Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
ekal
Free! Eternal Summer took me for a ride starting from episode 3 till episode 13. Albeit very confusing at first (and last), I eventually learned the hottest guy's name and was satisfied with that. I'm fairly confident that most people watching Free! Eternal Summer will be able to learn at least one of the character's names before the abrupt ending.
The ending was, Lacking. It was rather unbelievable that the last episode hyped up the nationals swimming competition with a 20 minute intro (without an opening) about their pasts and reminiscing about their stories together, but the team ended up getting *th place. (no spoilers in the guidelines).
Read at the sourceChiaki__Nanami
I realize this series is more of a fan service anime for girls. I would recommend any girls to watch this anime, but if you're a guy you probably won't get as much enjoyment out of this anime. I gave this anime a 5 because the anime didn't show much competitive swimming. The show focused a lot on fan service. For me, the first season was much better and this season was more of just a copy of the first, they just got better at swimming. Although the characters did evolve throughout this season.
The good points of this series for me was the soundtrack was a 10/10. All the songs blended well with the anime. The art was also another one of its strong points. The story was good, but I think it could've been more entertaining at some points. It was a very relaxing anime, but it was mostly do to…
Read at the sourceFor_Reign
After watching the first season of Free!, without a second thought, I got the second season and started to binge watch it. I'm writing this immediately after watching the second season. I rated this one the same overall as I gave the first season: 8!
This is a direct continuation of the first season, and I personally thought it was really good. Like I said before, I am into slice-of-life anime, and this is my first venture into the sports sub-genre. If there is one thing I have a weakness for is for male friendships. Especially the kind, as in this anime, that are gentle and kind and share dreams and ambitions.
As with many slice-of-life anime, it is about growing up and learning and moving forward. This anime was no exception. Many people argue that the show has homosexual undertones, b…
Read at the sourcelilymul
Watching this out of curiosity due to the hype and also for some time killing during holiday, Free!Eternal Summer is although might not be the best anime out there, it without a doubt is a very enjoyable series that worth your time.
Following its previous season, I must say that Free!ES stepped up their game in its story and characters.
Story: 7/10
While I finished Free! in average impression, Free!ES although still maintained its common theme about friendship, passion, ambition etc certainly had improved its plot with more relatable events and less complicated, messy childhood flashbacks unlike Free! Although with the theme is pretty much light and naive imo, some of the highlighted events were delivered in a very satisfying manner that I found very endearing. Also most importantly it…
Read at the sourceNyren
Anime covers just about every genre there is and there is always something for everyone, no matter what your preference might be. That's the beauty of anime. It is all inclusive, yet still unique, still unlike anything else in this world. That doesn't mean that every anime that has ever been made is something to be cherished, but every once in a blue moon, a special cherry blossom appears. The brightest star amongst the dark night sky. Free!: Eternal Summer is that bright star.
I went into this series expecting a simple, fun anime. But what I discovered, was something far deeper than I could have ever imagined. The first season was emotional, but it was more about the fun, the joy of swimming. Eternal Summer goes above and beyond that, focusing on the future and our dreams. Deciding what…
Read at the sourceBlackOpps_
When I watched Free season one I honestly thought it was average at best, not even finishing it untill season two was about to begin. I watched up until episode 8 and dropped it. However coming back to it was the best decison I've made when its come to watching some shows. The last 3 episodes saved the show, making me give it an overall of mark 7 out of 10 for season one! NOW Season two
Story: Much better than season one, there was no awkward rivalry between old friends, as it was resolved at the end of season one and they all got on very well, you could tell that they had matured and it was a mature enviroment. There was friendly competition and they all looked to the future making it all the more enjoyable to watch, however there was some character arcs that really pushed the show to m…
Read at the sourceRWM13
My expectations weren't so high... but after I got through the 2nd season I just can say: I did enjoy the show very much!
Of course there actually is a slight homoerotic undertone but this does not mean guys should stay away from it or it's only a show for girls and Yaoi Fans. I think for guys it's quite amusing to see those guys swimming, chatting, ... whatever..., with each other.
However, during the show, there is not so much attention on the swimming; rather, how they interact with each other, how they come and work together as a team and how they keep pushing each other to raise the bar higher and - finally - for achieving their goals and dreams.
Furthermore, Free absolutely stands out for being an Anime with a great character development. It was beautiful to see how the boys - li…
Read at the sourcepazuhira
STORY: 9
I liked it even more than the first one. Swimming and sweating and more RIN, oh thanks God about that character.
ART: 8
Still very good but nothing special.
SOUND: 9 I LOVED EVERYTHING AND I REGRET NOTHING. The opening is one of my personal favorites and the ending is really catchy.
CHARACTER: 10
I liked the characters more than the first season they had a big character development for me.
ENJOYMENT: 10
ahhh i really didn't want it to end!!
OVERALL: 9
thanks for reading!
Read at the sourcepeeyaj
A little history lesson first:
KyoAni is a very popular Japanese animation studio. KyoAni produced some of the most well-known "moe"shows in the industry, and animes like Haruhi, K! On and Clannad were household names in Japan. In retrospect, the popularity of these shows were mainly because of the popularity of the source material, but boy (!), KyoAni made them 10x more popular. On the other hand, KyoAni were not the only one producing those aforementioned shows, rather, they are part of a production committee (together with Kadokawa Shoten etc.), so got only a fraction of financial successes that those anime made (my assumption).
In 2010, KyoAni made the Kyoto Animation Award which seeks (in my opinion) source material for adaptation. No winners were announced but one work received an…
Read at the sourcekittyhawk09
Free! Eternal Summer was not as dramatic as the theme song made it out to be. It had a lot more comedy and somewhat corny scenes than I thought. However, sandwiched between those is an internal battle that is slowly building in Nanase Haru, is swimming because he loves the water really enough? For a fan of Free!, the previous season, it's satisfying to watch the swim team train harder, watch Rei improve, and reaffirm why they swim. As a motivational message, it's almost convincing to make someone want to swim. Still, if you feel the slice of life is being laid on thick, hold out for when they reach regionals (sorry for the spoilers). Everything after that, is rising towards a climax. We start to see the characters stand on their feet. For me, that was the most satisfying. In character deve…
Read at the sourceCarlzdachu
Initially I had no intention of writing about “Free!” again, mainly because I thought it couldn’t offer me anything new… but I was wrong.
The characteristic trait of “Free!”, and what I loved the most about the first season, was the always present factor of the friendship and camaraderie the swim team shared, it wasn’t the most special or unique one (might say), but it got to me in every sense of the way, thanks to the classic connection felt with teenage characters, that being the struggles of growing up, all accompanied by this, for some people risky, sense of male bonding that made the whole thing special.
Take it as you like, I can’t stop anyone from seeing the series as they want to see it… yeah I’m talking to those kind of watchers. Yet to me it was a marvelous display of teenage f…
Read at the sourceanimimosa
this got really bad.
the torturted animista can only suspect who actually were the culprits pressed the studio in this way to deliver a sequel, but do in no way anything like the first run. whoever it seems it was someone pritty fat and humourless but with a lot of influence to actually insist in the second season, for contract reasons only of course (!), but could force the makers to iron the whole thing flat. as flat they just could get it. really flat i mean.
they removed all elements which created not a spectacular but still entertaining anime in season one, as the sense of humour, the artwork and flawless animation suited the topic, and replace them with more of the dreadful "ganbanakya, ganbanakya" singing of morally indisputable, rather square looking crybabies. Was surprised the…
Read at the sourceaikojazz
I never expected myself to cry after watching, especially not a show like Free. But I did. Why?
Story 8/10
At first, I wonder, after competing in the swimming competition for the first season, will they compete again this season? The answer is undoubtedly YES. However, not only preparing for the swimming competition, the main characters especially Haruka, Makoto, and Rin since they are in the third grade, have to start thinking about what they want to do after they graduate.
This is where I don't expect Free: Eternal Summer to be good. Although it is mostly about Haru finding his dreams, it is very relatable, especially to teenagers nowadays who are wondering what to do after high school. While the first season was cute guys doing swimming club (something like K-On but the main casts a…
Read at the sourcetachibanahotarou
Free! Eternal Summer is the season 2 installation of Free! Iwatobi Swim Club. It continues on where the season 1 had ended. At the start of the series, Captain of the Samezuka Swim Team, Seijuurou Mikoshiba, retired and assigned Matsuoka Rin as the new captain. As the anime continued on, it displayed the powerful bond of Haruka Nanase towards his team and his friends. The main focal point of the season 2 is the Iwatobi Swim Club's dream of competing in the national tournament.
The anime also introduced a new character namely, Yamazaki Sousuke. Even though character was a supporting one, he played a big role in the lives of the main characters. Sousuke became Rin's right hand man and Haru's main driver. Without Sousuke, Rin will never have someone who can protect him and give him advice a…
Read at the sourceVeronin
I guess there's a bit more to Free than 'shirtless bishounens jump in water'.
For a series that began with a crescendo of confusion, Free has come a long way in carving its identity as a genuinely decent, though largely forgettable sports anime. While I don't think it will convert anyone who detested the first season (and there were indubitably more than a few of them), those who enjoyed or were indifferent towards Free's first offering will find a large improvement in quality. And yes, heterosexual dudes can now watch it without feeling uncomfortable.
That's not to say that Free has forgotten its primary audience (teenage girls and Tumblr fujoshi who squeal at the slightest homoerotic undertone), but at least now KyoAni has tried to justify the anime's existence by creating a story of…
Read at the sourcebilbofaggins
The first and start of the second season to this anime was AMAZING. It was 6th on my top fave anime list. But as it progressed through the second season it just became really, really, really cheesy. I expected Rin and Sousuke to start kissing or something, which totally ruined the story for me. I enjoyed the rush it gave when they were partaking in tournaments etc, but once that side was over it just became a gay romance anime (not to be taken in offence, this was actually how the characters began to act towards each other)
The first series was SO GOOD though, like I was literally addicted to it and I was impatient for the second season. I recommend watching Free!: Iwatobi Swim Club, but if you watch this season you will understand what I mean, hopefully. I'm sorry if you were offended by…
Read at the sourcejambol
I'm going to say it: Free! ES was one of the best shows of the summer. Read into it however you will, but the second season of Free! improves beyond the original in nearly every way.
I remember when Free! first burst onto the scene last year. Personally, I was surprised at how a show about swimming (with some potentially homosexual undertones) 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 season 2 almost immediately. And it doesn't disappoint. Free! Eternal Summer lived up to my expectations and more.
Season 2 of Free! finds that Rin and the Iwatobi Swim Club have reconciled and are now friendly rivals (thank g…
Read at the sourceManumento
There is a limit to how much weight can a single shark lift.
Free!: Eternal Summer is a sports comedy slice of life show and a direct sequel to the first season, Free!. It is a reverse moe trope anime, with moe tropes found in girls given to the guys instead. Usually dubbed as a fanservice show for girls with swimming as a backdrop, does it have anything more in it? The answer is yes, it does, but not so much.
Plot:
Another summer comes and the swimmers of Iwatobi and Samezuka High School swimming clubs are once again in a rivalry. It is the last school year for Haruka, Makoto and Rin, and they have to make their career decisions and find out how much the passion of swimming can help them in the future, all in meanwhile an old childhood friend of Rin's appear to spice up the situation.…
Read at the sourcesilverwalls
The swimming boys are back! Free! kept its promise from season one ("See you next summer...") and returned for another season of swimming, slice of life and manservice. After the first season of five guys swimming competitively and their daily (mis)adventures turned out to be a huge success, it was no surprise that it would get a continuation. And now that the second season finished, how does it compete with its prequel?
Following the story of season one, Free!: Eternal Summer 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. And how else would they start off a new year if not with swimming? They return to the swim club and begin with the search for new members - failing in the process, participating in a f…
Read at the sourceStark700
Although sequels can be a hit or miss, Free: Eternal Summer extends on the organic setup of the first season. From shirtless guys to competitive swimming, this show brings the reincarnation of the swimming genre, a sports series that revolutionizes itself with what it has already accomplished from season 1. A good impression for a sequel usually require the essence of the original. While Eternal Summer doesn’t blow the original out the water, neither does it sink beyond salvation.
From what’s shown, Free builds on the foundation of its characters and virtues with connections. Characters connect with one another for a common interest and passion. In this case, it would be swimming. The first season gave the audience a well-rounded introduction of the characters ranging with a variety of pe…
Read at the source