Impression:

We get introduced to some classic shaft when you see a beautifully animated scene depicting a man getting his pants stolen by a bunch of hooligans. At first glance, you can at least appreciate the way the anime looks, but the true charm is in the humor. We are introduced to Kou who is a young business man who thinks that you must not accept the help of others. After losing his pants and falling into the river below the bridge he was walking on, a young lady saves his life. The laughs start early in this one. The lady is Nino and she is extremely confused by the issues Kou has with accepting help. After enough convincing, Nino says that she will accept one form of payment for her services. At this point we can look at Kou as the crazy one in the relationship, but we do not know the young lady yet. Nino wants to be loved and requests that Kou go out with her. At this point everyone seems crazy and I am starting to really laugh. Then we find out that Kou has to live with Nino, which would be fine, if it wasn’t for the fact that Nino lives under a bridge. Next we see that Nino has a fantastic bed, but she sleeps inside of a drawer. You would think that these two would live their odd lives in peace, but we have more people to meet. Nino thinks she is from Venus, the mayor thinks he is a kappa. Kou meets the mayor of the bridge who is a man who is obviously in a kappa suit. Kou must not only get permission to live under the bridge, but also receive a new name from this “kappa” that seems even crazier than Nino. Kou is now dubbed “Recruit” and is already in too deep. I honestly could not handle how crazy this was. The first time that I tried watching this series, I gave up because I thought it was stupid. It was not until I gave the series another try some time later that I truly appreciated the ridiculous humor.

Do not lose your pants.

Current Opinion of the Show:

I loved the first episode of Arakawa Under the Bridge. The laughs started early and persisted throughout the entirety of the episode.  If you are looking for a good laugh, beautiful animation, or a very unique story, give this series a try. I am looking forward to the next episode.