Tuesday, August 17, 2010

FINAL REVIEW: Arakawa Under the Bridge


Kou is a very successful executive and self proclaimed 'elite' who's entire life has revolved around his family motto: "never be indebted to anyone." However, this all changes when he breaks this rule by nearly drowning in Arakawa river and being rescued by Nino, a mysterious girl living under the bridge, who beleives she comes from Venus. Nino tells Kou, who is desperate to get rid of his 'debt,' that he can repay her by becoming his lover. Soon enough, Kou finds himself forced to live among the variety of oddball characters that live under the bridge, and begins to see the world in a completely different way.

When I mention this series to my friends, I often refer to it as "comedy gold." That's because Arakawa Under the Bridge is without a doubt a work of comedic genius. Just about every joke is right on, and there's not one moment when you think the writers were trying too hard to make you laugh. There are so many hillarious, yet subtle details in this series that you can't really script. For example, Nino's hair spinning like a pinwheel in the wind, or the children fighting in the background.

The characters in this series make the show. First you have the two main characters, Nino and Kou, but its the rest of the under-the-bridge family that really keeps you coming back. There's the Village Cheif, a guy in a green kappa suit who thinks he is a real kappa, Hoshi, the star-masked man with a love for music, ladies, and beating the shit out of Ko, Sister, the male, ex-millitary nun, P-ko, the gardening ninja with a thing for the Village Cheif, Tetsuo and Tetsuro, the mask-wearing twins who beleive they have escaped from a lab, Stella, the seemingly innocent Brittish girl with a dark side, and Maria, the sadistic farmgirl. Yeah, there's a lot, and they are all amazing. To get rid of even one would ruin this series.

There are a few flaws to this series, but not many. The storyline wasn't all that great, and at times it was a bit hard to understand what was going on. Also, some of the best characters don't get the attention they deserve. If you're going to put a lot of characters in the series and make them all enjoyable and irrisitable, you can expect some dissapointment from fans when they don't see enough of their favorite.

I highly reccomend Arakawa Under the Bridge to anyone who is looking for a good laugh, minus the cheesy ecchi jokes many people have come to expect from anime comedy. This is a good, smart, strong comedy series, and I am glad to have become part of this wacky family.

Story: 7
Art: 7
Music: 8
Characters: 9
Laughs: 9
Tears: N/A
Opening: 9
Ending: {will rate later}
Opening (ep. 5): 7


OVERALL RATING: 8/10




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