Art: It's a sports anime for god's sake. The art is supposed to be focused on the bodies of the characters, of course. When I originally heard of this anime, I thought it was just going to be about fan service with boys in swim trunks or speedos. It turned out I was wrong. The only stripping of clothes you would see is Haruka changing into his swim pants whenever he spotted a pool or an ocean to swim in because that was basically the running joke of the whole series, seasons 1 and 2. The other running joke is when Rin's little sister and the team's new swim coach, Go, is always pointing out how attractive men are in their swim trunks, but she doesn't mention anything inappropriate whatsoever. Plus, I find Rin's sharklike teeth to be cool, and the guys muscles seemed realistic. The only compliant I have is that I know some swimmers are beefier than others, and this didn't portray much diversity in size, but that could also be because in Japan, most of the people are skinny, so I won't complain so much. As far as art goes, it's a full vote.
Sound: The opening theme is fun to listen to every once in a while, but I wouldn't listen to it constantly. However, the opening clips give you a sense of what the show is truly about, and it's bittersweet a bit, but it doesn't give away too much. The ending theme is what I love the most because it's so sweet. I would rate this 9 out of 10.
Character: Pretty much like Ouran, Free! has its group of tropes, but they do not center around one person. Haruka is the emotionless boy who is mostly focused on swimming "free," meaning freestyle. Makoto is the kind one who just wants everyone to get along, and he is Haruka's best friend, who is the master of the backstroke. Nagisa is the lolita boy type and best at the breaststroke. Rin is the tough guy with a broken guy. When he used to hang out with the others, he was the butterfly stroke to complete the team. Then, there's Rei, who is the Free! equivalent to Kyoya without the douchebagness on the side, who took place of Rin for competing at the butterfly. There are other characters who are enjoyable as well, especially Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa, and Rin's old swim coach. This fandom is full of gay shipping, and I don't get involved in it often because I only ship two people if they look as if they would actually work in the actual show. The only ship I will partake in is Rei and Nagisa. Well, yes, they are both first years and they ride home on the bus together on the way and back from school, but they have been super close ever since Nagisa convinced Rei to join their building swim team. They are more best friends like than Makoto and Haruka. The characters never disappoint when it comes to this show, so I rated this a full vote.
Enjoyment: I wasn't crazy about this anime than I was with Ouran and Black Bullet even though I did cry at the last episode of the first season. I mean, it's good, but there's not one thing that makes me go crazy over it. Would I watch it again? Sure. Do I highly recommend giving this show a try? Yes, I do. I promise that Free! won't kill you. For that, this gets a rating of 9 out 10.
Overall: The overall score of the anime is the rounded 9 out of 10. I'm not putting my judgement on you, but please at least watch the first episode of Free! before you judge it.
