Hello and welcome to all! There are several funny anime series I’ve been wanting to write posts about, but I didn’t think I had enough content. The solution, therefore, was to combine my thoughts on several series into a single post. Today I’ll talk about Arakawa Under The Bridge, Jinrui wa suitai shimashita, and Mahou Shoujo Ore. For each series, there is a synopsis, general information, and a short discussion of my thoughts. I chose these shows because they are rather obscure, and in two of these cases, badly underrated. (Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita is the only one of them with a good score on MAL.) I love these three anime and I think every one of them deserves 8/10. Now then, let’s rant!
1) Arakawa Under The Bridge
Starting Synopsis. A filthy-rich young businessman named Kou one day finds himself in big trouble. Some scoundrels hung his pants on a bridge. When Kou tries to climb up and recover his pants, he falls into the river and almost drowns. A mysterious homeless girl named Nino saves his life. Kou believes in complete self-reliance and doesn’t want to owe anyone anything. So he asks what Nino wants in return for saving him. The girl calmly demands that Kou will be her boyfriend and live with her and the homeless community under the bridge.
General Information. In 2010, studio Shaft released two 13-episode seasons of Arakawa Under The Bridge (AUTB for short). The genres for this anime are comedy, romance, and seinen. The show’s style of comedy is a mix of absurd, random, non sequitur, and recurring character gags. I really love this combination of my favorite types of animated comedy. In addition to being humorous, AUTB features entertaining visuals and great voice-acting. It also inspired a few deeper thoughts in my mind.
Thoughts. You can think of AUTB as an anime that looks at the lives of neurologically atypical people and other odd ducks who are not accepted in their society. The random quirks and borderline madness of the characters is funny, but it also has a serious side. We don’t know for sure the reason for the characters’ homelessness, but it’s likely that their unusual natures did not “click” with society’s stuffy standards of normality.
Take Nino, who may have a developmental disorder or something like autism. “The Mayor” could very well have some schizoid personality issues. And those who have no obvious diagnosis still have personalities that others might deem problematic. For example, Maria doesn’t know how to control her habitual verbal abuse. And “Sister” is not accepted in church because they think nuns can’t be biologically male.
AUTB makes these characters human and lovable, in contrast to the neurotypical, judgmental businessman Kou. Over time, Kou becomes more open-minded and even falls in love with Nino. I love AUTB not only because it’s hilarious, but also because it’s a story that demonstrating that “normal” people and “normal” society is not all there is. The community under the bridge have created their own mini society and it works. If you think this anime is purely for comedy, you’re missing a big part of it.
2) Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita (Humanity has Declined)
Starting Synopsis. The old humanity has declined, slowly dying out and passing the world on to the “new humanity,” which are small, highly advanced fairies. Their technology is so advanced that it all seems like magic. The show’s nameless heroine, “Watashi,” is a mediator between the fairies and the old humanity. She and her assistant are in for a load of humorous and bizarre adventures alongside the mischievous fairies.
General Information. Sometimes abbreviated as Jintai, this anime aired in 2012. It was made by the AIC ASTA studio. There is one season of 12 episodes. Comedy, fantasy, and seinen are the main genres. The comedic style of Jintai includes humor revolving around magical situations, absurd and random humor, ironic humor, social commentary, and satire. For an example of satire, there is an entire episode dedicated to a sardonic presentation of manga/otaku culture.
Thoughts. You’ll definitely notice that I had much more to say about AUTB than about Jintai or the next one. That’s because AUTB is defintiely my favorite. Anyway, let’s get back on topic; let me mention the main reasons I enjoy Jintai. First is the aesthetic of the show. The visuals are simple but nice and charming; I like the colors. Something about the atmosphere is just so whimsical and enchanting.
Other excellent qualities about Jintai are the funny and interesting fantasy escapades and the abundance of humor, both absurd and clever. All the bizarre fantasy situations that Watashi gets into are very entertaining. Besides being funny as all hell, some of the scenarios are genuinely interesting. For example, there is the episode where Watashi meets other selves, and audiences are left wondering what these “clones” are and how they came to be. Another great scenario is when some of the fairies start worshipping Watashi like a god.
In many of these strange episodes, there are hidden bits of social commentary or observations about the ridiculousness of human (and fairy) psychology. I enjoy that sort of witty humor immensely. And the goofy stuff is wonderful too. This anime made me laugh a lot and it continues to entertain me as I start watching it for the fourth time.
3) Mahou Shoujo Ore (Magical Bros)
Starting Synopsis. Saki has a normal life and loves spending time with her friend Sakuyo in a small-time idol duo. But one day, a strange man enters Saki’s home and explains that he needs Saki to be a magical girl who fights demons– especially now that her mother is retired from that job. In order to rescue her crush, Saki obliges. But much to her surprise, her magical girl fighting form is a big, buff man! How will Saki fare as a Magical Bro?
General Information. Magical Bros is a 2018 anime by Pierrot Plus. There is one season of 12 episodes. The main genres are comedy, fantasy, and magical girl. This anime’s humor consists mostly of parody, yaoi teases and jokes, and some silly, sophomoric stuff as well. I’ll discuss the parody elements at more length below, as well as other selected thoughts.
Thoughts. Magical Bros serves as a parody for standard magical girl anime. While traditional magical girls are cute, small, and feminine, these Magical Bros are handsome hulks. The mascot character is normally supposed to something cute and catlike with a high voice; but in this series, the mascot is a rough and frankly ugly yazuka-like creature. You get the idea. But there’s more to this anime than parody. The amount of buff, manly fanservice is hilarious– and quite refreshing. You see female fanservice everywhere, but for males it’s bit rarer. The parody, fanservice, and general absurdity are all things I love about Magical Bros, but what about negative sides of this show?
When I first watched it, this show was solid comedy gold for me. Upon later reflection, though, I realized that the yaoi teases and jokes might be a problem for some. Magical Bros’ humor doesn’t take homosexual love seriously, instead making it into joke material. However, I did not find any of the jokes to be mean-spirited or homophobic. I like gay/bi jokes and I myself am bisexual/pansexual. It could be that I need to rewatch it more carefully. Still, for the time being, I believe Magical Bros’ gay comedy is not a noteworthy problem.
That wraps up my thoughts for today about these comedy anime series. I hope it was an enjoyable or at least informative read. Thanks so much for visiting Anime Rants! See ya next time.
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