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Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi - any good?




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zolo913



Joined: 27 Jul 2008
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 8:08 pm Reply with quote
Is the Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi a good series to watch and possibly even own?
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unfurling



Joined: 26 Nov 2007
Posts: 60
PostPosted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 10:41 pm Reply with quote
I enjoyed watching it... it reminded me a lot of Excel Saga and FLCL, both in the animation style and the exploration of various genres. I opted not to own it in the end, though.
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v1cious



Joined: 31 Dec 2002
Posts: 6235
Location: Houston, TX
PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 12:24 am Reply with quote
i think it's hilarious. the dub is an acquired taste, but overall one of my favorite Gainax series.
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Truered



Joined: 11 Apr 2007
Posts: 515
Location: Uni
PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 5:18 am Reply with quote
I enjoyed it. I picked it up on DVD as it was cheap, and it would have been worth more. Parodies quite a few genres, and can be both funny and sad.



Also fanservice Laughing
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TheTheory



Joined: 23 Mar 2008
Posts: 1029
Location: Central PA
PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 8:59 am Reply with quote
It is a weird little series... but ultimately a successful one. Some outrageously funny moments early in the series... but then it tests your patience a bit by visiting too many pointless worlds. And then all of a sudden the series gets uber-serious and wraps up nicely.

But the thing I really love about the series is the characters. They feel real and fleshed out. Each has its own distinct personality and when one of the big reveals is, well, revealed, you can see how it fits in with who you believe the characters to be.
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OnkelDittmeyer





PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 9:31 am Reply with quote
TheTheory wrote:
It is a weird little series...

But its a "omg thats so funny and unexpected"-weird I think, in contrast to an "wtf my headache is killing me,whats going on there?"-weird

(just finished Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, which comes close to second kind of weird Very Happy)

Like already mentioned, the first few episodes are probably the "easier" and the later episodes become more and more serious and also a bit harder to understand and follow. Maybe im a bit slow, but i had to watch the end twice to really get whats going on...
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ChronoBall X



Joined: 01 Nov 2006
Posts: 389
PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 10:24 am Reply with quote
I remember catching this on G4's Anime unleashed block,it's pretty halariouse,at times it parodies other anime such as Gundam,I loved the episode where they did a parody of a typical dungeons and dragons RPG game,but anyway,this was an ok anime,not a high reccommend in my opinion but worth checking out for boredem Very Happy
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zawa113



Joined: 19 Jan 2008
Posts: 7359
PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 1:24 pm Reply with quote
I quite enjoyed this series, at least enough to own it. The only parody anime I like more is Cromartie High School.

I actually found this to be nothing like Excel Saga, Abenobashi was still able to be entertaining by having an underlying drama story, but I constantly felt that Excel Saga was so busy making parodies of obscure things that it forgot to entertain me. Abenobashi cares about its characters a bit more than you might expect and it has 3 or 4 "serious" episodes (including the first and last, and two in the middle), and it does end up explaining most of the questions that are brought up in the series (granted, I was slightly confused at the end myself). So while Abenboashi certainly parodies, the characters were still good enough to entertain me through to the end

If you can, I'd try to rent it first, you'll probably know at the end of the first DVD if you'll like it enough to buy it or to rent it, or to finish it at all. You should also be warned that you'll need to sit through the serious episodes to understand the story fully (you won't notice the first one, but after that...)
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abunai
Old Regular


Joined: 05 Mar 2004
Posts: 5463
Location: 露命
PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 2:33 pm Reply with quote
One of the features of Abenobashi that appeals to me most, is the charm of its characters. Every single person who appears in the series has a personality that stands out and endears itself to the viewer.

The character design is impressively coherent, and the way the characters interact with the changing locales is a perfect exposition of aspects of their character, as the story progresses. Even the zany humour serves a plot-related objective, as the story unfolds to reveal the true nature of Sasshi's and Arumi's predicament.

It's a great series, and I think I must pull it down from my shelves to watch it again. My son says he's been longing for a chance to see the foul-mouthed hotdog vendor scene again, too.

- abunai
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