Ranked #706

Amanchu! (Manga)

It's no surprise when an author's new work resembles their old. But a good author doesn't just make clones, but rather outs a new spin on their work while maintaining the same overall feeling and style of the old, resulting in something both fresh and satisfying for fans of the previous work. Amanchu! falls neatly into this category.

Amanchu! has very much the same happy atmosphere and optimistic and romantic view of the world as Aria, but there are some subtle but noticeable differences in the story and characters.

Starting with the story, let's compare and contrast with Aria. They both follow a group of young girls pursuing a hobby, but Amanchu! is much more focused on this than Aria is. Aria had gondoliering as a backdrop but focuses more on the world and characters around it. Most of Aria is made up of individual stories exploring and developing these things, with gondeliering serving as the driving force for the story, but not the focus. In Amanchu!, most chapters revolve around scuba diving, in a somewhat more connected way. You continually follow Futaba as she becomes accustomed to the strange world of diving, and learn a lot about it on the way. There are some independent chapters, in which characters are developed further, but most are about or build up to the focus of the story: diving. Now, is it enjoyable? Of course, it's a Kozue Amano manga! Even if you're like me and know nothing about diving, it's fun to read due to the narration of the characters and the sunny feeling of it all. Like Aria, it's sentimental in the best way, even little things become wonders, which is Amano's specialty after all.

Contributing to the sense of wonder is the art which is nothing short of fantastic. The characters are all drawn very beautifully, but more important and affecting is the scenery. Like Aria, each scene is beautifully rendered, so much so that some pages will cause you to just stop and stare for a few moments. The art is almost like a character itself, or at least, it has as much presence as the characters. Gorgeous artwork and a wide-eyed narration work together to craft scenes that will leave you breathless.

Now, the characters. Both main characters, Futaba and Hikari (or Dotty and Pikari), bare some resemblance to Akari, the protagonist of Aria, but they are not clones. Hikari has the same uplifting affect as Akari does, but her personality is quite different. She's much more energetic, while Akari was cheerful but mostly serene. Hikari is a little ball of genki, and a lovable one too. She's an oddball, and doesn't have very good social skills, but manages to cheer people up anyway through sheer optimism and energy. Her dynamic with Futaba is very adorable, and similar to Akari's relationship with...well, everyone she meets.

Futaba, on the other hand, provides us with the innocent and rose-tinted narration most of the time, but she's actually much less confident that Akari, which is what sets her apart. Futaba is what I'd call a "naive newcomer," bewildered by the strange new feelings that diving brought to her. She has an innocent and wide-eyed view of things, which as mentioned earlier is one of the things that makes Amanchu! enjoyable. Also, as mentioned before, she lacks confidence, which is where Hikari comes in. In a very cute "romantic two-girl friendship," Hikari is what gives Futaba the confidence to overcome her fears and explore new things, and also makes her disposition and outlook quite a bit brighter.

Really, the diving and the relationship between Hikari and Futaba work together to create this manga. They interplay flawlessly and the result is a very enjoyable manga.

You may be wondering why I keep making comparisons to Aria. Well, the fact of the matter is they are very similar. But, what I want people to realize is that you won't feel like you're reading the same story twice. They'll definitely have the same effect on you, but they're different stories each with their own merits. Still, even though Amanchu! hasn't quite reached the level of Aria yet, if you liked one, you'll definitely like the other. And if for some reason you haven't read/watched Aria, you can still enjoy Amanchu! anyway, it will take you into a bright and sunny world and brighten up your worldview, even if just for a few minutes. read more