Grand Blue
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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 ... you look for anything deeper than just stupid, but very funny, comedy, then don't even bother.
We don't like you anyway.

EDIT: I initially rated this manga an 8 because i only read 6 chapters or so and thought that it would get stale over the time. Turns out, i still laugh my ass of and look forward to every new chapter. Shit's a solid 9, bois.

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 ... branch humor from with things such as diving signal gags, and of course, nudity.

In comedic manga, characters are essential to driving a joke home. Although every character is the complete opposite of normal, what they do makes sense because it’s part of their character and that allows the humor to flow. In Drifters, comedy can become awkward at times because malicious and serious characters would suddenly turn goofy for no reason and it messed with the image the characters were supposed to maintain. Every character in Grand Blue has a unique personality and together they can turn any normal scenario into a circus.

Most of what has been said can be said for many other series, but what makes this series stand above the rest? The Art. In Fullmetal Alchemist and Onepunch Man, gags are made by lowering the quality of art to portray the lighthearted or casual attitude of the characters in a high stake scenario, but in Grand Blue, the art quality goes up at the punchline to portray the high tension in the characters despite their situation being nothing serious. This drastic imbalance in what we see versus what we feel serves almost like another joke making it so that each punchline is two jokes rather than one . The flow of text is also superb as it feeds you puns and gags at a precise rate. In Gintama, the comedy is goes by the same formula as Grand Blue, but if you read the manga, the pages are covered in text and content within each chapter is way too condensed. Seeing the emotion and expressions of the characters is harder to visualize compared to Grand Blue, where each facial expression perfectly expresses the absurdity and emotional peak of the characters.

So that’s basically why I think Grand Blue is a comedy gold mine. Hopefully this review makes sense and if it doesn’t, there are plenty of other excellent review that give you an idea how amazing this series is.

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 ... of the funniest around and if you are looking for a hilarious manga it would be a waste to pass this one up!

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.

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 ... in it that sometimes stands out.

Story: 9
Grand Blue doesn't have that deep of a story with crazy plot twists and mind blowing concepts. the story itself isn't nothing special, the story is just filled with crazy and funny situations because the main purpose of the manga is just comedy

Characters: 10
The characters of this show isn't very deep but each of their personalities are very fun to watch, the character's interaction with each other are very fun and funny to watch. The characters of this manga is what makes this manga so good, without these very over the top characters that has their own weird quirks and interests I don't think this manga will be this hilarious.

Art: 9
The art for this manga is very good, I can't say that its amazing because there are other mangas with insane art like one punch man or berserk but the art to this manga is way more than enough for a simple comedy slice of life manga

I gave this manga a 10/10 simply for its comedy, no other media has ever made me consistently laugh throughout it's series like Grand Blue did to me.

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 ... just shut your computer and stop watching for the entirety) when the MC does something cringey, this manga does everything right to make you laugh at these situations rather than turn you away. I don't know why I am writing this review since I have never does so in the past whether it be an anime or manga. I guess this is the first time I have ever felt like something needs more viewers to bless with its existence. Also if you are looking at my scores and are saying, "well they made to story rating a 7, I'm not so sure about this one". Well let me tell you that the story may not be the best(because they stray from the plot often), it is by far the MOST fun I have ever had while engrossing myself in anything manga or anime.

*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~

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 :)

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.

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 ... are wondering why the heck were you born, READ THIS MANGA.

After reading this manga you'll think that every comedy manga is TRASH.

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 ... particular, and varies very much from individual to individual, and because of that is a genre very hard to recommend. When it hits, whoever, oh, does it hit hard.
And Grand Blue hit the hardest. Grand blue scores a big fat zero in 2 of the categories(suffering and worldbuilding). However, when it comes to the funnies, this piece has the highest score of any other. If I had to rank in that alone, it would be first no doubt. Everything in this manga revolves around the comedy, even the relationships between character is used as a step stone for bring something funny to reality.
You will not see profound relationships, development of characters, or a rich world, but for this one, that doesn't matter. The enjoyement comes throught slapstick comedy, reocurring gags and character behaviour. From "The Boys(TM)" being absolute pieces of shit, to using a lighter to see if it really is water, to "this is a diving club", everything is worked up with the purpose of laughs. And the author is a master at this. He knows how to perfectly use a gag in the right moment to extract most laughs, he knows when to go hard, and when to stop abruptly, he simply knows.
But of course, this manga wouldn't be so funny if it wasn't for the artist. The art is used in excelence to bring extreme reactions and make the slapstick moments works wonderfully. It was actually what I missed most in the anime, since the art in the manga is used very much as a sudden punchline, which was lost in translation.
If you don't like the style of comedy don't bother, this manga lives and dies in that genre. But if you enjoy it,if you even remotely like, then dive in, and enjoy. This is one of the best

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 ... and is not jokes for the sake of being jokes. The characters had stayed true to their nature and hilarious quirks. Although I cannot say this manga provides an insight on human nature as other anime/manga do, I can say for certain they never get boring or act in a way you would not expect them to. I enjoyed this read so much so I would stay up till 4 just laughing and having fun. I would highly recommend anyone trying to find anything funny to this manga.

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 ... say that read this ONLY if you want to turn off your brain and have mindless fun. But don't expect to find anything else. It's as shallow as it looks.

Pretty ironic for a diving manga, right?

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 ... background is well made. Character designs are also good. Details of their face are great, and also each strand of their hair is good. Artwork of this manga, is no doubt one of the best as of now.

Character: 9/10
Iori is one of the funniest main characters I’ve ever seen in an anime/manga. Their crazy antics with Kouhei will leave you laughing till your sides get hurt. Chisa, Azusa, and other supporting cast also did well to make this manga awesome.

Enjoyment: 10/10
This is one of the funniest manga/anime I’ve ever seen. Reading this will make your dull day into a bright day I guarantee you.

Overall: 9/10
Thanks for reading the review and start reading Grand Blue right now!

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 ... hell of an artist, really, not only can he make beautiful art, he's also a master at making his characters expressive. there's also the background, very well drawn and sometimes breathtaking, like the underwater scenes.
however, i have to say i feel it can get a bit sloppy sometimes, but that's barely noticeable.

CHARACTERS: 10/10
this isn't "just a funny manga" like another reviewer wrote, there's actually quite a lot of character development here, even supporting characters are more than just shells.
they're also very original, no one in the cast really fits in the anime/manga stereotypes.
and man, they're funny. i can't think of one character that isn't hilarious and unpredictable.
but he most important thing is that i felt emotionally attached to the characters and started to miss them shortly after i stopped reading, a very rare thing to happen to me

ENJOYMENT: 10/10
everything i said before counts as part of my enjoyment, but being a little bit more direct:
i've never laughed so much since i watched the first seasons of The Office, and that says a lot.
this manga's humor is all about breaking your expectations, and it does an amazing job at that, better than any other japanese media i've seen, beating even Gintama. you're guaranteed to at least give a couple of laughs while reading each chapter.

OVERALL: 10/10 (MASTERPIECE)
as i said in the begining of this review, this manga is about youth.
it's about new experiences, friendship, romance, hot older girls, and well... drinking. but it's also about young people's problems. and i expect that it gets further in that direction, considering we're only in chapter 63, it's safe to say it has much more room to grow.

as someone who spends most of his time alone and is about to enter college, Grand Blue hit differently, it made me realize that i'm living a unique time in my life, and that i should enjoy it while i can. i can't help but give this a 10.

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 ... complete feel and this manga does a wonderful job there . I've never laughed like this in years and partially I owe this manga and it's creator for helping me realiaze that those years as a student probably comprise the most cherishable phase of my life and you should make the most of that time .

There is a beauty that lies within Grand Blue. I never thought that I'd be using that word to describe a manga like this, but it's honestly so true.

I'm going to skim over all the stuff that everyone else has already said and would recognize from the first few chapters: Grand Blue is a great comedy that has over-the-top reactions and comedy that somehow doesn't get old.
The reason for all that is definitely because the characters are fleshed out well and are all quirky enough to allow for a multitude of different scenarios and crazy things to happen. All that is great and all, but ... how does that make it differ from other comedy manga?

I think the big thing that sets it apart is it's unwavering focus on passion and acceptance.

Now most characters in Grand Blue are pretty unique: they all have their own interests and personalities that make them fun to read about. Yet each one also has a deep passion for something they love, whether it be diving, partying, love interests, younger sisters, etc, and they all love these things to an extreme level. People tend to avoid these types of people and call them weird, which is pretty reasonable if you think about it. But this is where the main character, Iori, differs from most people. He recognizes that it's not strange to be so passionate about something that you love, and he embraces his friends for it. He doesn't love them despite how weird they are, he loves them because they are being true to themselves.

This is the heart and soul of Grand Blue. The comedy never gets boring because it's just the characters being themselves, and that's the beauty of it all.

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!

(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 ... all out and drawn some insanely good looking fish. About character, while trough most of the manga there's not much development, that happens later on and is not really necessary, what really matters is that every single character is incredibly funny and really likable, some from the start, and other as the story progresses.
What really gives the 10 to Grand Blue is how they nail college life. Of course, there are many exaggerations, but there are 3 easy counter-arguments for that. First: most anime/manga exaggerates a lot about its main theme anyway. Second: it is a comedy, so it's kinda necessary. Third: It's not nearly as exaggerated as you might think if you haven't been to college or had a quiet students life. This guys really nailed the spirit of college students. The suicidal drinking, the proportion of what they show between classes and partying (like one in every 20 chapters is actually related to studies). Later on, when things get serious and the seniors have to actually start studying and doing projects that take all of their time, and start spending less time with the younger students, bringing both sadness over the brutal abyss in their reality and terror since this seemingly infernal life is only a couple years away. Not that it is that difficult, but they really represented the entire essence of college life, while delivering some of the best comedy I've ever seen.
Since I like to rate stuff based on how well the authors managed to deliver what they propose, how well its artistically made and how much I personally like it, there is no real argument to not give this a 10.

OK, I will be pretty straight forward.( sorry in advance for my bad english :-() )

Genre according to MAL - comedy , slice of lice

if you are in mood of reading something light . If you like slow slow .. slow burning romance where romance is not the main driving force with wholesome comedy and little much Drama with outstanding art style then hold my beer this is manga for ya. Just go and read this manga because manga like this is super rare.

I am writing further because i know there are people who are still not convinced .

###why ... to read this manga ?
COMEDY is main theme .Facial expression are drawn in such a way that you will not able to hold your laugh. As you know this manga is also about diving ,artwork of underwater are so beautiful and refreshing .
Manga is setup in college life , therefore college life jokes are very natural relatable
with very little bit of drama but ofcourse drama is needed bruh.

###ROMANCE . yes romance is there but remember romance is not main driving force .ALSo romance is very natural i mean how in other mangas MC creates unnecessary HAREM or how only MC cares for everyone or how MC is cool with no female attraction , with big heart and blaw blaw blaw..... you know what i mena right . But GRAND BLUE is totally different .It is new . ALso College student can realte more with this manga .Romance happens with very very very very slow rate because all development for romance changes into comdey within a moment ha ha ha ...this is GRAND BLUE manga remember....plus dont get me wrong sometimes this manga changes its pace in a moment ....sometimes it can be scary as hell........sometime it can make your heart race fast...


###HAREM ..nope . Our MC is not the so much handsome , he is airhead , lusty zero in studying .Yes he attracts many girls later but it happens so natural .



###ENJOYMENT . Ofcourse it 100% enjoyable you will not find yourself getting bored .Remember tho if you are only for Romance then manga is not for ya .


###CHARACTERS . All characters are whole some , natural and not so much dramatic even you will find characters with different gender .All are return well drawn well .

###ART . art is over the top.In art it can stand shoulder to shoulder wit top mangas.



###STORY,..story focuses on college lifes of engineering students .
OUR MC is doing mechanical engineering and had joined diving club since college is near ocean and where he live is also near ocean .

...............enough bullsh****g just go read it . You will not regrate..............

THANKS