High Speed! Free! Startng Days Movie
So Free! and Free!ES are adapted from a light novel called High Speed! which is about a medley relay team of elementary school kids. Free! is about those kids as high schoolers. The success of Free! has made the author write a sequel to High Speed! where the kids are middle schoolers, and that is what this movie is adapted from. If you don't know Free!, it is a sports anime on swimming. The protagonist is a talented male swimmer name Nanase Haruka who isn't the most friendly person, but his talent has drawn people to him anyways.
I have read the novels, and seen both seasons of Free!, but I will say that you really don't need to read or watch any of these to enjoy this movie. There are some details that are changed from the book and the show, but its really not a big deal. This movie is cute and enjoyable. And no, this is not a yaoi. There may be some scenes that seem "gay" but its really just friendship. Also its not lewd or weird to see boys in swimwear. I don't see this movie sexualizing these boys at all. If you do then that's all on you buddy. As with the show and the novels, this movie is centered on team and friendships. They each have their own problems and have trouble being a team as ordered by the swim club captain. These problems are changed a bit from the novel, and while I do enjoy this movie I do prefer the novel a bit more. I do recommend giving it a read if you enjoy this series.
The animation and art quality is better than the show, though I do find the cgi water to be a bit much. Even though they are middle schoolers, some of the voice actors are the same as the anime show. I think its impressive how high they got their voices to fit the age. The design of the boys are a bit aged so they look more like a 14-15 year old than 12 which I think they are suppose to be at. The director for the movie is different from the show too, but I honestly like that way the movie treated the characters and story more than the show. Overall, I really like the movie and would recommend it if you like cute boys be cute and a bit angsty.
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