Free! Eternal Summer

Art (7): This is the only truly good thing about this show. The animation is gorgeous. I've always love Kyoto Animation's aesthetic and they way they animate faces and emotions and the subtleties in the character's expressions. But, I have to say that the characters aren't even really deep enough to animate truly subtle emotions on their faces, one of the things that makes the Haruhi Suzumiya character animations amazing as well as the Lucky Star animation, or what I've watched of the Nichijou adaptation. Granted all the characters in those stories are far more interesting and compelling just as people who have lives outside of what the central theme of the show is, but now I'm off point. My point is that the animation is amazing. The show is very pretty. And that's its biggest plus. Sound (3): The only music I remember even remotely liking is the ending theme. Which wasn't as good as the first season's ending theme. The OP was as annoying as the first season's and just as unfitting. And I don't remember any other music at all. The dub is okay. I still think that J Michael Tatum was miscast as Rei, though he can be good at times. And Nagisa's voice got annoying after a while of hearing him WHINE AND WHINE AND WHINE! Story (4): Admittedly, the pacing is better than the first season. Probably because this one has a lot less to establish before just jumping in. The last season had to establish everyone's relationships with each other, then the swim club, then the whole thing with Rin, then get Rei into the club, then have Mako's fear of the ocean (which wasn't necessary, just random fluff), before the regionals. This one just has to establish Sousuke and Momo. Momo is fine. I don't really have any problems with Momo. He was a fine addition and he had good chemistry with the other Samazuka swimmers. We'll get to my problem with Sousuke. Anyway, yeah. The pacing and story was better than the last season (which isn't saying too much, the story was the weakest part of season 1) Characters (2): A lot of people love these characters. And I don't give this category such a low score because I hate them. I don't hate all of them. I liked Haru in the first season. I liked Rei in the first season. He was a legitimately entertaining character in the first season, and he still is in this one. I rank this category so low because of a few things. First: I assume that Rin, Mako, Haru, and Nagisa all met when they joined their kid swim league (if not, they knew each other even longer), which means they've all known each other for at least like... 10 years? 12? And SOMEHOW when Mako tells Haru he's already decided his future and Haru gets pissed that's somehow their FIRST FIGHT EVER? ARE YOU FREAKING SERIOUS? Alright, why this is ridiculous, okay. So, I have this friend who I've known for literally the same amount of time. 12 years. We've been best friends for 12 years. And we fight ALL THE TIME! I consider this person my honorary sibling, and we have pretty much all the same interests and incredibly similar opinions on a lot of these things and WE FIGHT ALL THE TIME! It's ridiculous. If it was Nagisa and Rei's first fight, that would make sense. They haven't known each other that long. Only like a year or two. But knowing someone for like 12 years to the point where you see them everyday and have NEVER had a fight is completely ridiculous. Second: Everyone assumes that Rei is gonna quit the swim club JUST because his former coach offers him a place on the track team and he's busy after school. Which is dumb. If he came up to them and said that he was gonna quit THEN you can freak out. Don't jump to conclusions. Third: Nagisa runs away from home just because his parents want him to quit the swim club because he's getting terrible grades. Any reasonable parent would do this. I WOULD DO THIS if my kids were getting bad grades. It doesn't mean "WE DON'T WANT YOU TO HAVE FUN!" It means "Hey, you need to get your grades up, and if you do you can go back to your club." It's the one part of the E Class system from Assassination Classroom that makes sense. Kids who don't do well shouldn't have the ability to participate in sports or clubs. That's also how schools work. At my school, if you got bad enough grades they wouldn't LET you join a sports team. This is how motivation works. It's not bad parenting. And all the teachers and club members treat it like it's ABUSIVE! If that's abusive, then almost every American high school is an abusive institution, as are many parents who are loving and caring and just want their kids to do well in school. My point is that this is ridiculous. Fourth: Since Rin, Mako, and Haru are about to graduate they choose to have these super 'emotional' and 'dramatic' conversations about future and dreams and being scouted literally every five minutes and it get so boring and cringey. At least the cringe in the first season wasn't this freaking constant. WE GET IT THEY'RE GRADUATING! I DON'T EVEN FREAKING CARE ANYMORE! GOD! SHUT UP! PLEASE! Fifth: And this is the worst one. Sousuke. Sousuke starts off likable and a reasonable character with realistic goal. Then, the main plot point surrounding him is that his shoulder is seriously injured because he neglected to take care of it when training. THIS IS FREAKING RIDICULOUS AND ILLOGICAL! ARE YOU SERIOUS? YOU REALLY WANT ME TO BUY THIS? Okay, maybe this is harder for me to swallow because I used to be a swimmer myself and I didn't take it anywhere near half as seriously as Sousuke takes it. Any time I had any pain, even minor, I would immediately report it to my coach. Even if I wasn't sure it was swimming related. ANY SENSIBLE HUMAN BEING WOULD IMMEDIATELY TELL THEIR COACH AS SOON AS THEIR SHOULDER STARTED BOTHERING THEM! And then GET A DOCTOR! No one as strongly into being a professional swimmer as Sousuke would allow an injury to get to the point that it hinders him FROM SWIMMING! Seriously. I once sprained my wrist outside of swimming, and while it didn't prevent me from swimming, my coach literally PULLED ME OUT OF THE POOL AND WRAPPED IT FOR ME when I told her about it. This is the responsible thing to do. Sousuke is an idiot. Overall (3): Watch any other better Kyoto Animation Show or sports anime rather than this series. Please.

Story: Well, I don't know how much I should write about this because this is the second season, and I already said that the show was great all together. The second season wasn't as fun as the first one, but it still had great elements. I guess it got a little dull because the four friends reunited after so long. However, it has new drama since Haruka, Makoto, and Rin are going to college in the next spring. It's still a 9 out of 10. Art: I'm not going to repeat myself because I explained it in the first season review. 10/10. Sound: The opening and ending themes are different in this anime. I prefer season 2's opening than the first season's to be honest with you. I can imagine listening to it whenever I'm bored than the other one. The ending theme is very weird. I guess the creators were trying to go for more of a humorous theme than a sweet one in season two, but I can't even take it serious. From what I can understand, it's titled, "Future Fish." Anything with that title you see, you would have to prepare for the weirdness that comes right afterwards. I guess what I can say about scoring is 8 out of 10. Character: The main characters are still the same to me, and Rin has gotten better since the last season. Still going for 10 for 10. Enjoyment: Again, I'm not saying that it wasn't enjoyable, but I wasn't crazy about the second season. I would watch the entire series again without complaints, but I just won't get super excited over it. 8 out of 10 for me here. Overall: I do recommend watching both seasons. You would have an incomplete experience if you don't watch the second one. However, I won't torture you if you decide to stop if you don't like it. According to this here, the overall score is 9 out of 10 exactly.

As the all-awaited sequel to the original manservice anime, this sequel proved to be one of the biggest surprises since first watching the Love Live! series. Although the first season had a rather cliched writing that justified its fanservice-heavy tones, the second season had definitely stripped off at least half of the fanservice moments from before and brought a truly remarkable continuation to the series with an conclusive ending. Story: Without referring too much to the first season, it is still not perfect but definitely improved from the first. The stakes have been raised, the final year of Haruka, Makoto, and Rin is ending, post-graduation choices have to be made. While in content it might sound generic like many high-school themed shows, its execution was more raw than the first. We get to relate with the characters more easily through their stories, their talents are being scrutinised by a larger audience than their peers, and we are constantly reminded of their progress up to the ending. There were enough twists to spice up the continuity. One could say that this formula is just enough to keep the audience interested Some critical aspects need to be mentioned, however. There was no escaping the fact that the story's "friendship" trope is omnipresent throughout the series, sometimes making it hard to take the show seriously. This is somewhat remedied by the longer interactions between Rin and Haruka, and the reminders of their graduation towards the end. The constant transitions to flashbacks is sometimes rather overused to flesh out the story, but personally it didn't make the show too choppy. In fact, despite these flaws, the story's simplicity and improved development made the show an easy watch without the feeling of bingeing. Art: What can I say? I'm such a fan of Kyoto Animation's art style. They have produced arguably the most precise and fluid animation I've laid witness to, while rivals might include Madhouse or ComixWave (Shinkai Makoto's works). Although the highlights of the show were its swimming scenes, I even noticed how the small conversations between characters were so minutely animated, with the tiniest wave of hair to the little movements of the hand when they are supposed to be stationary. Very few studios can deliver such detail to the TV screen, let alone with such consistency from start to finish. Even with the scenery, the accuracy of the fictitious Iwatobi town (based off Iwami in Tottori prefecture) and Sydney pops up very well, with the credits even thanking authorities from Tottori and Australia for contributing to the background design. I believe Kyoto Animation just gets better at animating as the years go by, while Free! and Free! Eternal Summer are one of the studio's fine works, at least visually. Sound: I can't speak too much about the background music other than that it didn't ruin the watching experience. What I can say is that the opening and ending themes (with the same singers from season one) have a sense of juxtaposition: the opening was rough and energetic to set the mood of a sports anime, while the ending cooled down the mood. I have disagreements on the ending theme when the episode ends on a dramatic note, as it sometimes killed the mood; the studio could have just ended it with a string of credits over the episode without music. Character: We are presented with the same characters Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa, Rei in Iwatobi swim club, and Rin from Samezuka. Side characters are present and add spice to the story-telling with their individual perks. New often-present side characters include Momotaro who's the comedy relief throughout the show, and finally Sousuke as the childhood friend of Rin before he met Haruka. Although most of these characters didn't feel out of place, their character development felt rather slow and stiff throughout the series; in other words their "tropeyness" was not shed in the end. The only character whom I have issues with is Sousuke, who in my opinion felt like an afterthought when the source material was written. The back-story of Sousuke was revealed a tad bit later than I'd like, and even so it felt rather rushed and plugged in to add twist. Even his alleged friendship with Rin was not as convincing as Rin with Haruka and the others from Iwatobi. The addition of an extra character is not bad per se, but I would have liked if he had a more convincing relationship with the other members of Samezuka and Rin. Enjoyment: Not knowing what to expect after finishing the first season, the show was one hell of a ride. It was DEFINITELY easier to digest given the reduced fanservice moments. The entire experience combined (story, art, sound, character) was a package deal of very emotional moments by the final episode; I admit I was close to shedding a tear (but didn't, hah!) during their farewell. What this means is that the second season to the #swimminganime franchise and hype was a surprising but satisfying experience. Overall: if I had to consider the critical points I've noted throughout my watching experience, I must admit that I am still hesitant to call this a masterpiece, let alone something along the lines of something that breaks my thought paradigm. While the first season felt lacklustre story-wise, it is still worth bingeing through so that one can witness the much-improved second season. I'd rate it 8/10 for breaking my expectations as a rather memorable show, but shy of my hall of fame.

Since I recently wrote a review on Free!, I'll now write one on the second season. I really enjoyed Free!, but Free!: Eternal Summer is even better. Story (9): As with the first series, the show focuses on the main school's swim team participating in events. However, this time the group is now on good terms with Rin and the opposing team. In addition to the drama inside the pool, I like the added drama in the characters' individual lives. For some of the characters, this is their last year in high school and they are all expected to choose what they want to do with their lives. In addition the main character Haruka questioning his reasons for wanting to swim. There are some intense moments of conflict between the characters. I was hooked, wanting to find out what would happen next. Characters (9): The characters is a big praise I have for this show. There is not a single character I dislike in this show. Some new characters are added, some for the purpose of conflict. Each of them have something likable and relatable about them. Something else I wanted to point out. I actually did like the development of Haruka in this series. That was one of my complaints in the first one, that I felt he was bland compared to the rest of the characters, but I actually feel more connected to him in this one. Many of the characters get more development and more information surrounding their backstories. This is especially true of Rin (especially seen in the episode where they go to Australia and meet the family who hosted him when he was younger), and a new character Sousuke-who is a well developed character. Art (9): The art is beautiful. The water is lovely and I like the animation of the swimming. The settings are pretty to look at. As in the first season, the animation is great. Nothing ever looks choppy or rushed, but very fluid. Sound (7): The sound is good. I watched some episodes in English and some in the original Japanese. I think that in both cases the voice acting is good. The ending song is catchy. Enjoyment (9): I found this series to be highly enjoyable. I was intrigued in the story and invested in the characters. I would definitely watch it again. Overall (9): I think this anime is worth watching. It has a good story, good drama, good characters, and lovely animation. 9/10

!!! Maybe contains spoiler!!! At first I just want to mention that in this review I'll also talk about the first season of Free! (Iwatobi Swim Club), because I gave both seasons the same score and I'm too lazy to write two reviews! :D Sorry about that! Story (8): Season 1: The story revolves around Haruka Nanase, a boy who has always loved to be immersed in water, and to swim in it. Before graduating from elementary school, he participated in a swimming tournament along with his fellow swimming club members, Makoto Tachibana, Nagisa Hazuki, and Rin Matsuoka. After achieving victory, each of the boys went their separate ways. Time passed, and in the middle of their uneventful high school lives Rin appears and challenges Haruka to a match, showing Haruka his overwhelming power. Not wanting it to end like this, Haruka, gathers together Makoto and Nagisa once again and brings a new member named Rei Ryugazaki to create the Iwatobi High School Swimming Club in order to defeat Rin. Season 2: The Iwatobi Swim Club returns! As their third year begins, Haruka, Makoto and Rin are still swimming strong, but choosing plans for their futures loom, and as friends both new and old make their way into the picture, rivalries will take root once again. Will the team make it out stronger than before or sink under pressure? --> I took this from the MyAnimeList Description of Free! To conclude the first series is mainly about the relationship between Haru and Rin, who were very good friends in elementary school (they were both at the Iwatobi Swim club). Because of some incidents (I dont want to spoiler too much) they seperated from each other... when they advanced to the upper classes, they both swam again in swimming clubs and were rivals. But because of some very nice/lovely scenes or incidents they finally swim together again having a lot of fun!!! (Especially one scene in the 12. episode had some "magic" and made me cry) In the second season the pupils are going to finish school and try to find their dreams/jobs. The relationship between Haru and Rin is lovely and they have a few swimming competitions, solo and relays with friends as well. Also some new characters will be introduced, who make the second season even better! All in all I really liked the whole story! !! I'll not write so many about the other parts, because the story-part has been long enough !! ;D Art(8): The animations, especially during the swimming scences is very well done! It is also colorful and has quite good contrasts. I really liked it! Sound(10): And that's the "real shit" in this anime in a positive way!!! There are so many epic, funny and simply amazing soundtracks! I had a lots of earworms while watching this. In the most important scences of the story the music fits always! No metter whether it is a sad or an epic part! I made also a YT-Playlist of the soundtracks. Just fuckin' AWESOME! ;) Characters(9): Especially Haru, the main character is special, not a typical main character (in my opinion) because of his behavior and actions. The most important secondary character, Rin (you can also say the second main character), brings a lot of emotions with him and makes the spectator feel what he feels! In general you can say Free! contains many differnt but also important characters, who can be funny, serious and just cool. Sometimes a few actions are unnessecary , but this doesn't make the anime worse. Some of my Favorites: Sousuke, Makoto, Rei Enjoyment(9): As you can read above I really enjoyed the show! Maybe for me this anime is also quite perfect because I do track and field, which is comparable with swimming. In the series the relay races take a very huge role, and I ran many track relays (with very good friends) by myself. So I can create a connection and enjoy the anime even more ;) It's also spreading emotions, sometimes you feel sad with the characters and sometimes it's just epic!!! I can really recommend this anime for those who like sports, love great soundtracks/good animations and want to feel FREE! :DDD ~ Nicoto <--- The guy with the bad english skills xD

I will be writing reviews as soon as i finish a series, and so they will be totally based on my enjoyment of it and the ending will hugely impact it.They will also mostly just be my ramblings, without a linear thought process. I loved the first season of Free!.I was pretty new to anime then and was hugely impressed with the animation and bromance in it.I liked this season even more, but gave it an 8 whereas the 1st season got a 9. A large part of this is because i am strictly against changing my rating except in the rarest of rare cases.As i was relatively new to anime then, i was perhaps easily impressed. Most of the issues i had with this season were related to pacing.The first half (6-7 episodes) were way inferior compared to the second half.I must have teared up atleast 3 times, and i am not one to be easily moved, having seen a lot of anime. Many reviews say that Sousuke was the most fleshed out character in this season and that others did not see as much development.*SPOILERS*I disagree with it as i felt Haruka and Makoto developed by leaps and bounds in the last 5 episodes or so.The 9th episode was the best of the bunch as Haru's internal struggles were shown very well.*SPOILERS* I did think *SPOILERS* that Nagisa and Rei bawling their eyes out in the last ep was unsightly, as the drama was slightly overboard there, but its not that big of a deal *SPOILERS*. Rin had already sorted out most, if not all, of his issues in the 1st season, so he was mostly there for the other guys to depend on.But his sister Gou and other side characters (their adviser and coach) received far less attention this time around. The last episode was nearly perfect, though the middle was drawn out a bit and it would have been better if more emphasis was placed on other things in that time. Though some of you may not consider watching Free! because it might seem to be obviously pandering to women (whatever that means), i urge you to give this a chance, as though some parts may seem overtly cheesy and the beginning of this season may contain homosexual overtones, it really picks up at the end and goes out with a bang.If only all the episodes were as strong as the last 5-6 episodes.

Free! Eternal Summer did not have to go that hard. The first season of Free! was your average sports anime. It was good and enjoyable, but it had nothing that mindblowing or different from your standard sports anime. So going into the second season of Free!, I expected the same atmosphere as the first season. Eternal Summer is absolutely outstanding. It lifts the bar for Free! in every way. It's not a masterpiece, by any means. (I'm not sure if it's possible to call any sports anime a masterpiece), but it successfully builds upon the ideas from the past season and improves them. I really did not expect a change in quality from this season, but I was completely shocked to see how much better this season is from the first. Your favorite characters from the first season return, followed by a few new ones, who are balanced well within the plot, receive proper character development, and don't take too much of the spotlight away from our main characters. While Free! focused more on a tale of friendship, Eternal Summer looks at the future of our characters, who are rapidly approaching the end of high school. Because of this new struggle, the anime grows more complex because of it. While the tales of friendship are still interwoven in this series, Haru, Rin, Makoto, and Sosuke's struggles with the future (but Haru's especially), bring a whole new light to this series. The characters grow more emotionally complex and deal with some real-world problems that anyone of that age can relate to, which creates a much more impactful and enjoyable anime as the plot thickens. Better yet, the ending does a great job at wrapping up the series. I feel that in this second season, all our characters come full circle, and I am left even more satisfied than the first. Free! Eternal Summer builds upon the characters and ideas in the first season, but as the characters face the reality of their futures, the show picks up in intensity and becomes much more entertaining than the first season with its more complex story. Eternal Summer is definitely a step up from its predecessor and does a remarkable job closing out the series. A word of advice, now that Dive to the Future exists, just finish watching the series here, as you won't get that same satisfaction if you pick up Season 3 (which is a lot worse and sloppily put together).

Free Eternal Summer As with the predecessor, we mostly have the same problems here. Must note, however, that things improved slightly here. The strength of this work is still on animation, representation and implementation of the topic. Unfortunately, that's all. The characters are still mostly flat, although at least one tries to build conflicts, strengths and weaknesses of the respective characters. The drama genre is still very much in focus. If it were at least good, one could disregard this. Unfortunately, it is a showcase play by some adolescent teenagers who have problems with each other for completely senseless reasons. Melodrama is on the agenda here. And to make matters worse, there is still a lot of fan service for the female fans and very poorly written dialogues. On the one hand, it is amusing that some scenes have a practical effect like the introduction to a clichéd Yaoi strip. By as soon as the characters start arguing, they immediately tackle, pull towards each other and roar at a distance of 20 centimeters while looking intently into each other's eyes. Almost always asked myself if they wanted to swim or sleep together. The line between the two things was drawn very narrowly here. The dialogues are still really tough here. The characters just talk around the Topic. The protagonist says nothing in the sense anyway. And the rest of the time they're just talking about how much they'd like to swim with each other. I understand that is the issue. But if the characters have to clarify it twice in each episode, after 2 seasons it looks very bizarre. I wish you had put some creativity into the scenes and conversations. There is hardly any variety here. It was extremely sluggish to follow their talks. Among other things, somewhat misleading why the characters were built so emotionally unstable. I can not say whether it has something to do with the female names and was deliberately intended by the writer. However, the slightest was enough for someone to almost burst into tears or grab the other by the collar. Story: There is at least one main story. The teams are preparing for the national championship and there are certain character changes and you can see the teams welding together in one way or another. Characters: The characters have done a little more than in the first season. And some of them were at least a bit more mature. Other than that, everything stayed the same. The biggest problem here is that they have been given too little creativity. No matter what you do, it's always the same. Rei brings his usual scenes. Makoto smiles. Nagisa is always excited and Haru says nothing. It is really difficult on a continuous loop. Conclusion If you want to watch an anime that deals with the topic of "swimming", you will find it here. However, nobody who values ​​characters, creativity and dialogues should hope for a lot here.

I don't normally write reviews but the reason why I'm writing a review for this series is because of the last two episodes. At first, I wasn't really into the series but when I saw those two episodes, I got a different vibe, the animation, the music and the plot of it was really amazing! I still can't get over how amazing the music was! When it comes to anime, for me, Animation and Music takes a huge role and Free!: Eternal Summer did an amazing job. I do recommend you to watch this series if the genre is up to your liking, or if you're like me who's enthusiastic over animation and background music.

Free!: Eternal Summer is better than the first Free!. It adds a new character who is better than most of the previous characters. All of the good things about the first series, with its colour palette and animation, are just as good here and sometimes better. Scenery improves especially in the Australia episodes, which have proper Australian voice actors instead of Americans. The main rivalry from the first season evolves from spiteful into friendly. The competition this season is fiercer and it brings up problems like sports related injuries and how they affect people. Very fun show, worth watching if you liked the first one.

Review em ingles: The anime can be very cool for both those who do not enjoy swimming and those who enjoy swimming, the plot is pretty cool, but it bothers me the characters appear by chance, the guy who lives on Mars meets the face of the land in Jupiter, the two swim, they meet again on earth ... WTF type, but the water animation, it's beautiful, it's incredible, it's ... INCREDIBLE, the characters are cool, but we know almost nothing of their past, they're cool just for the personality, why they are not well worked, the 2 friends of Nanase are CRUCIFIEDLY DESPISED, little anime if fuck for them. Some competitions in the water could be better, like the last one, and some could be worse, like there is a useless thing that is all well done, there in the competition we only see them giving the turn and if they look, they swim head HIGH, their coach? They look in the middle of the WTF type competition. But outside these mistakes the anime is well built, you probably will not get sick watching this anime, you can learn enough about this sport, but not much ... The service is well ... all anime (almost all) has a fan service, but with WOMEN, the one with men, you man who felt "strange" with this anime, know what women spend with practically ALL THE ANIMES Review em portugues: O anime consegue ser muito legal tanto para quem não curte natação e quanto para quem curte natação, o plot é bastante legal, porem me incomoda os personagens aparecem por acaso, o caro que mora em marte encontra o cara da terra em jupiter, os dois nadam, eles se encontram novamente na terra...tipo WTF, mas a animação da agua, é linda, é incrivel, é...INCRIVEL, os personagens são legais, porem não sabemos quase nada do passado deles, são legais só pela personalidade, por que não são bem trabalhados, os 2 amigos do Nanase são DESPREZADOS CRUELMENTE, anime pouco se fode para eles. Algumas competições na água poderiam ser melhor, como a ultima, e algumas poderiam ser pior, tipo tem uma inutil que é tudo bem feita, ai na competição nós so vemos eles dando a virada e se olhando, eles nadam de cabeça ALTA, cade o treinador deles? Eles se olham no meio da competição tipo WTF. Mas fora esses erros o anime é bem construido, voce provavelmente nào vai se enjoar vendo esse anime, dá para aprender bastaste sobre esse esporte, mas não muito...O Fã-service é bemm...todos os animes(quase todos) tem fã service, mas com MULHERES, esse tem com homens, vc homem que se sentiu "estranho" com esse anime, saiba oque as mulheres passam com praticamente TODOS OS ANIMES

Free! While I didn't write a review for the first season yet, I can say I enjoyed the second more and it was overall better. The characters which were lacking in the first season now got the love they deserve and got some motivations for what they are doing. The art style remained the same, which is good news, being top notch from the start. The songs were good but not near as engaging as the first season. The plot was better spaced out and more intriguing. I overall enjoyed the show more than the first season, which is a great thing considering the first season was also entertaining. The fan service is still there <3. Watch it for a good laugh, pretty boys and if you are into Sports anime, or swimming especially.

Personally, I prefer the first season. In S2, besides having a pretty lackluster beginning, they created a new character (Sousuke) and gave him SO MUCH SCREENTIME. I H A T E D Sousuke, I couldn't bring myself to like or care about this character, and when he was in the center of the episode I felt so lazy that I didn't even feel like keep watching... I think this character was made ONLY so Rin could "have someone" the same way Haru has Makoto. But then, Rin already had Nitori (in a way), so... ?????????????? After the anime stopped force-feeding us Sousuke and turns the focus back on the main characters, it starts to get good.Haru's character development was great (maybe even better than Rin's in S1), as well as Rin's and all the boys. A thing that I hated as well was that at the end of S1, it's clear that Rin transfers back to Iwatobi and joins the boys' club. But then in the beginning of S2, he's somehow back at Samezuka, as if he never left! WHAT? Did they just change the ending of season 1 (or just ignored it) or did I interpret it wrong? Anyway... Eternal Summer had a thrilling and feels-y finale, perhaps not so good as a SERIES finale but it was a great SEASON finale! I'm really glad to know that this anime was finally renewed and this year we'll finally have the long-awaited season 3! <3

Admittedly, I watched this series because I was interested in seeing hot shirtless boys, but that's not the point here. Free! Eternal Summer was certainly a much bigger improvement than its predecessor for the following reasons. Story (7/10) I'd give this story a 7 because I feel that this season's pacing was a lot better than the first and more things were explained and elaborated, like Sousuke's shoulder. His pain and anguish can be seen quite constantly throughout the series and it wasn't thrown in or cast out so quickly just for plot convenience. Art (9/10) The art is certainly one of the best things out of the show. The character designs, especially, was able to encompass each of the characters' individual personalities and traits, making them easy to identify and remember. Sound (8/10) The opening of this season may not have been as recognisable as the first season's, but it is still enjoyable to listen to. The ending is extremely catchy. Character (7/10) I feel that there have been quite a character developments in this season. For example: Rin: Most character development among all of them. From a whiny kid in season 1 who only cared about how he was affected, he became A LOT more mature and cared about issues worth caring about. Haru and Makoto: Their fight in this season serves as a reminder that all perfect friendships aren't always perfect and mishaps are bound to happen. But Haru taking time to think things through and actually apologising to Makoto shows how he is beginning to take more initiative to fix things. Enjoyment (8/10) There have been many hilarious and serious moments, but thankfully, there have been no inappropriate comedy jokes forced in during the times where it needs to be serious. This season has also been a lot more relatable in the aspect of having to make life-changing decisions and how intimidating that can be. So it is an improvement from the first season where all the boys cared about was what happened to Rin and the medley relay. Overall, I'd give this series an 8. Despite how it can still be improved, it is a lot more enjoyable than the first season.

Before I get into the juicy stuff, let me just summarize the anime real quick w/o spoilers.. Free! Iwatobi Swim Club is about a group of four or so teenage boys, Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa, and Rei, who all possess pretty top notch swimming skills (with an exception for Rei), starting a swim club. Of Course there is a lot more to the premise of the story than that, but I unfortunately can’t say anymore without spoiling the fun of the series. However, this anime isn’t just about swimming, it also focuses on the hardships of friendship and childhood drama/trauma... I really enjoyed this lighthearted anime, it had me giggling, smiling, and falling off the edge of my seat the WHOLE TIME! The animation is simply astonishing, the quality really brought the anime to life! Which is why I gave the art rating a 10/10. I’d give this anime a 7/10, simply because it was really good but didn’t possess the breathtaking qualities of an anime like Death Note or Zankyou No Terror, yet it was very enjoyable. I’m not gonna lie, the main reason I started this anime was because of the chiseled abs and the speedos. I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with the anime for reasons completely unrelated to the speedos. This anime can be a bit ridiculous and silly at times, which is what makes it so lovable. I definitely recommend this anime because it contains a simple premise, it’s really easy to watch, and you honestly don’t need to use your brain the whole time you’re watching it.

The second season of Free! improves upon the first in almost every way. Let’s go through the list, shall we? Story The groundbreaking story of the second season of Free! is that Haru, Makoto, Nagisa, and Rei of Iwatobi as well as Rin of Samezuka are training so that they can enter swimming competitions, as well as dealing with life problems in between conflicts related to sports, and- …Oh. I suppose the story is not that different between seasons. Also, similarly to season one, swimming and other activities related to the clubs are only half of the story. The plot is driven by the personal struggles of the characters and their conflicts with each other. How does this aspect of the story compare to season one? See the Character section below. Art This is probably the only area in which the anime didn’t improve. Of course, it’s a bit difficult to reach new heights when you are already at the top. In other words, the animation, especially in regards to the water, is just as beautiful as ever. Sound The soundtrack of the first season of Free! was pleasant, but not exceptional, and my opinion remains the same in the second season. The exception is in regards to the opening and ending themes, both of which were catchier in season two than in season one. Characters This is the area in which the anime improved the most. My favorite characters from season one became even more likeable, characters that I felt indifferent to became much more relatable, and boring minor characters were either made slightly more compelling or delegated to the background in favor of new and far more interesting main characters. Haru and Rin change from being punchlines in season one to genuine characters with relatable issues in season two. Since the end of season one, Haru and Rin have reclaimed their former relationship as friendly rivals, so there is far less of the overly dramatic angst that accompanied their falling out in season one. Haru primarily deals with his indecision upon what to do when he graduates. His reactions to the issue felt much more realistic than they were in season one, making him a much more likeable and relatable character. Meanwhile, Rin addresses the obvious issue that, even though he has reconciled with the members of the Iwatobi team and decided that he wants to swim for the sake of a team and not just himself, he still goes to a different school at which he has not formed strong enough bonds with his classmates to form this team. This is a legitimate issue that was interesting to see the result of. Rin transforms from a cruel antagonist in season one to a total sweetheart in season two. I will say that Rin does still occasionally overreact with a liberal amount of tears, but, in the very least, he seems to only react this way when he is concerned about a genuine issue that one of his friends is going through. Makoto, similarly to Haru, also struggles with the decision of what to do upon graduation. Not only does this issue lend itself to intriguing character development for Makoto, but it also leads to a particular focus upon the relationship between him and Haru, moreso than in the first season. Similarly to season one, this proved to be rather interesting whether one is a fan of yaoi or not. Some complained that Nagisa and Rei were put to the side in favor of the development of other characters. In the case of Nagisa, I strongly disagree. He may not have been onscreen quite as much as he was in the first season, but, unlike the first season, Nagisa actually recieves a backstory during the second season. As for Rei, he received so much focus in season one that I honestly couldn’t feel too bad about his treatment in season two, and it isn’t as though he’s completely ignored during this season. He still achieved development during this season, both in his physical swimming skills and his relationship with other characters, especially Nagisa and Rin. Although my feelings towards the two new characters introduced were a bit mixed, I at least have to give them credit for being more entertaining than the minor characters that appeared so frequently in season one. Althought Momo did not receive much character development, he was still a rather fun conveyor of comic relief. Meanwhile, Sousuke… oh, how do I put this? I wanted to like Sousuke. I get the impression that the creators wanted me to like Sousuke. However, for the life of me, I still have difficulty reconciling Sousuke in my mind, and it all boils down to a single scene towards the beginning of the season. Just one scene. After that, the creators go out of their way to endear the audience to Sousuke, giving him a tragic backstory that he continues to deal with the effects of, as well as showing adorable interactions between himself and Rin. However, I suppose what people say about first impressions being important must be correct, as this one morally ambiguous action on Sousuke’s part at the beginning of the season makes every following scene intended to endear the audience to Sousuke feel like manipulation on the part of the creators on behalf of a character who does not deserve it. Gou, Coach Sasabe, and Miss Amakata continue to be boring during this season, but, in the very least, they appear far less frequently than they did in season one. Unfortunately, Nitori does receive a larger role in this season, and he is still rather annoying. All of his motivation is still based upon his rather pathetic desire to impress Rin, but at least he doesn’t seem to follow Rin quite as closely or help to aggravate him into a rage. Enjoyment I’m not sure what to talk about in this category…um…oh! Yes, there’s still plenty of fanservice. Was it better than it was in the first season? I would say so, but I’m pretty much basing my entire assessment upon the scene in which Makoto was taking a shower. I suppose that’s a matter of opinion. Overall, I enjoyed Free! Eternal Summer far more than the first season of Free! However, I enjoyed both of them very much. Even if you watched the first season of Free! and thought that it was just OK, I would still recommend watching the second season, because if you thought that the first season was at least OK, I can almost guarantee that you will find the second season to be awesome.

(Spanish review below) While the first season focused on creating the swimming club, tacking back swimming and old friendships, this second season brings with it more reflection for each of the characters as to why they swim. Rin, who already went through this in the first season, is the only character who seems focused (besides Rei). On the other hand, with the pressure of being a prodigy swimmer on his shoulders, Haru is forced to question why he swims and where his future is headed. Personally, I found myself crossed by these issues, although I left high school a long time ago. I don't like its resolution: the series doesn't quite explain why Haru makes the decision he does. In that sense, I would have liked him to reflect more on it instead of going from side A to side B in one episode. Although it's my favorite episode of the season. On the other hand, we have Makoto. Makoto is not a character I particularly love, but I find his problem very interesting: will he continue forever in Haru's footsteps or will he take a new direction? Does he swim for Haru or for himself? In his case, the series takes the necessary time to show us why he makes the decision he makes and it's a decision that is consistent with the character. I didn't remember Nagisa's drama for some reason, but I really liked seeing this character, who is usually the one who brings joy and positivity to the series, feeling lost, sad, and overwhelmed. What I don't like about the series: Sosuke. He's a super possessive and toxic friend that I don't really understand what role he plays in the series. At some point, they want to make us empathize with him, but for me it doesn't work. He's a super closed character who has no charisma. Ai is a character that I found unbearable in the first season, but he also made me like him. Not Sosuke. It's true that in the next seasons I come to like him, but in this second one I would like him not to exist. The whole time he was on screen with his drama I was like, "can you leave Rin alone? Thank you." As always, KyoAni's animation is exquisite. I didn't mention it in the review of the first season, but I'm sure that if it weren't for the animation, I wouldn't like 'Free' as much as it does. For me it's 40% animation, 40% characters, 20% story. I already talked about fanservice in the review of the first season: I don't care. I neither like it nor dislike it. If it's not there, fine. If it's, it doesn't stop me from enjoying the series either. ... Si bien la primera temporada se centraba en crear el club de natación, en retomar la natación y viejas amistades, esta segunda temporada trae consigo más reflexión para cada uno de los personajes en cuanto a por qué nadan. Rin, quien ya pasó por esto en la primera temporada, es el único personaje que parece centrado (además de Rei). Por otro lado, con la presión de ser un nadador prodigio sobre sus hombros, Haru se ve obligado a cuestionarse por qué nada y hacia dónde se dirige su futuro. En lo personal, me vi atravesada por estas cuestiones, aunque hace ya tiempo que dejé la secundaria. No me gusta su resolución: la serie no termina de explicar por qué Haru toma la decisión que toma. En ese sentido, me hubiese gustado que reflexionara más al respecto en lugar de pasar del lado A al lado B en un capítulo. Aunque es mi capítulo favorito de la temporada. Por otro lado, tenemos a Makoto. Makoto no es un personaje que ame en particular, pero su problemática me parece muy interesante: ¿seguirá por siempre tras los pasos de Haru o tomará un rumbo nuevo? ¿Nada por Haru o por sí mismo? En su caso, la serie se toma el tiempo necesario para mostrarnos por qué toma la decisión que toma y es una decisión coherente con el personaje. El drama de Nagisa no lo recordaba, por alguna razón, pero me gustó mucho ver a este personaje que es, por lo general, el que trae la alegría y positividad a la serie, sintiéndose perdido, triste y abrumado. Lo que no me gusta de la serie: Sosuke. Es un amigo super posesivo y tóxico que no entiendo muy bien qué papel cumple en la serie. En algún momento, se nos quiere hacer empatizar con él, pero para mí no funciona. Es un personaje súper cerrado que no tiene carisma. Ai es un personaje que en la primera temporada me parecía insoportable, pero también se hacía querer. Sosuke no. Es cierto que en las próximas temporadas llega a caerme bien, pero en esta segunda me gustaría que no existiera. Todo el tiempo que salía en pantalla con su drama yo estaba como: "¿podés dejar a Rin en paz? Gracias". Como siempre, la animación de KyoAni es exquisita. No lo mencioné en la reseña de la primera temporada, pero estoy segura de que si no fuera por la animación, 'Free' no me gustaría tanto como lo hace. Para mí es un 40% animación, 40% personajes, 20% historia. Ya hablé sobre el fanservice en la reseña de la primera temporada: a mí me da igual. Ni me gusta, ni me disgusta. Si no está, bien. Si está, tampoco me impide de disfrutar de la serie.

Well, I must say, Free!: Eternal Summer is truly a masterpiece of anime storytelling. The plot is so riveting and complex that you'll need a Ph.D. in physics just to understand what's going on. As for the style, it's so unique and groundbreaking that I'm sure it will be studied by film students for centuries to come. The animation is so lifelike that you'll swear you're watching real people swim. Let's talk about some of the main characters, shall we? They are so deep and multi-dimensional that you'll need a therapist to help you unravel their complexities. Each character has their own personal demons to conquer, and watching them struggle and overcome their obstacles is truly inspiring. The music in this anime is so sublime that it's like listening to angels sing. The soundtrack is so beautiful that it will bring tears to your eyes and make you want to run out and buy the soundtrack immediately. And as for my overall enjoyment experience? Let's just say that I was so captivated by this anime that I forgot to eat, drink, and sleep for three days straight. So there you have it, folks. If you want to watch an anime that will change your life, then look no further than Free!: Eternal Summer. It's simply the best thing ever created, and I give it a 7.7 out of 10.

Story 7/10 The start of summer and swimming season is depicted in all it's slice of life glory in Free!: Eternal Summer. The story was quite good. I liked that this focused on the psychological aspect of sports, not just the physical ones like injury and technique. It really showed that a huge part of what makes a winner is the ATTITUDE, not just the physical ability and talent. Character 5/10 This is why character Because in this series, we have Haru, the ultimate super talented emo douchebag with a quitter mentality. Anything goes wrong, he quits. I thought was completely sick of the predictable sports tensai heroes who all love their sport, are passionate about it, have raw talent and never think of quitting only working harder. And then there's Haro who is ... in two words ... emotionally fragile. Anything and everything could set him off and he goes from talented winner to a quitter. Standing up in the pool in the middle of competition because stress got to him? Ugh. Just NO. To be honest the rest of the characters were okay but when the protagonist is an idiot it's hard for me to rate this anime any higher. This is sad because everything else is pretty good. Art 10/10, Sound 9/10 The Art is stellar as usual, and the ending song still feels like a popular boy band music video. Enjoyment 8/10, Overall 8/10 I love swimming, sports anime and Free! In fact I love everything about the series except Haru. It can't just be me who wants to slap him and say "Get a grip, get over it, get ON with life, do SOMETHING!" It would be easier to hate him if he was a whiner, but he's not, he just ... quietly goes on strike and quits on not just himself, but his team. If he didn't have such GREAT friends, this guy would be a beach bum when he grew up.

Pretty solid season, though I think I liked the first season a little more overall. The finale for this season felt a little weak. This season did trigger swimming PTSD in me multiple times though, which I'm not if that's a positive or a negative about this show. Also, a lot of the same problems that I had about the last season apply to this season. Some of the characters are still annoying and the overzealousness the characters have about swimming can be a bit off-putting. In the end though, i enjoyed it for the most part. They ended this season in a really good spot so it'll be interesting to see how they continue the third season. As I'm writing this its really starting to hit me that I have less than five days left in my last high school swim season. I'll definitely continue swimming, but the team aspect is something that I'll miss and no matter however over the top this show is, I can relate to the love the characters have of being on a team.