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.