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| THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE. ---------------------------------------- More important storytelling about Ikuya. This series really expands more on the new characters to make us understand them more. From the episode, we got to learn his past in the U.S. I really wonder what's going on in Haru's mind right about now. This season so far has really felt more like a character study. The episode also made Ikuya feel like a very important character. |
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| Kimura-san's character was always alone when he was young because both his parents were working. And it seems like he saw Uchiyama-san's character even before his oversea study... elementary school? Uchiyama-san's character doesn't seem to do well because he's worried about his weakness. It seems like Uchiyama-san's character doesn't remember about Kimura-san's character when elementary school. Talking w. Hino-san's character. He said he will help out but told them to do what they can do (practice?). Oh, the man is a blogger. According to the sport reporter, red hair guy's sister's boyfriend, he's ex-swimmer and a coach. He wants to coach someone? Kimura-san's character confronted his feeling but got rejected. The reporter recommended main guy to the coach? |
I ♥ Two Syaorans from Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE and TRC!!! |
| Seems that apparently they were using the little mermaid thing as a metaphor for Ikuya and honestly I had no idea what was going on with that because suddenly Haru was there and uhm I never thought that Haru would turn out to become a love interest in terms of Ikuya LOL anyways, the Ryuuji guy or whatever his name is, I really hope that he will do some shit with Haru. I dunno if he is a scout or a pro swimmer or anything but seems that Ryuuji and Mikhail used to swim together, and that Ryuuji was the better one and because Mikhail is with Rin in Australia I hope at some point that means we will get some Rin and Haru action very soon cause I am exhausted after watching episode 6. I wish Ikuya would confront Hiyori better, he stood up for himself and told him he was bullshitting but then he said sorry and walked away and now I wish Ikuya would just get his act together and try to contact Haru instead of making Hiyori even worse than what he already is. |
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| Love that smirk at the end ;) |
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| yeah, an entire episode of hiyori and ikuya is just what we needed lmfao i'm just feeling bad for rei + nagisa at this point they're totally getting shifted |
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| I really don't understand Ikuya. In the last episode he seemed like he was okay with Hiyori talking with the other guys and not wanting to see them. This episode though he doesn't want to move on, but he doesn't want to get in touch with Haru and the rest either, and it looks like he just wants to mope around. It sort of feels like a forced drama at this point. I would prefer if this season focused more on Nagisa, Rei and the new team members and Rin, those stories felt much more lighthearted and fun. |
| Did they just remake a gay version of the Little Mermaid. |
Jin_uzukiAug 15, 2018 12:35 PM
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| In episode 5 - when I saw the preview of episode 6, I thought there was nothing the anime could do to make me reconsider my opinion about Hiyori. I was right. I still despise him. The story about the little mermaid seems like a metaphor in this season and the way things look - if Ikuya is the little mermaid, Hiyori sure as hell ain't the prince. I think Hiyori knows that he can't save Ikuya from "drowning" now. He just doesn't want to let Haru do it out of fear of ending up being all alone again. I'm glad Ikuya finally told him that it's not his business. Hiyori really is in need of a wake-up call. |
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| So, Hiyori is the Little Mermaid and Ikuya is the prince and Haru is the young girl XD I feel really sad for Hiyori, I really like it how he worries for Ikuya but I wish Ikuya also gave importance to Hiyori there were tears of happiness in my eyes after seeing Hiyori x Ikuya moments. The part when Hiyori pulled Ikuya, my fujoshi heart couldn't take it, I went to heaven. |
Yudesei said: The story about the little mermaid seems like a metaphor in this season and the way things look - if Ikuya is the little mermaid, Hiyori sure as hell ain't the prince. It's the other way around, Hiyori sees himself as the mermaid and Ikuya is the prince. Thought Ikuya sees himself as the mermaid too, but the story draws pretty much 1:1 parallels between Hiyori and the mermaid (Down to the fact that they had meet before and Ikuya doesn't remember him). |
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| TIL Haru is a young girl and Hiyori is a mermaid. Kinda figured Ryuuji would end up being a swimming coach of some kind. Looks like he has an interest in Haru, and is old friends of Rin's coach. That could lead to some pretty cool stuff. |
| I don't like Ikuya, he seems too hung up on Nanase hence his slump. I think Hiyori is trying to change that for him, that he should instead focus on his swimming and what's important is right besides him. I'm not really loving this season so far, because it is focused on characters rather on the swimming. Hopefully that old guy will play a huge role in having an impact on Haru's swimming. Nonetheless it wasn't a bad ep. |
How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb --- Dr Strangelove  |
| can we go back to the 3rd years being cool senpai's those episodes have been far more enjoyable for me than these child like drama's between Hiyori/Ikuya and Haru i know Free is drama/characters first then sports but we've reached the half way point and it hasn't been resolved yet doesn't help that i dont care for it since i didn't bother to watch all the prequel stuff surrounding them. |
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| The hints of BL is getting really annoying. I know it is not going anywhere, so its inclusion is absolutely pointless! I wish they'd just focus on the plot. If they really want to have the BL-ish scenes no matter what, then I think they should just make some of the guys gay, and show them being in a relationship. |
Jin_uzuki said: It's the other way around, Hiyori sees himself as the mermaid and Ikuya is the prince. Thought Ikuya sees himself as the mermaid too, but the story draws pretty much 1:1 parallels between Hiyori and the mermaid (Down to the fact that they had meet before and Ikuya doesn't remember him). I'm aware of that. Though, I question his reasoning since Haru's 'role' as the other girl who the prince believed had saved him isn't quite accurate. Hiyori's own 'role' isn't that accurate either in this situation as he's trying to save Ikuya from "drowning", but is failing miserably. Besides, based on the way Hiyori is reasoning, Haru can also be considered as the mermaid. Then again, we're only half-way through the season so there are still plenty of things that can happen. Hopefully, this episode was the 'kick' the characters needed and that either Ikuya approaches Haru or Hiyori contacts Haru about talking with Ikuya. I'd prefer if the Haru-Ikuya drama isn't dragged out too long (though some people might argue that it already has). |
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| It’s like Hiyori and Ikuya are hell-bent on ruining this season, aren’t they? This is Free!, not Hiyori and Ikuya The Animation. GET BENT |
 Nico- said: Conversations with people pinging/quoting me to argue about some old post I wrote years ago will not be entertained@Comic_Sans oh no y arnt ppl dieing i need more ppl dieing rly gud plot avansement jus liek tokyo ghoul if erbudy dies amirite |
| Is it just because I didn't watch the Highspeed movie ? Or is the sidecast drama really that tedious that no one should care ? |
One Piece episode 914 & 915 & 1027 were a mistake and 957 brought the salvation - FMmatron |
| I personally like this characters shifts in Free! So far Makoto is on screen, I´ll keep watching it. Although I do agree that for someone who has no idea who Ikuya was etc it had to be a little confusing from the start. I´m a bit curious about the ending, but since I don´t watch this anime for plot, it pretty much doesn´t matter to me. |
| “You are not alone, Ash. I am with you. My soul is with you.” - Eiji Okumura. |
| I used to really hate Hiyori but now I don't mind him because it's mainly Ikuya being over dramatic |
| modge |
| Okay I can't believe this, but I think I don't hate Hiyori anymore... I think I kinda... like him? Why are you always doing this Free? First Rin, then Sosuke and now Hiyori. But Ikuya come on man, open your eyes, Hiyori is right in front of you, forget Haru already and just move on! Jesus christ, he is a freaking drama queen, first season's Rin should take notes. xD |
| I'm so done with this Ikuya drama. It's just so unnecessary. Go see Haru, the end. And Hiyori needs to get hit by a truck. He's just selfish and wants Ikuya to look only at him, it's so obvious. This episode didn't make me pity or understand him better at all. It was pretty obvious he just really liked Ikuya and wanted to be a good friend, unfortunately he's failing. I miss Rin (the one true Drama Queen). Where is his plot line going anyway? And I wonder what other style Haru might be good at. |
| hm....I have the feeling I'm not even watching Free anymore. I get lost with all the new (side) characters and the focus on Ikuya is honestly just going on my nerves at the moment :( I was not expecting 24/7 Haru & Co but this is just needless drama for characters I cannot sympathize with. |
Inugirlz said: I'm so done with this Ikuya drama. It's just so unnecessary. Go see Haru, the end. And Hiyori needs to get hit by a truck. He's just selfish and wants Ikuya to look only at him, it's so obvious. This episode didn't make me pity or understand him better at all. It was pretty obvious he just really liked Ikuya and wanted to be a good friend, unfortunately he's failing. THIS! THIS! I agree so much. I understand maybe the producers wanted to tie more of the movies and everything else together, but everyone is in such a fractured mess all because of Hiyori acting like an ass and Ikuya just being emo. I feel like Ikuya's story so far is just being a really uninteresting echo of Rin's, with a shade of the drama between Makoto and Haru during Eternal Summer. And yeah, speaking of Rin, I do hope we get to see more. I remember the original promos of S3 had the boys in olympic outfits or something right? I'd like to see that rivalry between Haru and Rin come back or something rather than whatever we're getting now. |
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| Good enough episode. Drama yet again, and it seems like Ikuya’s Characterization will span across the entire cour so I’m not very pleased with that. To be honest, I’m finding this to be too repetitive and hence boring. |
#Anime4Life be my Life Motto! #PrayForKyoAni  |
| seems like they are trying to satisfy shippers of all possible ships simultaneously which is just too messy. the story is meh. |
| this tension between Ikuya and Hiroyi tho Ikuya calm your ass down, damn it... Scheibe said: because there's almost no Rin, that's simpleThis episode was kinda really boring |
 "Please stop talking about math when I'm eating." |
| Despite what Hiyori went through, it is no excuse to be manipulative to Ikuya, considering they are good friends. |
| The scene with the slide was fcukin good tho:DDD i'm a fujo so I ate it all up of course |
| So it seems like Ikuya isn't over the whole ordeal with Haru, I mean KID just go see him if you're so hung up on it, talk to him DO SOMETHING to relieve your trauma talk it out, you're in college, NOT middle school. Seriously... He thinks vulnerability is a bad thing but in fact it's the opposite, he is not gonna get any stronger if he keeps suppressing it. |
| This episode was terrible except the revelation about Ryuuji. We know Hiyori past but the drama feels so forced. He is way too obsessed with Ikuya. Everyone just needs to talk. |
| BANZAI NIPPON. Nippon is the Land of freedom. Nippon is the Land of Peace. Nippon is the Land of Justice and Prosperity. In Nippon, we trust. We love Nippon, we love Anime. Anime love us, Nippon love us. 日本 |
| Show me ONE 18 years old man comparing his relationship with guy friend to little mermaid's and her prince's story x D This is fucking ridiculous. I mean, he's gotta be gay right, there's no other way lol. I'm so tired of this anyway, who the hell took first season of Free! and said "hey guys, do you know what people loved about this? DRAMA. Let's make entire season based on that!" For god's sake... |
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lorde_esme said: Ikuya is like a disgruntled ex-girlfriend and Hiyori is the failed rebound. IkoiTsukishiro said: I don't exactly despise Hiyori as the rest of the fans seem to be. I honestly loved that slide scene though. If they aren't going to do a new story line, at least they're giving us great scenes with that bait. I am honestly going to be surprised if Hiyori doesn't have feelings for Ikuya. You do not just pull a man down to slide into you, go on top of him and tell him to forget about the person that he's thinking about just because you're "Friends". ^ Your comments made me laugh LOL!! XD That slide moment between Ikuya and Hiyori was so sweet, it would be perfect in a BL story! <33 It was just so smooth when Hiyori took Ikuya's hand, and Ikuya slid down the slide like that. Hiyori was so confident when he had both hands on the sides of the slide, and when he looked down at Ikuya xDD --- I appreciate that we learned more about Hiyori's past and his friendship with Ikuya. It's unfortunate that Hiyori grew up alone because his parents worked so much. I can see that swimming became Hiyori's space to be himself, and it meant a lot to him when he met Ikuya whom saw Hiyori for who he was. It seems Hiyori had a lonely upbringing with not many friends and no siblings. At least Ikuya had Natsuya by his side growing up... :/ I'm still not in love with Hiyori interfering with Ikuya's life LOL. I understand that Hiyori was told by Natsuya to look out for Ikuya, and Hiyori wants the best for Ikuya, but Hiyori needs to give Ikuya space too. I had a feeling that we would see The Little Mermaid being referenced again after we encountered the story in episode 4. Now, we see Hiyori's perspective on The Little Mermaid in relation to Ikuya. I can see that like the mermaid who was not acknowledged by the prince for saving him, Hiyori's efforts of looking out for Ikuya are not acknowledged by Ikuya himself. Ikuya keeps talking about Haru, just like the prince who thought the young girl saved him and thanked her. Also, Ikuya and Hiyori met in elementary school in Japan when the two lived in Iwatobi, but Ikuya doesn't remember their first meeting. >< I don't know why Hiyori didn't just say, "Yeah, we met in Japan before meeting again in America," so that makes Hiyori relate more with the mermaid because the prince (Ikuya) didn't remember Hiyori .______. Now, I know that Ikuya is an adult, and he can be mature by approaching Haru to resolve the past. But I argue that it's really in Ikuya's character to be conflicted, and to think of the past that was not resolved. Our other characters were lucky in a way because they had each other for support: Haru had Makoto who was always patient, and Haru and Rin later became friends again after agreeing to work hard and compete on the global stage; Sousuke was friends with Rin ever since elementary school, and Sousuke supported Rin; Haru and Makoto reuniting with Nagisa in high school and the trio meeting Rei encouraged Haru to swim again and remember what it's like to swim as a team; Asahi maintained his friendship with Kisumi and continued to swim. Ikuya, on the other hand, was alone because he didn't know why Haru quit the swim club in middle school, so their promise to have a freestyle race was not fulfilled; although Ikuya had Natsuya by his side, Natsuya is not someone who swims for a team (we can see that because Natsuya travels alone to swim lol), so that's not something Natsuya can relate with; Hiyori is not the healthiest support system because Hiyori shelters Ikuya like Natsuya does LOL. So, Ikuya grew up sheltered with Natsuya, Nao, and later Hiyori watching over him. Ikuya is so fixated on the promise he and Haru made, and I think that aligns with Ikuya's goal in swimming. Ikuya buried the past and forced himself to swim to get stronger, forcing himself to think he swims for himself, but that didn't make Ikuya happy. It's scary when you have a passion for something, like swimming, but you don't have a goal because it can make you wonder what the point is. Haru used to swim freestyle because he enjoyed to swim, but in season two, it was reinforced that loving to swim is not enough, and that pushed Haru to realize he wants to swim on the global stage and even Makoto realized he wants to be a swimming coach. Ikuya just hasn't reached that point where he found his reason for swimming, which also makes him happy! It's good that Ikuya met Haru again, because now Ikuya will think of how to move forward instead of constantly lose sight of his surroundings (including Hiyori) whenever Ikuya is invested in practicing to get better. So, if Ikuya wants to talk with Haru, Ikuya needs to know what he wants to talk about lol. I don't think Ikuya feels ready to approach Haru yet. :/ Overall, I hope Hiyori receives the validation he deserves as Ikuya's best friend, and that Ikuya can be friends with his middle school gang again. I like seeing Nao and Makoto's reunion! It's nice that Nao soon met with Haru and Asahi too, at Marron Café. I hope it works out when Nao asks Natsuya about Ikuya later. We will see more of Ryuuji. Ryuuji doesn't go to Haru's school's cafeteria and talk about food and has his own blog for nothing LOL. Ryuuji may have a food blog as his hobby, but as an ex-competitive swimmer and a coach, we knew from episode 1 that he has his eyes on Haru. Ryuuji certainly want to see Haru grow, which is why Ryuuji keeps asking Haru about trying other swimming styles besides free. Kon (Asahi's brother-in-law) may be good friends with Ryuuji, to use their connection to show Ryuuji Haru practicing. Maybe we'll see Ryuuji and Mikhail reunite, since they used to be rivals and Mikhail is also training Rin in Australia. Overall, it’s a good sign that Ryuuji smirked because whatever he’s planning should be effective. |
| Avatar credit: vuvuzela |
| So basically, this a mix between the main conflicts of the first two seasons but executed in an awful way. Not to mention that the analogy they used regarding The Little Mermaid seems way too forced for my taste. Extremely boring episode. |
| Hiyori tried to dominate Ikuya on the slide, but Ikuya was having none of it. He can't stop thinking about Haru, and that is what Hiyori is afraid of. Ikuya needs to speak to Haru. |
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| that seen with hiyori and ikuya was about one of the most gay scenes in the show so far...at this point just make it a bl i- |
| I'm pretty tired of this drama between Hiyori, Ikuya and Haru. |
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