Grand Blue Dreaming

Episode 7

With Grand Blue Dreaming having crossed the threshold of its halfway point, “Doubles” is an interesting specimen that provides a perfect example of the highs and lows that the show can hit every week. Consistency has never been this series' strong suit, but this seventh outing is the most glaring case of quality whiplash so far. The first half of the episode is almost completely disposable, but the titular doubles tennis match of the second act is probably the single best story in Grand Blue Dreaming so far.

In order to reach peak Peek-a-Boo, we're forced to wade through a lot of muck in that first half. The whole sequence is essentially a reprise of Iori and Kohei's struggles with their classmates from back in episode five. The guys all want to come over to the dive shop, ostensibly to knock back some brews, but it's immediately obvious that they really want to determine whether or not Iori is living with Chisa. Iori is understandably afraid for his life, given his friends' homicidal jealousy, so he goes through great pains to hide the evidence of his cohabitation.

This all amounts to a sequence that, despite lasting for almost a full ten minutes, only contains one joke repeated ad nauseum. Chisa, Azusa, and Aina have left their things lying around Iori's room, which the other boys first take for proof of his deceit, until the combination of underwear, makeup, and blonde wigs give them the impression that Iori is secretly a crossdresser. Though I'm never a fan of lame gay panic tropes, this whole routine is more lazy than it is offensive. This tired angle was already played out when it got mixed into the lead-up to the beauty pageant back in episode four, so it plays even more like a cheap rerun here.

I'm also not a fan of the jokes that come out of the sketches that Iori and Kohei share with their classmates. Their borderline psychopathic desperation to get laid, specifically with this one girl in their class, just doesn't play well with the college setting. Horny shenanigans like that at least make a modicum of sense for dumb high-schoolers who are still going through puberty, operate within a limited dating pool, and live with their parents, but when the same tropes are applied to a gang of grown men, the result ends up just feeling sad and creepy, no matter how much the loud sitcom tone insists otherwise.

Thankfully, “Doubles” transitions at the ten-minute mark into a story about a match between the Peek-a-Boo Club and the disgraced tennis club that Aina defected from after the beauty pageant. This whole second act is as funny and endearing as anything the series has ever done, a far cry from the comedic nadir that we barely survived in the episode's opening. Between Tokita and Kotobuki's monstrous tennis plays and the fact that Kohei possesses an almost supernatural lack of athletic skill, nearly every joke lands. There's an especially funny bit during Chisa and Aina's game where the rest of the gang tries to cheer the girls on by chanting “Nice Buddy!”, which the crowd transforms into “Nice Body!”, much to Chisa's embarrassment. The joke might get a little lost in translation, but I appreciated that this week's source of Chisa cringe-comedy came from a well-intentioned linguistic mix-up. It's the kind of wordplay-based humor that provides a nice contrast to the more exaggerated visual gags that Grand Blue Dreaming usually relies on.

What's more impressive is that this tennis match works as both compelling story and even spectacle, on top of its charming goofiness. Grand Blue Dreaming is never going to win any awards for its animation, but the production crew at Zero G have noticeably stepped up their game this week, giving the tennis game a real feeling of energy and bounce. This means that the comedy doesn't need to be propped up by strings of ceaseless screaming, and the genuinely sweet bond that the Peek a Boo club shares gets an opportunity to shine. Chisa and Aina's match in particular contains some nice cuts of animation and well-drawn held frames, and Yūma Uchida is able to cut loose and diversify Iori's craziness when he and Kohei take on the Tennis Club. He's still loud and obnoxious, but in an appreciably fresh sort of way.

Scoring episodes like “Doubles” is always tricky. The first segment is easily D-level material, but the tennis match is Grand Blue Dreaming delivering its A-game. I suppose it's only fair to split the difference. This is a brazen college comedy after all, so it isn't too far fetched to have art imitating life where the show's GPA is concerned. If you spend every night getting black-out drunk and harassing your roommates with your nude shenanigans, you're bound to slip up and tank a grade from time to time, but it just might end up being worth it if you're having a memorable time with your best friends.

Rating: B

Grand Blue Dreaming is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

James is an English teacher who has loved anime his entire life, and he spends way too much time on Twitter and his blog.