{"rewrite":{"id":"r_40dea06519d84a08a8a3b7e0","clusterId":"c_fea3056986d44dc6a2488fc7","slug":"grand-blue-season-3-reveals-key-visual-and-opening-song-artist","model":"deepseek-v4-flash","headline":"Grand Blue Dreaming Season 3 Reveals Key Visual and Opening Song Artist","summary":"The official website for the Grand Blue Dreaming anime revealed a key visual and the opening theme song artist for the third season on May 24, a date recognized as \"Scuba Diving Day\" in Japan due to a wordplay on \"Go to Sea.\" The band FUNKY MONKEY BΛBY'S will perform the opening theme song titled \"Natsuko.\" The season is set to premiere in July on Tokyo MX, BS11, MBS, and AT-X channels. This season will take the cast to Palau, marking the first time the setting has been outside Japan. New cast members include Sayaka Ohara as Sayaka Kotegawa, Asami Seto as Chief, and Aya Suzaki as Maki. The second season ended in September 2025, and the third season was announced shortly after its finale. The anime is produced by studios Zero-G and Saber Works, with Shinji Takamatsu returning as director, scriptwriter, and sound director. The manga by Kenji Inoue and Kimitake Yoshioka began serialization in Kodansha's Good! Afternoon magazine in April 2014 and has 26 volumes as of April 2026.","whyItMatters":"The season's shift to Palau represents the franchise's first international setting, expanding the story's scope beyond its usual Japanese coastal town.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe band FUNKY MONKEY BΛBY'S announced the anime tie-in during the final stop of its 20th anniversary tour on the same day. The band said in a statement: \"We have been entrusted with the main theme song for the amazing anime Grand Blue. Youth, friendship, and nudity... treasures we'd left behind one summer. We wrote the song with the desire to recapture these feelings.\"\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe key visual was released on May 24, a date recognized as \"Scuba Diving Day\" in Japan because the numerals 5, 2, and 4 can be read as \"Go,\" \"To,\" and \"Shi\" (sea), forming the wordplay \"Go to Sea.\"\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNew cast members for the third season include Sayaka Ohara as Sayaka Kotegawa, Asami Seto as Chief (the owner of the Palau diving shop Dolphin), and Aya Suzaki as Maki. Returning voice cast includes Yuma Uchida as Iori Kitahara, Ryohei Kimura as Kohei Imamura, Chika Anzai as Chisa Kotegawa, Maya Uchida as Nanaka Kotegawa, Hiroki Yasumoto as Shinji Tokita, Katsuyuki Konishi as Ryujiro Kotobuki, Toa Yukinari as Azusa Hamaoka, Kana Asumi as Aina Yoshiwara, and Aya Yamane as Sakurako Busujima.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnimation production is handled by Zero-G and Saber Works, with Saber Works being new to the production team. Shinji Takamatsu returns as director, scriptwriter, and sound director. Hideoki Kusama handles character design alongside chief animation director Yoichi Ueda. Reiko Kasuga oversees art direction, and Yukari Hashimoto composes the music.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"FUNKY MONKEY BΛBY'S opens a season set in Palau, which takes Grand Blue Dreaming's comedy overseas for the first time. The key visual dropped on Scuba Diving Day, a date chosen for its wordplay.","twitterPost":"Grand Blue Dreaming's new key visual landed on Scuba Diving Day (5/24, a pun). The season moves the comedy to Palau, a first for the series.","threadsPost":"The key visual for Grand Blue Dreaming Season 3 dropped on May 24, which Japan calls Scuba Diving Day because the numbers sound like 'Go to Sea.' The season itself moves the setting to Palau, taking the alcohol-fueled diving comedy overseas for the first time. FUNKY MONKEY BΛBY'S handles the opening song.","newsletterBlurb":"Grand Blue Dreaming Season 3 revealed a key visual and the opening song artist FUNKY MONKEY BΛBY'S on May 24. The season premieres in July and will take the cast to Palau for the first time outside Japan.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Anime News Network\",\"url\":\"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-05-24/grand-blue-dreaming-anime-season-3-announces-opening-song-artists/.237759\",\"title\":\"Grand Blue Dreaming Anime Season 3 Announces Opening Song Artists\"},{\"source\":\"Anime Corner\",\"url\":\"https://animecorner.me/grand-blue-season-3-reveals-key-visual-and-funky-monkey-b%ce%bbbys-as-opening-song-artist/\",\"title\":\"Grand Blue Season 3 Reveals Key Visual and FUNKY MONKEY BΛBY'S as Opening Song Artist\"},{\"source\":\"Anime Trending\",\"url\":\"https://anitrendz.net/news/2026/05/24/grand-blue-dreaming-season-3-reveals-key-visual-opening-song-details\",\"title\":\"Grand Blue Dreaming Season 3 Reveals Key Visual, Opening Song Details\"},{\"source\":\"Niche Gamer (Anime)\",\"url\":\"https://nichegamer.com/unhinged-comedy-grand-blue-reveals-season-3-key-visual/\",\"title\":\"Unhinged comedy Grand Blue reveals Season 3 key visual and band for opening song\"}]","lintFlagsJson":"[]","lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":10510,"outputTokens":1406,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1779826464,"createdAt":"2026-05-24T13:16:48.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-05-24T13:30:35.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-24T13:30:35.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_fea3056986d44dc6a2488fc7","canonicalTitle":"Grand Blue Season 3 Reveals Key Visual and FUNKY MONKEY BΛBY'S as Opening Song Artist","representativeArticleId":"a_7a0ce54a3ed51155826b9101","sourceCount":5,"writtenSourceCount":4,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":false,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[\"Grand Blue\"],\"manga_titles\":[],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[\"FUNKY MONKEY BΛBY'S\"],\"type\":\"announcement\",\"domain\":\"anime\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"written","firstSeenAt":"2026-05-24T11:13:33.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-05-24T17:22:03.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-25T05:17:18.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Anime News Network","url":"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-05-24/grand-blue-dreaming-anime-season-3-announces-opening-song-artists/.237759","title":"Grand Blue Dreaming Anime Season 3 Announces Opening Song Artists"},{"source":"Anime Trending","url":"https://anitrendz.net/news/2026/05/24/grand-blue-dreaming-season-3-reveals-key-visual-opening-song-details","title":"Grand Blue Dreaming Season 3 Reveals Key Visual, Opening Song Details"},{"source":"Anime Corner","url":"https://animecorner.me/grand-blue-season-3-reveals-key-visual-and-funky-monkey-b%ce%bbbys-as-opening-song-artist/","title":"Grand Blue Season 3 Reveals Key Visual and FUNKY MONKEY BΛBY'S as Opening Song Artist"},{"source":"The Fandom Post","url":"https://www.fandompost.com/2026/05/24/grand-blue-dreaming-anime-3rd-season-sets-theme-song-with-new-key-visual/","title":"‘Grand Blue Dreaming’ Anime 3rd Season Sets Theme Song With New Key Visual"},{"source":"Niche Gamer (Anime)","url":"https://nichegamer.com/unhinged-comedy-grand-blue-reveals-season-3-key-visual/","title":"Unhinged comedy Grand Blue reveals Season 3 key visual and band for opening song"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":["Grand Blue"],"manga_titles":[],"studios":[],"people":["FUNKY MONKEY BΛBY'S"],"type":"announcement","domain":"anime","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["The third season of Grand Blue Dreaming will premiere in July on Tokyo MX, BS11, MBS, and AT-X.","The opening theme song 'Natsuko' is performed by FUNKY MONKEY BΛBY'S, announced during the final stop of their 20th anniversary tour.","New cast members include Sayaka Ohara as Sayaka Kotegawa, Asami Seto as Chief, and Aya Suzaki as Maki.","The season is set in Palau, the first time the anime's setting has been outside Japan.","The key visual was released on May 24, which is recognized as 'Scuba Diving Day' in Japan due to the wordplay on 'Go to Sea.'"]}