History YMMV / NowAndThenHereAndThere

* StrawmanHasAPoint: Elamba is portrayed as an unreasonable radical for focusing on hitting back at Hellywood rather than caring for the children of his village. What this neglects to mention is that his resistance force is the only thing ''protecting'' Zari-Bars and its people from a war-mongering military superpower bent on taking over the world and exploiting children. Also, Hamdo is an [[AxCrazy horribly unstable, hideously sadistic madman]] in charge of a flying fortress whose death would prevent so much more war and tragedy. Sure enough, Elamba proves correct when Hellywood launches a full-scale war against Zari-Bars.

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad King Hamdo]] plunders resources from a desperate land and kidnaps children to use as soldiers in his army. [[EstablishingCharacterMoment Introduced]] [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals strangling his own cat to death]], Hamdo reacts with psychotic glee upon learning his men have found a girl who possesses an amulet capable of creating water, a precious resource in this world. When he discovers she's lost said amulet and refuses to help him find it, Hamdo flies into a rage and is implied to rape her. So cowardly that any threat to his life sends him into a panic, Hamdo orders his second-in-command to fire upon the frontline, not caring that his own {{Child Soldier}}s are engaged in combat.

* AcceptableTargets: Warlords and dictators.
** The director specifically states it's a commentary about East African child armies, so probably the Southern Peoples' Liberation Army (currently ruling South Sudan) and the Lord's Resistance Army (the infamous Ugandan rebels). What happens to Sara is a particularly strong parallel with the LRA's treatment of girls as non-combatant sex slaves.

** All of the child soldiers in Hellywood's army, including Nabuca, Boo, and Tabool, were kidnapped from their villages, conscripted into service, and forced to commit horrible atrocities. They hope to be able to return to their villages when the war is over, because that's what they've been promised. [[spoiler:And this turns out to be a MotivationalLie; every village raided by Hellywood is destroyed. None of those children will ever see their families again.]]

** All of the child soldiers in Hellywood's army were kidnapped from their villages, conscripted into service, and forced to commit horrible atrocities. They hope to be able to return to their villages when the war is over, because that's what they've been promised. [[spoiler:And this turns out to be a MotivationalLie; every village raided by Hellywood is destroyed.]]

* TheWoobie: All of the main cast have their moments of this with the exception of King Hamdo, but Sara especially stands out in this category.

* JerkassWoobie: Elamba, so [[HeartbrokenBadass very,]] [[KnightTemplarBigBrother very]] [[HeWhoFightsMonsters much.]]

* RealismInducedHorror: Despite all the sci-fi and fantastical elements present in the show, there's a very, very, VERY deep sense of realism in this series that is what makes it such a profoundly haunting and emotionally harrowing experience to begin with, especially considering that it was inspired by the Rwandan Genocide (one of the most gruesome periods in human history). What with [[WarIsHell its portrayal of war]], extraordinarily grimdark subject matter, [[ViolenceIsDisturbing horrific brutality]], the straightforward depiction of psychological trauma that soldiers (especially the [[ChildSoldiers children ones]] suffer), a [[PinballProtagonist main character who is completely powerless]] and must endure all the atrocious shit that goes on, concentration camps, child rape, widespread thirst, extreme starvation, ethnic cleansing, [[FinalSolution genocide]], and a [[TheCaligula ruthless, horrifyingly insane dictator]] who would make [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]] look perfectly sane by comparison, this is one series that ''will'' traumatize you, and is hands down one of the bleakest and most depressing anime ever made, period.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: Elamba is portrayed as an unreasonable radical for focusing on hitting back at Hellywood rather than caring for the children of his village. What this neglects to mention is that his resistance force is the only thing ''protecting'' Zari-Bars and its people from a war-mongering military superpower bent on taking over the world and exploiting children. Also, Hamdo is an [[AxCrazy horribly unstable, hideously sadistic]] madman in charge of a flying fortress whose death would prevent so much more war and tragedy. Sure enough, Elamba proves correct when Hellywood launches a full-scale war against Zari-Bars.

** After 13 episodes worth of horrors perpetrated by Hamdo, it is deeply,''deeply'' satisfying to watch [[spoiler:Shu [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown pummel the living crap out of him]] in the final episode, [[UndignifiedDeath before he's left to drown like a rat, crying and screaming all the way as his empire topples once and for all]].]]

* FoeYay: Tabool's unhealthy obsession with Nabuca and subsequent rage whenever Nabuca rejects his attention are typically interpreted as an example of this.
** There is definitely some tension between Shu and Nabuca.

* WhatAnIdiot: While fleeing in the desert, Shu and [=LaLa=]-Ru are confronted by Nabuca, but fortunately he doesn't want to shoot or arrest them. Shu begs Nabuca to flee Hellywood with them and bring Boo along.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Nabuca to accept Shu's offer. It's well established that both he and Boo resent everything about Hellywood and are only following orders so they can go home. There is no guarantee their villages are still standing, and even if they are, they can find another way home by joining in efforts to end Hamdo's reign.\\
'''Instead:''' He refuses Shu's offer and goes back to his corps. It never actually occurs to him that Hamdo might've ''lied'' about going back home until [[{{Jerkass}} Tabool]] spitefully tells him, and by then it's [[KillTheCutie far,]] [[HeelFaceDoorSlam far]] [[TragicMistake too late.]]
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: Well, it isn't... At least not unless your last name is [[Franchise/TheAddamsFamily Addams]] or [[NightmareFuel/MarilynManson Man]][[UsefulNotes/CharlesManson son]].

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: After the NonIndicativeFirstEpisode, the series pulls no punches in being grim-dark, complete with [[CompleteMonster an absolutely abominable villain]] and a main character who is [[PinballProtagonist near-powerless to change much.]] In the end, the protagonist has no great influence and is able only to inspire the actually-powerful Lala-Ru to bring about a more-or-less happy ending. The mostly-positive outcome feels insignificant after the series' overall dark journey.

** After 13 episodes worth of horrors perpetrated by Hamdo, it is deeply,''deeply'' satisfying to watch [[spoiler:Shu pummel the living crap out of him in the final episode, before he's left to drown like a rat, crying and screaming all the way as his empire topples once and for all.]]

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: Since LaLa-Ru is a personification of water, her speech about how she hates humans because they will always exploit and abuse her when she's trying to help them comes of as a very poignant metaphor for climate change and unequal resource distribution. [[{{TearJerker}} And it's heartbreaking.]]

* MainstreamObscurity: As much as this series is mentioned, very few have actually gotten around to watching it. There's a very good reason for that, though.

* CatharsisFactor: After 13 episodes worth of horrors perpetrated by Hamdo, it is deeply,''deeply'' satisfying to watch [[spoiler:Shu pummel the living crap out of him in the final episode, before he's left to drown like a rat, crying and screaming all the way as his empire topples once and for all.]]

---> (To [=LaLa=]-Ru) ''What is it? Don't you ''want'' to help me...(chuckles)[[SuddenlyShouting If you REFUSE,]] [[AndYourLittleDogToo I'LL KILL ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!]] I'LL GRIND THEM UP, SQUEEZE OUT THEIR BLOOD, AND ''DROWN'' YOU IN IT!

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: After the NonIndicativeFirstEpisode, the series pulls no punches in being grim-dark, complete with [[CompleteMonster an absolutely abominable villain]] and a main character who is [[PinballProtagonist near-powerless to change much.]] In the end, the protagonist has no great influence and is able only to inspire the actually-powerful Lala-Ru to bring about a more-or-less happy ending. The mostly-positive outcome feels insignificant after the series' overall dark journey.

* AcceptableTargets: Probably warlords and dictators.