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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intensely Funny, December 31, 2003
This review is from: Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi (Vol. 1) (DVD)
Gainax does it again with another dizzying comedy very much in the spirit of FLCL. However, Gainax is not the type of studio to simply repeat the same thing over and over, and as such Abenobashi clearly stands on its own two legs. First off, I'll speak of the art. Abenobashi is done in a bright, visually pleasing style very similar to the animation of FLCL, Gainax's other recent comedy series. It is high quality, and the dizzying animation style keeps pace with the equally dizzying storyline to leave your head spinning. Second, the characters. Sasshi and Arumi, the two main characters, make for a cute couple, and their constantly-at-odds personalities provide a great deal of the humor of the series. In general, the characters are all quirky, bizarre, and interesting, from the town transvestite to the improbably-busty Mune-Mune. Third, the music. I'm not sure I'd really call it quality music, but the quirky tunes fit well with the show. It's not as outstanding a match as the Pillows with FLCL, but it's far from bad. I found the opening song rather endearing, despite its preponderance of badly-pronounced English. Fourth, the voice acting. Someone at Gainax seems to have a thing for regional dialects and odd pronunciations. The vast majority of the characters in the series speak in Osaka-ben, which is part of its charm. I wouldn't recommend watching this series dubbed, as the Osaka dialect is transfigured into an irritatingly fake-sounding Texas accent. Again, I can't say that the voice acting in the series quite lives up to the wonder that was FLCL, but it's definitely a cut above average. Lastly, some general comments. The overall trend of the series seems to be that each episode the two main characters -- Sasshi and Arumi -- find themselves in a new alternate universe version of their home, the Abenobashi shopping arcade. The alternate universes are not so much alternate in the sense of Sliders, as each is a representation of a particular genre or cliche -- with its own 'rules' of reality based upon that. For example, the second episode is based upon fantasy rpgs (such as the older Final Fantasy games), while the second is a mish-mash of science fiction and mecha anime. The stabs at the convention of each genre are witty and genuinely funny, and this is one of many shows that makes many of its jokes by parodying other anime. Interestingly, Abenobashi unabashedly parodies other anime by Gainax, at one point going so far as to play one of the songs from the show Neon Genesis Evangelion. I think it was at this point that I fell in love with the series. It takes a great sense of humor to be able to make fun of oneself so completely and effectively. The one serious drawback I can see with this series is that I'm not sure that the conventions and pace that it has set itself can last thirteen episodes without becoming tired and boring. Hopefully at some point the series will break the format which it has presented itself in in order to remain fresh and interesting. If the problem isn't addressed, however, I can see how the latter end of the series could be rather disappointing. Over all, I must say that I was very impressed with this series. Every time Gainax steps up to the plate, they hit the ball.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love it..., January 2, 2004
ADV does some of the best American releases of anime these days, and Abenobashi is right up there with the best. Naturally, this is a very off beat anime done by the Gainax crew who basically did FLCL, His and Her Circumstances, and Evanglion. So it might not be for everyone, and probably isn't for anyone because this has been a sadly under publicised series. Basic story : Osaka shopping district kid duo gets swept into alternate usiverses of their block where they deal with condensed, stereotypical worlds based on their shopping district home. It is a 13 episode series released in 2002 in Japan as a kids show. While it is off beat, it is very enjoyable. The show uses every bit of information and energy they can muster to keep these silly, fantastic and post modern affairs tangible or at least enjoyable. Littered through out are tons of sci-fi, anime, manga, hollywood, video game and literature references. As the father of Harumi says at one point 'No matter how much GEEK knowledge you have, you are no match for me.' Great animation, wonderful backgrounds and a very offbeat idea. While these first stories are indeed Gainax, later episodes on fuirther disks are done heavily in Korea and look cheap. ADV keeps good picture quality, but not always as nice as the original Japanese releases. Fun fun fun. Nice acting and posing. I can't imagine anyone except prudes regretting this purchase. Some sexual/odd erotic situations/imagery. Guns occassionally. No tangible death.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Starts Slow But Becomes Ridiculously Funny, December 27, 2003
Abenobashi is just plain weird. Essentially, it is the story of two 12 year olds (a boy and a girl) from Osaka who keep teleporting from one alternate reality to the next, where each is a version of their home, a run-down shopping center. Each episode, after the first, is a parody of a classic anime genre--e.g., sword and sorcery, giant robots. What makes this work, where many parody shows do not, is that our heroes are in on it--they spend time trying to figure out the rules of this weird version of their home so they can make progress toward getting to their real home. The show has its faults, however. The first episode, which sets up the initial relationships, is painfully slow--so slow, I almost gave up on the show itself right there. I'm glad I kept watching--episode 2 had me laughing out loud in a few seconds. Also, the show is marked for ages 17+, and this isn't an exaggeration. While everything is played to be ridiculous, there is a lot of innuendo and a whole heck of a lot of bouncy, underdressed, over-endowed girls, as well as a fair share of crude humor (but less crude than Hollywood has been getting the last few years). Also, if you're watching the English dub, Sasshi, the main boy, is very obviously voiced by a woman. The acting is fine, just the voice is somewhat jarring, particularly in the first episode. Finally, the box. This version comes with a box to hold all four discs in the series. While this box is sturdier than some of ADV's paper-thin ones (e.g., Neo Ranga, Najica), it is still just folded, fairly-thin cardboard. It also has a weird curvature on the bottom, preventing it from sitting flat. It is fairly attractive, though, and suits the show well.
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