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| Free! Iwatobi Swim Club |
Alright, everybody! Yuri-chan here. ﾟ･✿ヾ╲(｡◕‿◕｡)╱✿･ﾟ
We start off with the recently popular reverse harem anime, Free! Iwatobi Swim Club. Now that the second season has just finished airing, the show is gaining more and more popularity among fangirls and even fanboys.
If you are note interested in reading the review, you can just jump to the mark and decide whether you'd like to join me in watching this series.
If you are note interested in reading the review, you can just jump to the mark and decide whether you'd like to join me in watching this series.
Let's get started!
0) Statistics
Genre: Comedy, School, Slice-of-life, Sports
Year: 2013
Episodes: 12
Studio: Kyoto Animation
0) Statistics
Genre: Comedy, School, Slice-of-life, Sports
Year: 2013
Episodes: 12
Studio: Kyoto Animation
1) The Story
The premises of the story is quite simple: like any other slice-of-life/school life anime, we have our group of school-gowers, club-attending characters, unsuspecting of the incredible adventures awaiting to unfold in their otherwise boring lives. These guys have known eachother since middle school, and there's no other friendship like theirs. But what happens when a long lost friend reappears?
Allow me to tell you what happens: these boys take their clothes off and have a swim off. щ(ﾟДﾟщ) With the dream of a brighter future in mind, four of our five main characters work together to build a swim club at the public they're attending, while the other is training viciously in the comfort of the rival school's team.
On the plus side, there is plenty of hot muscle for the ladies to admire, just like our dear Gou-chan likes to remark. The jokes are not half bad and there are no obvious plot holes.
On the other side, the story in general seems a bit boring to me. That is perfectly fine if you'd just like to relax, but for the usual thrill-seeking watcher, this show might just be one big disappointment. Nothing out of the ordinary seems to ever happen in our characters' lives, and that becomes a tiring after a while.
2)The Characters
As is the case with plenty of anime lacking in plot content, the producers had to make up with something. In some cases, it is the characters that they use. Sometimes it is the art. For this particular anime, both the character designs and the quality of the art are outstanding.
What I find intriguing is that our five main boys all fall into different stereotypes... that are usually associated with female characters. Allow me to explain:
First, we have Haruka:
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| Nanase Haruka |
Haru is our main character and therefore the star of the show. He does not talk much and when he does, it is generally related to swimming. He swims for the sheer pleasure of it and adores Japanese cuisine. While he might not seem impressive at first, during the series you come to observe a certain deepness in this character, a mystery that cannot be solved. The only one that seems to understand Haruka's thought process is his best friend, Tachibana Makoto.
Second, there is Makoto:
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| Tachibana Makoto |
Third, the energetic Nagisa:
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| Hazuki Nagisa |
Fourth, there is Rei:
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| Ryuugazaki Rei |
Finally, we have Rin:
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| Matsuoka Rin |
3) The Art
Featuring amazing works by Kyoto Animation, this series is 12 episodes long and is guaranteed to impress you when it comes to looks. The animation flows smoothly and the characters have distinctive color palettes. The water effects are fabulous, despite the fact that many studios have difficulty when it comes to animating liquids. As for 2013, the animation for Free! is top notch.
4) The Music
The opening theme for the show is entitled "Rage On" and interpreted by the band Oldcodex. Surprising enough, the vocalist of this band is none other than Tatsuhisa Suzuki, the voice actor for Tachibana Makoto! The ending theme, "Splash Free", is sung by the five main voice actors themselves.
The music was an important detail in this anime series, but it did not play an essential role in setting the mood or even in describing the characters appropriately. I believe that a mode dynamic soundtrack would have been a better option, but I suppose it's too late now. (｡◕ฺˇε ˇ◕ฺ｡）
5) Popularity
While popularity should not influence the quality of he work, we simply cannot ignore the fact that rising stars of the anime voice-acting industry were featured in this show. Their fandom is a vast one, and the doujinshis involving its characters are getting more and more shameless. In the end, it is the fans that decide whether a show is worth our time or not. (・ω<)
The Conclusion
The final marks for the anime are often influenced by my personal preference and by how recently I have seen the series. While I try to be as fair as possible when reviewing an anime, sometimes the power of sexy guys swimming is too strong.
Story: 6
Characters: 7
Art: 8
Music: 5
Popularity:7
Total:6,6
Please join me again next week for another review and don't forget to comment and follow! May you watch anime in peace.
