Swim!( 男水！) Japanese Drama Thoughts

  Swim or Dansui if you want to know how to say the word swim in Japanese but can't read the language, is a 2017 Japanese drama that lasted for eight episodes. The drama is based off of a webtoon by the same name created by Kiuchi Tatsuya.  Most manga and anime lovers will look at this drama then automatically think that its a live action version of the mega popular anime entitled Free!. I know I thought thats what it was when I first saw the promo poster. Got way too excited there only to be disappointed when I started watching. This defiantly isn't Free! but its a good substitute  for fans that miss Free! or want something different using the same sport orientated themes as Free!.

  Dansui isn't a drama that takes the viewer on a journey of youths trying to win a lot of competitions to be the best. This dramas focus is more on gaining the resolve to have the energy to take the next step to want to be better. I'n not going to write a plot section for this drama post because the central conflict is very similar to Free. Friends who have dreams to swim together at the same school, soon to be destroyed by a difference in ambition between the friends. One friend had the strength to keep chasing after his ambition while the others are left behind to wade in the water… I might mean that literally[INSERT ME LAUGHING]. Each episode is met with a catchy theme song and a hell of a lot of male testosterone. Testosterone from losers who love to swim but have no ambition whatsoever. Its a little disheartening to watch a plot line about good looking boys who just don't want to be better. Everything is "You did well," even though their times for swimming laps sucked to high heaven. Nothing else really happens in this drama besides this team getting whipped into tip top shape so they can one day be in a tournament and give the teams a little competition. A half and hour is the time span of each episode, making Dansui a quick watch if you marathon it. I felt like I was in the presence of real friends every time I watched. The characters defiantly make the show lively especially if you're not into sports.

  Dansui doesn't have a female character either just like Free!, but there's always a feminine male character thats like the mother who looks out for everyone. This character is basically a female in every way. From the cute face down to the personality traits only its a guy. The coach that comes to take over the swim team is the character that really opens their eyes to their lazy behavior to not want to be better. Only a history filled with hurt could make a person not want to try to give an effort to be better than they are now. Danseur's main characters are a great example of this. They give every excuse in the book to not try harder in an attempt to guard themselves from the hurt and humiliation they might face in defeat. To me, the worse way to lose is not trying at all. Never give up before you try because you lose out on the opportunity to grow no matter if the end result is good or bad. Each actor conveyed this in their performances. They played characters that had to gain confidence to climb to the spot where the other team, containing the main character's ex best friend waited. During their struggle to be better, these boys laughed, cried, and swam. I laughed a lot at the antics of the team when they were together. It was like watching a family constantly throw friendly shade at each other. Since all the cast is good looking enough that they could be in a Johnny's boyband, I think a lot of girls will like the drama for the eye candy as an added bonus. All of them are pretty new actors too.

  The camera did a great job capturing these boy's swimming scenes. A huge chunk of the drama takes place at the pool. Hey. Its a swimming drama, What do you expect? The camera focused on highlighting the action of swimming in a real fashion. However it was still stylish in the way that some shots felt like you were watching a real life swimming match. Some shots are done close up to the pool while others are done far away in equivalent to what a person who was sitting in the stands would see if they were watching the boys swim. Other shots on location use their classroom(clubroom?) and the showers/locker room. Have to take showers after swimming in all that calorie. We all know the actually truth is these scenes are for the girls who want to see the goods…. Is it me or did I just see the rating of this show shoot up?! Outside of school, the boys are shown going home in the streets as well as that same old scenery of the riverbank. Japanese dramas/movies love that damn riverbank.

   Don't watch this drama expecting it to have a solid ending. I think that ether a second season will be made or this drama was solely made to show the process of getting to those nail bitting tournaments.(I know there was a stage play.) Its a cute show that shouldn't be compared to Free!. HAPPY WATCHING!