[Summer 2018] Free! Dive to the Future Discussion Thread

[Buckeye]

フリー!-Dive to the Future-

The third season to the bishonen swimming show. Haruka, Makoto, and Rin all have graduated, and now they are working hard to realize their dreams, all while Nagisa and Rei are leading a new swim club as high school seniors.

Airs: Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Studio: Kyoto Animation

ANN Entry
My Anime List
Official Site
Crunchyroll

Season 1 Discussion
Season 2 Discussion

Haruka, who is attending college in Tokyo, meets Asahi again and reawakens his memories from his middle school years, including those of Ikuya. Makoto is working toward a new dream while he is in Tokyo together with Haruka. Rin has an unexpected meeting in Sydney.

Notes
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[Buckeye]

Episode 1

Here comes a new challenger.

After the epic ending to season 2, I didn't think that there would be more of this show coming out, but here it is as the fanbase pretty much speaks for itself there. The setting is much different now that Haruka and Makoto have graduated and going to college, all while Rin is aiming for the Olympics, and Nagisa and Rei are leading a new Iwatobi High School swimming club that has gained to guys and a girl. Haru is meeting some new friends, and old ones as well as there's Asahi, who used to be best buds in middle school, and then there's Rin's replacement as a rival in Ikuya, and he's a bit too quiet that it's concerning, but his admiration of Haru is reflected in his swimming style. Pretty nice way to start things off, and as usual KyoAni is at the top of their game. And then there's the ending where this time all the boys are putting on a musical keeping things the same way they were in the first two seasons.

[GingaDaiuchuu]

Re: Episode 1

I'd say it's weird to get a third season of this, but considering its popularity, it's not surprising at all. Fun to be back. Very pretty. Not much else to go on yet.

[Buckeye]

Episode 2

He would rather swim alone.

This episode is all about Ikuya as he does only individual events and not any relays as he grew pretty distant from his teammates. He used to go to the same junior high school as Haru, Makoto, and Asahi, and one time he nearly drowned after pushing himself too hard and because of that, the team couldn't do the relay until next summer. So now, he's doing the individual relay where he's crushing the competition, but not exactly doing it gracefully. It will be interesting to see where he goes from there now that he has met Haru again.

[GingaDaiuchuu]

Re: Episode 2

It's so weird to have our classic Free! cast so split up now. I guess maybe I should've watched at least the one of the movies that is actually a sequel of Eternal Summer. If only it had come to my theater instead of only being hours away. I don't know that it would've changed much, though; it's still a strange feeling. It's nice to have that big of a change for a third season, though; otherwise it would've gotten really old and while it may not have felt any more like a cash grab, it wouldn't probably felt like a much lazier one. I hope they can balance the adventures of the different groups split from the original team (including Rin) throughout the season. Definitely mostly Haru now, but he is the lead, after all.

[Buckeye]

Episode 3

Brothers in swimming.

Here comes Ikuya's brother Natsuya, and he fills Rin in on Ikuya's story as Natsuya went to Iwatobi two years before Haru arrived. He came all the way to Australia looking to learn under his coach, but even though he can beat all those other swimmers, he won't be accepted by him. As such, he is well aware of why Ikuya decides to swim alone. Natsuya, on the other hand, is not swimming for medals, but for something else as he's going around the world swimming for prize money. So those two have a race, and it's a shame that it got interrupted by a sudden downpour, and with Natsuya heading back to Japan that they will settle things another day. Pretty interesting to see how he will fit into the scheme of things.

[GingaDaiuchuu]

Re: Episode 3

I'm glad to have some quality Rin material, and since they went the extra mile to have everyone speak the appropriate language, it makes sense that they'd throw another Japanese boy into the mix so Miyano could have someone to talk to in his native tongue (Mikhail's role only goes so far). But this small-world situation is a little too extreme. Randomly running into another Iwatobi swimmer who happens to be the brother of Haru's old friend and teammate who he's actively trying to reconcile with at the moment in Sydney is a bit too contrived to accept.

Mikhail is a disturbingly perfect for Gou, but they'd never end up together, not because of their age difference but because neither would be interested in someone who wasn't a muscular man for anything but camaraderie.

[Buckeye]

Episode 4

His one and only friend.

Here comes Hiyori, the self-proclaimed "best friend" of Ikuya, and he comes across as being such a big jerk with that attitude of his, and his overprotection of Ikuya. Makoto put up a fight in standing up to Hiyori considering that he hadn't been swimming for quite some time, but nevertheless he couldn't win. Ikuya had been through a lot that has led him to not being easy to get along with, but what Hiyori is doing isn't really helping out.

[GingaDaiuchuu]

Re: Episode 4

Hiyori is such a controlling girlfriend. Granted, Ikuya is doing a fine job of avoiding any contact, but Hiyori is definitely doing a fine job of being an additional obstacle.

[Buckeye]

Episode 5

No more jumping the gun.

And now, an episode focused on Romio, who is one of the new members of Iwatobi's swimming team, and he's burdened by the fact that he false-started by jumping in the water too early before his teammate touched the wall leading to a hit to his confidence. So they go to training camp to help each other out, and then during the three-school relay on the final day, he overcomes that fear. So far, this season has been showcasing a different character in each episode with Asahi in the first, Ikuya in the second, Natsuya in the third, Hiyori in the fourth, and now Romio in this one, and the next one looks like it focuses on that guy Sousuke has been talking to.

[GingaDaiuchuu]

Re: Episode 5

Nice to finally get some time with the current Iwatobi Swim Club and the last members of the classic Free! cast, but it does remind me that I don't really care about these boys quite as much as the others, especially the newcomers. Some of the newcomers from other characters' episodes are of some interest, but these guys haven't really grabbed me yet. The Kirishima brothers are definitely the best of them, and I like Natsuya more at this point, so I'm glad he got to be Sousuke's talking partner here as well. He's become quite the connection between all of the characters who have been so scattered. And he's helping advance Sousuke's character as well, which is nice to have, even if he's on a level below the fab five.

[Buckeye]

Episode 6

Not exactly a mermaid.

Hiyori came across as being a jerk, and it's no wonder why seeing that he hasn't exactly been living a pleasant childhood. He was a loner, but Ikuya was the one person he could trust. Than he really entered into that territory when Ikuya nearly drowned while training in America. And then there's Ryuuji, who was once a swimming prodigy that suddenly quit, and he's out to get to the bottom of things as to why Haru only swims free. Emotions sure were running very wild here as everybody realizes that something is wrong that is preventing them from reaching their full potential.

[GingaDaiuchuu]

Re: Episode 6

Our boys are just the cutest mermaids, aren't they? Some intense drama surrounding them now, though. This love triangle between Haru, Ikuya, and Hiyori is getting very out of hand. Even if the melodrama is a little too silly at times, I am far more engaged watching this group of characters than with the boys left in high school. Looking forward to Rin's time in the rotation, though. I suppose the "villains" of each season end up becoming some of the most interesting characters to follow after they see the light and become redeemed. But they can be a little overbearing while they're still serving their original purpose. Ikuya seems like the more boring character, but Hiyori is such a controlling lover that he's definitely more in the villainous role right now. In fact, Ikuya may be turning back to his old flame pretty soon here!

[Buckeye]

Episode 7

Everybody needs somebody sometime.

It's finally go-time as the qualifier for the All-Japan invitational is here, and Haru is doing some extra training with Ryuuji to take his game to the next step. Even though he has the talent as shown by his opening performance blowing past the competition, he still has a critical mental weakness that with Ryuuji's expertise, can be turned into a strength. Asahi and Hiyori also do great themselves there. But as for Ikuya, he continues to insist on doing everything by himself, and while it's great that he's trying to get stronger, he fails to realize that there's only so much he can do alone, and that he needs to learn to make friends than just Hiyori. So far, they are showing off their fruits of their training, but at some point they are going to be tested in a big way.

[GingaDaiuchuu]

Re: Episode 7

Yeah, I'm definitely okay with keeping the focus on Haruka and Makoto. I wouldn't mind some more Rin, but I'm not missing Rei and Nagisa as much. Ikuya's arc is definitely developing more gradually than some of his predecessors, as he can already have a civil conversation, and he's fighting with Hiyori more than anyone now.