DAT HAIR FLIP! WHY YOU SO KAWAII NANASE-KUN?

My inner fan-girl is totally squealing at the first episode of Free! The title references to the fact that the main protagonist Nanase Haruka only swims free-style as well his love for the water and how he feels when he’s swimming.

Rating: 5/5 curiously excited clouds

The story begins with a flashback into Nanase’s childhood, hanging out at the old swimming club with his friends Makoto Tachibana, Nagisa Hazuki and Rin Matsuoka. Years later, when Nanase and Makoto are already attending high school, they reunite with Nagisa, who’s presently enrolled as a first-year and encounter their long lost friend Rin who had left town to study abroad at a swimming school in Australia.

Most of the first episode really introduces the main characters as well as they’re personalities. The personalities of the main cast really contrast and complement one another. Nanase leans towards the strong-silent type and he’s pretty apathetic about most things that the overly enthusiastic Nagisa brings up, but when it comes to anything swimming related, there’s an intense glint that flashes through his eyes. Makoto is like the big brother figure of the group. He is caring and considerate and knows Nanase inside out. We get glimpses of him concerned over his friend quite often (and his concerned face is soooo adorable). Nagisa is the super cute perky one of the group who’s always leading his friends into crazy shenanigans due to his enthusiasm.

Rin, on the other hand, is a bit of an enigma within the group. He’s definitely Nanase’s rival in swimming and probably cares about things like trophies, titles and records a whole lot more than Nanase. I’m wondering if Rin will serve as the main antagonist of the series or simply an anti-hero that foils Nanase. The little bits of information we learn about Rin are actually presented to us by Gou Matsuoka, Rin’s sister.

When Nanase, Makoto and Nagisa visit Samezuka Academy, Rin finds the threesome sneaking into the pool after hours. Nanase and Rin agree to race just before the episode ends!

What I loved…

– The opening upbeat instrumental in the background as the episode begins. It totally screams summer!

– The totally endearing nicknames! i.e. Haru-chan, Mako-chan, etc.

– THE ART!! Making the characters look absolutely amazing!

– Nanase’s hairflip. Thank you Kyoto Animation and Animation Do for giving him (and all the other boys) amazing hair (and looks)

– All the scenes where the boys take off random pieces of clothing to jump into a pool (Of course, Nanase wears his swim trunks wherever he goes… does he even need underwear?)

The opening song is called “Rage On” by Oldcodex and really pumps you up for the competitive mood of the anime. Personally, I prefer the ending song called “Splash Free,” sung by the cast of Free!! Overall, episode 1 was a nicely wrapped package with everything we expected 😉 Now to wait for some plot development…

Tune in every Wednesday for a new episode of Free! I CAN’T WAIT TO REVIEW THIS! Has anyone picked their favourite character? I love Nanase cause I’m a sucker for blue eyes but Makoto is just so adorable!

– Cloudy

What are you pondering today?

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• Cloudy’s Summer Samples 2013 (littlecloudcuriosity.wordpress.com)