i just kinda wanna be ooey gooey about free! for a second.... i always get so sad when ppl who didnt stick with it still harp on it as just being fanservice and “the gay swimming anime” bc like. sure, it is both of those things, but also. you literally cannot deny that the story is something so deeply human and personal and loving.

like, it’s about doing what you love, but making sure it’s good for you, and that it’s what you really want to do. it’s about finding purpose in your life and in the things you enjoy, and the connections you make with other people. and how those connections will forever shape you, for better or for worse, and if you want it to be for the better, you have to put your own foot forward and take it into your own hands.

and it’s about how nothing that you love ever comes to an end. those bonds, those memories, will last forever, and they will always be there to help you.

it was so popular in 2013 when it first aired bc it was “the gay fanservice anime” of the year, but man, the story as a whole... like the actual story is so lovely. and i think it’s such a shame that the general view of it is so closed-minded because the general public didn’t stick with it past season 1. allow the love and whimsy of unshakeable friendship into your heart!!!