History Anime / Free

The media distribution service Website/{{Crunchyroll}} is streaming the series under the name ''[[http://www.crunchyroll.com/free-iwatobi-swim-club/episode-1-627937 Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club]]'' (they've also sub-licensed the show to Creator/DiscotekMedia for a [=DVD=] release, but this seemed to change, due to Crunchyroll announcing at Anime Expo 2016 [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-07-01/crunchyroll-to-dub-release-anime-on-bd-dvd/.103876 that they are doing their own Blu-ray and DVD releases]]), while Creator/FUNimation has licensed the second season ''Eternal Summer''. An English-dubbed version for the second season being done by [=FUNimation=] has been announced, and an English-dubbed version for the first season began streaming on Crunchyroll starting in December 2015 (Discotek's DVD release remains sub-only, while Website/{{Crunchyroll}} announced at Anime Expo 2016 that they are bringing the dubbed version of Season 1 to Blu-ray and DVD themselves).

* ArabianNightsDays: The first-season ED sequence of ''Anime/{{Free}}'' [[FemaleGaze gives us]] the Iwatobi guys plus Rin dressed in Arabian-styled outfits. [[{{Keet}} Nagisa's]] in particular makes him look a lot like a BellyDancer.

* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Rin and Gou.

* SenpaiKohai: By ''Dive to the Future'', all of the younger year characters (Nagisa, Rei, Gou, Aiichiro, and to some extent, Momo,) have become the new upperclassmen to some new students to the Swimming Club. Their dynamic and how they adjust to being the seniors looks to be a subplot while the college kids have their own dillemmas.

* ExcitedShowTitle: ''Free!''

''Free!'' is an anime by Creator/KyotoAnimation that is a SportsStory surrounding the lives of HighSchool swimmers. It premiered on July 3, 2013 and it is based on ''LightNovel/HighSpeed2013'', a novel by Kouji Ouji. The novel was originally entered into the 2nd Kyoto Animation Award contest and received an honorable mention. A [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NqRG88E-s8 commercial released]] before the series was officially announced gained a sizable fanbase on both Tumblr and Pixiv due to the shirtless {{Bishonen}} featured. The show was quickly dubbed "Swimming Anime" before its actual name was revealed. It is co-produced by Animation Do (the Osaka subsidiary of [[Creator/KyotoAnimation KyoAni]]), and is directed by Hiroko Utsumi (marking her directorial debut) with Masahiro Yokotani serving as series composer, and Futoshi Nishiya as character designer and chief animation director.

* UnfinishedDub: As of 2023, the only installments of the series that, for unknown reasons, haven't seen English dubs are ''Road to the World'' and both parts of ''The Final Stroke''.

* {{Engrish}}: Rin and Rei in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkcFrZqpcf4 the preview after Episode 10.]] Good ''lord''. You would think that Rin would have better English after three years in Australia.
** The opening song as described by GratuitousEnglish further down.
** In Season 2 episode 2, Sasabe holds a Splash Fest in his new swimming club but the poster says "SPRASHU FES". Even Rei points this out.
** The Rei/Rin Engrish wars continue in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYxrfywvJH4 preview]] for ''Eternal Summer'' episode 8.
** Rin's Engrish shows up yet again in ''Eternal Summer'' episode 12, and it stands out even more in comparison to the English spoken by the Australian characters, since they're voiced by actual Australians.
*** And once more in ''Dive to the Future'' scenes showing him with his new college swim club.

* SempaiKohai: By ''Dive to the Future'', all of the younger year characters (Nagisa, Rei, Gou, Aiichiro, and to some extent, Momo,) have become the new upperclassmen to some new students to the Swimming Club. Their dynamic and how they adjust to being the seniors looks to be a subplot while the college kids have their own dillemmas.

* {{Bishonen}}: The entire main cast but they are much more muscular (due to their athletic activities) than your regular bishonen.
* BizarreHumanBiology: ''Timeless Medley: Promises'' revealed that Rin inherited his shark teeth from his father. Pictures of both Matsuoka men when they were younger indicate that these teeth somehow grew in at puberty. Humans only have two sets of teeth.

* SpearCounterpart: Commonly seen as one to ''Anime/KOn'' (replace the [[{{Moe}} cute girls]] with {{Bishounen}}, the light music club with a swimming club, switch some AlwaysFemale tropes with their [[SpearCounterpart male equivalents]] and you've got very similar shows), but it also has parallels to ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha''. Just like Nanoha catered to the PeripheryDemographic of adult men who watch MagicalGirl shows for the {{Moe}} and LesYay, ''Free!'' seems designed for fangirls who watch sports anime for the HoYay and hot guys.

''Free!'' is an anime by Creator/KyotoAnimation that is a SportsStory surrounding the lives of HighSchool swimmers. It premiered on [[Summer2013Anime July 3, 2013]] and it is based on ''LightNovel/HighSpeed2013'', a novel by Kouji Ouji. The novel was originally entered into the 2nd Kyoto Animation Award contest and received an honorable mention. A [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NqRG88E-s8 commercial released]] before the series was officially announced gained a sizable fanbase on both Tumblr and Pixiv due to the shirtless {{Bishonen}} featured. The show was quickly dubbed "Swimming Anime" before its actual name was revealed. It is co-produced by Animation Do (the Osaka subsidiary of [[Creator/KyotoAnimation KyoAni]]), and is directed by Hiroko Utsumi (marking her directorial debut) with Masahiro Yokotani serving as series composer, and Futoshi Nishiya as character designer and chief animation director.

* AdaptedOut: Aki Yazaki, a female classmate in Haru and Makoto's class during elementary school and middle school, doesn't make it to any of the anime adaptations.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* HighSchool: Two of them!

* InSeriesNickname[=/=]AffectionateNickname:

* CryCute: [[spoiler: Rin, when he opens up to Haru and after they all swam in the relay together.]]
** [[spoiler: Haru, hugging his teammates after the Nationals' relay. Everyone has cried, but Haru is the most fitting for this trope.]]

* BishieSparkle: Just look at the page picture! {{Justified}} since it's mostly pool water.

* RealPlaceBackground: In episode 12 of ''Eternal Summer '', Rin and Haru visit real life locations in Sydney, Australia including [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyde_Park Hyde Park]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bondi_Beach Bondi Beach]].

When Rin returns years later with a [[TookALevelInJerkass nasty new attitude]] and [[TheRival a major grudge against Haruka]], his reappearance sets in motion a series of events that lead to the founding of the [[JapaneseSchoolClub Iwatobi High School Swimming Club]]. Along with Makoto, Nagisa, rookie Rei Ryugazaki and manager [[TheSmurfettePrinciple Gou Matsuoka]], Haruka reawakens his passion for competitive swimming in the hope of getting through to Rin.

* MessyHair[=/=]UnkemptBeauty: Nagisa, Rei, and Gou have this when they woke up from their individual beds in Episode 8.
* MoodWhiplash: The endings of the later ''Eternal Summer'' episodes tend to go like this: TearJerker, angst, at least one character crying, HEY FUTURE FISH!!

* TheCastShowOff: Apart from singing the OP, "Rage On", Creator/TatsuhisaSuzuki does his character songs as Makoto.

* Unnamed ''Free!'' property, meant to be released in 2020 but was postponed to 2021.

* CPRCleanPrettyReliable: [[spoiler: Zigzagged in episode 6. On one hand, the head tilt/chin lift to open Makoto’s airway is animated realistically, and Haruka correctly moves the victim to safety, checks for responsiveness, and attempts to call for help. And it certainly wasn’t a KissOfLife ploy on Makoto’s part. On the other hand, Haruka uses a Walking Assist on an unconscious victim [[note]] which would be difficult if not impossible. Supporting from the side only works if the victim can walk on his own [[/note]], and Makoto’s breathing is just about the last thing he checks. Then Haruka almost gives rescue breaths while Makoto is clearly [[WorstAid still breathing]]. And it ends with no mention of Makoto going to the hospital although he nearly drowned.]]

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** When Haruka encounters Rin in their old abandoned school, they immediately start gearing up for an epic swimming match. This is interrupted when they discover why their friends were trying to stop them: the pool that hasn't been used in years has no water in it. They narrowly avert EmptySwimmingPoolDive.
** In episode 5, the group wanted to go to a deserted island to train, but they couldn't go right off the bat because of their lack of money. Even Ama-chan mentioned that clubs automatically having money to go places only happens in anime and manga.
** The Iwatobi members only had a few weeks to train before their first tournament. [[spoiler: None of them make it past their individual prelims.]]
** In Episode 12, [[spoiler: Rei gives his spot in the Butterfly leg of the relay to Rin. The Iwatobi team wins, but they're disqualified for putting another school's swimmer on their team.]]
** During the beginning of Season 2, the gang tries to market their club to the incoming freshmen, but they're not quite sure how to do it. Gou suggests (and implements) the swim team showing off their strokes and their " {{charm| point}} [[{{Fanservice}} points]]" to get people interested. Which would be fine itself, but with the added bonus of ''stripping onstage'' to do the aforementioned actions. It only puts potential hopefuls off, and they turn their attention towards other clubs. In fact they only start getting results after Iwatobi's swim team wins nationals, showing that the team is capable and worth their time. You can't win ''everyone'' over with {{Fanservice}}.
** For a more dramatic turn, [[spoiler: Sousuke's shoulder injury only got worse and worse [[{{Determinator}} the more he pushed himself and worked harder at swimming]]. Even going to physical therapy didn't help much, because at that point his shoulder was beyond repair. It continued until he basically wrecked his shoulder and dashed any hope of making it back to professional swimming ever again]].

* RealityEnsues: