Abenobashi Mahoh Shotengai

Imamiya Satoshi, "Sasshi" to his friends, has grown up in the Abenobashi Shopping Arcade in Osaka, along with his childhood friend, Asahina Arumi. Now, all that was stable in his life is in ruins. His family's bath house has closed and been torn down, and Arumi's family is moving to Hokkaido - and taking her with them. In the midst of all this, something happens to the framework of reality, and Sasshi and Arumi slip into a weird parallel world. It's still Abenobashi, but not their Abenobashi. Strange things are afoot, and Sasshi must find out their meaning, in order to reach a goal that he barely understands.
Source: AnimeNewsNetwork



This show is a freaking riot! I was laughing so loud I woke my sister in the next room in some episodes.

Dynamic drawing makes sure you never get bored. And when I say dynamic, I actually mean characters with a million faces and a whole bunch of animation style which just keeps coming and coming. The parodies of other animes or movies in Abenobashi were strong, plentiful and pure laughter. Abenobashi practically defines randomness, from robot themes to Kenshiro the Nine-star-North-fist guy to Dungeons and Dragons, this anime has it all.



I love Arumi’s voice, especially her slang. While every now and then, the narrations felt like they did it freestyle; full of vibrant energy.

Although there are some naked butt scenes of Arumi and a whole lot of “boings” from other characters, this is by no means hentai. Heck! I even thought it was a children’s show at some point when I started this series. Of course, that thought changed when I notice more and more of Arumi's flashes.





I’m very surprised at the fact that I’ve never came across or heard of this anime before, seeing how hilarious this series is. But then again, this is from 2002.

Sasshi and Arumi is now among the top comedy duo/group anime characters in my book. Somewhere just above the Hyakko gang.



Watch the green diagram of the robot's autonomy or something. Notice anything? Lol!

1st episode was a great opener, with really random scenes and charater built up. The first half of episode 1 definitely had me fooled as it brought about a serious atmosphere to the series. Really didn't expect it to be a comedy initially. And just to let you know beforehand, characters are only introduced in the first episode (with the exception of Mune-Mune-san and Goblin). By the end of episode 1, character development had completely stop and the plot starts rolling as Sasshi and Arumi are teleported to weird worlds one after another.

Things slowed down quite a bit in episode 5 and 6. Then episode 7 came and finally viewers get to explore the history and the reasons behind all the teleportation. From then on it was one part comedy, one part explanation. It’s supposed to have explained everything by the end of the series, but I still haven’t piece it together yet. -.-"




No Pandas were harmed in the making of this anime

If Detroit Metal City rocked for you, then Abenobashi is definitely not far from the pond. Despite Abenobashi Mahou Shotengai having a super start, it did get a little boring midway and the ending way overplayed on parodies. So much so that I decided to drop it from a full 5 to a very satisfying 4-Stars.




If I was an anime character, this would probably be it

Abenobashi Mahoh Shotengai
Rating: 4-Stars
Torrents: KAA