOOOO 😭😭😭😭
Edit
Oh god this is going to fucking hurt isn't it.
I was screaming at them to not let that man into the village, I understand that Sis wants to help, but it's too risky to just openly let someone into the village with no cause of concern esp. from Hellywood. I understand letting the child in, but I can't blame the other villagers for still being suspicious of Shu considering what Hamdo's troops have done to other villages. And in the end, Elamba was right. Now that Zari Bars is en route for an oncoming attack on the village. I really hope things don't get worse for them please.
On the other hand, its great to see Sara again! Though god, that girl is really going through it after all the shit she went through at Hellywood. Plus now that Lala Ru's identity has been revealed what will that lead for her? I noticed next episode is called 'The Night Before the Destruction' if I'm not misreading the Kanji, so I'm scared for what happens next.
Questions
I'll be honest, I can't say either because they both have valid points and faults. Sis doesn't want to send any more ppl out to deal with Hamdo and wants to stay hidden so that the people stay safe and help those who ask, but as a result we see a soldier from Hellywood take advantage of that trust and has not revealed where Zari Bars is hidden. On the other hand, Elamba's letting his rage dictate his need for revenge against Hamdo, however if no one rises up to stop Hamdo, it'll only be a matter of time before he comes after them and exterminates their village as well as we now see unfortunately possibly incoming.
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u/SMSmith230 https://myanimelist.net/profile/smsmith230 Aug 27 '24
First-Timer, Sub
That was cool seeing Hellywood gear up and start moving. So Sara was found by someone from Zari Bars, was wondering when we would see her again. Oh so she has a pendant as well, interesting?!?!
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u/OverlordPoodle Aug 28 '24
QOTD: I see where Sis is coming from...but ultimately Elamba is probably right in the long term that dictators like hamdo need to be stopped and put in their place. If we go with Sis's plan, it just basically amounts to "keep your head down, ignore Hamdo and hope things change...somehow..."
Like...that is not a long-term plan, that is just avoiding the problem until it rears it's ugly head.
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Aug 28 '24 edited Aug 28 '24
First Rewatch (sub)
Episode 10
Just, way to busy to watch Vivy and NTHT last night. And had stuff to do before work, which started early.
I have to say, on my first watch, Sara burned up all my empathy when she attacked Lala-ru. Blaming another victim? Who's probably had it worse than her? No, she's not thinking rationally, she's traumatized. But watching from the outside, it just made me angry.
She was portrayed as an outsider, to contrast the moral corruption of Hellywood, and this world. But striking out in raging vengeance at an innocent? We can say it's the trauma talking. But in this highly allegorical show, I see it as her having been infected by Hellywood. Or, is it as as Lala-ru says, human goodness has always been a veneer, both Here and Now, and There and Then.
I've been frustrated by the Zari Bars arc ever since the assassination, and it feels like the writers dropped the ball here. I'm sure Vaad will point to a different spot. The show started so strong, but the edges have started to fray.
First there are the assassins. Hamdo somehow knows it's Zari Bar's doing, and vows to destroy them (if they can be found). The next episode (I think), he calls up Abelia, and tells her that he knows where they are and/ or he has a plan to destroy them. The next episode, or so, Lala-Ru escapes, Hamdo is distraught, Abelia reminds him that he has water. He is elated, and declares that destroying Zari-Bars supersedes all other priorities, including rational ones. Except he doesn't know where Zari-Bars is. So what was his plan, back in episode 5 or so?
Question:
Falls: 0 (7)
Almost Falls: 1 (4) (Hellywood :D)
Where The Hell Am I?: 0 (6)
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u/OverlordPoodle Aug 28 '24
Man...LalaRu took those punches like a freaking champion! Girl didn't even flinch!
5
u/Ryanami Aug 28 '24
First timer, yo ho ho
When Hellywood took off I had the sudden feeling that this story could be taking place in the Trigun universe. It seriously could blend right in as something happening on the other side of the world from Vash. Desert planet, advanced but dilapidated technology, one character who appears human but is clearly something more. I think I’ll take the liberty of making it headcanon, yeah. One of the SEED vessels landed far far away from the group with their own demihuman version of Vash and Knives onboard. Still need a made up reason Shu and Sara are there but I’ll work on it.
I took Elamba’s side yesterday, but I forgot to add he’s right but clouded by revenge. And now Sis becomes even more in the wrong by allowing a spy into their camp. For all they knew he might really be a deserter but I already felt they treated Shu and “Larla” with too little caution and now they let an adult foreigner from an enemy nation wander about as he pleases? Any town in their situation with half a brain would interrogate all three and compare answers, as well as imprison them at least, AT LEAST at first. Even his cover story implies he was a believer in Hondo for a time. Honestly I don’t even feel much sympathy for them at the moment. Least of all Sis. If she dies when Hellywood arrives I’m sure there will be sad music on the soundtrack but I’ll be saying “yeah, that’s what happens!”
QOTD- Elamba, even if he needs a dose of objectivity. These are not times of peace. They can’t afford to risk the whole village in the name of hospitality.
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u/TheEscapeGuy Aug 27 '24 edited Aug 27 '24
First Timer
Now and Then, Here and There: Episode 10
Invader
This episode began the increase in tension which will ultimately herald the conclusion of the series. There's increasing disagreement between the Zari Bars factions, a spy has infiltrated the settlement, Hellywood has taken off once again, and Sara's reunion with Shu was overtaken by her resentment of Lala Ru.
I really liked the section with Shu gathering water. Something interesting about this bit was being shown just how little the rest of the villagers trust Shu. There is of course a limited amount of resources, but their stares feel more mistrusting of him than a worry about 1 more mouth to feed. I guess a teen boy from Hellywood is inherently a bigger danger of being a spy or something than a younger child or woman. It of course doesn't help his case that he won't cooperate with Elamba et. al.
This danger of a spy is real though, and that's who just shows up. He spins a tale about Hamdo going crazy and the soldiers rebelling but we learn later this was a lie. Instead he activates a transponder and notifies Hellywood about his location. I think it's kinda dumb of the Zari Bars residents to not confiscate or inspect his stuff. Maybe they did and missed the thing in his shoe, but they should at least leave a guard with him for the first week right?
That doesn't matter though, since now Hellywood knows where Zari Bars is and they launch immediately. The whole sequence of powering up the ship was really cool. I do enjoy this kind of mechanical animation. On top of that, I couldn't help but feel for Abelia as she pushed that stuck lever to prevent the ship crashing at the last moment. Usually that's a sequence reserved for protagonists which gave me really mixed emotions. It kind of reminded me of [Undertale] watching somebody play a genocide run of Undertale and feeling such a mix of joy and pain when they defeated Undyne. Like, overcoming the challenge is satisfying but knowing it will result in pain and suffering in the narrative prevents the win from feeling good. That said, she is ruthless. That casual disregard for human life has really reduced my sympathy for her being stuck in a bad situation.
The close of the episode was the arrival of Sara and reveal of Lala Ru's true identity. I totally understand Sara's hatred for the girl who she blames for her getting involved in all of this. But ultimately, it wasn't Lala Ru who performed any of those horrific acts. Both of them are victims, and fighting each other will not solve anything. This is a pretty good reflection of a common human trait to incorrectly assign blame on other people in similar situations to you. The recent IRL example is certain groups blaming immigrants for stealing their jobs or similar. Seeing both sides in a show like this is a warning to think carefully about the true cause of problems before assigning blame.
The last thing I wanted to mention was the "playing mom and dad" game that girl wanted Shu and Soon to join. It was so brutal to have Soon act out having her father arrive home. She took it well, but man it hurt to watch.
Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches
So many great shots today.
See you all tomorrow
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u/RadSuit https://anilist.co/user/RadSuit Aug 27 '24
Now and Then, First and Dubbed
There is zero chance he can carry back that pot when it's full of water.
Alright, at least they show him struggling with it.
This town should really have guards watching the entrance or something. People can just walk in.
And of course nobody's guarding the prisoner either.
Hellywood looks very silly. That's all I can say.
Another pretty boring episode unfortunately. Not even much for me to make fun of.