Review of Arakawa Under the Bridge

Note: This review will cover both seasons. Common sense. It is the set of knowledge and comprehension of the world that society expects you to have. Now imagine a place containing a seemingly jumbled society of unique characters where common sense is naught. The phrase itself hasn’t even entered its lexicon. And yet, strangely, the society is perfectly functional. This is the Arakawa riverbed. Arakawa Under the Bridge starts off as a rather bizarre romance. Ichinomiya Kou, a self-proclaimed elite, all-around prodigy, falls into the Arakawa River and nearly drowns. He is saved by Nino, an enigmatic young woman who proclaims that she is a Venusian. However,Kou was always taught to never be indebted to another person, and now, he owes the biggest debt of all to Nino for saving his life. As a result, Nino has a simple yet imposing request: to fall in love and live with her under the bridge. Thus begins one of the most unique romances in anime history.

Well, it had the potential to be anyway. Alas, the romance is awkwardly paced and its progress is minimal. The series is mainly an absurdist gag comedy fueled by the ridiculous antics of its equally ridiculous (but far from unfunny) characters. Despite its interesting, auspicious premise, there really isn’t much of a plot. It just follows the daily lives of the citizens of the Arakawa riverbed. Sure, the second season features the “trip to Venus” plot, but it was abandoned midway and was rather unfulfilling. That said though, the comedy, on the other hand, is hilarious. Over time, the humor did begin to either stale, feel forced, or just become plain stupid, even by Arakawa’s standards. Certain jokes began to feel predictable. However, at its best, Arakawa had a number of side-splitting moments (in both seasons) where I just burst out laughing uncontrollably. Few anime can do that to me, so I commend Arakawa for that.

The show has an eclectic assortment of interesting and peculiar supporting characters. The Village Chief, a man in a green costume who claims to be a 620-year old kappa, despite the obvious zipper running down his back, and also gives each person living in the Arakawa riverbed their name (Kou becomes “Recruit” or “Ric”). Sister, a bellicose yet ironically calm muscle-man who dresses like a nun. Hoshi, a man wearing a star-shaped mask who vies for Nino’s affection. These are just some of the oddities you’ll find in Arakawa, and most of them, save a few (such as the Amazoness), are endearing characters. A few characters do get tiring after a while though, especially since some of the gags become overused.

The character development is fairly limited. Kou gets the most since he’s the one forced to adapt to new conditions, and we also learn quite a bit about Hoshi, but no one else other than Nino, who ultimately remains an enigma even after the second season, gets much development. Given the nature of the show, that’s fine, but I really would have liked to see more from the Chief and Nino. You see, Arakawa contains some unexpectedly dark implicit themes. They are subtle, but they include failure, rejection, and disillusionment from society and reality. These are people living under a bridge, away from society, after all. They must have some sort of dark past, as evidenced by Hoshi. Understanding the Chief’s reasons for establishing this place and deliberately lying about his true self is key to understanding this society. Maybe that’s too deep for a comedy as outrageous as this, but Arakawa also likes to insert some philosophical crap in the beginning of each episode, so maybe not…? Either way, with its premise, I definitely wanted to learn about Nino’s past and the truth behind her Venusian origins. Unfortunately, the second season never resolves what it starts and the Venus storyline is instead replaced by a shitty fighting tournament.

Anyway, the animation is a bit inconsistent. It can be crisp and beautiful, but it can also be dull and uninspired at times. Also, whenever a character is walking directly towards or away from the camera, they never seem to gain any distance. I know this has been a problem in many anime in the past, but you would think animation studios would have figured out how to correct this by now. Furthermore, there’s an odd tendency for the animators to zoom in on people’s eyes, especially Kou’s. As for the music, it’s average and very forgettable, except for the OP’s and ED’s. I don’t generally care much for OP’s and ED’s, but these ones are notable. The two ED’s by Suneohair are fantastic indie rock songs, and in fact, I have one of the songs, “Sakasama Bridge” from the first season, on my iPod, one of only two songs from anime on it. The OP’s are both decent pop listens as well.

Ultimately, Arakawa is a hilarious comedy with an enjoyable, intriguing cast of characters. The humor of the second season does drop in quality and become more hit-or-miss, but there are still a few laugh-out-loud moments that are sure to please. As a comedy, this is one of the funniest anime I’ve seen. But if you’re expecting the mystery behind Nino to be answered, you’re in for a disappointment. While the possibility for a third season is viable, since the manga is still ongoing, I don’t think the humor can take another hit.

Story: 6
Art: 8
Sound: 7
Character: 8
Enjoyment: 8