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

Apr 22, 2025

SuperAdventure

Recommended

Well, this was a pleasant surprise. It's hard to believe Free! is a 12 year old anime. 2013 is when I started streaming anime seasonals and the year I moved into my condo. It's been that long, I've changed a lot since then, not all for the better- and I remember when this came out- and caused quite a stir.

Well the passage of time and how we change, not always for the better, is the major theme in Free. A group of boys decide to start a swim club at their high school, but three of them were involved with another boy who is the ... main antagonist when they were younger- but have since grown apart. The theme of change was there throughout, an early scene shows them going by their old middle school- while it's being demolished. Demolitions are another thing that I have witnessed a lot of since moving to my city; the ruthless destruction of the past in favor of bigger and more- burying it forever under the dirt... but the beef between the two main characters runs deep. What's the cause? Will Haruka, Nagisa, Makoto and Rei figure out how to get through to former friend and rival Rin?

The first couple episodes are a little slow; but once it gets going it gets REALLY GOOD.
But a lot of people never find out, because of the elephant in the room...
There are plenty of things to criticize. Nearly all the boys in this anime don't look like teenagers exactly, they look like grown men. They're all tall, apart from Nagisa, and have chests that would make Michael Phelps look out of shape, when they wear their 'uniforms' which is shirts and ties they look like bankers- and in the English dub they talk like adults. The girls look like typical anime HS girls- but there's a noticeable lack of romance subplot that I was expecting- oh no step aside ladies- this anime is all about the guys.
That's possibly the one thing preventing some people from watching it; oh it's made for girls (horse shit!) as if it's behind crime scene tape. But even though there's a few shots I could see were intended as fan service; I never got the feeling it was forced. Not forced as hard as in most of the bewb-bouncing lunacy you see in most fan service anime anyway.

That's because this isn't really a fan service anime- it's a SPORTS anime. Sure Haruka's whole "I only swim free" thing is kind of ridiculous; and a lot of their motivations for not wanting to compete seem contrived; and some of the drama feels forced... but by the mid-way point when they finally compete together in a regional, things fall into place.

The most compelling character from my perspective was actually the guy with glasses- Rei. I haven't seen a stronger piece of character writing with him- he has this totally unrealistic "maths and analysis" approach to sports at first, but his motivations are much more believable- he is just determined to try; and being a total beginner he felt the most relatable to non-swimmers, and his voice actor really sold it. All of them did actually, this is a really great English VA effort. I don't want to get into the plot or anything; I can just say I had a great time watching this- the last 3-4 episodes were incredibly good and I turned into a total fanboy by the end. It made me cry, then laugh. I got super invested in the characters.
I can't believe how lucky I've been this month to find so many great anime that I have actually enjoyed and not hated having to get through. I actually can't believe the rating of this is just over 7. It was way better than that; and it's been watched by over 800,000 users. That's not a small amount. Sometimes there really is wisdom in a crowd.
Ignore all the BS about it being a fan service anime for girls and definitely watch it. If you ever enjoyed watching olympic swimming or anything like that, the sport itself is perfect for an anime. It doesn't matter if you don't like seeing guys in swimsuits, because they are way stronger as characters and you'll be more interested in what's going on and why. I enjoyed this a lot and am watching all the next seasons and hope they are as good.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Apr 6, 2025

xyrkre

Mixed Feelings

Great anime but mostly focuses on friendship rather than the sports itself.

The story revolved mainly on drama and the friendship of Haruka Nanase, Makoto Tachibana, Nagisa Hazuki and Rin Matsuoka (mostly Rin and Haru's friendship)

The character designs are great, as expected of KyoAni they make eye visually appealing characters. Although there's nothing really unique with the characters as they follow a certain character archetype. (Typical thing that happens in anime)

Voice acting (Japanese dub) was splendid though. I have nothing else to say because these voice actors are professionals and they know how to read the characters well and voice them accordingly.

Plot wise, ... it felt a bit flat. When the KyoAni promoted Free! the animation didn't exactly aligned with the set expectations. The anime focused on the drama side of the plot.

I won't go into full details but this anime is for you IF you like fanservice, drama and friendships. (Bonus if you're a fujoshi/fudanshi)

This anime isn't for you if don't like drama (between male friendships), highschool setting and fanservice.

I liked this anime because it focuses on friendships, drama, highschool setting and I like sports.

Ps. I've seen the anime upon its released and decided to rewatch it (to see if I'll still feel the same towards the anime)

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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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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