![]() And if you've read my other essays, you'll know just how much I love having my expectations subverted by comedy anime in particular. Although it may seem like a surface-level comedy anime with low brow humor and playfully unique visuals (it didn’t win the Excellence Prize for animation at the 2002 Japan Media Arts Festival for nothing), the show is much more than meets the eye. This series is perhaps the strangest and most subversive take on that format. Though accidentally ending up in a bizzaro-version of the MC’s original world to learn a moral that helps him back in his original world is a tale as old as time (see the Wizard of Oz for example). It’s a timeless tale I’m sure you’re all familiar with. Will our duo be able to make it back to their world, or are they forever trapped traveling across various dimensions? But before they leave, Sasshi’s grandfather suffers a tumble that breaks a statue that sends both Arumi and Sasshi across various worlds and dimensions. With business being almost nonexistent, Arumi’s father decides that it’s time to pursue his business endeavors abroad and to leave the shopping mall. A shopping district that has long since seen better days. Two childhood best friends who are the children of the owners of shops in the Abenobashi Shopping Mall Arcade. In short, the story is about the misadventures of Sasshi and Arumi. So after finally watching, and then rewatching, this show that I’d always thought about for the last ten years, did it live up to the fond memory I had of it as a child, or did it fail to reach my expectations? So for years, this anime lived rent free in my head until I stumbled upon it by accident some point after I’d already gotten my feet wet into the anime medium. ![]() soon as I got home, but alas I hadn’t the slightest clue of what the name of the show I just witnessed was. I was eager to continue watching this other-worldly show as But I digress, even at a young age, though my face was beet-red during all of Mune-Mune’s scenes, I still noted the elasticity of the characters, the warm vibe, and varied artstyle this show had. This was back when paying twenty dollars for a DVD containing only three or so episodes was the norm. Despite being only in elementary school, my friend managed to have a copy of this DVD in his possession. I remember my initial run in with this series as an adolescent-child at a friend's house. Is returning home truly what they desire?Īh, the Abenobashi Shopping Mall Arcade. 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. 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.Ībenobashi Mahou☆Shoutengai follows Sasshi and Arumi's comedic exploits as they desperately attempt to return home. Soon, the two come to a realization: every world is just a reimagining of their hometown. Any attempt to escape only catapults them into another alien land. ![]() Suddenly, their issues are dashed aside for the surreal, and they find themselves transported away through bizarre worlds of science fiction, magic, and war. Having lost his card collection, his childish dilemmas worsen when he learns that his childhood friend, Arumi Asahina, will be moving away. Satoshi "Sasshi" Imamiya believes his life is in shambles, as only a 12-year-old can. ![]()
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