Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
Publisher
ADV
Director
Hiroyuki Yamaga
Production
GAINAX, Madhouse
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
25 min x 13 Episodes
Year
2002
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi vol 1 (eps 1-4)
By John Huxley
24th Oct 04  Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi is the latest comedy from Gainax following the much lauded Mahoromatic and FLCL. With such a reputation to maintain, can it really be three in a row for Gainax? Well, if you liked either of those shows, chances are you'll find something to enjoy here. But thanks to the episodic structure of the story and constant parodies of popular culture, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi actually shares more in common with Excel Saga. Arumi Asahina and Sasshi Imamiya have been residents of the shopping arcade in Abenobashi as long as they can remember. But the arcade has been in a steady decline over recent years with shoppers becoming less and less frequent and the impending threat of closure forcing neighbouring stores to move elsewhere. Accepting that these may well be the last days of the Abenobashi shopping arcade, Arumi and Sasshi take time to appreciate their surroundings and savour the memories. However, their reminiscing uncovers more than a few dusty photographs; it turns out that the shopping arcade was conceived by an eccentric genius obsessed with the dark arts who, for reasons unknown, designed the building to act as a kind of portal to alternate dimensions. Without fully realising this, Arumi and Sasshi blunder their way through the portal and in to the magical world of the Abenobashi shopping arcade! Finding themselves trapped in a 15th century French castle (which Sasshi first assumes to be an exotic love hotel), they soon discover that this castle is in fact a mirror image of their beloved shopping arcade, residents and all. But unlike their own familiar reality, this version of the shopping arcade has a predefined ruleset which they must follow in order to get back to their homeworld. Naturally, with such an olde-worlde European flavour to their surroundings, they must slay an evil demon to save the kingdom from corruption and buy their ticket home (or not...). But their journey is a long and arduous one; they must travel through enchanted woods, perilous plains and many other stock RPG locations as they're perused by Mune-mune, a red-haired buxom beauty who seems to have it in for our trepid heroes for whatever reasons remains unclear. Gainax have taken every opportunity to mock the RPG videogame genre as a whole, although I was slightly disappointed to discover that they didn't take any digs at specific games (perhaps due to licensing issues?). Once Arumi and Sasshi have left the relative calm of their homeworld and arrived in this lunatic asylum of an alternate reality there is a noticeable change in tone. The characterisations of the central duo and the residents of the shopping arcade are decidedly more comical, with many characters taking up different roles depending on the surroundings. It changes from a kind of lighthearted drama to a fully-fledged, madcap comedy in the space of one episode. Not that there's anything particularly wrong with this; the 180 change of direction actually helps to discern between the different worlds and keeps the pace at a pleasingly energetic level, while the other half sets up a more substantial storyline that will probably resurface towards the end of the series. The jokes come thick and fast as Gainax revel in the numerous parodies the various surroundings offer up. One episode Arumi and Sasshi are stuck in the middle of hackneyed RPG videogame, the next they're piloting Mazinger-Z style mecha in a space port version of the shopping arcade. Some of these parodies are truly inspired, such as the Bruce Lee style jumpsuit Sasshi obtains in the Chinese kung-fu shopping arcade of the fourth episode. Roped in to entering a martial arts tournament, Sasshi's familiar yellow & black jumpsuit has the special ability to make him feel stronger. Of course, he isn't actually any stronger than his usual weedy self, but the cool sound effects should give him that extra added edge in combat! Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Dragonball Z and Tekken are all given the once-over by Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi in the space of a few seconds; add to this Evangelion, Captain Harlock, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Fist of the North Star, Ranma ½, Battle of the Planets plus plenty more parodies and Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi starts to look more and more like an anime nerd's paradise. I, for one, am a self-confessed anime nerd and I love it! The quality of the four episodes on this disc, three of which take place in the magical world of the shopping arcade, is reassuringly high. But with three more volumes to go and plenty more worlds to visit, can Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi hope to maintain this level of quality? Time will tell, but I honestly don't expect each of the different worlds to be as thoroughly entertaining as the great little selection on this disc. Of course, all these parodies would be relatively inconsequential if the delivery weren't up to scratch, but thankfully the characters of Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi are a lively bunch who's palatable charms will coax you in to a belly laugh or two. Sasshi shares in our anime nerd's obsessions, whilst the unusually yet refreshingly plainly attired Arumi acts as the voice of reason (usually with a swift blow to Sasshi's head!). They're not unfamiliar characters but they do work well within the context of the show, providing us with stability in amongst the madness of the shopping arcade's world. The supporting cast, many of whom turn up in different guises and roles depending on the setting, are a colourful selection of characters. Mune-mune, the peculiarly friendly badguy of the piece, is a relatively one-dimensional character at present, yet her buoyant personality is perfectly suited to the irreverent tone of the show. It's easy to draw comparisons between Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi and Excel Saga considering the many similarities, butt you can rest assured that Gainax's effort is much less incoherent and its parodies more suited to a western audience (the explanatory AD-Vid notes make a return, but they're really not a necessity here as they were with the Excel Saga DVDs). So, if you found Excel Saga's concept intriguing yet felt alienated by its execution, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi could be right up your street. It can't boast the dramatic and romantic elements of Mahoromatic and it may not attract the cult status of FLCL, but Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi can enjoy the distinction of being far and away the best show of its ilk. There are a lot of good comedies around at the moment, and while it's difficult to choose between them, you'd do well not to ignore Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi.
R2 DVD Notes
Features: English 5.1 and Japanese 2.0 audio, English subtitles, AD Vid-notesm commentary with voice actresses Luci Christian and Jessica Boone, clean open/close, 14-page booklet
Release information: UK: 15th November 2004, ADV
Notes: The cover artwork, which shows Sasshi and a panty-less Arumi (you'll only notice once you've seen the episode!) dressed in their sci-fi garb, is colourful and attractive. But open the case and you'll find an even more inviting piece of artwork that wraps around the whole box with no extraneous logos or text. This is probably the first time that I've much preferred an alternate cover to the original, although I can understand why ADV didn't choose this one to display on the shop shelf (its impact would have lessened with all the text and screencaps getting in the way). As with most of ADV's recently acquired licenses, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi comes with a small booklet housed inside the casing. This one is particularly nicely produced, being full-colour and printed on high quality paper. But it's the style of the booklet that really makes it stand out from the crowd - designed as a mock newspaper called the 'Weekly Abeno Spoiler' (ho ho!), this 12-page booklet is full of entertaining little articles written in a slightly journalistic style. There's also interviews and production notes as well as a ton of colour artwork and screencaps, making this a great little read after you've finished watching the episodes (the title is no joke...spoilers aplenty!). The extras on the disc include the standard clean open/close and also a single-episode commentary from some of the US voice actresses and, of course, the AD-Vid notes. Almost identical to Excel Saga, this handy little feature displays explanatory notes whenever an unusual reference crops up in the show. You might have to pause to catch it all, but it's still good fun to read. With some solid extras, great packaging and a fun booklet this is probably the best package ADV have produced outside of RahXephon. Good stuff.
-- John Huxley 24th Oct 04
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