Free!

The Series
Free! (フリー！ Furī!) is a Japanese anime television series produced by Kyoto Animation and Animation Do. The anime is a sequel to the light novel, High☆Speed！, written by Kouji Ohji, which received an Honorable Mention in the second Kyoto Animation Award contest in 2011 and was published in July 2013. Season One, titled Free!-Iwatobi Swim Club- for international distribution, aired in Japan in 2013 with Season Two, titled Free!-Eternal Summer-, airing in 2014. A third season of the anime series titled Free!-Dive to the Future- aired in 2018. Hiroko Utsumi directed the first two seasons, while season three was directed by Eisaku Kawanami.

An animated film adapting the second volume of the light novel, High☆Speed！－Free! Starting Days－, was released in December 2015. A film trilogy was released in 2017 with the first two films being compilations of both seasons of the anime series titled Free!-Timeless Medley- the Bond and Free!-Timeless Medley- the Promise. The third film in the trilogy titled Free!-Take Your Marks- featured a quartet of new stories about the ensemble cast. A compilation film encompassing the third season, titled Free!-Road to the World- the Dream, debuted in July 2019 with another film slated for release some time in 2020.

Synopses
'''Free! (Season One)''' is set in the town of Iwatobi, Japan, which is based on Iwami, Tottori. The story is centered on high school student Haruka Nanase, a gifted swimmer. After encountering his childhood rival, Rin Matsuoka from Samezuka Academy, he and his friends revitalize the Iwatobi High School Swim Club. In addition to his childhood friends, Makoto Tachibana and Nagisa Hazuki, Rei Ryugazaki is recruited onto the team. While the team trains for tournaments, Haruka and Rin's rivalry continues to sour from Rin facing setbacks in improvement, though his desire to swim competitively escalates. However, during the prefectural tournament, Iwatobi's swim team reminds Rin of their friendship through a medley relay. Despite being disqualified, the swim team's relationships with each other improves.

Free!-Eternal Summer- (Season Two), has Haruka in his final year in high school, but undecided on what to do after graduation. Meanwhile, Rin's childhood friend, Sosuke Yamazaki, transfers to Samezuka Academy. Rin hopes to swim competitively with Sosuke, but unbeknownst to him, Sosuke has injured his shoulder from overuse. During the regionals, Haruka becomes overwhelmed from the pressure of performing in front of scouts and quits mid-race. However, with help from his friends, he decides to continue his swimming career and compete on the college level.

In Free!-Dive to the Future- (Season Three), Haruka attends Hidaka University and reconnects with Asahi Shiina, his swim club teammate from middle school. He also runs into Ikuya Kirishima, another former teammate who is still bitter about their middle school's swim team breaking up. In order to make amends with Ikuya, Haruka begins training in other strokes besides freestyle to compete in Individual Medleys. Although he eventually rebuilds his friendship with Ikuya, he is faced with the reality that he will be competing against swimmers at his level and higher. Despite this, he commits to continuing his swimming career and to competing on the global level.

Main Characters

 * Haruka Nanase (CV: Nobunaga Shimazaki (Japanese), Todd Haberkorn (English) )
 * Makoto Tachibana (CV: Tatsuhisa Suzuki (Japanese), Johnny Yong Bosch (English) )
 * Nagisa Hazuki (CV: Tsubasa Yonaga (Japanese), Greg Ayres (English) )
 * Rei Ryugazaki (CV: Daisuke Hirakawa (Japanese), J. Michael Tatum (English) )
 * Rin Matsuoka (CV: Mamoru Miyano (Japanese), Vic Mignogna (English) )
 * Sosuke Yamazaki (CV: Yoshimasa Hosoya (Japanese), Ian Sinclair (English) )
 * Kisumi Shigino (CV: Chihiro Suzuki (Japanese), Eric Vale (English) )
 * Asahi Shiina (CV: Toshiyuki Toyonaga (Japanese),  Christopher Llewyn Ramirez (English) )
 * Ikuya Kirishima (CV: Koki Uchiyama (Japanese),  Lee George (English) )
 * Hiyori Tono (CV: Ryohei Kimura (Japanese), Jason Liebrecht  (English) )

Secondary Characters

 * Gou Matsuoka (CV: Akeno Watanabe (Japanese), Jamie Marchi (English) )
 * Miho Amakata (CV: Satsuki Yukino (Japanese), Caitlin Glass (English) )
 * Aiichiro Nitori (CV: Kouki Miyata (Japanese), Josh Grelle (English) )
 * Seijuro Mikoshiba (CV: Kenjiro Tsuda (Japanese), Robert McCollum (English) )
 * Goro Sasabe (CV: Hiroshi Yanaka (Japanese), Christopher R. Sabat (English) )
 * Momotaro Mikoshiba (CV: Kenichi Suzumura (Japanese), Jerry Jewell (English) )
 * Romio Hayahune (CV: Atsushi Abe (Japanese) , Parker Gray  (English) )
 * Shizuru Isurugi (CV: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Japanese) , Alejandro Saab  (English) )
 * Ayumu Kunikida (CV: Ryo Hirohashi (Japanese) , Apphia Yu  (English) )
 * Mikhail Makarovich Nitori (CV: Hidenobu Kiuchi  (Japanese) , Phil Parsons  (English) )
 * Ryuji Azuma (CV: Takeshi Kusao  (Japanese), Brandon Potter (English) )

Production Staff
Studio: Kyoto Animation, Animation DO

Director: Hiroko Utsumi

Script, Series Composition: Masahiro Yokotani

Character Design: Futoshi Nishiya

Art Director: Joji Unoguchi

Director of Photography: Kazuya Takao

Music: Tatsuya Kato

Sound Director: Yota Tsuruoka

Musical Production: Lantis

Production: Iwatobi High School Swimming Club

TV
ABC: 3 July 2013, 26:44  (4 July 2013, 02:44)

TOKYO MX: 3 July 2013, 24:30 (4 July 2013, 00:30)

TV Aichi: 3 July 2013, 26:05 (4 July 2013, 02:05)

BS11: 7 July 2013, 24:00

AT-X: 10 July 2013, 22:00

Animax: 20 August 2013, 22:00

Online Streaming
Nico Nico Douga: 8 July 2013, 22:00

ABC Video Club: 8 July 2013, 22:00

※The dates and times are in accordance with Japanese time zone.

Magazine Scans
Sourced from Newtype Magazine August 2014 Issue