
Shu is a typical Japanese boy, but has an unbeatable, optimistic and determined attitude. However, when he sees a mysterious girl with strange eyes named Lala-Ru up on a smokestack, he is soon pulled into a strange desert world. Shu soon discovers the true terrors of war, which includes genocide, brutal torture, hunger, thirst, and child exploitation. Now Shu is trying to save Lala-Ru, as well as his hard earned, and often relunctant, new friends from the insane dictator, Hamdo. Whether Shu can possibly accomplish saving those he cares about while still holding up to his values remains to be seen.
Episodes
13
Aired
Fall 1999
Score
7.3
Popularity
#1500
TragedyDystopianWarSurvivalPrimarily Child CastPost-ApocalypticComing of AgeMilitary
If you like this, try
Made in Abyss 81%13 eps · 2017
A child descending into an unknown, hostile world drives both stories, though here the horror unfolds through wonder as much as dread.
Grave of the Fireflies 79%1 eps · 1988
It shares that unflinching gaze at children stripped of safety by war, without ever softening the cost.
From the New World 78%25 eps · 2012
You get the same slow unveiling of a society's brutal machinery through a young protagonist's eyes.
Future Boy Conan 78%26 eps · 1978
A resourceful kid navigating a broken world carries the same hopeful grit, just with a gentler touch overall.