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This piece had a take not seen too often in the Anime genre, but more often seen in Manga; slice-of-life in a Japanese college.

For many overseas fans who haven't experienced the Japanese undergrad experience, Grand Blue is if anything a really, really accurate depiction of what "sa-kuru (circle)" life in Japanese colleges are like. From earning club funds through school festival food stands, to the excessive and blatantly stupid group drinking habits, it is what most college students in Japan experience. This is still true with the details, such as the girls staying as a group and not drinking, guys trying to make each other ... drunk, drinking before important events, and even running out of booze and having underclassmen go out to buy some more late at night.

Considering the original manga is on good!Afternoon, a magazine which targets an older audience, Grand Blue's commitment to accurately depicting college life makes it highly relatable to its audience. On the flip side, without having experienced it, many of its strengths can't be relayed enough as it relies on the reader's nostalgia to fill in the missing context in its themes as well as its comedic moments. Some might find the repeating drinking scenes overly glorified, but as much as we all know how hangovers are dreadful, anything you do with friends as a group becomes a glorified part of your memory as time passes by. This is in a sense what nostalgia is really made of.

All in all, as a viewer who went full 4 years of Japanese undergrad, it provided a unique experience that can't be found elsewhere. A heartwarming human drama with young characters each with their own optimism for college life somewhat shattered, but unknowingly quickly ending up indulged in a world that only exists within a small ocean house. It doesn't have any spicy romances, but it more than covers up for it with fleshed-out female characters who each have their own vibrant appeal. The beautiful scenery dominated by blue hues strengthens the theme of youth and optimism, enough for my heart to squeeze at key moments. Grand Blue's strong appeal to nostalgia makes it feel like you knew these characters in real life, and you're reminiscing your time together with them again.