is a Japanese

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written and illustrated by

Kozue Amano is a Japanese manga artist. She is widely known as the creator of ''Aria'', which proved to be a best-selling hit, and was adapted into an anime television series consisting of 3 seasons, 2 movies and 2 OVAs. As of autumn 2010, Amano's work r ...

. It was serialized in

Mag Garden is a Japanese publishing company that focuses on manga-related publications and is also involved in the development of anime and live-action adaptations. It was founded on June 5, 2001, by Yoshihiro Hosaka along with former manga artists of Enix ...

's ''

Monthly Comic Blade was a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by Mag Garden. It was first published in February 2002 and was sold on the 30 of each month until July 2014. It restarted in September 2014 as a free online magazine titled ''Online Magazine Comic B ...

'' magazine from November 2008 to May 2021, with its chapters collected in 17 volumes. An

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series adaptation by

J.C.Staff is a Japanese animation studio founded in January 1986 by Tomoyuki Miyata, who previously worked at Tatsunoko Production. The studio's first release was '' Yōtōden'' in 1987. They have produced several well-known anime series, such as '' Aria ...

aired between July and September 2016. The second season of the anime series aired between April and June 2018.

Plot

Futaba Ooki, a shy girl who just moved in from the city to the oceanside town of Shizuoka, meets Hikari Kohinata, an erratic girl who loves

scuba diving Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scub ...

. Together, they join their school's Diving Club and discover the joys of underwater exploration.

Characters

; : :An energetic girl who loves scuba diving. She's usually an absent-minded person, although she can be pretty insightful at times, especially when it comes to noticing how people feel. Being the kind of girl with a unique world view, she ends up dragging her friends along for her activities, usually making people discover new things. She usually says "Happyan~" when impressed or curious. She is nicknamed "Pikari" by her friends. ; : :A girl who moved in from the city and joins the Diving Club on one of Hikari's impulses, even not knowing how to swim. She is an introverted person, and lacks self-confidence to the point of being let down by the smallest of failures. Usually being scared of new experiences, she's usually bound to follow Hikari's impulses to attain such. They eventually become best friends. She is nicknamed "Teko" by Hikari. ; : :An upperclassman in the Diving Club. She's usually well-spirited and hot-blooded, although when put in romantic situations, she can show a softer side. She's usually the comic relief of the series, acting violently toward her younger brother, but deep inside she cares a lot for him. ; : :Ai's younger brother, who is also in the Diving Club. Being more calm-minded than his older sister, he's usually the comic relief character, being the main aim of Ai's violence. ; : :Hikari and Futaba's homeroom teacher and the advisor of the Diving Club. An experienced scuba diver and dedicated teacher. Although strict and serious, she firmly believes that practical work and self-discovery are important to every person's development. ; : :A cat who hangs around the Diving Club's room. Sometimes it's seen wearing a diaper or a small cape. ; : :A small kitten that hangs around with Aria in the Diving Club's room. She was saved from a bunch of crows by Hikari and Futaba when she was a stray. With Hikari unable to find someone to adopt her, the principal stepped in to care for her and give Aria somebody to socialize with. ; : :Hikari's grandmother who runs a scuba diving gear rental shop by the beach. ; : ; : ; :

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by

, ''Amanchu!'' was serialized in

's manga magazine ''

'' from 29 November 2008 to 10 May 2021. Mag Garden collected its chapters in seventeen volumes, released from 10 August 2009 to 10 November 2021.

Volumes

Anime

A 12-episode

television series adaptation aired between 8 July 2016 and 23 September 2016 and was simulcast by

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...

. The series is directed by

Junichi Sato is a Japanese anime director. After working for Toei Dōga (currently Toei Animation) and then TYO Animations (formerly Hal Film Maker), he joined Twin Engine in 2017. Sato has been active since the 1980s and is a hit maker who, as serie ...

and

Kenichi Kasai is a Japanese storyboard artist and director. He is amongst J.C.Staff's most noted directors, having directed the highly rated '' Honey and Clover'' series. Beginning his career as a production manager, using his name in kanji, , he moved on to d ...

, and written by

Deko Akao is a Japanese singer and screenwriter. She has released 17 singles and 11 albums since her debut in 1994. Several of her songs have been used as openings and endings of anime and radio dramas. She has also written the screenplays of various anim ...

. It is produced by

animation studio An animation studio is a company producing animation, animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales ...

, with character designs by Yoko Ito. The music was composed by Gontiti and produced by Flying Dog. The opening theme song is "Million Clouds" by

Maaya Sakamoto is a Japanese actress and singer. She made her debut as a Voice acting in Japan, voice actress in 1992 as the voice of Chifuru in the anime ''Little Twins'', and became known as the voice of Hitomi Kanzaki in ''The Vision of Escaflowne''. Other ...

, while the ending song titled is sung by Tekopikari, a duo consists of

Eri Suzuki is a Japanese voice actress. Filmography Anime Film Video games Dubbing Live-action Animation References External links * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Suzuki, Eri Living people Voice actresses from Kanagawa Prefecture Japane ...

and

Ai Kayano is a Japanese voice actress. She was represented by the Pro-Fit talent agency until 2014. She has been represented by Office Osawa since 2015. She played leading roles in several anime series, including Meiko "Menma" Honma in '' Anohana'', Ino ...

. An

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...

was included in the seventh Blu-ray/DVD volume released on 29 March 2017, later releasing on Crunchyroll on 12 October 2017. The series has been renewed with a second season titled ''Amachu! Advance''. It aired between 7 April 2018 and 23 June 2018. The second season's opening theme is "Crosswalk" by

Minori Suzuki is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with Aoni Production. She started her career after passing an audition for the role of Freyja Wion in the 2016 anime television series ''Macross Delta'', beating 8,000 other auditionees for th ...

and the ending theme is by

, and an insert song "Tieleusha" by Mina Kubota. Most of the staff returned, as

Kiyoko Sayama is a Japanese animator and director. She was born in Saitama Prefecture. Her name is sometimes misromanized as Seiko Sayama. Works TV Anime *'' Nintama Rantarou'' (1993–1994) - Storyboard, Episode Director *'' Tama & Friends'' (1994) - Storybo ...

replaced Kenichi Kasai as director. It also ran for 12 episodes. Crunchyroll streamed the second season.

''Amanchu!''

''Amanchu! Advance''

Notes

References

External links

* * at ''

'' * {{Ken'ichi Kasai 2016 anime television series debuts 2018 anime television series debuts IG Port franchises J.C.Staff Mag Garden manga Shōnen manga Slice of life anime and manga