Arakawa Under the Bridge (荒川アンダー ザ ブリッジ) is a romantic comedy, sci-fi manga by Nakamura Hikaru. The series was published between 2004 and 2015, with 400 chapters compiled between 15 tankoubon.
The series follows Ichinomiya Kou, the heir to a powerful business conglomerate who was raised by a twisted set of ideals. His entire life the core principle of his family has been drilled into his consciousness, never be indebted to someone. He does everything he can, going to extreme lengths, to not have anyone do him any favors. His luck completely changes as he is assaulted by pants stealing hoodlums on a bridge over the Arakawa river. A strange woman named Nino retrieves his pants, thus putting Kou in her debt. Before he is able repay that debt she saves him from drowning in the river. Nino tells him that he can repay her for saving his life by being her boyfriend. Thus Kou becomes the newest resident of the Arakawa river basin.
Life in the river is incredibly odd as the other residents are unique characters running away from one thing or another, though they all flatly refuse that fact. Kou has to deal with the eccentirc neighbors in his effort to repay the strange girl who has suddenly become his girl friend. Nino claims to be an alien from Venus. The 'neighborhood' is run by a man wearing a kappa suit/claiming to be the famed yokai, named Mayor. A man with a star head see's Kou as his romantic rival for Nino's favor. A cross dressing mercenary known as Sister acts as the area's religious figure, his love interest is the sharp tongued farm owner Maria. Two run away twins who claim to have psychic powers and are hiding from a research facility. A throw back to the Edo era samurai barber. A crazed gardener who is in love with the Mayor and a man who ran away from home due to his obsession with white lines.
The series follows the crazed collection of personalities on their day to day antics of life under the bridge. From celebrating Christmas, harvesting the crops, running a carnival for the kids, fighting an Amazon from up river, dealing with unrequited love, fending off the plots of a group run by a Mole man...you know, normal stuff. At the core is the mystery of who Nino really is and what circumstances lead her to living under the bridge. The entire time Kou has to deal with understanding why everyone has chosen to live there while at the same time retaining his own identity amid the craziness.
One thing that stands out in the manga is the artwork, the character designs, particularly their range of facial expressions are good. The story though doesn't seem to really congeal towards some sort of end goal until around the half way point. Before then it is sporadic in nature with no real progression. Hints are dropped along the way as to what the great reveal at the end of the series will be, yet the author may not have had that planned out until the series was already established. At times the story arcs are a chore to get through but for the most part the manga is a rather enjoyable read. Part of my issue with it may stem from watching the anime first. The anime was made before the story was completed so it doesn't get into the ultimate reveal at all. In then end it was worth the read but I was glad to be done with it.
The series is currently available in hard-copy from Square Enix and is available electronically via Crunchroll.
The series follows Ichinomiya Kou, the heir to a powerful business conglomerate who was raised by a twisted set of ideals. His entire life the core principle of his family has been drilled into his consciousness, never be indebted to someone. He does everything he can, going to extreme lengths, to not have anyone do him any favors. His luck completely changes as he is assaulted by pants stealing hoodlums on a bridge over the Arakawa river. A strange woman named Nino retrieves his pants, thus putting Kou in her debt. Before he is able repay that debt she saves him from drowning in the river. Nino tells him that he can repay her for saving his life by being her boyfriend. Thus Kou becomes the newest resident of the Arakawa river basin.
Life in the river is incredibly odd as the other residents are unique characters running away from one thing or another, though they all flatly refuse that fact. Kou has to deal with the eccentirc neighbors in his effort to repay the strange girl who has suddenly become his girl friend. Nino claims to be an alien from Venus. The 'neighborhood' is run by a man wearing a kappa suit/claiming to be the famed yokai, named Mayor. A man with a star head see's Kou as his romantic rival for Nino's favor. A cross dressing mercenary known as Sister acts as the area's religious figure, his love interest is the sharp tongued farm owner Maria. Two run away twins who claim to have psychic powers and are hiding from a research facility. A throw back to the Edo era samurai barber. A crazed gardener who is in love with the Mayor and a man who ran away from home due to his obsession with white lines.
The series follows the crazed collection of personalities on their day to day antics of life under the bridge. From celebrating Christmas, harvesting the crops, running a carnival for the kids, fighting an Amazon from up river, dealing with unrequited love, fending off the plots of a group run by a Mole man...you know, normal stuff. At the core is the mystery of who Nino really is and what circumstances lead her to living under the bridge. The entire time Kou has to deal with understanding why everyone has chosen to live there while at the same time retaining his own identity amid the craziness.
One thing that stands out in the manga is the artwork, the character designs, particularly their range of facial expressions are good. The story though doesn't seem to really congeal towards some sort of end goal until around the half way point. Before then it is sporadic in nature with no real progression. Hints are dropped along the way as to what the great reveal at the end of the series will be, yet the author may not have had that planned out until the series was already established. At times the story arcs are a chore to get through but for the most part the manga is a rather enjoyable read. Part of my issue with it may stem from watching the anime first. The anime was made before the story was completed so it doesn't get into the ultimate reveal at all. In then end it was worth the read but I was glad to be done with it.
The series is currently available in hard-copy from Square Enix and is available electronically via Crunchroll.
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