Aina invites Iori on a movie date. Later, he learns that she could be leaving school.
Episode 10 — “Movie Date”
Hmm.
Do you know what every gag comedy needs to keep the jokes flying? Chaos agents. Drop one into a scene and watch all the misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and emotional reactions explode. Yes, chaos agents are comedy fragment grenades. They don’t have to be people, either. It could be someone’s character flaw, a recurring action (like a drinking party), or a topic (like otaku hobbies). But Grand Blue has a sex bomb as its premier chaos agent: Azusa Hamaoka.
Look at what she wrought by choosing the right person (a busybody who cares about his friends) to tell that Aina was going home to the farm until school started again. Leave out a few details, describe vague monetary issues, and wind up the tension with a fake deadline. Then sit back and watch the chain reactions of a wind-up toy crashing into everyone else. Grand Blue spent this week’s episode generating jokes among its four main characters from mere omission and ambiguous language. Azusa, you sexy devil!
Heh.
Aina asked Iori out on a date! Now she’s freaking out! Why is Aina “running out of time?” Uh oh. Aina’s girlfriends found out about her date! Group consultation time. Excuse Aina for being a late bloomer. At least Iori agreed to see a movie together. But what did he mean by, “ああ なるほど (aa naruhodo, Ah, I see)?” I wager it’s not because he sees the outing as a date, because Grand Blue is a comedy. Aina secured the bag, but now she must wear it! (I mixed metaphors. It’s blog goulash.) Which of the girls can offer advice to Aina? Keiko lives with a boy! What about her? Scandalous! Except it’s her six-year-old brother. Aina couldn’t have pulled the face-to-bosom maneuver, anyway. Iori is mentally six years old, so maybe it could work? Back to reality. Let’s pick out an outfit!
Grand Blue Pummels a Maiden’s Heart
The classic anime date scenario plays out in Grand Blue. They were both too early, tee hee! Ugh. Aina dressed up, though. Iori says he’s happy to do something else besides diving and drinking. He’s excited about the boxing movie they’re going to watch. When did they decide that? Oh. The only other films were a Lala-tan anime and a diving movie. So that’s why Iori thought they needed to exclude Kouhei and Chisa. Ah well. Iori didn’t agree to a date but to a boxing movie. He even bought a pair of tickets at the couple’s discount. Take what you can get, Aina.
They both enjoyed the movie, but their dinner plans are on hiatus because the restaurant closes between lunch and dinner. Aina panics, but Iori is chill. They can go shopping together for swimsuits. Eh?! The usual date itinerary plays out in Grand Blue — clothes shopping. But Iori merely needs new swim trunks and diving gear. The salesgirl’s interpretation of the date mood flusters Aina. But Aina’s comfort with Iori’s nudity flusters the saleslady right back! Dinner time. Kanpai! Aina and Iori enjoy discussing the boxing movie over drinks and entrées. Oops. Aina told Iori she loves him in her prefecture’s rural dialect. And the entire restaurant understood it except Iori.
Date’s over. Or is it? No, it’s over. Iori wanted to keep drinking with Peek-a-boo at Grand Blue. Azusa drops a bombshell on Iori: Aina might leave school due to “family reasons.” And Iori’s imagination runs wild. College tuition is part of the “situation.” Also, Aina will be leaving soon. It’s an emergency!
Get Rich Quick with One Trick in this Grand Blue Shtick
Iori and Kouhei plot to keep Aina in school. She needs money. Scholarship? Nope. The boys’ indirect questions sound creepy and intrusive. They were trying to avoid that! Part-time job? She could be a clutzy one at a maid café! Of course, Kouhei already has the uniform. Iori and Kouhei act even more suspiciously. How about giving Aina the maid uniform as a hint? And they can also give Chisa a gift to lessen the suspicion. Grand Blue, that’s so bizarre. The guys keep going back and forth between Iori’s room and the shop. Oh ho! Does Iori want Aina to dress up like a maid for him? But why did Iori give Chisa sexy underwear?
It was bound to happen. Now Chisa knows about Aina’s impending departure. Oh, and Iori keeps his hysteria-induced promises. No thanks! They could sell it to make money for Aina. And other things! The shop still has an idol’s wetsuit, which is better than selling her bathwater! Kouhei will buy it! Hahaha! It was his uncle’s spare suit! Time to sell his kidney. Wait! He has otaku collectibles. Grand Blue takes a field trip to his apartment.
What’s in there, Kouhei? What do you have to hide that’s worse than your otaku and oshi goods? Whatever they were, it took him an hour to stash them away from Iori and Chisa’s eyes. Ha! What was even the point? Whoa. Kouhei was a doujin artist in high school. Oh my. Kouhei believes he’s a “former” otaku. But all Kouhei owns that he could sell is porn. Hey! Somebody will buy it!
Anticlimactic Chaos for Grand Blue
What else can Aina’s friends do to help with her expenses? She could live at the dive shop, so she wouldn’t have to pay rent. Oh, no. Why would Aina live in a room full of worthless items and otaku fetish porn? And now Grand Blue hits us with the punchline: Aina only had to go back home to the family farm to help with the harvest. They threatened to withhold her tuition because she at first refused. Aina wanted to make summer memories before she went home and before school started up again. Hence, the movie date. Oh, Azusa. She left out all the details! Aw. At least Aina felt happy for all the care and attention.
Next time, it’s the beach trip! Don’t miss it!
Grand Blue Dreaming Season 2 (Grand Blue Season 2) streams on Crunchyroll in Japanese audio with subtitles in multiple languages.
Do you know what it means that Aina went back to her family farm? She won’t be there for the Grand Blue beach episode! Flat justice fans denied! But Sakurako and her friends will be there, along with a few surprise guests. Who do you hope to see the most in tiny, teeny bikinis? I have my own choice of chaos agents. Let us know yours in the comments below!
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