Firstly, the aesthetic was simply phenomenal. The artists in charge were undoubtedly meticulously planning these sketches. A swimming anime where the main setting is water. The character's trapeziums flexed with elegant ease, droplets of water acquainting themselves with the crevices of their bodies. Their builds—particularly Makoto Tachibana's, were impeccable. Not overly sculpted, but the perfect amount of chisel. Haruka Nanase's slim, but not overly thin, supple body which danced with suave movements throughout the water. Nagisa's lolita appeal which contrasts with his subtle dominance and Rei's awkwardly charming butterfly-like essence. The appeal was perfect! Which served as its biggest downfall in my scoring due its staunch contrast with the lack of ANY remote plot besides the shallow childhood conflict over "free swimming".
Romantic anime is not simply having angelic characters with the bodies of Greek Gods. The only female suitor who had any chance of penetrating the tightly woven bond of these friends was Gou, but she understood better than anyone who the real romantic interests were...
EACH OTHER. Which leads me to my second biggest issue with the anime. Intentional or not, how could the creators produce these four flowery boys, and neglect to provide the audience with any relief?? No kiss, no bodily fluid exchange, nothing. The closest they came to intimacy was friendly shoulder touching, or the rare occasion of a hug.
Maybe romance was not the big focus, which I can respect. But the plot was so stupidly uneventful. It would be more fitting to categorize it as slice of life rather than sports, because the majority of each episode was monopolized by pointless banter. At this point all the audience can think is "F**** KISS HIM ALREADY!", which as you can imagine, is extremely frustrating.
I do not recommend this anime for anyone looking for resolve or substance. It was as pointless as a male prostitute with erectile dysfunction.
