Amanchu! (あまんちゅ！) is a 2016 television anime series based on Kozue Amano’s manga series of the same name. The series was directed by Kenichi Kasai and produced by studio J.C. Staff, with chief director Junichi Satō, series composition writer Deko Akao, character designer Yōko Itō and music composer Gontiti. The series first aired in Japan in July 2016.
Note: This post has been updated in May 2026 to reflect the current blog layout and some minor tweaks to the original write-up. The photos in this unboxing have been updated on 26th June 2019.
Background:
“After moving from Tokyo to a small seaside town, 15-year-old Futaba is captivated by the ocean views and the vast expanse of water which she finds laid out before her.
Unbeknownst to her, Futaba’s fascination is shared by Hikari, who has lived in the town her entire life, and the two girl’s lives intermingle unexpectedly when the introverted Futaba meets the outgoing and exuberant Hikari as one of her new classmates.
Before she knows it, a whole new world is opened up to Futaba – a sparkling, shimmering world that exists under the sea, as her new-found friend helps her confront her fears and anxieties through the form of scuba diving.
As her circle of friends grows, and with her confidence burgeoning, so Futaba finds the strength and self-assuredness to grow and develop with the support of those around her.”
Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, October 2018.
Kozue Amano is a name most I feel wouldn’t be familiar with at first, but they wrote Aria, which was one of the most beloved anime shows back in the 00s era, which received multiple seasons and a couple OVAs. After writing the series, they eventually wrote Amanchu! which follows a group of people sea diving at their local village.
Amanchu! to me was pretty simple and not something everyone would enjoy because it’s nothing like the traditional shows that air each season, but overall has a really nice charm to the characters and setting. One of the reasons why I really liked the series was due to the way they express themselves which appear very comedic and random, but works with the light-vibe the series offers. And since the author wrote Aria as mentioned, you may fins some similarities throughout.
The series simulcasted on Crunchyroll and surprisingly nobody had picked up the home video rights, at least until Anime Limited in the UK & Ireland decided to acquire the first season. At the time of this write-up no other distributor or even Crunchyroll had released the series in other English-speaking territories.
Collector’s Edition Contents:
Anime Limited are known for producing collector’s editions for pretty much any anime they acquire, so Amanchu! also received the same treatment.
The collector’s edition Blu-ray release is presented in an rigid slipcase with a digipack housing the discs, a 52-page hardcover booklet and 2 sticker sheets. The booklet features character designs, background artwork and illustrations. Upyo!
The rigid box artwork is free of any information or BBFC content and the info sheet covers the information and specification like previous Anime Limited releases. The collector’s edition Blu-ray has an unspecified number of units printed for an SRP of £59.99, with a standard edition Blu-ray released later down the line for retailers at an SRP of £34.99.
I pre-ordered the series as part of Anime Limited’s early bird offer in September 2018 for £34.99 plus free postage.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with clean artwork
- Digipack packaging
- Info sheet for specification and BBFC description
- 52-page Hardcover Booklet
- 2 Sticker Sheets
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 29th October 2018
The collector’s edition release for Amanchu! Season 1 contains the entire season, episodes 1-12, and OVA episode across two Blu-ray discs. The discs were authored and encoded by Anime Limited from an undisclosed individual/group with the episodes split being 7 on the first disc and 6 on the second disc.
Audio options include Japanese with English subtitles only, as there’s no English dub produced for the series.
The white subtitles are unlockable during playback, however, the lyrics during the opening and closing segments are not translated, and the Blu-ray discs are region locked to players set to B.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | Japanese |
| Audio | Japanese Linear PCM 2.0 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 1.78:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | B |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 2 BD-50s |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
Disc 2:
- OVA Episode “The Story of the Promised Summer and New Memories”
- Amanchu Short Films (Whoop! Dive into Seaworld & Whoop! Dive into Amazon World) Episodes 1-7 (05:00, 07:16, 07:00, 07:30, 07:02, 08:16, 06:40 runtimes respectively)
- Textless Opening “Million Clouds”
- Textless Ending “Futari Shōjo”
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Amanchu! Season 1 is available to purchase on Blu-ray by Anime Limited in the UK & Ireland.
You can order the set on Amazon UK while stocks last. A standard edition Blu-ray is also available.
(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills.)
The Normanic Vault 
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