Arakawa under the Bridge: Quirky, odd slice of life

[bluelovesorange]

Ah, summer J-dramas. I always come back to you, no matter how long the flirtation with other media is.

First up, Arakawa picspam. I can't really explain it. The manga/anime is so weird and the characters - well it's got this space alien/outsider POV/crazy cosplay/bizarre children's television program vibe about it.

Short version: the heir to a company falls into debt to a odd girl who saves him from drowning. When he asks her what she wants as a reward, she tells him to come live with her underneath a bridge. HIJINKS ENSUE.

It's a very short drama - it's barely half an hour long, so you can zip through it pretty quickly. It's a delightfully deadpan/punny jewel of a show, and I only hope it gets even better. The world of Arakawa seems so fascinating to me already.

Oh, obviously - SPOILERS for the first episode of Arakawa after the cut


This is Nino. She says she's a Venusian. Also, check the pun on her name. Ni (2) san (3) Ni-no-san



This is Eric Kou Ichinomiya. He's the richie-rich heir to the Ichinomiya corporation and hates being indebted to anyone.



Random English. I love it.

3 months ago, Kou was just a normal guy standing in front of his normal car in his normal suit on the Arakawa Bridge....



getting held up by a bunch of kids in costumes. They carjack him, throw his pants on the bridge, and Kou monkey climbs to get his most precious treasure out of his pants: a super ball.




Which is like - you're going to risk your life to get a ball that you can probably get from a vending machine? Okay, weird rich guy.


Then Nino appears and offers to get it for him. He politely declines, telling her he can do it himself. Because his father - aka DR. HOTASS FROM HANA KIMI 2007 has instilled him to be extremely self-reliant.




Kou doesn't do so well with doing it himself. What a meet cute - falling from atop a bridge, while in your boxers.


OH HI, OGURI SHUN. HOW NICE TO SEE YOU. Even if you are dressed up like a poor cousin to a Ninja Turtle.


Nino saves him. Perfect Buffy the Gift dive!

I'm just thinking, how deep is that river? This is like OCEANS deep.


It's like bizarro Brady Bunch, I swear.


Do I even need to provide commentary? Arakawa is definitely an ensemble cast focused drama.




I love the lo-fi dreaminess of the set design - how Nino's world is spacey but cozy at the same time.







Ooo, slow motion wind machine glamour shot.



Kou's suitably dazzled.

Or until Nino tells him he needs to move.



You mean to tell me this woman's magazine is FULL OF LIES? WHAT.



This is the man who climbed up a bridge to get a plastic ball. Moving underneath the bridge to live with a strange girl hardly seems like a giant mis-step in logic, given that previous decision. RIGHT, JAPAN?



Time to meet the family.



Oh lord, I'm totally on board for a show where Shun and Shirota team up in cosplay and FIGHT CRIME. I will have to settle for Shirota skulking around sexily in a tank top and being ambiguous in Jiu.


Do you see where I got the bizarre children's show vibe from? This is like THE playground for the land of Misfit Toys!


And then the ending credits are something out of a strange morning exercise/cult worship video. I LOVE IT. It also has the good fortune of having the best ending theme out of any the dramas this season IMO. It's a lovely piece of summer rock.





I just. You guys. I don't even know. It's a very intriguing first episode that laid out all the characters while maintaining a very mellow vibe and identity separate from the manga and comic. I'm definitely looking forward to how they're going to introduce the rest of the world in episode two.

Comments

[fivethreerin.livejournal.com]

lol that last cap is hilarious.

[darkeyedwolf.livejournal.com]

YES YES YESSSSSSSSS oh man I loved the first episode SO FUCKING MUCH. I can't wait for the rest. They have the strange/off-beat/gloriously wacky ragtag family vibe down.

and it's going to be a film too~

[calledinvain.livejournal.com]

with the same cast, so I hope for a good tv ending and then CRAZY EPIC MOVIE. Shun as a kappa cracks me up so hard, never mind Shirota as SIST-AH

[wistfulmemory.livejournal.com]

...I'm not sure what I just saw...wow...mind blown...

That said, I was intrigued by all the cast members I knew, and the plot does seem interesting. I'll have to try it.

[jennyhime.livejournal.com]

It was awesome! I was very positively suprised. Also Mirei is adorable in it, all the roles I have seen her playing have been a bit bitchy.
Shun, Yamada and Shirota are adorable especially Yamada (I don't care he is so short compared to the rest)
It's super wacky but in a good way, the ending credits are cute with the exercise, the song is nice too, Galileo Galilei is a good band.
And have you seen Yuusha Yoshihiko To Maou No Shiro, it's awesomely low budget and fun.

I'm downloading Yuusha right now, actually!

[calledinvain.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I really enjoyed the first episode. I can't wait for the second one to be subbed. Mirei's good at playing the bitchy (but not really) second lead, but she's had a good mixture of lead roles (although on late night television). YAMADA'S FACE. THE STAR FACE. Yeah, I love the ending theme.