Grand Blue Anime Review
Summary of the Post:
The Plot
Characters
Execution of the Story
Overall Impression
Sourced Images
Footer
The Plot:
Iori Kitahara comes back to town after 10 years to start a new life as a freshman at Izu University while living under his uncle’s roof. His uncle happens to own a diving shop as a family business. Upon entering the establishment for the first time, he meets the local diving club during their regular club meetings (a.k.a. drinking party) and gets himself forcefully drawn into their shenanigans. From there, the show begins to show his journey in exploring the wonders of seeing the ocean.
I actually found it hard to further expound the plot beyond that one paragraph.
Characters:
I wouldn’t talk about each character in detail for two specific reasons. One, they behave like your standard archetypes in anime so there is no need to second guess their motives or their perspectives in the show. Two, I have trouble finding deciding whether there are even characters worthy to be mentioned by this distinction or not.
The main character follows your regular observer drawn into the flow of events by accident or forced into the plot. Iori Kitahara participates in the diving club’s activities and his interaction with other characters in the show have something to do with the club’s endeavors. But that’s all there is to it. There’s not much to go on from this protagonist because his motivations for doing things are too simple and congruent to where the episode’s plot is supposed to be heading.
When I evaluate how important a character is to the show, I would review how much impact their presence or loss in the show would be if they decide to go the other way. The audience is shown in the beginning of the MC’s unwillingness to join the diving club and yet we are shown absurd circumstances where the MC just obeys the flow in the end. If there was resistance to this change, it only took a light nudge to get the MC to get into diving for the show to be on track.
The story could still exist without the MC. It’s not the MC has little impact on the outcome of the show but it’s how the supporting characters can carry the show without the MC. Each character can be moved by other characters into the main direction and the story could still go on. The plot was mentions Iori being introduced into diving and developing that love for exploring the ocean.
Did I mention that the supporting characters of the show just behave like your standard anime archetypes? This show will not disappoint you when you expected that.It has your standard tsundere, otaku, and straight man archetypes to interact with the MC.
Execution of the Story:
The show isn’t as bad as how I painted it to be on the character section. I often forget that I am watching a “comedy” genre (not a genre I’m used to). So it can’t be helped if I’m a bit hard on how the show carries itself. Grand Blue lives up to it’s genre as a comedy anime. Even if it mentioned teaching the MC how to dive, the show does a good job not taking it seriously.
You start each episode with a good mood and end it with a good mood. It’s the type of show you can just watch to pass the time and each episode offers no cliff hangers. No mystery, no tragic backstory for any character, or any moments where you have to take it seriously. It was near the 10th episode when I noticed they started to take the diving lesson into consideration for the audience.
But you can expect that any serious lesson given will be followed up with a slapstick comedy scene to remind the audience that the show is still a comedy anime that happens to have diving an extra element to the plot.
Beer Drinking > Random Slice of Life Moments > Diving
You can expect this show to be full of facial expressions referenced from other shows like Attack on Titan.
Overall Impression:
The show could end in less than 6 episodes or less if it were focused on learning how to dive. The bulk of the show are filler scenes before the real ocean diving adventure takes place. You know what? It doesn’t matter, it’s comedy and you’re supposed to enjoy the lack of adherence to the plot and let events unfold on their own.
There are moments in the show where you just couldn’t predict the punchline and you end up appreciating the novelty behind the execution. I could say it’s not a total waste of time to watch if you want something light on the feels.
It’s something I’d still recommend watching for anyone exploring the comedy genre.
art and flair courtesy of @PegasusPhysics
You must NOT like comedy like at all... I mean, Grand blue is damn HILARIOUS, I do agree that like almost all comedy anime there isn't a plot that forces you to watch the next episode or glues you to the screen. It was at the top of my list of anime to watch this season in a tie with Asobi asobase and some people ranked it even higher than Asobi asobase due to superior drawing and animations.
I agree on being hard to expand the plot when there isn't anything major or that makes up twists, but then again, what comedy anime does that? They're always built around the experience of someone or a group of persons.
I'm going to come clean and say I didn't like the review, not because it's poorly written, but because you're projecting the idea that it's a show just on average and a filler when it's actually one of the best that aired this time, it's just that it's not a battle manga or any of the other archetypes.
As for the diving part, you took a wrong turn, it's NOT about diving, it's about SUMMER and the experiences associated to it typically speaking. In fact in the opening song they say at one part: "Leave it to the summer" as if solidifying the idea that this isn't a sports anime but instead one about relaxing in summer with friends. Try to judge it like that instead of focusing on the diving, because the show itself doesn't focus much on the diving either. For the classical sports anime Hanebado! does a much better job.
It's my opinionated review of the show. If the show is something you are passionate about liking, it's natural to be in disagreement about any perspective that contradicts your interests. Does it matter if the show is someone else's top of the list or not great on someone else's review? or if the consensus of the mainstream says it great or not? If I were to make a review, I am going to make a review based on what I honestly think about it.
If there is anything I forgot about mentioning in the review why this show hooked me into finishing it, it has one of the best soundtracks I've listened to and for the sake of watching it full before making a review.
I did enjoy Arakawa under the Bridge, Chromartie High and School Rumble. Humor is subjective.
I like the show.
I did and I stuck with my set criteria.One can execute comedy without sacrificing the plot and explore more character development for the supporting characters, one example is School Rumble. The show revolves around a love triangle but viewers are able to see the story in multiple perspectives that let the supporting character shine through episodes. On the other hand, the characters on Grand Blue hardly get any meaningful exposure.
We get hints that Chisa works at the aquarium and loves the ocean but we don't get to see scenes that she has her own moments away from the shenanigans the MC is involved into. We get some laughs about Nananka's obsession with Chisa but no further explanation on how things came to be, we are left to accept what is. If the argument is about the collective experience as a group, then the anime falls short even on that department. There less room for individuality to grow if most of the scenes feature the characters lumped into one drinking session and less of the individual alone time to get to know them.
There are ways to create more depth in a character even if it's just a comedy anime and I guess my opinion about Grand Blue just doesn't suit it's mainstream fanbase even if I can agree on liking the show still.
Well, sure, you can create more depth and make things more complicated by sacrificing other aspects, that's true. There is quite a bit of supporting characters and I think they did show quite a bit of love to some of them, they just didn't go too much in depth with the ones closer to the protagonist. There is also the fact that there were little episodes...
I watched Arakawa under the bridge and School Rumble, I don't know about Chromartie High so I can't give an opinion about that; but if that's the kind of comedy you like, then it's understandable you wouldn't enjoy Grand blue much. School Rumble has twice the episodes and even another season, you can't compare the sizes of both. Plus there is also the matter of perspective, Grand Blue IS focused on the MC, on what he sees and the things surrounding him and I actually like that fact.
I found out that Cakey and Chise are pretty well fleshed out as characters that perform their role correctly, as well as the two big guys. You want to know the in and outs of everyone, and maybe that's why you don't like this show; who cares about why Nanaka's obsessed with Chisa?, who cares why the girl is lesbian and an alcoholic?
There is also a contradiction in what you wanted to see and what the show delivered... Grand Blue is a gag, comedy anime, not a romantic comedy or something that has humor as part of the central idea. Chisa is the typical serious character, what's the point of showing a scene about her working in the aquarium seriously? it would kill the mood, remember that this show focuses a lot on the traditional tsukomu of the japanese.
I saw Nichijou recently as per recommendation of @ascheriit. It's exactly the kind of show you would enjoy as comedy, but there is a catch: EVERY character has comedy in their lives, so they can go ahead and switch characters and focus on the supporting ones because all of them have crazy lives and you can focus on them while keeping the comedy. You CAN'T do that in Grand Blue, period.
If you wanted to say that there are ways to bring complexity and depth to a comedy anime then I DO agree, it's not impossible, but it's not likely when gags are the main selling point. Grand Blue does suit the mainstream fanbase, in fact it's ranked very high (8.2 if I remember correctly) and amongst the most liked this season. I still think it's hilarious, but of course it's not a masterpiece, we've got Detroit Metal City for that, which is also one of the reasons I always make relative comparisons to the rest of the ones airing instead of absolute comparisons... otherwise it would be very hard.
I can't find Chromartie High in my anime download site, though... did you make a typo? I always have time to watch another funny one :D
I don't think having little episodes is the problem. Even 3 minutes of screen time can give you a lot of information about a character that would influence how you view them for the rest of the show. Nanaka sniffing Chisa's clothing only took 2-3 seconds and then you'll get the gist of how she would act when the MC tries to do something to Chisa.
I don't think it's really that focused on the MC. We get to see a god-like perspective on the thinking process of some characters in the show while in the moment. The flaw is not taking this advantage to the fullest. For example, that mixer with Cakey and friends. We get to see the reactions on the male side of the story in the moment but we both knew that the women were already oriented about what to expect from the men. I mean, there's a gold mine of info to explore on that mixer episode about Cakey but it wouldn't deviate away from the MC focus.
Knowing the ins and outs of everyone is the purpose of judging the character based on their value to the show. If I were to ignore their ins and outs then wouldn't that make me more bias about how they are portrayed? Cakey started out as a comic relief but we get to see her motivations she does it because of well done character development. However, the two muscle heads are laid out in love with the ocean and we just have to accept that.
Ana is a bi-sexual. Anyway, I am supposed to care for the characters and supporting characters otherwise there won't be a moment where I, as an audience, would be able to relate to the show. It is difficult to see people's motivations for doing the absurd when you have little to work with and the absurd is something that makes sense to them. It's not comedy when there is no serious element to it.
It wouldn't kill the mood when it was Chisa that nudged Nanaka to take Iori to the aquarium using her connections. Having her own mini screen time not only gives her more depth but shows a prequel to the scene where Iori gets to see the beauty of the aquarium. Part of the tension building. A prep for the punchline.
Iori's rival otaku seems like a good candidate for the MC role. We take out Iori and place Kyohei as the one being forced into the diving club and go through all those shenanigans, Iori will not be missed. Why? it's doesn't matter because the story flows are not as rooted to Iori. We get to know Chisa is his childhood friend but not much to go on there. Any heavy connection you could anchor Iori to the show can be replicated by Kyohei's disposition and Kyohei is an otaku which gives it more room for comedy. Between Iori and Kyohei, Iori is the straight man.
I just think comedy done right is when it's done seriously. When you are in an environment where you expect the scenes to be funny, you become easily saturated with the gags that they don't come funny anymore. The fix is to provide novel situations the audience has not seen this one coming. But it doesn't have to be that way all the time. If this gag show taught me something, it's that serious moments in a comedy anime are gems if done right because they show marked contrast in the mood and further adds depth to the character.
We know the two muscle heads are funny but when it comes to safety in diving, their atmosphere changes and becomes a bit more serious. We appreciate these changes more because they act as unusual to the usual of the show and it speaks a lot about their passion for diving (done in less than 10 seconds of screen time.)
Yeah I made a typo, it's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cromartie_High_School
Well, when you can't see the punchline coming it's DEFINITELY a lot funnier, that's one of the reasons I got bored with gokudolls, their jokes got stale. I also agree that Kyouhei would have made for a better MC due to all the reasons you mentioned :D
I don't know, maybe it's something of a cultural difference but I could easily relate to the show, it reminded me a LOT of my own university days and all the crazy stuff we did. The "absurd" doesn't seem so absurd from my viewpoint, so maybe that's a point in our diverging opinions?
I enjoyed this conversation quite a bit, BTW, and thanks for the rec, I'll check it out and see if I like it :D
I don't think their sense of humor is absurd. I can relate to it but the funny threshold just isn't breaking through. I would compare their humor to an experience where I do think the joke is funny but I just can't bring myself to laugh at it even if I do sincerely mean it's funny.
Thank you for your input, this was a meaningful conversation and a rare one in the platform. :D
UPDATE: Hi @adamada this post has been featured in Exponential! C² Featured Posts, a daily publication of the @c-cubed blog. Check it out :)
https://steemit.com/curation/@c-cubed/20181006t225901063z
This post was shared in the Curation Collective Discord community for curators, and upvoted and resteemed by the @c-squared community account after manual review.
Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by Adamada from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, someguy123, neoxian, followbtcnews, and netuoso. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows. Please find us at the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.
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Hi adamada!
I am (currently @eaudebla) a curator for AkibaSteem and this is just to let you know that I upvoted your post:
“I like that you have an image right aligned. It's a nice touch. Other than that, I'd recommend using heading tags for your subtitles (overall impression, execution of the story etc). I haven't watched the show myself, so I can't say if I agree with your review or not.”
Also, feel free to join our community on Discord!
https://discord.gg/7JQruwmThank you for the upvote and comment. I appreciate the recognition :D