Now and Then, Here and There

There are no words..

It's hard to call this title bad or good. He's quite balanced, I'd say.
We have the story of a simple boy who, by chance, found himself in a fucked-up situation.
Just met a strange girl? She is immediately attacked. Did you manage to beat her off? They tap you where the fuck you're going, and then they drive you around the tables for who knows what shit.
Which is interesting. Popadantsev's characters are extremely realistic. At least Sarah did. The fact that she had to go through this, as they say, is already edge and pitchfork.
The boy is an ordinary schoolboy who wants to have fun with friends, win sports and just believe in the best. Many will say that this is ubiquitous in anime and this character is not realistic. That would be true, but there is one "But". In most stories about popadans and just anime with monsters and magic, such characters do not accept death only in words and as a result very easily cross this line, and then pretend that nothing happened. Here we have a hero who really didn't kill anyone, but at the same time did his best to prevent others from doing the same, and every moment of the murder caused him a real shock, and not only the murders. Sarah's story in the last episodes didn't hurt him so much either.

I didn't think the series would be so harsh.

Sarah. There is little of her in this title, but she probably has the most vivid and painful story. At first, she appears to us as a kind, open, but very scared girl. At the same time, we are shown the brutality of soldiers, and when she is taken away for the first time, of course, thoughts immediately suggest why, but in my head there is still "Well, no. Of course, their king is finished, but the creators don't want to show us that his subordinates are the same? Maybe they beat you up to get back at you for something, like this anime they like to do, which I wouldn't say is better, but they don't fuck you." Literally after a series or two, you realize, "No, that's exactly what they want to show. These Xinyi people are no better than their king, since they don't disdain even a pretty young girl. In the end, she is saved by the kindness and optimism of the hero and the woman who sheltered them, and by the end, Sarah becomes a full-fledged woman who is ready to take responsibility for her own future.
King. A fucking psychopath. I don't understand why that woman is so devoted to him. Usually in anime this is somehow justified, but not in this title. This king is so vile that I just don't see what her problem is with seizing power herself or siding with the positive characters. Moreover, he lets her get so close that it's only a matter of desire and having a free second to remove him. The villain is a complete dummy. No motivation, no background, no character. Just psychosis, that's all. Or is the essence of the title that mentally unhealthy people are evil? Well, something like that.
The minor characters are also quite interesting, but it will take too much space and time to dwell on each one, but they are also quite interestingly written into the story and well thought out.
What's the outcome? We have a good title, with some heavy plot decisions. Some people will come in, some won't, but he came to me personally.

A difficult episode.