Review : Free! Eternal Summer

Free! Eternal Summer is a sports comedy slice of life show and a direct sequel to the first season, Free!. After the first season of five guys swimming competitively and their daily adventures turned out to be a huge success, it was no surprise that it would get a continuation. The main focal point of the season 2 was the Iwatobi Swim Club's dream of competing in the national tournament and after completing it I've started to think that there really was a bit more to Free! than just 'shirtless bi-shounens jumping in water'! 

Story

Following the story of season one, the anime starts off with a new high school term. Makoto and Haruka are now third years, while Rei and Nagisa are now second years at Iwatobi. They return to the swimming club and begin with the search for new members - failing in this process, they participate in a friendly competition against the team of Samezuka, deal with their individual struggles, and much more. All that while they also practice and try to improve their swimming even more to participate in the regionals - in the hope of success this time. But, swimming was of course not the show's entire focus. Just like season one, Free! Eternal Summer is also filled with lots of slice of life moments, because as we are all aware, Free! is not all about sports. Unlike other sports-themed series, the focus on seemingly "plotless" scenes is a huge one, and also the anime is continuing to deliver great slice of life moments that evoke all sorts of emotions. Iwatobi's hopeless yet funny search for new members, the heartwarming Nagisa-centered episode or the stunning trip to Australia - in the slice of life aspect, this anime is undoubtedly convincing!

Characters

Character development is pretty much noticeable in the season 2 and also the cast has not changed much as the main group of 5 is still the same, the only new additions were Sousuke - an old childhood friend of Rin's, who transfers from another school for certain reasons & Momotauro - Seijuuro's younger brother who also joins the Samezuka swim team. Now, even though the change was small, all the characters wen't through crucial developments, making them even more interesting! Starting off with Haru, who has already opened himself a little more compared to the season 1! Haru now likes swimming together with his friends, and also competing against them. Over the course of this anime he also goes through development and his struggle with the question if he wants to swim professionally or not really makes up for some good drama! Rin's character is also very interesting in this season. From the angry and frustrated guy he was in season 1 he now appears as an easygoing character. It really shows how swimming with his old friends again returned him the joy of the sport. Makoto, Nagisa and Rei do not get as much focus as Haru and Rin, though they go through some development too. Makoto decides how he wants to continue after high school and continues to support his friends with all his might. Nagisa gets an episode dedicated to him that gives us more insight in his character and is the usual moodmaker of the group. Rei continues to improve his swimming and strengthens his bonds with the group.

Animation and Sound

The animation and artwork of the anime still remains amazing, Thanks to Kyoto Animation's high class production. The guys were drawn amazingly with well toned muscles. Though, there was a less emphasis on fashion with characters like Rei from season 1. Most of it was replaced with lighthearted comedy on various degrees of success. The visual expressions of the characters in this sequel were better and this was especially shown in the later half of the anime, as the characters showed a variety of emotions in it. Overall, the artwork and animation enhanced their expressions with opportunistic camera angles and face features. But taking a simple look at the visuals, the series's aim was to please! (Especially the ladies! ;)

For the Sound, the season 2 continued with the same old recipe for success. For the opening, we get a new catchy J-Rock song by the band OldCodex, that holds up well with the season one's opening. The ending song was also fun and it was by the main cast of the show, accompanied by a hilarious ending animation. Voice Actors also retained their way of speaking. Sousuke’s stoic voice stood up as a sharp contrast to most of the other members of his team though. In essence, it’s a contrast to the show itself because the anime has all this energy while Sousuke seems to hold it back. Similarly, emotional scenarios had fitting music and credibility.

Enjoyment

I remember when Free! first burst onto the scene last year. Personally, I was surprised at how a show about swimming developed such a large following so quickly. I was even more surprised when I found that I myself had become part of that following. The first season of Free! was incredibly satisfactory and I found myself looking forward to the season 2 almost immediately. And it didn't disappoint, Free! Eternal Summer really lived up to my expectations and I'm going to say that this anime was one of the best shows of the summer. Read into it however you will, but the second season of Free! really improves beyond the original in nearly every way!

Overall, Free! Eternal Summer was by every means an improvement of the first season. Its light toned atmosphere combining with a diverse cast of characters will definitely catch your attention. In fact, this sequel was similar to most of the Kyoto Animation’s projects with an ability to lift your spirit. Had a bad day? No problem! This anime will bring back the liveliness of what summer feels like beyond just the naked bodies and swimming movements. So, for the people who love summer, the people who love swimming, and the people who love hot guys being wet, I guarantee this sequel won’t be a disappointment to you!

4 STAR ANIME.

Click to view my ratings guide.