While the anime adaptation of the High☆Speed! took a break from doing character promos recently to unveil a new lengthier trailer for the film as a whole, they’re now back to some additional character promos. This one gives us a spot of time with Natsuya, who is played by Kenji Nojima in the new feature film. It’s only a twenty-five second look at the character but we get some good views of him that lets us get a feel for character and personality.
The site refresh we had back in July revealed that Tatsuhisa Suzuki will be coming back to play Makoto again in the film. Nobunaga Shimazaki was previously announced as returning to the property to play Haruka again. Supporting cast includes Toshiyuki Toyonaga as Asahi Shiina, Kouki Uchiyama as Ikuya Kirishima, Kenji Nojima as Natsuya Kirishima and Satoshi Hino as Nao Serizawa.
The theatrical anime adaptation is being released as High☆Speed!: Free! Starting Days, which is set to land on December 5th, 2015. The light novel comes from Kouji Ohji with illustrations by Futoshi Nishiya and served as the original inspiration for the anime series, but the differences are that the anime upped the characters to high school level while the novel had them in junior high. The theatrical anime adaptation is expected to serve as a prequel to the TV series and breathe a little more life into the property for fans.
The original novel was written by Kouji Ohji back in 2011 and it received formal publishing in 2013 and 2014 via Kyoto Animation, who also produced the anime series. A manga adaptation of this project is also underway with Shiori Teshirogi set to illustrate it. The film is directed by Yasuhiro Takemoto based on the composition by Masahiro Yokotani and screenplay from Maiko Nishioka.
Plot concept: Haruka Nanase feels something special when he touches water. The medley relay was the last competition he was able to participate in during elementary school. Haruka, along with Makoto Tachibana, Nagisa Hazuki, and Rin Matsuoka, saw something they’d never seen before. In spring, with the cherry blossoms in full bloom. Haruka moves on to Iwatobi Middle School with Makoto and starts a new life. Both enter the swim team, and plan to compete in the medley relay together with Asahi Shiina and Ikuya Kirishima.
All four students have different objectives and ways of thinking, and different baggage they’re carrying, and so their practice for the relay hasn’t been going well. What is required to make a team? What does Haruka, whose heart is trapped in the medley relay of the past, think during this new event? High Speed! -Free! Starting Days- depicts these boys trying to find the answer, and discovering new ideas about swimming. The boys’ sparkling youth, and the future they’ve bet on swimming, begins.
