Anime · Tokyo MX
Free!
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Nobunaga Shimazaki
Haruka Nanase (voice)
37 eps
Daisuke Hirakawa
Rei Ryugazaki (voice)
37 eps
Akeno Watanabe
Gou Matsuoka (voice)
37 eps
Kenjiro Tsuda
Seijuro Mikoshiba (voice)
37 eps
Mamoru Miyano
Rin Matsuoka (voice)
37 eps
Hiroshi Yanaka
Gorou Sasabe (voice)
37 eps
Tatsuhisa Suzuki
Makoto Tachibana (voice)
37 eps
Satsuki Yukino
Miho Amakata (voice)
37 eps
Kouki Miyata
Aiichiro Nitori (voice)
37 eps
Tsubasa Yonaga
Nagisa Hazuki (voice)
12 eps
Yoshimasa Hosoya
Sosuke Yamazaki (voice)
25 eps
Kenichi Suzumura
Momotaro Mikoshiba (voice)
13 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Free! actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Free! reads strongest on Character Depth, Humour and Emotional Weight.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
The story
What it's about
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.
The run
Seasons
3 seasons · 37 episodes.
Season 0 · Complete
Specials
20139 episodes
Season 1 · Complete
Free! Iwatobi Swim Club
201312 episodes
5.8IMDbFour boys named Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa and Rin all participated in a swimming tournament shortly before graduating elementary school and later parted ways. Years later, they reunite when Rin challenges Haruka to a race and wins. Not wanting to be defeated so easily, Haruka gathers Makoto and Nagisa and a new recruit named Rei to form the Iwatobi High School Swimming Club.
Best episode · S01E04 Captive Butterfly
Season 2 · Complete
Free! Eternal Summer
201413 episodes
6.2IMDbThe Iwatobi Swimming Club is back and struggles with the recruitment of new members. At the same time, senior members Haru and Makoto have to figure out what to do after high school, challenging their love for swimming. Meanwhile an old childhood friend of Rin returns and stirs up some trouble - especially with Haru. How is the Iwatobi gang going to respond?!
Best episode · S02E01 Stormy Dash-Dive!
Season 3 · Complete
Free! Dive to the Future
201812 episodes
3.0IMDbHaruka, 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.
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S01E04
Captive Butterfly
The Iwatobi Swim Club has a full roster now.As they begin to practice, they run into a little trouble.After a certain member claims that his swimsuit is to blame, the club makes a trip to buy new swimsuits.
- Directed by Yoshiji Kigami
- Written by Masahiro Yokotani
Recently aired
Latest Episodes
S03E12
Dive to the Future!
- Directed by Taichi Ogawa, Eisaku Kawanami
- Written by Masahiro Yokotani
S03E10
The Grab Start of Hope!
- Directed by Yasuhiro Takemoto
- Written by Reiko Yoshida
S03E09
Interval in the Evening Calm!
- Directed by Shinpei Sawa
- Written by Haruna Matsuda
S03E08
Metamorphosis of the Soul!
- Directed by Haruka Fujita
- Written by Masahiro Yokotani
S03E07
A Solitary Medley!
- Directed by Noriyuki Kitanohara
- Written by Masahiro Yokotani
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
- Photo unavailable
Yoko Kogawa
Executive producer
Atsushi Isoyama
Executive producer
Masayuki Nishide
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Shinya Yamamoto
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Yoko Hatta
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Susumu Okinaka
Executive producer
Shunji Inoue
Executive producer
Reiko Yoshida
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Maiko Nishioka
Writer
Masahiro Yokotani
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Haruna Matsuda
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Chika Ishikawa
Writer
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Megumi SuzukiProducer
- Yoko KogawaExecutive Producer
- Atsushi IsoyamaExecutive Producer
- Shinichi NakamuraProducer
- Masayuki NishideExecutive Producer
- Masayuki NishideProducer
Writing
- Reiko YoshidaWriter
- Maiko NishiokaWriter
- Masahiro YokotaniWriter
- Haruna MatsudaWriter
- Chika IshikawaWriter
Direction
- Noriyuki KitanoharaDirector
- Yasuhiro TakemotoDirector
- Taichi OgawaDirector
- Eisaku KawanamiDirector
- Naoko YamadaDirector
- Rika OtaDirector
Cinematography
- Kazuya TakaoDirector of Photography
Music
- Tatsuya KatoOriginal Music Composer
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- Apple TV StoreBuy
- CrunchyrollStreaming
- Crunchyroll Amazon ChannelStreaming
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