Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi Volume 3 (DVD) - Anime Reviews

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- Commentary with voice actresses Luci Christian and Jessica Boone

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- Outtakes

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Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi Volume 3 (DVD)

In retrospect, Volume 2 of Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi is a turning point for the series. Though the veneer of the series is entirely based on humor and sending up well-known (and not so well-known) cultural foibles, tragedy lurks beneath the surface.

Although Sasshi doesn’t want to admit it, the reason he and Arumi continually jump to whacked-out Shopping Arcades instead of returning home is… I won’t give it away but let’s just say it’s tragic. The full extent of the tragedy isn’t known until Sasshi starts his training as an Onmyou Mystic, someone with the ability to create other realities.

Up until now, his ability to create other realities has been innate – the worlds Arumi and Sasshi visit are all born from Sasshi’s imagination. Prime example is the world they find themselves in Episode 8, the opening episode of the disc.

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The place is filled with attractive schoolgirls and Sasshi is the lone male in school, or seemingly in the entire world. Arumi doesn’t fair quite as well; she’s turned into a little demon and is routinely attacked by a giant chicken. This small thing sets her off and she puts Sasshi’s death at the top of her “To Do” list, going so far as to align an armada of space-based lasers to guarantee his destruction. But something always happens to prevent her from accomplishing her goal. (This really

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reminded me of Ken the stuttering hitman in A Fish Called Wanda.) Sasshi makes the most of his male status trying to pick-up a girlfriend but fails for one reason or another and instead of agreeing to jump out of the world wants to stick around until he is successful. This puts Arumi over the edge and she grows to Godzilla proportions and destruction ensues.

As Sasshi watches Arumi leave, the mysterious stranger they've met in the previous worlds reveals himself to be an Onmyou Mystic that will teach Sasshi.

The next episode, features some hilarious scenes of Sasshi learning the Onmyou Mystic craft. (Watch the outtakes for some additional laughs.) He also sorts out what mental block (i.e. the tragedy) is preventing him from returning to the original Shopping Arcade. Arumi doesn’t play a role in this episode but she plays a starring role in the closing episode.

Using his Onmyou Mystic training, Sasshi makes an attempt at creating a world that Arumi will enjoy: Sasshiland, a Disneyland-like place that features fairy tales. But the scheme backfires – a giant teddy bear that can’t be stopped will do that! Sasshi steps in to stop the bear but Arumi still wants to go home – really home. Sasshi can’t bring himself to reveal why he hasn’t been able to concentrate on getting them home.

Even though there is a decidedly more serious undertone to the series, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi still manages to be hilarious. (Witness Sasshi’s reaction to learning who Mune-Mune really is.) Volume 3 keeps the series going strong and creates anticipation for the last disc when even more interesting revelations are made.

- Omni

(July 5, 2004)


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