How to Watch Free! in Order (With Movies)
Free! is a perfect sports anime centered on swimming and different swimming tournaments. The story revolves around a high-school swim team that often competes in various tournaments. The franchise first began in 2013 and was produced by Kyoto Animation. On the surface, the series simply comes across as a yaoi anime but has so much more to it.
The story of Free! is set in the town of Iwatobi, Japan, and focuses on Haruka Nanase's swimming journey. We see Haruka's journey from a high-school pupil to a university student in three seasons. While Haruka has difficulty expressing himself, he makes friends who understand him well and rivals who inspire him to do better.
Anime fans will know that swimming as a sport is one of the most difficult to animate since it requires synchronized hand-feet movements and infrequent breathing pauses. However, the series does a pretty good job of it. If you like swimming, you might want to dive into this series as soon as possible. However, regardless of how you feel about swimming, the anime series is a great watch for someone looking for an amazing story with well-developed characters.
Kyoto Animation is well known for its beautiful animation, and it does not disappoint when it comes to Free! Moreover, the soundtracks in the series are extremely catchy. The series consists of three seasons, several anime movies, and some specials. Fans looking to watch Free! can check it out on Crunchyroll and Funimation. The recommended order to watch Free! is its release order.
Check out the full list of Free! episodes, movies, specials, and the chronological and release order to watch them below:
Release Order
TV Series
- Season 1: Free! (2013)
- Season 2: Free! Eternal Summer (2014)
- Season 3: Free! Dive to the Future (2018)
Movies
- Free! Starting Days (2015)
- Free! Movie 1: Timeless Medley – Kizuna (2017)
- Free! Movie 1: Timeless Medley – Kizuna – Character Butai Aisatsu (2017)
- Free! Movie 2: Timeless Medley – Yakusoku (2017)
- Free! Movie 2: Timeless Medley – Yakusoku: Character Butai Aisatsu (2017)
- Free! Take Your Marks (2017)
- Free! Take Your Marks: Character Butai Aisatsu (2017)
- Free! Movie 3: Road to the World – Yume (2019)
- Free! (Movie) (2021)
Specials
- Free! FrFr – Short Movie (2013)
- Free! Eternal Summer – Kindan no All Hard! (2015)
- Free! Dive to the Future Episode 0 (2018)
Chronological Order
- MOVIE - Free! Starting Days
- Season 1: Free!
- TV Special - Free! FrFr – Short Movie
- MOVIE - Free! Movie 1: Timeless Medley – Kizuna
- Season 2: Free! Eternal Summer
- Tv Special - Free! Eternal Summer – Kindan no All Hard!
- MOVIE - Free! Movie 2: Timeless Medley – Yakusoku
- MOVIE - Free! Take Your Marks
- TV Special - Free! Dive to the Future Episode 0
- Season 3: Free! Dive to the Future
- MOVIE - Free! Movie 3: Road to the World – Yume
- MOVIE - Free!
Fans can skip the following movies from the franchise as they do not contradict or add to the main storyline. However, those who wish to watch them can do so after finishing the series. Here are the skippable movies:
- Free! Movie 1: Timeless Medley – Kizuna
- Free! Movie 1: Timeless Medley – Kizuna – Character Butai Aisatsu
- Free! Movie 2: Timeless Medley – Yakusoku
- Free! Movie 2: Timeless Medley – Yakusoku: Character Butai Aisatsu
- Free! Movie 3: Road to the World – Yume
- Free! Take Your Marks: Character Butai Aisatsu
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