On the 22nd of November I left Australia to have a 15 day trip in Japan. Naturally, being a Free! fangirl, I documented all things Free! that I came across. Unfortunately I didn’t go to Iwami (the town Iwatobi is based off) but hey, there’s always another time right?
Tokyo
High Speed! Free! Starting days premieres on 7/12 so there were a lot of adverts around.
The Atre building
A giant billboard in Shibuya Station. Probably would have to step off the platform to capture the full picture, but I’m not ready for that level of dedication yet.
There’s even a Free! train running! It was entertaining to see girls dart about and chase after trains for photos (not that I could say anything...). I had to wait until everyone was in the train for a clear shot - you can see how packed the inside was!
I only saw this train once and when I got off it at Shibuya I was lucky enough to see Hachiko was a cat sleeping underneath it! Thank you Free! boys!
An advert for a Free! themed cafe. I heard it was invite only (from a twitter-based lottery system) so I didn’t check it out.
Samezuka team gachapon machine! There are Iwatobi team gachapon machines floating around too.
I saw High Speed at Cinema Sunshine in Ikebukuro! It was packed to the brim with Free! fans. Getting popcorn, buying merchandise, going to the toilet, moving, doing anything at all required a lot of effort.
A sneaky shot ;9
A claw machine containing the latest Free! prize figures! I spent quite a bit of money and time on these, haha.
It was Momo’s birthday during my trip! Here are my contributions to the birthday wall in an Ikebukuro arcade.
Kyoto
In between all the Tokyo fun, I went to Kyoto - the home of Kyoto Animation (well, duh).
You can see the Kyokai no Kanata and Hibike! Euphonium adverts being drowned out by the Free! ones hahaha!
Outside the KyoAni shop! I bought a lot of stuff! At one point I had a Euphonium book in my hands, but I put it back in favour of more Free! merchandise. At the counter the staff asked me if I wanted my purchases placed in a Free! themed bag, or a KyoAni shop bag. I don't know why they bothered asking. It’s not like I had anything else in my arms other than half naked swimming boys.
Haul
My haul in its entirety, not including the gachapon since I forgot about them until later.
Game prize figures! Two were won, two were bought at a reasonable price. Little Makoto was the first one I came across and I sank 2000 yen into the machine at a dodgy little arcade in Ueno before I was dragged away by friends empty handed. Later that night I went to the giant Sega arcade at Akihabara, where the guy felt so sorry for my ineptitude that he balanced the figure on the bars in a way that any hit from the claw would’ve sent it tumbling into the winning chute. So ladies and gentlemen, that’s how I won my first figure. I won the bottom right Haru figure by myself though :)
Goodies from the KyoAni store! In clockwise order: a Free artbook plus CD, a shikishi set, the HaruRin mook plus bracelet and a set of postcards.
The artbook open on my favourite piece of Free! official art. Also explains my determination in getting those figures! Haha
Pretty postcards. I’m planning to frame my favourite characters.
One of my favourite purchases. I simply adore the coloured pencil style that the Free!s get drawn in! The cover itself is a beautiful navy velvet stamped with gold lettering. It has drawings on the inside of the cover too!
December’s Spoon 2Di featuring High Speed! It has a section covering the characters as well as a large poster of the cover art, which I really like! Also picked up a douijin by pixiv artist Gummy, it features KissMe, Rin and Sousuke. There's a scene in it where Kisumi takes a selfie with Rin and sends it to Sousuke in an attempt to make him jealous <3
These were from later on in the trip and I swear at this point the Free! gods were thanking me for my patronage because I couldn’t believe how lucky I was getting at some games. Nagisa and Sousuke bus pass cases won from a single claw machine, got a mini Rin figure on the first try (which my friend really wanted so I swapped him for her Haru) and gachapon keyrings of Haru, Makoto, Nagisa and Momo.
High Speed! goodies! Every moviegoer gets a mystery card - I originally got Nagisa, which I swapped for Haru! Can you see which characters I like yet? Hahaha. I had a bit of trouble communicating with the staff on what I wanted to buy (they were probably wondering why some gaijin girl was seeing a Japanese movie?) but I managed to pick up a guide book and a mystery clear file, which ended up being KissMe! Unfortunately one of the posters I wanted was sold out when the movie finished ;_;
Geez, these guys are absolutely gorgeous. I really like them both. Can we get more of these two? Pretty please, KyoAni? I’ll buy more of your stuff~
The splash on the last page~
Phew, I think that’s it. I’m planning on writting up a spoiler-heavy summary of High Speed and a summary of my Japan trip as well. For now, I am one very happy girl :)
Tomorrow I'll be seeing a very sophisticated animation showcasing the beautiful youth of four Japanese swimmers. I also actually speak minimal Japanese, so this will be real interesting hahaha
Currently in Japan! Will do a massive write up when I get back to aussieland. For now, enjoy this photo of me being a filthy fujo at the KyoAni store in Kohata!
I played Morphling for the first time, ended up not having enough farm to kill people end game so I just maxed strength and walked into the enemy team eating ults and stunning people.
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