Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi Volume 1: Sasshi, I Don't Think We're in Osaka Anymore - Denkyu.Com
- Denkyu.Com
- Tcov
- 01/01/04
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Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
Written by tcov
It's about time there was another unique and crazy anime to come to the states since Excel Saga. After people realized it was hitting street in the states, they probably ran for the border.
Meet Sasshi, a hyper young boy with an Osaka accent who has a passion of collecting lots of things, especially since he lost most of his collectibles after moving to a new condo. And as all boys are, he loves the sight of scantily clad women. He is friends with Arumi, an intellectual and leader-like girl who always keeps him in line. They both live in the shopping arcade Abenobashi. Sasshi's family ran a bathhouse which was later closed due to further conflicting developments in the shopping arcade. Arumi's family runs a french restaurant in danger of being closed due to her family moving to Hakkaido. The shopping arcade was disseminating to be yet another ghost town as customers don't come by as often, forcing many shops and cafes to lose business or move elsewhere.
Sasshi and Arumi hear of the myth of 4 statues which symbolized life in the shopping arcade. To their surprise, only one was currently active. Immediately after they realized this, they ran to the location of the last statue, which happened to be in the location of the rooftop of Arumi's restaurant. However, it was too late. Her grandfather had broken it after trying to shoo away a cat which was sleeping on it. Not only did the statue break, but so did her grandfather. He was rushed to a hospital to receive instant care. Arumi was obviously depressed. What could this mean for the shopping arcade?
Both kids try to go on with life, but it doesn't get easy. One night while Sasshi was sleeping, he was awakened by the sound of a large bird. He later saw a flying dragon dart past it and grab it. Weird? That's not a fraction of it. Now both of them were seeing things like mushrooms and paths of light leading to cliffs bordering bottomless pits. We are greeted by a busty babe named Mune-mune, who is spotted at different dimensions of the shopping arcade as Sasshi and Arumi play in simulated settings to discover more clues to the Abenobashi mystery.
This is, by far, a great pick for a club screening. It's a funny story, it makes sense, and it's freaking crazy good! The artwork and character design is simple and enjoyable, which makes it a good feast for the eyes. Each episode is one mind-boggling adventure after another, making you crave to see what's going to happen next. Are you bored? Why not watch this? Also, big thanks to ADV for translating a lot of the signs that appear on still frames. Just make sure to pause at those frames to read the entire message.
Posted on Thursday, January 01, 2004 (Archive on Sunday, February 01, 2004)