# Free! (2013)

> Haruka Nanase reunites with old swim club friends and a newcomer to form a high school swimming club to take on his rival Rin.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/54791

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 37
- Episode runtime: 24 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: animation, drama
- Network: TOKYO MX
- Cast: Nobunaga Shimazaki, Daisuke Hirakawa, Akeno Watanabe, Kenjiro Tsuda, Mamoru Miyano, Hiroshi Yanaka, Tatsuhisa Suzuki, Satsuki Yukino
- TMDB rating: 7.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2904418/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: gentle, warm, wholesome, nostalgic, uplifting

## What critics say

Audiences broadly rate Free! as a positive, visually polished sports anime whose appeal is strongest in its first seasons, with the later season drawing notably weaker reception.

## Synopsis

Free! (2013-2018) is a Japanese animated sports drama series created for TOKYO MX and produced by Kyoto Animation, a three-season serialized slice of life anime spanning 37 episodes. Haruka Nanase (Nobunaga Shimazaki) is a boy obsessed with swimming who, after a rival named Rin Matsuoka (Mamoru Miyano) reappears in his uneventful high school life and challenges him to a match, gathers his old elementary school teammates Makoto Tachibana (Tatsuhisa Suzuki) and Nagisa Hazuki (Tsubasa Yonaga) and recruits a newcomer, Rei Ryugazaki (Daisuke Hirakawa), to found a swimming club at Iwatobi High School. Each episode follows the members through practice, training routines, tournaments and everyday school life, with the central engine being the drive to beat Rin and the friction of sustaining a team. The series is a shonen-adjacent sports anime with a gentle, warm register, its water-drenched visuals and calm rhythms lending it a soothing, nostalgic atmosphere. Fans of Haikyu!!, Yuri!!! on Ice and Kuroko's Basketball will find resonance in its blend of youthful competition, friendship and quiet personal growth.

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- [Skip and Loafer (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/114947)
- [Love Live! Sunshine!! (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/57768)
- [Stars Align (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/78554)
- [Harukana Receive (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/69066)
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- [Run with the Wind (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/70674)

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