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(Maybe you should Rent it first, then see if you agree) Going in, something, perhaps the character designs, reminded me of FLCL, which makes sense since the credits revealed that this is indeed a Gainax production. I also noticed the names of Hiroyuki Yamaga (Wings of Honneamise, Mahoromatic) and Satoru Akahori (Sorcerer Hunters), if I'm not mistaken. There was also a credit for a "Osaka Dialect Comedy Rewrite", which, unfortunately, will be lost to anyone who doesn't speak fluent Japanese. The dub features a sort of "Texas drawl" as a substitute. The way each episode was a parody of a particular anime, movie or video game genre reminded me of Excel Saga (and so did the high speed dialogue which forced me to pause the DVD on practically every subtitle). The thought occured to me that maybe this series would include "Vid-Notes" like Excel Saga, and indeed it does, though they seem considerably shorter and less enlightening. Still, highly useful. About the only other extra feature on the first DVD is a version of episode three during which the two chief English voice actors kind of play MST3000 with it. All in all, so far so good! I'm surprised that I'm only the third person to add a review here. Getting back to the comparison between Abenobashi and Excel Saga (which is mentioned by nearly every website dealing with this series), I must say that I'm torn between two emotions. On the one hand, I'd love to see more genre parodying Excel Saga-style anime, so I enjoy Abenobashi; on the other hand, Excel Saga is one of my favorite anime series ever, so I'm jealous of any series which might claim to be even better! My overall conclusion is this: Abenobashi is more emotionally touching than Excel Saga, but all things considered, not as funny. Still, a good series well worth watching. Whereas Excel Saga was almost completely madcap, there's a serious side throughout Abenobashi as we search for answers to questions like "why are Sasshi and Arumi continually leaping to alternate realities? What is keeping them from getting home?"(and so on). The answers turn out to be a good deal more complicated than you would have expected, involving suppressed memories, time travel, reincarnation, and mysticism. I had a hard time keeping track of all the various plotlines--including comments like "This is a world of bitter regret that the wandering soul of Grandma created!". Whereas Excel Saga ended with a "dirty" episode, things get completely serious for the final episode of Abenobashi (I had to watch it twice to make sense of it). But it is a pleasing conclusion, with more "depth" than Excel Saga ever tried to attain. The problem is, I'm not sure which style I like better! Maybe I'm trying to compare apples to oranges, and in the end these two series aren't all that similar after all. Well, seeing as it's only 13 episodes, after all, I don't think a rating of "Buy" would result in anyone being particularly disappointed. My favorite line: "I just imagined something that I shouldn't have" --Sasshi Last updated Monday, February 04 2008. | ||||||||
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| Buy | Forbin | # | ||||||
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Drama : Med You know this was my 3rd anime to watch on DVD (June 2004). And I COULDN'T STAND IT! Everyone was talking with a Texan accent and way too much regional things going on that I couldn't follow. Flash forward to a year from then I pulled this back out. OMG I was laughing so much that I was going 'How in the Heck did I NOT like this'. Then I realized that it was because I had so many of the references in me (Especially Kurumi). So this should be your 50th Anime. Probably watch it right after you watch Azumanga Daioh. Because it is much more funnier that way. Last updated Thursday, July 21 2005. | ||||||||
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| Buy | 8 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 9 | Curi | # | |
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You're gonna want to buy this one, so you can show it to your friends. It's quickly becoming my favorite anime. If you like Kodocha, or Puni Puni Poemi, you'll dig this. It's unbelievably fast-paced with jokes about every 5 seconds. It's a good thing I speak Japanese, because the copy I have didn't even try to sub it all. Every episode spoofs something you've seen before, so there's virtually no plot, just two kids wandering around a world where they have to figure out the rules. Each world is loosely based on the Abenobashi shopping district in which they live. The first episode is kinda slow paced and boring, but if you give up on it that early, you're gonna miss out. Last updated Saturday, June 12 2004. | ||||||||
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| Rent | 8 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 9 | Alexander | # | |
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Sasshi, and Ayumi are both 6th grade students both whom are fairly close friends. With the sad fact, that Sasshi is a wimp and Ayumi is mostly the one beating on him. One of the four, supposely protecting shires is accidently broken, and all the whole market goes haywire. The whole city is basically changed, and the two are sented to a different time period. This one had me rolling on the floor. The first episode introduces complex and interesting primary and secondary characters with individual personalities and real-world problems....and then all hell breaks loose. The second ep is a parody based on console RPGs, and is utterly HILARIOUS if you've played or even seen them. It's like the Fortune Quest OVA, only 100 times better. Each subsequent episode is a parody of a different genre of anime or film, such as fantasy, sci-fi, etc. Last updated Wednesday, February 26 2003. | ||||||||
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