My list of good sports anime I've watched is short, and Free! is on it

IN BRIEF: four boys who used to swim together competitively as kids are now high-schoolers, and the youngest among them, Nagisa, is determined to revive the high school swim team. Makoto is definitely the team dad, and is for anything that lets them hang out together. Haru would be their ace if he was interested, but he loves the freedom of swimming more than competition, and doesn't see a point in a relay when they're one swimmer short. See, their fourth, Rin, moved to Australia years ago... So it's a big surprise when he shows up at a neighboring high school and doesn't have the time of day for his old friends. Shaken but with new resolution, the other three recruit Rei and begin working towards their first relay competition. Surely Rin will come back when he sees them succeed?

***SPOILERS for seasons 1 and 2 below.***

These boys are big dopes, and I want to reach through the screens to give them hugs. Okay, more seriously, there are a lot of things I thought Free! did well, so here's a list:

1) Depression is taken seriously and shown fairly. Both Rin and Haru have clearly been suffering - Rin, from his debut in Australia through the end of season 1, and Haru off and on through both seasons. Rin struggled with fitting in abroad and with not being as successful as he thought he would be, and his depression affected his love of swimming. Haru has a kneejerk aversion to fame and personal (rather than group) competition, and so he suffers during his third year when authority figures keep pressing him on his future in competitive swimming. Both of these reactions are realistic, fit the respective characters, and crucially are not shamed by the narrative. Neither boy recovers in a day, either. [Also, the other three have serious personal problems that get revealed, examined and worked on - they get their fair shake too.]

2) With a relatively compact cast, I felt like I got to know the characters well, and that they each had time to shine. Their personal journeys, from the beginning of season 1 to the end of season 2, were believable and moving. The five boys at the center of the story had clear character growth. This is why I didn't watch the third season, incidentally - I've heard that it just gilds the lily, and adds a bunch of new characters; narratively speaking there's no point to it.

3) My word, this is some gorgeous Kyoto Animation work. Those who like fluidity in animation (yes, pun intended) should watch this for that reason alone. The opening and closing themes are also catchy.

Possible caveats, for those who want only the best from their sports anime:

1) Not many female characters. The two prominent ones are great! But it's not about them, and that is very obvious in that they don't get any focus episodes.

2) Some people will like the queer undertones (I liked the tension and closeness between the boys well enough, and can see the most popular pairings as being reasonable extrapolations from canon, although OTOH there's plenty of support for Haru being more attracted to water than humans) but some people just won't, and others will be disappointed that they never become overtones, so to speak. This show also caters to the female gaze, which is a refreshing change from all the male gaze shows out there, but your mileage may vary.

3) If you only watch season 1, you don't get a full catharsis regarding the characters' or plot developments. For example, Rin doesn't get to show his nicer side off until season 2, and Rei doesn't get to swim the relay in competition until then either. So, watching Free! is a commitment to seeing Free! and Free! Eternal Summer.