[Book Review] Amanchu!

Just recently, my wife has
been hooked on an anime
about diving, and on the side, I
felt like re-reading this work for the first time in a while.

I became a fan of this author
after being deeply moved by her masterpiece
ARIA,
and started reading this.

That said, I wasn't
following the magazine it was serialized in,
so my motivation for picking up this work
wasn't exactly pure.

It was a time when I was moving for work,
letting go of most of the over 1,000 books I owned,
and transitioning from paper books
to e-books.

ARIA was a book I kept close to my heart, but
no matter how much I looked,
it hadn't been digitized.
(It is published now, though)

A book I want to re-read anytime, as many times as I want.

That's exactly why I wanted it as an e-book.
Because I couldn't possibly carry around
a dozen or more paper books.

This was a work I learned about during that struggle.
I was looking for this work
to be a substitute for ARIA.

But as I read on,
I felt ashamed of myself.

Because it was packed with just as much
wonderful, embarrassing goodness
as ARIA.

Heisei Youth Nostalgia

One of the charms of ARIA was the beauty of the scenery
based on the tourist city of Venice,
but since this is about diving,
the stage dives into the ocean.

The wonderful nature of the words and perspectives
spun by the author's sensibility
remains the same, but
the scenery seen from underwater
adds an extra layer of charm.

Set in the present day, it's a youth story
centered on a diving club at a high school in Izu.
Though, in terms of the era,
it is a little old from the perspective of Reiwa now.

It's the heyday of flip phones,
and the old-fashioned blackboards and chalk
are still alive and well in school classrooms.
(I hear that recent classrooms have more displays and whiteboards)

It's a little different from Reiwa now, but
that's exactly why it feels so emotional.

Whether you've passed your youth
or are right in the middle of it,
I'm sure it's a work that will resonate
with anyone.

Reliving Growth and Emotion

The protagonist, Futaba Ooki, who moved from Tokyo to Izu,
is shy and somewhat negative about everything.

Even though our genders are different,
there are many similarities in our personalities,
and for me, I can't help but feel like she's not a stranger.

In a new environment, I couldn't even bring myself to talk to others, to the point where I still can't remember how I managed to make friends.

The reason I became able to talk to people I met for the first time like a normal person after I started working is probably because I was tempered by school life and society in one way or another.

Seeing myself through her, I reminisce about my own growth as a human being, having gone through a similar path.
...No, I don't think my youth was quite as brilliant as this.

Regardless, even for those whose student days are long gone, I'm sure the anxiety, fear, and excitement of new things remain no matter how old you get.

That is precisely why, even reading it now as an adult, I can naturally project myself onto the characters and re-experience their growth and emotional journey.

It cleanses my soul every time I read it.

It's not that I'm wallowing in memories or nostalgia, but I find myself wanting to pick up this work and read it on various occasions.
And each time, it gives me new insights.

I've always had a strange feeling every time I read it, but after reading it again, I finally understand.

This work is like a "book of poetry."

I've read poems and poetry collections in Japanese class during my student days and in my private life, but nothing ever really clicked for me.

But every time I open this book, my heart is cleansed, and I encounter new discoveries and emotions.

I'm sure people who enjoy poetry collections read them because they love this kind of feeling.
I have a hunch that this is the case.

When I reread it after a long time, I realized that there are many ways of seeing and thinking that have permeated my current self.

I used to be a negative person like Futaba, but before I knew it, I had changed into someone who could think brightly and positively.

This is undoubtedly the power of this work and of Kozue Amano-sensei.

For me, it is no exaggeration to say that it changed my way of thinking and my life.

▷ Check it out on Amazon

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