If you have never heard of Arakawa Under the Bridge before, the cutesy cover featuring P-ko may have you thinking that love is in the air.
Well, it is, but there’s probably also something in the water.
It might explain the maiden-like bulky Wonder Woman cosplayer, a self-insertion Mary Sue fanfic-inspired film, an off-kilter Christmas-in-July celebration, a new take on the birds and the bees, and an office romance that is neither in an office or a romance.
So if you are concerned Arakawa Under the Bridge volume 4 is too swept up in love, let me assure you things are as crazy as ever. Kou tries not to get swept up in the chaos of bridgelife while also deepening his relationship with Nino. Sister, Hoshi, the Mayor, and everyone else continue to make this difficult for him, and Nino’s general obliviousness both charms and exacerbates Kou. She sets up a Christmas date for the two of them, but when his fighting with Hoshi may stand in their way of going to Venus, the two — and the whole community — must see if they can get along.
That means a week-long confinement in the church’s basement and building a space station under the river. And if you think you know how these will turn out, the author is prepared to shatter readers’ expectations. Whether it’s Kapa House, One Piece parodies, fourth wall breaking, or dangerous amusement parks, Nakamura is just daring readers to try not to laugh. A lot of comedies get by on “one and done” jokes, returning characters volumes later when it feels like they’re grasping to continue. Everything is so ridiculous, but the way the manga builds on its previous storylines is nothing short of genius.
The biggest development is the introduction of Amazoness and her tengu associates. Sworn to defend the secret treasure, the other residents at first think Kou hallucinated him meeting them. But when Amazoness falls in love with Kou, it sets the stage for some unusual declarations of love. Hoshi, of course, is tempted at the thought of Kou off with another woman, but Hoshi proves that Nino’s happiness comes first. That’s a sweet moment, but it can’t compare to the fun of Amazoness acting like a typical teen girl who is always on her phone.
While the series has always had some Japanese pop culture references and puns, a couple of these played a large part in a chapter or arc. One could have been rewritten with a Western entertainer I guess, but there’s not much you can do when trying to work the words milk and seat in a marriage pun. It’s enough that these two arcs probably won’t be as funny as they were in Japanese, and this is probably the only real downside of the volume. But with plenty of other insanity, readers will barely have enough time to recover from one gigglefit before cracking up again.