Sassi and Arumi have been friends since early childhood, but now Arumi's family is moving to Hokkaido, deeply upsetting her long-time friend. However, when Arumi's grandfather accidentally breaks the pelican statue atop his restaurant, the duo find their world turned upside down and not quite as they left it. From a fairy tale kingdom, to kung fu China, to the prehistoric age and everything in between, Arumi and Sassi can't quite seem to figure out where they are, or better yet, how they can manage to get home to their own Abenobashi Shoutengai!
Naota Nanbada is a boring young boy who leads a boring life in a boring town. His older brother has left for America, and the closest he comes to any excitement is when his deadbeat dad has too much sake. But things change one day when a bizarre girl zooms up to him on a scooter and smacks him in the face with her guitar. What's more, once Naoto returns home he discovers that this strange woman has arrived ahead of him and moved in! Not only does she constantly engage in perverted activities with Naota's father and flirt with the young man himself, but she also claims to be an alien who is searching for the ‘Pirate King.' Now, Naota must learn to live with this new intruder, deal with an odd government agent who sports exceptionally large eyebrows and the mysterious Medical Mechanica, and come to terms with the fact that there are a variety of robots and weapons emerging out of his head - amongst other things. Perhaps boring wasn't so bad after all...
I loved FLCL, and I was told I would like MSAA too; well, I DID. But I didn't like it for the exact same reasons. I do think that (since they are by the same creator) they have the same vibe to them, and they just fit. You'll see, GO WATCH!
It's very clear that FLCL and Abenobashi were made by the same people. They have the same kind of random humour, and episode 3 of Abenobashi has the exact same look and feel as FLCL.
Both MSAA and FLCL are funny and a little (or more than a little) crazy. Friendship, family, romance, and battles between different worlds can be found in both anime, not to mention twisted and weird humor. You'll never be bored watching these!
Basically, they are both done by GAINAX and both make fun and of the anime industry, and the TV industry in general. They make fun of themselves, specially in Abenobashi Mahou Shoutengai.
Both are extremly funny, and are story telling wise very similar, but I do not recomend them for those who are not Otaku, since most of the jokes and references wont be understood otherwise and so they will not result as funny as they are.
With some wierded out wackiness that takes place in both series and sometimes struggling to keep up with all the action amid the large doses of comedy, both Abenobashi and FLCL will have you whipped away on an adventure literally like no other.
Both FLCL and Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi are Gainax made madness. If you liked one, there is no way you're not going to love the other as well.
P.S. While both of those shows are supposed to have a serious story mixed with the madness, Abenobashi has actually about 2 and a half of serious episodes.
FLCL and Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi both manage to somehow incorporate stylized randomness with a surprising amount of interwoven sincerity and tenderness...If you like the the general feel of one, you should like the other...
FLCL is also parody anime. If you enjoyed it then you may enjoy Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi as well as Excel Saga for the same reason.
Both of these titles have a high amount of parody, comedy, and drastically changing art styles set to an upbeat pace.
While FLCL's speed never slows (mainly because it's only 6 episodes), Abenobashi has a few "plot development" episodes that feel a little slow in my opinion.
While both series concentrate on stuffing each episode with as much comedy (usually slap-stick) and parody as possible, both have serious undertones hidden beneath all the craziness. Similar themes include immaturity, child-like-innocence, adult vs. children perception of the world, and learning to deal with reality.
F City, F Prefecture: the battleground where good and evil have finally chosen to decide once and for all who will rule the world…or at least that's the general idea! Neither side seems up for the task, as surviving the brutality of everyday life is enough of a chore. On the side of evil is the organization of Across, its only member the loudmouthed and abrasive Excel who struggles just to put food in her stomach; on the side of good, three disenfranchised, unemployed bachelors whose only pursuit in life is romance. Add in alien invasions, jungle warfare, and Mexican immigrant laborers to Japan, and this war doesn't seem likely to be ending soon!
If you liked Abenobashi then you may also enjoy Excel Saga or vice versa. Both animes are commical parodies that poke fun at other popular anime genres.
Hale and his mother live peacefully in the jungle, until one day Hale is overtaken by a omnipotent shadow. Later, he awakens to find Guu, a strange girl with even stranger abilities. Notably, the ability to switch from a cute, lovable Guu, to a menacing delinquent who eats everything. Now Hale must live with Guu, and lead a normal life, despite her oddities.
Jungle wa Itsumo Hale nochi Guu is another anime that has some very weird comedy. It's just as strange as Abenobashi and is much funnier, so give it a shot already!
Ten-year-old genius Chiyo, animal-loving Sakaki, loudmouth Tomo, athletic Kagura, weight-conscious Yomi and dim-witted Osaka are six friends who share laughs, good times, and a high school homeroom. With scary (and sometimes perverted) teachers, school festivals, penguin suits and general hilarity abounding, you can be sure that there's never a dull day in the life of one of these students!
Haruto Hojo is the son of a priest, which might sound normal. However, his school is the ground zero gathering point for everything ghost, spirit, and likewise, thanks to the obsessed (and also a ghost) headmaster of the school! In order to make sure everything runs normally, Hojo (who just wants to live a normal life), along with Mutsuki (prodigal Japanese priestess), and Kazumi (a frequently possessed monk), complete tasks that only seem to make the school more strange and hectic!