I wasn't too sure about the story at first. It reminded me of Clannad except they got things done quicker with less of an emotional journey. And less character development. The story was enjoyable but predictable. I felt like it was a bit rushed, and it needed more episodes to carry out the story without it seeming rushed.
The art was outstanding, the water looked incredible and the characters were drawn nicely. I loved how Rin and Haru were drawn. All the characters did look well, but Rei's glasses kind of take away from how his eyes look. Makoto's face showed how kind he is and how he's the guy who has everyone's back. Nagisa had the typical Boy Lolita look but it suits him and shows his personality. Haru's eyes showed how much he just wanted to swim and be free. Rin looked awesome, his pointy teeth are really cool and his eyes were drawn really well. He also had the facial expressions that showed he was trying to look like he didn't care, but on the inside he did.
The characters were all really good and the main characters did develop during the series, but they needed a bit more time to develop. When I watched it I didn't see any character development at all, but thinking about it now I can see how the characters grew. Especially Rin and Haru.
Rei was recruited for the club to fill in Rin's empty spot, but I felt like they made it too obvious that he was a substitute for Rin. He was a bit stuck up and even though he did learn how to swim it made no sense how he actually learned. He just tried one move and that's it. There's another reason why this anime needed more episodes. And it's official that Nitori is king of the Notice Me Senpai Club..
I loved the music. It fit every situation. I love the ending song, it's sung by their Japanese voice actors and it sounds awesome. (I'm actually listening to the soundtrack while writing this review) The opening song was good but it wasn't amazing.
The is anime really needed more episodes for the characters to develop, especially Rei. I'm currently watching the second season and there has been some character development with Nagisa and Nitori.
Overall this anime is really good and I do recommend it for sports anime lovers and if you want to try something new, it's really enjoyable.
