Kodansha announced yesterday (20th November) that Grand Blue (ぐらんぶる), a comedy manga written by Inoue Kenji (井上堅二) with illustrations by Yoshioka Kimitake (吉岡公威), is coming to the big screen in Japan next summer!
The movie will be directed by Tsutomu Hanabusa (英勉), who has directed the live-action Heroine Shikkaku (ヒロイン失格), Real Girl (3D彼女 リアルガール) and Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler (賭ケグルイ) and many more movies adapted from manga.
For now, there’s only a picture with two shirtless actors standing in front of GRAND BLUE, further details of the cast are not revealed yet.
▍Story
The story begins when Iori Kitahara (北原伊織) relocates to the Izu Peninsula as he prepares to enter the university there. He stays at his uncle’s diving shop “GRAND BLUE” and meet the people from the local Diving Club, who devote more time to drink, party and strip than diving. Can Iori still live his long-awaited campus life?
The original manga series has been serialized since April 2014 and it has just surpassed 4.4 million copies. The latest Vol.14 is coming out this Friday (22nd November). It also inspired a television anime in 2018, produced by Zero-G.
▍Author X Illustrator X Director’s comments
■ Inoue Kenji (井上堅二)
“Let’s see the cool guy’s crotch!” When “Grand Blue” was still a concept in my head, my intention was ambitious yet innocent: being serialized in a youth magazine. The time finally came, and I would like to express my greatest gratitude to all the people who have helped. And my most sincere thanks to all the actors/actresses (victims) in the live-action movie. Seriously, Excuse me a lot!
■ Yoshioka Kimitake (吉岡公威)
I personally can’t swim yet I’m fortunate enough to follow Inoue’s dream and continue to illustrate “Grand Blue”. It is full of young people in a refreshing and beautiful sea. And it is now coming to the big screen, finally! I’m really excited, in many ways. For real, so many ways.
■ Tsutomu Hanabusa (英勉)
I thought I was going to make a movie about “Guys are stupid!”, but it turns out to be “Guys are stupid! Really stupid! Jerk!”- kind of film. Although the tagline is “Betting youth, love, and friendship on diving! Let’s all dive into the best sea world ever!”, it is, in fact, the complete opposite. It is a scam. I am probably the real “all-nxxxx” director.