List of Free! episodes
Cover of first Blu-ray Disc volume featuring main protagonist Haruka Nanase.
Free! is a 2013 Japanese anime series based on the light novel High Speed! written by Kōji Ōji. Haruka Nanase, Rin Matsuoka, Makoto Tachibana and Nagisa Hazuki are four childhood friends with a passion for swimming, being a part of the Iwatobi Swimming Club since grade school. Although, when Rin suddenly leaves to attend an elite boarding school in Australia, the group slowly drifts apart. Some years later Haruka, Makoto and Nagisa reunite with a much darker Rin, who challenges Haruka to a freestyle race. Rin wins, but with his attitude towards them still harsh, the remaining trio, along with new friend Rei, decide to form the Iwatobi High Swimming Club, in the hopes that they can go back to being friends with Rin like they used to.
The first season, titled Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club outside Japan, was produced by Kyoto Animation and directed by Hiroko Utsumi with series composition by Masahiro Yokotani, character designs by Futoshi Nishiya, sound direction by Yota Tsuruoka and script writer, Masahiro Yokotani. The series aired between July 4 and September 26, 2013 on Tokyo MX and later aired on ABC, BS11 and TV Aichi. The series was streamed with English subtitles by Crunchyroll.[1] A second season, Free! - Eternal Summer, aired between July 2, 2014 and September 24, 2014 and was simulcast by Crunchyroll and Funimation.[2] An original video animation episode was included on the seventh Blu-ray Disc/DVD volume released on March 18, 2015.[3]
For the first season, the opening theme is "Rage On" by Oldcodex and the ending theme is "Splash Free" by Style Five (Nobunaga Shimazaki, Tatsuhisa Suzuki, Tsubasa Yonaga, Daisuke Hirakawa and Mamoru Miyano).[4] The ending theme for episode 12 is "Ever Blue" by Style Five. For the second season, the opening theme is "Dried Up Youthful Fame" by Oldcodex,[5][6] whilst the ending theme is "Future Fish" by Style Five.[6][7]
Episode list
Episode 1 The main character goes to the pool in time to meet his friends who enjoy the hobby of swimming and diving in the pool
Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club (2013)
| No. | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | "Reunion at the Starting Block!" "Saikai no Sutātingu Burokku!" (再会のスターティングブロック！) | July 4, 2013 |
| Second year high schooler, Haruka Nanase reminisces about his time spent with his friends in their grade school swimming club and of wanting nothing more than to be a freestyle swimmer. In the present, Makoto Tachibana goes to pick Haruka up for their second day of school at Iwatobi High, and while having lunch that day, they encounter their old friend, and recent transfer, Nagisa Hazuki. Nagisa not only wishes to swim with Haruka like they used to, but also suggests that dig up a time capsule containing a relay trophy they had won with their friend Rin Matsuoka at the dilapidated Iwatobi Swimming Club. While there, Haruka once again reminisces over a photo of the race, being the last time the group had swum together before Rin had moved to Australia to enroll in a swimming school. Afterwards, the group shockingly runs into a completely changed Rin in the hallways and immediately challenges Haruka to a race, until they discover that the old pool is empty. At school the next day, a scarlet-haired girl observes the group with a friend and remarks of them being old acquaintances before Makoto and Nagisa are reprimanded for trespassing at the swimming club. As Makoto and Nagisa visit Haruka that evening, they discover the scarlet-haired girl who turns out to be Rin's sister, Gō Matsuoka attempting to pay Haruka a visit and learn from her that Rin is now attending the Samezuka Academy upon his return from Australia. Afterwards, Makoto and Nagisa convince a reluctant Haruka to visit the academy by tempting him to a swim in the school's pool. Upon arriving, they wait after hours and break into the academy's swimming pool until they are discovered by Rin who aggressively orders them out. Haruka then steps out of the pool and challenges Rin to a freestyle race. | ||
| 02 | "Memories in the Distance!" "Tsuioku no Disutansu!" (追憶のディスタンス！) | July 11, 2013 |
| After the match, Haruka and co. are once again reprimanded for trespassing the Samezuka grounds. Makoto and Nagisa run into Gō and all agree that Rin's attitude had dramatically changed in the past few years; simultaneously learning that Gō had been the one who sent him to the Iwatobi Swimming Club while Nagisa suggests that they form a school swimming club. After getting Haruka on board, Makoto and Nagisa propose the idea to their home room teacher, Miho Amakata who agrees after they give her a little prompt. Finally, the club is accepted by the faculty on the condition that they find one more member, and restore the school's swimming pool themselves. Nagisa begins the task of finding a fourth club member, which proves much more demanding than they had initially thought. While continuing the restoration, Gō still confused about Rin's behavior asks Makoto about their race and learns that Haruka threw the match, allowing Rin to win since he was merely content with being in the water, something which angered Rin. Believing that they can revert Rin to his old self, Gō volunteers to join the club as their manager. Later, Makoto pays one final visit to the Iwatobi Swimming Club and runs into their old mentor, Coach Goro Sasabe. Goro reveals that Haruka and Rin had a race when the latter made a rare return to Japan, of which Haruka easily won. Rin was exceptionally disappointed that his hard work was for naught, creating a rift between them, subsequently causing Haruka to quit competitive swimming because he had hurt Rin's pride. Upon learning this, Makoto calls Rin to inform them of their plans while Rin decides to join the Samezuka swim team for his own grudge against Haruka. Finally, Miho and the group officially establish the Iwatobi High Swimming Club and Haruka can't help but christen the pool with the first swim much to his friends' dismay. | ||
| 03 | "Theoretical Dolphin Kick!" "Riron no Dorufin Kikku!" (理論のドルフィンキック！) | July 18, 2013 |
| Haruka catches a cold from his swim in the newly restored Iwatobi High swimming pool. The next day, while taking the train to school, Nagisa tries to recruit Rei Ryūgazaki to join the swim club to which he bluntly refuses. Gō proposes that the swim club join an indoor gym so they can practice swimming until summer, but due to its expense, they seek sponsorship from the faculty. Miho admits that they won't get sponsored until their club earns accomplishments in tournaments, but would still require a fourth swimmer. Nagisa informs Haruka and co. of Rei's perfect candidacy due to his feminine given name. This prompts Nagisa to wait for Rei after practice, much to his surprise and continues to pester him about joining. The next evening, while doing pole vault training, Rei's coach admits that his form wouldn't improve unless he stops calculating his movements beforehand, much to his frustration. Gō informs the club that she had successfully scheduled a joint swimming practice with the Samezuka team at their indoor pool, but they would still require a fourth swimmer. The following morning, Nagisa meets up with Rei on his run to school and explains his reasoning for wanting Rei to join prompting Rei agree on a trial basis. At the joint Samezuka-Iwatobi practice, Rin continues to give Haruka and co. the cold shoulder. Rei tries to avoid swimming in the time trials, but is forced to and much to everyone's surprise, it is revealed that he cannot swim. Although he ends up marveling at Haruka's beautiful swimming form, realizing that Haruka swims with passion rather than calculation. The next day at his pole vaulting practice, Rei doesn't use his calculations and falls. He approaches the spectating Haruka and co. and admits that he would like to achieve a form similar to Haruka's and officially joins the swim club while tasking Nagisa with teaching him how to swim. | ||
| 04 | "Captive Butterfly!" "Toraware no Batafurai!" (囚われのバタフライ！) | July 25, 2013 |
| The Swim Club officially starts training in the refurbished pool using an old training regiment of Rin's Gō had unearthed. Rei's inherent academic skills at learning all the swimming theory prove to be useless since his body refuses to move in the water. Elsewhere, Rin grudgingly realizes that his victory against Haruka was due to Haruka's lack of physical training and not his actual talent. Nagisa and Makoto start teaching Rei how to swim and learn that while he can float, his problem still eludes them. The following day, the guys try to come up with designs for a club uniform but Gō instead gives Rei's lessons higher priority and makes a revamped swimming regiment during which he must master swimming in one week before their first prefectural tournament. Nagisa and Makoto try and fail to teach Rei their signature techniques; the breaststroke and backstroke respectively causing Rei to blame his inability on their teaching methods. Makoto suggests they ask Goro for help but he bluntly refuses. During the weekend, Rei attributes his inability to not having proper gear, hence prompting a visit by the team to a sports store to buy swimming essentials. At the store, Haruka and Rin run into each other and have a short discussion about their differing forms with Rin wanting a race with them both in peak condition, or else he may no be able to move forward from his loss and both decide to settle the score at the upcoming tournament. Afterwards, Haruka takes a turn trying to teach Rei freestyle swimming and fails, greatly disappointing Rei. As the day draws to a close, Haruka laments to Rei that he too isn't compatible with other techniques in that he doesn't swim freestyle by choice; merely because it is all he can swim. The next day, having come to this realization, Rei tries the last technique and finds it compatible with himself: the butterfly stroke. | ||
| 05 | "Trial in Open Water!" "Ōpun Wōtā de Taiken!" (オープンウォーターで体験！) | August 7, 2013[8] |
| Believing that the added pressure will help the Swim Club in their training, Gō continues to make her countdown calendar for the upcoming prefectural tournament. Meanwhile, as the guys decide on which events they will each participate in at the tournament, Gō discovers a decades old training regiment of the past Iwatobi Swim Club and excitedly proposes that they use it and venture to an island for a summer training camp. Afterwards, the club tries and fails to get Miho to sponsor the trip. Makoto proposes using camping equipment to stay outdoors while resorting to bribing Goro to use his squid fishing boat to take them to the island and back. Later, Haruka expresses concern for Makoto since he had a rather scarring experience with the ocean in the past, to which Makoto reassures that he is fine. On the day of the trip, Sasabe takes the Swim Club to the island where they coincidentally discover the Samezuka Swim Team along with Rin, training at a special swimming facility on the island. After the guys get settled on the beach they begin their stamina training regiment which involves making three long-distance swimming circuits between the deserted islands of Sukishima, Oshima and Mizushima. At the end of the first day, the club only manages swimming half of their goal leaving Rei to feel a bit disappointed for lagging behind. As they prepare for dinner, Gō heads to a nearby convenience store and briefly runs into Rin who shows some concern for Makoto after Gō explains their training, before returning to his usual stoic self. That night, unable to sleep due to his performance, Rei heads into the ocean to continue training when a sudden storm takes him by surprise. Makoto awakens at that moment and goes looking for Rei; frantically diving to his aid upon hearing Rei's cries for help. | ||
| 06 | "Shocking No Breathing!" "Shōgeki no Nōburījingu!" (衝撃のノーブりージング！) | August 15, 2013 |
| Haruka and Nagisa awaken to Makoto's shouts for Rei and immediately dive to their aid after noticing them in the rough sea. Upon approaching Rei, Makoto suddenly becomes fear stricken but is rescued by Haruka. However as Nagisa goes after Rei the group is suddenly struck by a large wave. A while later, Haruka drags Makoto to the nearby Sukishima shore and upon awakening, the latter's old fear of the ocean resurfaces. Elsewhere, Nagisa and Rei make it to shore with the latter blaming himself for putting the group in danger. Soon enough, the guys reunite and despite each blaming themselves for their own shortcomings, are genuinely relieved that they are all unharmed. With the storm still raging on, the guys decide to head over to the nearby abandoned Sukishima Rest House for shelter and after scavenging some leftover food from the kitchen, they decide to pass the time by telling each other embarrassing stories. Eventually Rei asks Makoto about the reason for his hesitation in the water and much to Haruka's objection, Makoto reveals his thalassophobia. Makoto explains that when he was younger, he had befriended an old fisherman in a nearby fishing harbor. However the man's boat soon got caught up in a typhoon and sank three kilometers from the harbor, killing everyone on board. Makoto explains that both himself and Haruka used to swim three kilometers offshore everyday, but ever since the fisherman's death, he felt as if an unknown force dwelt in the ocean. Makoto concludes that he planned their trip despite his fear since believing that their shared passion for swimming can take them anywhere. As the storm finally subsides, the guys step out and marvel at the stars, which symbolically reflect off of a large puddle, echoing Makoto's words. The next morning, the guys swim back to the mainland and collapse from exhaustion on the shore, much to Gō and Miho's confusion. | ||
| 07 | "One Style Final!" "Kessen no Sutairu Wan!" (決戦のスタイルワン！) | August 22, 2013 |
| As the Prefectural Tournament draws closer, the Iwatobi High Swim Club starts improving their swim times. Elsewhere, Rin awakens in a frenzied state after having a nightmare involving Haruka and his younger father. Afterwards at training, Aiichiro Nitori grows upset that Rin would limit himself to the freestyle event when he possesses far greater potential. While Aiichiro helps Rin train that night, the former laments his inability to participate in the 100m event, but Rin assures him that his endurance is better suited for the 400m race. Afterwards, Rin reveals to him the story of his late father. Rin explains that his father was the best athlete in the past Iwatobi Swim Club and aspired to become an Olympic swimmer. However his dream was never realized after he settled down to married life as a fisherman and was hence killed when a typhoon struck his boat late one summer. Following his father's death, Rin adopted his dream, but explains that Haruka is the only thing standing in his way of moving forward as an athlete, since he lost to Haruka despite all his training in addition to their differing reasons for swimming. Finally on the day of the tournament, Gō reveals that both Haruka and Rin are competing in the fourth freestyle heat and are in neighboring lanes due to having similar qualifying times as explained by Makoto. As Haruka leaves to get ready he encounters Rin at the lockers where their rivalry continues. Finally as the race begins, Rin immediately starts pulling ahead of Haruka in the first leg. Haruka starts catching up as they make the turn into the second leg and they both seem to be neck and neck towards the finish. However much to his friends' shock, Haruka places second with Rin being the victor and advances to the next round. As Rin exits the pool, he declares that his win means that he will never swim with Haruka again, leaving the latter in utter shock. | ||
| 08 | "Revenge in the Medley!" "Gyakushū no Medorē!" (逆襲のメドレー！) | August 29, 2013 |
| As Haruka is left stunned by Rin's declaration, the other members compete in their respective events. Despite the cheers of their supporters, which Haruka comes to see, none of them make it through to the next round. As the day comes to an end, Gou reveals she had secretly entered everyone into the relay race event taking place the next day, given them one more chance to qualify for the regionals. After the others spend the night trying to convince him to join, Haruka soon comes to understand everyone's feelings and agrees to participate. The next day, news of Iwatobi's participation in the relay reaches Rin, who bears witness to the team in action. | ||
| 09 | "Hesitant Loosen Up!" "Mayoi no Rūzun Appu!" (迷いのルーズンアップ！) | September 5, 2013 |
| Thanks to everyone's efforts, Iwatobi manage to win the relay race, earning a place in the regionals. Afterwards, Haruka tells the others of how his expectations were blown by Rin's proclamation, and how he came to realise the joy of relay racing again. Later, the group attend a summer festival, which Rin also ends up attending. Wanting to keep Haruka and Rin from meeting, Nagisa has Rei trail Rin, who eventually wanders off from the festival and arrives at his old elementary school, holding back his emotions. | ||
| 10 | "Irritated Heart Rate!" "Iradachi no Hāto Reito!" (苛立ちのハートレイト！) | September 12, 2013 |
| Rin recalls how he transferred into elementary school and made friends with Haruka and the others, stating his dream of becoming an Olympic champion like his late father and convincing them to enter the relay together before he went off to Australia. Meanwhile, Rei, not wanting to be left out of the loop, asks Haruka and the others about how their relationship with Rin fell apart. Haruka reveals that whilst Rin was visiting Japan during middle school, he challenged Haruka to a swimming race and lost. Out of frustration of his loss, Rin announced he would quit swimming. Upon hearing this, Rei decides to meet up with Rin face to face. | ||
| 11 | "Furious All-out!" "Gekijō no Ōru Auto!" (激情のオ一ルアウト！) | September 19, 2013 |
| Rei asks Rin about why he is participating in the relay, what changed him after he left for Australia and what he actually wants from Haruka, stating his desire to be a part of their team. Later, Haruka and the others come over to Rei's place, where they assure Rei he is an irreplaceable team member. After arriving at the location for the regional tournament and checking into their hotel, the group go to see the pool they'll be swimming in. Later that night, as everyone is too excited to sleep, Rin asks Rei to meet up with him, explaining that the reason he quit swimming was because he struggled to swim the way he used to and felt he couldn't reach Olympic level. It was his match with Haruka that reignited his desire to swim, and Iwatobi's prefectural performance that made him want to perform relay again. Before taking his leave, Rin tells Rei that he needs to make sure he doesn't embarrass Iwatobi's team when they compete against each other. Upon returning to his hotel, however, Rin is shocked to learn that he has been taken off Samezuka's relay team because he wasn't focusing on his own team. | ||
| 12 | "Distant Free!" "Harukanaru Furī!" (遙かなるフリー！) | September 26, 2013 |
| Rin becomes so distracted by being taken off the relay team that he ends up placing terribly in his 100m event. After Rin runs off in an outburst, saying he will quit swimming, Haruka and the others overhear Rin say he was taken out of the relay, which comes as a shock to Haruka. It is at this point that Rei tells everyone about what Rin told him the previous night, stating his belief that what Rin wanted wasn't to win, but to swim with everyone again. With the relay preliminaries approaching fast, the gang splits up in search of Rin, who is eventually found by Haruka. Initially struggling to hear Haruka out and getting into a fight with him, Rin spots a phrase Haruka had written in the sand in front of a tree, "For the team", reminding him of his elementary school days. He begins to cry and claims that he wanted to swim in a relay with him. Making it just in time for the preliminaries, Rei lets Rin take his place in the relay, allowing him to finally swim with his friends. Although the Iwatobi team is inevitably disqualified for their unapproved roster change despite placing first, they feel proud in doing what they thought was the right thing, whilst Rin is encouraged by Samezuka to swim the way he did for their own team. Afterwards, Iwatobi and Samezuka begin joint training, where Rin and Haruka state their own dreams. | ||
BD/DVD shorts
The following "FrFr!" bonus shorts are included on BD/DVD volumes of the series.
| No. | Title | Original release date |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | "01. Makoto's Worries!" "Makoto no Nayami!" (真琴の悩み！) | September 11, 2013 |
| "02. Member Recruitment!" "Buin Boshū!" (部員募集！) | ||
|
Makoto and Nagisa try to deduce how much water it takes for Haruka to want to take off his clothes and dive into it. Later, the three think up ideas on how to recruit new members. | ||
| 02 | "03. Rin and Nitori's Week!" "Rin to Nitori no Isshūkan!" (凛と似鳥の一週間！) | October 9, 2013 |
| "04. Rei's Intense Diving Training!" "Rei no Tobikomi Mō Tokkun!" (怜の飛び込み猛特訓！) | ||
|
Rin helps Nitori study, but is put off by his messy desk. Rei dreams about diving. | ||
| 03 | "05. Rei, Theories, and Speedos!" "Rei to Riron to Būmeran!" (怜と理論とブーメラン！) | November 6, 2013 |
| "06. The Iwatobi Clan!" "Iwatobike no Ichizoku!" (岩鳶家の一族！) | ||
| "07. Distant FrFr!" "Harukanaru Furi Furi!" (遙かなるフリフリ！) | ||
|
Nagisa, Haruka and Makoto help Rei pick out a swimsuit. Rin watches the swim club kick upside down. The swim club is curious about Haruka's laughter. | ||
Free! - Eternal Summer (2014)
| No. | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Storm of Dive and Dash!" "Arashi no Daibu Dasshu!" (嵐のダイブダッシュ！) | July 2, 2014 |
| At the start of a new school year, Haruka and the others meet up with Rin at Samezuka Academy for an event to send off the third year members, where they end up getting roped into a freestyle relay against the school. Afterwards, as the Iwatobi Swim Club struggle to recruit new members, Goro reveals he has reformed the Iwatobi Swimming Club, giving the guys a chance to use the indoor pool prior to its opening. Later, Rin, who has been made captain of the Samezuka Swim Club, participates in a race against Haruka, managing to tie for the lead. Later that evening, Haruka and the others invite Rin to the school pool, which they have cleaned and filled with cherry blossoms so that Rin could swim in it, only for rain to ruin the opportunity. The next day, Rin is surprised to find an old acquaintance of his, Sousuke Yamazaki, transfer into his class. | ||
| 2 | "Stroke of Chance Encounter!" "Kaigō no Sutorōku!" (邂逅のストローク！) | July 9, 2014 |
| Rin reminisces with Sousuke, his classmate prior to transferring to Iwatobi during elementary school, who decided to spend his last year of high school in his hometown before swimming professionally. Meanwhile, Goro plans to put on a swimming festival for the Iwatobi Swimming Club for children, asking Haruka and the others to spread word and come up with a main event, with Haruka suggesting a relay event. With Rin asked to assemble a team of his own to swim against them, Sousuke asks to join on the condition he run in the freestyle leg. On the day of the event, one of Rin's team members is forced to drop out, but they manage to find the former team captain's brother, Momotarou Mikoshiba, to fill in for him. Prior to the relay, Sousuke confronts Haruka, telling him not to get in Rin's way. As the relay gets underway, both teams show strong form with Haruka's team narrowly managing to win. Afterwards, Rin invites Momotarou to join his swim club whilst Haruka becomes cautious of Sousuke's attitude towards him. | ||
| 3 | "Butterfly of Farewell!" "Wakare no Batafurai!" (別れのバタフライ！) | July 16, 2014 |
| Rin changes dorm rooms, moving in with Sousuke, whilst Momotarou takes his place as Aiichirou's roommate. Meanwhile, Iwatobi holds a culture festival, where the swim club participates in a relay race against the other clubs, though their victory does little to attract new members. As the group turn their attentions towards the next national tournament, Rei worries about whether it is okay that he can only do butterfly. His worries increase when one of his old upperclassmen from the track team asks if he would like to return. Nagisa becomes concerned when Rei starts going off on 'errands' after school, with the others soon becoming suspicious as well. Spotting Rei speaking with the track team captain, the others get together to try and convince him not to quit the swim team. After Rei reveals he had no intention of quitting, the group follow him to his 'errand', where they learn Rei had been secretly taking swimming lessons from Rin to learn other styles besides the butterfly. | ||
| 4 | "Somersault Turn of Promise!" "Yakusoku no Samāsoruto Tān!" (約束のサマーソルトターン！) | July 23, 2014 |
| With the prefecturals approaching, Gou takes it upon herself to make balanced nutritional bento lunches for the team. Meanwhile, Sousuke recalls a promise that he had yet to ask of Rin before he left for Australia, before asking Rin what happened whilst he was away, hearing about how Haruka and the others helped pick himself up. When Gou's attempt at a nutritional bento proves to be effectively inedible, she compensates by putting together a tough training regime. Later that night, Sousuke tells Rin he should give up relays in order to focus on his dreams, but Rin states his determination to accomplish both. Despite having always preferred swimming individually, Sousuke asks to join Samezuka's relay team in order to find something he's missing, challenging Rin to a butterfly race to earn his spot. Admiring Sousuke's passion, Rin changes the way swimmers are selected for relays, asking only those who are serious about being in a relay team to step forward. | ||
| 5 | "Head-Up of Decision!" "Ketsui no Heddo Appu!" (決意のヘッドアップ！) | July 30, 2014 |
| After the others notice him behaving oddly and insisting on sleeping over, Nagisa reveals he has run away from home, eventually explaining that his parents told him to quit the swim club because of his poor grades. Wanting to avoid his mother, Nagisa and the others hide out at the swimming center to come up with a plan, where Nagisa laments how he doesn't find studying fun, having been forced to do it endlessly during middle school. As the group move further into the school when someone approaches, Rei tries to convince Nagisa to tell his parents how he really feels. Moved by everyone's words, Nagisa voices his true feelings to the pursuer, who turns out to be their teacher, Miho Amakata, who came after Haruka told her to let them handle it and gives Nagisa the courage to talk to his parents. In the end, Nagisa's parents allow him to stay in the club on the condition he work hard for the nationals. | ||
| 6 | "Prime of Invincibility!" "Muteki no Puraimu!" (無敵のプライム！) | August 6, 2014 |
| On the day before the prefecturals, Rin and Gou pay their respects to their father, where Rin gives Gou a photo of him to put up in the Swimming Club. The next day, Nagisa, Makoto, Rei, Rin and Momotarou all qualify in their respective individual events. Later, Makoto competes against Haruka in the 200m freestyle, wanting to have a real race against him before he graduates. Despite losing due to his pacing, Makoto feels happy to have been able to have a serious race with Haruka. Haruka and Rin then face off against each other in the 100m freestyle, with Haruka narrowly beating Rin by a split second, bringing the first day's events to a close. | ||
| 7 | "Crouching Start of Revenge!" "Setsujoku no Kurauchingu Sutāto!" (雪辱のクラウチングスタート！) | August 13, 2014 |
| After Rin chose his team for the medley relay event, which includes Sousuke and Momotarou, Aiichirou feels downhearted over not making the team, but receives some encouragement from Sousuke. The next day, as the relay gets underway, Samezuka manages to win the race, though Iwatobi manage to make it through to the regionals as well. Afterwards, as Haruka and Rin are both scouted, Rin confronts Sousuke about his recent behavior, to which he responds that he hasn't yet found what he is looking for. After receiving some encouragement from Rei, who tells him to be true to his 'free' self, Haruka comes up with a training regime to improve their relay times. Later, Gou spots Sousuke as he skips his team practice. | ||
| 8 | "Locomotive of Crisis!" "Henkyoku no Rokomōtibu!" (変局のロコモーティブ！) | August 20, 2014 |
| Makoto starts helping Goro at the Swimming Club, acting as a coach teaching children to swim. Meanwhile, Sousuke decides to help coach Aiichirou to improve his swimming. As Makoto notices one of his students, Hayato, struggling with swimming without a kick board, he discovers his brother is Kisumi Shigino, an old classmate from his and Haruka's middle school. As the two reminisce, Kisumi explains to Makoto how Hayato developed a fear of swimming after he nearly drowned after falling off a boat. Told by Haruka to think over his own experiences of learning to swim, Makoto teaches Hayato how to do a backstroke, helping him to overcome his fear. As Makoto's time as a coach comes to an end, he and Haruka learn from Kisumi that Sousuke had recently obtained an injury to his shoulder and had been competing in tournaments in spite of it. | ||
| 9 | "Forming of Disruption!" "Shissoku no Fōmingu!" (失速のフォーミング！) | August 27, 2014 |
| On the day before the regionals, both Iwatobi and Samezuka end up staying at the same hotel. While Aiichirou is chosen to swim in Samezuka's relay team thanks to his training, Haruka, who is in deep thought about being scouted, ends up sharing an elevator ride with Sousuke, confirming his shoulder injury. The next day, as Rin manages to pass his heat in the 100m freestyle, Haruka becomes overwhelmed by the pressure of performing in front of scouts and ends up stopping dead in his tracks. When Rin confronts him following the race, Haruka snaps at him, telling him that his dreams and his future are being forced upon him, and he's not choosing them of his own free will. Rei, Makoto and Nagisa overhear their fight, and as Haru tries to assure his friends he will swim in the relay with them, Sousuke continues to experience more pain from his shoulder injury. | ||
| 10 | "Six-Beat of Tears!" "Namida no Shikkusu-Bīto!" (涙のシックスビート！) | September 3, 2014 |
| After being informed by Aiichirou, Rin becomes aware of Sousuke's shoulder injury, learning that he had been harboring for two years and that all his talk of being scouted was a lie. As the two take their conversation outside, unaware that Haruka is nearby, Sousuke reveals that he been constantly training so that he could one day face against Rin, injuring his shoulder in the process. Resolving to quit swimming, he wanted to see Rin swim in last year's regionals and ending up seeing his breakdown, but gained new hope when he saw Rin pick himself up thanks to his friends, deciding he would only quit swimming after he became true friends with Rin. Despite Rin's objections, Sousuke states he wants to swim with everyone in the relay, with Aiichirou and Momotarou backing him up. Having heard the whole thing, Haruka asks his team to give everything they've got in the relay in response to Sousuke's dedication. As the match gets underway, Sousuke's shoulder acts up, but Rin encourages him to make it to the end of his leg, leading to the final showdown between Haruka and Rin, with Iwatobi winning by a fraction of a second. | ||
| 11 | "The Open Turn of Destiny!" "Unmei no Nebā Tān!" (運命のネバーターン！) | September 10, 2014 |
| As both Iwatobi and Samezuka continue to train for the nationals, Rei worries about Haruka, who is unable to participate in the freestyle event. Later, Haruka is approached by Sousuke, who tells him to move forward so that Rin can improve alongside him. As Obon arrives, Makoto and the others confront Haruka that he isn't being his usual 'free' self, expressing their desire to help him find a dream. However, Haruka refuses to hear Makoto out, becoming further upset when Makoto reveals he plans to go to a university in Tokyo after graduation. As Haruka starts to seclude himself, he is approached by Rin, who decides to take him with him to Australia. | ||
| 12 | "A Swim-Off in a Foreign Land!" "Ikyō no Suimofu!" (異郷のスイムオフ！) | September 17, 2014 |
| Upon arriving in Sydney, Australia, Rin takes Haruka to the beach, where he talks about his experiences in the country before taking him to meet his home stay parents, Russell and Lori. Upon checking into their hotel, the pair find they have to share a double bed for the night, though they manage to get through the night reminiscing about their time together. The next day, Rin takes Haruka to the Sydney International Aquatic Centre to swim alongside Australia's national swim team, reigniting Haruka's passion for swimming. As Rin states he came to Australia to approach his old coach about joining his team, Haruka states he has also found a dream to aim for. | ||
| 13 | "The Eternal Summer of Beginnings!" "Hajimari no Etānaru Samā!" (はじまりのエターナルサマー！) | September 24, 2014 |
| Upon returning from Australia, Haruka gives his thanks to Rin and rejoins his teammates, deciding that he will start focusing on times and winning for the sake of reaching his new dream to swim in the wide open world. He then apologizes to Makoto, who explains that he is going to a Tokyo university in order to become a swimming teacher. On the night before the national tournament, the group reminisce about the past two years together, with Nagisa and Rei becoming emotional about Haruka and Makoto's impending graduation, though Haruka assures them will always be connected. Following a memorable experience at the nationals, in which Iwatobi manage to win their heat and 6th place overall, it is graduation time. Rin passes on the position of Samezuka's captain to Aiichirou, before telling Sousuke that he'll wait until he returns to the world of swimming. Meanwhile, Iwatobi bury a time capsule containing the sights they saw at the nationals, before joining Rin in a petal-filled pool at Samezuka. Everyone soon goes their separate ways, with a flash forward to Haruka and Rin facing off against each other in the professional circuit. | ||
| 14 (OVA) | "Forbidden All Hard!" "Kindan no Ōru Hādo!" (禁断のオールハード！) | March 18, 2015 |
| Haruka and the others go to Samezuka Academy's Culture Festival, where Rin and the rest of the swimming club are hosting a maid café. Both the Iwatobi and Samezuka teams decide to participate in a watergun survival game across the campus, with Haruka, Sousuke, Nagisa, and Momotarou on one team and Rin, Makoto, Rei, and Aiichirou on the other. After several mishaps and plans gone astray, the match boils down to a standoff between Haruka and Rin, which Rin wins due to Haruka's affinity for water. At the end of the day, the eight of them take the time to get to know each other better. | ||
References
- ↑ "Crunchyroll to Stream Free! Swim Team TV Anime". Anime News Network. June 27, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
- ↑ "Free! Eternal Summer Anime's Short Promo Streamed". Anime News Network. July 2, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
- ↑ "Free! Eternal Summer Anime Gets Unaired Episode on 7th Blu-ray/DVD". Anime News Network. August 28, 2014. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
- ↑ "CD - PRODUCT - TVアニメ『Free!』公式サイト" [CD - Product - TV Anime Free! Official Website] (in Japanese). Kyoto Animation. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
- ↑ "Free! Eternal Summer's Opening Song Performed by Oldcodex". Anime News Network. May 11, 2014. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
- 1 2 Green, Scott (April 16, 2014). "VIDEO: Latest PV for "Free! -Eternal Summer-" TV Anime". Crunchyroll. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
- ↑ "Free! Eternal Summer Anime's Ending Song Performed by Cast". Anime News Network. May 11, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
- ↑ "放送時間の変更情報 - NEWS - TVアニメ『Free!』公式サイト" [Changed information on the broadcast time - News - TV Anime Free! Official Website] (in Japanese). Kyoto Animation. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
External links
- Official website (Japanese)
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