Plot
Haruka Nanase begins his first year at Iwatobi Middle School. After discovering that Haruka and his childhood friend, Makoto Tachibana, had once been part of the Iwatobi Swim Club, Asahi Shiina urges them to join the swim team despite Haruka's lack of interest, while Kisumi Shigino suggests they join the basketball team. Natsuya Kirishima, the captain of the swim team, visits their class and successfully convinces Haruka, Makoto, Asahi, and his younger brother Ikuya to join. At the first swim practice, Haruka ties Natsuya in a race for the right to swim only freestyle. Asahi, however, loses confidence in swimming. Ikuya, frustrated over Natsuya's admiration of Haruka's skill, begins to imitate Haruka in hopes of gaining his brother's attention again. Nao Serizawa, the vice captain, asks Makoto if he enjoys swimming or is only in the club to be with Haruka, confusing Makoto and putting distance between the best friends. The team's individual struggles affect their performance, especially during the team medley. Later, Haruka's mother leaves for a week, leaving Haruka on his own. During a joint practice with Sano Middle School, Sosuke Yamazaki challenges Haruka to a match race, having heard about him from Rin Matsuoka, Haruka's rival. However, Iwatobi loses the team medley, leaving him disappointed as he gives him Rin's letter. As Iwatobi's swim team mulls over their defeat, Haruka confronts Makoto about his uncharacteristic behavior, to which Makoto realizes that he loves swimming and Haruka equally, restoring their bond. The next day, Ikuya threatens to quit the team and confides to Haruka, Makoto, and Asahi about feeling lonely and abandoned by Natsuya. After affirming their friendships, Ikuya makes amends with him. When the four visit Nao, who is getting surgery for a detached retina, he offers them advice on their strengths as individuals and as a team, giving them hope. On the way home, however, Haruka faints, leading Makoto, Asahi, and Ikuya to stay at his house until his mother returns. At the prefectural tournament, Haruka, Makoto, Asahi, and Ikuya place first in the team medley. Afterwards, Sosuke tells Haruka that while Rin's letter was addressed to him, it was probably meant for Haruka instead. The letter details the setbacks Rin has faced in Australia and his desire to swim like Haruka. With this in mind, Haruka becomes determined to become a better swimmer with his team.Production
On March 22, 2015, Kyoto Animation announced that a film for , the original light novel by Koji Oji that had inspired the ''Reception
''High Speed! Free! Starting Days'' opened at #5 in 120 theaters nationwide, selling 60,729 tickets in the first two days and earning . The film made ¥691 million at box office. The home release debuted at #1 on both Oricon's DVD and Blu-ray charts. The limited edition of the Blu-ray release sold 14,642 copies on its first week. The limited edition of the DVD release debuted at #1 with 9,677 copies sold on its first week, while the regular edition debuted at #13 with 822 DVDs sold. ''High Speed! Free! Starting Days'' ranked #5 in Best Picture in the 2015-2016 Newtype Anime Awards. The film also ranked #3 in Animation of the Year by fans for the 2017 Tokyo Anime Award, with a total of 16,094 votes.Soundtrack
The original soundtrack was produced by Tatsuya Kato, and it was released on December 16, 2015 under the name . The soundtrack debuted at #42 on Oricon and charted for three weeks.Media
Manga
To promote the film, a manga adaptation of ''High Speed!'' was released, with artwork provided by Shiori Teshirogi.Drama CD
A drama CD titled was released on February 17, 2016, with cast members reprising their roles. The CD debuted at #13 on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart.References
External links
* * {{Yasuhiro Takemoto 2010s Japanese films 2015 anime films Animated films based on animated series Japanese film series 2010s Japanese-language films Funimation Kyoto Animation Films set in Tottori Prefecture