Free! Eternal Summer: For the future
A few days ago, I watched the finale of Free! Eternal Summer and following that, four times of the same thing since I'm (still) struggling to accept that the season has already ended for most anime out there. I don't think that there is another anime that could instantaneously break my heart like the finale of Free! Eternal Summer. The sight of Nagisa and Rei crying man-tears still stings whenever I think about their reminiscences by the ocean the night before the national tournament. Naturally, with every end comes a new beginning, or in Haruka's own unique fashion, the four of them will always be connected.
I suppose that it was only realistic for the boys to place sixth in the finals of the national tournament. However, they had aced the heats after which an overwhelmed Nagisa brought everyone together for a strong embrace. Oh, and Haruka finally (?) welled up just when I thought his remorsefulness for having shouted at Makoto was probably the only major shift from his trademark taciturnity. I feel that the entire scene had been well-executed for it not only represented their bonds with one another but also the renewed acknowledgement of freedom in their hearts.
The ending theme song for the finale is 'Clear Blue Departure' which is performed by the voice actors of Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa, Rei, Rin, Sousuke, Aiichirou and Momotarou - eight people this time! The full version will be released in early October as one of the tracks in the original soundtrack album titled 'Clear Blue Notes'. I'm a little puzzled as to why the record label wouldn't release the song as a single. The same thing happened to 'Ever Blue' as well - it was packaged together with Ever Blue Sounds. Hmm...it would be nice to have a karaoke track. Anyway, more merchandise will be released in October apart from the soundtrack. The character songs of Sousuke, Aiichirou and Momotarou will follow a week after 'Clear Blue Notes'. Official audio samples are already made available on YouTube! Those voice actors can really sing!
Oh, there is going to be an OVA (Original Video Animation) for Free! Eternal Summer which will be packaged together with the seventh volume of the Blu-Ray and DVD. It will be released in March 2015. While all good things come to an end, I still wish that there could be another season even though Haruka, Makoto and Rin have graduated and the remaining characters have moved on.
Speaking of other characters, I've got to admit that while I still find Sousuke annoying I no longer doubt his friendship with Rin. Sousuke's road to recovery would probably be much longer than the total number of laps that he had swum, but Rin would be waiting for his return nonetheless. Aiichirou took over the baton following Rin's graduation. He is obsessed...I mean, really obsessed with Rin, to the point where he actually has a song all about his beloved senpai! The coupling song of Aiichirou's character single is titled 'He's so perfect!!' with an extra exclamation to emphasise his perfection. Maybe it's just my imagination, but I thought that the song sounded like some 1970s / 1980s natsumero. Well, it's still a cute and lovely song. I wonder what Rin's reaction would be if he heard that!
Getting a life can wait, at least for now. It's time to watch Free! Eternal Summer from the first episode again. Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa, Rei, Rin...thank you for those wonderful memories. Sousuke, Aiichirou, Momotarou...I'm looking forward to your character songs. Gou, Ama-chan sensei, Coach Sasabe...thank you for the comic relief (?).
For the future.
Eccentrically Yours.
Written by J.Fluffysheep ♪
No Comment to " Free! Eternal Summer: For the future "