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.

Swamped again...

... but it's been a while since I last took a week off, so I don't feel bad about missing this Rewind post. Plus, I've been doing animarch (one of those challenge things) on Tumblr between homework and procrastination. Check out what I've done so far, if you wish.

One of the challenges was to draw a character whose name we picked randomly from among other names. I drew Chihaya. Here's the version I uploaded, though I've since fixed the mouth:

Kuroko's Basketball 2: "I Believe"

I doubt that people will get more excited about the Super Bowl today than I got about Kuroko's Basketball last night. The title of the episode, "I Believe," turned out to be fitting as I struggled to believe my favorite basketball team would win. 

Most of the time, Twitter is sufficient for my reactions to singe episodes of anime. Last night, after I watched Kuroko's Basketball, Twitter wasn't enough for me. I had too much to say. I thought about posting my thoughts here, but chose Tumblr instead, since I thought an episodic post would be out of sync with recent posts. 

But since when am I worried about continuity in writing style? I've posted rambles, Naruto Shippuden fangirling, reviews, poems, and deeper editorials, all on this same blog. I like the mix, and I shouldn't restrain myself now.

So here. Here's what I wrote on Tumblr last night. I think it's proof of how good Kuroko's Basketball is. It's amazing - a basketball game can get me more worked up than a life-and-death battle.

Spoiler Warning for Kuroko's Basketball 2, episode 17.

I admit it: I lost hope during the second half of this week's Kuroko's Basketball. Aomine entered the Zone, and as much as I wanted to believe in Seirin, my heart was already dropping.

I tucked my knees up against my chest and wrapped my arms around them. Maybe by hanging onto my knees, I was telling the Seirin team to hang on, too. Maybe the suspense was simply making me tense. Maybe I was comforting myself in advance, preparing for the loss I didn't want to believe would come.

This is the kind of tension I had when Naruto fought Pain two years ago, or when a certain character's life hung by a thread in Clannad After Story.

It's just a game, though, isn't it? I mean, yeah, if Kuroko and the gang lose, they'll be disappointed, but they'll be okay, right?

But it's not just a game. It's Kiyoshi's last chance to play in a high school tournament. It's the first time Aomine has been truly challenged in... forever, probably. And I get the sense that if they can't beat Aomine and his team now, then maybe they never will. My heart is tangled with this game. I know their hearts are in it even more.

So I didn't want to give up.

When Kagami asked to go one-on-one with Aomine, I began to have a spark of hope. Maybe Kagami can break a wall within him in these last few minutes. Maybe.

I hugged my knees and watched.

Stop thinking so much! I thought. Just play. Just get into the game!

Could he do it?

Maybe he wasn't ready after all.

Then, something snapped into place. It wasn't an audible snap, but it was there. Kagami's thoughts accumulated, not to a distracting mess, but to a point of action that broke beyond the thoughts.

I felt it. Then he moved.

The lightning flashed in his eyes.

My breath caught. I didn't breath normally for at least a full minute, I'm sure. I let go of my knees, then hugged them close again.

He's joined Aomine in the Zone.

They might actually have a chance in these last few minutes.

They might.

The episode ended like that. Of course it did. The person in charge of episode pacing just cut it off there, leaving us hanging. I can imagine them as a dark figure laughing manically in some dimly lit studio.