Free! : One Style Final!

Episode 7

Sorry for the delay!

So last time the boys all ended up stranded for the night after Rei got trapped in the middle of a storm, we found out the sad story of Mako's fisherman and why he's afraid of the ocean.

In the end though what a sweet story we got, such a magical episode!

Lets hope this weeks (whoops) is just as good.

***SPOILERS***

5 Days left to go! Haruki is getting better and better, Nagisa... Needs more work! Apparently we are looking for a coach. Of course Haru thinks they don't need one...

It seems that Rin has gone to see Haru but he isn't home. What is it with Haru telling people he only swims free? Well possibly because this seems to be Rin's dream. He has some hell of a dream that is for sure!

Next day and we get to see the pictures from training camp, YAY! Even though we only saw a small amount of it we know just how much fun they all had! Kou is great and has a load of data on all the people they'll be up against.

Rei lets them know he wants to do the relay, ohhh how I adore Rei!

But what is with that stupid little boy that follows Rin around? He's starting to get more annoying than Rin's dream was! We learn a little about Rin and maybe why he is the way he is, his father was a great swimmer but chose to have Rin instead so Rin feels he has to be the best... That means beating Haru.

So the big day arrives.

Kou seems to have done so much research on the other teams and their muscles.

Soooo Rin and Haru are in the same heat in neighboring lanes, Rin beats Haru meaning Haru doesn't go through.... And Rin horridly tells him he'd never swim with him again. What a git!

Not a good start to our tournament life is it?

I really don't like Rin's teeth. Stupid moment I know but I just had to get it off my chest.

So the episode!

First off Kou is a great character I love how hard she works for the team to help them and it is great that no one in the team takes the information she gives them for granted. I love that there is this mutual respect all around.

It was nice to learn a little about Rin but I think it is at cross purposes because we now understand the reasons Rin is the way he is (to an extent) but I really don't like how his character is. It is a good back story but you are meant to feel for him but when he is needlessly nasty (and he's got a fanboy following him about) it gets... Annoying... Feels.... Smug.... I just don't like the atmosphere surrounding him and I don't think I'd find it easy forgiving him for anything he's doing to Haru.

As for Haru I feel so sorry for him, he just loves to swim. I'm starting to like Haru more and more and feel really bad for him.

As always I've enjoyed the episode, now I'm into the swing of it I see it has so much more to it then just a anime about sports. The characters are lovely and I have fallen in love with most of them. It is a lot of good fun too and reminds me why I liked swimming in the Olympics.

Rei continues to bring so much comedy and love to this series, he is by far my favorite character and he is kind of the character I've attached myself into to join the group. It had the feeling of becoming clique-ish to begin with, all the characters knew each other and they were all brilliant swimmers, but the addition of Rei who isn't in their group (or attached) and doesn't know how to swim it brings the anime down a level so we could climb on board.

I really do think a lot of my initial problems came from feeling pushed out of the group before we'd even started, everything seemed to reference off air "past" experience of these characters and I found it hard to care or to join in. The important thing for me in many things is to feel like I could be sat in the middle of the whole story (hence on One Piece and Fairy Tail blogs I talk like I'm part of the crew/guild) and I don't like it when the main characters don't.... In a way allow the viewers to join their group, this anime swerved that problem wonderfully with Rei!

Every episode just gets better and it is such a beautiful thing to watch.