Free!
Free! -Iwatobi Swim Club-
The story revolves around Haruka Nanase, a boy who has always loved to be immersed in water, and to swim in it. Before graduating from elementary school, he participated in a swimming tournament along with his fellow swimming club members, Makoto Tachibana, Nagisa Hazuki, and Rin Matsuoka. After achieving victory, each of the boys went their separate ways. Time passed, and in the middle of their uneventful high school lives Rin appears and challenges Haruka to a match, showing Haruka his overwhelming power. Not wanting it to end like this, Haruka, gathers together Makoto and Nagisa once again and brings a new member named Rei Ryugazaki to create the Iwatobi High School Swimming Club in order to defeat Rin. (Source: Anime News Network)
Names
| Original | Free! (latin) |
|---|---|
| Romaji | Free! |
| English | Free! -Iwatobi Swim Club- |
| Also known as | フリー！ |
Facts
| Format | TV series · 12 ep · 24 min · 5h total |
|---|---|
| Aired | 2013-06-26 → 2013-09-25 (Summer 2013) |
| Status | FINISHED |
| Studio | Kyoto Animation |
| Source | Original work |
| Origin | Japan (Anime) |
| Genres | ComedyDramaSlice of LifeSports |
| Themes | SwimmingPrimarily Male CastSchool ClubMale ProtagonistComing of AgeCute Boys Doing Cute ThingsPrimarily Teen CastSchoolFitnessKuudereBoys' Love |
| Streaming | Crunchyroll · Amazon Prime Video · Netflix |
Reception
| Community score | 7.26 / 10 |
|---|---|
| Bayesian score | 7.27 / 10 |
| Composite | 56.1 |
| On lists | 182,773 |
| Favourited | 3,981 (2.2%) |
| Completion | 84.6% |
| Drop rate | 5.7% |
| In backlog | 20.5% |
| Score spread σ | 1.71 |
Score distribution
Where it places
| Cohort | Value | Tier | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadcast season | Summer 2013 | B | 14 of 89 |
| Year | 2013 | B | 57 of 330 |
| Studio | Kyoto Animation | C | 60 of 121 |
| Genre | Sports | C | 137 of 447 |
| Era | Early 2010s | B | 277 of 1,627 |
| Source material | Original work | B | 316 of 1,732 |
| Season (all years) | Summer | B | 358 of 1,662 |
| Genre | Slice of Life | C | 489 of 1,578 |
| Length | Single-cour | C | 688 of 2,668 |
| Genre | Comedy | B | 719 of 3,488 |
| Genre | Drama | C | 727 of 1,917 |
| Format | TV series | C | 922 of 3,322 |
| Origin | Japan | B | 1,562 of 7,157 |
Key staff
| Director | Hiroko Utsumi, Jouji Unoguchi, Youta Tsuruoka |
|---|---|
| Series composition | Masahiro Yokotani |
| Character design | Futoshi Nishiya |
| Music | Tatsuya Katou |
Franchise — Free!
C
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
BRelated
| Relation | Year | Title |
|---|---|---|
| sequel | 2014 | Free! -Eternal Summer- |
| side story | 2013 | FrFr! ~Free! short movie~ |
| other | — | Kyoto Animation: Suiei-hen |
| prequel | 2015 | High Speed! -Free! Starting Days- |
| sequel | 2017 | Free! -Timeless Medley- The Bond |
AniList id 18507 · MAL id 18507 · record updated 2026-08-27