Iori and friends aim to sneak back into the women’s college, and a secret fan helps Kouhei watch a concert.
Episode 6 — “Back to the All-Girls College”
Hmm.
Do you remember Hana Uzaki-chan’s epic rant about choco-mint ice cream from Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!, episode 5? The short stack with a loud voice told a campus square about the awesomeness of chocolate mint ice cream for five minutes straight, even drawing a slow golf clap from the crowd. Grand Blue S2 reminded me of her argument’s central theme about the classic welcoming attitude of otaku:
“You can hate whatever you want, but don’t diss what someone else likes.”
I rarely see that attitude in online forums and communities. However, real-life meetups, such as anime conventions, put more social pressure on folks to be polite about their opinions. That’s the nice, fluffy version of what Grand Blue showed us among Kouhei’s friends in episode 6. Iori and Kouhei’s buddies put on a masculine, aggressive posture when they accept a man’s hobbies. All the ball-busting swagger and insults you can imagine stream from their mouths, but they would never stop him from chasing his pursuits. And you’ll notice that they never called his otaku hobbies “gross.” They reserved that for how he expresses his fandom.
I jokingly tell my colleagues that I love anime but hate anime fans (not really, only kind of, sort of). That’s the same energy Iori radiates as he talks about Kouhei’s dedication to 2D girls. But Kouhei’s friends appreciate that passion because that’s his manliness in action. Expressing that sentiment in a Grand Blue episode can even steal the heart of a voice actress idol in disguise. Otaku otoko!
Grand Blue Makes Me Go Heh.
The guys continue infiltrating the campus, and campus security continues tossing them out. Iori needs to get back in because Chisa looks cute without the pancake makeup. Customers will hit on her, and Nanaka will kill Iori if that happens. Here comes Azusa to save the day! She’ll bring the boys in to work as stagehands for the concert venue.
Whoa. Kouhei can look like a responsible adult when he puts his mind to it. Uh oh. A group of pretty girls wants to hit on Kouhei. Good luck with that Grand Blue character, but can Iori take advantage of this situation? Bait those girls with hanging out with Kouhei (whose only interest is 2D), so his “friends” can target the girls! Ruthless! Uh oh. The college coeds are only “volunteering” to help with the concert preparations to make up for their poor grades. They don’t care about the voice actress idol. Hold on, where did Kenta come from, and why does he have a slap mark on his face? A drinking party after the stage assembly with Kouhei is a go!
Mix Picks Nix Tix in Grand Blue, Ep 6
Ooh! The organizer liked Kouhei’s contributions so much that she gave him a front row ticket! He can watch Kaya’s concert from the “good seats.” But first, drinking beer in a college classroom! I assume that’s all right. Sakurako, Yuki, and Natsumi focus their attention on Kouhei, who can’t talk to 3D girls. His “buddies” should now sabotage him. Get to the concert, already! Not good. The girls get petty and jealous over Kouhei’s hobby of anime and video games. Sakurako is a schemer! The other boys think they make headway with the girls through planning a beach trip, but they mess up. They’re too nervous after they hear any bit of interest. The Grand Blue S2 beach episode seems further and further away.
Kaya’s concert starts, but where’s Kouhei? Wait a second. Doesn’t Kaya look like the “Maya” girl from the Cakey Café? Meanwhile, the girls have Iori and friends eating out of their hands. Sakurako is still going on about Kouhei. Uh oh. The 3D girls request his buddies steer him away from 2D interests. Ack! Kouhei lost his ticket. Where did it go? That witch, Sakurako, stole it! The mood changed, but the girls didn’t notice it. Beer-pouring discipline in Grand Blue matches the anime’s personality. Kouhei’s friends walk out on the petty girls. The dudes explain that they can have their opinions about each other’s pursuits, but they would never interfere with them.
Otoko! Bros before hoes! Manly niches before petty witches! Oh, there’s Kouhei. Why is he crying? Tears of joy because he watched Kaya’s concert! How did he get in without a ticket? The staff boss helped him out.
Grand Blue Rewards Otoko and Otaku
Epilogue time. No one hit on Chisa, but she didn’t like how Azusa flashed a picture of her “boyfriend flashing” to the local news. Oh, Aina and her Cakey Café friend came to the diving shop to visit. Huh? Her older sister is Kaya, the voice actress! She gave Kouhei an autograph and let him into the concert! “Kaya Mizuki” is Maya’s stage name. She noticed Kouhei at the Cakey Café! Aina kept her promise to introduce Kouhei to her! Hoh. Maya noticed Iori, too. He defended Kouhei’s dedication to his interests.
Next time, someone’s nuts face the crusher, and I’m not talking about salty snacks.
Grand Blue Dreaming Season 2 (Grand Blue Season 2) streams on Crunchyroll in Japanese audio with subtitles in multiple languages.
Have you ever wanted to pour beer on an obnoxious girl’s head? At least Grand Blue made it look like a golden shower. Iori continues collecting girls into his pseudo-harem. What’s up with that? Chisa had better hurry up before a bisexual sexpot or a famous voice actress steals him away. Who should win Iori’s virginity in this three-way contest? Let us know in the comments below!
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