Difficulty Level: 2
Subs/Transcript: Unknown
Number of Episodes: 13
I started watching anime in 2000, and in starting then I missed a lot of older series, and I suppose any series that started before then while always be "older anime" in my mind. 今、そこにいる僕 started in 1999, and it shows, but it's still one of the darker series I've seen.
Story: When I first saw this series, I dropped it after the first episode. No, really, it looked like a stupid Kendo series with a main character who seemed like a generic shounen anime lead, who has a generic love interest and a generic rival. If I had only seen the second episode I'd have known that the love interest and rival never show up again, and things are done in this series of the sort which should never be done to children. It's a shounen series character thrown into a seinen series world. In the beginning especially, the storytelling is very tight and it keeps one on the edge of their seat. In the middle it becomes quieter but spends most of the time building up for the end. In a nutshell, it's what would happen if a kid was dropped into a military dictatorship with a mad king, and no sense of it's inhabitants' well being. Despite the simple character designs, and child protagonist, this show is not for kids, at least ones who don't want to have nightmares for weeks on end. The child characters are only there to show a contrast between the innocence of the characters, and the cruel world that takes pleasure in crushing their sense of wonder and using them for it's own agenda..
Characters: At first I hated Shu, the main character, and I hated Lala Ru, the quiet girl he wants to protect at all costs after only speaking with her for a few minutes, but generally when I downright hate all the characters in a series, that's a good sign. Shu became less annoying eventually, and Lala Ru is a quiet character so she wasn't as annoying. One of the standout characters from this series was the mad king. The person who played him did an outstanding job of playing a complete nutcase in power, to the point where you wonder just what he will do next. The problem with Shu was that he was too blindly optimistic at the beginning, but the other characters made up for it.
Animation: While the animation is sort of dated, especially for someone used to anime that has been out in the last 10 years or so, the bland animation style helps put the emphases on the story.It's not eye candy per se, but it gets the job done and it could be worse.
Sound: All the voice actors for this are really top notch. I was expecting the voice acting to sound somewhat dated, but the cast is one of the all around greatest I have heard. The opening theme is sort of generic adventure music, and the ending them is somewhat draggy. I was surprised to learn that this series was one of Taku Iwasaki's early works, of who I am a great fan of his work on the Witch Hunter Robin soundtrack among others. That said, there are a few stand out tracks on the OST, but nothing particularly memorable.
Overall, I see why this series is considered a classic, and if you like dark stories, this one is not to be missed!
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