Now and Then, Here and There

Meet happy-go-lucky boy Shu. He lives the typical life of a kid, until one day on the way home from Kendo practice when he sees a mysterious girl admiring the sunset from the top of a factory exhaust pipe. While Shu tries to coax her into a conversation, a time warp suddenly opens to reveal Lady Abelia, who immediately identifies the mysterious girl as "Lala-Ru." As Lady Abelia tries to capture Lala-Ru, the whole lot is transported into the future. It's the action-packed opener to the series that Anime News Network calls "...one of the best newer shows [they've] seen."

Lala-Ru is captured by Abelia's men, but her magical pendant escapes with Shu at the last moment. Meanwhile, Shu is discovered and captured by Nabuca, one of Abelia's men. Shu is then questioned by King Hamdo, and the truth behind why Lala-Ru was arrested is revealed.

While imprisoned, Shu meets a fragile blue-eyed girl named Sara who found her way to this hellish future under similar circumstances. Meanwhile, King Hamdo confronts Lala-Ru, desperate to find the location of her pendant. Just when Shu thinks things couldn't get worse, Lady Abelia's cruel interrogation begins. Then, in the dead of night, a shining light of hope appears...but is it the help that Shu has been praying for?

The young soldiers have their marching orders: Search the entire ship from top to bottom for Lala-Ru's missing pendant. Shu recovers, and is forced to join their ranks as a soldier of Hellywood. He learns that all the soldiers are actually kidnapped children who are promised release upon the end of the unjust war their king is waging. Meanwhile, Sara's condition worsens as the perils of imprisonment take their toll.

Sara continues to suffer unspeakable horrors as a prisoner turned concubine. King Hamdo's frustration reaches a boiling point as the mission to recover the pendant continues to be fruitless. An assassination attempt on the King only enrages him further. Meanwhile, Nabuca and Shu spar in a training exercise, which seems to bring them closer rather than further apart.

After suffering from horrible brutalities for too long, a hardened Sara breaks free from her prison shackles. The young soldiers are now faced with a tour of duty as they leave Hellywood to seek more soldiers. When Shu realizes the atrocities that his corps must inflict on harmless villagers, he lashes out, but to no avail.

Shu is court-marshaled for his interference during the mission to recruit more soldiers from the villages that surround Hellywood. While in prison, he uncovers an unbelievable mystery and the fate of this hellish future suddenly falls squarely in his hands. Meanwhile, Lala-Ru is in grave danger as King Hamdo, still searching for the pendant, reaches a new level of insanity.

As King Hamdo recovers from Shu's incredible attack, Lady Abelia discovers that Hellywood suddenly has the ability to mobilize itself across the desert. Now that Shu is on the run, he must face a whole new set of dangers in the wild. Lala-Ru finally opens up, and tells the story behind the pendant and why it has been the cause of war after war.

Shu and Lala-Ru's journey takes them to a new village. Meanwhile Lady Abelia succeeds in preparing Hellywood for war, but King Hamdo is more interested in revenge than tactics. Shu and Lala-Ru don't realize it, but the village they've encountered is actually the target of King Hamdo's revenge.

Shu and Lala-Ru are tentatively welcomed by the villagers of Zari Bars. Just when they think that Hellywood is just a mere memory, a lone injured soldier from the fortress hobbles into town in desperate need of care. Meanwhile, Lady Abelia ascertains the location of Zari Bars, and prepares the ship for launch in order to execute her evil plans to destroy the innocent village.

Sis, one of the citizens of Zari Bars, finds Sara in the desert, on the verge of death.. As Sis and the other villagers nurse her to recovery, they realize that she is pregnant. Shu's resilience and optimism is unyielding as he comforts Sara by telling her that as long as she's alive, good things are bound to happen.

Sara warns the people of Zari Bars that an impending attack from Hellywood is eminent. The village decides that the best strategy is to leverage their possession of Lala-Ru in a negotiation with King Hamdo. Now Shu must protect Lala-Ru once again, this time from the enraged citizens of Zari Bars and the advancing forces of Hellywood.

Nabuca finds himself at a crossroad: Continue killing for the empty promise of going home after the war ends, or listen to his heart and put down his gun. Will King Hamdo satisfy his revenge and enslave the entire village of Zari Bars? Will Lala-Ru survive? And will Shu ever find his way home to the present? Watch the stirring conclusion of this anime masterpiece to find out.