Free! (TV series)

Iwatobi High School

Haruka Nanase (七瀬 遙, Nanase Haruka)

Voiced by: Nobunaga Shimazaki^[4] (Japanese); Todd Haberkorn^[5] (English)

Haruka begins the series as a second-year high school student who loves swimming and idolizes water. He is a strong, quiet person who displays limited facial expressions and has a hard time communicating his feelings. His swimming style captivates many and he has a fixation towards freestyle swimming.^[4] Due to his girlish name, he is often mistaken for a girl at the start of each school year and asks to be called Haru. His love for water is so strong that he wears his swimsuit beneath his clothing and often strips down to it at the sight of water, and even considers encountering a waterfall to be a romantic experience. Haruka lives with his grandmother until she passes away, then alone, while his parents live and work in Tokyo, further isolating him. Given his ever-serious demeanor, many think of him as cold except those close to him, who recognize his compassion for others. This is evident when he quits competitive swimming because he falsely believes his friend Rin quits swimming altogether after losing a race to him. Haruka regains his passion for competition upon Rin's return and rediscovers the joy of teamwork with his Iwatobi friends. In Eternal Summer, he endures a crisis of confidence as he avoids making future plans but, with the support of his friends and a trip to Australia, where he swims at the International Aquatic Centre, he realizes he wants to swim on the global stage. In Dive to the Future, he continues developing as a competitive swimmer at Hidaka University, begins training with a professional coach and competes in the All-Japan Invitational in hopes of moving onto the global stage.

Makoto Tachibana (橘 真琴, Tachibana Makoto)

Voiced by: Tatsuhisa Suzuki^[4] (Japanese); Johnny Yong Bosch^[6] (English)

Makoto is Haruka's best friend since childhood, also beginning the series as a second-year high school student and in the same class as Haruka. Unlike Haruka, he is outgoing and often speaks up for him, understanding his behaviors and knowing him extremely well. He is kind and considerate, putting others before himself. He is also sensitive and scares easily (Nagisa often enjoys teasing Makoto by scaring him).^[4] He develops Thalassophobia due to a traumatic childhood incident in which an old fisherman, whom Makoto idolized, drowns in a typhoon alongside many others. He is captain of the Iwatobi swim club with a specialty is the backstroke. In Eternal Summer, he discovers the joy of teaching children to swim while working part-time for Coach Sasabe at Iwatobi SC Returns and decides that coaching is in his future. After a major fallout with Haruka over Haru not having plans and Makoto not sharing his own, the best friends make amends and wind up continuing their educations and their friendship at nearby Tokyo universities. In Dive to the Future, Makoto revises his future plans from teaching children how to swim to also training serious swimmers bound for the global stage, including his friends, Haruka and Rin.

Nagisa Hazuki (葉月 渚, Hazuki Nagisa)

Voiced by: Tsubasa Yonaga^[4] (Japanese); Greg Ayres^[7] (English)

Nagisa begins the series as a first-year high school student who also attends Iwatobi High School. He is cheerful, spirited and outspoken. He has admired Haruka's swimming since elementary school and enrolls at his high school hoping to swim with him again.^[4] He's the one who initiates the idea to start the swim club at Iwatobi High School and is treasurer for the club. He has a strange fascination towards the school's mascot, Iwatobi-chan. His specialty is the breaststroke. In Eternal Summer, it's revealed that his parents are strict about his studies. Worried that they will force him to drop swim club when his grades falter, Nagisa runs away from home and turns to his friends for help. With the assistance of Miss Amakata and the rest of the Iwatobi team, Nagisa summons the courage to talk to his parents realistically and buckles down on his schoolwork. He remains a vital member of the Iwatobi High School Swimming Club after Haruka and Makoto graduate.

Rei Ryugazaki (竜ヶ崎 怜, Ryūgazaki Rei)

Voiced by: Daisuke Hirakawa^[4] (Japanese); J. Michael Tatum^[8] (English)

Rei is Nagisa's classmate who begins the series as a first-year student at Iwatobi High School. He is logical and intelligent,^[4] but easily manipulated by Nagisa.^[9] He is attracted to all things beautiful, both tangible and intangible, and will do everything in his power to avoid things he claims "unattractive." He used to be on the track team as a pole vaulter, but could not perform well because he constantly over-analyzed his jumps. He refuses several times to join the swim club because he doesn't think swimming beautiful enough to learn how to do so. He eventually joins after seeing Haruka's elegant freestyle swimming. At first, he is unable to swim any stroke but with help from Haruka, manages to learn the butterfly stroke. In Eternal Summer, Rin teaches Rei to swim the other three styles. Rei is also the one who continues to remind Haruka that he can remain "free" by being true to himself, no matter what his choices may be. He is captain of the Iwatobi team after Makoto graduates.

Samezuka Academy

Rin Matsuoka (松岡 凛, Matsuoka Rin)

Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano^[4] (Japanese); Vic Mignogna^[10] (English)

Rin is a complicated young man and a powerful swimmer whose specialty is the butterfly stroke. After transferring to Iwatobi Elementary School, he ends up in the same swim club as Haruka, Makoto and Nagisa, eventually leading them to victory in a medley relay. Rin shares the dream of his deceased father who wanted to be an Olympic swimmer, going to Australia to study and train with a strong swim team. His difficulties there, however, are demoralizing and after suffering a loss in a personal race against Haruka during a visit home, he quits swimming. Upon his return to schooling in Japan,^[4] he attends Samezuka Academy, but only joins the swim team after a reunion race against Haruka, who he now views as his rival. At a crucial meet, Rin's conflicted feelings cause him to fail his individual events and he is kicked off Samezuka's relay team. He again declares he's quitting swimming, a fact overheard by the Iwatobi team. To prevent this, Rei gives up his spot on the Iwatobi team and Rin swims in his place, thus reuniting the original relay team and mending the rift between the boys. In Eternal Summer, Rin is Samezuka's swim team captain and friendly with all the members of the Iwatobi Swim Club, including Rei. He also reunites with his childhood best friend, Sosuke Yamazaki, and a bit of their history is seen. When Haruka enters a slump, Rin confronts him with anger. Haruka lashes back at Rin and later, at Makoto, before withdrawing. Makoto enlists Rin's help and the swimmer takes Haru to Australia where they visit the International Aquatic Centre. There, Haruka's fears dissolve and he decides going "pro" is in his future. Rin returns to Australia after graduating high school to continue training for the Olympics. In Dive to the Future, Rin is seen training in Australia with a professional coach. He returns to Japan to swim in the All-Japan Invitational, qualifying to swim at global-level tournaments.

Sosuke Yamazaki (山崎 宗介, Yamazaki Sōsuke)

Voiced by: Yoshimasa Hosoya^[11] (Japanese); Ian Sinclair^[12] (English)

Sosuke is Rin's childhood best friend from Sano Elementary School. In Eternal Summer, he transfers to Samezuka Academy so he can spend his last year of high school in his hometown, swimming with Rin. He is also good friends with Gou, having spent past holidays with Rin and her in their elementary days. Having a strong personality, little irritates him. He is a skilled butterfly swimmer and is ranked in the top 10 in Japan. After Rin leaves for Australia as an elementary student, Sosuke sets a goal for himself to become a professional swimmer alongside him. Due to over-training in his first year of high school, however, he severely injures his right shoulder, ruining his chances of entering the professional world. Sosuke dislikes Haruka because of his potential to overshadow Rin, but tolerates his ability to motivate his best friend, making their relationship tense. It is Sosuke who first raises concerns about Ikuya Kirishima being a swimmer "to watch" as Rin moves forward in his quest for Olympic glory. In Dive to the Future, Sosuke's shoulder surgery is seen to be successful and he reunites with Rin at the All-Japan Invitational, promising to swim with him again soon.

Aiichiro Nitori (似鳥 愛一郎, Nitori Aiichirō)

Voiced by: Kōki Miyata^[13] (Japanese); Josh Grelle^[14] (English)

Aiichiro begins the series as a first-year high school student and member of the Samezuka Academy swimming team who idolizes Rin. He shares a dorm room with Rin in the first season, then Momotaro in the second season. He swims long distance freestyle, but begins to focus more on breaststroke in the second season. With coaching from Sosuke, Aiichiro's swimming improves to the point that Rin allows him to compete in a crucial relay. At the end of the series, Rin appoints him as Samezuka's new captain.

Seijuro Mikoshiba (御子柴 清十郎, Mikoshiba Seijūrō)

Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda (Japanese); Robert McCollum^[12] (English)

Seijuro is the captain of the Samezuka Academy swimming team and begins the series as a third-year high school student. He is an enthusiastic person and a skilled swimmer. He shows strong interest in Gou Matsuoka. In Dive to the Future he attends Hidaka University and is a third-year swim team member.

Momotaro Mikoshiba (御子柴 百太郎, Mikoshiba Momotarō)

Voiced by: Kenichi Suzumura^[13] (Japanese); Jerry Jewell^[14] (English)

Momotaro is Seijuro's younger brother and begins the series as a first-year high school student at Samezuka Academy. Initially he doesn't join the swim team, but does so later on at Rin's insistence. Like his brother, he has a crush on Gou and is an enthusiastic person. He is a skilled backstroke swimmer with the given nickname, "The Sea of Japan's Sea Otter."

Iwatobi Middle School/Tokyo

Kisumi Shigino (鴫野 貴澄, Shigino Kisumi)

Voiced by: Chihiro Suzuki (Japanese); Eric Vale (English)

Kisumi is a supporting character in Eternal Summer, Starting Days, Dive to the Future and the second volume of the light novel High Speed! He is a lively young man and classmate with the members of the Iwatobi Middle School Swimming Club. Although they ultimately attend different high schools, Kisumi's path again crosses with Makoto's when Makoto acts as a part-time coach at Iwatobi SC Returns and works with Hayato, Kisumi's younger brother. While Makoto is happy to see Kisumi, Haruka is less than enthusiastic about Kisumi's boisterous nature. When Makoto and Haruka arrive in Tokyo to begin their university studies, Kisumi is there again, working part-time as a real estate agent for his uncle, showing a reluctant Haruka several potential apartments. He attends Hidaka University, along with Haruka and Asahi and is close friends with them, and Makoto.

Asahi Shiina (椎名 旭, Shīna Asahi)

Voiced by: Toshiyuki Toyonaga (Japanese); Christopher Llewyn Ramirez (English)

Asahi is a member of the Iwatobi Middle School Swim team along with Haruka, Makoto and Ikuya Kirishima during their first year of middle school, after which he moves to Kyushu with his family. He comes to Tokyo as a freshman at Hidaka University where he reunites with Haruka as a fellow college swim team member and close friend. Asahi is a confident young man and a fierce competitor.

Ikuya Kirishima (桐嶋 郁弥, Kirishima Ikuya)

Voiced by: Kouki Uchiyama (Japanese); Lee George (English)

Ikuya is a member of the Iwatobi Middle School Swim team along with Haruka, Makoto and Asahi Shina. While an excellent swimmer of the breaststroke, he also possesses an elegant crawl, similar in speed and style to Haruka's. After the middle school team breaks up, he follows older brother Natsuya to the U.S. where he attends high school, focusing on developing all four swim strokes to become an Individual Medley competitor. It is also where he re-encounters Hiyori Toono, who he first met in kindergarten before Hiyori moved away. Ikuya attends Shimogami University with Hiyori where they are both on the swim team. Ikuya's past abandonment issues affect his swimming and his friendships. These issues are explored and ultimately resolved when Natsuya returns from his world travels to resume his sibling responsibilities, Haruka keeps a promise he made to Ikuya long ago, and Ikuya recognizes Hiyori's long-standing friendship and devotion.

Natsuya Kirishima (桐嶋 夏也, Kirishima Natsuya)

Voiced by: Kenji Nojima (Japanese); Ricco Fajardo (English)

Natsuya begins as a third-year and captain of the Iwatobi Middle School Swim team in Starting Days, and older brother to Ikuya. He is a strong leader who believes he must push Ikuya, who idolizes him, into standing on his own by ignoring him. This leads to a strained relationship between the brothers until they express their feelings openly and come to terms. After high school, Natsuya swims competitively, but independently, entering contests and winning prize money around the world. He eventually returns to Japan to look after Ikuya and compete alongside him. He and Nao Serizawa are close friends.

Nao Serizawa (芹沢 尚, Serizawa Nao)

Voiced by: Satoshi Hino (Japanese); Oscar Seung (English)

Nao begins as a third-year and member of the Iwatobi Middle School Swim team in Starting Days, temporarily sidelined by an eye injury. He is a calm, kind and rational individual with great insight into others. He is also the former occupant of Haruka's Tokyo apartment and is instrumental in guiding Makoto towards his new career path. Nao and Natsuya Kirishima are close friends.

Hiyori Toono (遠野 日和, Tōno Hiyori)

Voiced by: Ryōhei Kimura (Japanese); Jason Liebrecht (English)

Hiyori is Ikuya's best friend and top supporter. The two swimmers re-unite when Ikuya moves to the US to attend high school having previously met in kindergarten before Hiyori moves away. When Natsuya leaves Japan to travel the world as an independent swim competitor, he tasks Hiyori with watching over Ikuya on both a personal and professional level. The responsibility proves overwhelming and Hiyori becomes overprotective and possessive to the point of being rude towards Ikuya's former middle school teammates who he believes hurt Ikuya in the past. The matter is settled favorably once Natsuya returns to Japan to resume his brotherly role, Ikuya and Haruka make amends and Ikuya recognizes Hiyori's devoted friendship.

Others

Gou Matsuoka (松岡 江, Matsuoka Gō)

Voiced by: Akeno Watanabe (Japanese); Jamie Marchi^[12] (English)

Gou is Rin's younger sister. She begins the series as a first-year high school student at Iwatobi High School. She prefers to be known by the more typical reading of her name, Kou, due to Gou being a boyish name, though she eventually gives up, mostly due to Nagisa insistently calling her Gou. She joins the swim club as their manager in hopes that they can restore Rin's old personality. She is organized and determined, going as far as using calligraphy to create a 60+ page training regimen to hone the team's abilities. Gou has a muscle fetish and tends to blush around muscled men when with them. In Eternal Summer, she promises not to gush over muscles until the Iwatobi team makes Nationals, which they do. She remains an active member of the Iwatobi Swim Club.

Miho Amakata (天方 美帆, Amakata Miho)

Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino (Japanese); Caitlin Glass^[12] (English)

Miho is Haruka and Makoto's homeroom teacher, and teaches classical literature. The students nickname her Ama-chan or Miss A. Rumors among Iwatobi students suggest she went to Tokyo to pursue her dream of modeling for a swimsuit company, but failed and became a teacher instead. She has a quirky and upbeat personality, sometimes using old, confusing literature phrases to make a point. She becomes the faculty advisor for the swim club after Nagisa mentions the rumors to her and the boys beg her to help them. She agrees, whether to keep the rumors at bay or genuinely help being unclear. Miho appears to be embarrassed by her modeling days and takes extreme measures to hide her previous career. When in conversation, she emits an evil aura if the topic arises. In Eternal Summer, her evil aura turns into flames when Coach Sasabe brings up the subject. She continues as advisor to the Iwatobi Swim Club.

Goro Sasabe (笹部 吾朗, Sasabe Gorō)

Voiced by: Hiroshi Yanaka (Japanese); Christopher R. Sabat^[12] (English)

Goro was the swimming coach at the abandoned Iwatobi Swimming Club, having coached Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa and Rin while they were in elementary school. He works part-time as a pizza delivery man in Iwatobi because he loves the town, but begins re-coaching Haruka, Makoto and Nagisa, with the addition of Rei, upon seeing their enthusisam. He is normally laid-back, but can be incredibly strict with the Iwatobi boys when coaching. In Eternal Summer, he rebuilds the Iwatobi Swimming Club, renaming it "Iwatobi SC Returns", developing the space into a community recreation center and swim school. He continues to support the Iwatobi Swim Club and the graduates he formerly coached.

Isuzu Mikoshiba (御子柴 五十鈴, Mikoshiba Isuzu)

Isuzu is Seijuro’s younger sister and Momotaro’s older sister. She is captain of the Hidaka University High School Swim Team and a strong freestyle competitive swimmer. Like her brothers, she possesses an outgoing personality. Upon meeting Haruka Nanase, she expresses her admiration and her wish to compete against him. Upon meeting Gou Matsuoka, the two immediately bond as muscle-obsessed fangirls.

Ryuuji Azuma (東 龍司, Azuma Ryuuji)

Ryuuji is a former competitive swimmer who currently coaches Haruka Nanase. Ryuuji was on a path to greatness when something happened to someone he cared about during his swim career and he lost his will to swim. Mikhail Makarovich, his long-time rival and fellow pro-coach believes he is now coaching Haruka to ensure that the young swimmer doesn't make the same mistake, saying Haruka is capable of much more speed and strength if he is willing to sacrifice everything, implying personal relationships, to become a top competitor. He can be moody and enigmatic, but he is respected by Haruka and accepted by Makoto, who Ryuuji encourages to work with professional athletes once he sees how well Makoto is able to persuade a willful Haruka to do as Ryuuji instructs.

Mikhail Makarovich (ミハイル, Mihairu)

Mikhail is a former Russian competitive swimmer and long-time rival of Ryuuji Azuma. He currently coaches Rin Matsuoka in Australia. He assesses whether or not he will coach a swimmer by their musculature being someone who admires muscles, in general. He tries to use modern slang in order to look hip and usually fails, but is a likable individual.

Ran Tachibana (橘 蘭, Tachibana Ran)

Voiced by: Miyuki Kobori (Japanese); Sarah Wiedenheft (English)

Ran is Makoto's younger sister. She and her twin brother, Ren, adore Makoto.

Ren Tachibana (橘 蓮, Tachibana Ren)

Voiced by: Yuka Maruyama (Japanese); Megan Vander Pluym (English)

Ren is Makoto's younger brother. He and his twin sister, Ran, adore Makoto.

Anime series

Animation Do released a splash image for a new project in April 2012, which was followed by a television commercial for the project in March 2013.^[15] The commercial quickly went viral despite only being 30 seconds long, and a wide variety of fan works expanding upon the nameless characters from the ad were created, including hypothetical biographies, art, and fan fiction, along with online petitions calling on the studio to turn it into a real series.^[16]

Kyoto Animation announced an animated series during a live stream on Niconico on April 26, 2013.^[17][18] The 12-episode anime television series, produced in collaboration with Animation Do, was directed by Hiroko Utsumi, written by Masahiro Yokotani, and featured character designs by Futoshi Nishiya and music by Tatsuya Katō. The series aired in Japan between July 4 and September 26, 2013 on Tokyo MX,^[1] and was also streamed on the Japanese video-sharing website Niconico^[19] and simulcast by Crunchyroll, who also possesses the home video rights to the series.^[1][20][21] The series was released on six BD and DVD compilation volumes between September 11, 2013 and February 5, 2014, with certain volumes containing short bonus episodes.

A 13-episode second season, titled Free! Eternal Summer, aired between July 2^[22] and September 24, 2014. Funimation has licensed the second season for streaming and home video in North America,^[23] and they attempted to negotiate with Crunchyroll about releasing the first season on home video.^[7] However, Discotek Media released the first season on behalf of Crunchyroll on DVD with English subtitles, but noted a dubbed release might come eventually.^[24] The English dub of the first season is available on Crunchyroll, with the English voice cast reprising their roles.^[25] Crunchyroll and Funimation released the first season on Blu-ray and DVD on May 9, 2017 with an English dub.^[26][27]

A 12-episode third season titled Free! Dive to the Future aired between July 11 and September 26, 2018.^[28] Eisaku Kawanami returned to direct the third season, while all the staff and cast reprised their roles.^[29]

After the third season's finale, a new animated project slated for a 2020 release was announced.^[30]

Films

An animated film based on the second volume of the original light novel, titled High Speed! Free! Starting Days, was released in Japan on December 5, 2015. The film was directed by Yasuhiro Takemoto and the screenplay was written by Maiko Nishioka. Yokotani worked on the story composition, and Nishiya served as character designer and chief animation director.^[31]

An animated film trilogy was announced by Kyoto Animation.^[32] The first two, titled Free! Timeless Medley: The Bond and Free! Timeless Medley: The Promise are compilations of the second season, Free! Eternal Summer with new scenes added. The Bond focuses on the five main members of the Iwatobi Swim Club, while The Promise focuses on Rin and Sousuke from the Samezuka Swim Club. Both films opened on April 22 and July 1, 2017, respectively. A third film, titled Free! Take Your Marks, is a new story taking place in the spring as Haruka deals with high school graduation and everyone's futures as they move forward in their lives and was released on October 28, 2017.^[33] All three films were directed by Eisaku Kawanami, and much of the staff from the anime series and High Speed! film returned for the compilation films, including series composer Masahiro Yokotani, character designer Futoshi Nishiya and composer Tatsuya Katō.^[34] Funimation acquired the film trilogy and the High Speed prequel film for home video release as well as screening the Take Your Marks film in US theaters on March 14, 2018, presented in Japanese with English subtitles.^[35]

Music

For the first season, the opening theme is "Rage On" by Oldcodex and the ending theme is "Splash Free" by Style Five (Nobunaga Shimazaki, Tatsuhisa Suzuki, Mamoru Miyano, Tsubasa Yonaga and Daisuke Hirakawa). The ending theme for episode 12 is "Ever Blue" by Style Five.^[36] The single for "Rage On" was released on July 17, 2013 and sold over 24,281 copies.^[37][38] The single for "Splash Free" was released on August 7, 2013 and sold over 47,646 copies.^[39][40] For the second season, the opening theme is "Dried Up Youthful Fame" by Oldcodex,^[41][42] and the ending theme is "Future Fish" by Style Five. The ending theme for episode 13 is "Clear Blue Departure" by Nobunaga Shimazaki, Tatsuhisa Suzuki, Tsubasa Yonaga, Daisuke Hirakawa, Mamoru Miyano, Yoshimasa Hosoya, Kōki Miyata and Kenichi Suzumura.

Five character song singles were released sung by the voice actors of the main characters. The singles for Haruka Nanase (sung by Shimazaki) and Makoto Tachibana (sung by Suzuki) were released on August 7, 2013.^[43][44] Makoto's single sold over 23,487 copies, while Haruka's single sold about 20,371 copies.^[45] The singles for Rin Matsuoka (sung by Miyano), Nagisa Hazuki (sung by Yonaga) and Rei Ryūgazaki (sung by Hirakawa) were released on September 4, 2013.^[46][47][48] Rin's single sold over 18,698 copies, while Rei's and Nagisa's sold over 15,021 and 14,283 copies, respectively.^[49]

Four duet character song singles were released sung by the voice actors of the main characters.^[50] The single with Haruka (sung by Shimazaki) and Makoto (sung by Suzuki) was released on December 18, 2013 and sold over 16,361 album copies.^[51] The single with Nagisa (sung by Tsubasa Yonaga) and Rei (sung by Daisuke Hirakawa) was released on January 15, 2014 and sold over 11,980 copies.^[52] The single with Rei (sung by Daisuke Hirakawa) and Rin (sung by Mamoru Miyano) was released on February 12, 2014 and sold over 13,389 copies.^[53] The last single with Haruka (sung by Shimazaki) and Rin (sung by Mamoru Miyano) was released on March 19, 2014 and sold over 15,866 album copies.^[54]

Other

The original light novel High Speed! (ハイ☆スピード, Hai Supīdo) is written by Kōji Ōji, with illustrations by Futoshi Nishiya. Ōji entered it into the second Kyoto Animation Award contest in 2011, and it won an honorable mention in the novel category.^[55] It was published by Kyoto Animation on July 8, 2013.^[56] A second volume was published on July 2, 2014, and the story takes place when Haruka and Makoto are in middle school.^[57]

An Internet radio show to promote the anime called Iwatobi Channel (イワトビちゃんねる, Iwatobi Channeru) began broadcasting on June 17, 2013.^[58] The show is streamed online every Monday, and is produced by the Japanese Internet radio stations Lantis Web Radio and Onsen. The show is hosted by Nobunaga Shimazaki and Tatsuhisa Suzuki, who voice Haruka Nanase and Makoto Tachibana from the anime, respectively.^[59] Two CD compilation volumes were released between August 21 and September 25, 2013.^[60][61]

Two volumes in a drama CDs series, titled Iwatobi High School Swimming Club Activity Journal (岩鳶高校水泳部活動日誌, Iwatobi Kōkō Suiei-bu Katsudō Nisshi), were released between August 21 and September 25, 2013.^[62][63]