A Passport Problem Sends Iori Back Home
Season 3's Palau arc hits its first snag before anyone boards a plane. According to the episode details published by Japanese anime news outlet Animate Times, Episode 2, "Homecoming," picks up right after protagonist Iori Kitahara agrees to help staff the new Palau branch of the dive shop Dolphin. One problem: his passport is sitting at his parents' house, and his younger sister Shiori refuses to mail it, for reasons the synopsis doesn't explain.
That leaves Iori dragging his cousin Chisa Kotegawa and best friend Kōhei Imamura along on a quick trip home. Shiori still won't budge ("absolutely not," per the synopsis), so the group cooks up a plan to sneak into her room and grab the passport themselves. Complicating things further, a group of suspicious Germans the trio met on the train turns out to be staying at the same inn.
Series director Shinji Takamatsu (Gintama, Daily Lives of High School Boys) wrote the episode's script himself, with storyboards by 西嶋克彦 (likely Katsuhiko Nishijima) and episode direction by 浅見隆司 (likely Takashi Asami).
The Censor Circle Gets Top Billing in the Creditless Opening
Alongside the episode preview, NBCUniversal Anime/Music released the season's creditless opening on YouTube, set to "Natsuko," the new theme song from FUNKY MONKEY BΛBY'S. The official announcement half-jokes that the sequence's real star is the mysterious black circle, the censor dot that spends most of any given episode shielding viewers from the Peek a Boo club's nudity. It also claims the result is unlike anything in anime opening history.
The "Natsuko" CD single goes on sale in Japan on August 5, 2026, in a regular edition (¥1,500) and a first-press limited edition (¥7,499). On the other end of each episode, the ending theme "Hadaka no Mermaid" is performed by the idol group Mameshiba no Taigun.
Where Season 3 Stands
Grand Blue Dreaming follows Iori Kitahara, a college freshman who moves to Izu for university, lodges above his uncle's dive shop Grand Blue with his cousin Chisa, and gets absorbed into Peek a Boo, a college diving club whose burly members treat actual diving as an afterthought next to stripping naked and drinking. Season 3 sends the whole cast overseas for the first time after Chisa's older sister Nanaka asks Iori to lend a hand in Palau. Kōhei, a committed otaku, initially wants nothing to do with the trip because he can't watch anime in real time from abroad.
Yūma Uchida voices Iori, joined by Ryōhei Kimura as Kōhei Imamura, Chika Anzai as Chisa Kotegawa, Maaya Uchida as Nanaka, and Sumire Morohoshi as Shiori, the little sister currently holding a passport hostage. Zero-G and Saber Works co-produce the season, with Takamatsu directing as he has since the 2018 first season.
Looking Ahead
Grand Blue Dreaming Season 3 premiered on July 6, 2026 and airs Mondays in Japan on TOKYO MX, BS11, and MBS. Internationally, Crunchyroll streams the season, with new episodes arriving every Monday, so "Homecoming" lands in the next weekly slot. After that, the August 5 release of the "Natsuko" single is the next date on the calendar. The source manga, written by Kenji Inoue with art by Kimitake Yoshioka, is published by Kodansha.