Fall 2010 Season Preview

Well, it’s that time where our intrepid team of bloggers adds our voices to the cacophony of season preview posts.  I myself only followed six shows during the summer season, but this season seems to have a lot more bulk to it.  I honestly don’t know what I’ll do with myself between school, work, and other obligations, as well as the series I’d like to watch.  The Fall season finally sees Madhouse and Marvel’s collaboration come to its first fruition with the Ironman franchise.  We also have another work directed by the man behind Durarara!! et al.  Then there’s Shaft proving to us they can manage an incredibly short second season turn around time with another Arakawa.  There’s a bunch of other things going on, but why read me talking here?  You can just click past the break and read me talking with everyone else!

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.

Arakawa Under the Bridge 12 – God from Machine

So this episode actually concludes the father-taking-over-under-the-bridge saga. The title of episode 99 (the last story-based episode), “Conclusion,” pretty much puts the nail in that coffin. The way the story ended was a bit unexpected and abrupt, but it was a strong episode nonetheless, with the 1st half being as funny as I’ve seen the show be, and the 2nd half being extremely heartwarming and sugary sweet.

There were so many great shots of Nino this episode, I've decided to stack this post with them.

Arakawa Under the Bridge 11 – All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues

This episode really pushed the story forward a lot, though I didn’t necessarily enjoy all of it. It’s just that learning of the mechanics of Riku’s plans to stop his father isn’t all that interesting. The resulting character development and deepening of relationships are what are fun to watch, and that was largely missing. Saved for the next 2 episodes, no doubt. Still, there were some nice scenes showing how close Riku has become to everyone under the bridge, especially Nino, and the comedy was as strong as ever.

Arakawa Under the Bridge 10 – Electric Boogaloo

I wish… not to become one of those beads that sparkle 7 different colors but break when squeezed. But rather to become a black lump of dirt that gets stronger as it gets squeezed. It’s shaped like an oval. But that’s the shape of one’s own fingers. Not to one day become a beautiful jewel, but to become the most beautiful lump of dirt…

-Opening lines

So that’s why I felt so underwhelmed by last week’s episode: because, as this week’s episode proved, Arakawa Under the Bridge is capable of so much more. OK, actually, this episode wasn’t all that different from last week’s in format, with the 1st half being full-on absurd comedy and the 2nd half dealing with the plot in a greater sense, but everything was just executed so much better.

Arakawa Under the Bridge 9 – Insert Fist of the North Star Joke Here

There isn’t a whole lot I feel I can write about this episode. It was a bit of a distraction after the way the plot seemed to be going in the previous episode. There was no further development on the Riku/Nino front. Rather than going forward, this episode looked back, as we were given glimpses into the pasts of Star, Maria, and Nino.

I have no caption fitting for this screenshot

Arakawa Under the Bridge 8 – Fathers and Son

At first, I didn’t think much of this episode. It seemed too heavy on the drama, too light on the comedy. But it’s in situations like this where blogging a series can really change one’s mind. The more I thought about the episode and as I rewatched it for taking screenshots, I grew to really like it. It certainly got melodramatic at times, but it was still damned funny, and we found out more about Riku’s past, probably more than in any other episode before it.

Somehow, I feel that this final shot is very representative of this episode.

Arakawa Under the Bridge 7 – What is Common Sense Anyway?

This episode was all about the laughs. There were little bits of development in character and plot here and there, especially at the end, but the stars were Stella and P-Ko, who both provided plenty of laughter in the episode’s 2 parts. Also, Nino narrated the opening lines this time instead of Riku, and though they didn’t touch me as much as the last episodes, they had their own beauty as well. I barely paid attention to these lines before episode 6. Now I’m gonna have to go back and watch them again from the beginning, because the last couple have been so good.

Nino Under the Bridge and Emptying Our Pockets

I’ve made it no secret I’m a fan of Maaya Sakamoto, especially her music. Let me quote myself from the spring 2010 preview post:

I could listen to Maaya’s voice all day (in fact, I sometimes do, putting her music on my playlist).

I was listening to her recent compilation album Everywhere, when 1 song caught my attention. The song is called Pocket o Kara ni Shite or, translated, Emptying Our Pockets (below is a YouTube video of a live performance).

Arakawa Under the Bridge 6 – A Sense of Community

(No, that’s just the title of this post – the title of the episode was 6Bridge, as usual).

Even if they’re born in the same galaxy, born on the same land and live in the same time, the probability that any 2 people meet is so low as to be called a miracle. Laughing, being sad, love. Because all of those are the products of things that have 1% chance of happening, my eyes grow dark. The world is overflowing with miracles such as those.