Free! Iwatobi Swim Club (Anime Series)

Free! Iwatobi Swim Club
Written by: Masahiro Yokotani
Directed by: Hiroko Utsumi
Produced: Kyoto Animation
Release Date: Began July 4, 2013--ongoing

The story of the Iwatobi Swim Club centers around 17 year old Haruka, an introverted young man who seems to be uncomfortable everywhere except in the water. He lives alone (his parents conveniently absent in typical anime fashion...the excuse this time is that they moved for work), skips school on a regular basis, and seems to be disinterested in what's happening around him, at least on the surface. 

In the past Haruka was part of a swim team, swimming (as he repeatedly tells us, only "freestyle") in races and relays. He and his three friends, annoyingly chipper and bubbly Nagisa, responsible and encouraging Mako, and competitive and determined Rin, won their middle-school relays, and then parted ways. Rin went on to train in Australia to be an Olympic swimmer, and Nagisa followed his family to another school. Leaving only Mako to tend to Haruka's swimming-related OCDs.  Haru, never interested in the idea of the "race," quit when Rin left, and Mako followed, one by one the team fell apart, and a few years later the swim club itself closed. The story opens with Nagisa transferring into the high-school Haru and Mako attend. In a fit of nostalgia (and brandishing packets of salt to ward away ghosts), the trio decides to break into their old swim club and take a trip down memory lane. While there they run, coincidentally, into Rin, who has returned to attend an private school with an elite swim team, still working towards his Olympic goals. 

Inspired by the past, Nagisa convinces Haru and Mako to join him in starting a swim club at their new high-school. and expected shirtless hi-jinx ensue as they gain an extra member in the form of neurotic, perfectionist (and poor swimmer) Rei. And with Rin's little sister as team manager the group tries their best to make a good showing at their first meet. 

Welcome to this week's episode of "catering to teen girls."
Clockwise from the top we have:
determined glasses dude, angry aggressive dude with a sensitive core, responsible big-brother-type,
cutey face bunny boy, and sullen haunted loner with secret feelings. 

This is a show I would continue. I am six episodes into the series, and in some ways this is a predictable male-harem type anime...there's a guy for every girl here. You like brooding dark and aggressive ..well, this anime has that covered. Stoic with a hidden tenderness...oh, yeah, we got that. Cute and flirty...sure. Awkward genius in glasses who happens to have an incredible body...yup. Responsible big brother type who wears his heart on his sleeve...not a problem. So, why watch it if it's so predictable? Well, hot-anime-shirtless-ridiculousness aside (I think the "swim club" choice was seriously influenced by the amount of skin the scenario offers), this is a very interesting character study. 

Haru, the main character, has an icy personalty that is a little off-putting, but his genuine passion for swimming at points borders on the metaphorical and philosophical. Despite his sometimes apathetic stance, there are hints that there are deep conflicting emotions at work in this character. Except when he is swimming (and is at his most joyous) he seems devastatingly sad. Most obviously this deep sorrow emerges in his relationship to Rin. Haru's unresolved, and contradictory, feelings of friendship, devotion, guilt, and loss become a major undercurrent to the series, at least so far. There's an interesting dynamic between Haru and Rin. The one-sided competition Rin feels keeps him motivated, but causes an widening rift between two people who seem to not only admire and respect one another, but care deeply for one another (in a heterosexual way; don't get excited yaoi-fans). Each of them clings to the friendship that they formed in the past, but each wants to move past that loss, or even through it...as both characters say in separate situations "I want to move on." Their past, and their competition with one another, is not allowing them to do that. 

If you can't swim, you should not join a swim team.
I don't care how many sparkles are surrounding you...sparkles don't float.
(Or do they? I can't ever remember.)

Each of the characters seems to have some sadness or loss that they are attempting to move past, and as a team they may be able to mend one another's broken bits. I'm looking forward to future episodes. I can already hear (this series just began in Japan less than two months ago) the sound of fan-girls squeeing over this series. I would expect that there are fan-sites, fiction, art, etc. popping up every hour. This is the kind of anime a teen-girl would like, but...and we need a but here, it does have more than just cute/sweet situations, shirtless boys, and awkward affection. There's a story here about loss and redemption, about individual goals and our desire for collective support, and about how passion and freedom are strange bedfellows (one ties us down while the other liberates us). It's surprisingly deep stuff for an anime with an average of ten shirtless minutes per 22 minute episode AND one of the worst closing credit sequences I have ever experienced (you were warned). Other than those closing credits, I think this one is worth a watch. At the very least you'll be on the popularity bus before this turns into the next Ouran High School Host Club. 

Favorite Harem Anime -- Saiunkoku Monogatari -- The Story of Saiunkoku

The Story of Saiunkoku is a totally squeeworthy anime.


I started following the show when it was first airing in Japan at a time when you had to wait for fansubs to come out. It takes place in a fictional medieval kingdom. Centered around Shurei Kou, the poor descendant of a noble family, who wants to be a government official despite the fact that she is a woman, the anime has enough twists and turns to keep it enjoyable despite its length. There are something like two seasons of almost forty episodes, so it's a nice, long epic adventure.


Since there were large gaps between episodes, my interest in the show waned after a time. What I can say is, it's a great show with nice art and a great male harem anime that includes just about every bishounen type know to fangirldom. Also, there is a strong and interesting female lead with a depth of character I really enjoyed.

I'm not aware of an official licensed streaming version of this right now. Its not available on Netflix, and frankly, the boxset is stupid expensive. I'd like to watch / finish this show one day, though.

OURAN update

Now, I know Ms. Shakespeare doesn't follow the manga of Ouran High School Host Club, but I do...and I have to admit my smitten-kitten-osity. The lastest issues of Ouran and the latest (hush-hush) fanslations of the newest chapters from the Japanese Magazine LaLa are heartnumbingly fabulous. The love and family conundrum is being brought to a head, and the characters keep getting more and more interesting. For chapters through 78, go visit SpectrumNexus, or wait (more patiently than I can) for the US releases. I am doing both. I read chapters as fast as I can, but I go out an purchase the manga as well.

Nothing makes me feel half my age half as fast as Ouran.

Proposal--Ouran v. Ouran : Anime v. Manga

Ouran High School Host Club is not only adorable, more complicated than one might expect (it hits on some very profound psychological and emotional issues in very subtle ways), and worthy of watching/reading, it's also very dear to my heart in a very specific way. Ms. Shakespeare and I bonded over the anime of Ouran High School Host Club; as soon as the fanslation of Ouran hit Youtube one of us would call...our voices full of squee! It was usually a Thursday afternoon, when the dedicated fansubbers of the world appeased our growing desire for the SNAFUs of Ouran High School's wealthy harem of charming young men (and one girl in disguise). I have never seen such dedication and speed in translation; Ouran ran very late on Tuesday nights in Japan, and by Thursday (with some exceptions) we would usually have a fresh episode to watch...just a few days after our squee-filled Japanese peers. When Ouran went live we ran home after school/work met at Ms. Shakespeare's house and huddled around the small, laptop monitor...nearly bouncing out of our chairs at the kitchen table. We chain smoked (something we have both ceased to do), drank diet sodas, and paused often to comment on what was happening on the screen, as the sun went down over our oddly eclectic Michigan neighborhood. When Ouran ended, we cried (we cry a lot), and squeed (we squee a lot) and praised Bisco Hatori for her utter cuteness while lamenting that this was the end of our love affair with the characters who populated the 3rd Music room of Ouran High School.

Ouran was our obession for twenty-six episodes. When the series ended, I started in on the manga, ongoing in Japan and in it's 11th issue in the U.S. I'm a big fan of both versions of the story (and they are very different), but I'm focused more on the manga version right now, because it allows me a little more time and depth with the characters I love. Ms. Shakespeare is a big fan of the anime version, because it has a very tight and effective story arc and seems very self-contained.

I propose a debate...Ouran v. Ouran, Anime v. Manga! But first, an overview:

The series (summary from For Richer or Poorer (FROP)," an Ouran Fanclub Website, courtesy of VIS):
In this screwball romantic comedy, a poor girl at a rich kids' school ends up working for the school's swankiest club—and gets mistaken for a boy!
One day, Haruhi, a scholarship student at exclusive Ouran High School, breaks an $80,000 vase that belongs to the "Host Club," a mysterious campus group consisting of six super-rich (and gorgeous) guys. To pay back the damages, she is forced to work for the club, and it's there that she discovers just how wealthy the boys are and how different they are from everybody else.

Essentially, the series is a gender bender/male harem situation...the main characters each represent some anime/manga-typical "type" of swoonworthy fella.

---

Main Characters:
Tamaki Suoh--The "king" of the host club, an over-the-top, half-French, prince character with a fragile heart of gold, who despite his intelligence and grace is actually much more of a goofball and klutz than he is debonaire.
Kyoya Ootori--The "shadow king" (or "mother") of the host club, a caluclating, determined high school student from a very wealthy and powerful family. Despite his forbidding air, he has a tender side.
Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin--Twin trouble makers who use their bond with one another to their advantage in order to keep their distance from other people. They see other people as "toys" and certainly tease, taunt and create mayhem, but secretly they harbor deep feelings for their friends and not just each other.
Mitsukuni Haninozuka, "Hunni"--a high-school senior whose outward cuteness ("a loli-shota") hides brains, martial arts skills, and the fact that he's actually the oldest of all of the host club members. He shares a bond with his cousin, and best friend, Takashi Morinozuka.
Takashi Morinozuka, "Mori"--the strong, silent type. He is quick to defend his friends, is very thoughtful and very emotional despite his tough outward appearance and constant silence.
Haruhi Fujioka--The bluntly honest hero/heroine of the group. She attends Ouran on scholarship, is the top of her freshman class, and is brutally oblivious to things a "normal" girl might desire or notice. She is stubborn, androgynous, practical and independant...and she's hiding the fact that she's a girl.

---

So, what makes this story different or interesting, it's the characters, nothing more. There are no evil aliens to defeat, there are no psychic powers, no real love story to speak of (until perhaps the later chapters of the manga)...it's a story about teenagers with obstacles, despite the opportunities their wealth, intelligence and familial power affords them. For some of these characters the obstacles are emotional; for others they are circumstantial, based on family, status, goals, and/or desires. Oddly, although this manga/anime is about a group of friends, what it discusses the most is an idea of family. Other big themes in the series center around individuality, loss, and success. The themes themselves are addressed honestly, and realistically, despite the fantasy world of wealth and priveledge in both verisons of the story.

There are some differences though between the two mediums of Ouran...and if I can get Ms. Shakespeare to agree to a debate, I'd be most pleased.

Kyo Kara Maoh! - God(?) Save Our King! (Anime & Manga Vol 1.)

Kyo Kara Maoh!: The Male Harem, a guilty pleasure.

I'm something like a billion episodes into the anime version of Kyo Kara Maoh! -- a show that should be just this side of crappy, but somehow manages to hold my attention none-the-less.

It's basically a "Male Harem" story, which I've come to learn means that most of the characters are good looking dudes, something the manga points out right away when Yuri Shibuya, the story's main protagonist, is flushed down a toilet by some bullies into another dimension.

There is something for every one here. All the squee-worthy masculine archetypes are present and done well (and maybe that's why this show/manga captures my attention so much better than Weiss Kreuss could even dare).

You have some main players: There's Yuri, your (a)typical 15 yr old Japanese high school student with average grades and a love for baseball. There's Wolfram, a blonde haired, blue eyed, high strung, nearly feminine bishonen; Contrart/Conrad a gentle warrior-swordsman with good looks, the very embodiment of honor and loyalty, with a mildly angtsy past that gives him a little bit of an air of mystery and allows for some really dark moments (girls just love guys like him); Gunter who is an ethereal long haired, modelesque type beauty, not openly gay but not shy about his "love" for Yuri; And, Gwendal, a big fellow with a dark demeanor, who also likes to knit cute little animals.

Then there are any number of minor/major characters. And, there are women, too, who play main roles, like the Cecile, the former demon queen and Annisiah and Sussanah Julia (Yuri's former incarnation) to name a few. I like this kind of a balance in a Male Harem anime, because it allows for the fact tht women do exist. The central male characters are often sexually ambiguous, but there are relationships of all types around them. This, I think, lends some balance to the story.

The plot of this anime/manga is pretty much paper thin, which is why I'm so amazed that I am as charmed by it as I am. Basically, Yuri is flushed down the toilet into another dimension full of warring demons and humans. It turns out, he is the Demon King there, and he has a lot of work to do. So, there is some tension with some guy named Adalbert, but he is snatched away to his castle where he gets to know his retainers and staff. He accidentally gets engaged to Wolfram, who isn't absolutely unwilling, and also accidentally challenges him to a duel. Wolfram who kind of hates Yuri at first, plays dirty and uses magic and an innocent person gets hurt. Here we see the Demon King come out full force. He hates injustice. It really pisses him off. His magic uses water, and it's on a large scale. Everyone is amazed. Whoo, hoo. This applies to both anime and manga.

Later in the anime, we see Yuri's power's develop and the "storyline" emerge. There are some boxes that have some bad forces in them that are hidden around the kingdom and the guys need to get to them and reseal them so that everything will be peaceful. Also, Yuri wants peace between demons and humans. This "plot" is basically a vehicle for any number of adventures, flashbacks, comedic, action filled and angsty episodes. I know I keep knocking on the plot, but really, it's a long arc with a lot of detours and it seems less important than the relationships between the characters and the little things that happen along the way -- as in, as a viewer, I'm invested in the characters and that feels like enough. There are some cute and funny moments, but it is basically a dorkish endeavour. Anyhoo, my main issue with the show is that whenever something really terrible is about to occur, Yuri just goes into his super Demon King trance, kicks ass and saves the day.

This, unfortunately, is what tears down any semblance of storytelling because there is always, always, always and easy out. Big scary monster attacks town? Yuri goes into demon form. A box is about to be activated, and it will destroy the world? Yuri goes into demon form. Stuff's on fire? Yuri goes into demon form. Wolfram's life is in danger? Yuri goes into demon form. So, you get the picture.

That said. It's a cute anime. I have about 10 more episodes or so to go. We'll see what happens.