Posted by OP Sequence
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OP: 「太陽もひとりぼっち」 (Taiyou mo Hitoribocchi) by Qyoto
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「DIVE TO BLUE」 (DIVE TO BLUE)
“DIVE TO BLUE”
Now we finally have the answer to the question that has been mulling through some people’s minds: Isn’t this just another Free!? I mentioned aspects of the series that set it apart from KyoAni’s swimming anime, but it’s easy to tell that it had influence on DIVE!!. The show is built more around its narrative by following Sakai Tomoki (Kaji Yuuki) and his admiration for diving, but between the shots of buff dudes looking stoic and Tomoki’s fawning and admiration for his mentor, diving prodigy Fujitani Youichi (Sakurai Takahiro), it’s looking to corner the market for the yaoi fans. It doesn’t help that his indecision on what he feels about love caused him to string along poor Nomura Miu (Hidaka Rina), who has to contend with his indifference about her and anything that isn’t diving or Youichi.
Tomoki is our eyes and ears in DIVE!!, but it’s hard to find him likable when he’s either tuning everyone out, gasming over diving and/or Youichi, or has an odd bout with his older brother where they trade expositional barbs at each other. “Still being a jerk, older brother?” “Still being a kid, younger brother?”. His point of view does express his innermost thoughts and desires when it comes to diving, but it doesn’t do much to want me to see him succeed. In fact, I’d be disappointed if Youichi doesn’t end up in the Olympics because this was what he was trained to do from the very start, and if the story ends up only giving one slot on the team that’s reserved for Tomoki, what was the point?
For a show that emphasizes that it’ll be a straight-forward narrative, it’s story is very disjointed from the first episode. Maybe it’s the editing, but it’s disorienting how quickly the show jumps from past to present day regularly. You’d see Tomoki jumping off the board with the diving club, and a couple minutes later, you’re back to Tomoki as a little kid. It’s the most nitpicky of my complaints, but I can’t be the only one who thought it was jarring to go back and forth so quickly. It also pads out most of the first episode, so we get bits and pieces of the premise behind reviving the diving club in favor of showing full-length segments on Tomoki learning to dive from Youichi or why he ended up half-heartedly dating Miu.
Let’s not forget the animation! The art in DIVE!! fluctuates between great and disappointing regularly. They get creating detailed close-ups of the character’s faces and have a good grasp at making the scenery very pretty. On the opposite end, the diving itself, the very basis of the show has such choppy animation. Compare that with Free!‘s swimming animation or the Yuri!!! on Ice way of animating the skating routines to look as lifelike as possible, to see the diving here look like it’s running on dial-up feels like betrayal. And the manservice, the main attraction for many viewers, is undercut when the character’s bodies go between looking overly buff, emaciated, and flat. The comeback story and Tomoki’s teenage struggles look promising for those who are invested in sports anime, but I just couldn’t get as easily invested in it as its contemporaries.
ED Sequence
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ED: 「NEW WORLD」 by Hashimoto Yuuta
Character designs by Suzuhito Yasuda of Danmachi and Durarara!! fame.
Sorry, no twintailed oppai loli goddess in bikini here.
Nor will there be any vending machines thrown 🙁
They’ve timed the anime launch, with the launch of a new manga adaption for some reason. I’m assuming they’re expecting the show to be a hit, good luck with that.
They’re really placing quite the gamble with this one. I can’t blame them because it looks like it’ll sell very well, and it was a decent enough first episode that I wouldn’t expect people dropping preorders like if it turned out really atrocious.
You’re probably right. Are you planning on covering the show weekly?
I’m not sure. So far, it’s one of the shows I’m mulling over. I’ll have to see if Centaur no Nayami or Aho Girl are worth sticking with, but at the moment, I’m more interested in seeing how those two go.
I like the art style. Guess I’ll keep watching.
Oh God, please don’t start- please don’t. I just got out of listening to that song on repeat and now… Choya, Choya, Choya…
Now I have it in my head. That desert nightclub will curse me for the rest of the day too.
What did I tell ya, what did I tell ya. The moment they infused a K-Pop sensibility into the song with infectious vocals exuding jolly amounts of musk for the femmes, that’s when you become enslaved to it~
Gujjob Nippon, gujjob~ Iyaa waamu arigathanks gozaimuch
A yaoi anime nice…
Yaoi anime? Where? No need to feel insecure about a swimming anime with guys. The show does have female characters too.
Nah, sports shows only shiptease their homoeroticism and hide it under subtext. Tomoki might blush admirably/longingly at Youichi, but to get an honest confession or a kiss would be a long shot. Yuri!!! on Ice was an exception, but I doubt they’d be bold enough to take that step with DIVE!!
no baggy short —> just BRIEF PANTS —> you know what does it mean
Didn’t mind the pace of the first episode at all. Like the drawing style. I think I’m going to continue watching this one.
Is it just me, or is the fact that the teenage protagonist has a girlfriend, and that their relationship is a real plot point as opposed to an obligatory token romance, pretty unique?
There aren’t many shows that begin while a relationship is still on-going, or on the verge of ending, so DIVE!! is unique in that aspect. It’s just hard to figure out what the status of their relationship is because it’s vague as to whether they’re still together, they’re on-again off-again, or if he rejected her, but still hangs out with her to give her false hope.
Anybody else felt it was strange how the water “reflected” on their bodies?
I thought it was pretty weird.
I can’t expect every animation studio to be KyoAni, but my GOD is the animation here derpy!
KyoAni is a high standard to meet, but they could have at least put more budget into making the diving look good. It’s like the one requirement for any sports show to have the animation at least make it look appealing to do the activity the show is about.