Arakawa Under the Bridge, SHAFT’s quirky, surreal comedy series, is not a very serious show at the end of the day. Yet little moments such as the one here give the series a magical whiff of beauty and sentimentality.
I’ve been trying to put my finger on why I find Arakawa Under the Bridge so appealing. It’s not just the quirky characters or the slapstick or the surrealism, or even that it’s a Shinbo show; it’s the alternative vision of life, work, and even community that the folks under the bridge seem to live out. And it’s all contained in the ending song.