Arakawa Under the Bridge x2

 So, like many other people who follow this blog, I've started my watch on Fall 2010 anime. Summer didn't really interest me much, and was overall a disappointment, with very few shows I found interesting. Hopefully this season will be a big different. I already have a list I plan on watching for today, if only to give a chance for me to get into them.

I started off with one of my more anticipated titles of this season, Arakawa Under the Bridge x2, which is obviously the 2nd season for the series that aired fairly recently. I was actually surprised that SHAFT pulled out season 2 so fast. I was expecting it maybe Spring '11 the earliest, and it was a very pleasant surprised when it was revealed to air this Fall. If you haven't seen the first season and like slice of life comedy with wacky settings and a diverse cast, I'd definitely recommend giving it a watch. When I say diverse cast, I really mean it. What other series do you get a guy in a kappa costume who's admired by many, a killer loli who's just the sweetest little angel when she wants to be, a war veteran who now lives his life as a nun (yes, he's a guy) that still acts as if he's on the battlefield every day; I could go on naming off even more of the cast, but I think you get the point.

There aren't really many "moeblobs" in this though, so if you only like slice of life for cutesey girls being cute on a daily basis, then this doesn't really have what you're looking for (although that doesn't mean this series doesn't have any at all). If that's what you're looking for, SHAFT also has Hidamari Sketch, which I'd also recommend and has plenty of moeblobs for you. But that's for another time!

So, what better place to start than with the opening? As always, SHAFT animates some strange opening of their series. It's as if they sit down and just get high while writing their ideas down for what should be in the opening. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei probably has some of the most creative openings I've seen, with them being out there while still carrying a crapload of metaphors.

I will say that I preferred the opening song from last season, Venus to Jesus, but the animation itself seems to carry more personality that the one they did for the first season of this show. It may just take me a bit getting used to the song. The animation literally just takes you everywhere. One second the cast is in space, then in the sea (or...sea space?), flying around in rocket ships, at one point they even sit down and have a tea party in zero gravity. Always love SHAFT's openings, and this certainly didn't disappoint.

The comedy in this episode didn't disappoint either. The last part did feel a bit corny to me, but that's probably because I was able to predict what would happen, for the most part. But the first half of the episode gave me a few good chuckles here and there. It's nice that they managed to include a large potion of the cast in this episode, in one way or another, giving you your fix of your favorite characters right off the bat in episode 1.

On another note, it seems they're already starting off the main story for this arc in multiple ways. We got to see a bit more of  what seems to be Nino's past, while introducing what seems to be the newest antagonist for this season. Though the series isn't exactly meant to be taken seriously, I do find it nice how they can incorporate a decent yet silly plot into it all. I'm interested in seeing how t his turns out. It kinda reminds me of how Yotsuba's past is occasionally hinted to, but the topic would change before it could actually dive seriously into the topic.

All in all, I thought it was a very nice first episode for this season. It was a really nice introduction for me of what Fall has in store for me. I hope I find a few other shows this season that I'll be following as closely as Arakawa.

~ Kirari ミ★