Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge – 06
Nino and Ric have a little talk…
Time flies! It’s already time for another Arakawa episode! While last week was full of a bunch of craziness (well, when is Arakawa NOT full of crazy?) this week takes a much more serious approach. It’s probably the most serious episode of Arakawa, in fact. But is that necessarily a good thing? Well, let’s see. (Don’t cheat and just skip down to the end thoughts, I’m trying to build tension here!)
I miss my opening “philosophy of the week” segment D= Instead of that, it cuts right to the chase. Shimazaki (Ric’s assistant) is researching information about Nino at Ric’s father’s request…and for her own interests. The mayor shows up in her office, whispering death threats into her ear before vanishing. The next time he appears is before Nino, handing back the tape Shimazaki stole to her (even though it’s the “leech” tape…). What could he possibly mean by “It’s almost time”???
One day, I will crawl under a table in the middle of a meeting and just flip it over. I won’t even work at the company, I’m just going to do it so I can be like Nino. I’ll get all pissed too when someone tries to yell at me, like “Y U SO MAD FOR??!?” and then make THEM feel bad. Let’s not forget putting a shoe on their head. That’s the best part. The meeting will have to wait, because *gasp* Nino has something she needs to tell Ric about the cassettes!
Shimazaki naturally tries to follow them to get more information, but ends up springing Maria’s humiliating death trap. The death trap consists of rope, pie, a panda, and a poo hat. Afterwards, Shiro helps her, erm, “recover” from it. The act of kindess melts all tsun away, leaving her as a puddle of bubbling dere. Her “prince on a white line”….lawl…XD
Finally, what we’ve all been waiting for…Nino’s talk with Ric. She spends a lot of time beating around the bush, looking absolutely miserable, while Ric is trying to prepare himself for whatever occurs. When Nino starts off saying she lied to him, he instantly starts assuming the Venusian thing was a lie, like any normal person would. However, the lie is that she has to leave the riverbank, and she knew this even before she asked him to be her lover.
Ric’s reaction is nothing short of heartbreak and desperation, the Mayor’s words haunting him all the while. He desperately asks her dozens of questions, to which Nino gives sad, quiet responses. She knows she has to leave, but she wants to stay with him. It’s safe to say that I’m still astounded by how deep their relationship has become.
Nino drops the BIG news: she has to return to Venus. Now it’s time to deviate from the seriousness a bit. Ric is naturally WTF about it at first, but he presses on to try to convince her to stay. That’s when Nino starts to cry, saying she HAS to go home because she misses Venus and her parents. But she always wants to stay here with Ric and everyone else. Yet another BIG statement from Nino: she asks Ric to come with her to Venus.
This time Ric reacts like a true crazy person, imagining a bunch of scenarios of what it could be like if he went along with it. The overall verdict? Nino’s parents may be jellyfish who stick things into his ears, but he will go with her, because he LOVES her. He comes around pretty quickly, actually, which makes Nino ecstatic. So ecstatic, she starts punching Ric…which is what I do when I’m happy too, oddly enough.
After having all these propositions thrown at him, Ric feels a bit…feminine. He’s practically saturated with estrogen. He even starts babbling about marriage! Now, if Ric is happy, Hoshi should be nearby to ruin it, right? It’s a law of the universe by now. He steps in, slips a grass ring on her finger, and claims her as his own. Hoshi, you buttface. =__=
That’s when EVERYONE reveals themselves and offers to go to Venus with her. Ric is appalled, but Nino is sooo happpy!!! Awww!! *PUNCH PUNCH* 8D Even Captain is here, drawing his moe, stalker storyboard about Nino. Most alarmingly, he uses scuba gear to watch her. Yes…scuba gear. As everyone all huddles together for that fluffy ending, Captain taps his pencil against a very curious drawing of Nino. She does some rather interesting things under the surface of the water, hmm?
Girly Ric Spam:
Ric, why are you so pretttty??
HOW CAN YOU EVEN SEE WITH THAT MANY SPARKLES IN YOUR EYES?
Nino-san, be gentle~
Fangirling: Nothing can stop it’s spread
End Thoughts: Gag contest was just Hoshi being a jerk, I’m not wasting my screencap count on that. <_< More importantly, there’s a new ending animation! And a gorgeous one at that! WATCH IT!!
I may not watch a lot (i.e. any) romance anime, but NinoxRic is probably one of the best anime couples out there. Not THE best, but it’s definitely up there. It’s not forced, and their development is very natural…considering the nature of the show, especially. A lot of the gag episodes make you forget that they’re lovers..you take for granted that the whole reason this rich, genius boy is living in hobo nation is for this one girl. It’s amazing how quickly you can forget that, but it’s there, in every episode. Their love and dedication for one another is just a fact, something that feels like it’s been there forever. I need episodes like this to remind me. Great episode, great development, and a great couple.
I always asks myself: what does this episode mean for the next episode coming up? It’s great that each person can speculate something entirely different, and that’s what makes it so fun (well, this mostly applies to shows like Shiki as opposed to comedy like Arakawa, but still!). For example, is Nino really an alien? Are they REALLY going to Venus? The Captain gave us a hint that Nino isn’t human…who stays under water so long you need more than tank of oxygen just to keep up? Everything about that sketch is suspicious. I doubt they will actually go to Venus, it will probably just be some weird location. I mean, where are they going to get a ROCKET? <_< I’ll bet you anything we never really find out if Nino is Venusian or not. Even with a serious episode like this, we learned next to nothing about Nino’s past. Nonetheless, I’ll be waiting for episode 7 eagerly. :3
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.
POWUH: 800-899 and Self-proclaimed Manga Queen with 874 comments
~There are times when I watch Arakawa and when Ric yells “Hoshi!” really loud…I’m like seriously inclined to say “WHAT?!” back |’D It makes me laugh all the time XD (Maybe it’s because it’s Hiroshi Kamiya LOL?)
ANYWAYS, aside from me having the same nickname as a pretty mean anime character (not that I don’t like Hoshi PFFFF), I was REALLY surprised this episode was so serious o____o I watched it earlier thinking I’d get some laughs but in the end I was actually biting my nails in anticipation! I’m really looking forward to the new episode, but then again, I have a feeling it’s just gonna go back to typical Arakawa comedy (not a bad thing though!) x’D
I also have to totally agree that NinoxRic is one of the best couples in anime<3 and the new ending animation WAS GORGEOUSSSSS~!! I instantly fell in love with it 8D
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
LOL I always picture you too, and how unfortunate it is you two share the same name XDD
Yeah, it was more serious than usual~ Not a lot of laughs, but a lot of development/set-up. They NEVER follow up the next episode! With like every show! T.T Guess we’ll have to wait
NINOXRIC FTW WOOO!!!
POWUH: 400-499 with 406 comments
LOL THIS EPISODE.
I laughed so hard at the “My Prince on the White Line thing”
For the rest of the episode, I didn’t know if I should laugh or be tense.
I think I did both though, hah.
Lol at the stalker diary.
I loveloveLOVE the new ending animation.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Those two make quite the interesting side-couple XD
I was mostly just blinking and taking it all in, I didn’t feel tense o.o I’m excited now though, for the venus trip.
That new ED animation is delicious.
POWUH: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
It’s great when a show can pull something completely bizarre out of nowhere (like moving the cast to Venus), and there is some real bite to it, because you have gradually accepted that just about anything could happen to these folks.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Even a move to Venus becomes just another episode of Arakawa. I love how this show can do anything and everything and still be in-character~
POWUH: 600-699 and Wingman with 655 comments
I loved the new ending > < the art style was amazing 😀
it seems like the big secret of arakawa is about to be reavealed soon huh
like how Nino stays in water over an hour….
well ill just wait till the next episode XD
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Soooo gooooddd =D
I have a feeling they’re gonna tease us for quite a while before revealing anything -__- Bwaa…
POWUH: 1100-1199 and Meta's Evil rice-flour Product with 1137 comments
Plot getting serious…I wonder if SHAFT are actually high enough to send our river dwelling friends into space…
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I don’t even know. Nothing is impossible with SHAFT.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 222 comments
Yeah, I know, I give you a hint that Nino isn’t human.
*shot* IT’S THE SAME AS HOSHI, I CAN’T HELP BUT..RESPOND TO ‘CAPTAIN’.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
THANKS, CAPTAIN! Ahahaha, soon we’ll have the whole Arakawa cast around Metanorn XD
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
I SHOULD TRY DOING THAT. freak my boyfriend out by telling him that i can’t see him anymore bcz i need to go to venus! 8D
i really wana see mayor’s real human face, before he was a youkai. i have this feeling that he’s gona turned out to be a good-looking person…
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Something tells me that anything that happens in Arakawa should never ever happen in real life.
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
so i can’t live under the bridge? AW MAN 🙁
POWUH: 1100-1199 and Meta's Evil rice-flour Product with 1137 comments
mmmm anaaga…i cant help but feel that may not be the best possible thing to do for your relationship…i can see it ending with fluffy white rooms and straightjackets
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
i’m pretty sure it’s gona go like this:
me: hey, gotta tell you something. can’t see u anymore gotta go to venus ASAP
boyfriend: but i want us to go to mars!
or something like
boyfriend: ow venus? great place. went there last summer
xD
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 21 comments
“I’ll bet you anything we never really find out if Nino is Venusian or not.”
Uhm… if you don’t mind spoilers, you can look at manga spoilers at mangajet.com
There’s scan about whta’s going to happen next. And the truth is, Nino was… *ups*
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
=O We’re finding out the truth so soon?! Wow, episode 7 is gonna be good then…
POWUH: Novice (36-50) with 37 comments
Can’t say I’m a fan of the philosophy of the week thing anymore, they just seem to be really cheesy now, so I prefer that they’re using those less this season. The heart to heart talk was certainly worth waiting for, but Ric’s delusions throughout were just nuts. A great epi!
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
They were good in season 1 though. These ones haven’t been quite as memorable (aside from the first 1 or 2) admittedly. =/ Derrr.
Ric having delusions is always welcome XD