Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
Alternate Titles: Magical Shopping Street Abenobashi,
Original Japanese Release Date: 2002
Episode Length/Run-time: 13 episodes
Summary:
Sasshi has grown up in the Shopping Arcade Abenobashi for all of his life at his family’s bath house. However, due to urban modernization projects the bath house was torn down, and the rest of the shopping arcade is next. To make matters worse Arumi, his best friend, is leaving for Hokkaido with her family. As everything is happening around them something mysterious occurs transporting them into alternate realities of their shopping arcade.
Review:
Abenobashi is made by studio Gainax, but don’t be fooled by this, the ending is not in crayon.
It is basically Gainax’s rendition of the anime parody genre. Think Excel Saga but with little kids instead (and not nearly as funny). The problem with the jokes are that they are sometimes too pop-culture or Gainax specific that they can be lost as easily as they are found entertaining.
The characters of the story range from tolerable to loveable with a relatively generic cast. Clueless yet well-meaning boy, more responsible best friend, girl with large breasts who is slightly ditzy, and of course multiple other sub-characters who always fill convenient rolls within the plot.
The animation is Gainax’s style, not as polished as other features but that might lend to why it has an ending. The music is average to bad but it isn’t anything terrible compared to the series.
Abenobashi’s ending is kind of “whaaaaa?” but it somehow works along with the rest of the cracked-out-ness that is going on with the rest of the show. It’s kind of like the twisted love-child of FLCL and Excel Saga.
Overall, it’s not very “good” from a technical standpoint, but it’s good at what it does which is be funny. Slightly specific jokes aside everyone finds something to laugh at in this series.
[starrater]