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Main Characters
Shu
Shuzo "Shu” Matsutani
- Voiced by: Akemi Okamura (Japanese), Ted Lewis (English)
The protagonist. Shu was taken from his world to the new one by a mysterious transportation device after meeting Lala-Ru. Despite the hardships he witnesses around him, he maintains an optimistic outlook on life and wishes to help others.
- All-Loving Hero: Refuses to kill anybody and adhere to the strict dictatorial rules around Hellywood.
- Badass Normal: He's a regular kid from present day Japan who once whisked off to the dying Earth, finds himself going toe to toe with trained soldiers (a few of whom drive Mechas), ruthless freedom fighters, and mutant wildlife, while doing his damndest to protect what is essentially a water goddess. He doesn't win every fight, but he definitely holds his own and survives certain death multiple times over.
- The Berserker: A less violent example than most but in kendo and practice fights, Shu shows immense strength but little in the way of defense of strategy, preferring to charge blindly at his opponent without any concern for his own safety.
- Break the Cutie: Averted, every time Shu appears to be broken down or beaten, his optimistic attitude still resurfaces. Even after he watches Hellywood troops rip a village apart, he's still determined to save everyone that he can, not even stifling over being held in a cell while awaiting execution.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Shu refuses to let innocents be punished. He immediately involves himself in keeping Lala-Ru from Hellywood and tries to save a village of people Hamdo had ordered to be pillaged, despite being tortured and threatened with execution time and time again.
- Deconstructed Character Archetype: The standard 'hero of another world' story is beaten apart mercilessly with Shu being the means to do so. Despite trying his best to do what he believes is right regardless of the consequences, he barely does much of anything to actually change things for the better. However, he eventually manages to successfully restore Lala Ru's faith in humanity through his Incorruptible Pure Pureness.
- Does Not Like Guns: Shu hates weapons he could kill someone with and prefers to arm himself with his kendo stick, which he uses to smack people around without causing any permanent harm.
- The Fettered: Shu strictly adheres to his own moral code without ever budging.
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Shu refuses to be broken by Hellywood’s corruptive system and is the only one to always question the ridiculous orders he gets. His way of seeing things eventually leads Nabuca to have a Heel–Face Turn.
- Hidden Depths:
- Shu has splendid reading lips skills, being able to decipher Lalaru's name, and realizing easily her needing help by doing this.
- Shu is one of the very very few Japanese people in anime capable of pronouncing "L" without difficulty. He is the only character that calls "Lalaru" how it sounds and not "Rararu". It's even more impressive having in mind he is a kid and that in 1999 (the release date of the anime) globalization through the internet was in its infancy.
- Kid Hero: Quite strong for a kid his age and a competent fighter but he's barely a junior high-school boy.
- Nice Guy: Shu is a very friendly person and does everything in his power to keep people from getting hurt. Moments after meeting Lala-Ru, he’s willing to risk his life to keep her safe and when he’s recruited as a soldier, refuses to kill for Hamdo’s insane rule.
- Ordinary High-School Student: There’s nothing remarkable about Shu, he just happened to be where Lala-Ru was when Abelia transported them back to Hellywood. His present-day, «normal” attitude leads him to question the brutal tyranny Hamdo pushes on his followers.
- Pinball Protagonist: Deconstructs the idea of having a child sent to another world and changing it for the better. While Shu tries very hard to save everyone he can, his role is much more observational for the audience, while the two sides fighting go through their conflict to the same end as though he was never there.
- Plucky Girl: Male example. Shu is a spirited and optimistic boy who retains his sense of humor and positive attitude even as he is tortured and beaten down in the harsh world he’s been thrown into.
- Puppy Love: His relationship to Lala-Ru has clear undertones of this.
- Rage Breaking Point: Near the end of the series, Shu has had enough and is angry enough to repeatedly smash his kendo stick on Hamdo over and over again until it shatters. He even throws a broken piece at the back of Hamdo's head. For a moment, it seems Shu will finally kill someone.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Lala-Ru’s blue. While she’s collected, Shu is a passionate young boy who exclaims loudly when he gets excited and often finds himself in trouble thanks to his impulsiveness.
- Rule of Symbolism: Shu and his kendo stick. It possibly represents his humanity and undying hope and optimism. When he attacks Hamdo with it, it ends up shattering, possibly showing his hope and optimism is beginning to fade. Notably, he does not kill Hamdo with it, despite having the opportunity.
- Technical Pacifist: Shu hates killing and will beat people down if they’re being violent but refuses to do any permanent damage to anyone.
- This Means War!: You can see it in his eyes. When he witnesses Nabuca's death, he decides to completely undo Hamdo's regime, save Lala Ru, and take Hellywood apart.
- Took a Level in Badass: Subverted, while Shu appears to hold his own well against Nabuca in a fight after spending time in the harsh living conditions of Hellywood, he's chided for his reckless fighting style that's stated to be completely impractical for real combat and is pretty well helpless to stop any of the atrocities that happen around him. Eventually played straight when Nabuca dies right in front of him.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: Shu believes that conflict and violence should always be avoided and maintains a pacifist attitude despite the atrocities committed around him. He tells a fellow soldier that he won’t kill even in self-defense.
- Wooden Katanas Are Even Better: A variant. His weapon is more of a staff but he uses it exactly like a kendo stick.
Lala-Ru
Lala-Ru
- Voiced by: Kaori Nazuka (Japanese), Lisa Ortiz (English)
A strange, silent girl that Shu meets on top of a smoke stack after school. After they’re transported into a strange new world together, we find out that Lala-Ru has the power to bring water to the world and that a war is currently going on to gain possession of her power.
- Action Survivor: Physically very weak and very easy to subdue but she can help if water is nearby and, one time, she even fought back a carnivorous plant.
- Anthropomorphic Personification: Word of God states that Lala-Ru represents nature. This can be seen in the industrialist Hellywood attempting to capture her and take the last of the natural resources she possesses.
- Barrier Maiden: And she does seem to be aware of it. In a quite important way, she is the key to the world's rebirth.
- Cast from Hit Points: Her pendant causes water to flow out but each time it is used, her life span is depleted and it will (and does) eventually kill her.
- Curtains Match the Window: Blue hair, blue eyes.
- The Cynic: Lala-Ru holds a very bleak outlook on mankind because of the constant wars they’re held over her to squander the precious water her pendant holds.
- Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: Her eyes have no highlights in them, and she almost never expresses any emotion.
- Emotionless Girl: Lala-Ru rarely smiles and never raises her voice. While she appears almost robotic, she’s actually upset with humanity’s treatment of the Earth and hates interacting with them because of their selfishness.
- Glass Cannon: While her water powers can destroy Hellywood completely, she's very physically weak and easy to subdue and dies after flooding Hellywood.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Having regained her faith in humanity through Shu, she floods Hellywood and restores water to the world, managing to save the captive civilians from Sis' village at the cost of her own life.
- Kill It with Water: How she disposes of Hellywood in the end.
- Living MacGuffin: Hamdo wants her for her ability to summon water, which can fuel Hellywood.
- MacGuffin Super-Person: She is sought after by Hamdo who sees a way to power through her, mostly thanks to her pendant, and by Shu who wants to set her free and protect her.
- Making a Splash: She can control water.
- Mysterious Waif: First appears as a silent female, whose presence leads to Shu being dragged into the world where Hamdo was searching for her. Soon after, she’s revealed to have a pendant which the Big Bad seeks for himself.
- Nerves of Steel: Uncaringly tells Abelia she is of no use to Hamdo and faces the angered woman’s gun without even changing expression.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: She rescues Shu by releasing a mini flood, which later allows Hellywood to fly again and attack Zari-Bars.
- The Quiet One: Rarely speaks and mostly expresses herself by hand gestures or nodding her head.
- Really 700 Years Old: Stated to have lived through ten thousands of normal lifespan yet looks like a teenager.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Shu’s red. Where he’s passionate and loud, Lala-Ru is somber from depression and lack of faith in humanity. While he has tendency to scream obnoxiously, Lala-Ru never raises her voice.
- Rei Ayanami Expy: A quiet, blue-haired girl who shows little emotion and is revealed to have inhuman powers.
- Restored My Faith in Humanity: She finds herself inspired by Shu's example and in the finale performs a Heroic Sacrifice to save the civilians from Sis' village.
- Sue Donym: While hiding in the village of Zari Bars, Shu calls her “Larla” to avoid giving away that she is the legendary Lala-Ru who can summon infinite water.
- Shy Blue-Haired Girl: Not necessarily shy but Lala-Ru is extremely antisocial due to her bitter outlook on humans.
- The Stoic: Generally uninterested in conversation, Lala-Ru always maintains a level expression and monotone speaking manner.
- Time Abyss: Lala-Ru tells another character she’s thousands of years older than they are.
- Unskilled, but Strong: As powerful as her water powers are, she has no combat skill.
- Water Is Womanly: A mysterious, calm girl with power over water.
Sara
Sara Ringwalt
- Voiced by: Azusa Nakao (Japanese), Kayzie Rogers (English)
A young girl from America who was transported to Hellywood with Shu after being mistaken for Lala-Ru. As a girl, she is used as a sex slave instead of a child soldier and suffers at least one brutal rape that shatters her.
- Adrenaline Makeover: After her Important Haircut, she becomes way more assertive, proactive and serious and wears a practical short tunic and loose trousers instead of her initial long skirt and comfy sweater.
- Break the Cutie: Her various ordeals, especially her time as a Sex Slave shattered and hardened the sweet girl she once was.
- Child by Rape: Her rape leads to pregnancy.
- Exposed to the Elements: Running half-naked and empty-handed into the desert won't get you very far.
- Extreme Mêlée Revenge: When she's passed off again to be raped by another soldier, Sara finally snaps and delivers an extremely deserving beatdown on the man, bashing him with a water jug, kicking him in the face, and finally caving in the fucker's skull with the butt of his rifle. Heartbreaking, but cathartic.
- Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Sara tries to abort her child but Sis convinces her otherwise and the show plays it that Sara is taking out the anger towards her rapist on her unborn child and needs to put that misplaced rage to better use.
- I Choose to Stay: Chooses to remain in Hellywood to raise the other children in the end.
- Identical Stranger: The only reason why she's in Hellywood is because she looks a lot like Lala Ru and wears a similar pendant.
- Important Haircut: As she escapes from Hellywood after killing her would-be rapist, Sara cuts her hair, symbolizing her transformation from a victim of the vile nation to a fighter.
- Innocent Bystander: Her only crime is looking like the wrong person and being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Nothing but misfortune.
- Misplaced Retribution: After being kidnapped by Abelia due to being mistaken for Lala-Ru and used as a Breeding Slave by Hellywood soldiers, she blames Lala-Ru herself for all this happening to her.
- Rape as Drama: Sara’s rape in the third episode is used to affirm the tone of the series as much darker from the fairly lighthearted first episode. To be more specific, the show has already turned dark since episode 2 but the rape, the battle and the torture in episode 3 set the level of how far it would go.
- Rule of Three: A darker example. Sara is raped twice. On the 3rd time, she is able to kill her potential rapist with the butt of his own rifle when he is momentarily distracted.
- Sex Slave: Used as one, she’s seen being delivered to adult soldiers in Hamdo’s army who force themselves upon her.
- Will Not Be a Victim: After being raped by at least one soldier, Sara finds herself in the clutches of yet another, who brags about having killed the most enemies during a battle. As he tries to sexually assault her, Sara suddenly attacks him and manages to beat him to death, before escaping Hellywood.
Hellywood
In general
- Breeding Slave: Women kidnapped by Hellywood are raped by soldiers to bear more children to be raised as soldiers.
- Child Soldiers: Many of Hellywood's soldiers are young children and teenagers who were abducted and forced into servitude. The youngest one seen appears to be no older than a toddler.
- Death of a Child: Hellywood's child soldiers routinely die on the front lines, which is why they have to keep abducting more children to make into soldiers.
- Motivational Lie: The child soldiers forced to serve in Hellywood's army are told that they will be able to go home to their villages if they do a good job serving Hellywood. The truth is that every village raided by Hellywood is destroyed after the soldiers finish raiding it.
- Nice, Mean, and In-Between: Of the three main child soldiers, Boo is a small child with some innocence left in him, Tabool is a junior Sociopathic Soldier in the making, and Nabuca is a Tragic Villain who holds on to some moral scruples but still commits terrible crimes in the service of Hellywood.
- Nondescript, Nasty, Nutritious: The food provided to Hellywood soldiers tastes terrible. Shu immediately spits it out when he tries some.
- Rape, Pillage, and Burn: Hellywood travels from place to place finding isolated villages, raiding them for supplies, kidnapping their children for soldiers and their women for breeding slaves, and destroying whatever's left when they're done.
- Theme Naming: The three main child soldiers have the katakana syllable bu (ブ) in their names — Nabuca, Boo, and Tabool.
- Tragic Villain: Hellywood's child soldiers were kidnapped from their villages and forced to serve, with the promise that they would one day get to go home again. Which is a Motivational Lie. Hellywood destroys every village it raids.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: In Hellywood, anyone deemed to be not immediately useful is discarded and left to die. Elamba's sister was taken away to be a breeding slave, but was thrown out when they realized she was disabled. He found her remains in the desert, being eaten by animals.
Hamdo
King Hamdo
- Look at those losers crawling on all fours! I have to laugh at them! I'm gonna laugh and laugh until I can laugh no more! And then-I'm gonna shoot them dead!''
- Voiced by: Kouji Ishii (Japanese), Dan Olk (English)
The insane ruler of Hellywood and the series’ main antagonist. While he preaches of his desire to spread peace across the land, all of his actions show him to be a cruel tyrant who delights in causing pain and only cares about his own gains.
- And There Was Much Rejoicing: When Hamdo finally dies just about everyone, including his surviving subordinates, are happy to start life a new without him.
- Asshole Victim: Absolutely no one in this show deserved to die more than him.
- Ax-Crazy: Flies off the handle very easily and usually in the most violent ways.
- Bad People Abuse Animals: Hamdo is introduced abusing and then fatally strangling his own pet cat, setting his character's tone as a dangerously insane and violent man.
- Beneath the Mask: He puts on a strong,intimidating face for his followers and enemies. Around Abelia and in private, however, he becomes a shrill, paranoid, insecure child of a man who's clearly terrified of failure and swings between lashing out at her and pitifully begging for her comfort.
- Big Bad: The cause of conflict, as he uses Hellywood to instigate war against villages to take resources (both inanimate and human), which puts the world in a desperate state of conflict.
- The Caligula: Hamdo can be an effective manipulator but he’s just as incompetent as he is cruel. His overly emotional reactions lead to him making very poor decisions and he’s heavily reliant on Abelia to keep his power.
- Dirty Coward: Hamdo breaks down every time his security is threatened, despite demanding his soldiers put their lives on the line for his cause. At one point he has a missile fired upon his own troops to keep the enemy away from him and his base.
- Dirty Old Man: He strokes Lala-Ru’s hair while interrogating her about the whereabouts of the pendant and another scene heavily implies he rapes her, as he closes in on her before the scene changes.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Debatable, but Hamdo clearly feels something for Abelia. While he can be just as abusive to her as he is to everyone else, she's also the one person he shows any emotional vulnerability, and he flies into hysterics at the thought of her leaving him.
- Evil Is Petty: You look at that quote and tell us he sounds like a mature, dignified opponent.
- Fascist, but Inefficient: He rules the most powerful empire seen in the world of the show, one that terrorizes neighboring lands and reduces them to wastelands depleted of resources. He's also a gibbering, cowardly idiot who relies on his second-in-command to make most of the logical decisions, wastes scores of his own troops by firing on them in the frontlines, tortures and kills hostages with barely a care of getting valuable intel, and even fails to intimidate a little girl with power over his most desired resource. Hamdo is otherwise a pathetic joke of a man, but he's one with the means to kill thousands while throwing a tantrum. And that makes him truly dangerous.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: It would be easier to list the things that don't set him off.
- Hate Sink: He has some mildly pitiful moments, but those moments are always undermined by the fact that he's a cowardly, selfish tyrant who commits various atrocities, including killing his pet in a fit of rage, knowingly ordering the deaths of children, implicitly raping a child and abusing his bodyguard who may or may not be in love with him. In a cast of characters who are incredibly tragic, Hamdo is the one character you most likely won't feel any sympathy for, and in the unlikely event that you do, you won't do so for very long.
- It's All About Me: Hamdo is utterly self-concerned. He wishes to created a world that worships him and freaks out if his security is threatened in anyway, putting no value on anyone’s life but his own.
- Jerkass: Understatement of the century. Hamdo is verbally and physically abusive towards everyone around him, being a petty, self-important shitbag who's prone to gloating and mocking like a schoolyard bully. The man is a genocidal dictator who uses Child Soldiers and Sex Slaves, did you really expect him to be a pleasant person?
- Karmic Death: He wanted water? He got water and it destroyed both him and Hellywood.
- Laughably Evil: He's a depraved monster, but Hamdo's insanely hammy mannerisms and tendency to blow things out of proportion like an excitable six-year old leads to some of the closest this series has to any funny moments.
- Manipulative Bastard: Hamdo’s only quality is his ability to convince people to follow him. He appeals to Abelia’s love for him when he needs her, uses his vision of world peace to inspire his soldiers and tells the children as soon as they’ve won, they can all go home to their villages.
- Non-Action Big Bad: He’s cowardly and prefers to stay behind the lines when it’s safe but still manages to subvert this by showing himself to be a decent shot when two assassins attack him in his chambers.
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Hamdo preaches a peace he will create for the whole world and that the mass killings he orders are necessary but he's so power-hungry that it becomes apparent he only cares for his own personal gain.
- Please, Don't Leave Me: A disturbing and slightly pitiful example in his debut, at one point he throws a tantrum and rants about how he thinks everyone's against him, before desperately begging Abelia to never betray him.
- Psychopathic Manchild: Throws temper tantrums whenever he doesn’t get his way, which often end violently. When Lala-Ru won’t speak to him, he starts screaming, shouting and touching her inappropriately. Ironic, considering he forces actual children to kill and die for him.
- Royal Brat: Whether he's of royal blood is unclear but he's revered as a savior king, and he has no sense of maturity whatsoever. The word "brat" doesn't even begin to describe him.
- Undignified Death: He goes out screaming and crying before he drowns in Hellywood's destruction.
- Villain Has a Point: His use of the photon missile (which shoots a ray), while costing his own troops dearly, is super effective. It eliminates the enemy's giant vessel, which proves to be capable of long-range attack and impervious to common firepower, from a safe distance in a single swoop, in contrast to the infantry and Mini-Mecha who get pinned down almost immediately. As he said, more soldiers die charging would simply not solve the problem. It is the decision to send out foot soldiers to intercept in the first place that is questionable.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: A despotic, ruthless and uncaring but deeply neurotic and emotionally immature leader.
- Would Hurt a Child: Molests Lala-Ru and orders Shu be tortured to find the pendant’s location, not to mention forcefully recruiting children into his army before sending them off to die in combat.
Abelia
Abelia
- Voiced by: Reiko Yasuhara (Japanese), Dana Halsted (English)
Hamdo’s second-in-command and as he claims, the only one he can trust. She isn’t anywhere near as monstrous as the king but she’s completely devoted to him and will follow his orders without question, even if they are needlessly cruel or tactically inadvisable.
- All Love Is Unrequited: Holds feelings for Hamdo and follows him because of them. At his end, he only ever seems to care about her when he’s scared or needs something. Granted it is somewhat implied that he used to feel something genuine for her, given that early on he emphatically begs her and specifically her to never betray him, but in his insanity he's clearly lost sight of just what he feels for her and why.
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: A generally dismissive and cold commander who has the intelligence and ability to maintain Hellywood.
- Dark Action Girl: Morally conflicted but still applies.
- The Dragon: Hamdo’s most trusted follower and the one to oversee the day-to-day running of his base.
- Easily Forgiven: She followed Hamdo's most brutal orders without question and yet she is only forgiven for leaving him to die (and it isn't even clear if she did it out of remorse or Pragmatic Villainy).
- Green-Eyed Monster: Jealous of the importance Hamdo places upon Lala-Ru and pulls a gun on her, claiming she’ll shoot the girl, out of anger towards her.
- Hyper-Competent Sidekick: Abelia is far more intelligent than Hamdo and actually a reasonable planner. Unfortunately, she doesn’t always get to show this off as Hamdo will often demand she follow his orders which tend to border on Stupid Evil.
- Karma Houdini: Of so much! She is one of the most evil characters (second-only after King Hamdo) and one of the few to make it to the end. After sending Shu back to his world, she is ready to be killed, only to be spared by Sara.
- Kick the Dog: Personally orders to find and execute the soldier who ran away during the Hellywood launch.
- Makeup Is Evil: The only female of the show to wear distinctive pale violet lipstick.
- My Master, Right or Wrong: Follows Hamdo out of her love for him, regardless of the horrible things he makes her do that she clearly disagrees with.
- The Stoic: In marked contrast to Hamdo, Abelia is at all times calm and composed.
- The Strategist: Hamdo is far too insane to come up with reasonable plans so Abelia is usually put in charge of giving out orders and creating objectives for soldiers.
- Would Hurt a Child: Beats Shu under Hamdo’s orders and becomes so angered with him not giving her information that she begins to pistol whip his face until her subordinate has to stop her before she kills him. She also threatens to shoot Lala-Ru at another point.
Kazam
Kazam
- Voiced by: Takashi Matsumoto (Japanese), Tony Salerno (English)
- Apple of Discord: Kazam is the one who told Elamba Lala-Ru is in Zari-Bars. This eventually leads to Elamba taking her by force and shooting Sis, and ultimately to Sis' death.
- Fake Defector: He ends up in Zari-Bars under the pretense of having defected from Hellywood, only to signal Hellywood using a tracking device.
- Heroic Sacrifice: After Hellywood attacks and Lala-Ru unleashes water to drown them out, Sara and the children are nearly trapped trying to escape the flood waters. One child is nearly swept away and is caught by Kazam. After giving the child to Sara, he in turn is swept away.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: A twisted example. He falls in love with Sara and tries to protect her from the invading Hellywood forces. He tries to have her run away with him but she refuses him, and he realizes she will never reciprocate his feelings.
- Rape Is A Special Kindof Evil: He is one of Sara's rapists, and whose child she is pregnant with. When she sees him again, she is horrified.
Nabuca
Nabuca
A young soldier in the Hellywood army. He's a restrained person and much less corrupt than many of the older military members but he is determined to help King Hamdo win his war in the hopes of being returned to his village.
- All for Nothing: The most heartbeaking thing about Nabuca is probably that all the atrocities he committed for Hellywood in exchange for being allowed to go back to his hometown didn't amount to anything. As Tabool pointed out, their village no longer exists and all they have left is where they are now. That and the fact that Tabool doesn't let him go through his Heel Realization and shoots him dead.
- Anti-Villain: Nabuca isn’t a cruel person by nature and he’s only bitter because of the absolute hell he’s been made to live through. Whenever he gets the chance, he prefers to deter people from attacking him and isn’t comfortable with killing.
- Dark and Troubled Past: He was kidnapped as a child and forced to serve as a Hellywood soldier, with the promise that he would be able to return to his home village after the war's end. And even this promise is a lie; his village was already destroyed and everyone he knew was killed long ago.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: In Shu's upon returning his wooden sword.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: After prompting by Shu and Boo's death and defection he realizes he is in the wrong. Too bad a few moments later Tabool shoots and kills him.
- Honour Before Reason: Staunchly dedicated to his job as a Child Soldier and strictly follows the rules.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Nabuca is determined to survive the war with Hellywood and return to his home village. To this end he admits to having personally executed his fellow Child Soldiers when they tried escape and is seen assisting with the army’s village raids.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite Nabuca’s cold exterior, he does care for people and shoots Shu in the leg to keep him out of combat when other soldiers would have killed him.
- The Last Dance: Bleeding to death after being shot in the tummy by Tabool, he gathers the last of his strength to crawl back to Shu's cell and give him his wooden katana and begs him to go back where he belongs.
- Perpetual Frowner: Very serious, but well-meaning. Never once smiles.
- Tragic Dream: He believes Hamdo's promise that he will be free to return to his village when the war is over, and commits numerous atrocities as a child soldier, just wanting to go back home. It is a Motivational Lie, and his village was already destroyed after he was taken.
- Tragic Villain: In the end, all he wanted was getting back to where he belonged. He was simply Forced into Evil and his upstanding nature only made things worse.
- You Can't Go Home Again: Realizes too late that his dearest village has already been destroyed and that he's been lied to since the beginning.
Boo
Boo
- Voiced by: Hiroko Konishi (Japanese), Rachael Lillis (English)
The youngest of the main child soldiers. Boo is a kind young boy but Hamdo’s corruption has left him confused about right and wrong. Although he is at first loyal to the king, Shu’s points about their nation’s cruelty resonates with him.
- Adorably Precocious Child: A young boy with much more understanding of people than what is expected from a boy his age.
- Ambiguously Brown: Very dark skin, unknown ancestry.
- Children Are Innocent: Boo is unaware of the harm Hellywood spreads and just wants to help his friends and return home one day. When Shu points out the cruelty of their nation, Boo is the first to start questioning the orders they’re given.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Like Hamdo's other child soldiers, he was presumably kidnapped from one of the many villages destroyed by Hellywood.
- Dies Wide Open: His death.
- Heroic Sacrifice: He notices Soon about to shoot Nabuca and steps between them just as she fires the gun, getting killed instead.
- Taking the Bullet: Runs into the path of a bullet meant for Nabuca and is thus killed in his stead.
Tabool
Tabool
- Voiced by: Akio Suyama (Japanese), Crispin Freeman (English)
A bitter young soldier who resents the weak and is extremely loyal to King Hamdo. According to Nabuca, he wasn’t always as cold but he became callous with his time in Hellywood.
- Always Someone Better: Hates that Nabuca is a better combatant than himself and whines when he feels the latter’s victory in their combat practice was "unfair”.
- The Bully: Taken to sociopathic extremes. He takes every opportunity to be as nasty as possible to Shu, Sara, and Lala-Ru, and belittles weaker soldiers.
- The Corruptible: Unbeknownst to everyone, even himself, Tabool always had an evil streak in him. His time in Hellywood made it strive permanently.
- Enfant Terrible: By the end of the series, he's this full time.
- Jerkass: Tabool has become a hard-hearted young man and disdainful enough to mock and harm anyone he sees as weaker than himself, regularly trying to abuse Shu.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Upon discussing his ambitions with Nabuca, he reveals that he can dream all he wants about going back to his village, it's already too late. The village has most definitely been nuked to the ground, like Hamdo intended to do to Zari Bars.
- Jerk Jock: The closest thing to one in this setting. He's an overconfident hothead who delights in combat and ruthlessly picks on the new meat in his squad.
- Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: Begins to enjoy war more and more as the show goes on and eventually tells Nabuca he has no intention of ever leaving Hellywood.
- Meaningful Name: "Tabool" can easily be read as "taboo", as in something morally shocking and wrong. And it is indeed appropriate for a kid who loves killing and torture as much as this boy.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Nabuca claims that Tabool used to be a good kid until he was corrupted by Hellywood’s propaganda.
- Villainous Widow's Peak: The only kid in the Hellywodd Corps to wear this. Aptly so, see above.
- We Can Rule Together: He tries to convince Nabuca that they can rule Hellywood together in the future. It doesn't end well.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Compared to other characters, his final fate is not shown. While he most likely drowned when Hellywood is flooded, he is not specifically shown to have been killed, but he is not seen again. Unlike Abelia who survived the flooding.
Zari-Bars
Sis
Sis
- Voiced by: Rica Matsumoto (Japanese), Rachael Lillis (English)
- Apron Matron: An strong-willed and tough-as-nails but nurtuting and responsible older woman of rather robust build.
- Hypocritical Humor: A minor example. Sis generally preaches non-violence and chastises Elamba for his brute methods, but often knocks her kids on the head to scold them.
- Hope Springs Eternal: Much like Shu, Sis believes this too. Even with her dying breath she urges Sara not to give up hope for a better future.
- Major Injury Underreaction: Sort of. Elamba shoots her in the thigh, incapacitating her. While still very much alive she is then shown tortured with ropes, her arms spread out and legs dangling. Her wound is not given time to heal and Sis loses a lot of blood, with this becoming a Mortal Wound Reveal when Sara sees the amount of blood Sis has lost.
- Mama Bear: She pulls a gun on Elamba when he tries taking Lala-Ru away from her.
- Parental Substitute: She is this for many of the orphaned children. This includes also taking in Shu and Lala-Rue after their escape from Hellywood.
- Technical Pacifist: Prefers peaceful conflict resolution but is also quite aware of the fact that you can't always escape violence.
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Very much so. She was one of the few pacifist characters who genuinely cared for others.
Elamba
Elamba
- Voiced by: Hisoka Yamamoto (Japanese), Scott Rayow (English)
- Alas, Poor Villain: Even with all the horrid things he did, Elamba was just as much a victim of Hellywood as Sara and Nabuca. When Hellywood attacks Zari-Bars, he makes one final stand to save the villagers and dies for his efforts, a fighter to the very end.
- All for Nothing: He realizes this in his final moments. Despite trying to use Lala-Ru as a negotiating tactic, all of his men are dead and his village nearly wiped out. Even using Lala-Ru as a hostage at this point is meaningless. He attempts one last heroic stand and is immediately riddled with bullets before he has a chance.
- Even if Zari-Bars were not attacked, his entire plan would fail anyway. Based on false intelligence, Elamba comes to believe that Hellywood soldiers are somehow demoralized and would turn against Hamdo in exchange for Lala Ru. The fact is quite opposite: Hellywood has just scored several of what can be considered "victories", secured strategic manpower and resources, and Hamdo is pretty much the only one obsessed with capturing Lala.
- Anti-Hero: His methods are often ruthless and risk the lives of his troops, but he is really set on bringing down an evil regime and avenging the innocents who died under it.
- Arc Villain: His increasing ruthlessness and dangerous plan to strike back at Hamdo turns him into the story's biggest threat once the main trio escape Hellywood and reach Zari-Bars. At least until Hellywood comes right to their doorstep.
- Badasses Wear Bandanas: He dons a grey bandana as he gears up to face Hellywood in the penultimate episode. Doesn't make a lick of difference against their superior firepower.
- Big Guy Fatality Syndrome: He's killed trying to confront Abelia, signifying how his resistance didn't stand a chance against Hellywood.
- Defiant to the End: Even after his efforts prove in vain, Elamba goes down in a hail of bullets as he takes aim at Hellywood one last time.
- Evil Counterpart: For Shu. While both are brash, hot-tempered young fighters determined to stop Hellywood's reign of terror, Shu prioritizes his friends' safety and is more focused on protecting them. Elamba on the other hand is wholly obsessed with revenge, to the point that he's willing to brutalize and kill his fellow villagers to achieve it. This is also reflected in their weapons, with Shu hating guns and wielding his trusty stick, and Elamba always having on hand a semi-automatic rifle.
- Evil Sounds Deep: In the English dub his voice is much deeper to emphasize the ruthless warrior he is and seems to lower as his cruelty becomes more apparent. Comes naturally when you have the same voice as the Shredder.
- The Extremist Was Right: Elamba is a suicidally overconfident asshole but he's absolutely right that Zari-Bars will never be truly safe as long as Hamdo is alive.
- Freudian Excuse: His entire family was killed by Hellywood soldiers.
- Heartbroken Badass: He's a ruthless resistance fighter who carries the scars of losing his entire family. You can hear his voice break as he tells Shu just why he keeps fighting.
- He Who Fights Monsters: Big time. His crusade to kill the brutal King Hamdo leads him to commit some pretty heinous acts himself, namely shooting Sis and letting her slowly bleed to death. When the village doctor flat out tells him that he's become no better than Hamdo, Elamba shoots him dead.
- Hypocrite: He makes a big deal about how fighting Hellywood is necessary to keep the people of Zari-Bars safe. Except he doesn't really seem to give a shit if he endangers them, as long as he gets to take revenge on Hamdo.
- Jerkass Has a Point: When Shu asks him why he can't just live peacefully, Elamba angrily tells him it's impossible for him to find peace as long as Hamdo still wages war.
- La Résistance: Subverted. He poses as this but is merely out for revenge over anything else.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Elamba planned to use Lala-Ru as a means to kill Hamdo and topple Hellywood. In a roundabout way, he got just what he wanted, albeit after throwing away the lives of many of his own people, including himself in the process.
- Rebel Leader: Elamba is the leader of the rebel force out to topple King Hamdo. This being the kind of show it is, he's still no friend to the heroes.
- The Big Guy: He's a burly,aggressive man in charge of the ongoing battle against Hellywood. Then he shoots Sis and devolves into The Brute.
- Token Evil Teammate: Out of all the characters opposing Hellywood he is by far the most bloodthirsty and vicious. But he plunges headfirst into this when he shoots Sis to use her as bait and kills the doctor for telling him off.
Soon
Soon
- Voiced by: Ayaka Saitou (Japanese), Kerry Williams (English)
- Death of a Child: After she shoots and kills Boo, Nabuca reflexively shoots and kills her in response.
- Little Miss Badass: Upon hearing that Nabuca murdered the assassins from Zari Bars sent to kill Hamdo, one of which was her father, readies the rifle she was taking to Shu, coldly aims it at Nabuca's back and fires. But the real badassery comes when she realizes that Boo got in the way of her shot, reloads the rifle in one swift motion and aims again. Nabuca gets in a counter-shot first, thanks to Boo taking the bullet for him. Otherwise, he would have been long dead.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: A variation of this. She sits and waits everyday for her father to come home from his job. Her father was one of the assassins that failed to kill King Hamdo (the one with the blue wrist tattoos), only to be killed in their escape attempt. So no, he is never coming home.
