Grand Blue

Grand Blue (2018) 

We know the drill - every once in a while, a seemingly innocent anime emerges from the production landscape of horny tentacled creatures, overgrown lizards with radioactive breath, and angry nine-tailed foxes, but it catches many audiences off guard with the raciness of its jokes and the explicitness of some scenes. What the heck, even Hromino is glad for any creative refreshment in the otherwise somewhat stagnant waters of Japanese animation, except that in most cases, unfortunately, the production team’s desperate desire to shock the audience at all (obscene) costs gradually overwhelms all other qualities, which an audience might expect from a TV show, the imaginary mighty steed is freed from its bridle and reins, and the show turns into another stinking piece of shit, that only constantly likes to provoke. Grand Blue is an honorable exception in this respect, which, despite the numerous scenes with binge-drinking and the ultimate smutty jokes, has managed to find a reasonable balance and maintain its class. The show successfully balances a more serious screenplay with deep lessons - and scenes without any deeper meaning, which are simply there to amuse the audience and perhaps remind them of some of their experiences from their college years; those who have the experience of binge-drinking with Japanese friends will surely agree with me that this is in many ways a fairly realistic anime. All in all, a breezy 4 stars, which is underscored by an excellent opening with summer vibes and more than summer adventures! (2019.07.23)