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High Speed! Free! Starting Days will be released Japan-wide on Dec. 5. The movie has gained massive buzz since production was first announced, and now there is only three weeks until it’s released. As fan anticipation rises, new screenshots from the movie have been released. Each of the screenshots is from a trailer released in early November. The trailer is about a minute and a half long and gives a peek at the various obstacles Haruka and the others must surmount as they mature. Just like the TV anime Free!, the movie is shaping up to be fully entertaining.
The first interesting still from the new screenshots is a shot of Haruka Nanase, Makoto Tachibana, Asahi Shiina, and Ikuya Kirishima. It seems they will be members of a medley relay team in the movie. Haruka and Makoto may be familiar from Free!, but it will be interesting to find out what happened during their middle school days. And then there are the new characters Asahi and Ikuya. Joined by the cheerful Asahi and the slightly solitary Ikuya, what kind of bond will these four share? The screenshots of practice scenes and cheering scenes are ones that will have fans guessing about the story. And the dialogue between Haruka and Makoto along with the two floating in a pool with their clothes on foreshadows turbulent developments.
The movie is of course being produced by Kyoto Animation. The carefulness with which they create artwork is aptly conveyed in the released trailer and screenshots. Pay attention to the intricately expressed facial expressions of the characters, the swimming scenes, and the individual drops in sprays of water.
The staff is a lineup of talented creators that includes as director Yasuhiro Takemoto, with composition being handled by Masahiro Yokotani, Maiko Nishioka penning the script, and Futoshi Nishiya as character designer and chief animation director. With the movie in their hands, fans can rest easy.
High Speed! Free! Starting Days is based on Koji Oji’s novel High Speed! 2. Though Free! and Free! Eternal Summer are set during the characters’ high school days, the upcoming movie takes a look at their middle school days.
High Speed! Free! Starting Days Official Site
Japan-wide roadshow release on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015
Distributor: Shochiku
Source: animeanime
