|
Introduction to "Abenobashi: Magical Shopping Arcade" Graphic Novel
Sasshi's world is in disarray. His best gal pal, Arumi, is about to move away, and his Osaka neighborhood is being demolished in the name of urban renewal.
However, this little neighborhood has some surprises under its concrete - it's actually a portal to parallel universes. And when this section of the city is leveled, the portal is cracked wide open. Sasshi and Arumi soon find themselves being hurtled from one strange world to the next! Making matters even more surreal, is the fact that these worlds seem to spoof and mock popular movies, video games, manga and anime!
Abenobashi: Magical Shopping Arcade Graphic Novel Volume 1
Sasshi Imamiya is a precocious, hyper, 12-year-old boy who speaks with an Osaka accent and can be pretty. He has a huge passion for collecting things, such as baseball cards, and vending machine toys. He's also a big fan of RPGs, sci-fi, dinosaurs, guns, and dating simulation games. Sasshi's family used to run the Turtle Bath, which was the local bathhouse, but was forced to give it up and move out due to redevelopment plans for the Abenobashi shopping arcade area. Sasshi spends his lazy days hanging out with his best friend Arumi, having practically grown up together with her in the shopping arcade.
Arumi's the quintessential girl next door -- literally, in Sasshi's case. A sensible and pragmatic girl, who acts as the more rational counterweight to Sasshi's oddball antics, Arumi can often be found keeping Sasshi in line by smacking him with her paper fan whenever he makes stupid comments or is up to no good. Arumi's eccentric father and stubborn grandfather run a French restaurant in the Shopping Arcade known as the Grill Pelican. It appears, however, that the Asahina family will be closing up shop in the near future as part of redevelopment in the area and moving to Hokkaido, forcing Arumi to leave Sasshi behind ...
|
