Grand Blue

Grand Blue is a fun comedic anime to watch. While the manga is better in basically every aspect, the anime still manages to be a fun time. The art of the anime is mediocre at best, it looks kind off cheap and doesn't really look to distinct or remarcable in any way. Some linework is definitely poor in quality and the fluidity of the animation isn't particularly good. The soundtrack is forgetable, but it definitely did its job, as it never felt out of place. Voice acting on the other hand is solid and really is fitting for the characters. Azusa and Iori are stand-outs for their superb range. The characters are all very simple by design, yet don't feel lackluster. Their key traits are good for making comedic moments and are the reason why the show works so well. After seing the anime, I started reading the manga and I can definitely say it was very good. The anime really is carried by the source material, the timing of the jokes and the comedic reactions are demonstrably better, as well as the art itself, which is miles ahead of the anime. The anime isn't bad by any means, just a let down compared to the original source.

Wow, what can I say... it's been several years since I enjoyed an anime this much. Finished it in one day, which I seldom do. And given it a grade of 10/10, which I rarely give. If you're looking for a good laugh, young-adult theme (instead of the usual high school setting) and lotsa bizarre situations, then this should be your pick. I picked it up after it was recommended a lot by people who liked Prison School. Pretty much has the same humor. The characters are very creatively written. I'm not a kid anymore. As the years pass I find it more and more hard to relate with the high school scene. It's tremendously refreshing to bump into good young-adult anime. You'll like it if you're the crazy type whose okay with male nudity, homoerotic humor and a more sex-oriented type of college humor instead of the "pure & innocent" high school setting, which honestly can get pretty lame once you become an adult and actually get to experience some relationships and sex first hand. So yeah, go watch it immediately! Especially if you're in college-age to 30 y/o. I think it's only a matter of time before I get the itch to rewatch this great piece.

A surreal comedy show on par with the likes of Daily Lives of High School Boys, but with diving. There's not much to say for me, if you want to see anime that'll make you really laugh, this is one of them. Apart from the comedy, the animation of the characters are magnificently done with effort, which also complements to the comedy and craziness of their skits. It's like watching the Attack Titan get drunk on booze. It's a fun anime, it has similar humor with popular comedy shows, but it feels unique enough to be enjoyable. Also, the opening song is nice, I'd sing along and never skipped even once.

I don't know how to really write reviews for comedy anime beyond if it was perfectly normal within the style and basic form of an anime and how much it made me laugh. While Grand Blue didn't always land with its jokes, there were plenty of moments, especially in the first few episodes that either made me laugh really hard or steadily chuckle for the entire episode. That's pretty impressive in it's own right. The ridiculous faces and situations Iori and Kohei get into really make the series, and the rest of the cast round it out nicely. The other big meme of the show besides the faces is that Grand Blue is a diving anime that barely has any diving in it, but I have to say the writers did good research that makes it look real to me, and the actual diving sections, especially in the last few episodes, looked great.

This was a required 'pick me up' after the depressive 'Mirai Nikki' and it did it's job wonderfully. Story 7/10 - Look, this show is more of an experience, it's not trying to give us the best story in the world, comedies generally don't. Having said this, it's solid enough and the progression of the story is pleasant, with a good pace. Art 9/10 - Set in a perfect location to show off it's artistic values and it does just that. The scenery is top notch. But where the art really shines is in the facial expressions of the characters, by far the most expressive faces I've ever seen. Sound 8/10 - The music throughout is lovely and all sounds are extremely crisp. Character 8/10 - So, there's nothing really unique about any of these characters, but they are so hilarious and consistent that I find them really entertaining. Enjoyment 9/10 - I almost want to give this a 10, but I don't like being willy nilly with them, so reluctantly I've gone for a 9, this show is hilarious and has made me truly LOL on many occasions. Overall 8/10 - If I'm being honest, its very close to getting a 9 here, but for me personally anything 9 or above has to do something emotionally to me, there needs to be suspense, cliff hangers, a very strong story. This doesn't quite hit those notes, but to be fair it isn't trying to. Grand Blue is a pure comedy, and it knows it is. No anime has ever made me laugh so much, so although only receiving an 8 from me, it also now holds the position as the greatest comedic anime I've ever seen.

Grand Blue is something that I didn't really expect to like. I don't really like sports animes, so what better way to start in the genre in an anime that doesn't really feature their sport? ...I mean that as a compliment. The humor is definitely the shining beacon of the entire anime. If you don't like the humor, you may as well drop this. I loved it, and it became something that motivated me to watch this 12-episode fratboy dude-bro mess. The lack of romance anything is refreshing. Sure, fanservice galore is there, but it's cut short by more gags. I love it that way--it just feels like a bunch of friends screwing around. The characters and their relationships are surprisingly fun to see. It just feels natural in their crazy mess. The voice actors also are great--they delivered their stuff well. I LOVE the opening and the ending, especially the ending where the four dude-bros sing. I absolutely love how the voice actors are having fun with delivering their lines. Well...my criticism lies with the art, as it's sub-par, I guess. I don't really mind since the humor carried the anime, but there are some wonky scenes in here. The story is also a bit shallow if you want to see more about their sport. They do have their own feelings about diving, and it shows, but in an average sports anime, it's a bit lax. Though, I like how casual they are overall. tl;dr: If you like the first episode's energy and humor, and the knowledge of having more of that humor than the actual diving, you will probably like this anime.

Grand blue is a really funny show, the anime in itself is not story driven therefore I decided to judge how well the events suit the comedy of this series. Story-9 The comedy of this series is the most funny anime I've watched, also because of the drinking which I find extra funny how they always throw their friends under the bus. What is different from other anime like Konosuba is that they look like they have more fun than in Konosuba, but that is just personal, the fantasy scenery also drew a little bit of enjoyment away from me in Konosuba's sense and Grand blue didn't have that and had ridiculous situations anyway. Art-7 The artstyle is not special by any means, I would say it amplifies the comedic punch for some scenes due to their changes when the punchline is supposed to hit the viewer, but it is not special. It is inconsistent, mainly their height, when I first watched the series I didn't notice but after I watched it with my friend I could not unsee it. Overall it is alright though. Sound-6 The sound is alright, soundtrack wise I can remember some tunes but nothing too great and their sound effects work just fine so it is a 6 for me. Character-9 The characters are a strong point to this series and the expected reaction from characters is sometimes used as a joke when they contradict their usual self, also the waifus are pretty damn good, azusa best girl. Enjoyment- 10 Really funny, has a ton of replay value because you most likely won't remember all the jokes. Overall - 9

Damn, this anime is one of a kind. And i say this for a reason. I have crippling OCD. Its been with me for about 5 years now. With random horrible thoughts popping into my kind every now and then, i was having an extremely hard time enjoying just about anything i watched. Then, i stumbled upon this anime, and goddamn this anime is one hell of an anime. Whilst watching this show, i completely forgot that i even had OCD. Bruh, i liked this anime so much, i watched one ep a day, to finish the anime slowly and have the maximum amount of fun watching this show. This anime will forever have s special place in my heart. Still waitinf for season 2! Peace.

This anime was one of the funniest things i have ever seen. the story was great, the animation was great, it really highlights the emotions of the characters which made it much funnier. the songs weren't extreme as they did not have to be. but the characters bloody hell everyone could carry the series they were all amazing and funny.you really can make a series out of everyone of these characters could have a series to themselves. i really enjoyed this anime and it made me laugh soo much. overall i give it a 9 the comedy its self can carry the series, each episode left me out of breath, it was too funny.

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.

To be quite frankly with you, this anime is just the perfect anime for people who normally watches comedy types of anime often. Why? 'Cause it's obvious! You have to watch it for yourself to know just how funny it is! Story: 9 -The story is great and I enjoyed it because it was great and some what funny at times! Art: 7 -Okay, don't hate me for this as I've got my own reason regarding the art style of the anime. You see, the art style was funny and I laughed for some time but it wasn't good enough as the lighting and all in the anime are some what off... Sound: 10 -As for the sound, the anime creator definetely did a great job. The sound in the anime fits in really well and I definetely loved it! Character: 8 -The character design in this anime are some what bland but personality wise, they have quite the behaviour that the anime needed. Especially the fact that the anime has quite the idea of where the story's taking them to. Enjoyment: 10 -I definetely enjoyed Grand Blue. Overall, the feelings, the storyline and the art style, who wouldn't love it? Overall: 9 -For those of you who hasn't give it a try, please try! It may look weird on the cover of the anime, but it's funny and even herat-warming at times. Definetely recommending this!

I thought Grand Blue is a peaceful anime explained story about a main character how he been introduced lessons how to do diving and have a nice romantic college or university life. However, it is one of hilarious anime I seen before, this anime bring out extremely high level of hilarious moment. Despite, almost 20 percent of diving lesson and 80 percent is about misunderstanding relationship, yellow dirty joke and alcohol lesson, I am still enjoying this anime and really laugh it out loud. Episode one is like introduction main character Iori thought he gonna have normal university life, suddenly when he enter his uncle's diving club, he saw all naked man and senior went wild with alcohol in the house, his face expression change and shut the door, all his so called cousin or childhood friend girl misunderstand him completely and they thought he is hentai, which is really hilarious, and so the story begins. I hope there is more chemistry between Iori and Chisa, but 12 episodes are difficult to squeeze all story together. Few flaws can points out as well, such as didn't talk much about childhood memory and past about character and maybe if Grand Blue 20 episodes perhaps can covered everything. Iori always argue with Kohei and like pair of rival or enemy but turns like a funny bromance, Hahaha. I really like Aina which is a female character misunderstand very quickly. Others didn't stand out so much like Nanaka, Kotobuki, Tokita and Azusa, those are the characters have their own likable unique ways which is good. Story is funny and hilarious, you don't feel tense while watching all the way, art style is great, sound design for opening is nice and character design is remarkably good. Main strong reason of this anime is enjoyable, you will be laughing all the way and is not serious. Overall, if you wanna watch funny, hilarious, extremely quicky change with funny face expression of each character, this is one of the recommanded anime for you and of course some diving lesson as well! Story: 8.8 Art: 8.5 Sound:8.2 Character: 9.2 Enjoyment: 9.2 Overall: 8.8 (great)

I'm not really the guy who writes a review a lot, but I guarantee you, this is pretty fun, every time something stupid happens I can stop smile and laughing. I really thought it would be more focused on "Diving activities", because it seems a very knowledgeable thing to be in an anime like this, but honestly I never expected it to be more comedic sided show, and this is a college not a high school students I really get it why they really drink that much, but indeed I really enjoyed the show, and hopefully someday they'll give it a second season.. I don't mind what year it is I'll sure be waiting if it receives a second season..

Grand Blue Hahaha where to begin with this anime. There is so many things wrong with this anime, and so many done right. To begin, this anime stretches the limits of what you may have believed as 'proper to be shown' on an anime show. You will be teased, you will be taught, you will be duped, and you will be scooped up in this wild journey rushing along with these crazy college characters. The story is about everything you shouldn't do, but probably should do while you are 'young' (of mind). The story is about a freshman college gent who moves to a new town and is assigned to live with this uncle. His uncle happens to own basically a fraternity clubhouse for scuba diving (and drinking). Little did this gentleman know what he was walking into... Yet, he learns and masters the art of shoondickyfoo. I made that word up to describe the amount of blarg that this guy lives through and thus learns to create upon this world. He is truly a guru of shenanigans. Story - 7 - This is a slice of life genre about getting acclimatized with college life and learning to scuba dive. Graphics - 10 - The facial expressions of these characters are absolutely well done. Bravo. 10 points for this. Soundtrack - 8 - Upbeat and fun. Nothing stuck with me as absolutely amazing, but very well done. Character personas - 10 - These characters are absolutely ridiculous and own up to their characters well. Character voice actors - 10 - PLENTY of emotion Overall - 8 Recommended - Yes, if you are looking for a comedy that will stretch your boundary of what you may deem 'acceptable' to watch. (Do not watch around kids). Ha. Haha. Ha.

“Isn’t this what memories of youth are meant to be like?” Grand Blue is an absolutely hilarious take on youth. It induced in me a nostalgia for a youth I never had, a yearning for a beauty I’ve never seen, and most importantly, it was one of the most enjoyable animes I have seen in a long time. It is perhaps telling that I am writing my first ever review about this show. Plot 8/10 Superficially speaking there isn’t much plot. If anything, I would say it is more like a sitcom situated roughly along the lines of a story. Every episode is interesting in its own way. This is not to say there is no character development. On the contrary, there is plenty, and unlike some animes that stretch character development to the boundaries of ad nauseam, Grand Blue exercises great subtlety in fleshing out the characters. Art 10/10 It would be a great pity if an anime with diving as its main theme and with 3 episodes set on a tropical island under starry skies and surrounded by sparkling blue seas should succumb to unworthy art. Well, you will be heartened to know that Grand Blue most certainly does not fail in this aspect. The detail of the art is worth mentioning too. With the exception of the motif of censoring, every detail is constructed brilliantly. TL;DR the art is great. Script 10/10 I’m one for dialogue and I believe Grand Blue has the whole range of captivating dialogue. All in all, do give Grand Blue a watch if you haven’t. I admit the premise didn’t really interest me at the start and for the longest of times I left it to rot at the back of my mind. But god I am thankful I gave it a chance. I might even go and learn diving. *a cautionary note: Having watched it I can’t actually say this anime is about diving though. I think it is more about drinking. On a side note I would love to try Spirytus.

I wasn't sure what to make of this anime... on the one hand, its humor was rather amusing; on the other, the plot, or lack thereof, caused a gap for the story to become simultaneously enjoyable and substantial. We follow a young man, Iori, who wanted to start his college life in an exciting way, by moving to his uncle's town and plunging himself into an unfamiliar environment. Instead of following the plan he set out for himself, he was forced to join the diving club, and in turn, dragged another Freshman with him. At the beginning, Iori was very resistant to joining and was against certain "quirky practices," for lack of a better term to avoid spoilers. However, before anything else could happen, Iori ended up going with the flow, as if there was nothing wrong in the first place. This happens time and time again throughout the series - a problem will present itself and instead of there being a resolution, another character will push for something else or a silly event will happen, so that we forget about the initial concern. The appeal is certainly there, as we've all probably been in situations that caused us to come out of our comfort zone. Also, who does not want to "make most of their youth?" But unfortunately, there is no true conflict and the characters have no real personalities; they are stand-ins for random cliches we experience. Since we, the audience, can relate, this produces a guise of a good story. There were even some hints at romance, but there was nothing really significant to back up that movement in the narrative. What's more is that the anime is supposedly about Iori and the diving club, however, any real diving (barely any was even done, if I may add) only happened at the tail end of the season. We also get lured into this whole idea of being in a college org, being invited into a new family that celebrates the same hobby, but several of these characters had no value added and were not even necessary. I think Free! had even more swimming and conflict resolution/character development. The episodes air more time about getting wasted and cursing celibacy. I usually try not to mind fan service, but the series milked the "we're all virgins and are hungry to get some" too much. I admit that many of the scenes were funny, but there were those that were borderline disrespectful. Though real content may not exactly have been there, I ended up rating higher than expected because of the value for comedy. Again, many times, it was at the boundary of being disturbing, but I did have many guffaws from of the ridiculousness of it all. What they lack in story matter, they make up for in creativity, silliness, and entertainment. The show presented a mixture of slapstick, farcical, hyperbolic, and even blue humor, so that the audience would not get satiated. I thoroughly enjoyed laughing myself off at the, albeit 2D (as they lack depth and dimension), characters. Overall, this anime may not be for you if you're looking for a good story, but should mindless fun be your fancy, you may thoroughly enjoy Grand Blue.

To start off, I didn't expect much from this anime. A show about a college scuba club, doesn't sound terribly appealing. I decided to give it a shot. And this was a great move, because it led to an anime that was simply hilarious in its execution. I will say, there wasn't much worthwhile out of the story, but that isn't always a bad thing. With no need to remember every character (I still can't distinguish between the regularly shown male club members) means you can really jump into the series at just about any point and still enjoy it. If you're looking for a complex, deep, meaningful story... go to a different show. If you find the actions of blackout drunk people to be hilarious... come on in and give this show a watch.

Grand Blue is a comedy anime about diving, and drinking and college, though mostly the latter two. I'd read the manga first and thought it was hilarious and high quality and in particular thought the facial expressions were funny and really added to a punchline or a comedic back and forth. The anime doesn't disappoint either and has good music and the same funny jokes and gags which usually involve stripping down which I found original. There are also the standard but always good misunderstanding humor. The anime lacks any real substance story or character wise and the jokes themselves can feel somewhat safe or basic but it's still a fun show that manages to be funny which is no small feat in a culture that seems to have eschewed or replaced comedy with ecchi and moe.

Really fun, with nice and attractive character and color designs, and great character interaction. I suppose I can see the criticism towards the type of humor, but personally I found it endearing. There's plenty of dull 'four cute girls do mildly funny cute girl things', and this is comparable to that, but ten times better and with bros humor instead of cute things. And you aren't meant to fap the dudes, I think. You're meant to fap YOUR HEART to the bro-hood. There are times the animation feels less than excellent, but it's always what it needs to be in the moment to serve the role. If the moment is meant to be beautiful, it's beautiful, if it's meant to comedic, it's comedic. Pretty good, 8/10 would tag my bros with 'this is so us' on Facebook like the boomer I am inside.

This is the type of show that has a type of humor that won’t resonate with everyone but if you enjoy it, you will end up loving it. For me, this show checks off all the right boxes to be something in the great category. It has some great humor accompanied by over the top facial reactions but that’s not all, it has some (read few) serious moments that bring things back down to Earth. I can say with certainty my sides exploded from laughter more than a few times during the course of this show. But it’s not just the humor or faces that make this a great show. The actual plot of diving, and when they do get in the ocean, take it from just being humorous to having a purpose. It gives it a level of depth (pun intended) that i find hard to see in some comedies like Prison School for example. As for the characters, all of their quirks made things interesting and it meant that every interaction was going to be enjoyable even if it was a 1 on 1 talk. Chisa, to me, felt like one of the best characters because she keeps the entire series grounded and from going off on too big a tangent when Iori or Kouhei get into shenanigans. The other characters also didn’t feel like background noise, they made contributions and very minor characters like a bar owner used time to really bring out some humor. Again, it has a great balance. Of course this anime has flaws, it by no means is a 10. I felt the adaptation rushed or fumbled the ball on some of the jokes compared to the manga. One joke with a truck needed an explanation and will leave you confused unless you have read the manga or know road laws. I also found issue with the pace at times but they wanted to stretch time between jokes to keep things grounded so it’s not exactly a flaw but more a nitpick. Now I’ve said a lot about how this show is humorous as any review will, but also grounded. The show captures what people picture sometimes as a crazy college life. I can’t recommend this show enough to everyone although I know it’s not for everyone. Kind of like diving to be honest. 9/10 One of the funniest things ever