Underplayed Gems

Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi (2002)

Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi poster
Original title
アベノ橋魔法☆商店街
Genre
mecha, science fiction anime and manga, ecchi, comedy anime and manga, fantasy anime and manga, adventure anime and manga
Country
Japan
Length
1 season, 13 episodes
Rated
TV-MA
Rating
6.8 of 10 from 55 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

Two friends explore various bizarre alternate versions of their local shopping arcade. Each world parodies a different genre or media trope.

slapstickparodicfast-pacedwhimsicalabsurdnonsensicalplayfulcomedic

What happens

Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi (Japanese: アベノ橋魔法☆商店街, Hepburn: Abenobashi Mahō Shōtengai) is a Japanese anime television series created by Gainax, with animation produced by Gainax and Madhouse, and directed by Hiroyuki Yamaga. It was broadcast for 13 episodes on Kids Station from April to June 2002. The series was licensed for English release in North America by ADV Films. A manga adaptation, authored by Satoru Akahori and illustrated by Ryūsei Deguchi, was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Magazine Z from July 2001 to June 2002, with its chapters collected in two tankōbon volumes. It was licensed for English release in North America by Tokyopop. Another manga by Kenji Tsuruta, titled Manga Abenobashi Mahō Shōtengai, was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon from July 2001 to March 2002. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.