(L+CR) Free!

[Puu]

Originally Posted by YayPepsi

People keep saying Rin "got his way" by throwing a tantrum, and I just don't get it. Rin wasn't trying to "get his way." He wasn't throwing a tantrum because he wanted the Iwatobi team to come chasing after him. He just wanted to be left alone and Nitori kept pestering him and pestering him and didn't know when to back off, and Rin finally snapped. When he stormed off after that it was to be alone again. He was genuinely angry in that moment. He wasn't trying to get his way, he was just trying to escape so he could wallow in his misery privately.

I guess "got his way" isn't necessarily the right term. More like, he got his "fix" thanks to his friends and without really doing much to fix himself. Him running away is basically him doing nothing to deal with his lack of confidence, his overly competitive nature, and destructive approach to friendships. He wanted a "fix", he wanted to be "free" -- and they gave it to him freely.

I got to think about this, by the way. Do you think, because of the way Rin's character development was resolved, if he'll end up relapsing if they make another season?

[YayPepsi]

I guess "got his way" isn't necessarily the right term. More like, he got his "fix" thanks to his friends and without really doing much to fix himself. Him running away is basically him doing nothing to deal with his lack of confidence, his overly competitive nature, and destructive approach to friendships. He wanted a "fix", he wanted to be "free" -- and they gave it to him freely.

I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing though. His friends saw how much he was suffering and they wanted to help him. Maybe they made it too easy on him, but if I had a friend like Rin who was clearly having some sort of break down and was crashing right in front of my eyes, I would be concerned and do anything I could to help him out. The Iwatobi team thought letting him swim with them would help him, and they were right.

I feel like throughout the anime, Rin was trying to fix himself. It's just that he was really clueless about how to do so. He thought beating Haru would fix him, and make himself feel better, and he was wrong. Then he tried signing up for the relay but that fell through because he was too focused on his old teammates. The effort was there, but he was directing it the wrong way and just made himself feel worse. He ran away in the end, and yeah, that doesn't really do much to help the situation...but I find that realistic.

I got to think about this, by the way. Do you think, because of the way Rin's character development was resolved, if he'll end up relapsing if they make another season?

I think it's a possibility. The kind of issues Rin was facing don't go away overnight. He may be on the road to recovery, and it seems like he's doing better now, but who knows down the road? I think his low self-esteem will be something he'll have to battle his entire life, hopefully with the support of his friends. But I'm not sure Kyoani will go that route.

[Puu]

Originally Posted by YayPepsi

I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing though. His friends saw how much he was suffering and they wanted to help him. Maybe they made it too easy on him, but if I had a friend like Rin who was clearly having some sort of break down and was crashing right in front of my eyes, I would be concerned and do anything I could to help him out. The Iwatobi team thought letting him swim with them would help him, and they were right.

Yeah, it's not a necessarily bad thing.... for the people making the sacrifice and those who contributed positively to his closure. And I think that's biggest problem because, unlike Rin, these guys' issues didn't have the same level of exposure as Rin's did. With the way the show underlined Rin's many many issues, you'd think he'd get a satisfying ending where he does something to deal with his issues (beyond verbal and physical violence) and when that's not enough, the others pitch in. But that's not what happens and it just feels like twelve episodes of watching his manpain in action for nothing because he relapses in the last episode and goes back to "I'm going to quit swimming", "Nobody can help me.", "Shut up" mentality and the series handwaves this all with a the sacrifice from the other characters.

I feel like throughout the anime, Rin was trying to fix himself. It's just that he was really clueless about how to do so. He thought beating Haru would fix him, and make himself feel better, and he was wrong. Then he tried signing up for the relay but that fell through because he was too focused on his old teammates. The effort was there, but he was directing it the wrong way and just made himself feel worse. He ran away in the end, and yeah, that doesn't really do much to help the situation...but I find that realistic.

I suppose it is... in a way, at least Rin's reactions anyway. I don't think normal people would put up with Rin's jerk attitude the way they did in the anime

I think it's a possibility. The kind of issues Rin was facing don't go away overnight. He may be on the road to recovery, and it seems like he's doing better now, but who knows down the road? I think his low self-esteem will be something he'll have to battle his entire life, hopefully with the support of his friends. But I'm not sure Kyoani will go that route.

I was thinking that...

I personally hope next season I won't have to watch Rin's manpain for extended periods, though. It was just a bit too much in the first season. It was like, "Yes, yay, you're done with angsting about losing to Haru now you can- what? Now you're angsting about your dad? Oh, you're okay about that now-- whoa, now you're angsting about losing your old team mates? Now, you're on your lack of skills again. Uh-huh."

I wouldn't be averse to them doing parodies of Rin's love for angsting about things though...

[Irenesharda]

Originally Posted by YayPepsi

I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing though. His friends saw how much he was suffering and they wanted to help him. Maybe they made it too easy on him, but if I had a friend like Rin who was clearly having some sort of break down and was crashing right in front of my eyes, I would be concerned and do anything I could to help him out. The Iwatobi team thought letting him swim with them would help him, and they were right.

I feel like throughout the anime, Rin was trying to fix himself. It's just that he was really clueless about how to do so. He thought beating Haru would fix him, and make himself feel better, and he was wrong. Then he tried signing up for the relay but that fell through because he was too focused on his old teammates. The effort was there, but he was directing it the wrong way and just made himself feel worse. He ran away in the end, and yeah, that doesn't really do much to help the situation...but I find that realistic.


I think it's a possibility. The kind of issues Rin was facing don't go away overnight. He may be on the road to recovery, and it seems like he's doing better now, but who knows down the road? I think his low self-esteem will be something he'll have to battle his entire life, hopefully with the support of his friends. But I'm not sure Kyoani will go that route.

I agree on all counts. I don't know how he'll figure into the story in the second season. Or even what they'll do in the second season at all. I would actually like a bit of a time skip and maybe have them on a swim team together in college or something. However, Rin and Haru seems to be so prevalent to this season, with their friendship patched up, I don't know if they will build more on that, and go more into both boys' insecurities and troubles, or if they will go at the story from another angle entirely instead. The second season should be interesting though. This is the first KyoAni series that I've seen, and they've made such a good first impression on me. I am eager to see what they do next summer.

[Kirarakim]

My issue with Rin was from a narrative perspective. I just don't like passive characters (passive as in ones that don't change themselves, Rin's personality was far from passive).

Rei on the other hand actually had positive growth. The fact that he was okay giving up his place on the team to help someone else out, because he felt he was still part of the team shows how much he grew over the course of the series.

Haru I think grew too, although not necessarily in the final episode. However he grew in the sense that he realized why he was swimming. I didn't like him in the beginning of the series but he grew on me.

Nagisa and Makoto didn't grow much but they were pretty stable & well adjusted characters to begin with, which is fine. In fact I love Makoto best of all.

And you know I don't hate Rin. I mean just for shallow reasons I am a Miyano fan and I love his character design. I also liked Rin as a child a lot and I wanted to see that Rin come back. I just wish it was more through an active role than a passive role. I also think the show made Rin out to be too much of a jerk at times that it was almost hard to sympathize with him.

Rin hugging Haru was cute though, I am not going to lie.

[bastek66]

Guys, guys, guys, Gou has poster in latest Megami

NSFW

super lewd

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[Gravitas Free Zone]

I've seen lewder fanart of the guys than I have of Gou and Ama-chan-sensei.

...and I wasn't even looking for lewder fanart of the guys.

[blakstealth]

Originally Posted by bastek66

Guys, guys, guys, Gou has poster in latest Megami

NSFW

super lewd

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god, she's so adorable

[GDiddy]

Originally Posted by bastek66

Guys, guys, guys, Gou has poster in latest Megami

NSFW

super lewd

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

That's not really lewd

Rin is such a hottie....kiddy Rin is soo cute..Oh well.

I guess "got his way" isn't necessarily the right term. More like, he got his "fix" thanks to his friends and without really doing much to fix himself. Him running away is basically him doing nothing to deal with his lack of confidence, his overly competitive nature, and destructive approach to friendships. He wanted a "fix", he wanted to be "free" -- and they gave it to him freely.

I got to think about this, by the way. Do you think, because of the way Rin's character development was resolved, if he'll end up relapsing if they make another season?

There you go.

I don't think he would relapse in the second season though. I think he pretty much got over the feelings he had about Haru and about swimming pretty much. I mean, he and that kid who was his kouhai were hanging out with Haru and co. at the end.

[Lord of Fire]

Originally Posted by bastek66

Guys, guys, guys, Gou has poster in latest Megami

NSFW

super lewd

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

So, am I to assume she's naked underneath that hoodie, then? Well, even if she is, I sure as heck can't tell.

It's a nice picture, regardless. Wouldn't mind a HQ version once it becomes available.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by bastek66

Guys, guys, guys, Gou has poster in latest Megami

NSFW

super lewd

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It's actually Nyantype. I've been anticipating it for a month and this is what I get? Was it too much to ask to draw her in a cute swimsuit? FFS Kyoani.

[Kirarakim]

I think one of my favorite things about this show is the limited fanservice of the girls even when it would be appropriate to see them in swimsuits. I mean we got those few old pics of the teacher but other than that...

It reminds me of all the series were the male characters are fully clothed but the women have barely anything on just the opposite and I was quite pleased at the irony of it.

That being said I think that is a very cute image of Gou. I like her a lot and wouldn't mind her having an even bigger role in the 2nd season. I am even hoping they will make a figure of her. Alter already announced Haru & Makoto.

[CrowKenobi]

Originally Posted by bastek66

Guys, guys, guys, Gou has poster in latest Megami

NSFW

super lewd

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

Images

What she's wearing under that

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[Puu]

By the way, I don't know if this has been asked before... but whereabouts in Japan is Free! exactly set? (Where is Iwatobi?)

[Reckoner]

I think I've come to the conclusion that this show really is just a fan service show in the end. Kyoto Animation displays a clear misunderstanding of basic human anatomy much like the multitude of grotesque fan service shows with girls. It's not flattering there, and sure isn't here either. The poorly developed, cookie-cutter personality characters speak to the laziness of the show's production. Haru is the quiet and cool type, Makoto is the caring sempai, Nagisa is the energetic and happy-go-lucky kid, Rei is the butt monkey of the cast, and Rin is the typical ball of angst who is mean for no good reason.

Because of how static the cast is, and the little effort put into making this a good sports story (Seriously all good sports themed shows have great personal growth stories, but not this one), the only thing left is to watch half naked men in the pool with vague sexual undertones underneath. The sheer rarity of female-targeted shows in the industry does not make it any more justified. This show is crap, and is probably KyoAni's worst since Nichijou. So of course it's going to get a second season right? Sheesh.

[PreSage]

At first I thought how unfair that Rei was put into a situation where he chose to switch out and allow Rin to swim with the team when Rei himself really wanted to be a part of the relay, but when I saw how the whole thing ended in ep12, I think it was a good decision. Rei may appear like the comedic relief initially but in the end he played the most important role by bringing the 4 friends together again. It was Rei giving Rin that chance to swim with his former teammates and helping him understand what it was he really wanted that brought final resolution to their quarrel.

I was initially afraid that Rin would transfer permanently to their school and really shaft Rei but it doesn't look like it. Looks like Rei will be given a chance to shine in the second season...at least I hope so because the guy certainly deserves it!

[monir]

Originally Posted by Reckoner

I think I've come to the conclusion that this show really is just a fan service show in the end. .

That took you long enough!

[musouka]

Originally Posted by Reckoner

(Seriously all good sports themed shows have great personal growth stories, but not this one)

Free has its faults (oh boy, does it ever!), but the only way I can think of anyone watching this and not thinking it was a a story of "personal growth" is if they didn't watch it at all. Literally the only cast member that didn't exhibit some sort of personal growth was Nagisa.

Haru started out practically mute, miserable, and taking the people around him (especially Makoto) for granted. By the end of the series, he was interacting with people, talking about his feelings, and smiling, and all of that was tied to his interactions with his teammates and Rin.

When the series first starting, hearing Makoto say a single thing about how he felt or what he wanted was like pulling teeth. Instead of interacting with Haru by expressing himself, he cajoled him into doing things by mentioning things Haru enjoyed, like bribing a small child with candy. By the time the series ended, we heard Makoto regularly able to express things that were important to him and connect to Haru through genuine emotion, not generalities like "I hope doing [blank] will make you happy, Haru!"

I think the series dropped the ball with how it handled Rei's development, but it's obvious we're supposed to look at him as someone who has grown to understand the people around him and help them just like they helped him so many times throughout the series, whether by saving his life or simply trying their best to help him learn how to swim.

Even Rin went through a lot as he struggled to get a clear picture of what exactly was making him so miserable and what to do about it. Exactly how much that struggle made you sympathize with him varies from viewer to viewer, of course, but there was obvious effort into portraying his mindset and progress through the series.

If you want to criticize Free on something, there are numerous, numerous things you could pick. Things that are the fault of your own inattentive viewing probably aren't among those ranks.

[Triple_R]

I have to say, that's one of the strongest counterarguments I've read in a long time.

Well done, musouka!

[GDiddy]

The only episodes that I wasn't too crazy about were the island training ones though it did give Makoto some backstory.

Otherwise, despite my dislike for Rin, I enjoyed this series very much...