Free! -Dive to the Future-

Episode 7

Everything I've been predicting about Free! Dive to the Future has been coming true, but I'm no psychic. It's simply that with a cast this enormous, the plot has got to buckle at some point. The show tells a story from a dozen different perspectives, and in order to piece it together into something intelligible, it has slowed down and been simplified to the extreme. That said, although it's been signaled from miles away, it was great to see Haru undergo some significant character development this episode. Even in the middle of so many perspectives, he manages to stand out as the protagonist by becoming more talkative than we've ever seen him before.

There was nothing solitary about “A Solitary Medley!” Instead, it was filled with scene after scene of no more than two (2) characters interacting, just talking about the plot every time. One distinctive exception was Haru's wordy flashback, a response to a teammate who asked if Haru has always aspired to swim on the global level. Just like with his monologue at the start of this season, it's another indicator that Haru has taken control of his own story, and this socially-awkward swimmer has become more comfortable talking about himself. “Free was my specialty” is a very telling line. Yes, past tense. After two-and-a-half seasons, Haru and his informal coach have somehow worked through backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly—styles that other swimmers devote their careers to—within half an episode.

This theme of quick resolution continues for Ikuya. After a brief talk with Asahi (who's been trying to find Ikuya all season and suddenly happens on him by chance), both of them find that their angst is nearly cleared up. It's a good thing too. Now that this season is more than halfway over, what other choice do they have? That's why I don't feel too bad for Hiyori, even if last episode was a doozy, and in this episode Ikuya isn't sure anymore if Hiyori is his friend! Sousuke, Natsuya, and everyone else we see for about half a second are going to either figure out their problems or fade into irrelevance forever. There's just so much that has to be crammed into what remains of Free!'s run. Even though Rin doesn't appear, our high school cast (also pretty neglected) has a conversation specifically to imply that he's still relevant to the story. In the end, a cheap cliffhanger is what amps up the suspense to get me excited about next week, even in the midst of all this chaos.

Free! Dive to the Future really should have been two different shows, one about our college cast and one about our high school cast. Perhaps it could have worked in the style of Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School, in which the show offered an update on an alternating arc every other episode. Maybe then we could focus on just a few characters each episode and really have their stories matter. There are still some great scenes (I loved Kisumi and the baby and Makoto's “bless your heart” iciness toward Haru's new coach), but so much of what exists here is just stacking on plot, not building character. Haru's fascinating new role as his own agent for change in his life is what most strongly makes it still worth watching.

Rating: B-

Free! Dive to the Future is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Lauren writes about geek careers at Otaku Journalist.