The Iwatobi Swim Club members are quite popular among anime fans. The Free! Saga has a couple of movies and a TV series dedicated to the story of our beloved characters.
The first season is titled Free! – Iwatobi Swim Club and it aired in 2013. The second season, titled Free! – Eternal Summer aired in 2014, and the third season, Free! – Drive to the Future aired in 2018.
The franchise also had a couple of movies as well focusing on different timelines of the characters. With multiple adaptations of the story and watching characters develop and grow from high school to professional lives, fans grew closer to them.
Here’s everything we know about Free Season 4, its release date, rumors, and plot.
Free! Season 4: Canceled or Renewed
Ever since the end of the third season, fans have eagerly been waiting for season 4. For now, there is no news about any upcoming season 4 of the series.
The reason why there is silence around the Free series is because of the changed plans. The official creators of the show have not said anything about the next season, but we did get a new movie.
Free! The Final Stroke is a two-part film that includes the final chapters of the series. The first part was released in 2021 after getting postponed alongside the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.
According to the official Twitter account of the anime, the new movie was released on 22 April 2022.
【劇場版 Free!–the Final Stroke–】後編
予告解禁！後編は4月22日(金)全国ロードショー！
公開をお楽しみに！▼予告はコチラhttps://t.co/PGgKD9gu1p#Free_Final #TV_Free pic.twitter.com/3AOZ1blIlv
— 「Free!」シリーズ公式 (@iwatobi_sc) April 1, 2022
The film covers Haruka’s experience in the global swimming competition. The movie has the tagline “let’s go, to the stage of glory.”
Worry not, as there is plenty of anime like New Game, Blue Spring Ride, and more that are awaiting renewal as well.
Free Season 4 Release Date
Sadly, there is no news about season 4 of Free! But we got a new film. Kyoto Animation announced last year that we will get an all-new film, and it was released on April 22, 2022.
Here is the official poster of the movie:
The movie was initially planned for a 2019 release, but it got delayed due to various reasons and later due to a coronavirus pandemic.
Free! The Final Stroke Trailer
Free! The Final Stroke is the “final chapter” of the franchise. It is the second part of the two-part movie. You can see the trailer below.
Free! Anime Reviews and Ratings
Free! TV series is loved by fans across the world. The action, comedy, drama has a rating of 7.4 on IMDB. The series drew a lot of criticism at first, but it later became quite popular among the fans.
The excellent animation and attention to detail made every swimming scene wonderful to watch. The details made it look almost real and it made the audience feel like they were watching the tournaments from the stands.
The anime has a rating of 7.35 on MyAnimeList with more than 401k votes.
Fans are super excited for the new movie.
Free! -the Final Stroke- Part 2 – Teaser Visual!
The film is scheduled for April 22, 2022 in Japan. pic.twitter.com/y622PYFxu2
— Anime Trending (@AniTrendz) October 4, 2021
Fans have desperately been waiting for part 2 of the Final Stroke.
THE BEST OF THE BEST I COULDN’T WAIT 😭😭😭😭
— arissa🌸 (@kirarissu) April 26, 2021
What is Free! About
Free is a Japanese anime series loosely based on a light novel series known as High Speed! The anime is produced by Kyoto Animation and Animation Do.
Free is centered on a few students of Iwatobi High School’s swim team. The main protagonist, Haruka is a gifted swimmer who revitalizes their school’s swim team after encountering his childhood rival, Rin.
The story is broken into different seasons as it tells the hardships of students and tournaments in school and after they graduate.
Free! Characters
Here are the main characters of Free! Anime series:
Haruka Nanase (七瀬 遙)
Voiced by Nobunaga Shimazaki
Haruka specializes in freestyle swimming that captivates everyone. He loves swimming and works hard to achieve his dreams. Haruka is a quiet person and has a hard time expressing his feelings. He lives with his grandmother as his parents work out of the city. However, when she dies, he is left alone and almost quits swimming.
Makoto Tachibana (橘 真琴)
Voiced by Tatsuhisa Suzuki
Makoto is Haruka’s classmate and best friend. He also swims and specializes in backstroke. He is the total opposite of Haruka as Makoto is outgoing and often stands up for his friend. Due to childhood trauma, Makoto develops thalassophobia and decides to pursue a career as a swim coach.
Nagisa Hazuki (葉月 渚)
Voiced by Tsubasa Yonaga
Nagisa is a cheerful and outspoken person who joined Iwatobi High School in hopes of one day swimming with Haruka. He specializes in breaststroke.
Rei Ryugazaki (竜ヶ崎 怜)
Voiced by Daisuke Hirakawa
Rei specializes in butterflies. He is a logical swimmer but is easily manipulated by his fellow swimmer, Nagisa. He was initially a part of the track team but joined the swim team after seeing Haruka swimming.
Romio Hayafune (早船 ロミオ)
Voiced by Atsushi Abe
Romeo specializes in freestyle swimming and he joins the school after Haruka and Makoto graduate and leaves for university.
Other Characters
- Rin Matsuoka voiced by Mamoru Miyano
- Sosuke Yamazaki voiced by Yoshimasa Hosoya
- Aiichiro Nitori voiced by Koki Miyata
- Seijuro Mikoshiba voiced by Kenjiro Tsuda
- Momotaro Mikoshiba voiced by Kenichi Suzumura
Conclusion
That’s everything we know so far about Free! Season 4. Unfortunately, there is no news for the new season, but we got the much-awaited Part 2 of Free! The Last Stroke.
You can watch the final installment of the Free! Saga from April 22. You can also re-watch the series on Netflix at any time.
For now, a new season so soon after the movie seems highly unlikely. So, stay tuned for more updates or news about Season 4 of Free!
