Arakawa Under the Bridge 12-13 END
Hm, this was a very good ride. Not entirely conclusive in what it hinted but I am satisfied with what I saw.
It almost entirely ran with a setting surrounding a very grounded and perhaps extremely logical person having to live amongst a group of eccentrics who are extreme in their own ways. Nobody is "realistic" in the show but it's just two extremes brought together and when that happens, there's so much that invokes thought. Every little gag has Ichinomiya the lead guy posessing the same degree of innocence and naivety despite having been through numerous ridiculous moments, his hope for sanity in every eccentric person is sparked over the slightest hint. That naivety is often expressed through him trying to justify the other with monologues along the lines of "hey, maybe he/she's a normal person after all" only to be betrayed over and over again. It's not say it gets tiresome but it's paced and spread out amongst a diverse cast with great personality to remain consistently funny.
It's ethical/social/personal undertones are welcome albeit it doesn't try too hard to push or expand them which is probably what I would've liked but not something I would insist on. I appreciate the presence of them.
The direction is for obvious reasons reminiscent of Monogatari and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and the fact that its voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya only adds to the familiar air. The episodic character arcs and the eventual approach to Ko's own side of the story is handled well through out and it seems it was under the hands of one of the main directors in SHAFT: Yukihiro Miyamoto who happens to dabble a lot of comedy in general.
There's a lot of great layouts in the show although upon recalling I can only find images of the first episode at the top of my head. Nothing I would say that stood out in terms of animation. The aesthetic is something I found rather drab and I think that's probably what they were going for, it just didn't seem to resonate with as much personality as SZS but it is what I would say, closer to Monogatari.
Now I'm wondering if I should watch the sequel or hold off and watch Gunslinger Girl. I'm inclined to hold off but I just don't know when I'll get back to it which what I usually end up doing with sequels to episodic shows, especially comedy centric shows.
Hm, this was a very good ride. Not entirely conclusive in what it hinted but I am satisfied with what I saw.
It almost entirely ran with a setting surrounding a very grounded and perhaps extremely logical person having to live amongst a group of eccentrics who are extreme in their own ways. Nobody is "realistic" in the show but it's just two extremes brought together and when that happens, there's so much that invokes thought. Every little gag has Ichinomiya the lead guy posessing the same degree of innocence and naivety despite having been through numerous ridiculous moments, his hope for sanity in every eccentric person is sparked over the slightest hint. That naivety is often expressed through him trying to justify the other with monologues along the lines of "hey, maybe he/she's a normal person after all" only to be betrayed over and over again. It's not say it gets tiresome but it's paced and spread out amongst a diverse cast with great personality to remain consistently funny.
It's ethical/social/personal undertones are welcome albeit it doesn't try too hard to push or expand them which is probably what I would've liked but not something I would insist on. I appreciate the presence of them.
The direction is for obvious reasons reminiscent of Monogatari and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and the fact that its voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya only adds to the familiar air. The episodic character arcs and the eventual approach to Ko's own side of the story is handled well through out and it seems it was under the hands of one of the main directors in SHAFT: Yukihiro Miyamoto who happens to dabble a lot of comedy in general.
There's a lot of great layouts in the show although upon recalling I can only find images of the first episode at the top of my head. Nothing I would say that stood out in terms of animation. The aesthetic is something I found rather drab and I think that's probably what they were going for, it just didn't seem to resonate with as much personality as SZS but it is what I would say, closer to Monogatari.
Now I'm wondering if I should watch the sequel or hold off and watch Gunslinger Girl. I'm inclined to hold off but I just don't know when I'll get back to it which what I usually end up doing with sequels to episodic shows, especially comedy centric shows.
