With the theatrical run for Free! High Speed long over and the home video release just under two months away, the folks at Pony Canyon are reminding folks about preorders with a look at the packaging for it. and going by all the goodies included, well, it’s going to delight fans of the film and property in general. Pony Canyon is handling the distribution for it and they’ve set a July 20th, 2016 release for it with limited editions for the DVD and Blu-ray side as well as a regular edition DVD. They’ll be priced at 7,300 yen, 8, 300 yen, and 3,800 yen respectively. With special packaging coming with it that lets you change it to the characters you like, the on-disc extras include the promo videos, trailers, commercials, and the various character promos that were aplenty. The film also includes an audio commentary.
Kyoto Animation has also let loose with a new promo spot for the release that highlights everything about the set in a quick hit form.
The cast for the film includes Tatsuhisa Suzuki as Makoto and Nobunaga Shimazaki as Haruka again. Supporting cast includes Toshiyuki Toyonaga as Asahi Shiina, Kouki Uchiyama as Ikuya Kirishima, Kenji Nojima as Natsuya Kirishima, Satomi Satou as Nagisa Hazuki, Yoshimasa Hosoya as Sosuke Yamazaki and Satoshi Hino as Nao Serizawa.
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.
[Source: Free!]
