(CR) Amanchu! Season 2

[Infinite Zenith]

Nothing like a little acqua alta to get the blood flowing, am I right?

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Requiem-x

Why, hello there, classy cat, and hello... ok, you're not even going to hide it, then. Fine by me!

That was a way deeper dive into the supernatural that I was expecting, going beyond most of what Aria showed in that regard (except the train scene and the very last one with the cool cat himself, I think) in terms of development. Guess the "advance" subtitle" wasn't just for show. Personally, I'm liking this a lot, probably because, having seen Aria, this comes as nowhere near as jarring as it might be for a first timer, and really, these bits make for nice break frm the usual business with the gang. On that note, I'm glad that, first, Ai is getting more screentime since she's been needing it for a while, and second, that she doesn't seem to be willing to let it go just yet, because the focus really got shifted to Mato-chan there.

Yep, I think people familiar with ARIA will have an easier time accepting this sudden development.

I don't think it dives into the supernatural deeper than ARIA did though. I mean, Akari went as far as time traveling once.

[FlareKnight]

Well the odd adventures of Peter Pan continues. Maybe not getting into this partly because I haven't liked Ai's character to this point and it's going pretty randomly into the supernatural. It's a show about friendship and diving. Still not sure we really need Peter Pan flying into this thing.

Clearly not over yet though. At least one more episode with Ai going back to help conclude this situation. Though who knows, could stretch into another episode after that depending on how they want to tackle it.

[ArrowSmith]

Originally Posted by Stark700

Start of Peter's Arc!

Very unusual imo compared to the other episodes of the seasons. Personally, I find Peter to be such a mysterious character. Really enjoyed watching his character interactions with Ai though.

Indeed. One would think this show is all about diving, but that does get boring after a while. My guess is the manga author thought that there is more to their lives than just diving.

[Infinite Zenith]

In a way, the girls are still diving. Just into different things.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

Well the odd adventures of Peter Pan continues. Maybe not getting into this partly because I haven't liked Ai's character to this point and it's going pretty randomly into the supernatural. It's a show about friendship and diving. Still not sure we really need Peter Pan flying into this thing.

Clearly not over yet though. At least one more episode with Ai going back to help conclude this situation. Though who knows, could stretch into another episode after that depending on how they want to tackle it.

I don't think it's bad thing to explore the other characters. This time it's about Ai and Mato. The supernatural stuff wasn't really needed, but it makes for a nice story. There's also obviously some fanservice for ARIA fans.

[EroKing]

NSFW

Megami

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[Kanon]

And thus, the Peter arc ends. I think it would have been better if they had kept things as they were in the manga, but they still did a pretty good job. I'd be curious to hear anime only watchers' thoughts about the ending.

In case people are curious

Spoiler for How it went in the manga:

Towano-sensei had more screentime in the manga overall. Him seeing Ai's panties was actually a whole chapter long (it's a pretty funny chapter), and happened long before Ai met Peter. The fact Peter saw Ai's panties was not mentioned in the manga until Towano revealed it was what unlocked his memories, I think it was actually good the anime had Peter talk about them in episode 7 as foreshadowing.

The first Peter chapter was in volume 6, and Ai didn't meet him again until volume 9, giving more time for her feelings to build up. However, what I thought would lessen the impact of the story is that they didn't adapt the chapter where Towano confesses to Mato. It was a really nice chapter that made you want to ship them, so it was a nice pay off to see them end up with each other at the end of this story.

There were other minor changes like Teko and Pikari never going to Neverland in the manga, Towano mentioning Cait Sith hasn't aged a day in over 20 years, or the way Ai remembered Peter (Teko told her the best way to remember a dream is to tell others about it, so she told them the whole story as soon as she woke up).

[mangamuscle]

Originally Posted by Dop

Loving this turn of surreality, and I'm with Kanon that this is probably set in the Ariaverse just a few hundred years earlier.

Well, there WAS some time travel in this arc, very similar to the ending of another anime with an elemental title *cough*air*cough*

Ai came across as a very pure maiden, she was not egoist and gave up on her first crush. No doubt Towano is going to end beardless over time

[Ernietheracefan]

Well, what a great conclusion for Peter Mamoru arc. Mako being a nice bro & I didn't expect the shimapan to become the plot point..

Does Not!Hime is really Cait Sith's another form..?

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Ernietheracefan

Does Not!Hime is really Cait Sith's another form..?

All signs point to it, yes. The name, the green eyes, the scarf. Either it's how he looked when he was young, or this is the form he uses to blend in.

By the way, on the topic of Amanchu and ARIA being set in the same universe, I realized it's actually a bit depressing, since Earth has become so polluted by the time of ARIA that you can't even swim in the ocean anymore. Meaning the undersea wonders seen in Amanchu were lost.

[Infinite Zenith]

I’m not seeing the spiritualism that one of our number claims is part and parcel with this arc. I’d love to hear more about this spirituality, but for now, I’ll have to be patient As an anime-only viewer, I found it more of a metaphor about the constraints of living in the moment, which is consistent with why Amanchu! Advance is called "Advance".

[ArrowSmith]

But I want my money back, where's the diving?

[Marcus H.]

I thought Advance meant Teko's journey towards getting an Advanced Diver's License.

Anyway, catching up and currently at Episode 3. Like the reality of the sea, there are places where it is bright and vivid, and places where it is dark. Episode 2 introduces Kokoro, which I assume had problems with her family (mother is gone or deceased, and father heavily influences her character) and the tragic stories revolving the sea.

Originally Posted by Wikipedia article on Octopi

Octopus reproductive organs mature due to the hormonal influence of the optic gland but result in the inactivation of their digestive glands, typically causing the octopus to eventually die from starvation.

Episode 3 is yet another exploration into Teko's character, notably her bright personality when excited contrasting her tendency to brood over the smallest thoughts of failure or being unable to meet Pikari again. I'm a bit ambivalent about this because we all know that Teko will eventually find her way through this, but I hope that she would eventually shed away this part of her character.

[Kanon]

And we're back to our regular Amanchu. That was a really nice episode, with some focus on Pikari's family (and diving, yes). I liked that they included Akane and Chizuru in it.

Too bad they're skipping the shrine visit, but it was another supernatural story so I guess most people wouldn't have liked it.

[Infinite Zenith]

Originally Posted by Marcus H.

I thought Advance meant Teko's journey towards getting an Advanced Diver's License.

It is, as well: clever title, really, since it does the job of both indicating Futaba's goal of getting advanced certification and moving forwards. The latest episode deals with just this, as well: cherishing the past and embracing the future.

[Marcus H.]

Episode 5-9... what kind of loopy land have I entered?

EDIT: Alright, done with the Five Episodes in a Dream. That was... quite the doozy, really. I thought that the supernatural part of the series would be a one-off deal with Episode 5 being a massive callout to Flying Witch, but the Halloween skit at the end happened and the school festival was haunted by a guy who calls himself Peter and I just found myself caught in the confusion. Have to admit, I'm not well-experienced with Kozue Amano's works, so I was shocked about this dreamy detour.

That said, I don't think the Peter Pan Arc was bad. The only concern I had was the fact that there wasn't any precedent, and we had spent time enjoying down-to-earth fun whenever Teko isn't struggling in one way or another. Aside from that, the story was quite heartwarming, and it even reminded me of anime movies that tell stories about fantasy on a person's normal life.

Poor Ai, though. Ever the hopeless romantic, she got her man-of-her-dreams taken by her advisor this time around. Better luck next time, and hopefully your chances would be something more tangible when it shows up!

EDIT2: Sudden realization: Towano-sensei's surname has the kanji for "neverending" (永遠).

[shanimebib]

Peter's neverending dream is the premonition of what would become of Earth and the flooded world is a representation of the terraformed Mars which eventually would become known as Aqua, the place where ARIA series takes place many a year in the future after human had destroyed the environment of Earth and had learned from their mistakes to never let it happen again as they migrated to Aqua.

As a huge fan of ARIA franchise, Peter Arc will always have a big place in my heart. It connects the Amanchu and the ARIA universe. It might seem out of place for many but for me, that's how dreams should be: confusing, mysterious, magical, apparent harbinger of fate, and full of promises and hopes that may or may not come to be. And thus I find the whole Peter Arc rather fascinating. Ah~ it's almost like all of my senses got intertwined with Ai's dream of neverland! [insert obligatory Hazukashii serifu kinshi here.]

[Marcus H.]

I don't mind that, but I think it's unnecessary (or rather, not really an obligation) to connect non-sequel universes just because they share the same author. In the point of view of an anime-only fan who hasn't even read or watched Aria, it stood out like a sore thumb. Again, it wasn't entirely a bad story arc, but I don't know why it had to exist in the story since the story can work well without it.

[shanimebib]

Originally Posted by ArrowSmith

But I want my money back, where's the diving?

There's Grand Blue happening next season. Oh, wait!

Originally Posted by Marcus H.

In the point of view of an anime-only fan who hasn't even read or watched Aria, it stood out like a sore thumb. Again, it wasn't entirely a bad story arc, but I don't know why it had to exist in the story since the story can work well without it.

The connection has been going on for a long while actually, i.e. ever since Akane and Chizuru were introduced in the story as Teko's friends (both characters are just another versions of Akari and Aika from ARIA universe), I felt myself that it might not bode well with those who haven't seen or read ARIA. Also for those who haven't read the Amanchu manga because what spans over several volumes in the manga with bits and pieces here and there has been squeezed together in this season so they suddenly seem like out of place. There is hardly any build up to the dream arc.

I would have felt the same for instance if Cait Sith only appeared in few episodes all flocked together in ARIA instead of spanning over the entire franchise from the Animation, all the way to the Avvenire so I can see why Amanchu anime-only viewers would find this whole dream segment awkward and unnecessary. So, it's also down to the adaptation I would say.