Otaku Magazine ISSUE #2 March 2014

❤Fangirl Mania - Free! Iwatobi Swim Club❤

❤Fangirl Mania - Free! Iwatobi Swim Club❤

  It seems as though I've stuck the spot, so here I am, once again, preparing for another fangirl-induced haze of words. After already getting my enormous love for Death the Kid somewhat off my chest, and obviously without the option to write about him for all my rants, I took it upon myself to allow chance to choose the subject of this month's article. So, in order to choose my man, I logged onto Tumblr, searched 'hot anime guy', and chose the first guy I knew/had seen the anime to go along with. As expected, I saw a very familiar face.

  Before I state the name of this character, allow me to state that, in the show he is from, there are five male protagonists, who are all quite attractive, so it would be a shame to just rant about one. Ladies, possible gentlemen, and others, thanks to the correctly placed Tumblr post of Mr. Haruka Nanase, I give you my character to character rant about the fantastic almost-yaoi show, Free! -Iwatobi Swim Club.

Haruka Nanase

  Haruka, mostly referred to as Haru, is the main man in Free!, which, of course, is to be expected. He's got the swishy, black hair, the stunning blue eyes, the unrealistically attractive body, (which all male Free! characters have been beautifully blessed with) and, of course, an aloof personality with a hint of adorable water obsession on the side. Yes, he swims a lot, though he strictly swims freestyle, or, as he often says, free. This is a clear explanation of the show's title. Though he doesn't admit is aloud, all Haru wants to do is swim. It's his joy. His life. He'll sit in a bathtub for hours on end if that's the only time he can have in water.

  Haru is a second-year high school student, who, like mentioned before, is bad at expressing his feelings through facial expressions and even words. A few times throughout the show it is clearly shown to us that he a fantastic artist, which, if you're like me, is something to look for when finding a man. (*wink*) Also, as yet another thing we rarely see, though it's predominate, he cares for his friends. Being a rather mysterious character, it's always rather refreshing when we see Haru become tender. Especially for all the shippers out there. You peasants know it.

Makoto Tachibana

  Makoto is Haru's backstroking best friend, and is also a second-year, sharing a class with Haru. Unlike Haru, he is a happier, more outgoing character, and often speaks up for Haruka when he's feeling rather quiet. He is weak-hearted, which leads him to getting scared rather easily. He developed a phobia of the ocean after a major role model of his, an old fisherman, drowned in a typhoon.

  Makoto, being the captain of the Iwatobi Swim Team, is mighty fine. Fantastic biceps, triceps, every kind of cep you can think of this child has the most perfect amount of it and it is beautiful. Makoto is one of my favorite Free! Characters, mostly because of his personality. Most of the time I find myself leaning toward angry/distant or quirky/awkward characters, but Makoto has an air about him that makes him quite the enjoyable character. He's sweet, soft, and precious, might I add. Free! is a rather short anime in my eyes, but for a show with so few episodes, each character has just the right amount in development, Makoto's development being the most successful.

  To finish up my Makoto section, I shall leave you with a brief description of his stellar appearance. Makoto's outer appearance plays well with his frail personality. He's tall, with kind, relaxed, green eyes, and perfectly styled strawberry blonde hair. His skin is well tanned, that is, more so than the rest of the Free! cast. To me, he, both in physical and mental appearance, is simply a sweet, uplifting guy.

Nagisa Hazuki

  Nagisa probably has to be one of my favorite members of the Iwatobi Swim Club. He's a first-year, breaststroking ball of adorableness. He's tiny, blonde, and quirky, constantly optimistic, and very, very likeable. For all you ladies/gents out there who like the small, teddy-bear type, then Nagisa is right up your alley. He inspired the next guy we'll talk about, Rei, to join the swim team using his reliable skills in pesky, repetitive motivation. Seeing as he was the support in creating the swim team, he became its treasurer, using his obsession with the penguin mascot, Iwatobi-chan, to drive himself forward.

  In appearance, Nagisa is continues to be rather adorable. He's quite short, with a curly bundle of yellow-blonde hair on his head. His eyes are round, sparkling, and pink-red in color, always bursting with a joyous expression. Like all the other members of the Free! Iwatobi Swim Club cast, he's extremely fit, and is so because of his spectacular swimming.

Rei Ryūgazaki

  Rei is classmates with Nagisa, and is always extremely easily manipulated by the little guy. He used to be on the track team, and refused to join the swim team because, unlike track, swimming wasn't 'beautiful'. Yes, Rei dearest is obsessed and extremely attracted to anything beautiful. Soon after seeing Haru swim, he is overcome with how gorgeous Haru's swimming is, and, eventually, joins the club. After lots of gloating at practice, it is revealed when he actually does get in the water that he cannot swim at all. With tons of training from the others, especially Haru, Rei soon learns how to swim the butterfly.

  Rei's appearance, to me, is very, very, very, very pleasing. (As you all might be able to tell, I find Rei attractive.) He has short blue-black hair, and narrowed blue-violet eyes. He wears a pair of thickly-rimmed red glasses, and, due to his previous fame in the track world, is quite physically fit. If possible, his up-to-date training in track would possibly make him even more fit that the rest of the swim team.

Rin Matsuoka

  Rin isn't a member of Iwatobi's swim club, but he is still one of the main guys of the show. He was Nagisa, Haru, and Makoto's teammate when they were little, and was a very close friend of theirs. Soon after they became friends, he had to move to Australia to train for the Olympics. When he returned to Japan, he began acting like a complete buttface. But, hey, he's hot.

  When they were younger, Haru and Rin had one last swimming race before Rin left to Australia. In this race, Rin lost. This affected him badly, and spurs his hateful feelings toward Haru later on. Throughout the series, he often states that he will beat Haru, becoming rather menacing and hateful as the series grows.

  Rin has orange-red eyes and thick red hair. His teeth are pointed, and he's more fit than the others, having more experience as a swimmer. He's often seen wearing his school jacket, when not taking a swim.

~

  The guys of Free! Iwatobi Swim Club are all pleasing to the eye, that is a fact. The show itself was only made because a multitude of hormone-induced teenage girls saw a thirty-second advertisement and demanded to see more of the hunks (I'm looking at you, Tumblr.), so yes, they will be attractive. It was inevitable that I write a Fangirl Mania piece on it, so here you are!

  That's all I have to say, and I bid thee farewell,

Poniesaremybffs