Genre: Sports, Drama
Overall Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Video version:
Basic Set-up: The story centers around a group of four boys who were on a swimming relay team together when they were younger. The four have recently become reunited because their old swim club is being torn down. Three of the boys attend the same high school want to start their own swim club, while the other boy goes to a rival school known for its swim team.
Characters: There are some stereotypical character types, but it isn't overly cliché. I liked how Haru defied the cliché that the main character has to have flamboyantly colored hair and a personality to match. He is surprisingly stoic, but with a fair amount of depth. He is talented, but not arrogant. Haru’s best friend Makoto is the strong and steady character with a constant smile on his face (sometimes you gotta wonder how he doesn’t run into stuff because he closes his eyes when he smiles). Nagisa adds a bubbly contrast to their quartet. He gets excited easily and is full of energy. Rei is academic, but also appreciates the arts. He offers some deep insight multiple times in the anime that help the characters to grow. All of the characters grow and change throughout the two seasons, but Rin is probably the character who changes the most. He has lost his motivation to swim, but Haru helps him to get it back.
Plot: This is my first sports anime, so it adds a little variety to my life. The plot is simple and easy to understand. It is average, but with touching themes like friendship, hard work, and trying something new.
Ending: The ending provides a satisfying resolution with little to no unresolved conflict.
Things to Watch For: The main characters are swimmers so there are a lot of shirtless guys who also happen to be really toned. They aren’t super buff (like grotesque bodybuilders), but are surprisingly muscled and in shape for not having participated in swimming for a few years. Their musculature is emphasized almost to the point of fan service. Guy fanservice is uncommon so it was a little harder to recognize. Hopefully we will do a blog post on this topic in the near future. This anime was created to fit into a genre known as Shounen Ai (literally translated this means [romantic] love between boys). However, for the anime to be allowed to air in Japan they couldn’t be outright about it. So to an outside viewer it looks like nothing sketchy is going on. Even if the creators intended for this anime to be shounen ai the watcher can make of it what they will.
Humor: Light humor is displayed throughout. For example: one of the Iwatobi swim team members can only swim butterfly. If he tries any other stroke he just sinks.
Sights and Sounds: The animation is fun. When the characters are swimming it is really cool. Kazuki, who has been swimming on teams for 5 years says that this is the first anime that animates not only water correctly, but the swimming strokes as well. The race scenes look just like the meets that she went to. The soundtrack is average, but I thought the animation for the last ending song was really fitting as all of the characters are deciding what they want to do next in life. The animation for the first ending is funny too.
Moral Lessons: Friendships are to be treasured. Do what you enjoy with people you enjoy. don't give up. Hard work is often more important than raw talent. Be open with your friends and those you trust.
Other media: There is no manga. This anime was based on a light novel called High Speed that sadly has no official English translation.
Fillers: There are no fillers in this anime.
Length: This anime has two seasons with a total of 25 episodes.
Where to Watch: This anime is available legally for free on Crunchyroll (both seasons) and Hulu (second season only).
No comments:
Post a Comment