Otaku Digest: Free! Eternal Summer and DRAMAtical Murder
The fall season is almost upon us and before we dive into the droves of new anime that it has for us to experience I am giving a look back to what was probably the most anticipated anime of the summer season for fans: Free! Eternal Summer. The second season of the fan favourite Free! Iwatobi Swim Club, for anyone who has not seen the first season we have a review right here, it is worth checking out. The other anime I am featuring here is the visual novel adaptation “DRAMAtical Murder” which you could say was one of my top anime from the summer season.
Free! Eternal Summer
Free! Eternal Summer picks up right where the first season left off. We are reunited with our favourite young swimmers who have the same dream of competing in their national swimming tournament and are as connected as ever. Some of the boys are entering their third and final year of High School, with graduation looming the boys begin thinking of their futures and old rivalries are once again ignited. Will the team be able to face the challenges ahead and remain strong or drown with the stress of it all?
Much like when I went into the first season of Free! I was expecting shameless man service otherwise known as female fan service and for there to not be an amazing story or even artwork, just skimpy speedo swimming boys. Again much like the first season, I was pleasantly surprised. Don’t get me wrong there is countless man service in this anime, it doesn’t even try to hide it but it has not let any other aspect fall short for the man service. Where the story from the first season had innocent tones of teamwork and rivalry I felt this season kicked it up a notch. The anime itself was growing with its audience, now the boys are that bit older and there is more pressure on them to think about their futures, this is where we see rifts form between the team mates.
Saying that it keeps its fun and innocent vibe, it is an anime about a boys swim team after all but it does show the inner monologue of some of the characters. Developing them in a way that can be relatable in reality. Makoto in particular has the vision to know he has to plan beyond High school and beyond the swim club. Where Haru can only see the water and his passion for swimming and when faced with a clear reality that may not include it he shuts out the world and decides to
not deal with the reality he faces. Funny that this is near the realisation that Rin had in the first season and it’s Rin that brings Haru out of his darkness and helps him to see a new reality.
It’s needless to say but once again the animation in this show is glorious, they left nothing out. From the sculpted abs of the boys to the glisten of the water they swim in. Every detail is exact and beautiful, without this animation the anime would fall flat.
Recommend: YES, hands down. This is a fun light-hearted anime with serious waves of emotion running through. Plus yummy anime swimming boys.
I feel a trend for Otaku Digest this week – Boys, boys and more boys because next up is what I would say one of my top anime from this summer season:
DRAMAtical Murder
For anyone who does not know, like I didn’t – DRAMAtical Murder the anime is based off a visual novel which was released back in 2012 by Nitro+Chiral and proved so popular that it had a sequel the following year, it has to be said this was a yaoi visual novel or a BL “Boys Love” novel. 
From what I have read about the game it was steamy to say the least. An interesting turn to have a steamy yaoi novel turn into an anime that was openly marketed and not one that you have to hide in case your parents find it.
DRAMAtical Murder is centered around our main protagonist Aobo who lives a simple life on the island of Midorijima and lives with his grandmother. All he wants to do is live an ordinary life working in the junk shop instead of being like his friends who are all involved in the participation in a virtual fighting game known as “Rhyme”. Unluckily for Aobo when there are mysterious disappearances on the island his quiet life in halted and he is hurled into danger and secrecies of the island he inhabits.
As someone who obviously never experienced the visual novel before beginning the anime I could go in with a clear judgement of unknown. First off the artwork in this anime is fantastic, it is big, bold and vibrant much like the world it inhabits. The world shifts from looking like reality to virtual without overpower the viewer. Character design is impeccable, they have just the right amount of weird for an anime to have while still keeping them correct for their surroundings. You can see the futuristic vibe from the entire anime while there is still that traditional look sweeping through.
It may have just been me but I did at times find the story hard to follow or a bit slow at times. There are elements of the original BL plots running through but it was kept clean for the most part or at least I thought it was kept on the down low for the most part – keeping in more for a story and visuals rather than having viewers just there to see the absolutely beautifully designed men be all steamy with each other. Not going to lie, little disappointed. For the most part I did enjoy the series, it’s not a ground breaker like Attack on Titan but it was enjoyable and I was happy to keep coming back for more wonderful weirdness.
Recommend: Yes: If you like HAWT anime men with a bit of Sci-Fi thrown in there well this is the anime for you.
What was everyone else’s favourite titles from the summer? There were so many! Let me know in the comments.
