Arakawa Under The Bridge x Bridge – 03

Ric and Nino actually have a fight?

I’m almost starting to think that hobos who live under bridges are cool now. Think about it. This show is all about psychotic, penniless weirdos staking out in the wilderness. If I saw someone in a dirty, river-smelling kappa suit a year ago – I’d run. But thanks to Arakawa, I’m going to try to befriend him and probably get mugged in the process. Now that I’m done rambling, you probably have noticed that our leader-sama isn’t here for this particular post. Right now I’m afraid Kyokai’s off on a top secret S-rank ninja mission so she’s gonna be a bit busy for a while~ Kekeke.

Once again, Arakawa provides an eye-opening prologue about waiting for someone to reach out to you. Well, knock. The door thing has been a lot but this is Arakawa, and anything Arakawa does is godly and cannot be refuted. Ever.

Ric and Nino are maintaining the switcharoo with their “homes,” but that doesn’t stop Ric from going back to clean his fishy abode. After Nino finishes drying out her GIANT COLLECTION OF FISH in the living room, Ric is left to try to air out the stench. However, he finds something ever fishier in the process. Nino’s Casette player with a box of casettes.

He accidentally plays the casette for a bit, then NOT-so-accidentally plays it again once curiosity gets a hold of him. The incoherent crackling gives way to a Venusian giving a monologue about…department stores. Way to tease us with the nonsense, time to turn it off…BUT WAIT! Suddenly he says he was a message for the Queen of Venus that only she should hear. Of course, this is when Nino makes her entrance.

Ric apologizes right away, but this is Arakawa and guessing reactions is never easy. Instead of waving it off like usual, Nino zips up her jacket, HISSES, then grabs the tapes and runs.

Ric chases after her but she somehow manages to get on top of a lamp post. All attempts to get her down result in failure: from luring her with cookies to using the lines Maria told Ric to recite. Nino’s animal-like guarded state is finally broken when Ric says he wants to accept her as she is. You can tell things aren’t quite resolved by the way Nino drops the box onto Ric’s face.

Ric agrees to listen to all the tapes, despite the mayor’s (surprisingly solemn and serious) warning that human hearts can easily break under that pressure. Can he really accept her for who she is? The secret that the Queen of Venus must never tell anyone is:

HIMO HIMO HIMO HIMO HIMOOO~

I really hate when girls do this…this…protective thing. Let a girl think for herself! Nonetheless, all the Arakawa shoujo team up to keep Ric away from Nino, and decide to have a pajama party and talk about secrets. Ric isn’t invited. The fanservice is nice, but someone needs to tell them that PJ parties are held AT NIGHT. Oh well, some Maria fanservice is there so how can I complain?

I need to send this screencap to someone who doesn’t watch the show. I NEED TO.

Ric tries to barge in again, trying to win them over with a tape of all his embarrassing moments. It proves to be a poor replacement for Nino’s tape, since Ric has literally NO shameful moments. Well, at least that he can remember or be bothered to put on tape. Once again – REJECTION.

Seeing Nino’s sad face as P-ko shuts the curtain on him once again really hits home. Practically having a heart attack, he slides in (SAFE!) to Nino’s house and begs for forgiveness once again. He won’t leave until Nino smiles. That’s when Nino finally explains she isn’t angry or sad…just afraid that Ric would leave her if he knew the truth of what was on that tape. Ric shows Nino that his promise to stay together forever was genuine, with a hug and…believe it or not…tears.

Guys…a little privacy please…

Of course, the episode has to end on a funny note with the gag contest. We get to see Sister with some artillery instead of Billy, showing off one of those puns the Japanese love so much. Well, except for Maria, who can never be satisfied. Awww Sister…Maybe next time.

Arakawa Discovery Channel:

Here we have the wild Nino in her natural environment

The male courts the female with a flashy ritual.

Speaking of mating season….lol P-ko XD

The wild Nino seems to have taken notice to the courting male!

IT HAS BEEN DECIDED! HALF-VENUSIAN BABIES FOR ALL!

End Thoughts: I loved the continuous story from start to finish. They just kept the jokes going without it ever getting tired. Hmm, I wonder if we will ever find out what was on that tape. Oh well, at least Ric and Nino gained +20 relationship points. Ric even CRIED, he was so worried about losing her. From what started off as a seemingly shallow fulfillment of a promise for Ric has blossomed into a really deep relationship. At the end of this season I’m sure you could go back to the first few episodes of season 1 and see a completely different Ric. These two are a great couple~ =D

Not only did this episode pack on the character development, but it was full of comedic gold as well. I don’t know why, but I still laugh like a hyena whenever I see that crow stealing the cookies. Something about the unexpected timing is just…so…so perfect! The unpredictability and wackiness of the show just does NOT get old, even after already watching a season of this madness.

So far, there has been barely any relenting in the quality of the episodes (I’m willing to forget you for now, Amazonian). I just have to hope the new characters don’t drag anything down, and instead ENHANCE the show. Because so far, none of the new characters have had any really funny moments. Mind you, they only have been in one episode, so I shouldn’t judge them yet. I’m sure you’re tired of me ranting about how good this show is…Time to stop babbling and sign off. Bye for now~

About Overcooled

A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.