A spoiler-free review~
The color ‘blue’ in Japanese culture exemplifies youth, an epoch of excitement and boundless possibilities. Grand Blue, a pretendedly diving-related anime, dives into these motifs of youth, college life, concurrently blending in adult humor, a few diving-related elements, and drinking shenanigans; consequently giving rise to a brand of comedy which had me ceaselessly laughing my ass off on numerous occasions. Admittedly, comedy is conceivably the most subjective genre, and Grand Blue is undeniably not for everyone. The elements which might not work for everyone are most of the jokes being adult in essence, inclusion of a plethora of drinking, and needless to say, the fanservice arising out of both the male and female characters. Being a college student like the main cast, and having thrown myself into a fair amount of parties with drinking involved, I was able to instantaneously connect with Grand Blue’s cast, and the moments illustrated in the anime. This is also specifically one of the manifold reasons why the comedy of this particular anime clicked with me, and also why I was able to relish it to the fullest.
To me, a good comedy anime is all about the amusing characters and pure entertainment; Grand Blue for me patently ticks all those boxes. The cast of the anime is packed with entertaining characters who consistently find silly ways to trigger fits of laughter out of me. The living embodiment of a love/hate relationship, Iori and Kouhei squabble like an old married couple, and their comical interactions never fails to elicit a laugh from me. What ended up being my most loved aspect of this anime was the manner in which the characters responded, and their dramatic facial expressions. In the thick of moments concerning embarrassment, anger, and confusion; the expressions of the characters abruptly transform into those literally resembling the faces of ‘titans’ from AoT, and these scenes unfailingly evoked a laugh from me. While comedy is the name of the game, Grand Blue does take diving seriously from time to time, and it never messes around when the focus shifts to anything below the sea. Its manga is highly rated, and just as funny as its anime counterpart. I find it even funnier at times, and wholeheartedly recommend it to fans of this anime, and just about anyone. Generally speaking, from the adult humor to the copious character gags, Grand Blue is essentially a show that plays with itself. It’s a comedy sensation and one of the funniest anime that I have seen.