Now And Then, Here And There (DVD)

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Video:
The video aspect ratio is 1.33:1 (full-screen on 4:3 monitors). The picture quality and colors came through crystal clear to me. The artistic style uses strong, solid colors with a small palette. The effect is to create a lot of contrast and a slightly retro look and feel.

Audio:
You can watch the show with either Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo Japanese with subtitles or DD 5.1 English. I chose to watch it in Japanese with English subtitles. I think it unfortunate that the American company decided to put more effort into a good audio mix for the dub than the Japanese company did for their version.

The music in this series is exceptional. It was composed by Taku Iwasaki, a name that I should become more familiar with. I would put the music in this series on par with the best classical music from Yoko Kanno. It balances being moving and evocative without ham fistedly pushing the listener around.

Extras:
On the DVD with the episodes, there´s a large selection of extras. Most are self-explanatory. There is an Art Gallery, Cast and Production List, Character Sketches, Mechanical Sketches, Background Sketches, and Storyboards. The various Sketches sections are black and white concept drawings, vital parts of preproduction. The Storyboards extra is rather novel. A section from each episode is played, while the corresponding storyboards are shown alongside the episode.

--Miscellaneous--
There isn´t anything inside of the case. However, the case is clear, and there are black and white pictures on the inside of the cover as well as Japanese and English credits. The main background color on each DVD in this series is successively lighter as the sun in the background rises.

Film Value:
The series ends in a realistic, gritty way. I hope this isn´t a spoiler, but it´s important to know that "Now and Then, Here and There" does not pull any punches, even at the end. So many scenes from this disc stick in my mind. When Sara learns that she´s pregnant, she tries to drown herself. When Shu stops her, she raises a large rock over her head. I expected her to hit Shu with it, but instead she drives it into her own abdomen while tears pour down her face. That kind of thing tends to make an impression. What Shu will do his life at the end of the final episode is something the viewers will have to deduce for themselves. For weighty, dramatic fare, pick up "Now and Then, Here and There".

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