Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku

Perhaps the most dramatic show I've ever seen, Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku is full of shock. Also called Now and Then, Here and There, enter a world where a mad dictator rules a kingdom by fear, where males are forced into his army upon penalty of death, and where females are raped in order to bear children for the kingdom. Now imagine that the bulk of the characters in the show are kids. It's not pretty. It can get quite sickening seeing and imagining the situations these children get themselves in. The main character, Shu, is beaten almost to the point of death on several occasions. Other characters fair out a lot worse.

But nevertheless, it's almost because of these horrible acts that the show is so good. Yes, it is downright disgusting to see how evil one man can be. But what I enjoyed most was seeing how people react and transform to the situations they're dealt. You see some characters reluctantly doing evil for fear of their own death. You see others genuinely come to love the violent acts they perform. Still others result to evil means to achieve what they believe is a good purpose. It's almost like an exposition of how man can be, if placed in the proper situations.

Now and Then is really a hard show to watch. With so many scenes of violence and cruelty, many will stop watching it. These powerful scenes remain in your mind long after you've finished watching. The things that happen are a tragedy in every sense of the word. But yet, if you're willing to stomach it, it's an incredible journey to see how people are transformed, either good or bad, by everything that's happening. Perhaps the most disturbing part of it all is that you know that the things in this series could very well happen... and probably have happened in the past. It's intense real drama.