Amanchu!

Sep 23, 2016

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 8

Stark700 (All reviews)

72 people found this review helpful

This series. This healing series is one that is perfect for the Summer. Taking place near an aquatic setting with fun, waters, and diving. Amanchu! is a show that I can safely recommend to just about anyone.

Adapted by the manga of the same name, you may find some similarities between this and Aria with its atmospheric setting. Also, it’s co-directed by Junichi Sato and his talent is easily recognizable in this series. Transforming a slice of life story into anime form isn’t always easy but he gets the job done with this anime. And I have to say, that is an achievement not to be underestimated.

The series has a relatively small cast but is very colorful in establishing their personalities. Hikari Kohinata (nicknamed Pikari) is the most cheerful girl you’ll probably meet in recent years as she spends her days being happy and diving. On the other hand, her classmate Futaba Ooki (nicknamed Teko) is a bit more on the timid side. Unlike Pikari, she lacks self-confidence and doesn’t have many friends. However, she is a sincere girl with a gentle personality. And through her growing relationship with Pikari, Teko begins to show more confidence as a person while also making valuable memories.

In general, the show is pretty much a golden slice of life. What I mean by that is how the show is able to focus each episode like an episodic adventure of its own. It’s a series that doesn’t rely on complex storytelling but rather with its themes and characters. A major theme in the show is also friendship with Pikari and Teko’s relationship being the most prominent. The two are almost always seen together and they later join the school’s diving club. This opens up new possibilities for Teko as she learns about the mechanics of diving, as she didn’t even know how to swim prior to joining. Their teacher Mato Katori may be a strict person but she is also caring and really wants the club’s members to succeed. Furthermore, Teko meets new friends such as the Ninomiya siblings. In essence, Teko experiences new possibilities in her life that really makes a change in her character.

If you want to experience some laughs and fun, this is definitely a show for you. Its comedy is well timed by the character expressions, dialogues, and reactions. I can also safely say that Amanchu! never relies on cheesy lines that may throw the viewer off. It comes out rather naturally with how the characters express their thoughts. Even though Teko can be quite timid, her dialogues in the series also feels fitting for her character. Of course, there’s Pikari who is hyperactive so expect tons of eccentricity out of her. The Ninomiya siblings fits somewhere in between as Ai resembles more like Pikari while her brother resembles more of Teko. These four makes the core of the diving club and their adventures is the reason why this series can be so exciting.

In the meantime, the anime adaptation handles the show faithfully despite rearranging some chapters. I think the main point is that they are trying to construct the series to capture the important elements. The mechanics of diving, the relationship between Teko and Pikari, and making valuable memories are just a few to name. Background storytelling is kept at minimal although there is one episode that really gives the viewers an insight on Teko’s character. There’s also some subtle yuri vibes as the show likes to play around with Teko and Pikari's relationship. In retrospect, Amanchu! relies a lot more on its slice of life aspects that expresses excitement and fun.

Anyone familiar with Kozue Amano’s Aria will easily find that the character designs from this series are also similar. Indeed, character designs looks very fresh that accurately adapts them into the story. Hilarious and super deformed character expressions seems to pop up often that are infectiously amusing; especially Pikari. In the meantime, the backgrounds feels natural and rich that depicts the ocean and other aquatic features with realism. There’s very minimal fan service as the show doesn’t rely on skin to deliver what’s intended. To easily sum it up, Amanchu’s visual quality can be easily described as visual porn.

Character voice mannerism and soundtrack also deserves praise in the show. In particular, Pikari is like an energetic light bulb that never stops shining. Their teacher is also able to carry out her role with a mature voice that is very easy to understand and listen to. Soundtrack is quite atmospheric and smooth with a light touch for its OST. The OP and ED theme songs possesses a light voice tone that is exactly fitting for this series.

Honestly, this is one of those shows that can almost make anyone feel relaxed after a stressful day. I mean, even if you plan to watch it on a random occasion, it will still induce you with its feels and heals. Amanchu’s story may not always be so appealing or complex. However, each episode has a life of its own that is valuable. The characters are represented quite well that comes together to share their love of diving, school life, and the joys of living. It’s just like the tagline, “fun for all, all for fun”. And you’ll get a lot of that.

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Sep 23, 2016

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 5

FireEmblemIke24 (All reviews)

53 people found this review helpful

Can you make something interesting about the mundane aspects of life? This series tries to be relaxing and soothing which is typical for any anime that follows the Iyashikei format. There is no actual progression in this show making it a genuine timewaster. If you’re the type to enjoy a common prosaic structure, then this may be the show for you.

The starting point of this show is very banal, here we follow the journey of Ooki Futaba (aka Teko) moving to a coastal location in Japan presumably due to her parents being transferred or something. It is known that she has moved from the busy city life and has to immediately adapt to her new surroundings. She later meets a peppy and energetic girl in Kohinata Hikari (aka Pikari) who has a burning passion for diving. Teko is encouraged by Pikari to join the high school diving club, only to find out it’s on the brink of closing due to a lack of numbers. There we find out the other members are the Ninomiya twins, Ai and Makoto respectively. Katori is the club advisor for the club who also happens to be the teacher for both Teko and Pikari.

The early episodes were actually interesting due to the basics of diving being explained in a way manageable for newbies. Concepts such as pressure increasing along with depth is relatively easy for anyone with common physics knowledge. The appropriate use of wet-suits and dry-suits being determined by the water temperature is just another example. It looked promising until we find out that Teko can’t even swim for sh*t once she gets into the training pool in episode 5-6. This is just deplorable writing, as it doesn’t make any sense for a non-swimmer in equipment to just plunge into the water. My anticipation for her to dive turned into dread when she needed swimming courses to participate. This is the last time we will see Teko diving for a while, which makes the rest of the show an everyday slice of life focusing on minor philosophical themes such as preservation of memories.

Teko being the main character at first looked like another dull and simple-minded teenager but after moving locations it is hinted she grew more despondent, considering she had far less contact with her middle school friends. There was even a time where she mentioned she had a personal ‘void’ before starting middle school and that it was her old friends that enclosed the hole. Teko is an individual who resets mentally every time things don’t go in her direction. I guarantee you once she moves on to the next stage of her life (into higher education) she will be more dejected than usual, hence she is very flawed as it is inevitable the same process will occur periodically. This time it being with Pikari, who she has formed a very close and intimate friendship after her recent move.

Teko does have some redeemable factors though, despite being timid at times she is very keen to experience new things with the help of her peers from the diving club. She is not extremely ambitious as she does give up at times probably due to a lack of confidence resulting in her low self-esteem. Despite that she does make solid progress from a fitness standpoint, by making more regular jogs and being able to fulfil the swimming requirement assigned by Katori. This causes no problems for Pikari, who is understanding of her circumstances and is willing to patiently wait until Teko is capable of doing so. Pikari enjoys the prospect of having a diving partner to accompany her which is a testament to the promise they made earlier.

The art style for me is gorgeous, exquisite and really pleasing from an aesthetic standpoint. The female cast who make up the majority are very attractive looking and are a delight to look at, and then you have Makoto being the anomaly who gets some screen time. The character designs are intricate with them being highly detailed which suggests the animators have been quite meticulous with this project. Everything from the scenery backgrounds to the hair of the characters being colourful and dazzling just adds to my own immersion to the series. There are huge references to the Aria series with the Undine outfit being incorporated into the school uniform, as well as other things such as the chubby cats more or less looking the same. The use of puppet faces in the animation is new from the original creator Amano Kozue, which to me adds spice of variety to prevent things from becoming dull due to repeated use.

The sound is very befitting for a SOL with the calm background music gradually setting the mood for the show. It really creates an atmosphere that would suit a quiet, plain town which is the setting for Amanchu! The music is being performed by Gontiti, a veteran group that haven’t worked on a TV series to date and for me did a fantastic job with their experience. The voice actors have done a spending job performing as their respective characters and they all more or less matched what was expected of their personalities.

Pros:
Great and heavily detailed art style (damn them girls are stunning and Makoto) ✓
Nice complementary soundtrack ✓
Iyashikei theme ✓

Cons:
Somewhat average characters that need more fleshing out ✘
Pacing is lethargic (a marathon would be detrimental) ✘
Can be repetitive at times ✘

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Sep 23, 2016

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 7

Cynthesizer (All reviews)

45 people found this review helpful

Iyashikei is a sub-genre of slice of life that I've started being aware of after reading the critically acclaimed manga series named "Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou", one that I still love and consider not only one of the best additions into the respective sub-genre, but of the slice of life genre itself in general. A great female character, a really interesting take on the future landscape of Japan and AIs, episodic stories that are no less than charming and a very powerful ending make it one of the most fascinating experiences that come to mind when it comes to this industry. Following that, I had the read more

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Sep 23, 2016

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 8

LeaderTGW (All reviews)

45 people found this review helpful

200+ reaction faces by Episode 2 and over 3500+ Reaction faces towards the final episode. (This includes groups, background characters & teachers.) I excluded previews for the next episodes along with flashbacks. 38 seconds is the longest time a character spent holding a reaction face. The title of most reaction faces and time spent making time is... Hikari, or “Pikari.” With all that nerdy stuff out the way, let’s get to my review.

Story 6/10

Perhaps one of the most underrated shows this season, Amanchu is a chill slice of life anime. The story focuses mainly on character Hikari and Futaba’s high school life, and their love read more

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Sep 23, 2016

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 9

Fureiya (All reviews)

23 people found this review helpful

“I realized that the ocean reaches far and wide. Perhaps this vast ocean might have something may have something my significant self doesn’t. I might be able to find my true self” –Teko
Every season, there will always be that one show that gets overlooked by a lot of viewers due to various reason. Amanchu is one of them. First of all, it is a slice of life anime, that alone is enough reason for a lot of people to overlook this show. It seems that a lot of slice of life anime nowadays are just about high school girls and drinking tea. Another reason is that people Amanchu doesn’t seem to appeal with a lot of viewers. Viewers tend to watch shows that they think are much better or those that are much impressing in their opinion. Honestly, at first I also thought twice on starting this anime knowing I might end up dropping it later on coupled with the fact I didn’t like SoL that much. But turns out, as I go pass a couple of episodes, I fell in love with the beauty that this show has to offer. This show is something much different than most SoL that I have watched. Before I dig even deeper, let me formally start the review.

Story
The story mainly focused on two of our main characters Hikari Kohinata (nicknamed “Pikari”) and Futaba Ooki (nicknamed “Teko”). Pikari is a very cheerful and energetic person who loves scuba diving while Teko is a shy and timid person who has a lot of problems concerning herself. On the start of their high school, Pikari dragged Teko into joining the diving club which triggers the start of this wonderful story about scuba diving and soul-searching. As I mentioned, this anime is about scuba diving which is something you won’t hear every day. Upon seeing this your initial reaction would be something along the lines of “sounds boring” or “sounds interestingly original”. But I’ll tell you right away that the beauty of this show is not from its aspects involving scuba diving. In fact, we were introduced to the scuba diving parts on the first few episodes only to be set aside midways and to reappear at the very end of the anime. Although the scuba diving aspect paved way to a very magnificent ending, still it doesn’t feel like it’s enough for a lot of people such as myself. For something that makes the anime unique or original is also something that is not emphasized so well. So now we’re thinking “If it’s not the scuba diving, what makes this anime good then?” Well, a while ago, I mentioned one of the main character as that type to faces a lot of personal problems, and I also mentioned the word “soul-searching”. This show is mainly about the characters and their relationship as they go through each other’s difficulties. Such difficulties that are too simple and too small and yet bares a very meaningful life lesson on its conclusion. Difficulties that makes you define who you are or what you want. This features are executed in a very relaxing and lighthearted manner that anyone could find it very sweet and adorable. This along with the atmosphere of the show reveals a very beautiful show that a lot of people would love only if they paid attention to it.

Art
Regarding the art, the character designs looks different from the typical look of a character. I don’t see it as something bad or something good although I can say it fits the atmosphere of the show. They also made use of some wacky faces in order to portray most comedic parts in which for me adds more vibe into the show. For me, the way the setting looked made the art stood out. The way they showcased the overall setting such as the ocean, pool and the beachside is something that is done right. This adds up to the overall beauty and atmosphere of the anime.

Sound
As you’d expect from a SoL anime, it made of use of relaxing and lighthearted music which fits very well with the show. It made use of rhythmic acoustic music on most part of the show which is very fitting for this kind of anime. But if I could point out which really stood out when it comes to the sound and music of the anime, it is the opening and the ending theme of the show. I loved both of them specially the opening which did a very good job in setting up the mood of the show.

Characters
As I mentioned, this anime is all about character relationship and interactions. Although it mainly focused on out two main characters, the show also features three more characters to mention. The siblings Ai Ninomiya and Makoto Ninomiya which are co-divers and are schoolmates of out two main characters and Mato Kotori which is the adviser of the diving club. All three of them were given a huge amount of screen time and importance. In short, these characters doesn’t feel like they were left out through the whole anime even if the focus is on our two main characters. Halfway through the show you’ll see a lot of interactions between this small cast of characters giving way for character development. Now speaking of character development, let’s talk about our two main characters Pikari and Teko. They are very dynamic and is the perfect representation of how SoL main characters should be. Through the course of twelve episode, both of them are well developed specially Teko. Character development is always important in every show and yet it is something that a lot of shows nowadays lacked. But Amanchu surprised for having such dynamic characters which lead me to say that this is a pretty good anime.

Overall, this show is a great watch. Though it saddened me that a lot of people overlooked this anime. I remember the sudden drop of viewers after the first episode. But yeah, I totally liked this anime and I would recommend it to anyone who is in need of a need SoL to watch. Thank you for reading.

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Sep 23, 2016

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 8

LegendAqua (All reviews)

15 people found this review helpful

Amanchu! is what the Summer 2016 slice of life anime as to what flying witch was for Spring 2016.

Amanchu! may be a show about "diving" but it shows us more about friendship and youth in a more subtle way, it's a slice of life anime, it's too be expected these kind of these will show up and even the atmosphere of the anime knows it.

This is two for two for JC Staff making a great slice of life anime isn't it?

Amanchu!'s characters are slightly unique for the most part from the hyper eccentric Hikari "Pikari" Kohinata voiced by Eri Suzuki a soon to be friend of the shy Futuba "Teko" Ooki voiced by Ai Kayano and centres around Teko opening up to everyone with Pikari helping her and subtley showing the messages of youth, friendship and memories. Ai Ninomiya voiced by Saori Oohishi, a senior member of the Diving club and a hot-tempered eccentric student and her brother Makoto voiced by Yuuichirou Umehara as well as LA's favourite character in the anime of being the Diving Club's advisor Mato Katori...why?...well LA will talk about that in the animation section.

Where Amanchu's strengths comes from the diving as well as it's character chemistry which lurks upon yuri undertones a la friendship substitute with Pikari and Teko, nonetheless Amanchu's strengths are slightly unbalanced with these two elements, because of Teko's obstacle to become a full fledged diver the majority of the time Teko and the gang are outside the ocean, but that is where the character chemistry works into this. For a slice of life anime, the majority of the cast is easily likable and easy to get invested in, even when they are really doing nothing but goofing off. But for character chemistry for what a small cast it has, for a comedic standpoint Mato and Makoto are essentially the tsukommi in most of the skits with Ai and Pikari easily being the boke. Teko at best is either the spectator or boke at times, because of this, the characters really bounce off one another as they are easily. In terms of character development the newer senior characters of Ai and Makoto gets their own episodes so we get to know more about them, as for Teko, her own grips with shyness, memories and youth comes into detail for her with Pikari opened her up to this and in terms of relationship between the two, it actually ok to see this kind of character relationship dynamic of the shy character paired with the genki one, for as much character and theme focus we do get in Amanchu, they do pretty well on this front. The diving strengths comes mostly from the animation and even though the animation and the Amanchu anime itself won't get LA to do diving, the animation is a HUGE highlight in Amanchu.

The plot of Amanchu does tend to go more into the friendships between these characters than the actual diving, sure the diving moments are relaxing on their own, but LA can kinda see why they put the diving element in the backburner in terms of plot.....Teko couldn't swim and that kinda takes a while to learn, so they put more of the friendship and youth themes as compensation for it and even the themes aren't as "in your face" attitude thus isn't as annoying in that department either and really, LA can't fault Amanchu! for that, however the little flaw LA came into this was that LA thought this was a slice of life DIVING anime and it was touted as one, there's very little in the characters ACTUALLY doing it (unless the technical features in diving count but still).

In terms of animation, the animation is absolutely gorgeous from it's beautiful backgrounds especially the "diving" sections but as well as the rather detailed character designs, except for the comedic moments where the character's facial animation goes full chibi emoticons and really because of this was why LA loved Mato Katori's reaction expressions especially (￣Δ￣∥) whenever Pikari did something odd. As for the rest of character favourite emoticons...

Teko - (〇o〇；)
Pikari - (⊙ᗜ⊙)
Ai - (◯ω◯)

If anything the emoticons just brings out when it wants to be comedic in it's more relaxing times throughout the anime. Sure you can bring up the fact that these *ahem* muppet chibi faces can distract you or just be awkward in some beautiful scenes it brings you into and LA even felt that, but as a stylistic choice as derpy as the faces were, the REACTION based on the other characters namely Mato's reactions quickly change that to comedic moments.

There are some flaws LA did notice for Amanchu, as much as LA is praising Amanchu, they had some problems, LA already said about the plot majority focus on characters instead of diving as well as some of the animation, but LA will pretty much dive *drum beat* into both of these flaws in a better detail. LA KNOWS that Pikari can be rather annoying due to her hyper eccentricities and even the anime and Pikari herself knows this and yes even she got a bit grating on LA especially on the "whimsical" side of things and her "derpy muppet" facial animation doesn't help that either. On speaking of which, the animation along with it's derpy chibi faces can be a mood whiplash from the more sombre moments to be going straight into those faces can break that. Finally yeah, the majority of the anime being focused on the characters instead of the diving can be VERY boring to those who just want to see the diving. But these flaws can be defended with the above statements LA said about these flaws, LA KNOWS about these flaws but can also defend it at the same time.

In terms of voice acting, LA at first thought that Ai Kayano as Teko was rather grating with her shyness, but she quickly got better and became ONE of LA's favourite voice actors in this anime. Pikari's voice actor Eri Suzuki can get very grating with her "WHOOP WHOOP" noises to her eccentricities in general and for LA, she was "just ok". Ai's voice actor Saori Oohishi was the "right kind of genki" than what Eri Suzuki did and Makoto's voice actor Yuuichirou Umehara probably had the least screentime thus not much to talk about him. LA's favourite voice actor?...Shizuka Ito as Mato Katori as the straight man to Pikari and Ai, Ai Kayano comes in as a close second.

Amanchu's final episode FINALLY gets to the diving and really the payoff of 9 episodes was worth it with it's beautiful ocean animation and scenery to a catharsis of seeing such "wonders" Teko and the rest of the gang sees and we get to see Teko's resolution to open herself up to everyone and break away completely from her shy side. The themes of friendship, youth and memories also go full circle by this ending. The ending was a great payoff by building upon the easily investable and likable characters who development themselves and their relationships with one another as the compensation to it (if you "can" see it).

Amanchu is just another great slice of life anime of 2016 AND done by JC Staff, and just as much as there are some great strengths of Amanchu as well as it's flaws that can either cripple the experience or bore you, LA just can't hold any anger from its flaws to Amanchu as it ticked all the boxes for a great cathartic anime and the payoff for the ending was SOOOO worth waiting for.

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Sep 25, 2016

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 10

Shingster (All reviews)

11 people found this review helpful

First of all i haven't read the manga that Amanchu is based off so as a result the first time that i seen the story, characters and setting was in the anime itself.

So then lets get started

The story for Amanchu revolves around the character of Futaba Ooki who i call Teko and her move from the metropolis of Tokyo to a new oceanside town and her attempts to get used to her new surroundings and make new friends. Part of this process is going to a entirely new school and joining the schools diving club.

Teko's character as a result of her personality read more

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Sep 23, 2016

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 8

AquaHaze (All reviews)

11 people found this review helpful

Simple yet beautiful, that is how I would describe Amanchu. There are a ton of slice of life shows out there and many of them fail to differentiate themselves from the rest. However despite this huge obstacle, Amanchu does successfully manage to differentiate itself from most by being something simple yet beautiful.

Amanchu takes place in a rural town that is close to the ocean where the main character, Teko (Ooki Futaba) has recently moved to. Very soon after, she meets a strange girl, Pikari (Kohinata Hikari), who gets her to join the scuba diving club at school. From there, more characters are introduced (who are associated the scuba diving club) and we follow the events that happen in these character's lives as Teko learns more and more about scuba diving.

Like almost all slice of lifes, Amanchu doesn't really have a plot, instead each episode shows the events that happen in these character's lives. The events that happen in this series are rather simple such as finding a home for a stray cat or playing a game of red light-green light. However, one of the reasons why Amanchu is so great is because it manages to transform those simple events into something beautiful. The series does this through a combination of different factors, one big factor are the conversations between characters and/or thoughts of characters. Through these dialogues and monologues we get to see why each of these simple events hold a much deeper meaning than what it appears to be on the surface. Another factor is the calm and relaxing atmosphere the series manages to create through the characters and their relationships, production values and the light hearted comedic moments that are sprinkled in. Those comedic moments rarely feel out of place and many are funny (although that differs for everyone).

Another great aspect about Amanchu are it's characters as hearing their thoughts and conversations during each event allows us to see how each character views things which teaches us a lot about them. The character that sticks out the most is Teko, who is gentle, shy and withdrawn, but that's just the surface, her character actually has a lot of depth to it. As the series goes on we get to see many different aspects of her personality. Also as the show goes on we get to see Teko come out of her shell more and more. The catalyst for the majority of Teko's development is Pikari. Pikari's personality is opposite that of Teko's, she's very energetic, a bit out there and always wants to try new things and have fun. Although we don't learn as much about her as Teko, we still do learn a fair amount about her character and she is also the main reason to why Teko tries new things. They compliment each other very well and one of the best parts of Amanchu is the friendship between Teko and Pikari. This friendship is what drives a lot of the events and enables Teko to develop as a character. The other characters (the Ninomiya siblings, Katori-sensei) also play a role. We may not get to learn much about their personality beyond what's on the surface but they do get their time in the spotlight so we do get to learn a bit about each of them and how they see things.

The production values are also top notch. The visuals themselves can be pretty beautiful at times, some of the scenes in the events that happen just look amazing. The characters are also very detailed. The backgrounds, while they don't look spectacular typically, aren't badly drawn either.

The sound is also pretty good itself. For a series that leans on it's atmosphere as much as this one, the sound is very important for setting the correct mood. A lot of the time the music that plays in the background is very light , not overly complicated and does a good job at complimenting the mood of the event taking place. However there are some times when the music in the background is really captivating and becomes a major reason to why some scenes are mesmerizing. The VAs also do a good job voicing the character they play. The OP and ED also don't seem out of place and fit this anime very nicely.

In terms of enjoyment, Amanchu isn't a series that everyone would enjoy. It's a slice of life which is not everyone's cup of tea and on top of that, it also moves very slowly. However if you don't mind those things then this show is something you will enjoy and can absolutely captivate you with it's moments of beauty and calm and relaxing atmosphere.

In a sea of slife of life shows, Amanchu manages to stick out more than most because of what it manages to do. It sets up a great atmosphere, has great characters and manages to turn most of it's simple events into something beautiful. It definitely is a series I will remember for a long time.

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Sep 23, 2016

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 8

Chiburo (All reviews)

10 people found this review helpful

Amanchu!

Art/Characters: The art style of this show is quite nice to look at, and some of the scenes are so beautiful and so all-encompassing that it really makes one feel special. The look of the water and the and the style of each of the characters really make the show come to life. Each character has their own unique look to them (save for the twins) and have a unique personality. The one downside to this would be the faces that the characters occasionally make. For example, Pikari, when she gets really excited she goes extremely simple and kind of ridiculous and has a completely different look on her face. I really was not a fan of this. It was funny the first few times, but after the episodes continued, and the episodes had this other face on Pikari, Futaba, and sometimes even Ai, the joke just gets old. As for the characters individually, I really love Pikari’s optimism. It isn’t like an overly bubbly and generic happiness, but it is legit optimism. Not very many times have I seen a character that is able to embody true optimism without seeming artificial. As for Futaba, she is almost the exact opposite, pessimistic with the best, but she balances out Pikari and makes things seem real. Having a character like Futaba, that plays off of the strengths of the other main, makes this show very watchable.

Sound/Music: The music isn’t something that I can get very excited about in this show and that really disappointing to me. While yes there are plenty of songs in the background and in the opening and closing animations, nothing really stuck out as being fantastic. There was occasionally a song the exemplified wonder and excitement, but it would quickly dissipate and it goes back to the generic background music that is repetitive and easy to forget. The sounds in the background could have been a lot better. I want to feel like i am underwater when I am with the characters underwater, but the sound is not quite what you are expecting and it just doesn’t deliver that rush that I know the characters are feeling.

Story: This story surrounds two students out on the coast of Japan, Pikari, a high school first year who loves to dive out in the open ocean and spend time with her grandmother. And on the opposite side we have Futaba, a nervous girl also starting high-school but she just moved to the coast from Tokyo and is feeling extremely out of her element. The two become fast friends and before they know it, Pikari has convinced Futaba to go into the diving club’s club room and use their diving equipment so that Futaba can experience the thing that Pikari loves so much, even if it’s only diving in a swimming pool. The show explores the incredible feat that is open water diving and the amazing things that one can see, but it also explores the nature of friendship and how moving to a new place can be scary and nerve-wracking; but that can all disappear with just one person’s kindness.

Personal Reflection: This show made me feel a lot of things over the summer, and I am glad it was over the summer that this came out because it gave me the opportunity to explore those urges I got to dive, in a way. While I wasn’t able to go open water diving, I got to experience something like it with this show. It gave me an interest that I have never had before, and who knows when it will happen again. When I watched Sword Art Online, something similar happened with MMORPGs, but that was a long time ago. Amanchu! may have had some hiccups and maybe it wasn’t the best when it came to music, and hey, so what if they used Pikari’s overly excited face as a way to say “HEY this part is a funny part”. The show made me feel warm and fuzzy, and made me want to jump into the lake I was living on and explore the depths that were just outside my door. The parts when Pikari’s face changed got pretty annoying, but only because I was so much more invested in the show when she was being serious. The faces made it seem really forced and it took me out of the world that they were in. If I could make a suggestion it would be to hold back when it comes to that sort of thing because it feel artifical, but when there is a real person (real in this context meaning not drawn awkwardly) laughing and showing excitement, it makes me want to get excited too, rather than just feel awkward. This is a show about two people becoming best friends and sharing a love for the ocean. If you love the ocean, love friendship, or just want a great story about someone overcoming their fears, check out Amanchu!

Overall Score: 7.5/10

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Mar 12, 2018

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 7

WeeabooColin (All reviews)

6 people found this review helpful

In many ways Amanchu represents the path that the Iyashiei genre is headed down; To many, the direction seems like a good path for the genre, to others it seems like a major step down in terms of quality from previous entries in the genre. One would be hard pressed to call Amanchu an actively bad show, but when compared to Aria the quality of Amanchu is put into question. Aria is the definitive iyashikei show, so when comparing Amanchu to Kozue Amano's previous works, it can easily be called a major step down from Aria and Aqua. But, none the less, Amanchu represents the type of Iyashikei that becomes popular in the contemporary anime community; It's neither a replacement for Aria or a culturally significant out side of the slice of life genre. So in many regards it becomes necessary to examine the similarities between Amanchu and Aria, as well as their differences.

Amanchu like Aria has a fascination for the sea; But instead of the high-concept science fiction setting of Aria, it is replaced by a restrained, relaxed, high school setting. This is normative for the iyashikei genre, and most slice of life shows; Yuru Camp, Flying Witch, Non Non Biyori, Gochiusa, and almost every single iyashikei and slice of life show of the past five years all share the same introduction episode. Amanchu, like most other slice of life series, start with the main character moving to an new town, and subsequently finding a new passion within the first episode; This holds true for Amanchu as much as it holds true for any other modern slice of life show. The main character, Futaba, moves to a new city, far away from her hometown with all of her friends, and she feels anxiety due to this fact until she sees Hikari scuba diving. Seeing Hikari scuba diving inspires a new found passion and helps her overcome her anxiety. As a conceit, having the main character be as unfamiliar with her newfound environment as the audience is quite powerful. It is a powerful means of characterization in any story, it can establish character arcs and inform the audience of character traits. In Amanchu it is used to establish the characters of Futaba and Hikari respectively, Futaba's goal throughout the first season is to fit into her new school, Hikari's goal is to relate to her classmates and to show Futaba the beauty of the town. This is the central dynamic of the show, and makes for a relatively unique dynamic and a compelling premise. The introduction that the audience has with Aria is in many ways much weaker than the one that they have with Amanchu; It establishes the characters and character motives well enough, but the audience doesn't get the same predisposed emotions of anxiety that comes with having the main character enter an unfamiliar setting for the first time. The character of Akari from Aria is already relatively familiar with the setting and as such her feelings of anxiety are lesser than that of Futaba. Intrinsically the first episode of Aria is weaker, but functionally the first episode of Aria is extrinsically better because it avoids having to establish every aspect of it's science fiction setting; Amanchu however, necessitates Futaba learning all of the idiosyncrasies of her setting. The setting of Aqua from Aria is conveyed through displaying information, Amanchu's world is explained to the audience more or less. The scenes of Futaba learning how to scuba dive is in general a lot less interesting than seeing Akari, Athena, and Alice explore the world of Aqua as they learn how to become true undines. The emotional impact that the viewer is supposed to have during Futaba's learning scenes are heavy handed, unlike the subtle beauty of similar scenes from Aria. To be fair to Amanchu, the introductory episodes hardly could be called bad, in many ways they are above average, but that speaks more so to the overall quality of most iyashikei first episodes rather than the strengths of Amanchu's introduction. But in many ways, Amanchu is more fit for the modern audience as it doesn't waste time cultivating subtle character arcs, it instead is instant gratification in iyashikei form; It's hard for new anime to separate themselves from the crowed, and when the average series length is 12 episodes long, it is in some ways better to be rushed than it is to be slow.

The complaint I hear aimed at Amanchu the most is that it is boring, usually those who levy these complaints can't really point to any specific aspect of Amanchu. That's because every variable of an iyashikei matters, more so than other genres because the iyashikei is about making the mundane, interesting. This can be a herculean task for most writers, so most iyashikei series tend to fade into obscurity. Aria struck the perfect blend of each variable; Amanchu on the other hand had many lacking features, the setting was most likely the attribute that contributed to this perceived boredom more so than the characters, music, or animation. The setting of Amanchu is the most unoriginal aspect of the show, the majority of the screen time is spent on showing the daily school life of Futaba and Hikari, paired with the slow pace of the show, watching the show became a chore more so than an entertaining task. The interesting aspect of the show, the scuba diving, was unfortunately overlooked for the majority of the run time. I'm assuming this is for a multitude of reasons, the main one is that scuba diving in no way has any symbolic meaning for the characters. Had the central conceit of the show been replaced with any other sport or hobby, the show itself would barely change, and on a thematic level it wouldn't change at all. Scuba diving was most likely chose by Amano as the central conceit of Amanchu because she has a general affinity for the ocean. The ocean can be a beautiful set piece for an Iyashikei show, but it becomes emotionally exploitative if the audience is expected to feel the same emotions as Amano when we are shown an ocean. Oceans are pretty, but the lack of true symbolic/thematic connection that Futaba and Hikari as characters have to the ocean makes the vistas of the show lacking in emotional impact. Thus we as an audience is stuck between a rock and a hard place, the school scenes are lack luster because very little is done with the school life of the characters; The other option is to watch pretty vistas with very little symbolic relevance to the characters.
This directly leads into a new discussion that will eventually lead down an argumentative rabbit hole within the anime community. But why are highschool settings so popular in anime? They do allow for a convenient out for most writers in two regards, the first is that its easier to write the characters to be all in one place if they are all go to school together, the second is that there is certain emotional baggage that comes with highschool life that can easily be emotionally manipulated. In this regard, Amano decided that the former reason for the highschool setting was more compelling than the latter. The highschool setting of Amanchu is lacking because there is plenty that could be done with the setting, especially in relation to Futaba's character. But her interactions with other students don't extend passed the other characters within the Scuba Diving club. This is a major step down from Aria, a series where we got the sense of true community from Akari's interactions with clients, friends, and city folk.

The other big problem that Amanchu has in comparison to Aria is that the characters are overall, lacking in Amanchu. Futaba and Hikari are really well written, but lack originality as they are essentially Amano's take on Nazuma and Miyako from Hidamari Sketch, the other characters all have Hidamari Sketch counterparts as well. The characters in this show do have arcs, but as mentioned earlier they are both heavy-handed and rushed. It doesn't help that most of the characters seem to lack any depth outside of their character arc; what does Futaba do in her free time? With Hidamari Sketch, Aria, and Yokohama, imagining what each character does in their free time is relatively easy because we spend most of the series watching just that; Newer Iyashikei's prefer subtle excitement, and as such we rarely see the characters just sit around and relax, or have deep conversations with each other. So if Amanchu feels oddly unsatisfying to watch that would be the reasoning behind it. That being said, Amanchu is hardly the worst story based Iyashikei, it is above average, but the average now of days is so mediocre that it shouldn't be a comparison. If we want to look at the worst story based Iyahikei, we would merely have to watch Flying Witch, a show where nothing happens. The characters of Flying Witch were in every regard lacking, devoid of both character development, and traits aside from compassion. Flying Witch however, was a break-out success, leaving it's running mate, Amanchu, in the dust. This is all because in the modern Iyashikei genre, setting up a tone is paramount to the overall success of a show, and having any mixed emotions could be seen as a detriment to this cause. It would be impossible for most viewers to leave an episode of Flying Witch without feeling goodness in your heart. But now both Amanchu and Flying Witch are both fading from the collective consciousness; Even shows with relatively little going on, like Non Non Biyori, outlived the relevance of both the spiritual successor of Aria, and a smash hit.

The animation and sound design is where Amanchu is saved, very few shows or even movies can capture the beauty of nature of the ocean like Amanchu does. The cinematography and animation very much raises the overall quality of the show, and the sound design captures the feeling of the ocean very well. Having lived in a land locked state for the entirety of my life, Amanchu worked very well as an escape from reality. I've been to the ocean many times in my life, but those were mostly childhood memories; Thus Amanchu captured my nostalgia for the ocean very well. The character designs are all super sexualized, they are sleek, fit, and visually appealing. If you want an elaboration on the character designs of Amanchu, there is a Digibro video on the subject matter. The soundtrack was also quite good, but at the same time, it's clearly emulating Aria's soundtrack. It's coat riding on the predisposed emotions of the audience members from Aria, and in that regard, it works quite well despite being derivative in this regard. Shows should emulate other shows when they add onto the ideas of the original, in many ways utilizing similar music, effects the thematic identity of a series.

I've seen the argument that we are living in the golden age of iyashikei shows, I see where they are coming from but the overall evidence that they raise are usually rather weak. It is true that in many ways the Iyashikei genre is growing, and iyahsikei shows are slowly becoming more popular than even shounen jump series. But the iyashikei and slice of life genre is now becoming more and more derivative of past successes. The iyashikei genre is suffering an identity crisis, Amanchu is a good example of this current trend. In many ways, Amanchu is genre-fare, it's not a bad thing for a show to be genre-fare but the ultra derivative nature of a series that was written by the same writer of Aria, shows that the general trends of iyashikei and slice of life shows has been refined to a point that every modern series are complacent to just emulate general trends. Amanchu encompasses every trend in the modern iyashikei genre. This makes shows like Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryouko all the more refreshing in the modern anime marketplace.

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Oct 22, 2016

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 9

BlueSkylark (All reviews)

8 people found this review helpful

Amanchu!

A little disclaimer at first: This will be my first Anime review, so I know not everything will be that refined. Also English is not my native tongue so there will be some grammatical mistakes I think.

Why I want to Review this Anime ?

The reason I want to review this Anime in particular is that I think, it is one of the more overlooked Anime of this season. For a reference you can just look at the amount of Members it has compared to other shows. This and my second reason ( which you will find later on in my review) are what leads me read more

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Sep 27, 2016

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 8

Galdino (All reviews)

7 people found this review helpful

"The folly of youth, you see, is that you sometimes convince yourself that your world is confined to a familiar object the size of your palm. But it's all right. Look up and see. There's an endless world of fun starin' ya right in the face." -Kohinata Kino
(SPOILERS BELOW NOT REALLY MAJOR THO BC IT'S SOL)

It only took 7 minutes for me to realize I was going to love Amanchu!, these 7 minutes gave one of the strongest first impressions I've seen in a long time for sure. The relaxing, nostalgic background music, the quiet humming of a motorcycle and the gorgeous background art assured read more

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Sep 23, 2016

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 7

PyraXadon (All reviews)

7 people found this review helpful

New experiences are both great and terrifying. They're a chance to go out of one's comfort zone, but at the same time, throw people into situations that they would otherwise see as dangerous or unfamiliar, and would therefore avoid them. Some people like new experiences and cherish the ability to expand their horizons whilst others prefer to stay with what's comfortable with them without venturing out into the unknown to see what's known. And so we have Amanchu, a story adapted from the original manga from Amano Kozue, telling the story of a girl in a town filled with new things to read more

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Oct 13, 2016

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 6

AoiHonoo (All reviews)

5 people found this review helpful

Looking for an anime about a group of girls (and one boy) going through school and club life with cartoonish facial expressions tossed in and a pinch of yuri subtext? This one is for you. Looking for anime about scuba-diving, along with all its splendor and trials? You may want to look elsewhere.

Amanchu is a very laid back and easygoing show. The series will really show off it's well detailed scenery along with soft music to really set a relaxing atmosphere. The story focuses on protagonist Futaba Ooki and her companion Hikari Koihinata, along with their sempai a pair of twin siblings and their homeroom teacher/club advisor. Each episode contains it's own story, even two sometimes, not building an overlying plot in the background. Yep, it's really just the cast going through high school, and learning important life lessons over time. Futaba herself is adjusting to moving to a new area and adjusting to going to new school and new people after leaving her old home and the friends she made in her previous school behind.

Through Hikari's persuasiveness and pushiness, Futaba decides to join the scuba-diving club. In the beginning episodes, the viewer is gradual introduced to the know how and basic info about the gear involved, the buddy system, getting a license, and measuring your air volume by depth and pressure of the water. You'd think it would continually keep expanding this, but it doesn't. Why? Because Futaba can't swim. Around halfway in, Futaba couldn't pass her pool course exam because the club advisor, along with the viewer just found out about this very key detail. Most of the second half is dedicated to more slice of life episodes with the characters just doing things with Futaba learning how to swim mostly offscreen.

And the shift is especially egregious with how out of focus the scuba-diving becomes afterwards, especially due to how it just cuts off. Even in the first half, Futaba wasn't learning about diving every episode. She really only starts in episode 3 when she first signs up with Hikari, and it continues in the next episode, but episode 5 was dedicated to meeting their upperclassman. And episode 6 is the face-palm moment when we learn she can't swim. The club still gets together, but they aren't going to do any activities until she can swim, switching the focus around and changing POV to different characters, telling multiple stories.

The main point of criticism is how this issue was never brought up before. You'd expect she reveal this fact the very first time she's expected to enter water. Also, it should have been the first thing the advisor would check for before starting to teach her. The advisor had the perfect opportunity to ask when she was drilling Futuba on diving basics when she and Hikari just applied to join, but didn't. This was either something that wasn't planned in advance and added on the spot, or was planned for the sole attempt at really shallow and cheap humor. On top of that, to make sure Futaba's first experience at diving is the finale, the episode before it was about taking care of a stray kitten, being after the one when she passed her pool exam.

Ai Kayano did an excellent job voicing Futaba. She conveyed the character's shyness and timidness really well.... to an annoying degree. I give special mention to her role, because it really needed a specialized care in handling.

Amanchu starts getting really preachy during the second half. It was preachy before in the first half, but the second half is when it really goes all out. There is no subtlety in it either; expect everything to be spelled out for you. "Don't be afraid to move out of your comfort zone", "How you view things is important; you can spin any negative into a positive", "Any setback can turn into an opportunity", "While school is important, the answers to life aren't in a textbook to be studied from", "It's okay to abuse your younger twin sibling"... wait, no, ignore that last one. Each episode will take every chance it can get to hammer it's life lessons into your head.

I was enjoying Amanchu at first, but got increasingly frustrated in the second half. In the end, it became something I just wanted to finish. The tone was really lighthearted, and the atmosphere was relaxing. Still, my main problem was how the series executed it's themes very blatantly. Someone would say something meaningful, and the target of it would be completely moved. The problem was that it happened so frequently that the impact was lost fast, and it just became annoying the rest of the time. Another point is that the cartoonish facial expressions were used entirely too often, often times killing the moment of important scenes.

Also, I couldn't get invested in the characters (especially not Ai), due to there not being any overarching plot or stakes. Both Futaba and Hikari are very hit-or-miss characters. You'll either find them likeable or very annoying for different reasons. Futaba takes her role as audience surrogate and main POV character to an extreme where we will know her thoughts about everything in painstaking detail. Her shyness is ridiculously exaggerated; expect her to be embarrassed at the slightest thing and stammer a lot. Oh, she'll also have many long-winded monologues that will sooner or later put you to sleep. Hikari is the usual cheerful girl who can't stand still. Expect her to make random noises most of the time either by mouth or whistle, and generally act like a little kid instead of a teenager.

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Feb 19, 2018

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 7

BanjoTheBear (All reviews)

3 people found this review helpful

(This review has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!)

Our “diving” in the Jamaican waters was worse than we expected. The shanty was rusted and beat up. The snorkel masks we used looked like they hadn’t been washed in weeks. The spot chosen did not let us see anything interesting let alone memorable.

Wanting only to get back on the cruise ship, we headed back its way. There, still sitting near the end of the dock, was the lady from before, continuing her chant as though it was her God-given destiny.

“Watah one dolla’. Two bucks for da big one!” That’s all she said in her read more

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Dec 18, 2017

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 9

Tomm01p (All reviews)

3 people found this review helpful

If there is a one thing I have a soft spot for, it's a slice of life anime. The chilling and mind healing atmosphere it brings is truly an unmatched feeling. With that said, it's actually been quite some time since I've last watched a well done slice of life, with great cast of characters. Maybe that's part of the reason I gave Amanchu such a high rating, but in my opinion, the show deserves it. Because it ended up being everything I wanted from it.

Amanchu! tells a story set in a small town area close to ocean. One of our two main protagonists, a young girl named Hikari (also Pikari) is a local living near the ocean, who spends most of her time diving in it. She is an energetic girl, with a pretty weird mentality of always doing what would a normal person call "ridiculous" things. The other one is Futaba (aslo Teko), a way more quieter girl, who has just currently moved here and has problems with applying to new society aswell as some self-confidence issues.

Their first meeting comes when the new year of high school starts. Teko, struggling to talk to other people get's couraged by Pikari, who desperately wants to join a diving club together with her. Teko get's dragged around for a while, not knowing if she really wants to do it, but since Pikari is the only person she can talk to, and because she's charmed by her cheerful mentality, she decides to try it. And so starts the story of not just becoming hobby divers, but also of finding her true, happier itself.

As Teko finds out soon enough, ocean diving isn't as easy as it might seem, and to truly become one and fullfill her dream of diving together with Pikari, she must overcome the obstacles that lies in front of her. The main obstacle being her own self-doubting mindset, that makes her struggle a lot. The way Teko's presented and developped is one of the highlights of the show. We can see her changing from the first meeting with Pikari onwards, getting influenced by her behaviors and ability to enjoy every moment. A lot of things are thrown into her track, but she's able to overcome most of them, with the help of the friend she always needed.

While Teko and Pikari are the two most important aspects of the story, Amachu! wouldn't be the same without the other great characters. First, we have the diving club advisor, and the homeroom teacher of the two, Katori-sensei. She follows the classic track of a "cool" teacher, being really outgoing, friendly and saying mature quotes from time to time. In her case however, that mentality works very well. Having such a character really helps such an anime as Amanchu is, and without Katori, I almost feel like the show would be about half as good. Seriously one of the best sensei characters I've seen in anime.

Then, we have the club's two seniors. A girl and boy twins, Ai and Makoto. Ai is, as a girl, the dominant one in the duo. She's as energetic as Pikari, but she's a lot more violent than her. Makoto is the one seemingly getting all the hate her sister has in her, but he learned to live with it over the years. They both get a lot of screen time and work as an extended main cast, even though they were introduced a little bit later in the show. They both love diving and are helping Teko with her learning of it. Even though they are not the main driving force of the cast, they work well together with the others.

Overall, these 5 mentioned characters make a very good team. I really fell in love with all of them, particulary Teko, who is maybe a classic case of a self-confidence lacking character, but she's a one done to perfection. And the others are doing a great job of supporting her. Their behaving, personalities and development are having great impact on the anime itself, which just wouldn't be as good if only one of them had gone away.

Amanchu! is a slice of life of course, and with that genre, one question always comes to mind. Is it actually entertaining to watch? While I love slice of life, I also agree that some are just way too focused on being chill that they forget about the entertainment value. And I think Amanchu did a great job with that. The pacing of it is slow, there is a lot of dialogue and inner monologue. However, I did not feel bored by it once. It's not as intense as some action anime of course, and it's not a show made for marathoning. But if you manage your schedule well, you will see that Amanchu! really is a good, heart-warming watch, that doesn't stall behind like some other similiar anime do.

The art of Amanchu! is something you'll notice right from the start. It's kinda average, yet fabulous in it's own way. The character desings are beautiful and also unique, which is very rare nowadays. The whole animation of the characters is pretty damn good, especially when the camera gets close to them. But the world around them is just kinda bland, to be honest. From a ocean area, you would expect some more good-looking shots of the nature, or just a more appealing backgrounds. That however isn't really happening and despite the characters art being perfect, the area around them feels lackluster, atleast in comparison.

On the other hand, I can't complain one bit about the sound of Amanchu!. From opening to ending, from first track of the OST to last, from voice actor to voice actress. Everything fits the atmosphere and nature of the anime very well and the OST in particular is the driving force during the majority of it. And considering the qualities the OST has, it works just perfectly.

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Amanchu! is really everything you would ever want from a slice of life anime. It has a great cast of characters, looks good and has an awesome soundtrack. And while it's mainly a mind healing show meant for chilling out, it has also a decent enough entertainemnt value, atleast to the point when you don't get actually bored by it. An underrated gem of an anime.

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Oct 5, 2016

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 7

ScarletKW24 (All reviews)

4 people found this review helpful

If you want to relax and enjoy a nice story involving the summer, then this easy-going anime "Amanchu!" is for you.

Why do I bother to write a review about not something so special? Because in its own way it stands out. I first didn't know what to expect of this. Is it some kind of slow burning romance between girls, a summer romance, an adventure, a diving quest, ... Nope just a nice summer story about a girl who finds herself in a new town and finding new friends and experiences along the way. Does is sound boring? Maybe at first? But the scenery, read more

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Sep 24, 2016

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 7

Zerathus (All reviews)

4 people found this review helpful

Upyo! From the team who made Aria comes another yashiki with water theme. This time it’s about diving.

Our main character Futaba joins a high school on a seemingly distant region of Japan. At first she’s lost and sad because she had to move from big city and she lost all of her friends that she made. But then she meets funny energetic girl Hikari also known as Pikari and she discovers a brand new world of fun while also coming in terms with herself, her situation and her live outlook.

It’s a fairly simple but quite enjoyable story. It presents lots of metaphors for anxiety read more

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Sep 30, 2017

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 7

Nilsou (All reviews)

2 people found this review helpful

-- sorry for bad english --
Watching Amanchu was a weird experiment, and after watching Aria, from the same author, i understand more where the creations of the author are a problem with me.

In both case the art and music was gorgeous, and in both case the character are a great creations. We encounter the same type of character but well, they are very good. All have been said about this in others review and i am 100% OK with this so i don't write more about this.

The main problem of this anime (and other creations of the same author) are that the autjhor just read more

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May 18, 2017

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 7

CatSoul (All reviews)

2 people found this review helpful

I try my best not to make comparisons of shows before I even watch them, but a certain show couldn't help but immediately spring to mind when I first saw Amanchu!.

This is far from J.C.Staff's first ride with a slice-of-life series. However, in just the previous season, J.C.Staff had done another slice-of-life series featuring primarily cute girls entitled Flying Witch. This show was widely praised by anime fans as being everything a slice-of-life should be (a consensus I agreed with), while Amanchu! seemed to fall under the radar.

Maybe it's because Amanchu!'s premise doesn't seem immediately as inviting as Flying Witch's did. An anime about witches is a much easier sell then an anime about a diving club...if you can even really call Amanchu! about a diving club. (More on that later.)

If you were immediately sold on the diving premise, you might be a little disappointed by what Amanchu! turns out to be. If you're more forgiving, or simply adore cute characters, you'll be pleased with this change.

Yes, Amanchu! doesn't really spend a lot of time in the water. Don't get me wrong; it's still focused upon in some episodes, and the show does a good job making you root for Futaba in the hopes she becomes an Open Water Diver.

However, the true charm from Amanchu! comes from how its two main characters interact with each other - Futaba and Hikari. While Hikari has a very bubbly, hyperactive personality, Futaba struggles with finding friends and being too hard on herself. Watching Hikari slowly bring Futaba out of her bubble and become closer and closer to her throughout the course of the anime is overall the most charming part of the story.

(Yes, there is yuribait. It's sanitized, family-friendly yuribait, but it's undoubtably present.)

On the polar opposite side, there is one character in Amanchu! that kind of brought the show down for me that I feel the need to talk about. That character is Ai. She drops in on episode 3, and immediately establishes her personality: she likes to abuse her kind-hearted brother for no apparent reason. If he says anything, her foot's on his head or kicking him in the side. In reality, this wouldn't be funny at all and would likely eventually lead to long-term damage both physically and of their relationship, so I'm not sure why it's supposed to be funny/cute here.

The animation and sound in Amanchu! are both pretty good. The show uses chibi faces a lot, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. The best animation is saved for when the characters are underwater, giving us beautiful scenery of the ocean and wallpaper-worthy images of Futaba and Hikari together.

Amanchu! also has a lot of use of Engrish and verbal tics ("Whoop!" "Let's a-go!") that were particularly charming and pleasant to my ears for whatever reason.

Overall, is Amanchu! as solid as Flying Witch? No, but it's very rare that a slice-of-life series can be. Does that make it a waste of time? Absolutely not. If you're looking for something that will fill the cute girl-shaped hole in your heart and you've blown through all the obvious choices, Amanchu! might be the show for you.

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