Summer Viewing: Free! Eternal Summer (ep 1)

Confession: I completely forgot to watch Free! Eternal Summer this past week. I'm starting to remember why it's so hard to mix being a bookworm with being an anime fan. So now, just one and a half hours before my personal deadline, I begin watching Eternal Summer. I'm writing this while the first episode plays on my TV.

Okay... refresher on names (yes, the main boys have names usually associated with girls):

Iwatobi is the school most of the main characters go to.

Haruka (Haru) is the water-obsessed guy who swims freestyle. He's often found in the bathtub, with his swimsuit on, especially if he doesn't have access to a pool. He'll happily cook breakfast wearing just his swimsuit and his apron because, ya'know, fanservice. Also, he's the vice president of the club. His passion for swimming may be unmatched, but he's not exactly president material.

Makato is the motherly best friend. Backstroke. Team captain and club president.

Nagisa is the youthful face. Breaststroke. Treasury.

Rei is the newer swimmer who only knows butterfly. Secretary.

Matsuoka Rin is the shark toothed guy who spent time in Australia, and who I vaguely remember being a jerk last season... Ah, yes. I summarized the first season after I watched it. Here's an excerpt:

Free! was all about the drama. Basically, four guys used to be friends. One of them, Rin, aspired to be an Olympic swimmer. Back in grade school, he knew the importance of camradarie, and he convinced the other three kids to be in a medley relay with him. Then he went off to Australia for middle school, to study at some academy with a great swimming program. He finally came back during the second year of high school... but not to the same team, or even the same school, as the other three boys.

So, Rin was back in Japan, but he was kinda a callous jerk to his old buddies. He eventually joined one of their rival swimming teams, but he was still obsessed with being on the same team as his old friends. It was kinda like in TV shows where the girl is still totally in love with her ex, but gets a new boyfriend anyway, only to cheat on him with the ex... who also has a new significant other, so he's cheating, too.

For more about the first season, see my post Rewind: Free! Iwatobi Swim Club. To see my reactions as Eternal Summer unfolds, stay tuned here. It looks like this season begins the year after the first one.

Back to ep 1 of ES:

The Iwatobi crew visits Rin's school and has an impromptu race—as usual, it pretty much starts with Haru taking off his clothes (he always wears his swimsuit underneath) and preparing to dive in. While they're there, we find out that Rin is future captain of his swim team. He doesn't look too thrilled about it. Remind me... why isn't he switching schools?

Oh, a character I forgot: Rin's little sister is the manager of the Iwatobi Swim club. I don't remember her first name, but I think it was boyish.

Hey, look. She's introducing the club members to the school at the beginning of the term. Aaaand there go their shirts, leaving them just in their swimsuits. They declare their name, specialty stroke, and their "charm point" muscles, then strike a pose.

I love the students' reactions when the boys pull off their jackets.

They're having trouble getting new members, of course. Might be partially because their pool is outside, and it's still too cold. The other reason? Dude, this is a club anime. We need the second years to worry about keeping the club next year, and we need Haru to feel sad about that lack of new swimmers (think Chihayafuru 2). Heighten the drama, folks.

Their coach is Sasabe... cool, he owns the indoor swimming pool where the gang first met.

There goes Haru's shirt again. And into the pool he dives... watched by a mysterious newbie whose face we don't get to see yet.

Wait... Sasabe's first name is Goro? That makes me think of another cheesy boy-filled anime... that Goro owns a bathhouse with water from a hot spring, but he spends all his time chopping wood... this Goro owns the pool... I prefer wood-chopping Goro (from Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE!).

Anyway, it looks like they're already at a swim meet.

Okay, Rin and Haru race! ... Haru's teammates call encouragments while rather sweet-arcade-ish music plays and Rin looks pretty in the water... Aww, that's sweet. They tied, setting a new record together. Then they high five...

I'm sorry, after last season, I just can't take this seriously. I know, I know, I should try... but... but... the sappiness... the friendship... "oh"... cherry blossom pool... childhood dream... "you guys"...*emotional happy-tears*..."Rin-san, go ahead!"

Talking about future plans, dreams... and there's that faraway look in Haru's eyes.

Rin asks Haru and Makato what their plans are after graduation.
I know that look in Haru's eyes. I've seen it in countless anime characters
before. It means "I know my answer will disappoint you, so I'll
just keep quiet and look a little sad." We'll find out more later,
because drama.

We get a transfer-student and blast-from-Rin's-past, Sosuke. He joins Rin's class. There's no drama yet, but the look on their faces promises a backstory.

Yay! Ending theme! This was my favorite part last season. It's like a music video... thought not quite as fun this season.

I'm sorry, I just can't take this show seriously. I think TWWK wrote several posts about Eternal Summer over at Beneath the Tangles. Maybe I'll read those as I watch. It might help me stop scoffing during every dramatic part.

Rewind: Free! Iwatobi Swim Club

Free! Iwatobi Swim Club was one of the most talked-about anime in Summer 2013. It sparked swooning, debates, and a lot of fan art. I participated in none of it. As far as I understood, Free! was just a shallow anime filled with girl-oriented fan service. Still, I'm a dedicated sports anime fan, so I tried half of the first episode. The story and characters failed to grab me, and I had no need to stare at barely dressed men for twenty minutes. I dropped the show.

Then, I got a Tumblr account. I was exposed to more Free! fan art than ever before, even when the show was actually airing. And when the new season started? My defenses against everyone's favorite swimming anime really took a hit.

Ain't that an inspiring phrase? It's from episode 12. I took more
screen shots in that episode than in others... but not because it
inspired me.

Eventually, I mused that "Skin and Speedos couldn't get this level of fangirl passion on their own... right?" A follower assured me that there really was more to the show. 

So, I decided to try Free! again. My optimism held through the fifth episode, as I recorded on Tumblr:

Congratulations, Tumblr. You got me to start Free! Iwatobi Swim Club. 

There is more to it than fanservice. It hasn’t awed me, but I am curious about some of the characters’ backstories. And it has some of the normal sports anime trappings: a team of unique guys, old-teammate-turned-rival, cute manager, training camp… enough to assure me that, as a sports anime fan, I’m in for a bit of fun. 

Of course, the fanservice still exists, catered toward girls… especially, it seems, yaoi fangirls. Some scenes practically write the yaoi fanfiction themselves. 

I’m more a fan of pure, deep, brotherly friendship. So I ignore the invitations to read into the characters’ relationships. Instead, I enjoy the friendship, just like I do in all my favorite sports anime...

Unfortunately, my opinion of the show quickly dropped from "this is somewhat enjoyable" to "this is too sappy." On the same night as I wrote that last Tumblr post, I wrote another one about the sixth episode, stating, "I can handle 12 eps of sappiness, methinks, for the sake of the sport and the story." 

My skepticism increased as the show went on. I hoped that the swimming, at least, would be fun for me. Sports anime usually give me plenty to enjoy in the competitions and everything leading up to it. The sport in Free! should have given it an extra edge--swimming is the one sport I pay attention to and enjoy during the Olympics. My Dad's a swimmer, and I was with him when Michael Phelps won that record-breaking gold medal in 2008. Dad's enthusiasm was contagious, and I caught it.

My experiences watching Olympic swimming with Dad did help Free! a little. I soon forgot about the skin-showing part of the fan service, since the characters' swim gear made me remember watching the pre- and post-race Olympic coverage. I also understood a little bit about each stroke, so I could imagine how the characters strategized breathing, stroke length, and muscle strengthening. That actually helped my interest in the show increase--Free! contained very few details on training or strategy. There weren't even any annoying journalists or ignorant spectators to help explain the sport, so I had to fill in the gaps myself.

Despite the training camp and the many pool scenes, it seemed that Free! Iwatobi Swim Club was not actually about swimming. Or competition. Or determination, or diligence, or respect.

Free! was all about the drama. Basically, four guys used to be friends. One of them, Rin, aspired to be an Olympic swimmer. Back in grade school, he knew the importance of camradarie, and he convinced the other three kids to be in a medley relay with him. Then he went off to Australia for middle school, to study at some academy with a great swimming program. He finally came back during the second year of high school... but not to the same team, or even the same school, as the other three boys.

So, Rin was back in Japan, but he was kinda a callous jerk to his old buddies. He eventually joined one of their rival swimming teams, but he was still obsessed with being on the same team as his old friends. It was kinda like in TV shows where the girl is still totally in love with her ex, but gets a new boyfriend anyway, only to cheat on him with the ex... who also has a new significant other, so he's cheating, too.

[big spoiler ahead]

No, really. That's basically what happens in the season finale. Rin says he's quitting swimming. Then he cries about how he actually wants to be on a team with Haruka, Makato, and Nagisa again. They already have a fourth teammate, named Rei, and they're planning to swim the medley relay together. But Rei, being an understanding, enabling kohai, backs out and says that Rin can take his place in the butterfly portion of the relay. Rei was really looking forward to this race, too.

Rin takes advantage of Rei's selfless gesture, and the original four compete in the relay and win... Of course, they're disqualified afterward, because Rin is from a different school, but that's okay because they all got to swim together, and it creates a warm fuzzy feeling for fans and friendship is magic and stuff.

Rei looks on as Rin, Makoto, Haruka, and Nagisa celebrate their
victorious race. Poor guy.

Meanwhile, I'm sitting there thinking that they have terrible sportsmanship.

I wrote out my thoughts when I first finished the 12th episode:

This is overdramatic, and I'm laughing. If I take these dudes seriously, I'll get annoyed at Rin for being a drama queen. I'll also scold the others for enabling him... and being mini drama queens themselves. Guys, get over yourselves! Rin, if you wanted to swim with your friends, you should have enrolled in Iwatobi to begin with. Duh. If you're going to be as emotional as a stereotypical, hormonal teenage girl, then at least be honest with your feelings. Don't pull selfish, irrational stunts like this as tournaments. Sheesh. Go watch some real sports anime. 

[end of big spoiler]

Obviously, I have little patience for drama queens. I prefer to save that patience for any drama I encounter in real life. I mean, I do want to love these characters. I'm pretty fond of Makoto and Nagisa. I sort of like Haruka and Rei. And, if I think of him as a child going through a dramatic phase, I can care about Rin.

It's not like I disliked the first season of Free!. But I didn't particularly like it either... Although I did enjoy the ending sequence. It was like a music video, with each character acting a part, the way members of a real band would.

I suppose I can understand why some people like Free! so much. I might watch the second season, Free! Eternal Summer. It's not exactly a priority for me, though. I have plenty of other anime to keep me busy during my precious free time.