Abenobashi Mahou☆Shoutengai (Magical☆Shopping Arcade Abenobashi)

Satoshi "Sasshi" Imamiya believes his life is in shambles, as only a 12-year-old can. Having lost his card collection, his childish dilemmas worsen when he learns that his childhood friend, Arumi Asahina, will be moving away.

Suddenly, their issues are dashed aside for the surreal, and they find themselves transported away through bizarre worlds of science fiction, magic, and war. Any attempt to escape only catapults them into another alien land. Soon, the two come to a realization: every world is just a reimagining of their hometown. But there are two unfamiliar faces—the voluptuous Mune-mune and the elusive blue-haired Eutus—and they just might be the key to escaping their predicament.

Abenobashi Mahou☆Shoutengai follows Sasshi and Arumi's comedic exploits as they desperately attempt to return home. However, when the pair unravel a tale spanning generations, they begin to wonder if the cause of their situation is more personal than they thought. Is returning home truly what they desire?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Abenobashi Mahou☆Shoutengai received an Excellence Prize for animation at the 2002 Japan Media Arts Festival.

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Related Anime

Adaptation:

Supporting

Ishii, Kouji
Japanese

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Staff

Maruyama, Masao

Producer

Hirao, Takayuki

Assistant Producer

Nagatani, Takayuki

Assistant Producer

Kojima, Masayuki

Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

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Opening Theme

"Treat or Goblins" by Megumi Hayashibara

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Ending Theme

"Anata no kokoro ni" by Megumi Hayashibara

Reviews

May 14, 2008

Ranivus

Recommended

Abenobashi Mahou Shoutengai is pretty much Excel Saga meets Alice in Wonderland, with a suprisingly good story line thrown in for good measure.

The story pretty much surrounds two really good friends Arumi and Sasshi. Who happen to live in a rundown project area called Abenobashi Shopping District thats on the verge of being replaced with a new develpment complex. Of course noone wants to leave but then, everything just starts to go awry quite fast. This is where the 'falling down the rabbit hole comes in' Some seasoned anime watchers will be thinking this is alot like Excel Saga but the only ... connection will be that they are stuck in wierd (not random) enviroments. Beyond that everything will make sense the more you watch the show. Overall, the show manages to bring comedy, drama, action, fantasy, and even romance in to one nice fun 13 episode package.

When you hear people talk about how important having a good production company is for an anime, Abenobashi would be a perfect example. Gainax and Madhouse are two of the best companies in the businesss and watching this show you'll see why. Theres so many dfferent handpainted backgrounds, that i lost count at about 100 per episode. And the art themes and backgrounds are very different in every episode which makes this show such a joy to watch. On top of that the comedy gags are just so funny you cant help but laugh out loud. Some comedy shows can get by just by having a poor art and great characters, but if you want to see what a comedy can be like with high qualtiy art, this would be the show. I cant forget to mention that the shows characters all show such a diverse range of emotions (and body parts) that fit perfectly with every situation. They use comedy faces at the right times, drama faces at correct places, all of them are displayed with such timing and style its almost eerily perfect. Its hilarious how they manage to pull off so many anime, movie, and video game gags in such a small amount of time. Also my only gripe is that the cast sometimes talks too fast but thats also for comedy purposes

Another thing with the characters is that the voice cast are just perfect for this show, the two main characters are polar opposites from each other but sometimes on occasion they switch roles which makes them fun to watch. You'll manage to love and hate both of them in equal amounts. Most of the other characters are so hilariously good that you'll wish you can get them out of you memory banks. The ugly characters are rife with age spots and the youthful characters are filled with beautfy and sexiness. Speaking of sex theres alot of ecchi sittuations in this show, so if you don't mind a little skin with your comedy its there, Theres even a large amount of ecchi jokes that most people might find offensive but is still hilarious in their own right.

Usually when somone hears the same sound effects robbed from other places its a bad thing. But in this case, robbing or emulating the same sound effects are perfect for this show and whats makes this anime so top notch. It was so fun trying to spot all the different sound effects and spoofs and place them with their original place. The high quality sound actually carrys on to the songs. The background music cosists usually of big band style music perfect for a comedy pair such as Ayumi and Sasshi. The op song is perfect as its a very up beat fun song excellent to set you in the mood of watching the show. Whereas watching the ending song gives you almost a nostalgic feeling (complete with black and white japanese history slide show) which you should be feeling after watching one episode of Abenobashi with all the fun spoofs and such. I can safely say i've seen the op and ed every time and thats usually hard to do.

Overall, the show was paced perfectly, comedy was spot on, sight gags were more than perfect, more than enough media spoofs all throughout the show, and it was all just a generally fun ride throughout. Typically the general public views anime as a cartoon with slapstick comedy, boobs, and alot of screaming (like Akira). Thats a pretty good description of the show in a nutshell. This is one of the show's that would be perfect to show a new anime viewer. Everyone should watch this show regardless of their preference, because even if it sounds like the same formula (from Excel Saga) it is far from it.

Not a big fan of giving all 9's and 10's but that my honest feeling about this show.

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Dec 24, 2014

Wahmphi

Mixed Feelings

Story:
Abenobashi jumps from hamfisted comedy to serious plot moments and back again, giving the series a very uneven tone and pacing. It would have done better to excel at one or the other rather than try to do both. That being said, the plot's central premise is interesting enough to keep a viewer engaged from episode to episode, even if it does get wearying at times.

Art:
The art is bombastic and cartoony, full of bright colors. It's a more than capable vehicle for the zany humor this show presents, but it doesn't really stand out either.

Sound:
This series is full of cartoony, western sound effects, adding ...

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Mar 25, 2015

Fear_the_Reefer

Not Recommended

It’s a tale stretching back through countless generations of Japanese mythology... The legend of Shitenno, the Four Heavenly Kings of Buddhism. There’s the dragon of the east, the bird of the south, the tiger of the west, and the turtle of the north. By placing statues or other representations of those four animals at the four different points that they’re associated with, you can bring good fortune to your home... Or even to an entire town. One such location is the Abenobashi Shopping Arcade, a long-lasting and culturally rich town that’s finally teetering on the edge of relevence, and drawing ...

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Asahina, Arumi

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