Forum - View topicArakawa Under the Bridge (both seasons) (TV).
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ninjapet
 Posts: 1517 |
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True spoiler[we did see the Mayor in season 1 out of his costume when the area was about to be taken over by Ric's father. He plays a much bigger role then we think seeing as he has the power to stop that from happening and for the secretary to stop looking in to Nino]
Sister is my fav to, though he hasn't shown up that much this season sadly. |
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AbZeroNow
Posts: 519 |
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Crunchyroll has added both seasons of Arakawa under the Bridge to its catalog for U.S and Canada.
http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2013/01/29/crunchyroll-adds-arakawa-under-the-bridge-to-anime-catalog |
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Crisha
Moderator
 Posts: 4290 |
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Anime Marathon Discussion (Nov. 6th, 2015 - Nov. 15th, 2015)
Spoilers Reminder for Marathon Discussion: Tag all spoilers within your post(s) and record the episode number(s) you're discussing at the top of your post. |
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One-Eye
 Posts: 2261 |
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Marathon Episodes 1-3
Kou Ichinomiya (Ric) was born into a rich successful family and has been brought up to be a hard charging twenty-something over achiever. He attends a prestigious University thru his own efforts and without the financial support of his family. He has been raised with the motto, “never be indebted to anyone”. So, when he accidentally falls off a bridge into a river and is saved by a homeless girl named Nino, he promises to be her boyfriend in order to pay back his debt. spoiler[Right off the bat it starts absurd and funny. Ric (Kou) is extreme in his not wanting to be in debt to anyone, so much so that he wont accept any help even if it means climbing the side of a bridge in his boxers to retrieve his stolen pants. His extreme philosophy ironically puts him in a bigger debt when he is rescued after falling into the river. The opening episode hits up several themes. Ric is a fish out of water in the sense that his way of living is the opposite of Nino's and now he has to go live with her. He is successful and wealthy while Nino is living under a bridge. So, the show starts by setting up this contrast. It continues in this vein by showing Ric's materialism as he thinks he can charm and buy Nino off with some expensive gift. She is he thinks poor after all. Whereas Nino responds to Ric's point of view by saying, “What, do people save each other on your planet because they want something?” The opening episode also hits up on Ric's tendency to have preconceived ideas or judge people on what they look like and where they live. For example, Ric's thinking that Nino is poor and his view of the mayor who he meets in the first episode. This is all presented humorously and in an absurdist manner]. spoiler[Ric is also a bit of a weirdo himself as he is (according to him) successful, charming, rich, good looking and has total confidence in himself. Except he's never been on a date with a woman and returns valentines day chocolates because he doesn't want to be indebted to anyone. Nino does everything that he doesn't expect and he is attracted to her because she isn't like him. Its a sort of opposites attract situation. These episodes also work great because of the comedic timing and because even with his extreme philosophy Ric is still sort of the strait man to all the unique personalities]. Its still early but, by the end of the first episode the viewer feels that the show will be hitting on such things as: materialism, judging other people, relying on other people, finding your place, and maybe a little romance. I was seriously thrown by hearing Izaya Orihara's voice. I kept thinking no!!! He's a bad guy! Don't trust him!  Its been a serious adjustment trying to get used to that. To a minor extent I've also been hearing Shiki Ryōgi and Motoko Kusanagi's voice, but the adjustment for that wasn't too bad.
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One-Eye
Posts: 2261 |
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Marathon Episodes 4-6:
A few more episodes introducing more of the oddball characters under the bridge. Most notably for me Maria (Celty Sturluson) who has a hilarious ending theme song. Ric/Riku has perhaps found an occupation to keep him busy under the bridge. In one sense Hoshi and the others spoiler[calling him a mooch is the perfect way to needle someone who's obsessed with not being indebted to anyone]. |
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One-Eye
Posts: 2261 |
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Marathon Episodes 7-9:
More funny absurdity ensues. The timing of the lines with the visuals is great. More weirdos are introduced. Ric/Riku's strange male secretary creeps out even the residents under the bridge, yet Ric and Nino's relationship is advanced a tiny bit more with the associated gag scenes. We find out a little more about some of the characters, but whether there's some truth to it or more of their antics is up to the viewer to decide. My only beef so far is that NISA's wonderful release crams 9 episodes on one disc. Everything still looks great even with the occasional banding. |
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One-Eye
Posts: 2261 |
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Marathon Episodes 10-13: First Season End
Throughout this first season the show plays up the idea of who is really the oddballs in society. Is it the eccentric characters living under the bridge or is it people like Ric and his father who are obsessed with success, status and wealth? There's also a potential theme here about people who don't feel comfortable in the roles that society imposes upon them and they are forced to escape to this life under the bridge. Does the show deliver on all its promises from the first episode? Maybe not quite so much. It focuses perhaps too much on introducing characters and situations. For instance, in the last episode we have 3 new characters introduced. There is also a final arc in the last episodes which brings Ric into conflict with his father. It feels like its approaching a climax in the final episode and then it feels a bit like a copt out and instead introduces more characters. Its almost like they got the green light for the second season and decided to postpone the end of this conflict (I don't know if this is how it plays in the manga, it may). However, I found the show to be consistently funny, the timing of the scenes excellent, overall a very brightly colored and attractive show. I know they had to make compromises with the translation, but overall I've been pleased with the subtitles and what they communicated. In contrast I don't think NISA did as good of a job with the subs in Katanagatari. The show genuinely hit my funny bone and I hope the second season does too! |
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One-Eye
Posts: 2261 |
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Marathon Episodes 14-20 (S2, 1-7):
In this second season the show recycles some of its gags, making it feel slightly repetitive. There's also more mysterious hints about Nino and her past. It might be interesting if everyone under the bridge was in some way connected to her and they were in part there for her. On the other hand, unlike the other characters spoiler[who maybe escaping their normal lives Nino is either truly an alien (staying under water longer than humanly possible) or someone with serious psychological issues (besides the whole venusian thing she can be childlike) which would have the unfortunate side effect of making Riku and Hoshi's interest in her kinda creepy. Hopefully her eccentricity is either an escape mechanism that she's partly aware of or she really is an alien]. Overall, I'm finding the second season less funny than the first and its possible that some of the humor is difficult to translate across the cultural divide. |
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OldCharlieStoletheHandle
 Posts: 1288 Location: Mastic Beach, NY |
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Episodes 1-9
I've been watching this show in bits because it's a hard show for me to really marathon. It's not that I'm not enjoying it, but the nature of the show makes it one that I really prefer to watch in small amounts. Part if this is due to the fact that each episode is broken up into smaller parts even when it doesn't seem to be necessary. There have been other comedy shows done this way, and it may be that the makers are (slavishly, perhaps) following the manga chapters but it has the effect of making each episode seem longer than it is, and sometimes breaks up storylines that would be better IMO if not interrupted. That said, the show is mostly amusing; not all the jokes work and some are quite predictable but there are more than enough that do work (and a few surprises) to make it worth watching. I probably won't be able to finish it by the end of the marathon but I should be able to do so before going to bed. |
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One-Eye
Posts: 2261 |
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Marathon Episodes 21-26 (S2, 8-13) End:
The show continues to look great. However, it still feels more of the same. Some of the gags work well and others are just ok. I felt that after 26 episodes I would have liked some resolution to some of these characters. Ric/Rec/Riku's father is never re-introduced and where Nino is actually returning to or if she even will make it there (perhaps a malfunction on the ship continues to strand her on earth?) is never addressed. We get some teasing at the end with the rocket and the circus implying in this case the show may not go on (as opposed to "the show must go on!"). I felt overall the first season was the stronger one. |
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