Review of Arakawa Under the Bridge

A masterpiece of randomness. Arakawa Under the Bridge is hard to grasp at first. The storytelling and the plot are quite original. But looking past them, or rather learning to enjoy them, Arakawa quickly becomes one of these feel good comforting shows. The strength of the anime is in its characters. A bunch of society rejects living under a bridge with top tier voice acting. Each character is unique, unpredictable, well written and inevitably hilarious. Each one has unique quirks, an interesting past and is completely detached to anything with a sense of logic. The voice actors help a lot with a few coming from Gintama. Theresult is an absolutely non-sense but hilarious show. We see these characters' madness through the MC's eye, Rec. A rational and logical corporate genius whose motto in life is to never be indebted to anyone. Because his life was saved by a girl named Nino, he needs to repay her by joining her and the inhabitants under the bridge. Therefore he has the boring but essential role of being the voice of reason highlighting the other characters' traits brilliantly.

Which leads us to the romance part. The romance plays a secondary role and is therefore very light. By the end of the show, there is no doubt there is strong romance, but it will be hard to point out a defining moment. And that's the brilliance of it. It does not feel scripted, but rather follows the natural pace of life under the bridge.

In the role of the romantic interest, Nino is probably one of the most lovable character out there. Easily distracted, easy going and never unfazed by anything, she's a breath of fresh air. As for Rec, discovering life in Arakawa and slowly letting its inhabitants grow on him also take priority over the romance. It's always there but never overwhelming.

Through its complete lack of sense of reality, Arakawa is ironically one of the most realistic rom-com anime. A true hidden gem.