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Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club's 2nd BD/DVD Short Previewed in Video
posted on by Sarah Nelkin
Kyoto Animation began streaming a promotional video on Tuesday for the second set of bonus anime titled "FrFr! ~Free! short movie~" that will be bundled with the third Blu-ray Disc and DVD release of the Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club television anime series.
The preview video below features the segments "One Week of Rin & Nitori!" and "Rei's Extreme Diving Training!." In "One Week of Rin & Nitori!," Rin tells his roommate Nitori to clean up his desk, to which Nitori insists that he knows where everything is, so it's all right. However, Rin watches the desk pile up with more items as the week goes on. In "Rei's Extreme Diving Training!," Iwatobi Swim Club member Rin silently positions himself in front of the pool.
The third Blu-ray Disc and DVD release of Free! will be released on November, and will come bundled with the third and fourth FrFr! anime shorts, a special "splash" sleeve package, a reversible jacket featuring one side with Rin and Rei, and another side with Haruka. The release will also include a "'SPECIAL BOOK Free! Vol.3 featuring Makoto Tachibana" booklet with character interviews and images from the anime, two postcards, and a code to enter a lottery to buy a ticket for a Free! event. The disc will also include Japanese subtitles
The anime premiered last month, and the story revolves around Haruka when he is in high school. After years of separation, his childhood friend Rin challenges him to a swimming match, showing Haruka his overwhelming power. Not wanting it to end like this, Haruka gathers together Makoto and Nagisa once again, and also brings a new member named Rei Ryugazaki to create the Iwatobi High School Swimming Club. Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa, Rei, and Rin come together for a story of swimming, youth, and friendship.
Hiroko Utsumi of Animation DO is directing the anime, and Masahiro Yokotani is supervising the scripts. Futoshi Nishiya is designing the characters, and Tatsuya Katou is composing the music. Much of the same production staff created the "Suiei-hen" (Swimming) anime commercial that was unveiled in March. Animation DO had teased "a project in the works" with an image of Haruka swimming last year.
Kōji Ōji's High Speed! novel served as the basis for the anime, and Kyoto Animation published the novel in Japan earlier this year. The novel received an honorable mention in the 2nd Kyoto Animation Award in 2011, and Free! character designer Futoshi Nishiya illustrated the novel.
Crunchyroll streamed the anime as it airs in Japan.
