Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi

If you are a seasoned Otaku, you’ll definitely get all the cultural references AND the jokes that this series is brimming with. The concept of a bunch of kids getting transported inside a virtual reality realm is not old in the world of anime. There are loads of anime under such a category. However, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi is one of a kind.

You’ll find almost every genre in each episode of this anime. It contains so much variety that you will not feel bored and keep coming back for more If you are a seasoned Otaku, you’ll definitely get all the cultural references AND the jokes that this series is brimming with! So, without further ado, let’s get right into our review of the Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi!

Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi tells us the story of Sasshi, who gets depressed over his card collection getting lost (A typical 12-year-old). On top of that, his childhood friend, Arumi, is moving out of town. He feels devastated now. Something worse happens when they meet an accident and get transported to a fantasy world of swords and sorcerers. But, unfortunately, the world is just like a video game to them.

Both try to escape, but they find themselves in yet another sticky situation by landing on another strange land. They soon realize that this new world looks familiar and looks like their hometown but in a twisted shape.

They meet Mune Mune and Eutus there, who seems to be their only hope that will help them escape out of this bizarre world. Finally, the series is filled with the adventures of Sasshi and Arumi, who desperately try to return home. However, only time will tell if they really want to leave this fantasy world and return home.

The story starts off pretty serious, not something we expected at all. However, the overall tone of the plot is not serious or even sad. But some sad moments tend to overpower the happy ones. We get to witness many exciting parodies in each episode, like mecha and RPG parodies that we find very interesting. Unlike many other anime that feature parodies, Abenobashi lets us question philosophically about certain aspects. It’s not all cheery all the time.

There are some deeper meanings hidden in the series that we need to figure out while watching. The story might make you feel a little stupid as it is a bit hard to figure out what’s happening at times.

Overall, the anime offers a solid plot with fascinating instances that make us want to keep watching it. Especially the little jokes inside every episode; They are epic and give us a good laugh!

When it comes to characters, we get to see some variety. However, our main character is not a very impressive one. He looked fun in the beginning but became flat as the anime progressed. His childish behavior was quite evident throughout the anime. But then again, what else do you expect from a 12-year-old? He’s also very selfish, and all other characters constantly tell him to tone down his immaturity, but he’s not ready to listen to them till the end. So, the character flaws that the creator put in him to make him funny did not work well.

We have the MC’s best friend, whom we thought would be a happy-go-lucky kid with a bit of hint of cluelessness, but she’s the logical and more mature one of the two. She’s the one that made herself very appealing to all of us.

Mune Mune’s character is wild. Most of the time in the anime, she appears to be very eccentric. Despite coming off as annoying, she still possesses some degree of sympathy towards others. On the other hand, Eutus’ character is entirely different from hers. He’s more calm and composed. He thinks logically and remains at a distance from everyone (A tsundere basically).

The animation is not straight-out perfect, but it is very appealing. We get to see various designs, and the creators did an awe-inspiring job with the characters’ expressions. It is rare to see the creators spreading the budget equally throughout the anime so that the quality is consistent in all the episodes.

Gainax managed to do it perfectly, making the quality of the animation consistent throughout the anime. Overall, the design and the colors are very pleasing and vibrant, going perfectly with the anime’s theme. We must give the cake to Gainax in the department of Design and art.

The anime’s opening is very “hip,” containing both the elements of Japanese and English. It’s very catchy and not forgettable. Even the background music is hip, going well with the overall theme of the anime. The ending, however, does not do justice to the brilliance of the anime. It’s very generic and forgettable.

The voice actors did a phenomenal job with the voices of the characters. The voices match well with the appearances and the personalities of the characters. Another exciting thing that we noticed with the voices is that the characters have a very unique accent. The accent was very similar to that of the accent spoken in the Southern United States. It very nicely suited the characters and the towns in which they reside.

Overall, the story of Magical Shopping Arcade has a very engaging story and a fascinating plot. The creators have done a phenomenal job of showcasing different parodies throughout the anime. We love the quirky and lighthearted moments in the anime. However, there are some serious aspects to the anime that make it a perfect series to watch. We definitely recommend you to watch this anime!