Grand Blue

College life is a bit different from high school. For those who don’t know, it’s like venturing into a society where some people live by the rules and others makes them. To me, Grand Blue came as a show that explored a carefree life while mixing in adult humor, diving elements, and drinking shenanigans. It’s one of those shows that is hard to not laugh your ass off once you realized what you’re in for.

Based on the manga written by Kenji Inoue, Grand Blue stands out more as a modern slice of life that adheres to a young adult cultural society. Here, we meet a ... guy named Iori Kithara who starts his new life as a college student on the Izu Peninsula. His place of residence happens to be a diving shop known as “Grand Blue” and thus where daily life adventure begins. Now, I should say right off the bat that a show like this relies on stereotypical humor with plenty of jokes in between. If you’re not ready for that, just turn back now.

Grand Blue’s storytelling mainly chronicles the daily life adventures of Iori although plenty of other characters are featured aside him. The main cast consists of diving club, also known as the “Peek-a-Boo”. He meets others including his cousin Chisa, Nanaka, Kouhei, Azusa, Toshio, and Kotobuki. Among this group, the male cast seems more like they are in love with drinking more than diving. The first episode immediately sets off the humor with the nakedness and adult jokes from the very start as we meet the core members. That is to say, Iori himself also lacks common sense when he attends his first day at college while being half naked. Judging from just this impression, it should be easy to recognize that the show love to make fun of its characters. It uses stereotypes that makes fun of college life such as young adults drinking and partying. Then, there’s meta-humor that plays on jokes with the nudity. It’s also self-aware being that it never attempts to disguise its humor. Certain characters are very aware of their actions regardless of consequences and this often sets off the wrath of others such as Chisa.

For the main female cast, it consists of a colorful group with a diverse range of personalities. The most level-headed person in the show is Chisa who takes many things in life seriously. She also loves diving and geniuely enjoys the feelings of being in the azure ocean. She’s like the anti-Peek-a-boo member in the show as she can’t tolerate being embarrassed. Because of this, there’s often a clash between her and Iori as the two gets into compromising positions. The end result is often Iori taking the blow and Chisa face palming herself. However, it’s also noticeable that she does care about Iori especially during brief flashbacks before them. Often times, I guess you could say that she misses her childhood with him and reliving those moments brings a peace in her mind. Then, we have Nanaka who seems to play the role of an older sister type for the main cast although at the same time, she also has an unhealthy infatuation towards Chisa. It’s the type of humor that makes fun of siblings but in a sarcastic way. Azusa is the senior student who behaves much more like the guys in the show. Her bisexuality is hinted at many times and often makes sexual jokes at others, especially Iori. Last but not least is Aina, a freshman who is much shyer compared to the others. She does go by another persona early in the series so watching her sometimes may remind you just how different her two personalities are.

Between the guys, a main selling point in the show is the character chemistry. Regardless whether you like it or not, there’s an abundance amount of humor when the guys interact with each other and it often comes off as absurd humor. The most prominent is between Iori and Kouhei. They are often observant but says things that may be interpreted in the wrong way. They often get into trouble with the women in the show too given their actions that disregards common sense. The two also gets into many bickering moments. Early in the series, the series also makes fun of the guys with porn jokes. And let’s not forget about the drinking. Pretty every male character in the series loves to drink whether it’s alcohol, beer, vodka, wine, or whiskey. As you may expect from action that results in consequences, the guys behave like drunks while stripping naked and causing questionable scenes. The series pokes fun at this type of adult humor by covering their private body parts with black censored circles. It’s the type of self-aware humor that you’ll witness quite often.

So now what? Is this series just a giant ball of meaningless humor? Or is it something more deceptive that people misunderstands? To me, Grand Blue stands out as a show that deals with adult gimmicks and stereotypes but makes it into a humorous flick. It seems like a popcorn entertainment and you’re not wrong if it feels like the story went nowhere in the end. However, the shows knows how it operates and inserts every joke with a clear intention. The guys in the series acts bold and behaves in ways that wild college students do. The girls are slightly mild but it doesn’t detract them from getting into the party on occasions. There’s a lot of running gags with the drinking jokes, nakedness, and misunderstandings. It’s what the series uses to sell its humor. If you’re in it for actual diving, there are some moments too with info dumps. Don’t expect this like a relaxing slice of life as it’s far too hyperactive to be considered as such though. Watch this for the pure entertainment and forget common logic. That way, you’ll grow to love Grand Blue.

Zero-G has honestly been an unimpressive studio. Their lineup consists of shows that I hardly see anyone talks about these days (Battery, Dorei-kun the Animation, Dive!!). Their production quality is hardly stellar either. Thankfully, they managed to step up to the plate and capture the magic for this show. It deserved a glorious quality and got treated such way with the beach setting, aquatic ocean, and sunny atmosphere. Character designs also feels real with the cast looking like they are college students (although Aina sometimes makes me question this) Fan service is literally in every episode but they take the extreme during party scenes and drinking segments. Finally, I love the way characters reacts that pushes the envelope to the extreme. Iori and Kouhei are prime examples of this while others such as Chisa and Nanaka also have their own moments. Expressions of shock, anger, and confusion is shown right to your face in ridiculous ways. Thanks to the talented voice cast, it brings the best out of those moments. The OP song also adapts a playful feel to showcase the themes of the show. The ED theme song makes fun of pop culture such as karaoke that’s so fun to sing along with.

As a fan of the manga, I think Grand Blue established itself as a self-aware humorous showstopper. Taking the risk of glorifying its humor made this show look like a joke at first glance. However, once you get sucked into Grand Blue’s themes, you’ll find love with this show. From the adult humor to the numerous character gags, it’s an anime that plays with itself. It’s a Summer sensation.

"In Japan, the color blue signifies youth, a time of excitement and infinite possibilities"

Hello everyone , this is my review of funniest show of this season and one of the best gag comedy i had ever seen in anime ..
so Lets begin

Intro:

Imagine what you expect when you going to college, we develop a lot of preconceptions about what it would be like i mean New places, new friends, maybe a new girlfriend. Go to some parties, maybe find somewhere I felt like I could really fit in and all that wonderful dreamy thought. Well our main protagonist Imagination is no different than an average student ... who just entering the college.

After graduating high school, Iori moves to Izu, on the coast, to go to college for mechanical engineering. “I’ll put all my effort into having the best college life possible!” he vows. “I’m going to meet cute girls, fall in love, and enjoy the pinnacle of youth with good friends!”

He moves in with his uncle and, more importantly, his two beautiful cousins: motherly, long-haired Nanaka and tomboyish, short-haired Chisa. All of them work at the uncle’s dive shop, the Grand Blue; unfortunately, so do Tokita and Kotobuki, macho dive bums who pressure Iori into joining the diving club even though he can’t swim. Alas, Iori soon finds himself roped into their social circle, partying with a bunch of goofy jocks who just want to get naked and play all-male drinking games. Will Iori get to enjoy a cool campus life? Will he find love? Will the diving club ever actually get in the water?

Well thats for the introduction part which sounds like an average college based anime
or IS IT!, so let examine in our further review.

Story: (7/10)

Most of the time we see gag anime fail to deliver a proper story line and mostly involved in delivering some random funny events and scenes.
Well Grand Blue is kind of done a decent job in constructing a story line. Sure we can say that its not a story based anime .However, Grand Blue does deserve credit in the sense that it doesn't completely devolve into comedy, as most events take place in a ocean setting, staying true to the foundation that it lay down. The Episodes are also loosely tied together, meaning that there is some degree of continuation. But in all we can say that its main purpose is to make audience laugh.


Art, Animation and sound:(9/10)

Art is beautiful considering how they have utilize the beauty of locations including underwater and seasore and present it in a beautiful and artistic way. Animation is great, studio done a decent job in adapting manga considering manga artstyle is already top class we sure expect in the hands of a decent studio anime is pleasant to watch.
There are some part i like to focus on which Grand Blue done a tremendous job that is adapting face expression with the scenes. Grand Blue Dreaming is a stunning treasure trove of reaction faces. With influences from hot-blooded fighting anime, horror movie framing, and direct references to other franchises, like this Great Teacher Onizuka and that Evil sarcastic Face which taken from Attack on Titans.
OP and ending is pleasant and beautiful as well as some underwater scenes are eyecatching.

It also done a great job in sound department including beautiful opening and ending sound. There are no characters who unnecessarily shouting everywhere and trying to make audience laugh .Voice actors done excellent job in providing tone which goes exceptionally well with the scene

Characters:(9/10)
Characters are unique and excellent and each have there own funnier side perfectly well fitted for such gags Anime.
We can see from absolute scumbags to a hot and weird otaku , from a shy tomboyish waifu material girl who has its own sadist side to a lewd Onee san including Airheads and some trouble some senpais.
Grand Blue has all to offer what is necessary for a gag anime, characters range from lovable bastards like club senpai Tokki and Bukki to absolute scumbags, with Iori somewhere in the middle. He has a veneer of respectability that gets shattered the moment he takes a sip of beer. Also our fellow dorks like good-looking but skeevy anime fan Kohei (“Why isn’t there a club full of beautiful high school girls to be my harem?”)
The female character are more kind of average than you might expect from this particular strain of comedy, with the exception of Nanaka, who is pretty one note with the unpredictable and Lewd Azusa. Chisa and Aina for me is kind of okay serving as a balance in between all these crazy characters.

So Whats Lacking:
Well if you see the Manga, its clearly one of the best comedy manga ever made. For anime i feel it kind of fail to adapt the proper pacing of the Anime and how to give Focus on some particular scene. We can see same kind of thing with some famous anime like Food Wars (after 1st season) and Tokyo Ghoul. On some scenes and some part of the story it feel bit rushed which makes viewers who already familiar with manga kind of disappointed. Other than that i dont find anything which are lacklustre in the Anime.

The Bad:
The other element that might not work for everyone is all the nudity and fanservice. The most explicit nudity actually comes from the boys in the club, who tend to strip when they get drunk.
The women, however, in their skintight wetsuits, bikinis, or the occasional glimpse of underwear, are clearly supposed to be titillating.
Well i can say that its not for everyone who dont feel comfortable in such thing like nudity and drinkin


Conclusion:

Grand Blue is fundamentally a frat house farce in the vein of something like American Pie or The Hangover in anime version. Its comedy definitely has lot of consistency when it comes to make people laugh. If you want a show who you can watch with your friends with enjoyment and laugh this show deliver all the things you needed.
Funny events timing is impeccable, making great use of situations, and even manages to make repeating the same punchline funnier the second time.

Overall its pretty good and satisfying show and definitely one of the best gag anime ever made also the funniest one but again you’ll have to really love booze jokes, funny faces, and gags about guys being caught naked with little censorship marks obscuring their junk.

Entertaining Comedy?✓ Men who can't help but get drunk and strip?✓ Awkward Virgin friends?✓ Misunderstandings?✓

Grand Blue is one of the funniest anime I have seen in a while. In a full on comedy anime, a plot is probably one of the least important aspects. To me, a comedy anime is all about the enjoyable characters and overall entertainment. And Grand Blue has all of those.

Like most comedy anime, it operates with a very basic story- a college freshman being all excited to have a great college life.
However, it doesn't go as planned when he's forced to join a "diving club", in which the members drink ... and strip more than dive (there still is diving I assure you). Yes, it's pretty ridiculous already, but it gets even better as the show progresses and more characters get introduced.

The characters are the life of any comedy anime. Without fun, fitting characters, a comedy anime just won't be the same. It doesn't matter to me if they seem slightly generic, as long as they show some personality and entertain.
Grand Blue has a good variety of different personalities which compliment each other perfectly to create hilarious exchanges. Whether it is a dumb, over the top MC, or an otaku "ikemen", or awkward virgin friends, or men (and women) who couldn't care less about getting drunk and stripping in public, Grand Blue has a good variety to keep the entertainment going.

The voice acting is also top notch, and paired with some incredible facial expressions, all the characters are funny in their own right. Honestly, the facial expressions are some of the most hilarious ones I've seen since Prison School.

There are many comedy anime out there which can have some funny episodes while the rest are a hit-and-miss. Grand Blue, however is very consistent in that regard. Honestly, comedy will always be a subjective genre. Grand Blue might not be for some, but those who enjoy a rather over-the-top comedy anime should definitely give this a shot.

(*Updated*)

Grand Blue is an AMAZING MANGA and I highly recommend you guys to read the manga after you have watched episode 1 of the anime to get the voices in your head. Shifting away from the "on how to watch" (which is up to you), the adaptation is so far on point with the manga which makes me very happy! Within 4 episodes in, it looks like the format for each episode is going to cover 2 chapters of manga! This show is basically, If you like comedy such as Gintama, you will definitely love Grand Blue; a show about daily struggles of students ... during their college life; a setting that is not often explored by anime.

Story[8]; Without spoiling the story, the timeline is quite the same as Gintama's formatting their episodes. Not quite random, but random events that happens in unspecified, yet chronological timeline! That being said, Grand Blue's full of comedy including slapstick humor and exclusive college jokes that only college kids would understand! Perhaps a bit mature, but hell; Watch it! How would you experience anime without watching at least one episode huh? Do not skip on Grand Blue for sure!

Art[8]; I mean with comedy genre of anime, the animation/art is sometimes replaced by how much you laugh, but the art is okay or good enough to an average anime viewer. Unless you are elitist... everyone knows that art does not correlate to quality/enjoyment of the anime such as Ping Pong the animation. The animators are trying their best to adapt art style from manga which it most part it does, yet people just like to nitpick on the smallest pixel. The Animation is NOWHERE NEAR BAD!

Sound[10]; Opening is very catchy and it gives out this "dive vibe" and the ending song has this "closure vibe " that, in my mind, represents the great laughter, joy, and sadness , waiting for the new episode patiently. Voice actors, in this show, must be mentioned because they have to put so much energy for so many scenes that requires: screaming out of lungs, playing serious in a stupid act, and playing the straight man of course. It's not easy to voice act, but they have some very familiar voice actors that fits very well with each character.

Character[10]; Well, if you know your comedy with Gintama then you have heard the character type, the "straight man". Grand Blue basically formulates around a straight man with bunch of casts who are out of his/her "norms" that creates a ripple of unexpected events which are mainly comedic and i love it! And when you do such format you have to have some really original/funny/unique characters and ohh boy do they have it. Of course all of these characters are above the legal ages and attending college which makes these character more relatable to young adults such as me. You have the vast cast ranging from an Handsome stereotype who is an otaku, muscular alcoholics, the newcomer stereotypical MC that has high hopes on his new college life that ends up with the muscular alcoholics and starting to migrate to their new culture, and the cousin who hates the MC for being a dumbass for migrating to alcoholism, yet this is the few introducing characters in the anime; there will be much more awesome characters incoming later episodes that gives the show more color. The Characters interactions are the main seller of this show. Don't let other people tell you how the characters act in this show as dumb or stupid because, in my case, college students really do act similarly like the casts in Grand Blue!

Enjoyment[10]; This show is not for the weak or who do not get the college life... So it's not for everyone as the anime and manga's target audience are young adults or people who have experienced college. Of course outliers can enjoy this slapstick humor too. To give an example on how the anime represents the college life; a reference of different types of characters during an exam that have not studied for, showing their struggles within college classes which perfectly relates to students in real life college who failed or struggled with an exam(s) that professor made it absolutely impossible. There will be much more similar silly events around the theme of college life. All of those silly events are just comedic gold; ironically, very much like college! This show is already my most favorite anime of this year so far and deserve much more love.

Overall[10]; Grand Blue is not for everyone, but it does deliver the college type of feel and I kinda skipped the part about diving in this review. Let's be honest.. this anime might look like about diving, but it's mostly focused on character interactions and how you should view your life as student in college. Animation are very nicely done and can be wonky at times, but that shouldn't really stop you from watching it. This show is a must try for this season! If you are a college student or you just love comedy, this show is for you!

Updated Opinion; I have been following the community opinion on the Anime adaptation vs the manga and they are some key notes to be considered: Age of characters have been changed for legal purposes, some of the atmosphere is not the same as in manga and some events got changed due to time constraints. With the release of the 4th episode; this episode has been proven me that the anime has done justice on adapting from the manga chapters 7-8! The characters are consistent just as in the manga. Cannot wait for the new episode! People who like to complain and consider themselves as "Maestro Of Art Critique", they are definitely watching the wrong anime because like I said; Grand Blue is not for the weak!

Grand Blue so far is a hilarious anime for this season. The start of the first episode makes the anime seem like a generic boy moving to a new town for a fresh and new start. But lo and behold, he opens the doors to see..... NAKED MUSCULAR MEN.

It has a distinct art style that brings out more comedic effect at times, but the art is not anything ground-breaking, kind of normal and standard.

The music is okay, I actually really like the OP song, gives off modern EDM westerinized vibes.

I love the characters, none of them are very annoying and all have their ... own unique and funny quirks.

Overall, I would say that this show is definitly worth a watch if you want something funny to watch this season. Even if you aren't looking for a funny comedy, it is still worth a try!

Let's cut right to the chase: should you watch this show?

Hell Yes.

Grand Blue is the first anime in a while that has centered its story around the college life (last I have seen being Golden Time), but with this time, it embraces the partying aspect of it... a lot. It is a show with a really awesome cast that all interact in different and funny ways with each other, making for some seriously hilarious jokes throughout the show. Seriously, I've almost died of laughter from this show many times.

While Grand Blue is a comedy, its storytelling is also decent, as we learn how serious ... diving actually is from the supporting cast, and the beauty it can entail as well.

Overall, Grand Blue is just a stellar anime and a perfect cleansing anime after a long day's work.

Funniest, hilarious, rolling on the floor laughing....
It is the funniest anime I've ever watched. And no one even came close to the laughter this series gave me. Now the other comedy series like saitama, konosuba, haganai, arakawa under the bridge, bungou stray dogs... Doesn't even compare to it. Female charecter are normal (except one , but that gives a spice to the females) and no one in the boys is normal... The face they make can make you die laughing, the ideas of boys.... Everything about boys is depicted in a hilarious way.

I can say by no doubts, it is the funniest anime ever

A series that doesn't have a single boring episode.
You like drinking? Naked men? Good jokes?
I did enjoy watching the show so much. This has to be one of the funniest shows that I've watched so far. Even though the jokes were good the face impressions and animations made it the best.
The storyline was okay but still maybe pointless sometimes. But it did not really bother that much.
Also once in a while Main characters and supporting characters were really good. I mean Tokita, Kotobuki and other were as good as all of four MC's.
I am hoping for s2 as there would ... easily be enough source material for it.

I was in a phase where i was watching a lot of trash 12 eps anime. I had lost almost all my enjoyment, but i couldn't stop from watching more trash anime. Then, one day, somebody told me to watch Grand Blue. I tought it was one more trash anime, but it was like an illumination...

I actually laughed.
I actually enjoyed my time.
It actually changed my life.

I gave Grand Blue such a high note because it was one of the most funny things i ever watched. Even if they repeated the joke, it was still very funny.

*spoiler free*

I'm going to be completely honest-- there are far more reasons to dislike this show than to like it, in all honesty. But regardless, I find myself enjoying it much more than I honestly should.

Why?

Well, it's just got this strange addictive quality that keeps me coming back to it.

To begin with, the story is pretty simple-- it's a comedic take on a college student and his party lifestyle. That's all there is to it. It's not special or even all that realistic, but it's somewhat more fresh and interested compared to the same old school anime we frequently get in this kinda ... genre. For that reason alone, it makes some of the 'problematic' stuff tolerable. There's the usual tsundere stuff and the romantic feelings that make no sense and the perverted crap and etc., etc., but it's just so lovable that it makes it hard to hate.

From what I've seen so far, the art is breathtaking. All the characters and backgrounds are gorgeous, and the water is animated really, really well. It's just beautiful, enough said.

The opening is hard to skip, and this is coming from someone who usually watches an anime opening once or twice maximum-- usually the first episode and the last episode-- I rarely ever watch them otherwise. But the music is so much fun that I listen to it every time! The background music adds to the comedy and the closing is also pretty funny and makes me want to stay and finish it instead of moving on to something else as soon as the actual episode ends.

In my opinion, the characters aren't exactly phenomenal. The main character is the classic comedic mc... he's got nothing inherently special about him and is honestly flawed, perverted, has bad judgement, and does very, very stupid things most of the time-- but he's secretly got a hidden nice guy side that makes pretty much every chick fall in love with him. There's the classic tsundere, the classic hot girl, etc. etc. They're all very predictable but still entertaining enough to keep watching. Personally, I don't mind the harem style romances too much-- they can be pretty fun, especially since they have a lot less of the sexual assault situations that usually make up reverse harems.

I honestly can't believe that I'm doing this, but I'm giving this anime an 8 as of now. My inner voice is outraged, but despite how predictable and problematic this anime is, I can't bring myself to not like it. In fact, I enjoy it all too much.

I would recommend this if you: liked Baka and Test, like harems, like dumb main characters that everyone likes for some strange reason, like cute chicks crowding MCs, like college anime, like drinking/partying lifestyles

I would NOT recommend this if you: like PC anime, want something deep, were expecting something actually about diving, wanted something sports-anime style, wanted some boy/boy tension, don't like harems, don't like tsunderes, don't like the classic dumb panty dropper mc

Have a great day everyone!

"This is a diving anime... Yes.. Grand Blue is indeed a diving anime only." - Typical Grand Blue audience.

When you look at the comedy industry of anime, it is always topping-off the reviews, charts and everything. Why? Because either it has a good story with ton of great jokes, or the show is just very riduculous and have great humour. If you notice it, comedic anime are mostly in the school genre (specifically High School) which make sense because teenagers often goof up on school unlike adults who focuses on their life more. Then here we have Grand Blue, that is not a high school ... anime but college instead. Grand Blue is one of many comedy anime out there this Summer 2018 that offers us laughter that can relate to college students out there. And for some reason this anime offers diving (I guess) which I don't see pretty much often on anime (except swimming anime).

Story:
Grand Blue's story is not really chronological and like I said on my other reviews on other comedy anime, it doesn't matter whether it is chronological or not as long as it stays on point to the humor and characters. We have here Kitahara, Iori who will move to his uncle's diving shop as his home in college. Seems normal isn't it? Thats where you are wrong. The diving shop have tons of ridiculous, weird and extreme practices including naked Rock-Paper-Scissors and drinking alcohol while your naked is COMPLETELY normal on this shop (Heck, even the owner which is Iori's uncle likes to get naked and used to it.).Then there's the university where he attends to which have variety of characters ranging from an otaku, crazy upperclassmen, charismatic boys from the tennis club and those typical friends you get who are all virgins. Grand Blue is a show where the MC is not really treated as an MC. Each character have unique comedic traits that can contribute to the story in whole. Whether the character is an otaku or not, they can make the story humorous alot.

Characters:
The characters of Grand Blue is what makes Grand Blue one of the best comedy shows this season. If not maybe the best comedy this year as well. We have the main protagonists Kotegawa Chisa, who is a bit of a tsundere-type of girl and have so much love on diving. There's Kitahara Iori, who is the main attraction of all and probably a failure of a kind of college student. He is those characters that can adapt into any environment whether it is an environment full of titan-like men drinking alcohol or the under the sea environment. There's Imamura Kouhei who is the otaku of the diving club and the "rival" of Iori (There rivalry is actually very funny. Not those types of rivalry like Naruto and Sasuke.) and Yoshiwara Aina, who for some reason has the same attitude of Iori when he first entered the shop and she is probably the most normal one out of all the characters. This four for some reason are considered the main characters on MAL but in the anime, the other characters are almost treated as main ones as well. I say this because on every humour, its not only this four characters are contributing to it. The supporting ones holds the joke as well and thats what makes Grand Blue an anime that treats all the characters equally for the comedy and story.
For example, the two naked titans Kotobuki Ryuujirou and Tokita Shinji are the two characters that have weird but funny sense of ways of drinking alcohol with friends. Hamaoka Azusa, who is the only girl character in the anime that likes getting along with the guys (and Mr. Alcohol) and sometimes she even gets to the enthusiasm of being naked (not completely). Also she loves both yaoi and yuri and this trait makes Iori and Azusa's relation to one another funny as well as Iori have to bear with it since he is not a fan of any of those two. Then, the sister of Chisa which is Kotegawa Nanaka, who have a big secret towards Chisa and possessiveness towards her. Not to mention the other characters like the friends of Iori and Kouhei at the university each gave way for more comedic scenes to the anime. That is why Grand Blue was funny as hell because their traits as well as some misunderstanding towards one another make it even more funny. They are all perfectly synchronize even though they are different characters.

Art:
I can't stress out how the art and visuals of Grand Blue is stunning, funny and amazing at the same time. From the looks of their faces due to some scenes either shockness or anger, to the normal visual scenes and the underwater sea, Grand Blue tells you that this is not just a comedy show full of great humourous scenes but it also have eye-appealing scenes as well visuals of the characters and environment.

Sound:
If you take a look of the openings of the anime that aired this Summer season, Grand Blue is the only comedy show plus not a sports anime that has such a good opening that reflects on summer (correct me if Im wrong here.) this season and seeing the opening with all the diving and the hidden wonders of the sea is just so pleasant and beautiful. Plus it is actually a click bait of an opening as the opening just reflected the diving parts of the anime but not the humors and drinking of it. The ending of the anime however reflects how absurd, weird and funny the anime is (opposite to the ending) where we saw Iori seeing into some Karaoke and after he finished the song the other 3 males and him gets naked. Pretty absurd right? I have no problems of the background music or anything that is related to the sound system throughout the episodes as well.

Overall thoughts and Enjoyment:
As you can see with my rating of this show, I totally enjoyed it. It is one of those anime this season that when you have a bad day or in a bad mood, just watch this show and you will be dying of laughter and releases your stress of anything. That's what makes comedy shows great in the anime industry and Grand Blue is one of it.

"Grand blue is like a drug at first you only use it a bit, but then you get addicted and can't think of anything else"

At first the anime might seem like a boring and slow one, but once you get through first two episodes then it gets a lot funnier. You will get addicted. I literally couldn't stop laughing in any of the episodes. But you have to like just the right kind of humor to like this one.

Some people might not like the expressions characters make sometimes but I find it hilarious.

Watch this serie if you want to have a blast.

I'm writing this ... while it is airing so I will update the review once the anime has aired.

This is refreshing. Characters are young funny absurd alcoholics. İ mean lets be honest here in 2018 Earth even kids are stressful. There is always a problem. And before getting to final point let me say one thing. İ apologize if i am wrong and the only person thinks this way about this anime.

Story settings are simple. Characters are bunch of airheads with minimal worry about life. They drink they do stupid youth stuff. Studio done a good job? Characters and story overshadows their a bit better than decent job. İ dont think it is easy make an anime about ocean, sea. Because well ... earth is 3/4 water right :D. For sound opening song fits perfect. Voice actors are overshadowed and decent again imo. İ wish that this anime continues like it is now and doesnt end like another anime with a meaningful close ending. İt is just good as it is. At first place i dont understand why people wont give it 10. İ know it is only 3 episodes off but all of those episodes just were amazing. İ have never seen such an anime like this and none of them made me relax this much. Like ... this is not a fantasy world setting anime, this is not a loli filled slice of life, not a sports anime or some crazy shit anime or some ordinary thing. This is the most unique television production i have ever witnessed. Personally i declined kinda same situation but right now i am regretting. You know you study and work for years but you only live once. You be 18 once, once 15, once 22, once 30... Life goes fast man

- It's a very light and fun anime, the episodes end and you don't even notice. The jokes and situations are great and at many times you laugh a lot.
- The characters are college students, drink a lot and go to parties, which I thought was very similar to the real life of a college student, which is not much discussed in anime.
- Anime has little romance, but it is interesting and makes funny situations happen.
- In short, it is an anime that perfectly fulfills its role, which is to be a comedy. It is very funny and fun, worth seeing.

Coming from the amazing manga that made me laugh a lot, this anime doesn't reach its full potential.

This season wasn't going to be my favorite and was hoping that Grand Blue could save it all. However, when saw that the studio was Zero-G, I feared it to be a mediocre adaptation.

This studio has only created several shows and it still has yet to create a good one. Grand Blue could have been the adaptation that they were looking for, but they messed up pretty bad.

Starting with the low budget art and animation, the first episode was a letdown. In comedy, animation can ... be used to emphasize hysterical moments like in Nichijou. Lacking movement would create still frames and make the scene less attractive. Separate from the comedy, Grand Blue is about diving. It has the potential to create astounding scenes of the ocean, the marine life or the island, yet it did not surprise us with any beautiful scenery. Even at the moments where the character was in awe of the ocean, the art looked plain and didn't differentiate from its norm.

To add on, I especially do not like the white cloud effects that low-budget anime's use to reduce the amount of background shown for each shot. They could have used filtered-out photos and it would have looked better because of its detail.

Story-wise, it follows the manga well but I've noticed that Chisa, the main heroine, has a slightly different personality from the manga. The anime makes her seem interested in Iori, instead of being indifferent to everything but diving. Anyone else noticed this?



However, the original work still stands strong and people watching this anime can expect a good laugh. If anyone becomes a fan of this series, check out the manga as well. You'll fall off your chair, laughing to tears.

TLDR: MUST-WATCH
It is a Masterpiece of comedy about college life.

VODKA! That line is a masterpiece line from Iori Kitahara.

Story 10/10
A simple story about college life, friends, and clubs that makes up for it because of the comedy. The story of Grandblue is one of the greatest stories of all time. The comedy of Grand Blue doesn't just purely focus on the character's personality but showcases the characters attending those day-to-day events around it by implementing an explosive comedy to compensate for the entertainment. They balanced out the comedy with a slice of the life and sometimes educational content to the series which many other anime ... mostly focus on the slice of life side and fails to entertain the audience and this doesn't.

Characters 10/10
This anime is so good because of the characters. If you don't pay enough attention to the characters in Grand Blue you will hear one of the best voice acting in anime history. They put a massive amount of effort into the voice and the reason why it's so funny is because the characters have a very unique and funny voice that matches the atmosphere they're in. The characters are very likable at first Iori seems like just an ordinary guy, but the more he stays within the club the more he matches the silly culture within the club. All the characters in here are silly, but not stupidly silly. They all have a very funny personalities which adds a lot of depth to the story.

Animation 10/10
What's impressive about the animation is that it uses the generic-looking animation to its advantage. They fill a lot of the explosive background in the most intensive comedy moments and sometimes if you look at it. The characters like Kohei at the moment when he was doing the female voice he will slowly look more and more feminine. The animation serves its purpose because If you put too much quality animation within the comedy anime the animation would look way too serious and the tone would feel different. Another impressive thing about the animation is that it is heavily inspired by attack on titan. They took seriousness of Attack on Titan and transfer it to a comedic artistic style which is very appreciated.

Conclusion
This is one of the rarest and best anime where the voice acting is god-tier and the slice of life is coveted well into the comedy genre. All the characters are great with explosive personality and the animation suits well within the anime. The story is great that mostly focus on the college life with so many comedy that has added in to make it fun to watch.

They say first impressions are everything, and Grand Blue makes one hell of a first impression. Starting the first episode till the last there is non-stop humour that is able to lift anyone up even from the most depressing moods. It is just too stupidly good!

Now onto the real thing, To start off Grand Blue isn't your typical slice of life/comedy Anime. Instead, it is the rare faithfully adapted Piece of Art that stays loyal to the source material of "Grand Blue Dreaming." Now, why would I say that Grand Blue isn't your typical type of anime? Mainly because it focuses solely on Comedy and ... nothing else, something like the Gintama approach but with only 12 episodes how can the writers hope to make it interesting? That's right, to prove their abilities the writers showcase the effectiveness of Slice of Life when done right. Which is why the main ingredient for any Slice of Life is comedy. People often forget that Anime is another excuse to escape from reality which is why people tend to go for fantasy themes, dark realities or simply fairy-like romances.

The creators of Grand Blue understand this and created this comedic masterpiece which had me laughing almost every minute. The story isn't the main factor of why the narrative was so good but rather the way it was paced and the way it is presented to the audience. It is direct, to the face and simply irresistible. For an anime like this, you wouldn't expect much from the music and its art but you'd be surprised by the quality that this title possesses. Well-fitting music, alongside eye-candies for the audience to both admire and appreciate as they sink into the characters growing on them.

Needless to say, I enjoyed this anime very much, to be honest, I used to think that Konosuba was the best comedy title out there but perhaps Grand Blue could rival that very special spot in my heart as the top comedy anime. I can't wait for Season 2 and have really high hopes that it will continue riding on its success.

This show doesn't shed much depth but if there is anything that I can take away from it would be to live without fear and to take life as is. Do not fear going forward but look forward to the potential excitement when you venture into new boundaries. It is quite an interesting take on not taking things for granted and to do the things you love while you still can.

The pacing is absolutely amazing, every episode the characters progress and make new friends without discarding the original members. They almost all share the same air time. The ones that you care for anyways. The show doesn't feel slow nor fast. It is just right and this is the kind of pacing worthy of a masterpiece.

Needless to say, Grand Blue's Success stems from its comedic routes. Without it the show would be atrociously bad due to the fact that comedy is the sole driving force that pushes everything else forward. But, we should not discount that the characters in the show is absolutely likeable. Not a single one of them feels annoying or an eyesore. They're all lovable and grows on you as you continue episode by episode. A definite good introduction anime for people starting and a gem for people who love anime.

Grand Blue is worthy of getting a 10. A True Masterpiece.

Ya know it was quite rare for me to give a 10 in all my anime reviews , my highest would be an 8......But with this anime, this is an exception, since, well in a story premise , it was chaotic, since it wasn't focus on diving, in fact diving only plays 20% of this anime's premise, rather this was more like a typical frat party, gone hilarious when everything was put on Iori and Kohie, two frendenenmies who would be at odd at one point and work together on the next, which two muscle meathead party animals Tokita and Kotobuki in the helm adds ... to the comedy, now the plot basically wasn't that organize, in fact it would shift from one scenario to the next, but kudos to original creator Inoue Kenji , he put organize chaos into something chaotic , so even though the story plot was about getting drunk, he did it in a very funny way, not like the other anime with alcohol theme in it that basically were nothing more than an endorsement anime, Artwisem the facial expression really did deliver very well, we can basically laugh out loud with every facial expressions we see especially when it come to them character either duking out with someone of someone ho expresses disgust or disappointment on to someone or something. Now when it come to the sound category, the one that has the most impact here was Cakey's monologue when we see her scream, shout or rant, Iori and Kohei's monologue did add to the impact when they're duking out and it can be considered as a big plus to this anime's comedy genre, so at this point I really have no more words to say to this Outstanding anime, cu'z basically this could be considered watching something that can be the best thing that has happened to your life and damn someone if they think that this is a worst anime , when a lotta funny was in this anime,so given that I have nothing more to say, here is waht I say about this anime's ratings:

Story-Outstanding 10: I was funny and that's as good as it gets. especially when this anime's theme was more on a group of guys having a ball and getting wasted.

Art- Very Good 8: The facial expression, yes the facial expression, it basically adds to the comedic aspect.

Sound-Very Good 8: For Cakey's voice when she is disappointed and disgusted, Iori and Kohie when they're fighting.

Character-Very Good 8: For the quirkiness of the characters around here when them guys go wild and naked......and just forget the diving.

Enjoyment- Very Good 8: Totally not boring and some thing you can rewatch.

Overall- Outstanding 10: Kudos to original creator Inoue, Kenji and kudos to Studio Zero-G , and If this will have a 2nd season the YEAH LET THE PARTY START!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amazing show, comedy is great and story moves fast
I like all the characters and I think they were given enough spotlight
College life was well shown (without studying of course as in 95% of anime)
Soundtrack is good, animation is good and references from other shows were very well put in the jokes
I like that there was representation for every character troupe all of them were done right at least in my opinion
I think this anime deserves higher rating and more love then or at least close to other anime like Kaguya sama or Devil is a Part timer

Grand Blue isn't 'breath-hard-out-your-nose' funny, it's a 'hurt-your-stomach' kind of hilarious. Each of the characters are so unique, and I was just captivated by how their different personalities compliment each other to create the funny setting and tone.

I loved the art. The facial expressions. The goofy plans and misunderstandings. It's not your high school, sit at the desk, go to karoake sort of tripe humor, it's a college setting and you've got some pretty stupid college kids.

I felt like this was a pretty important distinction because it seemed to separate it from your typical school life drama sort of thing and it's just goddamn ... funny.

There is quite a few running jokes throughout the show, but it never tires, it's funny every time. Each arc is pretty different, and flows nicely. I wouldn't say there were any useless or boring arcs because in general, I was laughing on each episode.

No matter how silly or ridiculous the comedy was, I could always somehow relate. I legitimately thought I was going to shit myself with laughter, and most of the time I was just like "that's a whole ass mood".

Damn, now after writing a review I think I'm gonna need to push back all my "plan-to-watch" animes so that I can re-watch this lmao.