Now and Then, Here and There/YMMV

• Acceptable Targets - Probably warlords.
  • The director specifically states it's a commentary about East African child armies, so probably the SPLA and LRA. (What happens to Sara is a particularly strong parallel with the LRA's treatment of girls as non-combatant sex slaves.)
• Angst? What Angst? - Played straight with Shu; averted with Sara.
• Complete Monster - After seeing King Hamdo, you will never look at crazy villains the same way again.
• Crowning Music Of Heartbreaking - As he proved on the Rurouni Kenshin OAV soundtracks, Taku Iwasaki's music WILL make you want to sob in the corner just by listening to it.
• Ensemble Darkhorse - Fans actually complain that the story follows Shu instead of Nabuca
  • The dark-skinned, blond-haired boy in Nabuca and Tabool's corps has a surprising amount of Japanese fanart, as does that corps' drill sergeant.
• Fridge Logic - How are Sara and Shu able to talk to each other? It's highly doubtful that Sara's fluent in Japanese and Shu in English, and for that matter what language does everyone in Hellywood speak? How are Sara and Shu able to speak to them?
  • Another question is why they don't use the time machine to get water.
    • I thought it was assumed that the time machine requires a lot of energy to use, and the limited amount of matter it can retrieve at a time wouldn't be enough to break even.
  • While the story only involves the conflict between Hellywood and Zari Bars, it seems logical that there are countless other settlements all over the world, located at many different altitudes, depending on where the water is. One might wonder what happens at the end of the show to all of the settlements that were located below what would become sea level. Oh those poor Ewoks.
• Jerkass Facade - Tabool. Many write him off as a plain old Jerkass, yet he spends an awful lot of time trying to pal around with the same people he antagonizes. Closer inspection during and after Zari Bars' first attack also reveals scenes where he is both terrified and depressed by the battle, which does not seem to fit the heartless/militaristic attitude he otherwise displays.
• Tear Jerker - Most of the series, but especially the last two episodes.
• The Woobie: Pretty much all of the main cast have their moments of this with the exception of King Hamdo, but Sara especially stands out in this category.