| Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi | |
 North American DVD cover of the complete series | |
| アベノ橋魔法☆商店街 (Abenobashi Mahō Shōtengai) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Created by | Gainax |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Satoru Akahori |
| Illustrated by | Ryūsei Deguchi |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | Monthly Magazine Z |
| Original run | September 2001 –August 2002 |
| Volumes | 2 |
| Manga | |
| Manga Abenobashi Mahō Shōtengai | |
| Written by | Kenji Tsuruta |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| Magazine | Monthly Afternoon |
| Original run | September 2001 –May 2002 |
| Volumes | 1 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | |
| Produced by |
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| Written by |
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| Music by | Shirō Sagisu |
| Studio |
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| Licensed by | |
| Original network | Kids Station,Sun TV,KBS,tvk,TV Saitama |
| English network | |
| Original run | April 4, 2002 – June 27, 2002 |
| Episodes | 13 |
 Anime and manga portal | |
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi (Japanese:アベノ橋魔法☆商店街,Hepburn:Abenobashi MahōShōtengai) is a Japaneseanime television series created byGainax, with animation produced by Gainax andMadhouse, and directed byHiroyuki Yamaga. It was broadcast for 13 episodes onKids Station from April to June 2002. The series was licensed for English release in North America byADV Films.
Amanga adaptation, authored bySatoru Akahori and illustrated by Ryūsei Deguchi, was serialized inKodansha'sseinen manga magazineMonthly Magazine Z from September 2001 to August 2002, with its chapters collected in twotankōbon volumes. It was licensed for English release in North America byTokyopop. Another manga byKenji Tsuruta, titledManga Abenobashi Mahō Shōtengai, was serialized in Kodansha'sMonthly Afternoon from September 2001 to May 2002.
During theHeian Era (794–1185),Abe no Seimei was a close childhood friend of a noble named Masayuki, and his wife, Mune. While he was away from the palace, Masayuki often asked Seimei to stay by his wife's side, guarding her and keeping her company. However, during the time that they spent together, Mune and Seimei fell in love and became increasingly romantically involved. Unbeknownst to them, Masayuki soon learned of the affair, and became overcome with grief and jealousy. One day while Seimei was on a trip toKyoto, Masayuki snapped, murdered Mune and committed suicide. Guided by a premonition, Seimei rushed back to his hometown only to find out that he was too late. Overcome with guilt, he decided to perform a forbiddenonmyō, ritual to resurrect the dead, by transferring himself and the bodies of Masayuki and Mune into a completely different world in which they were still alive. In doing so, Seimei soon found himself as "Mr. Abe" in mid-20th-centuryOsaka, where Mune Imamiya and Masayuki Asahina were pre-existing residents of this alternate world. Now, Masayuki was an ambitious, but largely unsuccessful young man who had enlisted Mr. Abe's assistance to build the AbenobashiShopping Arcade. He was also madly in love with Mune, a local girl whom he tried to woo (with little success) at every possible occasion. It was not long, however, before Mune fell in love with Abe, constantly pursuing him and offering himbento. Abe tried for a time to resist her advances, but eventually he was unable to contain his feelings, and had sex with Mune in his apartment. Unbeknownst to them, an instantly-jealous Masayuki accidentally discovered the truth. The next night he became staggeringly drunk and invited Abe to meet him at the Abeno Shrine, planning to murder him with a hiddenbutcher knife when he arrived. At first unsuspecting, Abe arrived on the scene, but once he saw the decrepitly drunk Masa he knew what was afoot. He promptly bid Masayuki farewell, then disappeared, going back to his job in the Heian Era, leaving a pregnant Mune behind him; her child is Sasshi's father.
Childhood friends Arumi and Sasshi are residents of the Abenobashicommercial district inAbeno-ku, Osaka. After an accident, they find themselves transported to an alternatesword and sorcery world. Their attempt to get back to reality finds them traversing a series of nonsensical worlds built onscience fiction, war,fantasy,dating sim games and American movies. Each alternate Abenobashi is a surreal manifestation of Sasshi'sotaku interests, populated by analogs of the protagonist's relatives and acquaintances and a blue-haired stranger known as Eutus.
Their quest to return home is at its core abildungsroman because the Abenobashi dimensions are mostly hobby worlds of increasing sophistication. Sasshi does not want to go home, and in fact is the sole force that is propelling them between worlds. While chasing a cat in the first episode, Arumi's grandfather fell off a roof and was hospitalized. With this new trauma pressuring him in addition to his apprehension about the eventual destruction of the shopping arcade and the Asahina's moving away, Sasshi was no longer willing or able to cope with reality, and unbeknownst to even himself, he had caused their dimension to rewrite itself into worlds echoing his escapist obsessions.
A manga adaptation bySatoru Akahori and illustrated by Ryūsei Deguchi, was serialized inKodansha'sMonthly Magazine Z from the September 2001 issue to the August 2002 issue, with its chapters collected in twotankōbon volumes released on March 19 and July 19, 2002.[3][4] The manga was licensed for English release in North America byTokyopop, who published both volumes on August 10 and November 9, 2004, respectively.[5][6] The manga went out of print in 2009.[7]
Another manga adaptation byKenji Tsuruta, titledManga Abenobashi Mahō Shōtengai: Abeno no Machi ni Inori o Komete (まんが アベノ橋魔法☆商店街 ―アベノの街に祈りを込めて―; "Manga Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi: Praying for the city of Abeno"), was serialized in Kodansha'sMonthly Afternoon from the September 2001 issue to the May 2002 issue, with atankōbon volume released on April 20, 2002.[8]
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi was produced byGainax andMadhouse. The series is directed byHiroyuki Yamaga andMasayuki Kojima, with series composition by Yamaga andSatoru Akahori and screenplay by Jukki Hanada. The original character designs were done byKenji Tsuruta. The music was composed byShirō Sagisu.[9][10] The series run for 13 episodes onKids Station from April 4 to June 27, 2002.[11][10][12]
In North America,ADV Films announced the series' acquisition atAnime Boston in April 2003.[13][14] The series was launched in four DVDs from December 16, 2003 to April 20, 2004.[15] The series aired onG4's anime blockAnime Unleashed in 2005.[16][17][18] It also aired online onAnime Network in 2009.[19]AEsir Holdings re-released the series on a single DVD volume on December 11, 2012.[20]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date [12] | U.S. air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Mystery! Abenobashi ☆ Shopping Arcade" Transliteration: "Fushigi! Abeno-bashi ☆ Shōtengai" (Japanese:不思議! アベノ橋☆商店街) | Masahiko Ōtsuka | Hiroyuki Yamaga | April 4, 2002 (2002-04-04) | February 8, 2005[21] | |
Many of the local shops are going out of business and a new shopping area is coming. And now Sasshi and Arumi soon find that they are not in Osaka anymore, and instead, have suddenly been transported to a strange and magical world. | ||||||
| 2 | "Adventure! Abenobashi ☆ Sword and Sorcery Shopping Arcade(RPG world)" Transliteration: "Bōken! Abeno-bashi ☆ Ken to Mahō Shōtengai" (Japanese:冒険! アベノ橋☆剣と魔法商店街) | Masayuki Kojima | Satoru Akahori Hiroyuki Yamaga | April 11, 2002 (2002-04-11) | February 8, 2005[22] | |
Osaka is gone, Arumi and Sasshi find themselves in a world full of dragons and strange mythical creatures. All the familiar faces from back home are here, but with completely different personalities, and the two are suddenly enlisted to conquer an evil force. | ||||||
| 3 | "Hook Up! Abenobashi ☆ Great Milky Way Shopping Arcade(Science fiction world)" Transliteration: "Gattai! Abeno-bashi ☆ Daiginga Shōtengai" (Japanese:合体! アベノ橋☆大銀河商店街) | Hiroyuki Imaishi | Satoru Akahori | April 18, 2002 (2002-04-18) | February 9, 2005[23] | |
Sasshi and Arumi believed that a strange goblin they encountered when they first arrived in the Middle Ages would have the power to send them home. Now they are stuck in a futuristic version of their home, and mecha combat may be their only means of escape. | ||||||
| 4 | "Fire It Up! Abenobashi ☆ Hong Kong Combat Shopping Arcade(Martial arts world)" Transliteration: "Moeyo! Abeno-bashi ☆ Honkon Kakutō Shōtengai" (Japanese:燃えよ! アベノ橋☆香港格闘商店街) | Shirō Ebisu | Jukki Hanada | April 25, 2002 (2002-04-25) | February 9, 2005[24] | |
It seems that the goblin just cannot get things right. Another attempt to send Arumi and Sasshi back home finds them now in Hong Kong, and Sasshi is enlisted to train and be a part of an upcoming tournament. He may not know martial arts, but he will have more than enough knowledge by the time this is over. Now, if the goblin could just get things straight, this would all be over. | ||||||
| 5 | "Extinction! Abenobashi ☆ Ancient Dinosaur Shopping Arcade(Prehistoric world)" Transliteration: "Zetsumetsu! Abeno-bashi ☆ Kodai Kyōryū Shōtengai" (Japanese:絶滅! アベノ橋☆古代恐竜商店街) | Atsushi Takahashi | Satoru Akahori | May 2, 2002 (2002-05-02) | February 10, 2005[25] | |
Sasshi and Arumi thought for sure that they were going back home this time. Instead, they find themselves in a prehistoric version of their home, complete with the usual cast of strange relatives that they have grown accustomed to seeing. But, they soon have more problems when they are on the run from the natives and trying to get a baby dinosaur back to his family. | ||||||
| 6 | "In the Night Fog! Abenobashi ☆ Hard Boiled Shopping Arcade(Hardboiled world)" Transliteration: "Yogiri no! Abeno-bashi ☆ Hādoboirudo Shōtengai" (Japanese:夜霧の! アベノ橋☆ハードボイルド商店街) | Hiroyuki Ochi | Jukki Hanada | May 9, 2002 (2002-05-09) | February 10, 2005[26] | |
Now, Sasshi and Arumi are in a new version of their home that has a vibe very similar to 1930s gangster films, but they both end up working on opposite sides, unintentionally of course. Just like everything else, things are not always what them seem, especially when it comes to killing. | ||||||
| 7 | "Flashback! Birth of the ☆ Magical Shopping Arcade(Abenobashi during the late 1950s during theAllied occupation)" Transliteration: "Kaisō! Mahō Shōtengai ☆ Tanjō" (Japanese:回想! 魔法商店街☆誕生) | Masahiko Ōtsuka | Hiroyuki Yamaga | May 16, 2002 (2002-05-16) | February 11, 2005[27] | |
There are no wacky themes here. Instead, it is a more somber look at how the magical shopping arcade was born, as told from those that were there some 50 years ago. It does not explain what is going on in Arumi and Sasshi's case, however, but it reveals some other important information. | ||||||
| 8 | "Set Your Heart Aflutter! Abenobashi ☆ Campus Shopping Arcade(Dating sim world)" Transliteration: "Tokimeke! Abeno-bashi ☆ Gakuen Shōtengai" (Japanese:ときめけ! アベノ橋☆学園商店街) | Mitsuyuki Masuhara | Jukki Hanada | May 23, 2002 (2002-05-23) | February 11, 2005[28] | |
Sasshi thinks that he and Arumi might have made it back to their world until he notices all of the cute high school girls wandering around in droves. It is at that point he realizes that they have found their way into a dating simulation video game. Sasshi of course could not be happier, but things are not so good for Arumi, who has been transformed in a goblin (and is much shorter than she would like to be), and that is just one of the many things that are infuriating her. | ||||||
| 9 | "It Cries! The Bush Warbler ☆ Heiankyo(Abenobashi during theHeian period)" Transliteration: "Naku yo! Uguisu ☆ Heiankyō" (Japanese:泣くよ! うぐいす☆平安京) | Atsushi Takahashi | Hiroyuki Yamaga | May 30, 2002 (2002-05-30) | February 12, 2005[29] | |
Arumi has left Sasshi out of pure frustration, probably because she looks like a goblin, and also probably due to the fact that she is grown over 50 feet high. Eutus, however, has agreed to help Sasshi get back home and reveals the truth to him, as well as their karmic connection. He decides to allow Sasshi to become a Onmyou apprentice, but the help he is going to receive from Eutus is going to be more than minimal. | ||||||
| 10 | "Fluffy, Bubbly ♡ Abenobashi ☆ Fairy Tale Shopping Arcade(Fairy tale world)" Transliteration: "Powapowa ♡ Abeno-bashi ☆ Meruhen Shōtengai" (Japanese:ぽわぽわ♡アベノ橋☆メルヘン商店街) | Kentarō Nakamura | Jukki Hanada | June 6, 2002 (2002-06-06) | February 12, 2005[30] | |
Determined to find the perfect place that will make Arumi happy, and where she will not have to deal with her grandfather's death, Sasshi puts the two of them in a fairy tale world. But Arumi is not happy at all. She is even less pleased when a giant teddy bear attacks the land and she is forced to take on the guise of a magic girl, complete with magic baton and annoying animal sidekick. | ||||||
| 11 | "Resolution!! Abenobashi ☆ Battlefield Shopping Arcade(War world)" Transliteration: "Ketsudan!! Abeno-bashi ☆ Senjō Shōtengai" (Japanese:決断!! アベノ橋☆戦場商店街) | Hiroyuki Ochi | Satoru Akahori | June 13, 2002 (2002-06-13) | February 15, 2005[31] | |
After the troubles of the amusement park, Sasshi and Arumi are now at war. On both side of a conflict, the two armies fight for the Abenobashi Shopping Arcade. When it comes to war and clichés, it is all here in the chaos. | ||||||
| 12 | "Huge Reversal?! Abenobashi ☆ Hollywood Shopping Arcade(Hollywood world)" Transliteration: "Daigyakuten!? Abeno-bashi ☆ Hariuddo Shōtengai" (Japanese:大逆転!? アベノ橋☆ハリウッド商店街) | Mitsuyuki Masuhara | Jukki Hanada | June 20, 2002 (2002-06-20) | February 15, 2005[32] | |
The two now find themselves in a world of Sasshi's favorite movies. He really enjoys the big Hollywood movies, fromRaiders of the Lost Ark toMonty Python. It is all here and more inside Sasshi movie-land. | ||||||
| 13 | "Return To Life! The Legendary Exorcist ☆" Transliteration: "Yomigaere! Maboroshi no Onmyōji ☆" (Japanese:甦れ! まぼろしの陰陽師☆) | Tadashi Hiramatsu | Hiroyuki Yamaga | June 27, 2002 (2002-06-27) | February 16, 2005[33] | |
Arumi and Sasshi have finally made their way home, but Arumi's grandfather will still be dead. Sasshi refuses to let that happen, so he jumps again into another world. But in the end he cannot dream away reality. | ||||||
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi received an Excellence Award for animation at the 2002Japan Media Arts Festival.[34]
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