Hikari Kohinata grew up by the sea and as a result developed a deep love of scuba diving. On her first day of high school, her hobby and her relentless cheerfulness sweeps up those around her in a maelstrom, and they all cultivate a love for diving together.
Chill and beautiful, there are few other shows that celebrate the sea in the way Amanchu does, for more anime recommendations like it, continue on below.
Anime Like Amanchu
For Fans of Passionate Characters
Aria The Animation
Mars has now become known as Aqua, a planet of water. On this planet is the peaceful city of drift upon the sea called Neo Venezia. A replica of Earth’s Venice, gondolas are the primary mode of transportation, join a novice tour guide as she shows the wonders of her city.
Aria and Amanchu have the same creator, so naturally you get a lot of the same feel from both of them. Both shows highly celebrate water, primarily, and show it off beautifully. You also get to meet likable, and occasionally odd, characters in both shows as well.
The Great Passage
Araki is a veteran editor of Genbu Publishing’s dictionary division and planning on retiring. However, before he does, he seeks to find a replacement to complete his last project – a dictionary called the Great Passage. He has since failed, until he meets Mitsuya Majime, a worker in the sales division with poor social skills.
While it may be easy to develop a passion about diving, developing a passion for creating a dictionary is hard, but wouldn’t that be the best pursuit? Both of these shows are about someone who has found something in life that excites them, and they want to see it through.
Silver Spoon
Yuugo Hachiken is a hard-working, studious student, but he is tired of trying to live up to the academic expectations that are placed on him. So when it comes time to go to high school, he enrolls in the Ooezo Agricultural High School in Hokkaido. Being so clever, he thinks he will excel in the institution, but soon learns that farming is much harder work, both physically and emotionally, more so than he expected.
Within Amanchu, you are given a certain reverence for the creatures that are harvested from the sea, Silver Spoon has that same sort of reverence, but for land animals. Diving and farming are different ventures to be true, but within you follow people as they discover and pursue passions.
For Fans of Ocean Visuals
Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet
In the distant future, humanity has abandoned a ruined Earth and now lives in the furthest reaches of space fighting their eternal enemy, the Hideauze. During one of their massive space battles, a young soldier named Ledo and his mecha Chamber are flung through a warp hole into space. He crash lands on a strange planet that is covered completely in water. To his surprise, he finds that other humans also live there aboard massive fleets of boats. Found by the Gargantia fleet, Ledo must navigate this strange new world.
Yes, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet is a mecha show with a plot, unlike Amanchu. However, the real thing that I feel draws these two shows together is their beautiful depiction of water. As Gargantia takes place on a water planet, there is a lot of it, and it is always beautiful.
Tsuritama
Yuki Sanada is a socially awkward young man that, due to his grandmother’s job, has to move around a lot. He has all but given up on making normal friends until he moved to the town of Enoshima. There he meets a man named Haru who claims to be an alien. It turns out Yuki was right on one account, he would never make “normal” friends.
While Tsuritama dabbles in more strange plots and comedy than Amanchu, this island town celebrates the sea like Amanchu in a similar sort of fashion by making it beautiful. Both shows are also notable because they each have a similar quirky character that much of the show revolves around and lends to the comedy.
High School Fleet
After shifting tectonic plates caused much of Japan to sink, they became a maritime nation. Among the new industries of the sea is the Blue Mermaids, skilled women that protect their seas. This is the tale of two childhood friends that aim to train body and mind in order to become part of the Blue Mermaids.
In High School Fleet, Japan took to the sea because they had to while in Amanchu, they do so as a hobby because of the more reality-based setting. However, regardless it has two groups of girls that found a passion and work towards that. Diving requires slightly less training, but you watch as both groups in both shows get better at what they do.
For Fans of Chill Journeys
The Flying Witch
The young Makoto Kowata is a witch, but her skills in magic leave something to be desired. To further train her craft, she moves to rural Aomori to live with her cousins. This area, rich in nature, is the perfect place to commune with natural forces and hone her craft.
Although The Flying Witch has a distinct supernatural element to it, even witchcraft in the show is deeply steeped in nature. Both The Flying Witch and Amanchu are about girls discovering and practicing something new. Even though Amanchu has nothing supernatural about it, the ocean remains just as magical.
Long Riders
After being enamored with a collapsible bicycle she saw, university student Ami Kurata empties her account and buys a bicycle. Now with her friends, she enjoys weekend bicycle trips with that changes her view of the world completely.
A casual dip in the water, a casual ride on a bicycle. Land and sea, they are not so different when approached with the same attitude. Both Amanchu and Long Riders are about girls discovering a new passion and the beauty within and without of that.
Laid-Back Camp
After moving, Nadeshiko decides to go see Mount Fuji. She manages to bike pretty far, but has to turn back because of the weather and ends up fainting. When she wakes up, she finds herself somewhere she has never been and no way to find her way back. It is in this wilderness where she is saved by Rin, a girl who was out camping by herself.
In the same way Amanchu celebrates the sea, so does Laid-Back Camp celebrate the serene beauty of camping in the winter. Neither show has a particularly intricate plot, but it does what it means to do – show off the scenery – very, very well.
Do you have more anime recommendations like Amanchu? Let us know in the comments section below.
