Free! Eternal Summer - Blog Posts

Just saw this on twitter and immediately thought soumako and @johanndro! That one really fed us with the fanarts!!

Happy New Year!❤️👏🎉

How did I manage to fall this deeply into sports anime hell?

The amount of shipping in this anime though😂❤️

Aww! Rin, its so cheesy and Corny that it makes you cute!! 😍

Dude if I had you for Chem, I would be failing worse than I am now!!

Happy Birthday Makoto Tachibana!!!

Rewatching free and 50% off brought back some memories so have my humble contribution to the fandom 

also, Makoto = best character (you can’t change my mind) 

YEIHHHHHH!!!

Por fin  Free!!! ya entrañaba ver este anime jajajaja

xD Rin Matsuoka <3 :3 

Flowing Energies, part 2

Part 1 can be found here.

In the opening of Free!: Eternal Summer (FES), Haruka and Sousuke are centerpiece foils, ostensibly illustrating their conflict and eventually their resolution as essential to their respective arcs. For the sake of a significant plot point, namely the overarching theme “future,” the conflict between them prioritizes Rin’s inclusion and by the series’ conclusion the dispute remains unsettled, aside from them ending on more friendlier terms. Only a few things are retained from the novels while many aspects of characterization are overblown for underwhelming drama. 

Episode 1:

Following his notorious monologue, Haruka contemplates over the water cupped in his hand, designating it tamed, defanged, sterilized of its vitality, “just not enough,” and thus lacking its vibrancy. He slowly sinks further inside the bathtub.

“You’re not here to join the club?”

Sousuke arrives in front of the newly established Iwatobi Swimming Club Returns (ISCR), confirming with Coach Sasabe that the building is indeed the same Iwatobi Swimming Club. When Coach Sasabe offers his indoor pool for the practice of Iwatobi High’s swim club, Haruka immediately dives in. 

Unbeknownst to the others, Sousuke watches from behind the window of the lobby, obscured; by contrast, Haruka is bathed in light. Portended is their respective roles within the narrative before intersecting: Sousuke, embittered and lurking in the shadows with his dreams in pieces, discarding the old to embark on the new; Haruka, peacefully immersed in his safe space, lighthearted in his boundless potential. They occupy different planes, separated by the glass window, Sousuke on the outside looking in.

After a botched attempt to actualize Rin’s childhood wish (“I want to try swimming like that sometime, in a pool full of cherry blossoms.” High Speed, 1), Rin berates Haruka and Makoto for their lack of graduation plans, signaling the season’s central theme, “for the future”. Rain passes through Iwatobi High School, leaving the cherry trees bare of blossoms, and Haruka sights a bird circling the sky. Subsequently, the closing scenes depict Sousuke’s transference to Samezuka Academy. The sequence of images perhaps serve as a callback to their sky parallel found in High Speed! 2 (HS2).

A neat observation is the connection of weather and the arrival of the enigmatic “antagonist”. Last season, a windswept petal landing in Haruka’s bathwater precedes Rin’s return to Japan, whereas an abrupt rainshower separating the cluster of petals precedes Sousuke’s official introduction. Another interpretation found within this symbolism is the clashing of two different elements (wind and water) and of the same element but from different sources (pool water and rainwater). Interestingly, Haruka is the first character introduced in the episode, with Sousuke being the last, almost like bookends for the season’s onset.

Episode 2:

Sousuke introduces himself to Samezuka’s swimming team. Nitori greets Sousuke as he flexes his left shoulder, hand flinching when Nitori mentions Haruka.

“He’s got nothing to do with Haru.” “I know about Nanase.” 

According to Rin, Sousuke and Haruka share zero association with each other, which contradicts HS2. Rin and Sousuke exchanged letters about Sousuke’s interactions with and opinions of Haruka. Sousuke disputes Rin’s claims, explaining how he encountered Haruka and the experience of racing him:

“I once raced him at a tournament. My entire body buzzed with energy when I swam with him. I see why you’re so taken with him.”

Sousuke’s aforementioned quote reorients the sentiment so it focalizes Rin’s fascination with Haruka (to Rin’s embarrassment), when it is supposedly meant to illustrate Sousuke’s recognition of Haruka’s swimming prowess and as a worthwhile rival. (“Rin’s feelings, I finally understood them. [...] The pressure of being gained on by Nanase. [...] While swimming, my skin tingled. That was the first time. [...] – But, I’ve already experienced it. Next time, I won’t let you overtake me!” HS2, 12) Remember, this electrifying sensation was shared between Sousuke and Haruka; it was not one-sided. (“He was able to feel Sousuke to the extent that his skin tingled with electricity.” HS2, 12)

Coach Sasabe prepares for the grand opening of ISCR, “Splash Fest”; with the assistance of Iwatobi High’s swim club, posters are distributed and the launch’s main event is decided upon after Haruka suggests a relay event. With any race, one needs opponents, which leads to the crew asking for Rin’s help; he reluctantly agrees. 

“I’d like to swim the freestyle leg.”

“I just feel like swimming freestyle.”

Hesitant to ask his own team members for their participation in an unofficial event, Rin wonders how he should broach the request. Sousuke volunteers himself under the condition he swims the freestyle leg despite his speciality being butterfly. Just like in the past, where Sousuke joined his middle school’s swim club to actively challenge Haruka, Sousuke wishes to settle a score.

On the day of ISCR’s grand opening, the establishment bustles with activity. Sousuke enters the building alone; Haruka is the first to notice his presence, eyes shifting towards his approaching figure.

Ensue slow-mo stare down, indicating some history leveled between them. Sousuke’s eyes are dim to contrast Haruka’s bright albeit cautious gaze.

Introductions and friendly banter are exchanged, then Rin leads the Samezuka group away, leaving Haruka to watch Sousuke’s retreating back. A quizzical expression crosses Haruka’s face, as if deciphering a code. An argument could be made that Haruka shows immediate, quiet concern for Sousuke and the hostility exuding from his gaze: What had hardened Sousuke’s challenging gaze into something cool and unforgiving? What has caused this tension between them? Haruka’s and Sousuke’s supposed last encounter – from the novel, though not much of the anime adaptation extrapolates from it aside from some characterization and incidences – ended on a hopeful note, vowing to face each other in friendly competition.

Before the main event, while getting a drink from the vending machine, Haruka initiates conversation with Sousuke, who is leaning against the nearby wall behind Haruka. Haruka tentatively glares, wary of Sousuke’s intentions: 

“What do you want, Yamazaki?” “It’s been a while, Nanase. I saw your relay at regionals last year.” “You’re out here now?”

“As it happens. What you guys did was really idiotic, though. You even dragged Rin into it.” [Sousuke laughs mirthlessly.] “What is it you want to say?” [Sousuke’s smile drops and his expression turns pained.] “I would never have made him do something like that.” [Haruka glares defensively.] “What do you mean?”

Coming off the wall, Sousuke steps into Haruka’s personal space, which results in Haruka taking a step back into the vending machine obstructing his path. The discordant music creates dissonance between what happens onscreen and what one expects to happen, considering Haruka and Rin’s strained reunion last season, specifically the fence scene. Unlike Rin, Sousuke does not lay a hand on Haruka, but he uses his imposing height inappropriately as he goes into overprotective friend mode. 

Sousuke sternly utters, “Don’t ever get in Rin’s way again.” Looming over Haruka, Sousuke’s eyes stay locked with Haruka’s until Sousuke walks away. Haruka’s face looks as though he is experiencing déjà vu.

Despite Sousuke’s grim behavior, it does not deter Haruka from throwing pensive looks in his direction. The medley relay commences. 

Both of them seem to discern the other as an opponent they refuse to lose to, just like they did in seventh grade. 

On the freestyle leg, Haruka leaps from the starting block and slips easily into the water; Sousuke lifts his eyes in a glare. 

At the turn, Haruka senses Sousuke, his sharp intake of breath palpable. Sousuke has little difficulty closing the gap between himself and Haruka. 

“He’s keeping pace with Haru’s speed!”

This is the first time Haruka looks back during a race; Sousuke gaining on him leaves an indelible impression. Slamming his hand against the wall, Haruka emerges from the water, gulping for air, immediately followed by Sousuke.

Haruka is nonchalant by the victory, but he watches Sousuke as he climbs out the water, preoccupied until Makoto reaches out a hand. 

Observing Sousuke who stands apart from Samezuka’s team, Haruka keeps his gaze fixed on him. As if sensing those inquisitive eyes, Sousuke turns his neck, profile stony. Haruka’s expression drops into concern. 

Sousuke’s confrontation brings up last year’s regional tournament where the Iwatobi swim club and Rin pulled off a stunt that got them disqualified. Sousuke’s appropriative anger seems reasonable to an extent because the repercussions could have been more severe: Rin could have been expelled or suspended from Samezuka’s team and banned from future competitions, thus jeopardising any chances of getting scouted as a third-year. Rin’s dreams to become an Olympian would have gone up in smoke. From Sousuke’s limited perspective, Haruka’s actions threaten Rin’s swimming career by dragging him into unnecessary antics. Sousuke is not bullying Haruka. He is, however, being a misguided, loyal friend running off on little knowledge of the events that transpired between Haruka and Rin.

Not only is Sousuke overly defensive of Rin, but one could argue that Sousuke resents losing his rivalry with Rin to Haruka – something that was resolved in HS2 through Sousuke and Haruka mutually challenging each other into a new rivalry. Once again, instead of exposing Rin to his raw emotions, Sousuke hurls his frustrations at Haruka; the difference here is Sousuke does not reflect on the error of his judgment or make immediate amends like he did back in middle school. Eventually Sousuke’s animosity towards Haruka shifts from treating Haruka as the flighty distraction, to the swimmer he envies and thus refuses to acknowledge, to the prodigy unaware of his extensive influence on Rin.

Justifiably cautious towards Sousuke’s grudge, Haruka does not rely on his avoidant coping mechanisms when encountering Sousuke. Not only does Haruka spark dialogue with someone obviously angry at him, but he faces that anger head-on by asking for clarification. Fandom has a tendency to victimize and infantilize Haruka but Haruka never feels endangered by Sousuke. Even at the vending machine, Haruka is startled and confused by Sousuke’s rude presumptions rather than threatened or frightened. Of course this does not excuse Sousuke’s invasion of Haruka’s personal space, but their relationship is not a pattern of harassment and physical violence. If that was the case, Haruka would hardly be proactive in his attempts to understand Sousuke, let alone even converse with him.

Episode 3:

“Haruka-senpai?”

Haruka takes a reprieve from laps until Gou’s voice pierces through his meditation. In contrast to last season’s passiveness, Haruka plainly inquires about Sousuke: “Can I ask you something?” 

“Did something happen with Sousuke-kun?” “No.”

Attentively listening to Gou, Haruka learns that Sousuke’s future has already been decided through a university scouting him; he transferred to Samezuka to spend his last year of high school back home and to swim in his own way. Haruka flashbacks to Sousuke’s crude warning.

Notably, rather than dissociating from Sousuke, whose hostility spells trouble, Haruka consciously acts on his curiosity and investigates. It exemplifies his character development from season one, where he sees the benefit of assertiveness. Regardless of the emotional changes undergone, Haruka is still equivocal, as attested by Haruka denying Gou’s conjecture that something transpired between Sousuke and him. However, neither Gou nor Makoto function as a bridge between Haruka and the season’s “antagonist” like they did last season. Haruka brings up Sousuke and asks further questions about him of his own volition, something that stops occurring around the reveal of Sousuke’s shoulder.

Episode 4:

“Rin and Yamazaki?”

Gou mentions bumping into Rin and Sousuke during her shopping trip for protein powder. Haruka’s eyes widen after hearing Sousuke’s name.

During warm ups, while Rei helps Haruka stretch, the former asks why Rin didn’t swim the sixth-grade relay with Sousuke if they were best friends. Haruka freezes.

In the flashback of Rin and Sousuke’s first and last attempt to swim in a relay together, Sousuke delivers solemn truths which seem to mirror Haruka’s opinions on cooperative swimming:

“I guess for me, swimming really is an individual sport. When you dive in the water, you’re alone. And it’s not like feeling all buddy-buddy makes you any faster… We think too differently about this. You and I are better off not teaming up. I swim for myself. So I want to swim and be responsible only for myself.”

Ultimately, that was what being in a relay meant. You couldn't swim just for yourself. You had to be concerned with things like winning and losing, responsibility, and teamwork. (HS, 4)

Swimming was fundamentally an individual contest, and Haruka thought relays were an extension of that. That was why it seemed logical to him to practice individually, and he saw no need to fixate on being in a team. [...] Once you jumped into the water, you were alone. All each swimmer had to do was show their respective power and swim as fast as they could. There was no other way that Haruka could think about it. (HS, 5)

Another discrepancy crops up between HS2 and FES. Sousuke has no qualms with swimming in a team, but the show implies that after the one attempt, Sousuke never tries to participate in a relay again until he chases after his new dream. Ohji’s Sousuke never rejects the concept of teamwork, but Rin does claim that because of their deep similarities and understanding of each other, they often quarreled or inadvertently silenced one another, making it exhaustive to be on the same team (HS, 7).

Episode 6:

“What about Yamazaki?” “Sousuke-kun’s specialty is butterfly, but it looks like he’s not racing in the butterfly here.”

Another example of Haruka taking blatant interest in Sousuke occurs during prefecturals, to Nagisa’s quiet astonishment: “What about Yamazaki?” Sousuke opts out of participating in the butterfly event, foreshadowing his injury.

Regardless of the 0.02 second difference between them, when Rin comes second to Haruka, Sousuke admonishes Rin as they prepare to depart from prefecturals:

“You can’t go losing a race like that, Rin.” “Easy for you to say. That Haru… Every time I swim against him, he gets faster. He’s like a freaking monster!”

At Rin’s appreciation of Haruka’s ability, Sousuke’s face becomes crestfallen. It can be postulated that bitterness lurks behind Sousuke’s expression because he envies Haruka for having Rin’s approval, the abandoned rivalry between Rin and him, the capacity to even swim and pursue aspirations Sousuke has lost. Imagine if the show had extrapolated from Ohji’s writing, where the Sousuke-Haruka rivalry remained intact and Sousuke envies Rin for becoming Haruka’s match, as Sousuke grapples with his debilitating injury. It is not out of character for Sousuke to want what Rin has but personally lacks. (“He felt envious of that Rin, who can run off with such a vague motive. Within Sousuke, there was nothing like that.” HS2, 4) In any case, the show does not adequately convey this side of Sousuke’s resentment in explicit terms, since the audience is not privy to Sousuke’s introspection.

Additionally, there is a glaring disconnect in Utsumi’s interpretations of Ohji’s characters. Sousuke is the type of straightforward person who gets caught up in the moment, but he is quite self-reflective when he crosses lines. Several times in the novel he bluntly confronts Haruka, changing his attitude when appropriate, and yet they barely have any two-sided interactions throughout the show, with Sousuke largely unapologetic with regards to his belligerence. Their conflict is left incomplete by the end of the season; the bonus episode fails to address the crux of their turbulent relationship despite presenting the signs of a mutual truce.

Episode 7:

Glaring sidelong at Haruka, Sousuke recalls Rin’s lofty words: “But I was saved by Haru and the others. By my friends.” However, Sousuke refuses to understand the sentiment behind the claim, as Sousuke’s misdirected envy consumes him: Even so, I won’t acknowledge you.

“Haru...”

The theme of future apposes between Haruka and Sousuke, as they navigate through their respective character arcs. On Haruka’s end, Ama-sensei bears news of a scout contacting the school because of his stellar performance during prefecturals. Haruka does not share the rest of the cast’s enthusiasm, his features and response neutral. Delighted that this may inspire Haruka into exploring post-graduation options, Ama-sensei reassures that this will make things easier on him, only for Haruka to walk away mid-conversation and dive into the pool. Ever the big-brother type, Makoto does not look pleased by Haruka’s deflection.

“Are you not feeling well?”

On Sousuke’s end, Rin informs him that the same university that scouted Sousuke contacted him. When Rin good-naturedly chuckles at the thought of him and Sousuke potentially swimming in the same team after graduation, Sousuke instantly drops the weight machine to a complete stop. Seeing Sousuke turn dismissive and sullen flares up Rin’s suspicion over the peculiar behavior, becoming irritated by Sousuke’s reticence.

Episode seven concludes with Haruka and Sousuke as inverses, reflecting the contrast between companionship-determination and loneliness-resignation. Moving forward with his teammates, Haruka speaks candidly, “I want to swim with you guys. Right now, what I want to do is treasure this feeling.” Eyes downcast and mouth set in a somber line, Sousuke heads to the hospital alone.

Perhaps because of insecurity, Sousuke rejects Haruka. Haruka aided Rin in overcoming his wall while Sousuke remained helpless during Rin’s five-year long silence. Haruka can stand by Rin’s side so effortlessly whereas Sousuke recklessly damaged his body in hopes of reaching the same stage and still failed. Yet, according to Ohji’s handling of Sousuke, Sousuke acknowledges Haruka’s efforts, even offering advice on how to perfect a new swimming form (HS2, 8) and congratulating Haruka for breaking records (HS2, 12).

Episode 8:

His shoulder...healed?

Kisumi delivers the bomb: “Oh, so then Sousuke’s shoulder must have healed, huh?” Haruka’s eyebrows furrow, taken aback by Kisumi’s words. At the news of Sousuke’s participation in tournaments, Kisumi explains that he ran into Sousuke back at the hospital while getting treatment for a minor injury. 

“Sousuke?”

Caught red-handed, Sousuke grits his molars in the flashback. But since Sousuke is competing, it must be guaranteed that his injury was minor or at least not a deterrent. 

Haruka seems, if not skeptical, at least clearly worried. 

The preview for the upcoming episode has Sousuke’s disembodied voice ask Haruka some hard-pressed questions, with Haruka faltering in his response:

“Nanase, what do you intend to do? Are you prepared to cast aside everything else and swim for a dream you cannot surrender to anyone else? If you’re not prepared to do that, then you have no right to stand on this stage.” “Dream? Future? I…”

One would presume that this exchange would delineate the last stretch of the season’s theme through the conflict between literary foils. Disappointingly, the series does not even end on a Haruka-centric note, despite him being the main protagonist and the fundamental character whose lack of a concrete future plunged him into a crisis, let alone draw conclusions between Haruka and Sousuke. The latter character does not even have a denouement to speak of; Sousuke conveniently disappears and reappears, complicit in the writing’s treatment of Haruka as the key to Rin’s narrative fulfillment, while he – as an injured athlete – has no future or place in the pro swimming world.

Episode 9:

Episodes nine and ten are fondly and frustratingly referred to as “catharses that went nowhere,” at least for this analysis. Before diving in, here is a lighthearted parallel of two introverts and their aversion towards inconveniences.

“No fair! Coach me, too!: “What a pain...”

“Haru-chan, teach him how to swim!” “No, that requires effort.”

“Oh, it’s nothing...”

“Gou-chan, have you heard anything about Yamazaki-kun?”

At the end of practice, Gou announces that Nitori may be swimming in the relay for Samezuka; Nagisa, thrilled that his rival in breaststroke is potentially participating, worries about the strong competition “Rin-chan” and “Sou-chan” will impose. Recalling Kisumi’s words and snapping out of the memory by Gou, Makoto asks her if she has heard anything about Sousuke, Haruka averting his eyes in the background. When prompted to elaborate his curiosity, Makoto deflects. 

On their way home, Haruka and Makoto sit by the shore, Makoto wondering aloud the validity of Kisumi’s claim. Haruka replies: “Who knows? It doesn’t matter either way. If he can swim, it must be fine.” 

Makoto agrees: "We need to worry about ourselves right now.” Haruka’s profile stays reflective as the sea breeze ruffles his hair.  

Haruka tends to perceive things at face value and hardly considers hypotheticals and possibilities which negate direct observations. Consequently, he expects others to be forthright and genuine with their intentions – which is why when people suddenly contradict their previous statements or actions, he becomes frazzled and vexed. He does not pry or badger those who withhold information from him because he tends to keep to himself. Usually Haruka logically evaluates a situation with a stiff upper lip, keeping quiet of his restless emotions. In retrospect, Haruka also seems to be reassuring himself that Sousuke’s condition is nothing to fret over, while simultaneously throwing furtive looks of worry at him. Considering Haruka’s belief that water holds healing properties, (“Once he got into the water, he was healed. After he swam, something as small as a cold would always be cured as if it had never been there at all.” HS, 2; “[H]e felt as though he was being healed. For Haruka, this is how the water always was.” HS, 3; “He wanted to be healed by the water.” HS2, 5) Haruka rationalizes that Sousuke is in good health, as he has seen no evidence that points otherwise.

Regionals come to pass. Mirroring episode two, Samezuka members arrive in the same hotel after Iwatobi’s do, and Haruka silently observes Sousuke as the two swim clubs interact before going their separate ways. A night out in the city leads to the Iwatobi club running into Seijuro, Samezuka’s ex-captain, and Toudou, a scout from his university. Earlier in the episode, Haruka receives congratulations and praise from the principal and guidance counselor; meeting Toudou triggers Haruka’s ornery resistance against his escalating anxiety.

“I sense your talent has infinite potential. We can’t allow that talent to go to waste. I’m positive you’ll climb to far greater heights. We have high expectations for your race tomorrow!”

Despite Toudou’s compliments, Haruka’s expression darkens. Even in the hotel room, Haruka slips out in hopes of relieving himself from stress, only to bump into Sousuke and a hotel worker in the elevator. 

When the worker tries to exit the lift, the towel trolley snags over the threshold, causing its contents to fall over. Instinctively Sousuke tries to catch the towels with his bad shoulder. Haruka notices Sousuke’s wince from his periphery. 

Afterwards, Haruka strikes up conversation: 

“Your shoulder hasn’t healed yet?” “What are you talking about?” “I ran into Kisumi the other day. He told me.” [Sousuke clicks his teeth, turning his head to the side.] “Damn him.”

[Sousuke steps out of the elevator.] “Wait.” “It won’t have any effect on the match. But… Don’t breathe a word of this to Rin.” [The elevator doors gradually shut on Haruka’s upset face.]

Haruka calls out to Sousuke, which is a significant act in its rarity. Not one to beat around the bushes when it truly counts, Haruka delves straight into the heart of the matter, but Sousuke instantaneously shuts down further discussion. Sousuke’s loyalty to Rin rears its head again, making Sousuke behave like a scared animal baring its fangs.

“So swim already.”

Outside, Haruka runs, everyone’s expectations lingering on his mind, chasing him into his dreams. Within his subconsciousness, Haruka backs into the wall and his shadow morphs into Sousuke. Haruka’s nightmare leaves a festering wound which affects his performance. 

As Rin gets into position on the starting block, Sousuke and Haruka watch. Preceding Haruka’s race, Sousuke leaves after Rin places first place in his heat. The genius freestyle swimmer burns out. In the locker room, Rin criticizes Haruka until the latter explodes, impulsively confessing he has neither a future nor a dream, to everyone’s shock. Meanwhile, Sousuke silently agonizes under the spray of the showers. Incoming wretched parallels.

Episode 10:

Haruka surveys Rin’s next event with an unreadable countenance, until he leaves the bleachers. The next scene is of the lobby area where Sousuke sits in contemplation, cradling his shoulder. Rin eventually exposes Sousuke’s secret. 

Coincidentally, sitting outside in a daze before noticing the two’s presence, Haruka overhears Sousuke share the painful details of his crushed ambitions to Rin. But since Kyoani does not find it imperative to expand on Haruka and Sousuke’s seventh-grade promise to compete against one another in the future, Sousuke sank into fatalism. “Of course it broke down.”

“I decided to give up swimming.”

After long deliberation and going in and out of physical therapy, Sousuke chose to lay his old dreams to rest. The news leaves Rin and Haruka equally stunned. 

“I want to truly become your friend. Rin, your friend!”

Listening to Sousuke’s heartfelt wish to swim with Rin again, to become Rin’s teammate, instills a renewed drive within Haruka. Perhaps he remembers his own emotional gratification from swimming in relays, from cementing bonds which engulf him in light. Haruka slips away, undetected.

“I want to swim. I want to swim the relay with all of you.”

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

“I want to swim in the relay. I want to swim with you guys again!” (Free!, 9)

Returning to his teammates, Haruka apologizes for his tardiness, stalling in preparations for the final medley race, gaze resolute.

At everyone vocalizing their surprise and concern over Sousuke’s bruised shoulder, Haruka speaks:

“Yamazaki...saw our relay last year. After watching us, Yamazaki found his dream. And he learned what it means to swim with friends. He also gained a strong desire to swim the best possible relay on the best possible team. Even if it meant wrecking his shoulder. So I want us to respond to his wish with all we’ve got.”

The fire in Haruka’s eyes burns bright, evoking his teammates’ fighting spirit. Consistently Haruka is portrayed as highly intuitive and hypersensitive to emotions, easily propelled forward by their momentum. Sousuke’s simple yet poignant dream resonates deeply with Haruka because he, too, once yearned to escape from loneliness and to rebuild his strong sense of self after experiencing loss, no matter the compensation paid.

“I want to swim in a relay with all of you. With the best team I could ask for... I’m sure you feel the same way, Haruka-senpai! The race isn’t important! There’s someone you want to swim with, right?!” (Free!, 12)

“It’s their wish. They want to swim with Nanase no matter what.” Sousuke was where Natsuya was looking. He looked at Haruka with glaring eyes. He wondered if he could swim it. He wondered if he could swim in a way that would satisfy Sousuke. (HS2, 7)

After all is said and done, Haruka looks on as Sousuke expresses his gratitude to his teammates. Fandom reduces Haruka and Sousuke as two teens filled with hatred and spite for each other, but that is far from what the canon presents in both the novel and the show. Even during the tentative stages of accepting Sousuke’s rivalry, Haruka acknowledges and gradually reciprocates Sousuke’s passion. In the same vein, Haruka feels inclined to fully respect the feelings of camaraderie overflowing from Sousuke’s heart. Essentially Sousuke’s final request as a swimmer rejuvenates Haruka’s inner fire. It complements Haruka’s emotional growth and journey of learning the importance of friendship and teamwork. Sadly, the anime warps their relationship as one that is heavily dependent on Rin whereas the novel has them cultivate and sustain something in his absence. Rin is the thread which leads Sousuke to Haruka. However, it is Sousuke who chooses to approach Haruka out of friendship loyalty; it is Haruka who chooses to warm up to Sousuke, even though having equals in water affinity used to evoke negative emotions like anger and insecurity. Both of them operate outside of their association with Rin, who – contrary to Kyoani’s belief – is not the epicenter of either Haruka’s or Sousuke’s life. Put in fannish terms, Haruka, Sousuke, and Rin do not form a triangle, romantic or otherwise.

For the preview for episode eleven, Haruka narrates: “Unchanging sky. Unchanging nothing…” Makoto replies, “Even if they don’t look different, both the sea and the sky do change. And so do we.” Not only are Haruka’s and Sousuke’s faces superimposed on key parts of the aforementioned quote, but it seems to support the idea that the two share complementary arcs. Too bad the writing falls flat.

Episode 11:

“I can see some hesitation in Haruka-senpai’s swimming.”

There are distinct parallels juxtaposed between them. Rei is disconcerted by Haruka’s listless swimming. Rin looks worried over Sousuke. 

“And what caused him to change like that may have been us.”

“Hey, good practice.”

The scenes switch between Haruka and Sousuke as they float in limbo: Haruka stays behind post-practice, contemplating, as Sousuke changes in his dorm room, his shoulder brace out in the open. 

“Yo, Nanase.”

Walking past the school’s gates, Haruka stops in his tracks at his name being called. It is Sousuke, waiting for him. This encounter seems analogous to the one found in chapter seven of HS2. Sousuke echoes the same words from back then: “Come with me for a bit.”

“What do you want?” “At the tournament, you stopped in the middle of a race.” [Haruka’s eyes narrow.] “That’s none of your concern.” “Maybe not, but it concerns Rin. If you stop, Rin could end up stopping, too.” “You’ve come to hound me about that before.” “I still don’t acknowledge you. But you are important to Rin. You understand that, don’t you?” [Haruka steels his shoulders defensively.] “So what?” “Swimming with you brings out Rin’s potential. He needs you.” 

“Why are you always so concerned about Rin?”

“I want him to stand on the international stage. The international stage I couldn’t stand on.” [Haruka averts his eyes in sympathy.] 

“You have incredible ability. So you need to stop wasting time. Take a step! Forward!”

Presumably Sousuke does not witness Haruka’s breakdown since he was experiencing his own breakdown in the showers. If he had been present, it would have been a great callback to Sousuke lecturing Haruka for racing past his limits and failing to face Sousuke with all his might. Not to mention, the irony this would manifest, as roles have been reversed – it is now Sousuke who swims beyond his limits, undoing two-year’s worth of rehabilitation.

Sousuke believes Haruka’s vacillation and inaction discredit Rin’s endeavors; this insinuates that Rin is dependent on Haruka’s swimming, something confirmed by Rin in episode 12. (“That’s why it’s hard for me when you’re not always there ahead of me, showing me the path I should take. Without you, I have nothing to aim for, you know?”) Sousuke’s words ultimately reinforce Rin’s idolization of Haruka and inability to improve without Haruka. This is not so much as a guilt tactic so much as Sousuke making Haruka aware of the bone-deep effect he has on Rin, which is irrelevant because the only one who should be held accountable for that is Rin, the one orbiting around Haruka. However, one cannot argue that the narrative endorses rushing Haruka to choose professional swimming as his dream. Haruka’s and Sousuke’s second direct interaction is cringe-worthy because it aggravates the pressures Haruka faces in the final half of the season. Ranging from school faculty to classmates to friends, Haruka is bombarded by expectations to swim for victory and records, to pursue a career in swimming, with scant breathing room. Conveniently, Sousuke stays ignorant of this fact.

During his unsolicited lecture, Sousuke contradicts himself – he says he does not acknowledge Haruka and yet he praises Haruka’s skill. Moreover, it is a variation of this line – which has been a pervasive infliction on Haruka and unintentionally reduces him to his talents – that makes Haruka snap during his confrontation with Makoto: 

“The truth is, you want to find a dream, too! You should find that dream, and go flying into the outside world to follow it! You have the ability to do that!” “Even you’re talking like this?”

Sousuke calls out Haruka’s obliviousness of his influence over Rin, but it really is no different to how everyone else regards Haruka: his influential ability is meant to be shared to everyone else’s benefit. The difference is Sousuke never postulates himself as Haruka’s ally nor does he treat his brusque actions as sanctimonious. In the novel, they mutually acknowledge each other as worthy opponents; Sousuke confronts Haruka mainly for Rin’s sake, but Sousuke expresses his own interest in and respect for Haruka as a fellow swimmer, which Haruka fully requites.

What is the meaning behind Haruka’s loaded question, “Why are you always so concerned about Rin?”? Nothing is elaborated in the show, as Haruka’s thoughts are largely inaccessible. Had the anime sufficiently covered the base of their rivalry, Haruka would not have asked Sousuke why he shows adamant concern over Rin, as this is barely a frustration of his from HS2. (Logically, what does Haruka’s swimming have to do with Rin’s progress?) “Why are you always so concerned about my life choices?” would have been the more apt question from Haruka – which is exactly in line with their initial dynamic as written by Ohji. (“It’s not like I’m swimming for the sake of pleasing Rin in particular. I swim for myself. It has nothing to do with you.” HS2, 4) In the past, Sousuke has approached Haruka after being thoroughly disappointed in him. In spite of that, Sousuke encourages Haruka to perform at his best when facing each other. Haruka adjusts to and enables Sousuke’s challenges, having an inner desire to race against someone even though such a notion once peeved him. In fact, Haruka welcomes the exhilarating presence of Sousuke swimming in the neighboring lane. (“Sousuke made the turn ahead of him. For a moment, their eyes met. – Come. Sousuke provoked Haruka. He didn’t even need to be told. He released all of his energy at once.” HS2, 12)

Episode 13:

Both Haruka’s and Sousuke’s character arc resolutions, as well as their relationship conflict, suffer from poor execution. The misunderstanding between Haruka and Sousuke is never completely addressed as it is repurposed for Rin’s fulfillment.

“Jeez, talk about going overboard!” “Yeah, I might’ve. But going overboard was worth it.”

“I see...”

The only follow up between Haruka and Sousuke is an indirect one, with Sousuke looking across the pool at Haruka, content that Haruka remains on his pedestal for Rin.

Somehow Sosuke magically accepts Haruka, despite the story lacking any concrete unpacking of his animosity and insecurities tied to his condition. Somehow Haruka stops feeling compelled to reach out to Sousuke, despite imperceptibly chasing after him throughout the season. Permanently injuring Sousuke hinders any further development within his and Haruka’s rivalry; the implication is that neither Haruka nor Sousuke can have rivals aside from Rin, contradicting Ohji’s groundwork. Another implication is the unresolved injury arc has very little to do with Sousuke and more to do with providing Rin with tear-inducing angst. The culmination of Sousuke’s arc is Rin’s tears. It is never made certain if Sousuke attained a future, whether he has made peace with quitting or remains trapped in inertia. Similarly, Haruka’s storyline ends with him having an unnatural, forced investment in professional swimming alongside Rin, with little transition that is neither convincing nor advantageous to the character Ohji crafted.

Both marooned by their circumstances, in better hands perhaps they would find alternatives for their futures. For Sousuke, it would be casting aside his defeatist outlook over his injury and fostering his coaching aptitude. For Haruka, it would be searching for what Haruka wants, not what is expected of him, as he asserts that although his swimming may unintentionally affect another swimmer’s progress, it is not his responsibility to bear. Haruka and Sousuke fall along the same spectrum with regards to the future (lost dreams versus nightmares/no dreams). Instead of having Haruka and Sousuke be rivals meeting halfway, learning things from the other, complementing their strengths and weakness, they are cheated out of their own satisfactory conclusion.

At least the bonus episode gifts the audience with a hopeful tone reminiscent of Ohji’s writing of Haruka and Sousuke’s reconciliation. Pretty self-explanatory, right?

“He competed against Haruka-senpai during middle school, right?” “I guess.”

“Use your head. “Then you come up with a plan.” “If you follow it, sure.”

“Now.”

“You saved me. I owe you one.” “Save the thanks for later.”

“Nanase, dodge!”

“Yamazaki...” “Well, here’s your payback.”

Like his novel counterpart, Haruka presents to Sousuke a peace offering and an opportunity to transform their initially fraught relationship into something harmonious. Sousuke, amused, wholeheartedly accepts:

“See you, Sousuke.” “See you, Haru.”

Flowing Energies, part 1

Dedicated to my partner in SouHaru Sin, @izumikouhei, who also was an immense help with these analyses and their proofreading. 

English translations from sunnyskies and janeypeixies from Nanowave Translations

I think it prudent to analyze the interactions between Nanase Haruka and Yamazaki Sousuke chronologically, mainly to dissect their dynamic and development, parts which were underwritten in the show. There are some discrepancies between High Speed! (HS), its sequel High Speed! 2 (HS2), and Free: Eternal Summer (FES), which will be noted. Fair warning the following is quote- and picture-heavy, broken into two parts – novel and anime. As with any analysis, these are my interpretations of the text and not meant to be treated as canon, though I strive to support my readings with canonical evidence. (Though I am aware of the show’s staff providing their own interpretations, intentions and opinions of Ohji Kouji’s characters and groundwork, I do not treat them as strictly authoritative, nor do I find them absolutely significant to what I am discussing.)

Although Sousuke has a brief appearance in High Speed!, introduced as Rin’s classmate from Sano Elementary and a member of Sano’s Swimming Club, it is interesting that he and Haruka share an indirect parallel by asking the same question about Rin’s deceased father to Rin:

“Same as usual, I guess. That aside, did you get to meet your father?” (HS, 7)

“Did you get to meet your father?” Haruka uttered the same words that Sousuke did at that time. (HS, 8)

Not too significant to be constituted as an interaction, but nonetheless, Ohji draws the comparison between the two.

Fast forward to a couple of months later, with Haruka attending Iwatobi Middle School (IMS). With Rin overseas, Makoto in a different class with different extracurricular activities and Nagisa in an entirely different grade level altogether, Haruka keenly feels loneliness but chooses not to dwell on it; ruminating on his vulnerabilities disconcerts him. He chooses to distract himself with Makkou, a stray dog he reluctantly takes as a pet. For a few days this makes him too busy to regularly attend Iwatobi’s Swimming Club (ISC), where Nagisa has been left behind. Haruka decides to visit ISC and promises to cheer for Nagisa in an upcoming tournament, which he and Makoto are not entering. Eventually, Haruka gets roped into joining his school’s swim club, steadily acclimating to duties and practices.

The last day of Golden Week finds Haruka and Makoto at the Hiyori Swimming Stadium to support Nagisa’s efforts. During one of the events, they see a familiar tall, lanky figure – Sousuke. Next Sunday, IMS’ swim club will face Sano Middle School’s (SMS) swim club, as is their annual tradition to promote camaraderie. The tournament ends; Nagisa laments over his lousy performance until his teammates encourage Nagisa to improve and swim in the relay with them for the next tournament. Nagisa leaves with his fellow sixth graders, energized. Before Makoto and Haruka leave as well, a voice calls out Nanase – it is Sousuke, demanding why Haruka had not entered the tournament; despite it being the first time they have exchanged words with each other, Sousuke speaks to Haruka “as if they’ve known each other from before. No greetings or self-introduction, either.” Haruka becomes puzzled and miffed by Sousuke’s inconvenient “rival spirit towards” him, since there exists “a bunch of guys faster than Sousuke” as consequence of transitioning from the elementary school age group to the middle school age group. Sousuke throws his contempt at Haruka for starting club activities and at the club seniors, with Makoto acting as the flustered spectator-mediator. Notice that it is only after Sousuke insults one of Haruka’s upperclassmen does Haruka offer a retort: 

Sousuke snorted derisively. “Doesn’t that mean that he’s not very good at swimming so he was turned into a trainer?” Something snapped and surged up within Haruka. “Don’t say something so underestimating.” “Who’s underestimating who!” Sousuke responded to Haruka’s words. Without even trying to hide it, he bared his emotions. “Have you guys even thought about Rin’s feelings? Have you thought about what kind of feelings he’s swimming with right now? Can you be faster with that? Did you think Rin would be satisfied with that!” When left exposed by Sousuke’s strong gaze, without Haruka aiming to do so, energy released from his body out of its own will. “It’s not like I’m swimming for the sake of pleasing Rin in particular. I swim for myself. It has nothing to do with you.” Sousuke pushed back against that energy.“– Don’t screw with me!” 

Before parting, Sousuke punctuates his resentment: “Don’t forget it. Rin’s feelings of wanting to swim with you guys. I won’t forgive you if you do something halfhearted, just to be clear.” His words incite the same irritating ripples in Haruka’s chest that Rin did; as if summoning calmness, Haruka's eyes gaze at the same sky Sousuke sees as he reflects over his outburst:

Taking a deep breath, Haruka looked up at the sky just once.

It was a blue sky, Sousuke thought. After he parted from Haruka and Makoto, Sousuke looked up at the sky while walking down the path lined with plane trees. When he let his breath out together with what had accumulated in his chest, his feelings calmed down just a little.

Haruka tends to look up at the sky, as if seeking an escape from the roiling emotions found within (“While thinking about things like that, he looked up the blue sky that seems to be sucking him in.“ HS2, 1). Sousuke’s introspection includes awareness of his unfair treatment towards Haruka – such as projecting onto Haruka Sousuke’s stunted rivalry with Rin; the contents of his last conversations with Rin before his transfer to Iwatobi Elementary; and a yearning for reconnection:

He wondered why he ended up getting so worked up over it. Perhaps it had irritated him that they didn’t enter? Perhaps he had felt a sense of lacking from them starting something like club activities? No, it wasn’t just that. He had felt resentment towards himself that with a loss against Rin, he even ended up losing the chance to repay the debt. Then he ended up overlapping Rin with Haruka. Without knowing it, Sousuke smiled bitterly. At best, he took it out on Haruka for no reason. From Haruka’s point of view, what a terrible backlash it was. However, when he thought of Rin’s feelings, he couldn’t stand to not say it after all.

Sousuke looked up again at the blue sky that the plane trees narrowed. He wondered how far this sky could be stretching. He was sure that it could stretch endlessly. He thought – that it could stretch. (HS2, 4)

This confrontation exposes several things about Sousuke’s character: his loyalties to Rin warp his better judgment, causing him to misdirect his anger (the main source of conflict between Sousuke and Haruka); his tendency to be overcritical, quickly flinging disapproval based on incomplete knowledge; he values rivalries and harbors regret with regards to his friendship/rivalry with Rin and channels it; and he is capable of self-reflection over his unsavory behavior. Sousuke immediately recognizes post-altercation that he misfired his frustrations and pessimism over Rin’s transfer/departure (“[Rin] should at least be a little more apologetic about it.” HS2, 4) and his inability to pay back his loss against Rin from last year’s tournament (“Whoever lost today would be carrying around those feelings of frustration for years.” HS, 7) onto Haruka. From Sousuke’s limited perspective, Haruka has “insulted” Rin’s dedication to their rivalry by declining competitions and diverting his attention elsewhere (club activities). 

Furthermore, Sousuke may be envious that he cannot share the same rivalry with Rin ever since Haruka entered the picture – Rin chased after Haruka to Iwatobi Elementary School and then dashed off overseas, leaving Sousuke behind, dreamless and rival-less. Instead of addressing all of this to Rin, Sousuke bottles it up until something that threatens his friend in any way – in this case, Haruka’s ostensible indifference and half-hearted investment in Rin’s rivalry – unleashes those repressed emotions. It seems easier to vent his emotional vulnerability on Haruka, a stranger, than on Rin. Because Sousuke understands Rin the most, he ends up clamping his mouth shut of the things he wants to say, playing the role of an alter-ego than that of a friend:

“…… I see, got it.” He felt like there were a lot of things he wanted to say, things he wanted to ask. But he knew the words Rin would reply with to what he says, and reality wouldn’t change by what he asks. It was just that Sousuke should come to terms with it inside himself. [...] Sousuke didn’t talk to him at all. He didn’t know what he should say anyways and it felt like they had already talked about everything that they ought to. After they left the Swimming Club, too, he walked with Rin in silence. Maybe Rin was thinking the same thing? He was probably thinking it. That was why he didn’t say anything. There was no need to talk about anything. (HS2, 4)

“Because we understand each other too well. [Sousuke]’s even more theoretical than I am, we often quarreled. So, we settled on it that the faster way is always correct, but our competitive spirit wasn’t half-baked anymore. It’s a hard thing, being birds of a feather.” [...] “I still think of him as the person who understands me the most. But sometimes, it becomes difficult to be together… When I end up understanding his feelings, I end up not being able to say the things that I want to. I can no longer seriously go up against him. That’s not a friend, it’s like an alter-ego, isn’t it? You don’t like or hate your alter-ego. Ending up like that, no longer thinking of them as a friend, it’s really painful…” (HS, 7)

“Because we know each other too well. Sousuke is way more theory-based than me, so we got into a lot of arguments. In the end, he’d calm down when I’d say the fastest would win the race, but it always took something out of my competitive spirit. [...] In fact, even now, I think he understands me better than anyone else.” (FES, 4)

There is ample, concrete evidence that supports that this presumption is not a one-way street. The comfort and history of their friendship replaces and hinders productive communication from both their ends. Sousuke’s observations of the sky may represent his thoughts on his own endurance. Could his suppressed feelings reach Rin through this endless sky that stretches to his friend’s side of the world?

Haruka’s days continue on with mishaps and curious encounters, library duties and club activities interspersed between. A ride to the third station away from Iwatobi leads to SMC on the day of their joint practice match. Prior to their arrival, grave news looms over them: Shouta, a second-year member and Yazaki Aki’s older brother, has been banned from club activities after swimming in the river, even involving the police. He panicked after losing to Haruka in a one-on-one swimming competition, due to his fear of being replaced by a first-year. Though Aki insists that her brother’s foolhardy actions are not Haruka’s responsibility, Haruka blames his own involvement in the club, on his preference for swimming freestyle – via his promise to swim only in freestyle events – for cornering Shouta; had Haruka either quit the team or refused to participate in the one-on-one match, Shouta would not have been driven by impatience. This is significant because it exhibits Haruka’s guilty conscience and his understanding of and even criticisms towards one’s pride, foreshadowing many events which later transpire. Though it is the other swimmer’s denial of their self-perpetuated limitations which trap them, nevertheless Haruka internalizes the pain his skill unintentionally brings. Such a burden clouds his mind, leading to self-destruction. It would not be presumptuous to claim that Haruka feels responsible for ruining other swimmers; it is a defining characteristic which may tie into the necessity of maintaining distance from people, as he is perturbed by the effect he has on others.

The joint practice match commences, allowing the first years to gain experience at the start of the season and mingle between the two middle schools. Three familiar people – including Sousuke and Kisumi – walk up and greet Haruka:

Sousuke’s gaze remained fixed on Haruka for a while now. “I’m only in the 100 free today. Can’t say’s a surprise, since I just joined.” It seemed that Sousuke had joined after that tournament. His motive was clear. Quite the trouble he went through, Haruka thought. “I’m in the 100, too.” When Haruka said that, Sousuke showed a happy smile. “I see, looking forward to it.” He held out his right hand. It’s a huge hand, Haruka thought. There was no reason to refuse. He grabbed his hand. He felt their energies flowing into each other’s body.

Sousuke's clear motive is to challenge Haruka directly through their respective swim clubs. Disregarding his initial contempt, Sousuke joined SMS’s swim club some time after their confrontation and anticipates his budding rivalry with Haruka, which Haruka hesitantly receives.

An awkward event occurs between another IMS swim club member, named Asahi, and as a diversion, Makoto asks Kisumi if he knew of Rin during his time at Sano, since they both attended the same sixth grade class: 

“What do you mean know him, we were in the same class. Until partway through sixth grade, though. Right, Sousuke?” “Uh huh, until he went to your place.”  [...] Makoto cheerfully spoke. “Really? What an incredible coincidence, huh. What was Rin like?” Kisumi and Sousuke looked at each other. “In a word, easily gets carried away, I guess?” When Kisumi said it, Sousuke nodded and took over. “Yeah. And he was kind of an irritating guy.” “Right. Kinda irritating, huh? Rin.” Kisumi agreed. On that matter, Haruka had the same sentiment, too. [...] Kisumi got a thoughtful look on his face, and with that expression, he spoke in a murmur. “Self-centered, and hates to lose.” “That’s for sure. For someone who cries right away, he always spoke his mind.” Haruka agreed with Sousuke’s supplement, too. “Ah, and also……?” Makoto, who was bad at giving up, asked again. Could he be hoping for a beautiful memory or something? Makoto should just try recalling his own memories. On top of twisting them around his little finger as he liked, Rin did as he pleased and went off somewhere. Supposing that there was some kind of good memory, it was obvious that something like that washed away long ago. “That’s right. He was always trying to show off in front of girls, wasn’t he? Sousuke.” “Aah, that’s right. Also, he got mad when we called him ‘Rin-chan’.” No objection to that. That was about it for memories with Rin. These two have truly perceived Rin correctly.

After a hilarious roasting of Rin's immature and competitive personality courtesy of Kisumi and Sousuke (with Haruka's silent assent), the boys' 50m freestyle event is held; Haruka wins easily, starting the practice match with IMS leading. He has six more events to compete. Despite finishing first in his next event, the 200m, Haruka gauges a sharp decrease in his speed and an increase in exertion, perhaps due to his leisurable practices and inexperience with the new technique – the biaxial crawl. As Haruka watches his teammates' races, he recalls Asahi's accusations of Haruka hindering Asahi’s ability to swim freestyle; Haruka contemplates over his interactions with Asahi that could possibly support the accusation but comes up blank, which segues to a miserable performance in the 400m freestyle event.

Overcompensating inexperience with brute force, Haruka depletes his waning stamina quickly, resulting in a loss and no applause. Given a slight break before his next event, Haruka's eyes meet the dark gaze of Ikuya, a club latecomer who does not welcome Haruka's presence on the team. Haruka assumes Ikuya's disdain stems from envy that he cannot participate in this competition and Haruka receiving special treatment, as he is swimming in multiple events. Ikuya is ignorant of Haruka's promise with Natsuya, captain of the swim club and Ikuya's older brother, and Haruka believes it is all a terrible misunderstanding. Under the condition of only swimming free during his time in the club, Natsuya made Haruka promise to participate in every freestyle event for competitions (“But I only swim free.” “That’s just like you, huh. When you swim, you at least hear rumors. – Fine. In exchange, I’ll have you enter in all the free events.” HS2, 3). Haruka, confused by and underestimating the gravity of such a request, nonetheless is merely fulfilling it diligently.

However, Haruka's efforts are made in vain. Swimming through the 1500m proves disastrous, Haruka moving forward to merely remain "afloat with difficulty," muscles in excruciating pain, lungs demanding oxygen, heart on the verge of breaking. Bitterly Haruka relives the memory of one of his early performances in last year's relay (HS, 7), how he rejected the water, utterly humiliated by his inadequate swimming. To rub salt on the wound, Natsuya pulls Haruka out of one of the relay events with a second year; Haruka becomes chagrined:

Could he have been concerned about him being tired? Or perhaps, could he be scorning him for making an unfulfillable promise? That guys who couldn’t even keep their promises shouldn’t have cocky obsessions……. “I will swim. I can still swim.” [...] “I will go for the medley relay.” “What’s a guy who can’t swim saying? That’s rude towards your opponent.” Haruka sank in the humiliation. Endlessly, endlessly to the bottom of the chaotic swamp……He thought of his lack of physical strength as cowardly. He wondered if becoming fixated on it was ridiculous pride. Haruka unconsciously chewed his lip. “Swim just the 100 free.” “Eh?” “It’s their wish. They want to swim with Nanase no matter what.” Sousuke was where Natsuya was looking. He looked at Haruka with glaring eyes. He wondered if he could swim it. He wondered if he could swim in a way that would satisfy Sousuke. Would he have enough strength left for just that? Staring at his right hand, he tried to clench it. “……Yes.” There was no strength in it. 

In spite of Haruka's hesitance in viewing Sousuke as a rival, Haruka shows concern in the possibility of disappointing Sousuke in the same manner he has disappointed Natsuya, which seems related to Haruka’s perfectionism and heightened emotional empathy. Haruka reproaches himself for being the arrogant underclassman making unfathomable promises, subsequently suffering the backlash and self-devaluation. Haruka may lack strength in his grip, but he still wants to race Sousuke, is not deterred by his glare, by his own heavy limbs. The one who myopically claims he swims for himself, that his swimming has nothing to do with Sousuke, questions his ability to satisfactorily respond to Sousuke’s wish.

The 100m free event caps the end of the competition, as the highlight of the practice match. Haruka's lackluster "swimming" leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth. Ashamed, Haruka climbs out of the pool without Makoto's assistance and rushes for an escape from prying, worrying eyes:

Suddenly, someone stood in Haruka’s way. When he lifted his face that he had cast down, Sousuke’s lanky body was there. Without even a smirk, he held out his right hand to Haruka. It’s a huge hand.  When Haruka tried to lift his heavy arms, seizing his hand by force, Sousuke jerked him close. “Come with me for a bit.” Saying it in a voice low enough so only Haruka could hear, Sousuke started walking towards the changing room.

Haruka makes a failed attempt to grasp Sousuke's proffered hand because he has no strength left. Sousuke grabs Haruka’s hand and leads him to somewhere more private. Makoto showing his habitual concern for Haruka’s state flares irritation towards “his cowardly self”, for needing to be pitied and coddled, for being weak.

There was no one in the changing room. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. The announcement of the results were held now. Haruka stepped into the changing room and Makoto followed after him. “What’s the meaning of this? Nanase.” Sousuke said it while taking something out of his locker. Haruka couldn’t answer. It was impossible to answer. As he stayed silent, Sousuke walked up to him and stood face to face with Haruka. Then he stretched out the fingertips of his right hand and placed them on Haruka’s left shoulder. They were long and thin fingers. Wondering what he was trying to do, when Haruka tried to brush off that hand, Sousuke’s fingertips tapped Haruka. His balance slightly breaking, he tried to withstand it, but standing firmly on his feet weren’t working, and his center of gravity drifted backward. Taking two, three steps backward, the back of his knees hit the bench. Dropping his waist and sitting down like that, he almost fell backwards with too much force remaining. “Haru!” Supported by Makoto, he somehow managed to avoid falling down, but he ended up making a terribly sorry display of himself. “You sure had the gall to swim against me like that.” He grit his teeth in humiliation. It would only be an excuse, no matter how he tried to patch it up. It was all caused by Haruka’s trivial fixation. There’s nothing for him to do other than grit his teeth. “’I swim for myself.’ Nanase said it that time, didn’t he? To think of what kind of swimming it is… If you’re just playing, do it elsewhere. When you’re up against me, come at me with all you’ve got!” He didn’t care what Sousuke said. He just swims for himself. He couldn’t stand it when people arbitrarily created illusions and pushed them on him. Or could he be intending to scorn him? If it’s humiliation, he’s had enough of a taste to the point of hating it. (HS2, 7)

Before Haruka leaves the changing room, Sousuke gives him Rin’s letter to read, perhaps to solve Haruka’s reliance on mere talent and lack of drive in hard work (“‘There’s no talent that can surpass hard work.’ It’s what Rin said before going to Australia.” HS2, 7). Sousuke assumes these are Haruka’s problems hindering his athleticism, when in actuality Haruka has too much drive, causing him to overestimate his own ability and over-think its effect on those around him, which are merely reinforced by everyone and himself. Sousuke throws back Haruka’s previous words – that Haruka would swim on his own terms – which frankly leave Sousuke dissatisfied after witnessing Haruka swim beyond his limitations. Sousuke’s disapproval reflects Haruka’s inner critical commentary running through his head. Instead of condemning Haruka as a waste, Sousuke forces Haruka to confront his complacency, his rigidity, his frustrations, because Sousuke – perhaps not fully, but a small part of him, believes in Rin’s faith in Haruka as an ideal swimmer. Sousuke himself is curious in Haruka’s ability. Though Haruka remains impassive towards winning and times, he becomes despondent when he fails to meet others’ expectations, something that unsettles his very core. Contrary to his fiercely independent spirit, Haruka is sensitive to his surroundings, strongly influenced by the emotions of his friends/teammates and opponents – almost to a fault.

Returning to the lull of his daily life, Haruka attends school and practice with minor complications. On his way home he stops by the supermarket alone, purchasing a pack of croquettes. He halts when he stumbles upon Sousuke sitting at the bottom of the steps leading to his house, waiting for Haruka: 

“Hey.” A keychain dangled from [Sousuke’s] raised right hand. A familiar, flat dolphin plate swayed. It was the one [Haruka] bought on the school trip to the aquarium. It was supposed to be attached to his house key…… When he looked at it suspiciously, Sousuke slowly stood up and threw the keychain back to Haruka. “Dropped it in the changing room yesterday.” Receiving it, he turned over the dolphin. Haruka’s name and address were written on it. “Did you go out of your way to bring it to me?” “On the same occasion as paying a sympathy visit. I thought Nanase might still be conked out.”

For someone who has a rather unfavorable opinion of Haruka, Sousuke went out of his way to not only restore Haruka’s possession, but to also check up on his recuperation. Haruka easily invites Sousuke over to share the croquettes as thanks for returning Haruka’s keychain, and Sousuke obliges. Sousuke learns that Haruka’s parents work, thus leaving Haruka alone to his own devices. Haruka treats him hospitably, offering him leftovers he cooked:

“I made it yesterday.” Sousuke’s chopsticks stopped, he looked up fixedly at Haruka’s face. “……Nanase made it?” “That’s right.” “This?” “Uh huh.” [...] Sousuke stared intently at the inside of the tupperware. Then, he took his eyes off of it in a huff and sank his teeth into the croquette again. “I hate bamboo shoots and butterburs,” he said, bluntly. Haruka pulled back the tupperware, and after turning his back to Sousuke, he picked up a bamboo shoot between his fingers and put it in his mouth. [...] After Haruka put the tupperware into the refrigerator, not feeling like looking at Sousuke’s face, he gazed at the recipe. Looked like it would be sweet-and-sour pork tonight.

Sousuke takes a long pause to refuse food he seemingly hates, making certain that Haruka indeed cooked them; whereas Haruka in his dismay, refuses to meet Sousuke’s eyes, reassuring himself that his cooking tastes fine. As Sousuke finishes his meal, he admits that the letter from Rin was actually meant for Haruka, as attested by the writing’s one-sidedness and the faint “you” imprinted underneath the “him” in the line, “I wanna swim as fast as him — as fast as Haru!” With Sousuke being the dutiful type, evident in his returning Haruka’s keyholder and the year he spent under the tutelage of Rin despite finding him to be infuriating, Sousuke predicts Rin expected him to show the letter to Haruka; according to Haruka, it is a self-serving form of encouragement, confounding as ever, that Rin. (“Could [Rin] be telling him to swim? For as much as [Rin] was suffering, could he be requesting for Haruka to swim, too? Could [Rin] be telling [Haruka] to keep swimming in front of [him]? As always, he’s a self-indulgent guy, [Haruka] thought.” HS2, 8)

Putting the last piece in his mouth, Sousuke washed it down with barley tea. “Aah, that was delicious. Thanks for the meal. Oh right, Nanase was doing biaxial, huh?” “Only for about a week so far, though.” “Wow, getting that far in a week, that’s very good.” “Don’t really get it, though.” “So, that start, what is it?”

Sousuke means the start Nao – student coach of Haruka’s swim club – drills into the first years. Haruka demonstrates the secret to the technique – the karuta grab, where two people sit on their knees facing each other, with their hands pushing down on the ground and waist slightly lifted; the first to swipe away a bottle cap sitting between them wins. Sousuke does not contain his wonder and excitement at the display as Haruka teaches it to him. In each implementation, Haruka beats Sousuke, whose hands remain unmoved.

“The rest is learning by repetition.” Picking up the cap, [Haruka] brought the ‘karuta grabbing’ to an end. “Oh, oh. Awesome. The coach at Nanase’s place is awesome!” “He’s manager and trainer.” “Sorry!” Keeping the ‘karuta grabbing’ posture, Sousuke lowered his head. Before, he had looked down on Nao. He was probably apologizing for that, but he didn’t need to go as far as kneeling down. “I’ll tell you in exchange–” Sousuke raised his head. “I’m practicing the biaxial now, too, give the ‘2LR stroke’ a try. It’s a practice where you do the stroke twice left and twice right at a time. You can’t do it unless you put your weight on the axis, so it’s perfect to capture the feel of it.” Haruka raised the corner of his mouth a little. “Sure you should be telling me that? Don’t blame me if you lose.” Standing up while he kept his eyes glued to Haruka, Sousuke raised the corner of his mouth, too. “Who’s gonna lose? Come at me with all you’ve got next time.” The right hand he held out is huge, he thought. He didn’t want to have a heated handshake with such a hand, but he had no reason to decline, either. When he grabbed his hand, Haruka’s energy and Sousuke’s energy flew into each other’s body and he heated up, all the way to his chest. They recognized each other as opponents they couldn’t lose to. That was why he didn’t want to shake hands. Seeing off Sousuke until the front entrance, they parted with a ‘see you later’. The setting sun started to sink into the horizon. He remembered that he had to feed Makkou and go outside. From between the dogwood and longstalk hollies, he could see Sousuke running through the port. His long and lanky shadow grew even longer and swayed. (HS2, 8)

As mentioned before, Sousuke holds himself accountable whenever his misjudgments get the best of him. He performs dogeza, an elegant albeit submissive bow of a person who is irrevocably in the wrong and sincerely apologizes for it. Because the action is perceived by Haruka, it is not made explicit whether Sousuke begs for forgiveness for his belittlement of Nao or for his brusque treatment towards Haruka or for both. By initiating a challenge against Sousuke – a feat unprecedented on Haruka’s end – despite their rocky start and then shaking his hand, Haruka readily acknowledges Sousuke and the energy transmitting from him, which ignites Haruka. They cannot deny the effect they have on each other; Sousuke and Haruka mutually view the other as a potentially worthy rival. They even trade swimming tips, something Haruka normally does not do; Haruka usually does not contribute to discussion regarding the mechanics of swimming, as most of his thoughts are left internalized. Gradually, Sousuke’s negative impressions of Haruka shift, as Haruka’s acceptance of Sousuke as his peer burgeons, cultivating genuine and proactive reciprocation.

Time passes. Haruka practices Sousuke’s 2LR stroke, which corrects his swimming form during the biaxial crawl. Club activities temporarily cease as exam period goes underway. Hospital visits, companionships fumbling as they form and reform, Haruka steadily moves forward...to arrive at Hiyori Swimming Stadium for another tournament, this time with Haruka participating.

Sousuke stood in front of the locker room, leaning his back against the wall. Folding his long arms like he’s finding them to be slightly unmanageable, he was slightly smiling. “Yo.” His gaze fastened onto Haruka. [...] “Uh huh.” Reluctantly just giving a reply, he passed by in front of him. “To Rin –” It seemed that [Sousuke] wouldn’t let them get away with passing by. Stopping, he looked up at Sousuke’s face. “I wrote a letter. About the competition.” “So what?” “That Nanase’s not a big deal.” “And then?” “A reply came from Rin.” “What was it?” “He said not to make light of you so much.” “Then, you shouldn’t. We –” Haruka’s gaze became a strong energy and pierced through Sousuke. Sweating only a single drop, Sousuke withstood it. “Today, it’s the 100 free and medley relay for me. For Nanase?” “The 50 and 100 free. Also, the relay and medley relay.” “Don’t completely exhaust yourself again.” “The start?” “I’ve made it my own.” “Alright then.” Haruka cautiously removed his gaze from Sousuke and went inside the locker room. [...] His heartbeat was awfully agitated. He couldn’t restrain the thing squirming deep in his body. When he thought that perhaps Sousuke had stirred him up, there was vexation as well, but he thought that it also resembled the exhilarating feeling after he swims with full force. It seemed like it wouldn’t calm down for a while.

Their concern for each other – Sousuke preemptively warning Haruka not to tucker himself out and Haruka asking Sousuke on the status of the start Haruka passed down to him – further exemplifies the healthy mutuality of their rivalry. Although Sousuke has not seen a worthwhile performance from Haruka aside from last year’s relay, he approaches Haruka on multiple occasions. If neither mattered to the other, their words and actions would not leave such deep impressions. Though annoyed by how heavily affected he is by Sousuke’s competitive edge, Haruka finds it thrilling, heart-racing. Using his teammates’ feelings, Haruka creates resolve for himself, resolve that turns into energy filling his entire body. Spurred by the encouragements from his friends cheering on the sidelines, Haruka soars, landing in the water’s welcoming arms; he wins and shatters the first-years’ tournament record. Afterwards, is the 100m freestyle event:

In the neighboring lane, – was Sousuke. “Yo, that was perfect.” “I wonder how it would’ve been, if you were there.” Haruka diplomatically told him that it would’ve been a close match if Sousuke had swam. “Pff, I’ll prove it to you.” He was saying that in the race they were going to swim now, he would prove to [Haruka] that his real ability was greater than his. “I won’t lose, though.” H[aruka] has no intention to be fixated on winning or losing. It just meant that if Sousuke wished it, he would swim for real. “That’s good.” [Sousuke] meant to come at him in that spirit. It meant that it wouldn’t be interesting if he didn’t. [...] His reaction time was approximately simultaneous with Sousuke’s. They float in midair like they had synchronized. Raising small splashes, he landed in the water. Dolphin kick from the streamline. Haruka narrowly pulled ahead. However, Sousuke’s true value was from here on out; just when he thought that he forcefully came gaining on him, he easily jumped in front of Haruka. – He felt him. He felt Sousuke to the extent that his skin tingled with electricity. And he understood from the undulations being transmitted that Sousuke was feeling Haruka, too. Sousuke made the turn ahead of him. For a moment, their eyes met. – Come. Sousuke provoked Haruka. He didn’t even need to be told. He released all of his energy at once. He was being heated up. His hands, his feet, his body were burning red. All the water that touched him instantly evaporates.

Because Sousuke and Rin are so alike they are almost treated as alter egos and Haruka’s analytical mind observes through comparisons based on past experiences, Haruka briefly superimposes Rin’s image onto Sousuke. To overtake one, Haruka overtakes the other; overtaking one means he overtakes the counterpart. Since Haruka swims ahead of Rin, he cannot lose to Sousuke.

Furthermore, Sousuke gleefully congratulates on Haruka’s achievement, while Haruka explicitly expresses a yearning to swim against Sousuke, to truly engage in the challenge. Haruka wants to prove himself to Sousuke, and the sentiment is shared:

Touching the goal with his hand, Haruka lifted his face. In the neighboring lane, Sousuke lifted his face as well and breathed in deeply. Sousuke held out his hand over the rope. When he grasped it, while thinking that as always, it’s a huge hand, he felt Sousuke’s lingering energy flowing into him. Again, Sousuke was supposed to be feeling the same thing, too. 

When the time came to enter the course soon, Sousuke called out to Haruka. “Rin’s feelings, I finally understood them.” “What?” “The pressure of being gained on by Nanase.” “That is?” “While swimming, my skin tingled. That was the first time.” “So?” “– But, I’ve already experienced it. Next time, I won’t let you overtake me!” “Only if you can swim ahead of me.” After lightly saying it, Haruka raised the corner of his mouth. Responding to that, Sousuke also smiled fearlessly. After staring into each other’s eyes for a few seconds, prompted by the whistle, they split up and went towards each of their courses. 

While waiting for Asahi on the starting block, Haruka had his eyes turned towards Sousuke, who was in the same heat. The Sousuke he saw through his goggles was lankier than usual. – Sorry. I’ll be making the start first. (HS2, 12)

Unlike his anime counterpart for most of its run, Sousuke in HS2 readily acknowledges Haruka as a swimmer and seeks him out as an opponent, but he neither obsesses over Haruka’s talent nor renders Haruka unattainable. Because their rivalry is not rooted in idealization, it stimulates improvement and frankness beneficial for both individuals. Sousuke makes a declaration of war, and Haruka wholeheartedly meets him halfway. Technically speaking, it is Haruka who reopens the rivalry after the air is clear of misunderstandings, an auspicious moment for him seeing as Haruka has frequently viewed rivalries as wasteful, vexing and thus undesirable.

It wasn't a name that he'd known before, but now that he knew it, it didn't make much difference. Haruka just wanted to remember him: the opponent who had annoyed him so. (HS, 1)

At the idea that there was someone in front of him who could feel the water more than he did, his body had grown hot. The heat had flowed all through him. He hadn't even felt like trying to hold back.

Even after he had climbed up onto the poolside, he continued to smolder, unable to burn off all of his energy. […] And when he thought that someone like Rin had thrown his emotions into disarray like that, he was disgusted with himself. Deeply regretting that he'd let himself be provoked and gotten so thoroughly carried away, Haruka left the pool. (HS, 2)

It was just that there might be someone who could swim faster than Haruka, and that might mean that he could feel the water more than Haruka could, and it was a fact that this left a small knot of worry in Haruka's heart. (HS, 2)

Haruka wasn't going to deny that there was someone who could swim faster than him. But he wasn't going to acknowledge it so easily, either. It wasn't that he wanted to win, or that he hated losing; it was just that he couldn't simply accept that there was someone who could feel the water more than he could. (HS, 3) 

“Yup, I go to Bandou SC and Haru goes to Iwatobi SC, though. Well, it’s like that. What they call rivals.” When [Haruka] thought of Asahi considering them as such, his mood fell another level. (HS2, 2)

Sousuke didn’t avert his gaze from Haruka. The same as Sakuyuki earlier. Every last one of them looked at him with challenging eyes. He can’t stand to take on every single one of them. (HS2, 4)

“I think he’s being impatient. The first years are all experienced, he might be worried that his spot as varsity swimmer will be taken. Like when he was playing soccer……” Ridiculous, [Haruka] thought. He’s not swimming because he wanted to be a varsity swimmer. If [Shouta] wanted that, [Haruka] would let him have it. (HS2, 6)

Making the turn, he passed by Shouta. That made him remember, he was swimming with Shouta. It’s not that he forgot. It’s just that he didn’t feel him. It was only the two of them in the pool, but he couldn’t feel Shouta. What could Shouta be feeling, thinking in the water? Or could it be that he wasn’t feeling anything? If Shouta were to harbor some kind of emotions towards the water, even if they were feeble, they should be conveyed to Haruka. But he didn’t feel anything. Nothing was being conveyed to him. It was a sensation as if he were swimming with a mechanical doll. (HS2, 6)

Backtrack to Haruka’s first experiences with having Rin challenge him – a novelty for Haruka which rankled him deeply – and others subsequently challenging Haruka, and compare those reactions to the ones he has when facing Sousuke. One will see that – according to Ohji’s writing – Haruka’s rivalry with Sousuke is special in its own way, as Sousuke instills a keen thrill within Haruka that he is not only receptive towards, but also attempts to match in response.

I find the anime’s adaptation of Sousuke’s and Haruka’s rivalry paltry, undermining the significance of their development and competition as merely background noise; the show even failed to write a satisfactory conclusion for their conflict. The next part of the series – an analysis on the anime scenes – will go more in-depth on the differences between Ohji’s interpretations versus Kyoani’s interpretations of these characters.