Welcome back to another week of our recommendation series, this week we have an anime that really surprised me. I went into this anime expecting it to be bland but, no. This anime managed to keep me interested in it for all 12 episodes with its fast progression. Granted, it may not be for everyone but, I really suggest you give it a chance you may just find something you like.
You have read the title; you know we are talking about Fune wo Amu this week. “Fune wo Amu” literally translates to “build a ship” but, its official English title is The Great Passage. I’d like to remind you that this is a recommendation and not a review so I won’t be pointing out any negatives. So let’s get started.
Introduction
Fune wo Amu or The Great Passage is based on a novel by Shion Miura. Not a light novel but, an actual proper novel. It aired from 14th October 2016 to 23rd December 2016. It sits a little short of a full cour, at 11 episodes. Fune wo Amu is animated by Zexcs.
Fune wo Amu is a slice of life/drama anime. It has great pacing even though its plot may not appeal to everyone, but it is still a great anime. It is short, sweet, and simple. Seriously, the anime appears bland on the surface, but it’s really good.
Plot
It has an extremely simple plot, it follows Majime Mitsuya who is tasked with completing a dictionary. This new dictionary called The Great Passage aimed to combine new and old dictionaries and include both new and old words. Now, making a dictionary in English is hard in itself, making a dictionary in Japanese though is just brain-fuck.
As Fune wo Amu explains, many kanji fall out of use over time or one usage of them becomes more common over others. If you know even a little about kanji you’d know that one kanji can mean multiple things and they can mean even more things when used with other kanjis.
The plot progression is great, it is very fast. Fune wo Amu does not waste any time and it really drills in the point that making a dictionary is difficult.
Characters
It has very few characters but, it does them justice. The goals and motivations of each character are well defined and it is clear that not everyone is into the dictionary-making thing at first. Slowly, everyone gets around to it and slowly, the work grows on them. Thanks to the fast pacing, the character development is also fast. Majime goes from a socially awkward person looking for a reason to live to someone who knows what they are doing and becomes much brighter.
Animations
The animations of Fune wo Amu are slightly above average but it doesn’t even matter. This is a slice-of-life anime so animations don’t matter as much yet; the art style and animations are pleasant to look at. Same with the soundtrack, it’s nothing notable aside from the opening and ending themes.
Why you should watch Fune wo Amu
Some quick points on why you should check out this anime
- Simple and fast-paced plot
- Really short
- You get to learn a few new things about dictionaries
- Good characters
- Somehow manages to keep you on the edge at all times
Conclusion
That is it for now. Fune wo Amu may not be for everyone like I said, but I really suggest you give it a shot. Even I was skeptical before watching it but, now I love it. Well, with that said I will take my leave here. See ya!
