Amanču!

Amanchu! is an anime series about the sea and the friendship between two girls. It is also about exploring a new life and discovering yourself. There are two girls, and each of the girls has a signature look, and there is some frankly stunning music on the soundtrack. After ten minutes, I recognized the anime's creator, the manga artist, because I have seen one of her anime series before, and I consider it one of my favorite shows. This time, I got an incredibly pleasant feeling of satisfaction and the desire to explore the world it is set in with the main female protagonist Hikari Kohinata. Although I should be disillusioned at how similar Kozue Amano's works are, I do not mind it at all. After all, when someone repeats themselves, it is not copying; it is simply their distinctive style, so there cannot be a problem with this show. I might have a problem with what I see as the anime creator's overuse of that cute element, i.e., the typical expressions of each character, in my opinion, in this anime series. So it loses a bit of uniqueness and effect compared to her previous work. I also miss the slightly mysterious touch that the narratives about the young gondolier Aria had. So, in the end, I think Amanchu! is not as good as Amano's previous work. Then there is Pikari, who is often criticized and sometimes even rated as unbearable. It may be so for some people, although she is not that bad, to be honest. Plus, I do not usually stop to watch a whole anime series just because of one character, especially when there are other more positive things to enjoy, like the atmosphere of the show and its soundtrack. In addition, I found the character of Pikari to be very important as she is a slightly exaggerated example of an energetic and carefree person, the perfect counterpart to Futaba. When I got to know Pikari better, I quite liked the energy of her craziness, free spirit, and simplicity. In my opinion, even with the crazy Pikari, the result is still a fairly praiseworthy show, and when asked if I would like to continue watching Amanchu! I answer "Let's-a-GO" because of its pleasant, nice atmosphere. 8/10. (08/07/2016)

"Aria the scuba diver" is back, and that includes the crazy Pikari and her face (cursed by some), which I found irritating at first during the first season. However, I then got used to it, and it is so goofy that I smile every time I see it - so I laugh pretty often. In other words, I got used to it all during the first season and I liked it, especially the atmosphere, the soundtrack, and the amicable relationships between everyone in the show, which I missed. So I was happy this season came along when it did. Well, what is going on? A few new characters have expanded the range of those weird expressions (faces) again. I long for a scene where all the characters with those strange facial expressions are all together on screen so I can take a screenshot. I would then set it on my FilmBooster profile under that (similar) picture from Aria to feel like a Pokémon master - in other words, to "gotta catch em all." Furthermore, I learned that what works in one anime may not necessarily work as well in another. Indeed, Kozue Amano added certain supernatural elements to the show to provide a magical feel to this anime series. It gives it an extra broader dimension.  But the supernatural, magic, and Caith Sith elements do not work half as well as in the already mentioned stories of the young gondolier Aria. I mean, the whole part focuses on Peter and the dreams which is probably the weakest thing I have seen in this anime series so far. Otherwise, the rest was the same, i.e., beautiful music, an enjoyable atmosphere, nicely portrayed, and believable relationships. This time there was one thing that surprised me, and I am only going to say - Boy?! One slight criticism is that there is much less diving and maybe even information about diving compared to the first season. The lack of diving stuff is a real shame because I am fascinated by diving and would like to have known more about it. I found being immersed underwater seems magical to me, and is very nicely portrayed in this show. In other words, it is way more magical than some dreams and Peter. Despite all that, I did enjoy the show. For example, the relationships were more interesting and more sophisticated than in the first season, which I think is a step up. As a result, I found the second season of Amanchu! was again a friendly and likable show. The only negative thing was that my pleasant impressions of the show were marred and a little bit weaker than the first season. However, I would still welcome another season because I think there is still a lot to discover in this world and even underwater. 7.5/10. (24/06/2018)