Grand Blue Live Action Movie Review

I knew about this a few weeks ago from a random YT recommendation. This was released around summer 2020. I watched the anime and made a review about it before. You can check that previous post here. I can’t help but be impressed with how much the live action delivered fan expectations so well. I haven’t read the source manga material for this. The review will only cover the anime and live action adaptation differences.

I couldn't find the official YT channel this trailer was released from but there are a lot of other YT users that reuploaded the trailer. Turn on the subs for a bit of context but even that won't really help much as you're entering a weird place.

If this trailer doesn’t make any sense, then I can understand you perfectly. It made sense to me because I saw the anime but for viewers going in blind, you can still enjoy the film as a stand-alone. Whether you watch the live action or anime first, it won’t spoil you much because both mediums have created spin-off versions on some scenes within the story but still nailed it right.

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 read my previous review and it tells a lot of difference in perspective when watching the story again in a different medium. I think I was too critical about the anime when I was supposed to lower the bar of expectations. I also forgot most of the scenes in the anime because it was years ago since I last watched it. But some of the scenes were iconic enough that I can immediately recognize the live action nailing it so well.

They have a catchy theme song for Vamos.

I won’t be spoiling the specific details of the changes made in the live action. But I will tell you that even after making more than half of the show different from the anime just made it better. I view the live action as a spin off or a parallel world of events from the anime while still capturing the essence of what makes the story great as a comedy.

It has drawn it a lot of references from the pop culture anime with its skits. There are some scenes that only a live action can pull off especially trying to portray masculine energy and brotherhood. Seeing half naked men dancing to the beat like a haka in anime isn’t as wild as seeing the real deal. It takes a lot of straight face to even get the choreography for the sake of delivering humor.

I can tell you that the live action really nailed the feelings of camaraderie, brotherhood, and just having a good time while you’re young. These feelings didn’t exactly left a strong impression on me when I look back on my anime view time. I guess it’s either a mixed of life perspective now and having to do with the medium of delivering the message across the audience. Grand Blue, while mostly about comedy, has surprisingly a lot of subtle lessons to show between calm moments.

Listening to the theme song of the anime brings me some nostalgia years back. It still gives me a sense of upbeat even that left a fun impression from the show.

Whichever you watch first (anime or live action), you’ll never be totally spoiled because there are a lot of changes when it comes to delivering the punch lines. As for the story pacing, 1/3 of the show especially at the beginning is spent on setting the comical mood while it slowly transitions to a slightly more serious tone as you go along. The latter parts are spent introducing characters, character building, and maintaining the comical energy the show was known for.

I’d recommend this movie for watching with a group of friends drinking along. That setting would help you get closer to the show's atmosphere. There’s plenty of meme potential here. I’d also suggest you watch the anime too because it’s another separate experience form the live action to better make some comparisons.