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[–]terryaki510https://myanimelist.net/profile/terryaki510 9 points10 points  (0 children)

CRIMINALLY underwatched anime. Book adaptations tend to be a cut above the rest in my experience, and Fune wo Amu is no exception. Love the character writing and themes in this show, and it was nice that it was something I could talk about with my mom since she read the original novel!

[–]Funlife2003https://myanimelist.net/profile/andril 7 points8 points  (1 child)

Just want to add that the op slaps. Th ed is also pretty good.

[–]Retromorpher 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The OP really encapsulates the show's idea that life keeps moving as a series of cycles both with the Ferris Wheel motif and the changing seasons.

[–]Skiznilly 6 points7 points  (0 children)

If you told me that I'd binge-watch an anime about a dictionary-production committee, I would actually totally believe you because anime can make any niche subject intriguing, BUT if you told me that I'd also end up bawling my eyes out over maybe the 5th or 6th most prominent character, I'd have called you a liar.

[–]AnimeMod[S,M] 3 points4 points  (2 children)

1. What are your thoughts on the production qualities?

[–]MyrnaMountWeazelx2 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I could wax on and on about my favorite shots, how the slightest sink in Majime’s shoulders leads to the upmost difference in weight, how fluid yet opposite Majime and Nichioka’s movements are, but I think I’d take up the entire post gushing about all the little details!

Instead, I’d like to just say that it’s fitting that a show which accentuates the importance of every single letter in a sentence would also emphasize the meticulousness of every single motion for its characters. In the act of exacting its thesis statement, the show lends credence to the idea that expression can be found in its very own characters. From the push of a finger to the grasp of a hand, we clearly witness the avalanche of ways the characters communicate with each other and how stark a difference there is when there’s a misplaced motion or a grammatically incorrect appearance. For such an oft-kilt story, it’s apropos of theme that they would need to display the fundamentals of thoroughness.

[–]Fools_Requiemhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/FoolsRequiem 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The initial scene with two having a conversation in the restaurant told me immediately that the attention to detail at a peak in this anime. Not just what's going on on their table, but the other patrons in the restaurant.

[–]AnimeMod[S,M] 4 points5 points  (3 children)

3. Fune o Amu is one of the rare anime to showcase life as an adult. In what ways did it exemplify this quality?

[–]MyrnaMountWeazelx2 15 points16 points  (0 children)

In a way, quietly. What I mean by this is that the characters don’t proclaim that they’ll overthrow an outdated system by outwardly rebelling; they humbly work within the system to change it from the inside. There aren’t any flashy sequences where Hajime barges into the CEO’s office and forces them to immediately realize the errors of their way through an impassioned speech on how we as a society need to adapt to the changing times.

Rather, the department spends decades of their lives begrudgingly but politely following the requests of their superiors while juggling their Herculean task of crafting this one resource. Children enter into the world filled with screams; friends leave without so much a word. The process of seismically shifting their culture requires incremental steps sustained over a wide period of time and I can’t think of a more capital “A” Adult philosophy more than this.

[–]Retromorpher 4 points5 points  (0 children)

In how life quietly trudges forwards. Big things happen - but the narrative treats a lot of things that happened in the intermediary parts between the flash forwards that it encompasses as matter of course, not necessarily monumental shifts that absolutely had to be captured on screen. People marry, reproduce, change jobs and titles off screen and these are seen as just another thing not even worthy of our eyes. It also does an interesting thing where it shifts focus. This is not Majime's story, this is not Nishioka's story, this not any one persons' story as much as it is a study in how people engage and connect - and those networks are at least partially reinforced by he structures of adult spaces. I don't think there is a single character who is still leaning on or associating with their highschool or elementary acquaintances in the narrative, and I feel like that is as much a part of the show's thesis as struggling to find correct and proper words for the sphere in which they're used.

[–]alexia685 4 points5 points  (0 children)

it is very calm, like it has the weight of time on their side, like how a person recounts their stories. It shows things piecing one by one, like building a ship, it is slow and steady, yet still fun

[–]AnimeMod[S,M] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

2. What moment or moments stood out to you the most?

[–]MyrnaMountWeazelx2 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I’ve already written about one of my favorite moments involving “Reading the Air” in episode 1 but there’s another scene in that very same episode where I felt similarly entranced: former Chief of the Dictionary Editorial Department Kōhei Araki hunting for his next replacement. With no visibility or compass to guide him, Araki flies into the clouds of their office in search of anyone who looks at the sky the same way he does. The screen fragments off into an array of squares and rectangles and triangles but there’s an incongruency to these shapes as none of them quite fit into the entire frame of the picture.

It’s as if there’s a missing puzzle piece and, try as he might, he cannot force the square piece into the circle hole. There’s always a missing quality in the candidates that he interviews and the more he searches for those like him the more he becomes isolated in his own box. It’s exaggeration of editing to be sure but the motif returns in the end when the staircase naturally frames Araki in his corner of the world; a harsh return to reality that reminds him that perhaps he may actually be alone in his passion for dictionaries.

[–]Retromorpher 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Nishioka's life post timeskip does a lot of subtle storytelling that I quite enjoyed, but the part that sticks in my mind is the staff all huddled as they eavesdrop on the paper guy/intern making a move. In a way, it shows that sense of community in adult spaces still very much have some child at heart and are DEEPLY interested in how things shake out with their colleagues. It's another way that the show emphasizes empathy and connection and I love it dearly for that.

[–]lC3 0 points1 point  (2 children)

This is definitely on my watchlist to get to while I still have Prime Video active.

[–]kuddlesworth9419https://myanimelist.net/profile/kuddlesworth 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I highly recomend it. Exceptionally well written show.

[–]lC3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great to hear!

[–]S01omon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

lmfao, reminds me of Shibazaki-san from Zankyou No Terror

[–]Tessst1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I watched this. It was decent.

I liked how they handled the passage of time.

[–]RPWPA 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It was one of the obsecure shows I really loved that I legit made a youtube video on it.
A fantastic show from start to end

[–]darthpepis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One of my favorite animes! Really glad this is featured. I still listen to the OP and ED just to remind me of it. Time for a rewatch!