Danica Davidson
July 1, 2025 
The second season of Grand Blue Dreaming will be here on July 7, so the anime is using LA’s Anime Expo 2025 to hype the release. And it’s doing it in a very unique way — by letting you almost (hopefully just almost) get hit in the crotch by the Charpy Impact Tester!
In the anime, there’s a scene where characters Iori Kitahara and Associate Professor Ushironomiya have a showdown with a Charpy Impact Tester, seeing who can get the closest without getting hit. Now fans can stop by Booth SH-1927 in the South Hall and take part!
(Yes, you have to sign a waiver because you can get hurt.)
People willing to risk it can win shikishi. There will be three shikishi signed by actor Yuma Uchida (Iori Kitahara), plus one shikishi signed by a lot of the cast: Yuma Uchida, Ryohei Kimura (Kohei Imamura), Hiroki Yasumoto (Shinji Tokita), Katsuyuki Konishi (Ryujiro Kotobuki), Chika Anzai (Chisa Kotegawa),Maaya Uchida (Nanaka Kotegawa), Toa Yukinari (Azusa Hamaoka), and Kana Asumi (Aina Yoshihara).
Uchida also gave the following comment:
Hello everyone.
I am Yuma Uchida, who plays the role of Iori Kitahara in “Grand Blue Dreaming”.
The long awaited “Grand Blue Dreaming” Season 2 will start streaming in July.
While we anxiously wait for streaming- Surprise!!
Charpy Impact Tester that was displayed at AnimeJapan 2025 is now on its way across the ocean to the Los Angeles Anime Expo.
This is your chance to experience it.
Who has the courage to try it?
I‘ve tried it!
On top of that, the Charpy Impact Tester machine is being made available after the con for people to hurt themselves. College anime/manga clubs are invited to apply, so long as they are in America, they can pick up the item from the con, and they have a good place to have it on campus. If more than one club wants it, then there will be a drawing to decide.
The original manga is published in America by Kodansha, which gave this description for the first volume:
Grand Blue Dreaming Plot
After graduating from an all-boys’ high school, Iori Kitahara moves away from home to go to college in a seaside town. He’s eager to start a new chapter in his life—one filled with dreams of reinventing himself, meeting beautiful girls, and reveling in his youth. But when his new abode is his uncle’s dive shop, Iori’s college debut doesn’t turn out as glamorously as he planned! Can Iori keep himself afloat, or will the booze-fueled antics of his university’s diving club wash him away?! A coming-of-age tale with beer, bums, and the Grand Blue!
Source: Press release
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
