Free! Dive To The Future - Tumblr Posts

I forget to post this here, Just post in Instagram hahahaha, Makoto is the perfect boy <3

Gay..........they were gay.

Rin and Natsuya: the new aged Zuko and Iroh

So I had this conversation about the gang fighting Hiyori

AND LOOK WHO FUCKING SHOWED UP

Me *sobbing*: Nao senpei really out here gonna fix these idiots problems. He's such an angel.

How I'm trying to be in college: Kisumi

How I actually am in college: Ikuya

You can't tell me I'm wrong

Meme cred to me

Idea cred to @the-freedom-child

Accidentally deleted this post 🤦🏻‍♀️

Sosuke Yamazaki - Free! Fanart

Asahi Shiina

Free! Dive to the future Ep 04

I CANT BELIEVE THIS ANIME IS 10 YEARS OLD AND I ALSO CANT BELIVE THAT I HAVE ONCE AGAIN FOUND MYSELF STARING AT THE WIKI PAGE FOR IT

Your Name (2016) // Free! Dive Into The Future (2018)

Rei Ryugazaki is the textbook definition of character development, and I’m absolutely here for it.

If there’s anything that hasn’t changed… Haru, it’s that I still want to swim with you.

HARU AND RIN DVD COVERS S1/S2 AND NOW S3….. … DARE I SAY ?BOYFRIENDS???

free.

a question I’m always asked,

is why do I choose free?

the answers not that simple,

it’s one you cannot see.

you’d think it’s cause it’s easy,

you’d think it’s cause it’s safe.

you’d think it’s cause it’s calming,

you’d think it’s just my taste.

i’ve never felt completely comfortable,

in my ranking no matter how high.

everyone says I’ve got it good,

even though I don’t try.

what most people don’t know,

is I test even myself.

a lot of those I know,

think it’s bad for my health.

i’d say I agree,

but they don’t know my story.

they don’t know the reason,

i’m in the bath every morning.

“he just loves water”

“a swimmer is all he wants to be”

i know that love it,

but is that how you see me?

i never liked emotions,

so the water drowns them out.

somehow the water understands,

that swimming’s not all I’m about.

that’s why I love racing,

cutting through the tide.

because their’s raw emotion,

in competitors I find.

i feel more like myself,

not putting in a mask.

cause the second I speak out,

all I hear are gasps.

why does it surprise you?

that I have more to say.

do you think I’m that weak?

am I really ok?

when I swim freestyle,

these questions never come.

though with every other stroke,

comes precision, tight lungs.

when I swim free,

i know where I belong.

the water actually listens,

to my dad swan song.

so when I never tell you,

the reason I swim free.

it’s not because there’s no answer,

it’s because you’ll never see.

-NJ

Sooo... About Free!

I need to talk to other people who don’t necessarily like Free! Like, don’t get me wrong, Free! is good. It’s good. It has really adorable characters, who are sweet, and angsty, and fun, and you can really immerse yourself in the anime and feel connected to the characters when they win their tournament or whatever...

When you watch it as a Slice of Life anime (in my opinion)

But if you watch it expecting a Sports anime, it... It’s not the best. (I’m sorry, but that’s my opinion, if you don’t like it, I understand. Seriously. You’re entitled to your opinion, and your opinion matters!) But, like, I think Free! isn’t a... Incredible Sports anime. Mainly because of the plot. (LEMME EXPLAIN)

So! Free. Free has this pattern of setting up story arcs/character arcs for the characters that seem really serious and Sports anime-y, but then the pay off isn’t as serious/realistic??? FOR EXAMPLE: Makoto’s fear of the ocean. On the Free! Wiki, it says that he has Thalassophobia (a fear/phobia of the ocean and/or deep bodies of water) which sounds serious, and I’d expect, since he and Haru walk home on the beach every day he’d be anxious then. So why didn’t they show that? Like, why did they set up Makoto’s Thalassophobia ONLY during the training camp arc? Wouldn’t there be instances during swim practice, that he felt anxious? I don’t expect he’d be very anxious during high school, but when he swam in elementary, I feel like he’d be nervous to swim. Y’know since the experience is still raw at that time. 

And, (spring-boarding off of that query,) How long did it take for him to cope? Did Haru help him overcome his fear in the beginning? Or did they drift apart a little, since Makoto couldn’t swim/be comfortable in the water anymore, and Haru was fine with it? 

Then, finally, at the end of the training arc & his arc, Makoto is just... FINE. Like WHAT? Why is he just OKAY with the ocean after it all, just because “he wants to swim with his friends” and “he’s okay if his friends are with him”, like...

What I’m saying is, living with a phobia since childhood and then suddenly being fine, just because your friends swim with you (Not only in high school but also in elementary, probably, because he was swimming with his friends then, no problem) doesn’t sound realistic to me. But I get it. I can understand the counter-argument: “But Makoto is okay with swimming in the ocean with his friends because he feels protected by them/empowered when they’re with him.”

But it doesn’t sound realistic, when you consider the set up.

OR! How quickly the swim club was created. Like... REALISTICALLY it’d take a lot to create a swim club. It’d take more than finding & recruiting all the members, getting a manager, and fixing the pool. (I have no experience, but I feel like it’d take more than that.) And, the characters, despite their built physique, probably would struggle to get back into swimming/start swimming. Realistically speaking. Like, besides HARU (because I’m sure he swam whenever he could) Nagisa and Makoto probably would have struggled to get into swimming again. Because Makoto hasn’t swam in three (school) years because he and Haru quit swimming after their first year in middle school. And Nagisa hasn’t swam since elementary school. And Rei, I think should’ve struggled to learn how to swim butterfly correctly. (Not just swim butterfly, but swim butterfly correctly. Because learning to swim is one thing, but swimming correctly is another. Like, refining your stroke in consideration of drag, and endurance and all that) 

So, I say this all to say that Free! is a Sports anime and Slice of Life... that doesn’t juggle the two genres as equally as it could've... I think.

For reference, I'd recommend watching Bamboo Blade: another sports and slice of life anime.

The reason I recommend this anime as a way to see how Sports/Slice of Life anime can be effectively executed is because:

(a): It’s plot doesn’t revolve around a character arc (getting Rin to love swimming again) or nostalgia (building the swim club), but it instead is literally about a coach who gathers together a Kendo team to win in a competition to get free dinner. That’s it. And it’s a simple plot, a simple goal, because its a slice of life anime. And slice of life anime shouldn’t be held to the same emotional/deep plots as sports anime. (not to say that Free!’s plot isn’t good. it is. It just needs to pick a lane: either slice of life with little to no consequences, or sports anime with realistic consequences, struggles, and emotions.)

(FOR EXAMPLE: (sorry, I promise this one will be short,) When the boys break into a swim club, that’s the kind of behavior you’d expect from an emotionally charged sports anime. But when they get their just desserts, when the random teacher scolds them for breaking and entering, they get let off the hook without any disciplinary punishment or a call to their parents or anything. Just like slice of life. And the reason why this doesn’t work, (again, in my opinion) is because breaking and entering is a felony. So it’d hard for me to believe these characters can just be let off the hook for a crime like that. (Sorry again, this rant wasn’t short at all))

and (b): The anime (Bamboo Blade) just isn’t very serious in general. Perhaps I’m only saying this, and am more accepting to the kind of shenanigans that happen in this anime, because it’s all girls instead of all boys, and girls in slice of life anime tend to act silly and childish, which is supposed to be seen as cute. However, that doesn’t really work with boys, especially when, in Free, the plot is so emotionally charged and serious, it makes the silliness out of place?

What I’m saying is that Free should’ve been a sports anime with a serious plot and deep character growth, OR primarily a silly slice of life anime with casual sports to make the plot interesting. I think it’s main issue is that it’s trying to be both.

𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚

kirishima natsuya 

“do you like anyone?”

you froze and stopped writing. the question was sudden, and the most surprising thing about it was the person who asked you. your gaze remained at the assignment on the table and you blinked a few times, baffled at the male sitting across you.

you couldn’t believe it! the kirishima natsuya, soufukan’s big-shot swim captain and ace swimmer,  questioning if you had a crush on anyone. the very same person who said that he did not want any sort of distraction—a relationship, a crush, or anything that could sabotage his swimming.

out of all the teasing, pranks and flirting that happened between the two of you, this one start up was the least you had expected to spill from his mouth. the tranquility of your breathing was the only vague response you could offer, but he remained silent, patiently waiting for you to voice your thoughts.

having known natsuya since elementary school, you found it odd. why now, out of all the time and many years that he could’ve asked you? why wait till this year, this particular moment? however, his attitude today was different from the usual. he had nothing installed for you and neither did he tease you. nao had also been distancing himself from the two of you today. your lips curling into a small smile. taking this golden opportunity, you decided to give him a taste of his own medicine. pointing your pen to him, you break the silence.

“pfft, since when did you take any interest in me, natsuya? besides, aren’t you always talking about ikuya and swimming?” you question as you waved the writing instrument in your hand while processing his inquiry on you as a joke. to emphasise your apprehension to his words, you cringed in disgust but it only took a little to notice the mischievous glint in your eyes.

“y/n, that wasn’t an answer” he deadpanned, “although you are right about the part where i’m always talking about ikuya and swimming….” the browned haired boy slammed both his hands on the table lightly, shocking you. natsuya rarely gets agitated and so instead of feeling guilty or taken aback at his sudden uproar, the smile on your lips only grew wider as you leaned back on your chair.

“don’t go all defensive now, what you asked counts as an interest, natsuya~” looking at his beet red face, you point it out, a layer of jest in your words.

“damn it,” running his fingers through his hair with a sigh “just answer the question.”

as you had predicted, his patience was running thin. however, you felt like teasing him more. it was as if you and natsuya had switched minds today. although you wanted to continue teasing him, you felt bad and decided to let him off the hook. tilting your head to the side and putting a finger to your chin, pretending to be in deep thought. from your peripheral vision, you could see him swallow and chew his lip anxiously. finally, the unspoken mutual feeling between you both was about to be revealed.

“i do…” a flicker of hope crossed natsuya’s line of sight, and your attention was at the right amount to take in this sight. seeing it was enough for your smile to widen. however on how fast the hope in his eyes showed, the faster it faded as soon as your news sinks into him, losing the chance to process what you meant exactly. “and i think that he likes me too.”