Free!–the Final Stroke–

Free!–the Final Stroke– (劇場版 Free!–the Final Stroke– Gekijou-ban Free!–the Final Stroke– lit. Free!–the Final Stroke– the Movie) is an upcoming pair of animated films produced by Kyoto Animation and ANIMATION DO. The first movie in the pair, Zenpen (前編 lit. first part), released on September 17, 2021. The second movie, Kouhen (後編 lit. latter part), is scheduled for theatrical release on April 22, 2022.

Overview
The movies appear to be a continuation of the events of the Free! anime's third season, Free!-Dive to the Future-. The original movie was scheduled for a mid-2020 release; however, due to a variety of impeding circumstances, the release dates were changed.

The first movie's new release date, along with the first teaser trailer, was revealed at the end of the Free! Series ORCHESTRA CONCERT 2020. The movie titles, and the fact it will be released in two parts, were revealed as part of the livestream held for the Free! series' eighth anniversary on April 26, 2021.

On June 25, 2021, it was announced that OLDCODEX, who have provided the opening themes for the anime as well as the ending theme for High☆Speed！－Free! Starting Days－, will be in charge of the theme song for Zenpen. On July 26, 2021, it was revealed alongside a new trailer for the movie that the new theme will be a remake of Heading to Over titled Heading to Over - Version:Free -. The single was scheduled to release on September 15, 2021.

Tatsuhisa Suzuki, the vocalist for OLDCODEX and the voice of Makoto Tachibana, announced that he would be taking a temporary hiatus from all singing and acting activities until further notice as of August 4, 2021, due to health concerns. As such, KyoAni announced on August 17, 2021, that the movie's theme song CD, Heading to Over - Version:Free -, would be postponed for the time being.

A second notice was released on August 19 assuring fans of the series that due to Tatsuhisa's attachment to the series, his nuanced portrayal of Makoto, and his good relationship with the other cast members and the series' fans, he will not be replaced as the voice of Makoto for the movies.

Synopsis
"The third season is more about securing a future, so it seems like anime fans are in for Olympic swimming references with the new Free! movie. The only mystery is whether the new film will be a plot-setter for Season 4 or it will dive right into the meat of the plot. Similar to how the 2017 movie Free! Take Your Marks! lead up to the events of Free! Season 3: Dive To The Future, the 2021 film is likely to set up the circumstances for Free! Season 4."

''Note: A more specific synopsis will be forthcoming once details are known. Additionally, no season 4 for the series has been officially announced, so this is merely speculation from this particular review site.''

Main

 * Haruka Nanase (CV: Nobunaga Shimazaki (Japanese) )
 * Makoto Tachibana (CV: Tatsuhisa Suzuki (Japanese) )
 * Rin Matsuoka (CV: Mamoru Miyano (Japanese) )
 * Ikuya Kirishima (CV: Koki Uchiyama (Japanese) )
 * Asahi Shiina (CV: Toshiyuki Toyonaga (Japanese) )
 * Nagisa Hazuki (CV: Tsubasa Yonaga (Japanese) )
 * Rei Ryugazaki (CV: Daisuke Hirakawa (Japanese) )
 * Hiyori Tono (CV: Ryohei Kimura (Japanese) )
 * Sosuke Yamazaki (CV: Yoshimasa Hosoya (Japanese) )
 * Natsuya Kirishima (CV: Kenji Nojima (Japanese) )
 * Nao Serizawa (CV: Satoshi Hino (Japanese) )
 * Aiichiro Nitori (CV: Kouki Miyata (Japanese) )
 * Momotaro Mikoshiba (CV: Kenichi Suzumura (Japanese) )
 * Kisumi Shigino (CV: Chihiro Suzuki (Japanese) )
 * Gou Matsuoka (CV: Akeno Watanabe (Japanese) )
 * Romio Hayahune (CV: Atsushi Abe (Japanese) )
 * Shizuru Isurugi (CV: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Japanese) )
 * Ayumu Kunikida (CV: Ryo Hirohashi (Japanese) )
 * Ryuji Azuma (CV: Takeshi Kusao (Japanese) )
 * Mikhail Makarovich Nitori (CV: Hidenobu Kiuchi (Japanese) )
 * Albert Volandel (CV: Jeff Manning (Japanese) )
 * Kaede Kinjou (CV: Daisuke Ono (Japanese) )
 * Isuzu Mikoshiba (CV: Rina Satoh (Japanese) )
 * Takuya Uozumi (CV: Nobuyori Sagara (Japanese) )
 * Kazuki Minami (CV: Masayoshi Sugawara (Japanese) )

Production Staff
Studio: Kyoto Animation, Animation DO

Director: Eisaku Kawanami