Arakawa Under the Bridge 13 – A Great Finish to a Good Season

As I had guessed might happen after the last episode, this season finale was a stand-alone episode, unrelated to the main story that had concluded in episode 12. Still, it wasn’t pure comedy like I had predicted, and the last half was a heartwarming way to end the season and to tie together the most important threads of this show.

The parade to close out the night.

The episode starts off seeming like it will be focused on 3 of the “new” characters in the series (actually shown before, but never introduced), kind of like in the 1st season of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, which introduced Mayo Mitama and Ai Kaga in the final episode. But it went back to the main characters halfway through, so we only got a couple brief gags out of the Last Samurai, Billy, and Jacqueline.

There’s not too much to say about that half. I can’t say I enjoyed the new characters too much. The real highlight was Nino’s hair, which, as I’ve written before, is easily the best hair on anyone, ever. There were some funny moments, and Mikuru Asahina Yuko Goto provided a fitting voice for Jacqueline, but the new characters didn’t get enough screen time. Perhaps that was the problem, because it took me a while to like some of the main characters as well, including the Chief, Star, and Maria.

I will never tire of seeing Nino's hair. Even if it makes her look like a Super Saiyajin.

The real “finale” was the 2nd half of the episode, which tied together some of the key themes of this show. There was, of course, the theme of lost childhood. Riku never got to be a child, and that made him all the more eager to make sure that that wouldn’t happen to Stella and the metal headed brothers. It affected me to see him work for 3 days straight to make sure that this happened. He was surely a changed man from the neurotic, self-focused person he had started the show as.

Children playing at dusk on an iron maiden. There is something so sentimental about that scene. Except for the iron maiden part.

Then there was community, with the members of under the bridge coming together to put together an amusement park for the kids. Even at great cost to their health, as in the case of the Chief, who had to wear an extra suit over his normal Kappa suit. The 3D theater gave me some good laughs, starting with the mere fact that there WAS a 3D theater. I also loved the in-joke of having Nino starring as the Princess Amidala lookalike – Nino’s voice actor Maaya Sakamoto had voiced Amidala in the Japanese dubs of the Star Wars prequels.

He was probably playing Roller Coaster Tycoon the whole time.

And finally, there was the romance. Sitting on a bench during sunset alone with your lover holding a balloon while she listens to you talking about your past – it doesn’t get much more romantic than that. I was disappointed that that was pretty much all we got between those 2 in this episode. As I wrote previously, I was hoping to learn more about the back story of Nino.

This is probably the most date-like thing they've ever done. And they've been on a date!

I did really love the final montage, narrated by both Nino and Riku. It was probably the best one of the show, and it brought everything back to the river, and how it was the connection that fit Nino and Riku together. With the little emphasis on romance in this episode, it did feel a bit out of place, even if it felt right for the finale.

And, of course, this is the season finale, not the series finale, as following this episode was the announcement that there would be a 2nd season of Arakawa Under the Bridge. So I’m hopeful that the story of Nino and Riku will continue to be told, and that, just like Riku’s dark and painful past was explored in this season, Nino’s own past will be told in the next.

This puzzle piece (the river) is, without a doubt, the piece for connecting me to you.

Season End

Well, the show may not be ending, but the season certainly is. As I wrote in my post after the 1st episode, I went into the show not knowing what to expect, merely being a fan of the cast, the studio, and the director. Reading that post again now, I’m a bit surprised how much that seemingly innocuous 1st episode had revealed about the rest of the show. I had been pretty much spot on about this being an “absurdist character comedy” with “the relationship that is sure to develop between Kou and Nino” being the main story point. I didn’t see coming the exploration of Riku’s father issues, or how important the overall sense of community would be in the show.

It was an enjoyable show overall. A lot of people seemed to greatly enjoy the comedy in this show, but I thought that it was pretty hit or miss. Angel Beats!! and Working! were both funnier this season. The show’s strength was in the more dramatic, character focused moments. Many of the scenes Nino and Riku shared were very heartwarming, and Riku’s past felt genuinely painful. And though the the ending of the main conflict was rather abrupt, it still managed to provide more scenes that affected me.

So yeah, despite the varied cast of wacky and entertaining characters, I was always more interested when Nino and Riku were the ones on screen. That’s why I feel that it was a shame that their relationship didn’t get to go forward as much as I had hoped. Combining some decent comedy with very good character development that fell just a little short of expectation, Arakawa Under the Bridge was a solid, good show, but I hesitate to call it great. My hope is that this 1st season was the START of something great, because when the show was firing on all cylinders, it really was something special.

Notes

• As usual, there are plenty of screenshots on Tenka Seiha and Random Curiosity that are worth a look.
• The ED single, Upside Down Bridge by Suneohair, was released on June 23. Here is a YouTube link to the full song.
• There was a shot of 4 mysterious people somewhere way underground. I’m guessing that they will be the antagonists of the 2nd season.

She looks like something out of a US comic book.

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