When you look at their back catalogue, it's no surprise that Gainax were once top of the anime game. From reviving the mecha genre to taking fan service to new, gravity-defying heights, Gainax shows were always stamped with a mark of quality. And one thing they seemed to do exceptionally better than everyone else was the weird . FLCL may be the benchmark for just how weird things could get, but not far behind it is Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi . Handing animation duties over to fellow juggernaut studio Madhouse , the 2002 series ran for a total of 13 episodes.