Yeesh. I stumble upon the 2-act finale of Free!, with the English subs. Not on purpose, it’s just there in front of me while I’m looking for something else. It hits me how I could’ve, probably, found it with a bit of effort, a lot sooner. And I think about how I - haven’t. Consciously or not, I did not want to put in the effort.
2013 saw the first series air, I watched as it happened. It’s been ten years since.
2014 introduced us to Momo, in the second series, who still has a special place in my heart... for so many reasons. Despite never really getting enough screentime (and then even less).
2015, March, got us that OVA that I still consider one of the overall bests, due to how well it ties in to the universe, into the main story, while serving some totally no-strings-attached fun at the same time. Then, in July, my grandpa passed away. In December, we got the High Speed! adaptation, which of course takes us back into our main cast’s childhood, a little anachronistic to be sure, but it managed to make it feel like we’d known these guys even longer, practically a whole lifetime. It also introduced us to Ikuya - another one I grew very fond of, very quickly...
Although it wasn’t until the very end of 2016 that I got around to watching High Speed! - more than a year after it actually hit the theatres.
And that too only because of the upcoming two not-quite-just-recap movies in 2017: Kizuna in April, and Yakusoku in July.
Once again, I was a good year late in getting to these, in July 2018. I suppose somewhere in my subconscious, I kinda justified it by “well, they’re kinda just recaps anyway, right?”...
At this time five years ago, we just started watching Dive to the Future - the long-awaited third series dropped in July 2018. It felt... different, trying to balance what was basically two separate casts by this point, juggling both “old” characters from the first two series, as well as “new” ones from High Speed!. I think it was... hard. For me. To keep track, a little bit to keep interest, and a little bit to relate as we saw our main cast oh-so-grown-up now. I’m still both lost in the world of adulting, and alone. Though, delightfully, Free! never tries to shoehorn in token romances anywhere that it would’ve no idea how to handle - like so many other anime, in the genre and outside of it, do.
July 2019 saw Yume released, the third not-quite-just-recap movie. This is where I lost the thread, as I still haven’t gotten around to watching it. And then, of course, not a full two weeks later, the KyoAni arson attack happened, and the entire Free! fandom (among others ofc) scrambled as one to raise awareness, to donate, to buy whatever digital or real merch they were pushing out in an attempt to recoup the losses...
In April 2020, my grandma passed away.
And holy shit, even the first act of The Final Stroke, Zenpen, is close to two years old now, having been released in September 2021.
Followed by the final-final stroke, Kouhen, in April 2022. At the same time, OLDCODEX also disbanded, following, ofc, that whole nasty ordeal around our gentle giant’s VA. (Of all people... who would’ve thought, right?)
And since... Free! has been doing Memories of Summer and all sorts of blue, music events obviously because Free! also has an immense amount of music to be enjoyed, various collabs, even having our guys show up around actual sport events (like here for the FINA World Aquatics Championships happening in Fukuoka now).
And now of course they’re preparing for events to celebrate the 10th anniversary, even compilation album is in the works.
It feels like another lifetime. Practically none of the people are around from back then. None of the “friends”, none of the RP partners, none of my Japanese study group, even...
I’m just here, on the lookout for the new BLEACH episode, when The Final Stroke swims right into my face, and brings all this to my mind. And- BLEACH! Indeed. Holy smokes. BLEACH! You thought Free! is a blast from the past? Ha. This one goes back to my highschool years, it’s actually almost terrifying tbh.
It also makes me think... Here we are, as well, waiting for similar 2-act final for Haikyuu!!, which I think most of us are at least somewhat apprehensive about, because how’s that even gonna work? Either way - Haikyuu!!, the anime, is also right around the decade corner, having been released in 2014, y’know.
And to thread the same needle... DAIYA no Ace? Premiered October 2013. And even though the anime Act II concluded in 2020 - the manga Act II didn’t end until October last year. So, presumably, there’s still material to work with even there.
It’s kind of mind-boggling, isn’t it? For all the ephemeral nature of high school years... Whichever franchise you’re into, any or all of them, it feels like these boys have been around for ever. Which... they obviously haven’t. But they do have their own life’s stories - and whatever way you slice it, ten years is a hell of a long time. Even if it really isn’t.
And when it all ends... What then? Will they go on being cherished and “live” with us, in our everydays, as it were? Or will they be forgotten... will there even be anyone around to remember them?
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