History Anime / AbenobashiMahouShoutengai

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[[quoteright:200:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lt/abenobashi.jpg ]]
->''"All things extant in this world: Gods of Heaven, Gods of Earth, let everything be as it should be. Thus shall it be!"''

Arumi and Sasshi are two twelve-year-olds who have grown up together in the Abenobashi shopping arcade in Osaka. But the arcade and the neighborhood around it are now slated for redevelopment; one by one, the old familiar buildings are being torn down. Worse, Arumi and her family are moving to Hokkaido. What's poor Sasshi to do?

Well, none of that really matters, after Arumi's grandfather is hospitalized in an accident that destroys the last of [[TheFourGods four "guardian" figurines]] that bound the shopping district. Before their eyes, the neighborhood changes. Sasshi and Arumi find themselves trapped in a warped version of Abenobashi as if it were an RPG, with everyone they know recast as [=NPCs=].

But once they fight their way through the game's plot in grand slapstick style, thinking they will then return home, they find themselves transported to an outer space version of Abenobashi... then a Hong Kong martial arts movie version... then a [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs dinosaur-filled]], prehistoric one. And many more. Will Sasshi and Arumi ever get back to the ''real'' Abenobashi? ''Why'' are they "jumping" in the first place? ''Who'' is that blue haired sorcerer who appears to be going through a mid-life crisis?

A DeconstructiveParody of a dozen or more genres of film and anime, ''Abenobashi Mahou Shoutengai'' (''Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi'' in North America) generously trowels thick layers of off-the-wall comedy on top of a surprisingly serious storyline, one you're likely to forget about. Made by [[StudioGainax Gainax]] and {{Madhouse}}, the show makes both subtle and in-your-face [[ShoutOut references]] to [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion various]] [[LightNovel/SisterPrincess other]] [[Film/BackToTheFuture series.]]

There is also a two-volume {{Manga}} version, which is ''even weirder.'' The [[BroadStrokes basic plot is pretty much the same,]] although different worlds are visited, the ones that ''are'' in the show are different, and there's a character not shown in the anime (with the exception of a "blink and you'll miss her" scene in the twelfth episode.) While unfortunately the manga is no longer in print due to the demise of Tokyopop, cheap used copies can be found on Amazon, or if you're lucky, your local used bookstore.

[[http://www.hulu.com/magical-shopping-arcade-abenobashi Available to watch]] on {{Hulu}}.
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!!Tropes:
* AccentAdaptation: The official dub translates Osakan dialect as Texan and Kouhei's Tokyo dialect as Brooklyn.
* AlternateUniverse: A new one in almost every episode.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Sasshi to Mune-Mune
-->'''Sasshi:''' I ain't the only one being a little kid here! You're nothing but a kid who wants to... uh, you're just... you're just!... A little kid and... ''DON'T SMOKE!!''
-->'''Arumi:''' ...that ''really'' the issue?
* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: In the Prehistoric Shopping Arcade episode, Sasshi going into good detail to point out how many of the dinosaurs they have encountered didn't exist for millions of years between each other and never would have encountered each other over the time span between the early Cretaceous and late Triassic periods. Sasshi, being a preadolescent boy, is an expert on dinosaurs, of course.
* ArtShift: Between a more realistic style for the mundane world and a more flat, colorful style for the alternate dimensions.
* AsideGlance: Done by Sasshi a couple times through the series. Sometimes looking at the audience, and other times just looking away from Arumi so he doesn't have to make eye contact.
%% * AttackOfThe50FootWhatever
%% * BarbieDollAnatomy: Averted
* BigNo: Shown silently, however
%% * BitingTheHandkerchief
* BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine: Used throughout various parts of the series, but part of the LamePunReaction listed below in particular.
* BreastExpansion: In the second episode, Sasshi had to defeat the final boss by using a magic talisman that Arumi bought, which turned out to be used for BreastExpansion -- the boss's chest swelled up so much it exploded.
* BrokenAesop: The message is clearly a set of stock aesops like Be Yourself, Live in the real world, accept reality as it is, You can't fight fate, Let the dead rest, and most specifically, You can't use magic to solve all your problems. If it wasn't clear enough, Sasshi's father even lampshades this, telling him that he should just drop the whole Onmyo business and grow out of it. All that is suddenly rendered null and void in the last few minutes of the final episode when [[spoiler: Sasshi regains his memories of his past life and completely reforms the world, not only saving Grandpa Masa, but also bringing Abe and Mune back]]. At that point, the whole thing starts feeling like a TakeThat of stock aesops more than anything else.
* ButtMonkey:
** Sasshi throughout most of the series. Anytime Sasshi and Arumi end up crashing or falling somewhere, Arumi lands on her feet while Sasshi crashes into the ground. In Episode 11 in particular, He becomes an IronButtmonkey as he is a lowly private of the army and is constantly ordered to do everything for everyone. He even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this by asking if he's even any use at all because the messages he's suppose to be delivering to his superiors become known to them before he can even report it.
** In the DatingSim Episode however, Arumi is the ButtMonkey which is quite satisfying.
* CallingYourAttacks: As part of the Sci-Fi/[[HumongousMecha Mecha]] episode. Though since they don't know any of the pre-existing attack names, Sasshi and Arumi just make up new ones on the fly (and comment on how difficult it really is..)
* CatchPhrase: Arumi's "Being human, having your health. That's what matters", which she says three times in the first episode but rarely after that. Sasshi steals it for [[spoiler:the last line of the show.]]
* ClusterFBomb: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_tMD5bTbLM Mr. Kouhei]] in episode 12. Also counts as a CrowningMomentOfFunny.
-->'''Mr. Kouhei''': ''"HEY '''''FUCKING''''' COWBOY, '''''FUCKING''''' COWGIRL! HOW THE [+'''''FUCK'''''+] ARE YOU DOIN'? So tell me, are you kids on your '''''FUCKING''''' way home from school or something like that? [+++'''''FUCK'''''+++], why don't you two buy a '''''FUCKING''''' hotdog from me, Mr. Kouhei! Come on bebah, don't be cruel you '''''FUCKING''''' cowboy! Tell you what, I'll give you the King Special with a ton of '''''FUCKING''''' ketchup and '''''FUCKING''''' mustard to go with those '''''FUCKING''''' hotdogs, and sell you a pair of them for 500 '''''FUCKING''''' Yen! How do you like those bargains, bebah? [+'''''A-FUCK-YOU-VERY-MUCH-AH!'''''+] Hey, are you lonesome tonight you '''''FUCKING'''''-Cheer-'''''FUCKING'''''-Girls? '''''FUCKING''''' HOTDOGS FOR SALE, [+++'''FUCK YEAH!'''+++]''
%%* CranialEruption
%%* CrashIntoHello
%%* {{Crossdresser}}: "Ms." Aki.
%%* CrossPoppingVeins
* CulturalCrossReference: Owing to the show's premise, being ReferenceOverdosed is unavoidable. However, it isn't terribly discriminating about from which parts of the globe it lifts its references. Anything that fits the topic of the episode is fair game.
* DatingSim: An entire episode dedicated to it, and it doesn't take Sasshi very long to [[GenreSavvy figure out that he's in one.]] The end of the episode resulted in him seeing an ending that would have made more sense to him if he had achieved the proper relationship flags to develop that character. Arumi was the Goblin of that world. Needless to say, she was angry.
%%* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler:Mune-Mune]].
* DeadpanSnarker: Arumi, to contrast with Sasshi's IdiotHero general behavior.
* DeconstructiveParody: A gigantic middle finger towards geekdom. Well, at least that's what it looks like for the first half. After that, it gets... weird.
** At the halfway point, the series turns around and deconstructs ''itself''. Or to be more accurate, the second half is a GenreDeconstruction of the TrappedInAnotherWorld premise that it was following in the first half.
* DeusExMachina: [[spoiler: Sasshi's finally ready to go back to the real world and face reality, when in the last few minutes he has a change of heart and suddenly gets enough power to rewrite reality.]]
* EarlyBirdCameo: Of a sort. During the portal sequence in the Hollywood episode, the manga-only character "Ne-ne-ne Okane" briefly appears.
* {{Expy}}: Young Grandpa Masa in not entirely unlike [[WesternAnimation/TheMask two]] [[AceVentura cartoon characters]] modeled after a [[JimCarrey certain actor who played their live action counterparts]].
%%* FaceFault
%%* FalseCameraEffects
* FanDisservice: ...Ms. Aki, who takes this trope UpToEleven. See GlamorousWartimeSinger below for an example. Other examples include Grandpa Masa in the Hong Kong Arcade; later on the plot reveals that [[spoiler:Mune-Mune,]] is [[spoiler:Sasshi's ''grandmother''.]]
* {{Fanservice}}: PlayedForLaughs throughout the whole series with Mune-Mune and Sasshi's sister.
* FateWorseThanDeath: People who are shot in the Film Noir world don't die. Instead they're [[SuperDeformed chibified]] and turned into comic relief characters that nobody can take seriously.
%%* {{Flashback}}
%%* FlungClothing
%%* TheFourGods
%%* GagBoobs: Mune-mune
* GainaxEnding: Sasshi turned out to be [[spoiler: one of the greatest Onmyou Mystics ever, because he's the heir of Eutus - I mean, Abe no Seimei.]] In order to keep Arumi from moving away, he [[spoiler: remade the world, as he had been throughout the series,]] except this time, it [[spoiler:''stayed'' remade, with the help of Sasshi's future self that has grown into his powers.]] As a bonus [[spoiler: Mune-Mune and Masa]] lived, and The Grill Pelican stays open.
%%* {{Gainaxing}}
* GenreSavvy:
** A large part of each episode is Sasshi and Arumi trying to figure out "what kind" of world they're in and what the rules are. This starts from the very first episode, where Sasshi immediately takes to the ''VideoGame/DragonQuest''-esque RPG world that they inhabit, and remarks that spending 600 of their initial 800 gold pieces in an initial shopping spree is ideal, since the strategy guide recommends saving 200 GP for inns and the like. Another example occurs in a sci-fi world: when Sasshi discovers that their sci-fi world has all of the elements of a SuperRobot show, it just becomes a matter of locating the HumongousMecha that is awaiting the two destined pilots.
** That said, Sasshi understanding how each world "works" is probably a side effect of [[spoiler:each world being retrieved from his subconscious.]]
* GlamorousWartimeSinger: Hillariously subverted in the War episode when Ms. Aki shows up for a USO show. After getting a good look at her face, all the troops fall to the ground in a near-death state. After pulling a MarilynManeuver but before she can finish her introduction, she's quickly ''grabbed by GasMaskMooks, shoved into a body bag, and [[StuffedIntoTheFridge stuffed into a nuclear waste containment barrel]], which is then filled with cement, bolted shut, lowered into a larger air-tight container, sealed in cement, tested for radiation levels, boxed up into a cargo crate, put onto the helicopter she arrived in on, and immediately flown out.''
* GoingCommando: Arumi spends an entire episode without underwear, which was stolen by the goblin while she was relieving herself behind a bush. She's then subjected to just about every suggestive trope found in HumongousMecha anime, including piloting a giant robot in a skimpy minidress after a TransformationSequence that inserted Sasshi into the cockpit directly between her legs. She's constantly mortified but Sasshi, being twelve, is so preoccupied by all of the cool robot stuff going on he doesn't even notice.
* GratuitousEnglish: Part of the opening theme is in English, but you just try to understand it without subtitles. (Or with them, for that matter.) There's also a guy rapping in English in the background.
* GratuitousFrench: Arumi's father often uses this trope as he's a chef who specializes in French cuisine. This irritates Grandpa Masa.
-->Grandpa Masa: "Like hell I'm gonna stand for your lectures with bad French mixed in!"
* {{Hammerspace}}: Arumi often pulls a PaperFanOfDoom out of hammerspace in order to punish Sasshi.
* HeroicSacrifice: Hilariously subverted in the war episode. Sasshi's sister comments that when situations become this dire, that there's only one thing left to do. [[LoveBubbles She then asks that he never forgets her, and says goodbye to him]] but then immediately spins the motorcycle around, forcing Sasshi's sidecar to break off and continue rushing right into the tanks ahead of him. He calls her out for it.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Abe no Seimei, who really was an ''Onmyouji'', and was additionally said to be a HalfHumanHybrid with a fox (kitsune) for a mother.
%%* HumongousMecha
* TheIdiotFromOsaka: Sasshi. Subverted by Arumi, who is anything but an idiot.
* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: In the FilmNoir version of the arcade, Sasshi has to compete with Arumi's father to prove which one is the real "legendary sniper [[{{Golgo 13}} Regolgo]]" by shooting a can on the other side of the room. Sasshi manages to hit the can with a pistol ''by complete accident'', while Arumi's father empties an entire M16 clip and hits everything ''but'' the can. Then he walks right up to the can and blows it up with a bundle of TNT. [[WhatAnIdiot Arumi's father is declared the winner.]]
* IncrediblyConspicuousDrag: Crossdresser "Ms." Aki. is never outed, but is rather obvious — so much so that it seems the rest of the cast is aware of it and just treats him/her as a lovable eccentric.
* KamehameHadoken: Sasshi tries to fire one off in the Hong Kong Shopping Arcade episode. He ends up burning his hands in the process and drops it. He tries it again, but it took so long to summon that during the 2nd time, they cut the scene and say "The rest has been abridged" then shows him firing at his opponent.
%%* KansaiRegionalAccent
* LamePunReaction:
--> '''Sasshi''': ''"Woah, Arumi. Since when did you have boobs?"''
--> '''Arumi''': ''"Aww shoot, you noticed already."''
--> '''Arumi's Dad''': ''"No-no-no, you still have not deciphered the meaning of this tank unit, ey mon ami?"''
--> '''Sasshi''': ''"You pad Arumi's boobs so now it's really a [[Film/{{Patton}} Pad-Ton]] tank unit? Heheheh Like it would really be something THAT stupid."''
--> '''Sasshi's Dad''': ''"Uhhh...."''
--> '''Sasshi''': ''"What, you went through all of this for something that lame?"''
--> '''Arumi's Dad''': ''"Ooooh! That's why I didn't want to say it! Sacre Bleu!"''
--> '''Sasshi''': ''"If you didn't wanna, you shouldn't have done it to begin with."''
--> '''Arumi's Dad''': ''"But there's more!'' *grabs into Arumi's chest takes out a gold orb while switching to an Irish accent* ''Dontyeknow, it's a real pad o' gold?"''
--> '''Sasshi''': ''"Not pad, POT of gold!"''
--> '''Arumi''': ''"He's stealing the punchline!" *Smacks her dad with her PaperFanOfDoom*''
* LittleBoySeeksBigGirl: 12 year old Sasshi has a crush on {{fanservice}} girl, [[RepetitiveName Mune]] [[MsFanservice Mune]], not knowing she's [[spoiler: really his grandmother, who perpetually looks like her 19 year old self thanks to [[StableTimeLoop a time paradox]]]].
* LongTitle: ''"Private E-1 Sasshi of Squad 7, Corps 6 of Division 5 General Headquarters, Auxiliary to the 4th Battalion, Under the command of the 3rd Regiment, Under the 2nd Division of the 1st Army, reporting for duty, Ma'am!"''
** Even sillier, as mentioned in the pop-up notes. The Japanese version goes just as long, but goes biggest to smallest unit (reverse order).
%%* LoveTriangle
* MagicalGirl: Subverted. In one world, Sasshi tries to give Arumi everything she'd ever want in order to be happy. His own screw up antics eventually result in Arumi being forced to transform into a MagicalGirl (complete with the poses being controlled by one of Sasshi's little oni servants). She was less than enthusiastic about it.
* MagicalGirlfriend: Subverted. If you want to count Arumi for this role, she has no magical powers at all. In the DatingSim episode, She's actually [[spoiler: That world's magical goblin]] and everything she tried to inflict on Sasshi backfires on her. The same episode plays it straight with characters from the world itself.
* MagicFromTechnology: or so a character claims...
* MarilynManeuver: Ms. Aki pulls this off during a USO show in the War episode. Refer to GlamorousWartimeSinger for further detail.
* MarshmallowHell: Mune-Mune to Sasshi. [[RunningGag Oh so very much]], but turned into {{Squick}} when [[spoiler: Sasshi knows and confronts the truth that Mune-Mune is Sasshi's Grandma]]
-->'''Sasshi:''' AAAH! I DON'T WHETHER TO BE SCARED OR HAPPY! I'M SO CONFUSED!!
* MeaningfulName: "Mune" is Japanese for "chest." [[spoiler:Sounds like a nickname at first, but no, that's her actual given name. She also adopts the pseudonym "Muneyama Muneko" (literally "Chestmountain Chestchild") in the last episode.]]
* MedievalEuropeanFantasy: Episode 2, and perhaps 10 too, considering it is based on fairy tales, which in turn have a generally MEF setting.
%%* {{Meganekko}}: Mune-mune
* MegumiHayashibara: Sings/raps the theme song, and sings the ending theme.
* MindScrew The series seems to like teetering between this and RuleOfFunny, but the MindScrew does start in the last 5 minutes of the first episode
%%* TheMonolith: At the beginning of episode 3.
* MoodWhiplash: Between the middle and end of the first episode, and the series in general around episode six.
%%* MusicalPastiche
* NoOSHACompliance: Parodied when Sasshi tumbles through a factory, nearly getting chopped up and cooked into a giant dumpling.
* OldMaster: Subverted in episode 4. Sasshi's granddad makes like he's about to show off his elite fighting skills; Arumi beats him up with her PaperFanOfDoom.
* OnceAnEpisode: Whenever he ends up going to a new world, Sasshi always ends up finding an animal and trying to name it Spot (except for the Dating Sim world, where there was already an animal named Spot.)
* {{Otaku}}: In the "dinosaur" episode, Sasshi briefly turns into the Japanese stereotype of an ''otaku''. In fact, it's the very picture for the trope's page.
* OverlyLongGag: ''"Private E-1 Sasshi of Squad 7, Corps 6 of Division 5 General Headquarters, Auxiliary to the 4th Battalion, Under the command of the 3rd Regiment, Under the 2nd Division of the 1st Army, reporting for duty, sir!"''
%%* PantyShot
* PaperFanOfDoom: Arumi's weapon of choice.
* PostEpisodeTrailer: Extremely idiosyncratic. Sasshi's lifelong dream of doing a next episode preview is constantly thwarted, and by the time he finally gets everyone else to shut up, it's the last episode already. When their live action counterparts come to the manga, he tries to do it again, and fails because it's the last volume of the manga as well.
* PowerPerversionPotential: The primary reason Sasshi and Arumi constantly fail to get home is because Sasshi quickly realizes he can use the magical reality-warping that's going on to let his imagination run wild and fulfill his own desires.
* PunnyName: During a bombing run in episode 11, Sasshi looks through his scope at the target, then looks up and blinks in disbelief at the fact that the barber shop they're about to bomb is called ''"Pearl Barber"''.
* RandomTransportation: The characters visit the various versions of the Marketplace.
* ReferenceOverdosed: To illustrate, one fansub group included a methodical catalogue of every popular culture reference made in the third episode at the end. It occupied most of the screen in fairly small print.
%%* {{Reincarnation}}
%%* TheReveal
* RolePlayingGameVerse: The first world they jump to.
* RunningGag:
-->'''Sasshi's Mother:''' ''"You're Private E-1 Sasshi of Squad 7, Corps 6 of Division 5 General Headquarters, Auxiliary to the 4th Battalion, Under the command of the 3rd Regiment, Under the 2nd Division of the 1st Army."''
-->'''Mune-Mune:''' ''"WHAT'S THAT!? Are you Private E-1 Sasshi of Squad 7, Corps 6 of Division 5 General Headquarters, Auxiliary to the 4th Battalion, Under the command of the 3rd Regiment, Under the 2nd Division of the 1st Army!?"''
-->'''Sasshi:''' ''"That's right..."''
%%* SchizoTech
* ScrewDestiny: Sasshi's ultimate reaction to the revelation that [[spoiler:Grandpa Masa is dead in the real world.]] And, making for either a CrowningMomentOfAwesome or a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming, [[spoiler: he comes through with it and brings him back to life.]]
** YMMV, as many felt that moment ruined the series, as noted under [[YMMV/AbenobashiMahouShoutengai They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot.]]
* ShamefulShrinking: In the Detective Noir world, anyone who gets shot with a gun doesn't die, but turns in a {{Chibi}} version of themselves, thereby cementing themselves as the shameful comic relief character who will never be taken seriously again. Others shun those who become this.
%%* ShapeShifting
* {{Shojo}}: In one world, Sasshi tries to give Arumi everything she would ever want to be happy. She doesn't want any of it.
%%* {{Shorttank}}: Arumi
* ShoutOut: Many, though it'd be more appropriate to say they're parodying more than simply just referencing them.
** The most obvious being to ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' -- music from the series is used for a mecha combat scene, and Sasshi's sister is a ReiAyanamiExpy. Throughout the Battlefield episode, Sasshi's facial features resembles Shinji.
** ''LightNovel/SisterPrincess''
** Episode 2 is a shout out to [[EasternRPG JRPG's]] in general, but VideoGame/DragonQuest in particular. Slimes, dead characters being represented by coffins, and needing to go back to town and pay to have them revived are just the tip of the iceberg.
** Episode 3 follows Science Fiction in general, including shoutouts to [[TwoThousandOne 2001: A Space Odyssey]], Franchise/StarWars and numerous GiantMecha series.
** Episode 4 includes a [[RanmaOneHalf Panda who puts Sasshi through a training montage]], [[FistOfTheNorthStar Sasshi getting extremely muscular with constellation-shaped scars on his chest]], [[Anime/DragonBallZ Sasshi going Super Saiyan]], arcade fighting games, and BruceLee in general.
** Episode 6 is a general shout out to FilmNoir style Hard-boiled Detective and Mobster movies.
** Episode 11 is a shout out to war movies in general, including ''Literature/AllQuietOnTheWesternFront'', ''Film/{{Patton}}'', and others.
** Episode 12 has dozens of references to American horror, science fiction, and adventure movies, including, but certainly not limited to: ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}, ''Film/NorthByNorthwest'', ''Film/TheShining'', ''Film/SpeedRacer'', ''Series/KnightRider'', ''Film/{{Twister}}'', ''Film/{{Jaws}}'', ''Franchise/IndianaJones'', ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', ''Franchise/RoboCop'', ''Franchise/DieHard'', ''Film/TheExorcist'', ''Film/{{Barbarella}}'', ''Film/{{Titanic}}'', ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'', ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'', ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'', ''Film/AirForceOne'', and ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''.
** There's also a brief scene where Grandpa Masa says [[Creator/MontyPython he always wanted to be a lumberjack...]] In the same episode, there's also references to [[Creator/MontyPython war wounds.]]
** There's one for the American short cartoon ''The First Bad Man'' during the dinosaur episode, where Mune Mune's dinosaur is slowly chipped away and reduced in size from a dinosaur to a small lizard every time they duck behind a rock.
*** Also in dino world: Sasshi briefly turns into [[Franchise/JurassicPark an old man with white hair, white beard, and a cane]] after impressing Arumi with his knowledge of dinosaurs. No, it isn't Colonel Sanders.
** In the Fairy Tale episode, Sasshi creates a mini, teddy bear headed creature with little angel wings, entrusted to be guardian of a certain magical girl. At first he looks yellow. ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'', anybody?
** Don't forget about "the legendary sniper [[{{Golgo 13}} Regolgo.]]"
** Arumi also apparently spends episode 9 and the start of episode 10 hanging out at the school from TheDriftingClassroom.
* ShrinesAndTemples: The Abeno shrine is an important location to the plot.
%%* SnotBubble
%%* SparklingStreamOfTears
%%* SpeechBubbleCensoring
%%* StarCrossedLovers: [[spoiler:Mune-Mune and Eutus.]]
* StockFootage: The world-transfer ritual, though there are some minor discrepancies between them each time.
* SuperDeformed: The fate of anyone who gets shot in the FilmNoir world. Arumi also spends much of the Dating Sim episode like this after being turned into that world's goblin.
%%* SwirlingDust
* ThemeTuneCameo: In episode 12 they enter the arcade proper and hear the show's ending theme playing as muzak.
* TrappedInAnotherWorld: Repeatedly.
* TruthInTelevision: The redevelopment of the Abeno area of Osaka has caused many older commercial districts to be gutted or demolished completely. A case in point is Abeno Ginza shopping arcade, which was torn down at the TurnOfTheMillennium and replaced by a [[http://qs-mall.jp/ trendy shopping mall]], complete with a Krispy Kreme Doughnuts shop and the Osaka branch of Shibuya 109. Poor Sasshi...
* TwelveEpisodeAnime: Actually thirteen, but who's counting?
%%* VisibleSigh
* VoiceOfTheLegion: Mune-Mune for one sentence in the final episode.
* WhamEpisode: Episode 9
* WHAMLine:
-->'''Eutus:''' That [[MsFanservice babe]] [[LukeIAmYourFather is your]] ''[[LukeIAmYourFather grandmother]]'', Sasshi.
** The AwfulTruth Revealed.
-->'''Eutus:''' It's true that I summoned [[BackFromTheDead Taizen Fuken]], but its powers were activated because '''[[RealityWarper you]]''', Sasshi [[NiceJobBreakingItHero wanted to nullify someone's death]]. You, Sasshi.
-->'''Sasshi:''' Me? Died? Who died? [[spoiler:[[PlotTriggeringDeath Masa?]]]]
* YumYum: Mune Mune does this with a dumpling in the martial arts episode.
----

There is also a two-volume {{Manga}} version, which is ''even weirder.'' The [[BroadStrokes basic plot is pretty much the same,]] although different worlds are visited, the ones that ''are'' in the show are different, and there's a character not shown in the anime (with the exception of a "blink and you'll miss her" scene in the twelfth episode.)

* ActorAllusion: Takeshi Aono, who voiced Grandpa Masa, also did Creator/MichaelPalin's roles in the Japanese dub of ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus''. Something to keep in mind in Episode 12, when Grandpa goes "lumberjack"!
** Creator/YuiHorie plays Emiryun in the dating-sim episode, and that character takes on traits of other Horie roles such as [[Visualnovel/{{Kanon}} Ayu Tsukimiya]] and [[ToHeart Multi.]]

* SomewhereAPaleontologistIsCrying: In the Prehistoric Shopping Arcade episode, Sasshi going into good detail to point out how many of the dinosaurs they have encountered didn't exist for millions of years between each other and never would have encountered each other over the time span between the early Cretaceous and late Triassic periods. Sasshi, being a preadolescent boy, is an expert on dinosaurs, of course.

* LittleBoySeeksBigGirl: 12 year old Sashi has a crush on {{fanservice}} girl, [[RepetitiveName Mune]] [[MsFanservice Mune]], not knowing she's [[spoiler: really his grandmother, who perpetually looks like her 19 year old self thanks to [[StableTimeLoop a time paradox]]]].

** YMMV, as many felt that moment ruined the series, as noted under [[YMMV/AbenobashiMahouShoutengai They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot.]]

** Screw destiny, they reversed [[spoiler:''death'']]. That's even more awesome, and a wonderful ending for this immortalist troper.

* GoingCommando: Arumi spends an entire episode without underwear, which was stolen by the goblin while she was relieving herself behind a bush. She's then subjected to just about every suggestive trope found in HumongousMecha anime, from a skimpy minidress to a robot TransformationSequence that inserts Sasshi into the cockpit directly between her legs. She's constantly mortified but Sasshi, being twelve, is too preoccupied by all of the cool robot stuff going on he doesn't even notice.

A DeconstructiveParody of a dozen or more genres of film and anime, ''Anime/AbenobashiMahouShoutengai'' (''Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi'' in North America) generously trowels thick layers of off-the-wall comedy on top of a surprisingly serious storyline, one you're likely to forget about. Made by [[StudioGainax Gainax]] and {{Madhouse}}, the show makes both subtle and in-your-face [[ShoutOut references]] to [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion various]] [[LightNovel/SisterPrincess other]] [[Film/BackToTheFuture series.]]

* BrokenAesop: The message is clearly a set of stock aesops like Be Yourself, Live in the real world, accept reality as it is, You can't fight fate, Let the dead rest, and most specifically, You can't use magic to solve all your problems. If it wasn't clear enough, Sasshi's father even lampshades this, telling him that he should just drop the whole Onmyo business and grow out of it. All that is suddenly rendered null and void in the last few minutes of the final episode when [[spoiler: Sasshi regains his memories of his past life and completely reforms the world, not only saving Grandpa Masa, but also bringing Abe and Mune back]]. At that point, the whole thing starts feeling like a deconstruction of stock aesops more than anything else.

** Episode 12 has dozens of references to American horror, science fiction, and adventure movies, including, but certainly not limited to: ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}, ''Film/NorthByNorthwest'', ''Film/TheShining'', ''Film/SpeedRacer'', ''KnightRider'', ''Film/{{Twister}}'', ''Film/{{Jaws}}'', ''Franchise/IndianaJones'', ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', ''Film/RoboCop'', ''Franchise/DieHard'', ''Film/TheExorcist'', ''{{Barbarella}}'', ''Film/{{Titanic}}'', ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'', ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'', ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'', ''Film/AirForceOne'', and ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: Of the Franchise/StarWars theme in episodes 2 and 3.

* Fanservice: PlayedForLaughs throughout the whole series with Mune-Mune and Sasshi's sister.

** Episode 4 includes a [[RanmaOneHalf Panda who puts Sasshi through a training montage]], [[FistOfTheNorthStar Sasshi getting extremely muscular with constellation-shaped scars on his chest]], [[DragonBallZ Sasshi going Super Saiyan]], arcade fighting games, and BruceLee in general.

** Episode 12 has dozens of references to American horror, science fiction, and adventure movies, including, but certainly not limited to: ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}, ''NorthByNorthwest'', ''Film/TheShining'', ''Film/SpeedRacer'', ''KnightRider'', ''Film/{{Twister}}'', ''Film/{{Jaws}}'', ''Franchise/IndianaJones'', ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', ''Film/RoboCop'', ''Franchise/DieHard'', ''Film/TheExorcist'', ''{{Barbarella}}'', ''Film/{{Titanic}}'', ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'', ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'', ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'', ''Film/AirForceOne'', and ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''.

* FanService: PlayedForLaughs throughout the whole series with Mune-Mune and Sasshi's sister. And then there's Mune-Mune...

* FanService: PlayedForLaughs throughout the whole series with Mune-Mune and Sasshi's sister. And then there's...

* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever
* BarbieDollAnatomy: Averted

* BitingTheHandkerchief

* ButtMonkey: Sasshi throughout most of the series. Anytime Sasshi and Arumi end up crashing or falling somewhere, Arumi lands on her feet while Sasshi crashes into the ground. In Episode 11 in particular, He becomes an IronButtmonkey as he is a lowly private of the army and is constantly ordered to do everything for everyone. He even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this by asking if he's even any use at all because the messages he's suppose to be delivering to his superiors become known to them before he can even report it.

* CranialEruption
* CrashIntoHello
* {{Crossdresser}}: "Ms." Aki.
* CrossPoppingVeins

* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler:Mune-Mune]].

* FaceFault
* FalseCameraEffects

* {{Flashback}}
* FlungClothing
* TheFourGods
* GagBoobs: Mune-mune
* GainaxEnding: Of course. Could someone ''please'' explain the ending to me?
** Easy. Sasshi turned out to be [[spoiler: one of the greatest Onmyou Mystics ever, because he's the heir of Eutus - I mean, Abe no Seimei.]] In order to keep Arumi from moving away, he [[spoiler: remade the world, as he had been throughout the series,]] except this time, it [[spoiler:''stayed'' remade, with the help of Sasshi's future self that has grown into his powers.]] As a bonus [[spoiler: Mune-Mune and Masa]] lived, and The Grill Pelican stays open.
* {{Gainaxing}}
* GenreSavvy: A large part of each episode is Sasshi and Arumi trying to figure out "what kind" of world they're in and what the rules are. This starts from the very first episode, where Sasshi immediately takes to the ''VideoGame/DragonQuest''-esque RPG world that they inhabit, and remarks that spending 600 of their initial 800 gold pieces in an initial shopping spree is ideal, since the strategy guide recommends saving 200 GP for inns and the like. Another example occurs in a sci-fi world: when Sasshi discovers that their sci-fi world has all of the elements of a SuperRobot show, it just becomes a matter of locating the HumongousMecha that is awaiting the two destined pilots.

* HumongousMecha

* KansaiRegionalAccent

* LoveTriangle

* {{Meganekko}}: Mune-mune

* TheMonolith: At the beginning of episode 3.

* MusicalPastiche

* PantyShot

* {{Reincarnation}}
* TheReveal

* SchizoTech

* ShapeShifting

* {{Shorttank}}: Arumi

* SnotBubble

* SparklingStreamOfTears
* SpeechBubbleCensoring
* StarCrossedLovers: [[spoiler:Mune-Mune and Eutus.]]

* SwirlingDust

* VisibleSigh

-->''All things extant in this world: Gods of Heaven, Gods of Earth, let everything be as it should be. Thus shall it be!''

!!This show provides examples of:

** Episode 3 follows Science Fiction in general, including shoutouts to [[TwoThousandOne 2001: A Space Odyssey]], StarWars and numerous GiantMecha series.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: Of the StarWars theme in episodes 2 and 3.

* MindScrew The series seems to like teetering between this and RuleOfFunny, but the MindSkrew does start in the last 5 minutes of the first episode

* GratuitousFrench: Arumi's father often uses this trope as he's a chef who specializes in French cuisine.

* MarshmallowHell: Mune-Mune to Sasshi. [[RunningGag Oh so very much]], but turned into {{Squick}} when [[spoiler: Sasshi knows and confronts the truth that Mune-Mune [[GrandmaWhatMassiveHotnessYouHave is Sasshi's Grandma]]]]

* GrandmaWhatMassiveHotnessYouHave: [[spoiler: Mune-Mune. Can you ''feel'' the FanDisservice and/or {{Squick}}?]])
** The what? Sorry too busy drooling to care.