Grand Blue

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.

I watched the anime, and liked it enough to read the manga as well.

It should only be natural that for a comedy type of story, the anime and manga would give off different vibes, and different, they are. They ARE, overall, pretty similar, but just the format of manga makes it slightly different, and in this case, for the better.

Honestly, Grand blue has some of cringe and ecchi moments sometimes, or just unfunny chapters. However, the pacing of the manga makes it so that you can skip it over more easily than the anime. The funny chapters of Grand Blue however, stay just as good as the anime. The exaggerated facial expressions are exactly the same as the anime, and it's honestly always damn funny whenever I see them.

And I think this is over-exaggeration sort of theme is present throughout the entire manga, and it's one of the reasons why I like it so much. Sure, on the surface level, it seems like a slice of life story, and surely, most of the chapters in the manga can theoretically happen in real life, but the charm is the embellishing it has. Sure, which college doesn't have frat parties and party university clubs? But the pab in the manga are over the top, yet not overly so, but enough to the point that it's funny. Same thing with all the character personalities. Few characters seem feasibly realistic, like maybe Chisa and Aina, but even then, their obsessions with certain things make them fit in the comedy.
All the stories involving random activities, like camping, working part time, going to classes, eating, etc are turned into something extremely funny since all the characters have an inherent randomness and potential for good interactions.
All of these small, but good things about the novel bring it up to something truly great. Even the setting of "diving club" near the sea is used in a simple, but smart way.
All of the characters (and there's a damn lot of them) are interesting and funny, and whenever they appear in a chapter, you're sure to have a laugh. It's exaggerated and unrealistic, but that's the charm of a comedy novel.

Comedy manga doesn't get any better than Grand Blue.

While following the insane college life of the main character and supporting cast through bizarre situations, you inevitably grow to love their personalities and interactions with each other. At its core, Grand Blue is a story about relationships and shines in dialogues and visual storytelling.

The comedy, that at face value may seem simplistic, actually gets better and better the more you know the characters and style - think South Park minus the overly deep themes -, and is highlighted by the gorgeous art and superb facial expressions (seriously, Grand Blue is the king of funny faces).

Oddly enough, the sad or emotional moments - while not so frequent - are also well done and help us realize how much we care for the cast.

Overall, this is one of the few true masterpieces out there and a must read for anyone not totally averse to comedy (and mild ecchi, I guess?).

(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.

Really funny story about a teenager who joined the diving club and starts to learn the joys of the world underwater.
Nah, just kidding. This premise is just a plot-point that comes up whenever the manga needs a story to follow.
The real charm of this book is its comedy. These characters are all likable and a ton of fun to follow. The overly detailed artwork brings a tone of seriousness to the story that just makes all the jokes feel even more dramatic.
I recommend reading the first three of four chapters and seeing if the humor appeals to your taste.

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.

Story: The story and the writing is very good for such a lighthearted and comedic manga. I'm used to funny mangas being poorly written, or having a loose plot but this one is really well done. I like the direction the manga is headed (at this point I'm caught up and it is at chapter 62).

Art: The art is fantastic. Like, very well done. It's not super ~artsy~ but the attention to detail, in even the minor portions of the chapter is high.

Character: Characters are well written. They are not stale, and show a lot of unique characteristics that keep you interested. Hats off.

Overall, I like this manga a lot. I read that there's an anime adaptation so I'll check that one out. My enjoyment score is the lowest however, as sometimes the pacing can be just a tad slow, and the progress in relationships don't go as fast as you like, but that's okay with me. I think I'm just eager to see where the story and relationships go lol.

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.

Grand Blue has so perfected the art of comedic timing, that I recommend it to anyone writing comedy to study it.

Initially skimming the panels and pages, I thought... mehh, it's so so... and it wasn't until my second try actually digesting the panels, was I enlightened. Grand Blue is hands down, first class in the genre of comedy. Admittedly though, there is a little of an adjustment period for people who are introverted because part of the comedy revolves around partying hard with alcohol, chasing after dates, and stereotypical college student goals, which as someone who prefers staying home and playing vidya games, is meh.

When I started the series: "Why are they all naked?"
After reading the series:" "MAN ARRESTED FOR BEING NAKED"

The reactions of other characters who are new to the diving clubs abnormality is hilarious. Reoccurring gags like testing if the water is alcohol (because they play pranks on each other), getting so used to loosening up that you wind up partially nude in public, Grand Blue manages to pack a ton of these "inside jokes" and interweave them well with the story.

At heart, the story is about college students trying to live their lives to the fullest, slowly discovering what is important by way of being sucked into the diving clubs insane kinks and habits.

A problem with "inside jokes" is that you have to be the ones inside to get it, otherwise its just nonsense to the general public, so let go and dive into the club!

Note: The anime fails in capturing the timing and atmosphere of the jokes....

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.