Free! is an anime series produced by Kyoto Animation and Animation Do which began airing in 2013. Although not as popular as other, more well-known sports anime series’ such as Haikyuu!! or Kuroko no Basket, Free! has become a favourite for a lot of anime viewers for its slice of life comedy and in particular its fan-service.
The series follows the character Haruka Nanase, a teenager who loves nothing more than to swim and with the help of his school friends he reforms his school swim club. Each season follows Haruka on his journey from school through to college, building up to a big Olympic event as a professional swimmer taking on the world stage. It has run for three seasons, with three compilation recap movies as well as a prequel feature length film titled High Speed! Free! Starting Days.
Free! celebrated it’s 8th anniversary on the 26th of April, and in celebration of this event Kyoto Animation released a short recap/promo video on their YouTube channel. This video is a teaser for their delayed movie that was initially set for release in 2020, alongside the Tokyo Summer Olympics. Both were delayed until 2021. Titled Free! The Final Stroke, the film will come out in two parts, the first part dated for September 17th 2021 and the second part dated for April 22nd 2022.
This teaser trailer, if we can call it that, as well as a promotional visual confirmed the release dates for the next installments of the series in the form of two movies. The teaser trailer shows us second-long moments from previous seasons, specifically it’s most recent season three, highlighting every prominent character, specifically Haruka Nanase and his swimming rival and friend Rin Matsuoka. The visual also features Haruka with a tagline that translates in English to “Let’s go to the stage of glory…”
Free! The Final Stroke, as shown by its title, is likely to be the closing chapter on Free!, and may be the last that fans will see of this story and these characters, so let’s hope it lives up to expectations of fans around the world!
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