I dont necessarily believe that dictionaries are the beall endall. What do you mean? I just mean that theyre made by people. You cant gather every word. And words are alive so their uses and nuances change with the times. When you think of it that way you would say theres no real correct definition. Even so those who make dictionaries continue to try. This review is a love letter to a love letter about a love letter. 600https://wrongeverytime.com/wpcontent/uploads/2017/02/CommieFunewoAmu0115524F11.mkvsnapshot00.332017.02.0914.14.09.jpg?w=640 I started watching Fune wo Amu on impulse. Long story short I wanted something brief and uplifting to put my mind at ease. Id been hearing relatively good things about Fune wo Amu since it first aired in 2016. Id also seen it likened to both Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu and Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru two of my favorite anime. Therefore I came in to the show with high expectations. Fune wo Amu was a joint project written by Shion Miura and illustrated by Haruko Kumota which explains the comparison to Kazetsuyo and Rakugo. Miura wrote the former and Kumota the latter. Each authors respective brilliance unite beautifully in this tale of stubborn passion and unrelenting struggles. But more on that later. Fans of Haruko Kumota will immediately pick up on some familiar motifs in Fune wo Amus plot. Rakugos exploration of complimenting yet opposing forces for example is channeled through Mitsuya Majime and Masashi Nishioka our two main leads. 600https://lostinanime.com/wpcontent/uploads/2016/11/FunewoAmu0515.jpg Nishioka is a frivolous fasttalker and gogetter. Originally he applied to be in his companys PR department but somehow ended up compiling dictionaries. He doesnt bemoan his placement. At the same time he wont pretend to be passionate about something he has no interest in. He does his job well for a sense of selfsatisfaction and pride nothing more. While he lacks in overt passion he more than makes up for it with likability uniting the rest of the office in a strong bond. In contrast you have the sociallyinept Majime. He originally starts out in sales but fails quite spectacularly due to his timid and obtuse nature. Just like Nishioka Majime is not one to complain about his job. Rather hes the kind of person to flounder in an illsuited position his entire career and never once dare to dream of something better. The one solace in Majimes life is found on the pages of a book. Not so much the stories themselves but rather the language piecing them together. Majime loves words. In that sense he is a walking contradiction: a man who intimately knows words and has their various meanings memorized yet can never express himself competently. Only through a chance encounter do the two foils collide. When Nishioka witnesses Majime thinking over the myriad interpretations of kki or air he cant forget he strange encounter. Offhandedly Nishioka describes Majime to his coworker Kouhei Araki a veteran of the department searching for a suitable apprentice. Nearing his retirement Araki knows he wont be able to see their latest project through to the end. Upon learning about Majimes fondness for words Araki is determined to recruit him into their ranks convinced he will be the one to carry the torch in his stead. 600https://lostinanime.com/wpcontent/uploads/2016/12/FunewoAmu0917.jpg The rest of the show tackles 13 years of effort and strife as the dictionary department take on all kinds of obstacles standing in their way of eventual publication. Exciting content right? Im joking of course. Exciting is honestly the last word I would use to describe Fune wo Amu. That might be a damning statement for some. If thats the case then feel free to stop reading now. Im not going to try and sell you on the premise. Really theres nothing to sell if you already havent been sold. Its an anime about making a literal dictionary theres no amount of sugar coating that can sweeten the facts. For those of you with piqued curiosities however hear me out. I mentioned earlier that what led me to Fune wo Amu was a desire for something short and uplifting. Those two adjectives are quite fitting. At a mere eleven episodes this anime can be devoured in one sitting. Personally I spread the experience out over two nights. Part of this was because Im a working adult with worldly obligations. Mainly however I didnt want the show to end. Both narratively and technically Fune wo Amu is near flawless. Its solid production and thoughtful writing had me hooked immediately. By episode two I was jotting down quotes and researching its conception. And come episode seven I was ready to profess my undying love. 600https://foryouibleed.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/commiefunewoamu050513196cmkvsnapshot191920161214093022.jpg?w=900 The most apt word I can think of to describe Fune wo Amu is adult. Typically I dont like throwing around such an inane platitude. Something being adult means about as much as something being deep. That being said I will break this rule for the sake of discussing how Fune wo Amu handles mature topics. When I say mature I dont mean in the mainstream context. Fune wo Amu isnt an adult story for any gratuitous reason. It simply features adults as they go about their lives and tackle setbacks with careful consideration. If youve ever worked on a professional team I can guarantee you will find these characters familiar and relatable. Similarly if youve ever had to deal with bureaucracy in your job certain scenes will ring painfully true. Ive never seen the dichotomy between wellintentioned individuals and the corporate agenda so skillfully portrayed and in an anime of all mediums. Bureaucracy seems like a big word to be throwing around but truly this anime tackles the issue with surprising nuance. It takes a look at what happens when genuine passion is confronted with people who just arent interested. And thats a pretty heavy topic to cover especially when it wears the guise of something inspirational. Its important to note that there are no real antagonists in Fune wo Amu. If you pressed me to name an opposing force I might say time or apathy or human error or miscommunication. But theyre all abstract threats that come as a natural course of life. The obstacles in Fune wo Amu arent really what matter. What matters is how the characters overcome them and more importantly why. 600https://lostinanime.com/wpcontent/uploads/2016/12/FunewoAmu1148.jpg As a side note Im typically not a fan of media where authors preach about the importance of words and storytelling. Sometimes it works but most of the time it comes off as overlyindulgent and selfcongratulatory. In many ways Fune wo Amu feels like an answer to these frustrations. It walks a thin line for sure. But never once was I offput by this animes enthusiasm for language. It always came off as earnest and pure. This anime isnt about the power of stories or the brilliance of orators. Instead Fune wo Amu removes people entirely. Meaning is found in words alien from the authors intent for words arent tools. They cant be controlled by humans and Fune wo Amu denounces those who try. Rather words are alive vibrant and free. As living beings they are born evolve over time and eventually fade from existence. Thats honestly the closest thing this anime gets to a thesis...words encompass a vast everexpanding sea and the feat of capturing them in a cohesive collection pretty much goes against all logical reason. Why compile a dictionary when eventually inevitably it will fall out of use and submit to the ebb and flow of time? Well that brings us back to the why. Why do these characters spend 13 years of their lives compiling and editing over and over again? Even if the dictionary does manage to get published they must continually return to it for the rest of their lives reviewing and updating it as needed. Why do they suffer through the endless revisions? The endless set backs? Why not just give up? Because fickle as they may be words are necessary for human connection. Hence the title of the dictionary. The Great Passage refers to a ship built to navigate the expansive sea of language and communication. 600https://kyradesuyo.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/e520361.jpg The main cast recognizes this truth. They know intimately the power that words possess as theyve experienced it themselves. A clumsy and meandering love letter can lead to a lifelong connection. Two contrasting personalities can learn to appreciate the others strengths through communication. And a carefully curated dictionary can be one thing to bridge human understanding. Look at me waxing about the importance of words like the hypocrite I am. I would say more but honestly half the joy of this anime comes from listening to the characters yourself. On the topic of human connection lets quickly talk about love. Along with adult I would also describe Fune wo Amu as loving in all facets. The characters are wellintentioned and passionate. They assume the good in humanity always and do their job to the best of their abilities. Watching them work tirelessly makes me want to surround myself with people like that in my own life. Beyond work they are loving in their philosophies. They are constantly reflecting on their efforts and reaffirming their purpose. These people fully believe in the weight of their work. Never once do they succumb to apathy it doesnt ever occur to them not to care. And ultimately those are the characters that mean the most to me. One other thing I was not expecting from Fune wo Amu was fulfilling romance. The two love stories featured only take up only about 30 of screen time. Even still this animes handle on romance has to be some of the most competent and fulfilling Ive ever seen in josei. I dont want to dwell too much on this aspect because ultimately its not the most important part of the show. I just wanted to highlight that fact that Fune wo Amu treats even its minor storylines with deft care. 600https://www.animeevo.net/wpcontent/uploads/2017/01/funewoamur07.jpg In terms of visual presentation I cant imagine many sakuga enthusiasts will love this series. Not to say that it doesnt look great it does. The character animation and backgrounds are especially pleasant. That being said the aim of Fune wo Amu is not to be flashy. The entire show is incredibly grounded animated almost as if it were a live action drama actually very little would be lost or changed if it had been live action. The only reprieve from this realism comes during brief moments of visual metaphor where two recurring motifs are featured: a literal ocean to represent the vastness of language and a faraway everturning Ferris wheel to represent the circle of life. The music is also phenomenal. Composed by Yoshihiro Ike it acts as a perfect compliment to the shows feel: uplifting and hopeful. And then there is the setting. If the characters of Fune wo Amu feel reminiscent of Haruko Kumotas other works then its the settings that undoubtedly belong to Shion Miura. Miura is especially talented when it comes to creating memorable locations. The dorm from Kazetsuyo is a good example of this. Chikuseisou felt real and lived in like a character in and of itself. By the end of the series you develop a real attachment to the rundown building for youve spent so much time there alongside the characters. Moreover in the beginning of the story Chikuseisou is the only force unifying our cast acting as the literal glue keeping them together. Like the dorm in Kazetsuyo both Majimes building and the dictionary department offices serve to enrich the narrative. The former offers clear insight into who Majime is as a character. When we are first introduced to his living situation we learn he is unmarried messy and surrounds himself with a wall of books. 600https://lostinanime.com/wpcontent/uploads/2016/11/FunewoAmu0512.jpg The astute viewer will also notice that this clutter follows him everywhere even to the office. 600https://static.anime21.blog.br/2016/12/FunewoAmu1035.png In terms of that office...well Ill just let the characters explain its significance... Its an old building isnt it? Yes....er I mean no. It may look like the dictionary editorial department was relegated to the corner but this was the main building around the time I first started here. The company has put in effort to making dictionaries so we werent relegated we remained. The dictionary department offices are a physical embodiment of the effort and passion of the people who work there. Theyve managed to prove their worth time and time again stubbornly refusing to be defunded or dissolved. The building is old because making dictionaries is old its a practice thats been preserved against all odds. Passionate people will keep it alive like that everturning Ferris wheel working hard to pass on the baton. One final thing I feel compelled to praise is the voice acting. To begin the characters are phenomenally wellcast especially our two leads. Takahiro Sakurai is flawless as the wellmeaning yet awkward Majime. He can so perfectly balance the moments of whimsy and kindness with charming humor and quirky mannerisms. Playing off his performance is another legend Hiroshi Kamiya. Ive always thought his voice was wellsuited for a fasttalking businessman and Nishiokas flippant personality allows him to have fun with the delivery. You can always expect quality performances from these two actors but combined this shows realism their voices are given new life. 600https://rabujoi.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/fun32.jpg Perhaps dedicating your life to something frees you from the world somehow. I dont know exactly when I stopped being fun perhaps sometime in college? Who can say. The point is Im gradually losing interest in stories that are not grounded. Obviously theres a time and place for shenanigans. And occasionally Ill turn off my brain for bit of fun. But more often than not I want something feels real and relevant to my now. But that seems rather illfitting for a medium like anime no? A medium thats known for its overthetop storytelling and irreverence. The truth is as an adult anime fan Ive become very picky. I only have so much free time so I want to invest wisely. Thats why Im thankful for Fune wo Amu. Not only was this anime wonderful it gave me much needed motivation. While watching I was simultaneously overwhelmed by work so much so that this review was delayed by a week. But ultimately it was for the best. Because watching these people work so damn hard and never once waver in determination made me reevaluate my own intentions. For someone younger this might not be a good enough reason to watch Fune wo Amu. If youve ever felt yourself lose purpose in your professional life however I highly recommend this anime. The only critique I have is that its far too short. I would have happily watched 50 more episodes detailing those 13 years of effort. But I suppose thats a telling flaw: when a show is so good that you never want it to end. In summary Fune wo Amu wont be for all but it was definitely for me.