Getting my feet wet...

            In my infinite free (pun pending) time I decided to try my hand at doing a 'newbie recap' of an anime series. I got the idea from the many such recaps from TheMarySue.com but I don't know if that is where they originated. If anyone doesn't know this is a review/recap of a show in which the reviewer has little exposure/experience with the series in question. If there is any doubt, there are spoilers.

            I selected Free for my first newbie recap for no particular reason; lately it seems to have gained quite a bit of popularity in my friend group and despite it not being something I'd typically watch I decided to give it a shot.  From what I can tell (and I have done absolutely no research to verify this) Free seems to be what kicked off the recent boom in 'gay sports anime'. I don't recall too many before Free became popular but now there seems to be quite a  few others; Volleyball, Basketball...and Biking I think? Wake me when we get a gay fencing anime...there would be no end to the innuendos.

            Alrighty, before actually starting the episode here is about everything I know about Free

1.                  It is about swimming. Boys swimming to be particular. Mmyep.

2.                  Either there is gayness or strongly implied homosexuality.

3.                  It has quite a bit of 'feels' to quote my friends. Friendship is magic.

4.                  One character takes off his clothing near water. Often. I think so anyway.

5.                  One character is a mother fucking shark or something.

And that is pretty much it. And so with no further delay, let me start the first episode.

Our champions, ladies and gentlemen.

Episode 1: Reunion at the Starting Block!

            Taking a wild guess based on the name of episode one, the series is about a bunch of old friends who meet up to swim in high school. I think I remember hearing something about a swim club. We shall see.

            My first thoughts after the episode began were 'damn that's pretty'. I give it immediate points for animation quality. We begin the episode where any good anime about swimming should...in a pool. We are quickly introduced to to several characters. Haruka 'Haru' Nanase, a dark haired icy-boy who swims while philosophizing and only swims for the sake of swimming and Rin Matsuoka, a competetive red-haired transfer student. There are also two fanboys but we don't get their names yet. All I really learn here is that Haru seems to view the water as his girl(boy?)friend.

            Turns out the first scene was a flashback from middle school, probably, and we catch back up with an older Haru in a bathtub. He has an overly dramatic way of letting the audience know he is 17. Before anything else is established we go straight to the opening credits!

            The theme song is 'Rage On' by OLDCODEX and is pretty catchy. I like the song and the animation is good, if mildy suggestive at times. Surprisingly, the entire theme song was only about...85% shirtless.   

Makoto seems to have gotten used to this

            We get the name of one of the 'fanboys' from earlier, Makoto Tachibana who seems to be a kind, caring, easy going type. He looks like Stahl from Fire Emblem Awakening...and seems to act a little little like him too. Now that I think of it Haru looks a little like Crom as well...anyway,  Makoto seems to be close enough with Haru to just walk in on him bathing...in a bathing suit. What the shit Haru? Why? Is it because your friends typically enter your bathroom without knocking? I would wear one too in that case, I suppose. 

No. I'm too hot to be cold.

            Haru seems to literally live in his swimsuit but he does actually wear normal clothes while walking to school. My head-canon tells me that Makoto wouldn't let him leave the house until he got dressed. Makoto begins filling him in on what he missed in school but Haru seems to be too busy fantasizing about his lady-love, the Ocean. The boys' home room teacher is Miho Amakata (Miss Ama-chan), she seems nice if air-headed; I wonder how much of her we will actually be seeing...she is kinda adorable.

            So far this episode has had less amount pool than I was expecting; you mean this show does things outside of the pool? My expectations are already shattered. Just before lunch we meet another of the boys from the opening, Nagisa Hazuki. Nagisa seems like a puppy. The chipper young thing has an idea about sneaking back to the Swimming Club where the went to as kids before it gets torn down. Haru is too cool for something like that until Makoto reminds him that the Swimming Club happens to have a pool. Haru will not be kept from his mistress, he agrees to come.

            Back at Haru's place I am led to believe that he is only willing to consume things that come from the sea or live in water. I do not think this water fixation of his is healthy. The boys wish that the last member of their club, Rin, could join them for their petty crimes but alas! He left for Australia 4 years ago to go to a swimming school. Fearing the place is haunted Nagisa throws salt on all of them, but the dippy little guy accidentally brought sugar instead. Nagisa, you are adorable but what would have happened if you had actually brought salt? I'm pretty sure if you actually threw salt on Water-boy Haru he would dry up and die...

Legitimate deal going on here...

            It seems that the boys are here to dig up their time capsule...which explains the shovel Makoto had been carrying. Makoto's fear of the dark is something I would have expected from Nagisa. C'mon Makoto, if you run into trouble just smack it with your shovel. They meet Rin in the hallway, who seems a little less spunky then he used to but he makes up for it by having his own theme music. Their rocky reunion can mean only one thing...battle royal! Or...swim race...either way.

Holy Fan Service Batman!

            Am I surprised that Haru was wearing his swim suit all day? No, no I'm not. Their race, however is called on account of water. Seems Haru's girlfriend was a no show; the pool was empty. Rin leaves in a huff, casually tossing their old trophy behind him. Rin is kind of a dick.

            Also we keep seeing this 'Gou' girl around but she hasn't really done anything other than stare at the swim-boys. If I had to guess I would assume she is Rin's sister. I say this using the circumstantial evidence of her hair color.

            Nagisa and Makoto get chewed out for the trespassing they did last night...but I have no idea how the faculty found out. Unless they are such nice-guy-good-people that they turned themselves in for it. I actually wouldn't be too surprised if that was the case given what I have seen of Nagisa and Makoto. Their teacher tries to bail them out by going off on a wild philosophical tangent. I think I love her already.

Would someone think of Li Bai?!

            After school Gou (confirmed as Rin's sister) tries to visit Haru but he is too busy doing Haru-things...yeah, he is back in the bathtub. Does he sleep in there? Sheesh. Instead Gou (or Kou as she prefers) meets Makoto and Nagisa. Gou/Kou is possibly a stalker of Haru, but otherwise informs them that her brother goes to some boarding school with a  'powerhouse' swim team. Nagisa and Makoto convince Haru to join them in visiting this school by dropping the 's' word and the 'p' word (Swim and Pool, what are you thinking?). They could convince him to go anywhere if they insinuate a opportunity to swim. Dude's got it bad.

            Outside the pool of Samezuka High, the boys look for Rin. Rather Nagisa and Makoto look for Rin while Haru tries to strip so he can swim. The drill sergeant of a coach doesn't seem to be a turn off for him at all. Once everyone leaves, the boys blink and Haru is already in the pool. Nagisa joins him without hesitation (or a swim suit). Makoto is also convinced to get(read 'dragged') into the pool. He swims with all the clothing that Nagisa is currently lacking. I am impressed with the way he removed his wet shirt...dude just tears it right off. I have never been able to get out of wet clothes that seamlessly.

Hey baby, care for a skinny-dip?

Rin crashes their party (bringing his own theme music again)...it seems he is the motherfucking shark. Is that why he went to Australia? To become a shark? Rin tries to tell them to GTFO but Haru is all 'bring it bitch', and challenges him to a swim race. We close the episode with them about to duke it out 'free-style'. The pun had a high degree of difficulty.

I whip my hair back and forth.

Ending theme, Splash Free by Free Cast is very catchy but what the hell am I watching? It is like a cross between Lawrence of Arabia and Step Up. I don't even...

Episode 2: Memories in the Distance!

Behold! Shark-boy!

            Episode 2 jumps right back into the race. Haru the Water Enthusiast vs. Sharkbite Rin. We don't get to see the end of the race, but judging from Rin's anger issues, he lost. Moving right along we find Haru doing his thing (that's bathing if you didn't guess). This hardcore motherfucker doesn't even care about how that race went down.

I need a hobby...

         Back in school, our boys are in trouble for trespassing again. Miss Ama-chan tries to cut in again but gets shut down hard. Try hard Ama-chan! Afterward Nagisa totally Bugs Bunny-ed Gou/Kou.  That was Beautiful. Anyway Gou/Kou wanted to ask our boys about her dick of a brother. Turns out that he is also giving the cold shoulder to her as well. Did Rin get punched by a kangaroo while he was away or something? Clearly the only answer to the situation of their cranky friend is to form a swim club. Wait...what? At least that is Nagisa's plan. His reasoning is that they could see Rin in tournaments (and presumably get some answers from him). Um...you know where he goes to school, there are easier ways to get in touch. I think Nagisa just wants to swim with his homeboys but whateves.

Duck season! Rabbit season!

            They call a conference in Haru's office (bathtub) to discuss the idea of a club. Haru is actually on board with the idea but I assume that is just so he can flirt with his true love...water. Also Gou/Kou seems to have a thing for Haru, at least according to sparkle-vision.  During the meeting I do detect Haru being a bit hurt by Rin not contacting them over the four years he was gone (like at New Years when he came home); does Haru have feelings for someone/something other than H20? The plot thickens.

            The next day Nagisa has the form for the Swim Club. Turns out he is a grade A bullshitter when it comes to paperwork. They discuss making Makoto the team captain instead of Haru, while Haru gets the duty-less Vice Captain rank. Nagisa is treasurer and they pretty much blackmail Ama-chan to be their faculty advisor.

Ours is the swimming that shall pierce the heavens!

            Elsewhere Gou/Kou is trying to visit the cranky shark. She misses him at the dorm so she tries the pool. Considering the sparkle-vision at all of the shirtless men, maybe she is less interested in Haru and more interested in half-clad men, specifically 'triceps and pecs'...Jury is still out. Here we get our first plot twist: “There is no one named Matsuoka on the swim team”. Dun dun duuuuun! Great White Rin is not currently on a swim team at all!

            Rin has a brief scene of returning to the old swim club to grab a pic. This kid seems to have some darker issues beneath his shark-like exterior.

            Back with our boys, they have their club approved! They only have two small hurdles to overcome. First off they need one more member. Secondly they have to clean the pool. Okay...that second one is actually a fairly large hurdle. This is handled in a montage so I don't have much to say....never mind, Haru is trying to get into an aquarium at a supply store. Dude, your water addiction is out of control. 

I can quit any time I want!

       Also Nagisa seems to have taken his art lessons straight from Picasso. While Haru, on the other hand seems to have painted the ocean like one of his french girls.

            We get another split-second of Rin looking at his picture longingly. It seems to be of the swim club before Haru, Nagisa, and Makoto joined. He has his emo moment and we get back to the cheerier people. Someone should call a depression hotline for this guy...pushing away people when you seem lonely isn't helping dawg...er...shawk.

            On to the recruiting; Nagisa is best pitch man ever, He gets turned down by a blue-haird glasses-guy who shows up in the theme, so I'm pretty sure they'll get him soon. I'm a regular Sherlock. Otherwise he has no luck so it is back to the drawing board. They discuss whoring out their teacher but she is having none of it...and seems like she'll shank a bitch if they suggest such a thing again. Ama-chan says she swore she would never wear a swimsuit again...I bet there is a story there.

Hey baby, care to join the swim team?

            Gou/Kou tells Makoto that Rin never joined his new school's swim team while Makoto gives plot twist #2: Shark-boy won the race earlier in the episode. Wat. Then again, it seems Rin is a poor winner, he practically strangles Haru with his goggles. From what I can tell Rin is pretty competitive but hates it when his competition isn't giving it their all, while Haru just wants to swim because swimming; boy just likes to be in water. That aside, Gou/Kou agrees to join as the team manager, hoping that it will help her brother return to his former self. The only flaw I see is that if Rin isn't on the other swim team, will any of this actually help? Then again if Haru is competing it is only a matter of time before Rin smells blood in the water.

            Stahl, er, Makoto is at a family dinner; turns out he is a pretty good older brother, but he gets the bad news from his father that the old club is finally being torn down. He goes to see it and runs into Coach Sasabe. Well, former coach, he is now a Pizza delivery guy. The coach spills the beans that Haru and Rin (wait...typing that gives me Fruits Basket flashbacks...okay, I'm good now) actually met during Rin's first New Years visit for a race...and Haru kicked ass while Rin was a sore loser. Rin, are you ever happy? You hate losing but you flip shit if you win. Calm your tits, man. Makoto figures out one important thing; Haru quit swimming before because he had hurt Rin by beating his specially trained ass. Makoto calls Rin to try to nudge him into joining a swim team, which he already seemed to have decided on his own.

We end with the first swim team meeting. Haru is barely containing himself in his clothes...nevermind he is in the pool despite the water being too cold. Oh Haru...

Final thoughts

            So far I am enjoying this series. The animation is beautiful and the pacing is pretty good. I give the soundtrack high marks as well. Character designs are pretty good so far, and I gotta say...these dudes have pretty eyes. Right now my favorite character is a toss up between Nagisa and Gou/Kou but it is still pretty early. Nagisa's happy-go-lucky attitude is very entertaining and Gou/Kou's fantasizing is definitely amusing. Haru is hilarious at times but otherwise the dude is pretty bland, but that does emphasize his more ridiculous parts; he seems like a very deep (pool pun intened) character and I am interested in seeing how he develops. I am rather interested in learning more about Rin and what role he will play; right now he isn't doing much for me but he has a lot of potential to shake the series depending on his actions. I hope Sharky can really sink his teeth in. Makoto is great as a straight man (the comedy term, no idea on these guy's sexuality) and I like his attitude. I also greatly enjoy Ama-chan and hope to see much more of her. So, yeah, I like the characters.

I hope to have more next week. Until then!