Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi

I was plesantly surprised by this manga (I'm not calling it a series, since it's only two volumes long). The humor is a bit absurd but translates well alll the same, and it's plot doesn't get to bogged down (except just before the ending for a bit). Truth be told, there's nothing that exceptional about it: characters are colorful (a few are annoyingly so) but fairly normal, and the premise is pretty common actually. Still, it manages to pull everything off with good results, and the ending, while a tad sudden, is satisfying. The manga actually seems to benefit from being so short. Had itbeen longer, I imagine things getting diluted and derivative. Rather, being only two volumes long, there's a franticly crowded atmosphere which lends itself to quick reading and rereading. Not the deepest of manga (unless you like fanservice, both trivial and ecchi), it accomplishes what it strives successfully, certainly more so than many of its peers.