Free! Eternal Summer

Veronin★ 7

I guess there's a bit more to Free than 'shirtless bishounens jump in water'. For a series that began with a crescendo of confusion, Free has come a long way in carving its identity as a genuinely decent, though largely forgettable sports anime. While I don't think it will convert anyone who detested the first season (and there were indubitably more than a few of them), those who enjoyed or were indifferent towards Free's first offering will find a large improvement in quality. And yes, heterosexual dudes can now watch it without feeling uncomfortable. That's not to say that Free has forgotten its primary audience (teenagegirls and Tumblr fujoshi who squeal at the slightest homoerotic undertone), but at least now KyoAni has tried to justify the anime's existence by creating a story of value. It is less about clothes being thrown around and close-up butt shots and more about the boys growing up and finding their place through the love of sport. And each other... just, no, not in that way. Free's second season shines largely due to its focus on Rin and his close friend and rival, Sousuke. Rin's character development continues throughout the second season with much more detail than previously, taking him from 'antagonistic jackass' to a genuinely believable and complex person. His goals and reasons for swimming swimming are clear and sensible, and so it is easy empathise with him when things take a turn for the dramatic. On the other hand, Sousuke's motivations are purposely made unclear until his secret is revealed in the final episodes. There's nothing complex or excessively grim about his secret-- just that he makes mistakes as all teenagers do and wants to alleviate his regret by competing against his friend. Sousuke's goals are nothing so grand and cliché as being the best in the world, and that's precisely what makes it feel authentic. Furthermore, the two interact with each other as friends in the real world would in their situation. They aren't characterised by archetypes, catchphrases or 'moe' appeal as many of the others are, and the purity of their friendship is not dragged down by cheap fanservice and fujoshi appeal. They fight, disagree and have each other's back just as real friends do. I just can't say the same for the Iwatobi four. The Iwatobi four are far less interesting. Haru represents one of my largest issues with the series; by the end of the story, I did not understand him any more than I did at the very beginning. He swims and sweats for himself and then casts aside years of effort for absolutely no reason at all (unless you consider "I'm bored" to be valid characterisation), only to be fired up again when Rin pats him on the shoulder. Uh-huh. Much like the first season, he is blander than a piece of cardboard. Nagisa continues to exist largely as a vehicle for shota appeal and yaoi doujins, behaving so effeminately that even girls would find themselves feeling boyish in comparison. Rei on the other hand is much more interesting, fulfilling a sort of outsider role that the other three do not, but his presence feels a little bit on the uncanny side when you consider that he is a gender-swapped clone of Azusa from K-ON, right down to the inflections in his voice. And then there's Makoto who is just... there, neither offensive nor any great asset to the story. He's characterised more by his friendship with Haru than he is as his own person. Some of the side characters, like Rin's sister, Gou, add plenty of colour to the cast... but then you have Nitori who exists only to remind us what the show was originally created for. Nitori (who I have personally dubbed as 'That Fucking Guy' and found myself rushing towards the mute button whenever he appeared) is pure, shameless pandering for the fujoshi crowd. There is no reason for him to exist in the story. All he does throughout the series is follow Rin around like a stray kitten, blush and cry repeatedly, and ruin important moments by jumping into arguments that have nothing to do with him. He destroys half of Rin's scenes with his "d-don't fight!" and "y-you can do it!" and for that I despise him. The ending of Free certainly carries its share of emotional weight, and those who like the Iwatobi four more than I do will probably find themselves tearing up once or twice in the final episode. I just wish there was a bit more to it, something with more complexity than the typical "power of friendship" fare. It feels like that's all we ever see in sports anime these days. It's also worth nothing that the penultimate episode, set in Australia, actually has western people speaking proper English instead of the incomprehensible Engrish common in anime. Wow! There's still the "all foreigners are blonde" stereotype, but at least KyoAni shows they're willing to put effort into the smaller things. It should not come as any surprise given KyoAni's seemingly infinite budget, but Free looks amazing. The swimming matches are rendered with finesse and the backgrounds with incredible detail, resulting in a predominant feeling of awe when the characters find themselves in the massive national stadium for the first time. I also wouldn't be surprised if members of KyoAni travelled to Australia to gather research for the episode, given how alive and real the scenery feels. It certainly does more than just look nice. Had Free been drawn by almost any other studio, I'm not sure the characters and story would be anywhere near as effective. The music of Free is so great that it does not even need good writing in order to draw emotion from its audience. All that's needed is to listen and the scene will come alive. Even when it was a situation I would not normally give a rat's ass about, the background music grabbed and held my interest in what was going on. To be fair, though, there's no big, memorable track that defines a moment in the story and the ending theme does kinda ruin the moment in the later episodes as it transitions from drama to some upbeat pop song. Is Free a worthy sequel? It sure is, and I don't think there's any sane individual who could possibly think that the second season is a step back from the first. It improves upon its predecessor in virtually every regard, elevating itself from "fun garbage" into something that's consistently decent, occasionally even verging on the point of being 'good'. But that doesn't change the fact that it's Free and that Free has a very specific audience in mind. It certainly tries to increase its appeal by toning down the fanservice, but with Nitori's increased screen-time and various questionable scenes (like Rin and Haru sharing a bed in one episode), I still don't think KyoAni has any qualms about alienating those outside its primary demographic. And I guess that's how it's always been and always will be. KyoAni still has a long ways to go in order to redeem themselves, but the second season of Free is at least a step in the right direction.

silverwalls★ 9

The swimming boys are back! Free! kept its promise from season one ("See you next summer...") and returned for another season of swimming, slice of life and manservice. After the first season of five guys swimming competitively and their daily (mis)adventures turned out to be a huge success, it was no surprise that it would get a continuation. And now that the second season finished, how does it compete with its prequel? Following the story of season one, Free!: Eternal Summer starts off with a new high school term. Makoto and Haruka are now third years, while Rei and Nagisa are now second years at Iwatobi.And how else would they start off a new year if not with swimming? They return to the swim club and begin with the search for new members - failing in the process, participating in a friendly competition against the team of Samezuka, dealing with their individual struggles, and much more. All that while they practice and try to improve their swimming even more to participate in the regionals - in hope of success this time. Speaking of Samezuka, in the meantime Eternal Summer gives us an insight on the swimming team of Samezuka as well - with Rin as the new team captain and a couple of new members the Samazuka swimmers are up for a fresh start and ready for more challenges. A huge focus here is the addition of Sousuke - an old childhood friend of Rin's, who transfers from another school for certain reasons. But swimming is of course not the entire focus of the show. Just like season one, Eternal Summer is filled with lots of slice of life moments, because as we are all aware, Free! is not all about sports. It is not trying to be, anyways. Unlike other sports-themed series, the focus on seemingly "plotless" scenes is a huge one, and Eternal Summer is continuing to deliver great slice of life moments that evoke all sorts of emotions. If Iwatobi's hopeless yet funny search for new members, the heartwarming Nagisa-centered episode or the stunning trip to Australia - in the slice of life aspect, Free! is undoubtedly convincing. Another central theme of the second season is future. As Haruka, Makoto and Rin are in their last year of high school, it is an unavoidable question of what they will do after graduating. Definitely an interesting topic, and a good set-up for drama. Now, the drama - and the resolution - in Free! is often cheesy and overdramatic - and in the case of this season it is the case too, but still an improvement from season one. Especially episode nine shows how good drama in Free! can be - in this episode it was very well executed. Story-wise, if you enjoyed season one for its story (or the lack of it in most parts) then you will like it in season two just as much. Lots of friendship, drama, slice of life, swimming is just as present here and just as enjoyable. Character development is very much noticeable in season two. And this even though the cast has not changed much - the main group of five is still the same. The only important additions to the characters are Sousuke, whom I mentioned before, and Momotarou, Seijuurous younger brother, who joins the Samezuka swim team as well. And even though the change is small, the characters go through crucial developments, making them even more interesting than in season one. Starting off with Haru, who already opened himself a little more compared to season one - while in latter he did not really take interest in swimming competitively ("I only swim free.") the final of season one showed its effect. Haru now likes swimming together with his friends, and competing against them. And over the course of Eternal Summer he goes through development too - his struggle with the question if he wants to swim professionally or not makes for some really good drama. Rin's character is also a very interesting one in this season. From the angry and frustrated guy he was in season one he appears now as an easygoing character. It really shows how swimming with his old friends again returned him the joy of the sport. And as the new captain of the swimming team it shows even more. Makoto, Nagisa and Rei do not get as much focus as Haruka and Rin, though go through some development too. Makoto decides how he wants to continue after high school and continues to support his friends with all his might. Nagisa gets an episode dedicated to him that gives us more insight in his character and is the usual moodmaker of the group. Rei continues to improve his swimming and strengthens his bonds with the group. Just like season one, Free!: Eternal Summer stands out in the art aspect. The character designs look great as always and the animation is fluid. Especially the scenes where swimming is involved have spectacular animation. One other thing I noticed is how the background drawings are very detailed and beautiful too. It is especially noticeable in episode 12, which has a different setting from the other episodes. The scenery is stunning. Besides that, the series is as colorful as ever, fitting the mood of the show nicely. A thing I could criticize here is that some scenes were not as well animated as others, but this does not disturb the overall performance. In terms of music, season two continues with the same old recipe for success. For the opening, we get a new catchy J-Rock song by the band OLDCODEX, that holds well up with season one's opening. The ending song is another fun song by the main cast of the show, accompanied by a hilarious ending animation. The background music continues to be nice, too. Overall, Free!: Eternal Summer continues to be a fun series with great character development and nice music and art. Thus, I give it an overall rating of 9/10.