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Grand Blue
Grand Blue Dreaming
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Alternative Titles

Japanese: ぐらんぶる

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: Unknown

Chapters: Unknown

Status: Publishing

Published: Apr 7, 2014 to ?

Genre: Comedy

Demographic: Seinen

Serialization: good! Afternoon

Authors: Inoue, Kenji (Story), Yoshioka, Kimitake (Art)

Statistics

Score: 9.03¹ (scored by 70,710 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #9²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #48

Members: 186,008

Favorites: 18,202

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Filtered Results: 48 / 49

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Aug 26, 2016

Hippe0

Recommended

Preliminary (34/? chp)

It's not often that a Manga makes me literally laughing out loud.
Most comedy Manga were either totally unfunny and boring or just managed to make me blow the air slightly more forceful through my nostrils.
Grand Blue isn't one of those Manga.

The story isn't very special. The art is good but nothing outstanding. Except when one of the characters goes bonkers. Most of the time you'll probably laugh because of the ridiculous over the top depiction of certain emotions.
If you just want to lean back, have a good laugh and not worry about your (shitty) life, then this is the Manga for you.
If ...

Jan 30, 2017

Raw_Meat

Recommended

Preliminary (25/? chp)

Grand Blue is a masterclass work of slapstick and gag humor.

Although the series is about "diving", the setting and premise serve primarily as guidelines for the plot to direct its comedy. In other words, characters can derail into basically any subplot and then realign itself at the end of each arc to ensure the series doesn't go too far off on a tangent and overwhelm the reader with too much absurdity.

The setting itself provides a reasonable justification for the kind of humor you see. Drinking naturally comes with college parties and nudity "naturally" comes with drinking. Diving also offers a unique focal point to ...

Sep 3, 2016

ForgotMyRice

Recommended

Preliminary (7/? chp)

There are very few anime/manga which actually make me laugh and this is definitely one of them! The humor is absolutely amazing and the artwork compliments it perfectly. I really hope this manga gets more attention and becomes popular because I've enjoyed this much more than the more popular comedy manga at the moment like prison school. This is a fresh breather from all the high school comedies since this takes place in college so it has a bit more freedom with comedy involving alcohol, which happens to be where most of the comedy is based on. The misunderstandings are what make this manga one ...

Sep 19, 2020

NotDex

Recommended

Preliminary (63/? chp)

Ever feel like taking a break from your heated life, sitting in that comforting corner of your balcony and reading a nice comedy which is heartful? Look no further than Grand Blue.

“The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea”.

Grand Blue is a college/university humour manga series about the passion of diving into the alluring blue ocean. The way it's presented makes you lose yourself to the beauty of the underwater world. It portrays the themes of it to their very peak with it's lively cast of characters and memorable moments. There's nothing unique or much to the story as this is ... a slice of life. The manga takes us through our protagonist's uni life as he meets along new people, how they become friends with the most amusing of interactions and how they discover love for an activity which they were altogether new and unknown to.

The character cast in the onset looks very plain and generic but as time passes on in the story you'll find yourself getting immersed into their lives and relationships. Iori and Kohei are arch enemies when it comes down to getting along together but are an immovable duo when faced with any calamity or a common enemy. They are naive friends who transform into youthful ever drunk perverts, ready to strip in the twinkling of an eye. We also see our female leads Chisa and Aina as they slowly bud into amazing friends who can relate into each other's lives. And their senpai? They are absolute chads ready to go nuts at any given moment's notice. Iori's college friends are always up to stir trouble and plot each other's downfall in the most ridiculous of ways imaginable. What appeals to me truly is how each of these characters really stand out with what they enjoy, they are not ashamed of what they love and are passionate about their interests with others. Overall, the cast is extremely lovable and fitting for the themes of the story.

Nude rock paper scissors game along with some good oolong tea. Now, on with the comedy aspect of this manga and I kid you not it's genius in it's presentation. One thing which I often tend to see in these type of comedy settings is that the comedy gets exaggerated and overused to the point where it becomes unfunny or dull. This is not the case for Grand Blue as the comedy comes at you in the most unique settings imaginable which are unpredictable. The characters just go full out bonkers all the damn time and their reactions are strongly expressed unlike any other comedy out there. There's always a misunderstanding brewing and their layout is perfectly built up. The scenes are not forgotten by the author and later give birth to more trouble and comedy. This is the type of manga which will make you actually laugh your heart out.

Unlike many other comedy manga like "Gintama" or "Binbougami ga!" where there are walls of text which can get pretty absurd to read, Grand Blue's flow of text is pretty fluid and it's panelling is done great which makes it easy to follow. The dialogue boxes are well placed and lead in the right direction. It's a comfortable read to the eye. The art is simplistic yet very expressive and appealing. It suits to the atmosphere of the story. The diving moments are beautifully drawn which make them quite memorable. The writing is witty and imaginative. The author has done his research on what he shows and I'm always keen to learn something new about the ocean, food cuisines, places and many other things.

I would love to be in a club such as PAB and although the manga is about diving and comedy it teaches us quite a bit about life.
Grand Blue teaches us to be authentic. It conveys you to be true to yourself, speak your truth and live your values. People may laugh at our likings or passion but we must embrace them and accept ourselves for who we are and what we like for that is a part of us. However, one of the hardest parts about being authentic is recognizing that we are not perfect and our relationships with others are what which make us whole. Live your live to it's fullest and when in hard times, never forget that there is always a shoulder you can lean on to. Such is the moral and soul of the story.

If you've read my review this far then I would be honoured if I was able to show you how great of a manga Grand Blue is. It's top tier comedy which every fan of the comedy genre should read. I can assure you as a fan of comedy that it won't disappoint and what's even better is how it holds a high reread value, it's something which I would reread and still enjoy the most out of. In the end, if there's one exclusive thing that this manga has taught me then that would be to always keep a lighter on me when hanging out with friends. And why so? You'll find out as soon as you start reading it.

Apr 3, 2017

21slav

Recommended

Preliminary (33/? chp)

Alright. Please view this as a review from a regular person, not as someone who specializes in the whole anime and manga scene. While I have watched anime and read some manga this manga is by far the best story(?) I have ever experienced. Not because the MC has grown strong enough to defeat a thousand mecha-Hitlers, but because the entire premise of this manga is outstanding. I have never LAUGHED out loud while watching a show or reading a story but this manga has made me do so. If any of you are like me and cringe super hard(like almost enough for you to ...

Sep 5, 2023

NeferpitouZ

Recommended

Preliminary (80/? chp)

quite literally the funniest piece of media that I've ever consumed.

Grand Blue is nothing but fun, this manga is filled with crazy situations and stupid scenarios that happened because of the incredibly unique and stupid casts of characters, their stupid shenanigans plus their over the top reactions and expressions never fail to make me laugh. Not even a single chapter has gone by without me audibly laugh and giggle.

This manga is all about the lives of college students that is in a diving club. Although this manga is more about naked buff men and alchohol the manga has a lot of very inspiring moments ...

Dec 28, 2020

CozyDay22

Recommended

Preliminary (65/? chp)

*Sigh* ... Grand Blue, a goldmine of a manga. From the initial sheer shocking introduction of the story to a drinking club half-posing as a diving club, Grand Blue certainly covers everything excellently.

**Possible spoilers ahead?**

Going into the manga, I didn't expect much. The cover image wasn't exactly alluring and the synopsis seemed, well... like a typical slice of life with a tinge of diving. However, it didn't take long for me to fall head over heels for this manga.
On a side note, as a pretty big Kaguya-Sama fan (my previous favorite manga), I was a bit shocked that with just thirty or so chapters, ... Grand Blue not only beat the 200 or so amazingly done chapters of Kaguya-Sama but also captivated my attention. In fact, the absolute perfection of this slice of life/comedy manga compelled me to write this review. Without further delay, let's ... dive into it :3

Story: 9.3/10

We might as well get my only major piece of criticism out of the way. Although every other factor of Grand Blue was almost perfect, the story was a bit weak. There were instances where I felt like the story was drifting apart and in different directions, making it a bit sad and confusing, before the author successfully managed to pull it back onto its main path. This minor flaw leads me to rate this section a 9.3, but otherwise than weakness, I only have compliments to give to the various hilarious twists, how the story was set up, and how the story was continually interesting.

Art: 11/10

The Grand Blue manga's art is easily an 11/10. I can't say much about the anime but from the various clips I've watched, I must say that I still much prefer the manga. Stray thoughts aside, everything was done beautifully art-wise. The oceans where they dived, the surrounding backgrounds, and most of all, the facial expressions. I can't deny that the facial expressions might've been a tad overexaggerated, but it was what drove the humor home. Moreover, the character Chisa Kotegawa's (will explore more in the characters section) facial expressions were absolutely golden. They could go from an absolutely heart-melting embarrassed face to the extremely well-done typical
"B-Baka" tsundere face. Overall, the art was one of my favorite parts of Grand Blue and it well deserves an 11/10.

Character: 10/10

Again, the characters in Grand Blue are absolutely awesome and as unique as characters can get. As readers, we get to see some "water" (vodka) offering seniors, an Otaku who only wants a younger sister to call him "Oni-san", and a doting older sister, who in reality is a major sis-con. While these characters play a big role everywhere, they aren't the only ones who are different and add their own flavor to the story. I would say that almost every single side character has something unique about them. Some are funny, some are interesting, and some are just downright golden. The examples showed above only display a minority of the beautifully written characters in this story.

Also, I loved every character. They always played their part excellently and always maintained a hilarious atmosphere. Instead of throwing away minor characters like many other slice of life animes do, Grand Blue always found some way for most of the side characters to be effectively re-incorporated or put back into the story. This leaves readers like me satisfied with knowing more about certain minor characters that we love, instead of them being never used again. Moreover, a huge point that easily makes this category a 10/10 is the fact that I didn't hate a single character. In most shows, I would've probably hated some character in the first couple of episodes or chapters, but Grand Blue characters are simply built different.

Enjoyment:

You probably know this already but the well-written story, fantastically drawn art, and top-tier characters lead me to enjoy every single chapter of Grand Blue. There wasn't a single moment that disappointed me and the fact that it set me off in laughter so often shows that it's something that can instantly brighten up my life during a gloomy day. While I still enjoy Kaguya-Sama(Hayasaka <- Iino <- Kaguya <- Chika), Grand Blue has overtaken it and is leading with a wide gap as my all-time favorite manga. I very highly recommend anyone reading this to immediately put it on their read-list and make it a priority.

Thanks for your time and I hope you enjoy it as much as me~

Jan 23, 2024

Valjean24601

Recommended

Preliminary (84/? chp)

There are a total of four things that I absolutely love in pieces that I read when well done. The first is realistic suffering, see characters pass throught bad things, and be successful(or the opposite of it) is amazing. The second is relationships, I love to see how characters interact with each other, and develop throught that. The third is worldbuilding, a good and nice world can transmit a sense of wonder that enhances the experience to new levels. An fourth is simply put, the funnies, how much a manga makes me laugh or smirk is heavily correlated with my enjoyement. But comedy is very ...

Aug 3, 2017

Selocan

Recommended

Preliminary (17/? chp)

I am reading the series of Grand Blue now. And I must explain that this serie is very extremely funny because jokes.The main character and his best friend's life is also a big joke too. It has a different style than other series for me. Also I am learning about scuba diving too.I think I found scuba diving interesting after I started this manga serie too. So if you interested about my entry I think you will love this manga serie. I hope it will be turned in an anime serie too.

Thanks for reading my first entry...
I hope you will enjoy :)

Sep 29, 2020

homemcordial

Recommended

Preliminary (63/? chp)

Grand Blue isn't a manga about diving, it's an ode to youth.

sure, diving plays a big part, but merely serves to symbolize the many new experiences and new world college life provides. keep that in mind while reading this review.

STORY: 8/10
well, it's a slice of life, so don't expect a complicated plot. it does it's job, providing context so the characters and comedy can thrive. but as of right now (chapter 63) there seems to be a bit of a romance element growing, so maybe the story itself will actually get interesting.

ART: 9/10
Grand Blue wouldn't be as funny if it didn't have this artwork
Yoshioka's a ...

Dec 17, 2018

Mahir_Rahman

Recommended

Preliminary (49/? chp)

I loved reading this.

TLDR;Grand Blues anime adaption is what drove me to reading this manga in the first place. And its manga is what opened me to world of manga. I originally thought that it would be impossible for me to find a manga that makes me laugh as much as its animated counterpart, I was wrong. I am very proud to say this is my first manga and it was one of my favorite reads of all time. I felt it was a masterpiece in the idea of a comedy with a story. It had perfectly incorporated a story in all of its jokes ...

Jul 17, 2020

BryanGT

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (50/? chp)

So Grand Blue...
I didn't quite know what to expect. Comedy, after all, is one of the most subjective genres.

However, I didn't expected for this to be a Japanese version of American Pie. Yes, you read correctly. This is at the same level of that shitty comedy that you loved when you were 12 or 13.

I can't be totally negative with this manga, because it has some really funny moments. Specially in the art department - I like how the author uses gag and physical comedy - gestures, faces, etc.

But the characters are flat, the dialogue is bad, and the plot is cliché.

I can only ...

Oct 5, 2020

Sloth_Hawk

Recommended

Preliminary (63/? chp)

Its a "MASTERPIECE". Its "BOOOOOOTIFUUULLL" and I love it. Ive read this manga three times and yet didn't feel bored.

The story is quite simple, its all about,-------------- "Diving". Its about few college freshman's , wondering what they want to do with their lives and end up joining the diving club out of curiosity. The humor and artwork are simply AMAZING.

There are very few manga which CAN make me laugh and this is definitely one of them!

You're about to graduate from high school and are wondering how your college life will be after that, READ THIS MANGA.

You're sick of of your life and ...

Apr 11, 2023

Lucianael

Recommended

Funny

Preliminary (83/? chp)

Grand Blue might just be the most surprising piece of fiction I have ever read. It is not my favorite and for me at least, it is far from being a masterpiece, but that didn’t stop it from being way better than anything I would have expected.
Grand Blue by Inoue, Kenji and Yoshioka, Kimatake tells the story of Iori Kitahara who moved away from his home to the coast of Shizuoka where he moves in with his uncle, who owns a diving shop, as well as his two daughters. There he meets the diving club of the university he came all the way there to ... attend. After getting wasted together with them, he joins the diving club the next day, after which he gets a lot more wasted a lot more often.

As you might be able to conclude from the plot summary, this is a comedy manga before all else. It is absurdist, though never forgets its own rules. The characters might seem strange, but they always act in character even if that character is an alcoholic bisexual whore*, an alcoholic (ex)otaku with social anxiety or dare I say it, strangest of them all, a non-alcoholic who in addition also has a diving obsession. The colorful cast of the manga bounces off each other in new and creative ways in almost every chapter and the result is comedic tension that could even rival Kaguya-Sama, which I consider to be both the pinnacle of the comedy (and romance) genre as well as one of the best and my favorite manga/anime of all time. The really surprising part about this was, at least to me, that I am not alone in this opinion. The piece of fiction I would call closest to this would be the anime adaptation of Konosuba, which has a quite respectable score of around 8.25. Now, just to make this clear, I think that this is a lot better than Konosuba in almost every way, but it is still a comedy manga with not really anything else to say. This is what makes it so astounding to me that it has a score of above 9 (9.03 as of writing this review).

Part of the reason for it being this beloved is definitely its art, which is I would say perfect. That doesn’t mean that it has the best art, but that the art is just so good that it delivers perfectly in every joke and as long as it is able to do this, I don’t think you can call it anything but perfect, even if it’s not the most beautiful manga of all time. For reverence just look at the anime which is just, and I am sorry to say this, terrible in compression to this. A proper adaption of this manga would need a SpyXFamily-level production and even then, I think it would be hard to match it.

In conclusion, read it for the vibes, for the comedy, for the characters and don’t read it for the plot.

*Hey there pal, it is me, mister edit-man, it is the 23rd of April 2024 right now, gosh, crazy to believe it has already been a year, either way, I am here to say that the word "whore" is a poor and overall pretty sexist description of Azusa (the character I am talking about here) and I, as the pedant that I am can't leave something like this without at least adding my thoughts. The simple solution would be to stop reading my own reviews, but hey, I am a massive narcissist, so that's not gonna happen. To get back on topic, having a healthy sex life is not something to attack someone for yada yada yada, slut-shaming is evil and so on, you know the drill. That's all, sorry for saying a bad thing a year ago, let's just say I've learned that one over the years.

Jun 19, 2017

Hierze

Recommended

Preliminary (36/? chp)

Grand Blue is a Japanese manga series written by Inoue Kenji and illustrated by Yoshioka Kimitake. It centers on the budding youthful drama of Iori Kitahara as he begins his university life living in his uncle's diving store "Grand Blue" near the coastal city of Izu.

Grand Blue is beautifull, A light story with a very funny comedy. My stomach got sick when reading this. Your feelings will be good when reading this manga. I swear you will laugh as fuck. This is a masterpiece.

Dont try iori's lifestyle in your college life, he's life is very sucks
I think this manga will be very popular ...

Apr 2, 2017

miwasan4

Recommended

Preliminary (32/? chp)

This is by far the funniest manga I've ever read . All the characters , the scenarios (not all of them), story, everything is so relatable. I think this manga showcases everything that a student aspires for in his college/university life , everything he wants to be and everything he couldn't be . This manga somehow spoke to me at a spiritual level. Every chapter is so good , and all of them made me laugh like crazy. The most important thing about comedy is that the reader has to understand and relate to the joke or the punchline to be able to get the ...

Mar 4, 2017

Gazz

Recommended

Preliminary (28/? chp)

Grand Blue is one of those rare manga that will make you laugh till you cry without animation or sounds. Yup, that's how funny it is.

Story: 7/10
Story is very simple actually. Iori start his college life near the ocean in Izu city with his cousins then suddenly his uncle introduces him to a store called Grand Blue, where it teaches diving. Later, they finally convinced Iori to join the diving club. There’s no serious plot; it’s just the daily lives of Iori in Grand Blue, and his goal to become a licensed diver.

Art: 10/10
The artwork of this manga is outstanding. Detail of the ocean or ...

Aug 18, 2018

iMysteriousAura

Recommended

Preliminary (47/? chp)

This is my review for Grand Blue. I’ll be referring to the characters by what they are most commonly called in the manga. Please note that this review is structured around how I personally felt about the manga: objectively, it deserves an overall rating of 9. (individual ratings of 6/9/10 for story, art, and character, respectively), and subjectively, I give it a 9 as well.

Story: 6/10

Before we start things off, I'd like to say that there is little to no story in Grand Blue. Sure, the beginning few chapters set up the basic storyline, but that's about it. To sum things up, the main character, ... Iori, joins a diving club, and proceeds to have all sorts of wacky interactions and adventures with the other characters. 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 chapters are also loosely tied together, meaning that there is some degree of continuation. As the characters are in college, there is the presence of drinking, although it's most played for laughs.

Art: 10/10

Just like any seinen manga, the artwork is very crisp and sharply drawn. The main attraction here are the way the characters are presented, specifically their facial expressions. Grand Blue utilizes what I describe as a face shadow very often, which often indicates that said character is about to suggest a totally ridiculous idea or have a complete misunderstanding of the situation. The great thing about the artwork is that in my opinion, you can get a general understanding of what a chapter is about even without a translation just by reading the faces of the characters and any supporting details provided. It's also worth mentioning that during scenes where the characters are actually diving, the scenery is very pleasing to gaze over, although the same can be said about all the background.

Character: 10/10

Despite having quite a large cast of characters, the individual quirks of each one make them all unique from each other. Iori, the main character, forms somewhat of an idiot duo tandem along with Kouhei, but can actually be surprisingly caring when it really matters, unlike the latter. Speaking of Kouhei, he is the other half of the idiot duo, and loves anime and little sisters. Iori and Kouhei are actually close friends as they often suffer the same fate, but both refuse to acknowledge this. On the flip side, the female main character, Chisa is a mirror of her male counterparts, as she is usually no nonsense and lives for diving. Her older sister, Nanaka, has a huge sister complex and is probably the scariest character whenever she finds out that something unpleasant has happened to Chisa. Aina, aka Cakey, is another first year member of the diving club, although her backstory in explaining how she eventually joins it is very interesting and engaging. Kotobuki, Tokita, and Azusa are the senior figures, and are often seen together, and these three are probably the most shameless out of the whole cast. Also lumped together are Naomi and Busujima, who are Iori's admirer and enemy, respectively. The last notable character is Iori's little sister Shiori, and she's one of those characters who puts up a front making them seem almost incompetent, but is actually extremely cunning and skilled. Did I mention that the characters, paired along with overly exaggerated facial expressions is Grand Blue's selling point?

Enjoyment: 10/10

Although I have read many comedy manga, Grand Blue has cemented itself as my favourite out of the bunch. Some people might think that there are only so many jokes that can be made before it gets boring, but this is not the case. With the exception of a handful of serious chapters, I wouldn't be surprised if the reader laughs their head off, because I sure did. The endless amount of comedy that seems to come from this manga ensures that there never is a dull moment.

That's all I have to say. Thanks for reading!

Jun 21, 2019

SSa1nt

Recommended

Preliminary (53/? chp)

THIS is a manga about diving.
Never have I read a manga that made me laugh so much as Grand Blue, every chapter this manga has, made me laugh like no other.
The story is nothing special however the execution of it combined with the jokes makes the story infinitely more enjoyable and before long you'll start caring for these characters and enjoying the way they interact with each other.
The art is another part that makes this manga special, at first you may think the faces are too simple and that its just your regular anime art style however its not, Grand blue has one of the ...

Jan 15, 2020

drunklee

Recommended

Preliminary (58/? chp)

(Might contain mild spoilers) Most certain 10/10 I can think of. Also, this review kinda includes the anime as well, since they have the same vibe and not many changes. While it's not actually perfect, it nails every aspect it has to. Starting with the the simpler things to explain, the art is really good, especially in the scenarios and character comical faces. Where it looses points to me is only in the fish and sea animals in general, witch might seem like not enough to take 2 points, but since it's supposed to be a scuba diving manga I think they should have gone ...