In this anime adaption, the story covers our lovely boys, Makoto and Haruka as they have graduated from elementary and are now entering high school. They meet friends mentioned in the original anime, like Kisumi Shigino, and those not mentioned in the original, Asahi Shiina, and Ikuya Kirishima (though I swear I've seen Ikuya's green hair in the original anime somewhere). From there, these four boys play out their story as they join their middle school's swim club.
Story ~5~:
The story didn't captivate too much. Honestly, it would have been more satisfying to watch the elementary boys, as us fangirls don't really know what it was like for Rin and Haruka to be friends before rivals. In any case, the anime adaption explores the flaws and mental problems of each character and how they overcome them. It was a nice sight to see how human they could become. Especially our aloof boy, Haruka. However, the story followed the same predictable path of New beginning>Faced with choice>Hardship>Sad moment that makes everyone cry>Resolution>Triumph! And of course, while that may be a satisfying watch at points, it got terribly boring at times. We've seen that formula for two seasons now. So while it was great to explore the troubles of the insecure middle schoolers, the story turned out mediocre at best.
Art ~7~:
As always, the art style has remained constantly beautiful. Nice proportions, insanely inaccurate muscles, and drop dead great-to-drool-over hot character designs. No art is without its flaws though, as it was sometimes hard to believe some characters were middle schoolers, and not high schoolers. Especially the third years. They looked like 2nd year high schoolers. While our boys tended to look like first year high schoolers at points.
Sound ~7~:
First, I'd like to mention, I had a real problem with their voices. No 1st year middle schooler has gone through puberty so much that they already have a bass-like tone. It was completely unrealistic to me and made them feel older than they should've. The only one to have an accurate voice, I felt, was Nagisa. He actually sounded his age, albeit he did sound a bit girly (but everyone knows Nagisa is best girl anyway). So yeah, there's that. The soundtrack is as beautiful as ever, though. Took me back to the days where we fangirls were just cooing over the beautiful scenes in the original. Also Tatsuhisa Suzuki's (Makoto) singing is always heavenly with band OLDCODEX. You can hear that at the end of the movie.
Character ~7~:
Character development is pretty good. Not as good as it could have been, but the anime still introduces some pretty heavy topics in the minds of these middle schoolers, such as isolation, unconfidence, and insecurity. Obviously, Haruka and Makoto go through the most development as they learn what it is to be the best of themselves. But side characters like Ikuya and Asahi go through that same development. It's a bit disappointing that they're not in the original series anywhere, even though it seems as though our main boys have formed a really good relationship with them. There's no explanation for that as there is with Kisumi, and that is a bit bothersome. It is also very nice to have scenes with Haruka's and Makoto's mothers, as they are practically nonexistent in the original anime (I'm looking right at you, Haru-chan). So, good characters. You've got the aloof, uncaring type, the mom af type, the rambunctious one, and the proud distant one.
Enjoyment ~5~:
Bored. I was so bored. Some points were interesting, and I really like the movie, and all, but it was in no way satisfying. I didn't at all get to see what I've longed to see. My elementary school boys. Instead, I'm stuck with middleschool problem children--half of which aren't even present in the original series. Of course, all those fanservice moments, I died for. So much delicious shonen ai.
Overall ~6~:
If I'm being honest, the show deserves a fair rating of ****** (see what I did there? I'm sooo good at puns), however, as you might see in my profile, I gave it a personal rating of 5, simply because it was predictable and boring. They way it was told and all the jazz were its redeeming qualities, but I just felt like I had seen the same thing for the third time. I am, admittedly, a fan of this series, but even I can tell you it is severely flawed. It's more of a slice of life than a sports anime. But it works, and it does what it does. And it's pretty okay for a casual watch.
Favorite Song: "First Conversation" by Tasuya Katou which can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUW41m_TG3Y
Favorite Ship: HaruxMakoto of course!
Favorite Character: I want more Kisumi ;A;
