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REVIEW: Free! The Final Stroke 1st Part




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all-tsun-and-no-dere
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 06 Jul 2015
Posts: 604
PostPosted: Thu Oct 14, 2021 9:21 pm Reply with quote
This doesn't remotely surprise me. The tone of Free changed significantly for the worse after Hiroko Utsumi left and Eisaku Kawanami took over. He sucked all the playfulness and joy out of the franchise, when you can have a story about a group of adolescents growing up and figuring out what they want out of their lives without it being grim and glum.

Honestly, I like the concept! Most high school athletes don't go on to be professional. It got off to a strong start in Eternal Summer too, with Haru and Makoto both having crises about their identities and their relationship with swimming and to each other. But it never stopped being fun. Then Utsumi left and Kawanami took over and Dive to the Future was a melodramatic slog with almost none of the humor and cheeky fan service that made the first two seasons notable.

Eternal Summer should have ended with Haru deciding to keep swimming as a hobby and going to art college. Just saying.
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MagicPolly



Joined: 26 Nov 2020
Posts: 1566
PostPosted: Thu Oct 14, 2021 9:44 pm Reply with quote
I'm honestly not particularly looking forward to this movie with how much I disliked Dive to the Future. I pretty much agree completely with all-tsun-and-no-dere that it was a complete slog. It actually made me appreciate the original seasons even more compared to what the series could end up being lol. But yeah I always found Free's strength in it being slice of life with drama and sports on the side, so DttF breaking up the main 5 and focusing solely on drama and competition completely ruined that. It seems like The Final Stroke is also focusing on those which disappoints me, but you can't really do season 1/2 Free in a movie format (though I liked the High Speed movie).

Also I'm just salty as a Nagisa fan that he only got minuscule amounts of screen time lol. It doesn't seem like The Final Stroke will be any better than that since I think Road to the World was meant to be the Nagisa/Rei sendoff (I'm basing this on them being front and center on the poster, I haven't watched it yet)

I'll still be watching The Final Stroke movies anyway just because I love the series, but I don't have high hopes after being burned by DttF.
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lady_mix003



Joined: 10 Nov 2021
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Wed Nov 10, 2021 8:55 pm Reply with quote
Does anybody know where to see the movie online? like the full movie, not only the first 11 minutes. I couldnt go to the cinema when it was aired in my contry and now its gone. Please let me know if where I can watched. I want to write a review to.
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Errinundra
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Joined: 14 Jun 2008
Posts: 6509
Location: Melbourne, Oz
PostPosted: Wed Nov 10, 2021 9:35 pm Reply with quote
ANN doesn't allow unlicensed streaming sites to be promoted in the forums. Until it gets a licensed release in your country you'll need to be patient.
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Sasuke149



Joined: 09 Sep 2009
Posts: 42
PostPosted: Fri Sep 02, 2022 1:53 am Reply with quote
Season 3 was a disaster in my opinion. It was boring and it had too much unnecessary drama, to many characters etc. But this movie was a pleasant surprise. It wasn't as good as season 1, but still it brought back the charm. Can't wait to watch the second part.
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