FUNKY MONKEY BΛBY'S Brings Summer Energy to the Diving Comedy
The reunited hip-hop duo FUNKY MONKEY BΛBY'S — who disbanded in 2013 before returning in 2021 with a new spelling and a two-man lineup — will perform the opening theme for Grand Blue Dreaming's third season. The song, titled "Natsuko" (夏子), leans into the show's sun-soaked identity with a title that plays on the Japanese word for summer.
In a comment shared via Oricon News, the duo described the creative process behind the track: they wrote it with the feeling of retrieving a treasure left behind during a long-ago summer. They quoted a lyric from the song — "How many more times can we experience this season in the time we have left?" — and wished fans a sparkling summer of 2026.
The pairing fits. Grand Blue Dreaming runs on nostalgia for reckless college summers, and FUNKY MONKEY BΛBY'S built their career on earnest, feel-good anthems. Their original run produced multiple Oricon chart-toppers before they called it quits after a farewell concert at Tokyo Dome.
New Key Visual Teases the Palau Arc
Alongside the OP reveal, Oricon's report confirmed a new key visual showing seven characters walking across a southern island. The image marks a stylistic departure from the show's usual chaotic energy — described as more "stylish" than anything the series has put out before — and points to the Palau storyline from the manga.
For anyone who hasn't caught up: Grand Blue Dreaming follows Iori Kitahara, a college freshman who moves to a coastal town and ends up living above his uncle's dive shop, Grand Blue. He expected ocean breezes, a cute childhood friend, and the ideal campus life. What he got was a diving club that's really a drinking club, a best friend named Kohei who's just as hopeless, and an alarming amount of public nudity. The manga by Kenji Inoue (story) and Kimitake Yoshioka (art) has been serialized in Kodansha's good!Afternoon magazine, with over 10 million copies in circulation. It was first adapted into a TV anime in 2018 and also spawned a live-action film in 2020.
Season 3, directed by Shinji Takamatsu (Gintama, School Rumble), is produced at studio Zero-G.
Looking Ahead
Grand Blue Dreaming Season 3 premieres in Japan in July 2026. No specific international streaming partner has been officially confirmed for the new season, but Crunchyroll currently holds the first two seasons in its library, making it the likely destination for Western viewers.
The source manga is published in English by Kodansha USA under the same Grand Blue Dreaming title, so fans looking to read ahead of the Palau arc have easy access. With the OP artist now locked in, the remaining question is the ending theme — no word on that yet.