Free!

Haruka Nanase has a love for water and a passion for swimming. In elementary school, he competed in and won a relay race with his three friends Rin Matsuoka, Nagisa Hazuki, and Makoto Tachibana. After claiming victory at the tournament, the four friends went their separate ways. Years later, they reunite as high school students; however, Rin couldn't care less about returning to the way things used to be. Not only does he attend a different school, but the sole thing important to him is proving that he is a better swimmer than Haruka.

After the bitter reunion, Haruka, Nagisa, and Makoto decide to form the Iwatobi High School Swim Club, but they will need a fourth member if they hope to take part in the upcoming tournament. Enter Rei Ryuugazaki, a former member of the track team whom Nagisa recruits. As the time to compete draws near, the four develop a close bond while training intensely to come out on top and settle things between Haruka and Rin once and for all.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Matsuoka, Rin Main

Miyano, Mamoru Japanese

Tachibana, Makoto Main

Suzuki, Tatsuhisa Japanese

Nanase, Haruka Main

Shimazaki, Nobunaga Japanese

Hazuki, Nagisa Main

Yonaga, Tsubasa Japanese

Ryuugazaki, Rei Main

Hirakawa, Daisuke Japanese

Matsuoka, Gou Supporting

Watanabe, Akeno Japanese

Nitori, Aiichirou Supporting

Miyata, Kouki Japanese

Mikoshiba, Seijuurou Supporting

Tsuda, Kenjirou Japanese

Sasabe, Gorou Supporting

Yanaka, Hiroshi Japanese

Amakata, Miho Supporting

Yukino, Satsuki Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Nakamura, Shinichi Producer

Saitou, Shigeru Producer

Nishide, Masayuki Producer

Reviews

Mar 22, 2024

Valentine07

Recommended

(Spanish review below)

'Free' is one of my favorite animes. Of all its seasons, the first is the one that I've watched the least, because it seemed a bit basic and introductory to me. But this time, when I rewatched the entire series, I found it really fun to watch this first season again.

It's very funny to see how dramatic the characters are, how they magnify their problems until they seem to have no solution. But it's also nice to see them in these first steps in their respective clubs, forging the friendships that I like so much in the following seasons.

A lot of people don't ... like 'Free' because of its fanservice: either because of the nudity or because of the relationships between the characters. Personally, I don't pay much attention to this. I don't care if the characters have clothes or not and I don't think we have to be interpreting the relationships between them all the time. That situations are made to have several interpretations is undoubtedly, but I believe that each viewer decides what interpretation to give it. To me they're nothing more than friends. Although it's true that some of them would look good together, I don't see it as necessary to enjoy the series either. I think that the main problem is that we aren't used to these displays of affection between male characters without this entailing romantic affection. In conclusion, I don't care about the fanservice.

Another thing that seems to bother many is that 'Free' is not a spokon itself, like others. I consider it a slice of life first of all (with a little drama) and then a spokon. Maybe if we look at it this way, it won't disappoint so many people.

That being said, I would like to mention how much I love Rin, how much I identify with him and his drama in this series. He's definitely a drama king. I like how he deals with his lack of self-confidence, which is the drama of this particular season. On the other hand, I hadn't realized how much I like Nagisa until now. He's a very funny character, but he's also the one who makes things happen most of the time.

On the other hand, make a mention about Gou. If there is something I can reproach 'Free' it is the lack of female characters, but I really like the ones it has. Whether it's Gou or Amakata-sensei, they are both unique characters. About Gou specifically: I find it very hilarious that she represents the average viewer of the series. That.

Do I recommend watching 'Free'? Clearly yes, because it's one of my favorite animes and, furthermore, it's my comfort anime. It always helps me when I'm not feeling very well. But I'm also aware that not many will like it.

...

'Free' es uno de mis animes favoritos. De todas sus temporadas, la primera es la que menos veces he mirado, porque me parecía un poco básica e introductoria. Pero esta vez, cuando volví a ver toda la serie, me resultó muy divertido ver esta primera temporada otra vez.

Es muy gracioso ver lo dramáticos que son los personajes, cómo agrandan sus problemas hasta que estos parecen no tener solución. Pero también es lindo verlos en estos primeros pasos en sus respectivos clubes, forjando las amistades que tanto me gustan de las siguientes temporadas.

A un montón de personas no les gusta 'Free' por su fanservice: ya sea por los desnudos, como por las relaciones entre los personajes. En lo personal, no le presto mucha atención a esto. No me importa si los personajes tienen ropa o no y tampoco creo que haya que estar interpretando las relaciones entre ellos todo el tiempo. Que las situaciones están hechas para que tengan varias interpretaciones es indudable, pero considero que cada espectador decide qué interpretación darle. Para mí no son más que amigos; aunque sí es cierto que alguno de ellos se verían bien juntos, tampoco lo veo necesario para disfrutar la serie. Creo que el principal problema es que no estamos acostumbrados a estas muestras de afecto entre personajes masculinos sin que esto conlleve un afecto romántico. En conclusión, el fanservice me da igual.

Otra cosa que me parece que molesta a muchos es que 'Free' no sea un spokon en sí, como otros. Yo lo considero un slice of life antes que nada (con un poco de drama) y después un spokon. Quizá si se ve de esta forma, no desilusione a tantas personas.

Dicho eso, me gustaría mencionar lo mucho que amo a Rin, lo mucho que me identifico con él y con su drama en esta serie. Sin duda es un drama king. Me gusta como se trata la falta de confianza en sí mismo, que es en sí el drama de esta temporada en particular. Por otro lado, no había notado lo mucho que me gusta Nagisa hasta ahora. Es un personaje muy gracioso, pero también es quien hace que las cosas sucedan en la mayoría de las ocasiones.

Por otro lado, hacer una mención sobre Gou. Si hay algo que le puedo recriminar a 'Free' es la falta de personajes femeninos, pero los que tiene me gustan mucho. Ya sea Gou o Amakata-sensei, ambas son personajes únicos. Sobre Gou en específico: me parece muy hilarante que ella representa a la espectadora promedio de la serie. Eso.

¿Recomiendo ver 'Free'? Claramente sí, porque es de mis animes favoritos y, además, es mi anime consuelo. Siempre me ayuda cuando no me estoy sintiendo muy bien. Pero también soy consciente de que no a muchos les gustará.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jan 28, 2024

Curlybrace101

Mixed Feelings

Free! dominated the sports anime scene when it came out, and reigned supreme for quite awhile before being dethroned by Haikyuu. This show had an absolute chokehold on its fans, garnering obsession even before it was released.

But...why? What about Free! was so captivating? The characters? The yaoibait? Or, perhaps, somehow, the sports?

The answer is I have no idea, because it is one of the most nothingburger shows I have ever watched.

First and foremost, this is a sports story that fails at being a sports story. The narrative of any good team sports story is about a team who wants to win and wants to compete, ... and in order to do that they all have to come together and learn to work together. You are invested in their sport because they are. You want to see them win because they want to win.

The boys in Free!...don't really care. They're very chill about the entire thing, and even say they don't care about winning. If you don't care, why should I care? At the end, they say "if we win this, we could have a shot at going to nationals!" but I have no reason to hope they win or hope they go to nationals because they don't even care. They care more about their asshole ex-friend.

Right, the characters. Here's the thing: in order for the aforementioned sports narrative to work, you need to focus on the team's dynamic and how it gets better as they support each other, because a team cannot win if they do not work together. As such, the characters and their relationships need a lot of focus.

Free! puts too much focus on the characters and their relationships. In fact, the swimming is hardly even relevant; it's just set dressing for these characters to angst about their old friendship. This show doesn't need to be about swimming. It could be about the goddamn newspaper club for all anyone cares. The swimming is probably just an excuse to get all of these boys shirtless.

Free! does not act like it wants to be a sports anime. It acts like it wants to be a slice of life that is forced to take time away from the hanging out so the characters can do a sport.

But I wouldn't mind so much if the characters and their relationships were rich and well developed. Instead, every single character has about one personality trait (chill, moody, cheerful, comically serious, insecure dickbag) and the way their personal struggles and relationship troubles is presented is so ridiculously melodramatic. They're acting like their old childhood friend not liking them anymore is the end of the world and it's an incredibly big deal, when literally all they need to do is get over themselves.

And then the singular character with a believable struggle (needing to work to improve and feeling left out because he's a newcomer) sacrifices what he was working for in favor of the violent-when-angry jerkwad who refuses to talk to his old friends for the sole reason of being insecure and owning the inferiority superiority complex. Get over it lol. It's really not that serious.

I don't even get the fanservice because all of the characters are remarkably plain-looking. They're so...normal. Just some guys.

Still, I'm being unfair. The show is competent in the story it's trying to tell, the animation is quite pretty, and it's entirely inoffensive. If you have ever wished that there was a CGDCT anime but about boys, this is the anime for you.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jul 4, 2023

Grumar

Not Recommended

It's really boring, anything that you think is going to happen is going to happen, the melodrama over swimming is farcical, the main character is the annoying type of autistic, the other characters are nothing burgers with the only one coming close to interesting is the guy with the glasses. The only thing this show has going for it over other sports anime is that it doesn't over explain the sport while it's happening, it's nice quick has some commentary then it's over very much appreciated. It also isn't offensively bad, it's just a bland gray slop of a show some moments more than others ... will hold your interest but nothing is going to have you on the edge of your seat. if you ant a story about rivalry and sportsmanship there are plethora of better options out there for you, if you want a diluted story with those themes that just have muscular teens...well there are still better options but this would fit that bill nicely

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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