Arakawa Under the Bridge

Kou Ichinomiya is the son of a wealthy businessman who holds a firm belief in his elite status. As such, he is determined to avoid becoming indebted to anyone; but one day, after a run-in with some mischievous kids on Arakawa Bridge, he ends up falling into the river running underneath. Luckily for him, a erby is there to save him—but now, he owes his life to this stranger!

Angered by this, Kou insists on paying her back, but this may just be the worst deal the arrogant businessman has ever made. The stranger—a stoic, tracksuit-wearing homeless girl known only as Nino—lives in a cardboard box under the bridge and wants only one thing: to fall in love. Asking Kou to be her boyfriend, he has no choice but to accept, forcing him to move out of his comfortable home and start a new life under the bridge!

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Nino Main

Sakamoto, Maaya Japanese

Ichinomiya, Kou Main

Kamiya, Hiroshi Japanese

Hoshi ing

Sugita, Tomokazu Japanese

Sister ing

Koyasu, Takehito Japanese

Maria ing

Sawashiro, Miyuki Japanese

Village Chief ing

Fujiwara, Keiji Japanese

P-ko ing

Omigawa, Chiaki Japanese

Billy ing

Tachiki, Fumihiko Japanese

Stella ing

Saitou, Chiwa Japanese

Amazoness ing

Kobayashi, Yuu Japanese

Kubota, Mitsutoshi Producer

Kohara, Makoto Producer

Ooshima, Miku Assistant Producer

Shinbou, Akiyuki Director

Reviews

Nov 20, 2024

k1bosaki

Recommended

At first, I didn’t expect much from this anime. In fact, I didn’t know what to anticipate beyond a vague memory that it would involve some comedy and romance—something I barely recalled when I added it to my playlist years ago.

If you enjoy works like Daily Lives of High School Boys or Beelzebub, this anime is definitely for you. These titles share the same bold and exaggerated humor that defined much of the 2000s and 2010s. But beyond delivering a highly entertaining comedy, the show also introduces a subdued yet captivating romance between the main characters.

What truly stands out, however, is how the anime portrays ... the lives of those living under the Arakawa Bridge. At first glance, these characters seem like absurdly over-the-top caricatures created purely to fuel the show’s humor. But as the story unfolds, you begin to realize that each of them is there for a reason. They’re individuals deeply disconnected from Japanese society, each carrying their own struggles. Some have no intention of fitting into societal norms; they simply want to live freely, unshackled by the rules of conventional life. This is particularly evident in how they completely disregard the protagonist’s wealth, as if money holds no meaning to them.

As for negatives, some viewers might find the character development lacking, especially since the protagonist tends to react to the other bridge residents in the same way throughout. However, there is subtle growth, though in a series like this, dramatic changes might actually detract from the humor. Additionally, the romantic moments, while present, are few and far between.

That said, this anime is absolutely worth giving a chance for its humor, its unique take on societal outcasts, and the charm of its unconventional storytelling.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Feb 24, 2019

Rift026

Mixed Feelings

I am really confused about this anime I started in hope that i would get some romance plot development comedy and some drama but all we got is comedy!!!!!
well at least the comedy was satisfactory but i have seen better comedy anime than this so its not the best............

At last i will give it a decent score of 6/10 because of its comedy and the fact that i didn't drop this anime.............

well, some people would say there are many morals and deep meanings but i don't watch anime for these things...........i just want entertainment and this anime barely qualified in this field..don't get ... me wrong i know deep meanings and moral is very important part of anime but as long as they don't come at the price of entertainment

HERE IS THE QUICK SCORE OF MINE IN ALL ASPECTS OF THIS ANIME:

STORY[4]: The worst thing about this anime is its story without giving you any spoiler i will say that the plot of this anime didn't clarify any thing Neither character development nor past of the characters are shown clearly hope they would do it on season two.

ART[7]: As you can see from trailers the art is really something.........the expressions of the characters have shown very beautifully

SOUND[8]: There is nothing to say in this field. I just felt in love with the OP song and the ending song is really nice...........you will find a very decent voice acting in this anime

CHARACTER[7]: One word that describes the character is "Decent' nothing much to say in this field Every character is very funny you will enjoy them

ENJOYMENT[8]: this is the only thing that kept me hooked up to this anime till the very end and not to mention the OP song I just love it without any doubt one of my favourite OP song ever but not sure if I should start the second season or not

CONCLUSION:

if you are looking for some decent comedy which defies logic and plot then go for it..... but if you are looking for some romance or some serious plot then go somewhere else
you have come to the wrong place

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Oct 10, 2023

MeanEYE

Not Recommended

Preliminary (4/13 eps)

This show is not going to be liked by everyone. It's based on the idea that constantly screaming and overreacting is funny, which it is not. Most of the story is nonsensical, which is completely fine if that's the goal of it. But characters are not well written or acted. In general we are suppose to observe this egoistical character grow up and change into more reasonable and down to earth one. Problem is, he keeps screaming non-stop. Well, everyone is screaming non-stop.

I tried watching it because I kind of like the premise but it's taking a real effort not to close tab every time ... main character opens his mouth. He's simply not likeable, nor are others but to a lesser degree of annoyance. On the other hand we can't really say if the story makes sense or follows logic, because there's no sense or logic. It's about obviously crazy people living in a community and everyone wants to spread Nino's cheeks. That about sums it up. The question is the self-imposed, why if she wanted to experience love didn't she accept any of the crazy people but went for one guy without his pants climbing a bridge? Mystery I tell you. Call it love at first sight but she's showing zero emotion so far.

Nonsense approach to this story is not the troubling part for me. I have watched and enjoyed similar ideas in the past. However I can not abide by constant screaming coming from very poorly written characters. If you don't mind this screaming and weird type of random humor give it a shot, you might end up liking it. I, on the other hand, was close to shoving a hot poker into my ears just to make it stop.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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