Manga Review: "Grand Blue" (pt. 1)
Manga : Grand Blue (chapters 1-47) Mangaka : Kenji Inoue and Kimitake Yoshioka Publisher : Kodansha LB Rating : 4/5 Grand Blue follows freshman Iori Kitahara's plunge into the rambunctious maelstrom that is college life, propelled by his involvement with the scuba diving organization, Peek-A-Boo. The main Peek-A-Boo gang. Do not be fooled: this manga is not as wholesome as it may appear. (Image source: otakuusmagazine.com) I really enjoyed Grand Blue. Looking back at the chapters I've gone through, Grand Blue is a stereotypical slice-of-life comedy in some respects. The thing is, the journey doesn't feel stereotypical. Sure, the story contains tropes and commonplaces that have gone stale such as a tsundere girl, a villa-by-the-ocean vacation and a sluggishly paced love story; however, Grand Blue has this magic that camouflaged these cliches such that I didn't realize I'm in the trope until later. Even then, I honestly had fun with the journey anyway. ...