How to Watch Free Anime in Order? Easy Complete Guide (2024)

On the surface, Free! comes off as an anime that serves no other purpose other than catering to fan service. The lean physique of the swimmers, their well-defined torsos, and perfect swimming strokes are just the flashy cover of an otherwise toned-down slice-of-life sports anime.

The plot revolves around a high-school swim team competing in various tournaments and making you have conflicting thoughts about teen anime boys.

Free! Has received three anime seasons and seven movies. It also has some specials and OVAs.

Contents

1. How To Watch Free! in Order?

2. Complete Release Order

3. Chronological Order

4. Where to watch Free! with English subtitles and dub?

5. Can you download and watch Free! offline?

6. What to do if Free! is unavailable in your region?

7. How much time will it take to complete watching Free!?

8. Frequently Asked Questions

i. Are the Free! movies important to watch?

ii. Has Free! ended?

9. Conclusion

10. About Free!

1. How To Watch Free! in Order?

The recommended order of watching Free! is by following the release order and skipping a few non-essential OVAs/Specials:

  • Free! Iwatobi Swim Club (2013)
  • Free! FrFr – Short Movie (2013)
  • Free! Eternal Summer (2014)
  • Free! Eternal Summer –Forbidden All-Hard!
  • High Speed! Free! Starting Days (2015)
  • Free! Take Your Marks (2017)
  • Free! Dive to the Future Ep 0: Build-Up of Early Spring!
  • Free! Dive to the Future (2018)
  • Free!: Road to the World – Yume (2019)
  • Free!: The Final Stroke – Zenpen (2021)
  • Free!: The Final Stroke – Kouhen (2022)

If you want to watch the complete show without missing anything, the complete release order is just below.

2. Complete Release Order

Below is the order in which Free! was released:

TitleType
Free! Iwatobi Swim Club (2013)Season 1
Free! FrFr – Short Movie (2013)Special
Free! Eternal Summer (2014)Season 2
Free! Eternal Summer –Forbidden All-Hard!OVA
High Speed! Free! Starting Days (2015)Movie
Free!: Timeless Medley – Kizuna – Character Butai Aisatsu (2017)Special
Free!: Timeless Medley – Kizuna (2017)Movie
Free!: Timeless Medley – Yakusoku: Character Butai Aisatsu (2017)Special
Free!: Timeless Medley – Yakusoku (2017)Movie
Free! Take Your Marks: Character Butai Aisatsu (2017)Special
Free! Take Your Marks (2017)Movie
Free! Dive to the Future Ep 0: Build-Up of Early Spring!OVA
Free! Dive to the Future (2018)Season 3
Free!: Road to the World – Yume (2019)Movie
Free!: The Final Stroke – Zenpen (2021)Movie
Free!: The Final Stroke – Kouhen (2022)Movie

3. Chronological Order

The chronological order follows the timeline of Free! so that you don’t miss out on anything.

  • High Speed! Free! Starting Days
  • Season 1: Free!
  • Free! FrFr – Short Movie
  • Free! Movie 1: Timeless Medley – Kizuna
  • Season 2: Free! Eternal Summer
  • Free! Eternal Summer – Kindan no All Hard!
  • Free! Movie 2: Timeless Medley – Yakusoku
  • Free! Take Your Marks
  • Free! Dive to the Future Episode 0 – Soushun no build up!
  • Season 3: Free! Dive to the Future
  • Free! Movie 3: Road to the World – Yume
  • Free! Movie 4: The Final Stroke – Zenpen
  • Free! Movie 5: The Final Stroke – Kouhen

4. Where to watch Free! with English subtitles and dub?

Crunchyroll and Funimation are mostly the main providers of Free! but you can also find them on Netflix and Prime Video.

TitleWhere to stream with Eng subs?Where to stream with Eng dub?
Free! (2013)Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, Prime VideoCrunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, Prime Video
Free! FrFr – Short Movie (2013)
Free! Eternal Summer (2014)Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, Prime VideoCrunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, Prime Video
Free! Eternal Summer –Forbidden All-Hard!Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, Prime VideoCrunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, Prime Video
High Speed! Free! Starting Days (2015)Funimation, Amazon, CrunchyrollCrunchyroll, Funimation
Free!: Timeless Medley – Kizuna – Character Butai Aisatsu (2017)
Free!: Timeless Medley – Kizuna (2017)Netflix, Funimation, CrunchyrollFunimation, Netflix, Crunchyroll
Free!: Timeless Medley – Yakusoku: Character Butai Aisatsu (2017)
Free!: Timeless Medley – Yakusoku (2017)Crunchyroll, Netflix, FunimationCrunchyroll, Netflix, Funimation
Free! Take Your Marks: Character Butai Aisatsu (2017)
Free! Take Your Marks (2017)Funimation, Prime VideoFunimation, Prime Video
Free! Dive to the Future Ep 0: Build-Up of Early Spring!Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, Prime VideoCrunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, Prime Video
Free! Dive to the Future (2018)Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, Prime VideoCrunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, Prime Video
Free!: Road to the World – Yume (2019)
Free!: The Final Stroke – Zenpen (2021)
Free!: The Final Stroke – Kouhen (2022)

Watch Free! on:

  • How to Watch Free Anime in Order? Easy Complete Guide (1)
  • How to Watch Free Anime in Order? Easy Complete Guide (2)
  • How to Watch Free Anime in Order? Easy Complete Guide (3)

5. Can you download and watch Free! offline?

Several websites offer download options with their different packages, and we have the readymade list right here:

WebsiteSubscription PackagesOffline Viewing
CrunchyrollFan – $7.99/monthNo
Mega Fan – $9.99/monthYes
Ultimate Fan – $14.99/monthYes
FunimationPremium: $5.99 a month / $59.99 per yearNo
Premium Plus: $7.99 a month / $79.99 per yearYes
Premium Plus Ultra: $99.99 per yearYes
NetflixBasic with ads: $6.99/monthNo
Basic: $9.99/monthYes
Standard: $15.49/monthYes
Premium: $19.99/monthYes
Prime Video$8.99 per monthYes

6. What to do if Free! is unavailable in your region?

A lot of anime are geo-blocked for several countries. If the anime isn’t available on any streaming website in your area, then you can use a VPN to bypass the geo-block.

「Free!」完全新作劇場版 ティザーPV

There are many paid VPN services available, but you also have free options at hand. You can also use free browser extensions VPNs that you will find in the extension store.

If you are accessing streaming websites from your phone, you will find several VPNs from the app store. The important thing is that Free! is present on Netflix, Crunchyroll, Funimation, Prime Video’s catalogs, so set your VPN to a suitable location to access the anime from anywhere.

7. How much time will it take to complete watching Free!?

TitleTypeDuration
Free! (2013)Season 1288 minutes
Free! FrFr – Short Movie (2013)Special14 minutes
Free! Eternal Summer (2014)Season 2Free! Eternal Summer – 312 minutes
Free! Eternal Summer –Forbidden All-Hard!OVA24 minutes
High Speed! Free! Starting Days (2015)Movie110 minutes
Free!: Timeless Medley – Kizuna – Character Butai Aisatsu (2017)Special16 minutes
Free!: Timeless Medley – Kizuna (2017)Movie95 minutes
Free!: Timeless Medley – Yakusoku: Character Butai Aisatsu (2017)Special20 minutes
Free!: Timeless Medley – Yakusoku (2017)Movie98 minutes
Free! Take Your Marks: Character Butai Aisatsu (2017)Special20 minutes
Free! Take Your Marks (2017)Movie108 minutes
Free! Dive to the Future Ep 0: Build-Up of Early Spring!OVA23 minutes
Free! Dive to the Future (2018)Season 3276 minutes
Free!: Road to the World – Yume (2019)Movie99 minutes
Free!: The Final Stroke – Zenpen (2021)Movie85 minutes
Free!: The Final Stroke – Kouhen (2022)Movie110 minutes

Assuming you would take the longer route and watch the series, the movies, and the specials; it will take you 28 hours and 18 minutes to finish them all, which counts to 2 days approximately.

8. Frequently Asked Questions

i. Are the Free! movies important to watch?

Yes, most of the Free! movies add important developments to the anime. Only the Free! Timeless Medly: The Bond and The Promise are recap movies that summarize season 2: Eternal Summer. You can skip them unless you want to stick around for a few original shots.

How to Watch Free Anime in Order? Easy Complete Guide (4)

‘High Speed! Free! Starting Days,’ ‘Free! Take Your Marks’ and the trilogy movie ‘Free!: The Final Stroke’ are all important to watch.

ii. Has Free! ended?

Free!: The Final Stroke is the concluding movie of the franchise. The series has thus ended, but you never know when an OVA or spin-off might pop out.

9. Conclusion

The recommended order is the best way to watch Free!. You can skip the Timeless Medley movies as well as the Character Butai Aisetsu. The former are recap movies while the latter are character stage greeting specials that precede the respective movies.

10. About Free!

Free! is animated by Kyoto Animation and is loosely based on the light novel, High Speed!, by Koji Oji.

The series revolves around members of a high school boy’s swimming team. The youngsters participate in a swimming tournament right before they graduate from middle school and go their separate ways.

Free! has a unique concept by using the sport of competitive swimming as their focal point. The animation, art, and sound used in the series complement the story well.

How to Watch Free Anime in Order? Easy Complete Guide (2024)
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