There really is so much to enjoy with this manga series and you can realize why Hikaru Nakamura’s manga series are among the top selling manga releases in Japan. They are unique and so much fun to read. And I can’t wait to read more! “Arakawa Under the Bridge” is highly addictive and recommended!
Image courtesy of © 2017 Square Enix Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
MANGA TITLE: Arakawa Under the Bridge Manga Omnibus Volume 1
Story and Art by Hikaru Nakamura
FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: Square Enix Co., Ltd
PUBLISHED IN USA BY: Vertical Comics
RATED: T for Teen
RELEASE DATE: November 21, 2017
Kou Ichinomiya, a young man born with a silver spoon in his mouth and raised with the mantra “never owe anyone†suddenly finds himself deeply indebted to a young homeless woman, Nino, who lives on the Arakawa river bank and claims to originally be from the planet Venus. When Nino rejects all of Kou’s mundane offers of money or housing, Kou is at a loss for how to repay his debt, until Nino suddenly asks him to teach her about love. A daunting task, but the over-achieving Kou is determined to return Nino’s favor. And so begins Kou’s life under the bridge, along with a band of eccentric characters who have formed their own little community outside the boundaries of typical Tokyoite life…
Mangaka Hikaru Nakamura is known for creating unusual but enormously popular stories. Her first was “Arakawa Under the Bridge” which was published by Square Enix from 2004-2015 and her current popular manga is “Saint Young Men” which began back in 2007.
In terms of sales, she is in the top 10 with the most manga sales since 2010 with 5.54 million copies sold.
As for “Arakawa Under the Bridge”, the manga was originally serialized in “Young GanGan” back in 2004 and an two-season anime adaptation followed in 2010. And a live TV drama adaptation was released in 2011, followed by a live-action film in 2012.
With a total of 15 volumes completed, the manga would end in 2015. And here in the United States, the first manga omnibus feature the first two volumes has been released courtesy of Vertical Comics.
The manga series is set in Arakawa, Tokyo and a successful businessman named Kou Ichinomiya lives by one rule emphasized to him by his father growing up, to never be indebted to another person.
In fact, when Kou got older, his father Seki made him feel that he was indebted to him and in return, he demanded Kou to raise him as a baby.
One day, Kou was pants by a group of young kids and they threw his pants on top of a bridge. While trying to get it, he sees a young woman fishing from the bridge.  She offers to help but Kou explains to her about his rule of not being indebted to anyone.
While trying to climb the bridge and retrieve his pants, he falls over into the water and is saved by the young woman and she says “Looks like…You owe me.”.
Her name is Nino and knowing now he is indebted to her, he tries to offer her a lot of money but she refuses. He tries to offer her clothes and wonders if she’s cold but she tells him that she’s from Venus and not an Earthling like him, and he realizes that he may be dealing with a crazy person.
Not wanting to be indebted to Nino, Kou asks what he can do and she answers “Could you help me fall in love?”. So, he makes a promise that he can show her love.
And because he will now be her boyfriend and she his girlfriend, he is ready to sacrifice in order to not be in debt (also, being indebted gives him an asthma attack). So, the first thing she asks Kou…does he want to sleep in a house or villa? And he realizes that he is going to be sleeping outdoors under the bridge.
But before he can move in, he must talk to the mayor and to his surprise, it’s a kappa living in the water among the tall grass. But when the mayor turns around and he sees his skin color and realizing, perhaps it’s a man dressed up as a kappa, which the mayor is offended when Kou tries to prove him wrong that he’s not a kappa. Meanwhile, because Kou is going to live under the bridge, he must have a new name and he will go by the name of “Recruit”.
And while living under the bridge, around their “village”, he meets others who live near the bridge as well. Hoshi is a person with a star mask and is a self-proclaimed singer/superstar who happens to be in love with Nino. But because Kou is her boyfriend, he is very jealous and considers Kou as his rival.
Also, living in the area is a gun-toting man wearing a nun’s outfit that goes by the name of “Sister”. He has a scar on the right side of his face and can be very scary.
There is also a 43-year-old man named Shiro who is obsessed walking on a straight white line and must walk with a line painter. Because of his obsession, he has not been able to see his family.
Also, living in the area are the Metal Brothers, Tetsuo and Tetsuro who wear sailor suits and metal helmets. They are self-proclaimed ESPers who have psychic powers and are also jealous of Kou being closed to Nino.
Also, nearby is Piko, who grows vegetables for the village and cares for vegetables as if they are a living being. There is Maria, who runs a nearby farm and despite being very beautiful, she is very insulting towards people.
And there is a little girl named Stella, who came from an orphanage in England that Sister ran and she happens to be a powerful fighter who is often angry and scares people.
How will Kou adjust to living in this village full of weird and crazy people?
I have to laugh while reading “Arakawa Under the Bridge”. It’s an entertaining manga series and refreshingly different and unique because it’s so far out that you can’t easily predict how each chapter will be.
You have a successful businessman who was raised to never be indebted to anyone and when a young woman named Nino saves his life, he becomes indebted to her. And she wants no cash, luxurious merchandise or anything but to be in love.
And Kou decides to make good on that promise. The problem is, he never realized she lived under the bridge and that there are other people living under the bridge, in their so-called village and they are crazy people.
One is the mayor, a man dressed up in a kappa suit and insists he is a real kappa, then there is a superstar singer who has a starhead mask and a cast of characters that make this whole manga series so wacky that you can’t stop reading because it’s so much fun!
The first omnibus is the introductions to the characters that Kou will come in contact, now that he lives in the village with them and how he copes with it. And also trying to find ways to get close to Nino to make her find love and so he can no longer be indebted to her.
As for the artwork, Nakamura has her own distinct style and it works well with the overall series. It’s an interesting style that Nakamura uses to her advantage in creating interesting expressions and emotions. Especially when Kou has his “pissed-off” face, which is hilarious.
Overall, there really is so much to enjoy with this manga series and you can realize why Hikaru Nakamura’s manga series are among the top selling manga releases in Japan. They are unique and so much fun to read. And I can’t wait to read more!
“Arakawa Under the Bridge” is highly addictive and recommended!