Today I will be reviewing: Free! Iwatobi Swim Club
What can I say I love sports-anime/manga. It all started with Slam Dunk and since then I've followed several series like Prince of Tennis, Eyeshield 21, Mr. Fullswing, Cross Manage, etc.
The anime is based on a novel written by Koji Oji and focuses on four boys participating in a swimming tournament.
Plot:
When they are in elementry school Rin, Nagisa, Haruka & Makoto are in the same swimming club. Haruka claims he only wants to swim freestyle but eventually joins in the Medley* race after much convincing of Rin. The boys win the race and they bury their trophy like a time capsule. Rin announces that he goes to Australia to train to become an Olympic swimmer, a wish his dad held but never achieved.
*Medley is a combination of four swimming styles into one race: Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle.
Rin and Haruka accidentally meet the next year when Rin visits his family for Christmas and he challenges Haruka to a race but ends up losing. Frustrated by his loss he never contacts his former teammates and continues his training in Australia. Haruka shocked by Rin's reaction quits the swimming club and team completely falls apart.
In highschool Makoto, Haruka en Nagisa are reunited and revive try to revive the school's swimming club with the help of Rin's sister Gou. Participation in schooltrainings and competition require 4 members and Nagisa gets a track-and-field-member to join the club. But during the practice training they find out he can't swim.
Rin decides to return to Japan to enter highschool and forces Haruka to race him once again, resulting as a win for Rin. But Rin realises Haruka has not been in shape and is angered by his lack of training and says his victory is meaningless like this. Haruka is shocked by his loss but turns to his teammates with the wish to swim together in the Medley.
The boys of Iwatobi swim club train hard together to enter the national swimming competition in order to beat Rin in the Medley race.
Sadly I've only seen 11 of the 12 episodes so far. And the final race will be battled in the last epi that will be released next week by one of the fan-subbers. Not that I would have spoiled the ending to you guys ;).
It's a shame the series is only 12 episodes long but I think it's just the right amount to tell the full story. What I find very funny in the series the boys look like regular pretty boys when dressed but are muscle packed when in their swimming gear. A lot of fangirl-service is provided in those shots ;).
Also the characters are pretty interesting. They all have very girly names ;).
Haruka: he rarely smiles and always thinks about swimming, he even tried to climb in a fishtank at the store xD. When they club went to buy swimming gear for Rei he ended up buying the same pair of swimming trunks as he already owns, claiming they fit him better while the rest of the group sees no difference.
Nagisa: Very high spirited and is not afraid to speak his mind to much frustration of Rei at times. He is the cute one of the club.
Makoto: Haruka's best friend, he is very nice and takes care of others but is also a big scaredy-cat and hides behind Haru for protection. Makoto developed a fear of the ocean when a person he admired died in a typhoon.
Rei: loves everything thats beautiful and is a very intelligent boy. He didn't want to join the swimming club at first because he said swimming wasn't beautiful enough but when he sees Haruka swim he finally joins. Doesn't know how to swim but learns the Butterfly later on in the series.
Rin: Haruka's rival and former teammate. Despite his self-proclaimed rivalry towards Iwatobi, he demonstrates concern of them, especially Haruka.
Free! has a very large fanbase and because of it's popularity it was made into an anime-series. I've seen the fanfictions and fanart appear regular on Pixiv (a Japanese social site) and was thrilled when the series was released. I'll have to watch the final episode from my new home in Belfast but the series went on my must buy list when released on DVD and that will be around Febuary 2014.
Free! is a fun series to watch, especially for those who like sports & pretty boys. I highly recommend it.
This will be my last review for the time being. I am moving to Belfast and I don't know when I will have a computer or a steady internet connection.
I'll see you in the future ;)!
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