| “ | You're still young, miss. You sometimes just assume your whole world is in a palm-sized accessory. Raise your head, it's alright. After all, it's right before your eyes: this nirvana-like world, stretching away into the horizon. |
” |
The Girl and The Sea (少女と海 Shōjo to Umi) is the debut chapter of the Kozue Amano manga Amanchu!.
It was originally published in Monthly Comic Blade on November 11th, 2008 and later republished in Amanchu! Volume 1 on August 10th, 2009.
Summary[]
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Hikari Kohinata, a middle school girl on her final spring break, is hanging out at her grandmother Kino Kohinata's diving services store Amanchu-ya. Kino asks Hikari if she shouldn't be getting prepared to join High School soon, but Hikari is more interested in diving. Hikari wades into the sea holding a large Japanese bath bucket over her head, which she tells Kino is her "secret weapon". Kino, remaining on her porch and smoking a cigarette, promises Hikari that there will be tonjiru waiting for her when she gets back from diving.
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Meanwhile Futaba Ooki, a teenager the same age as Hikari, rides a scooter along the coastal road overlooking Kino's diving shop. She climbs down the coastal path down to a rocky area not far from Kino's porch. Futaba, staring distracted at her cellphone, doesn't notice Kino, who introduces herself and notes how she has never seen her around before. Futaba explains that she just moved to the area and will soon be starting highschool; Kino deduces it will be the same highschool as her grandaughter will be attending, Yumegaoka High School.
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Futaba notices air bubbles floating on the surface of the water beside the rock she's sitting on, and curiously drops a piece of rock into the water towards it. Unbeknownst to her, Hikari is laying on the bottom of the sea, using the bath bucket she took with her as a portable air pocket, and a startled Hikari is nearly hit by the falling rock.
Futaba tells Kino that she came down to the coast to look at the sea, but Kino notices that Futaba still has her nose buried in her phone, not looking at the sea at all. Kino offers her a drink, and as she passes the can up to her, a huge wave crashes over the rock where Futaba is stood, startling her and causing her to finally really take in the ocean in front of her. Kino reminds her to raise her head from her phone sometimes and enjoy the world right in front of her eyes while she's still young.
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Hikari emerges from the ocean with her bathing bucket followed by a group of divers. The divers are all in awe of how beautiful it was in the ocean, but Hikari is more interested in getting a bowl of the tonjiru she was promised. Hikari has to go back into the ocean to collect a discarded lifering, and when she turns back, she sees Futaba riding away on her moped along the coastal road, momentarily distracted by Futaba's long dark hair floating in the breeze. Kino shouts out to Hikari to hurry up before the tonjiru is all gone, causing Hikari to quickly run back to shore.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
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| Hikari Kohinata | Kino Kohinata | Cha | Futaba Ooki |
[]
| Volume 1: | 01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 | Volume 2: | 07 • 08 • 09 • 10 • 11 • 12 | Volume 3: | 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 |
| Volume 4: | 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 | Volume 5: | 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 | Volume 6: | 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 |
| Volume 7: | 37 • 38 • 39 • 40 • 41 • 42 | Volume 8: | 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 | Volume 9: | 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 • 55 |
| Volume 10: | 56 • 57 • 58 • 59 • 60 • 61 | Volume 11: | 63 • 64 • 65 • 66 • 67 | Volume 12: | 68 • 69 • 70 • 71 • 72 • 73 |
| Volume 13: | |||||