History Headscratchers / Free

* The real question we all want answered: why don't they have nipples?

** You answered your own question. Sousuke insisted on it and Rin didn't allow him until the rest of the team chimed in. Viewers would have called him an asshole if he didn't let Sousuke join and you might have realized by now that Free is more about emotions than bothering by the book, for better or worse. My problem is that Sousuke didn't tell Rin that this was going to be a problem until the very last minute, with the reason being "because I knew you'd cry". That's nice and all, but didn't he realize he would possibly be causing even more problems for his friend when even lifting his arm was too difficult?

* Ok, Rin, I know you wanted to fulfill Sosukes wish and all and Sosuke insisted on it... but WHY THE HECK [[spoiler: would you allow a severly injured swimmer on your team in a very important race, not only risking your teams' chances but above all the swimmers health?]] You are supposed to be responsible and all that and while I get why you allowed it from an emotional standpoint I would have really apprechiated you to use your brain too. ... Also, did Rin ever face any consequences? As I said, he's the captain, he's on some level very responsible for them, so... was he ever held accountable for that stunt by his school or did they just say "Well, at least he didn't spontaneously swap teams, so we'll let it slide."

* Regarding Haru's home situation, is leaving a teenager to practically fend for themselves illegal in Japan? Haru mentions his parents only once and no one else says anything about their absence.

** Well, there is one scene where she is going to correct them and gives up because it got tiring (''"It’s Kou--ah, nevermind…"''). From that moment on she just stopped asking. I think the whole "Call me Kou!" thing was more intended as RuleOfFunny than it came off as; I believe Gou/Kou didn't actually hate being called Gou, she just didn’t find it to be girly enough (seeing as Nagisa and Makoto called her Gou and Haruka called her Kou, I’m guessing she used to alternate between both of the names or something when she was younger, so the former two boys probably didn’t think it mattered all that much to her).

** Well, there is one scene where she is going to correct them and gives up because it got tiring (''"It’s Kou--ah, nevermind…"''). From that moment on she just stopped asking. I think the whole "Call me Kou!" thing was more intended as RuleOfFunny than it came off as; I believe Gou/Kou didn't actually hate being called Gou, she just didn’t found it to be girly enough (seeing as Nagisa and Makoto called her Gou and Haruka called her Kou, I’m guessing she used to alternate between both of them or something when she was younger, so the former two probably didn’t think it mattered all that much to her).

** Well, there is one time where she is going to correct them and gives up because it got tiring (''"It’s Kou--ah, nevermind…"''). From that moment on she just stopped asking. I think the whole "Call me Kou!" thing was more intended as RuleOfFunny than it came off as; I believe Gou/Kou didn't actually hate being called Gou, she just didn’t found it to be girly enough (seeing as Nagisa and Makoto called her Gou and Haruka called her Kou, I’m guessing she used to alternate between both of them or something when she was younger, so the former two probably didn’t think it mattered all that much to her).

** Well, there is one time where she is going to correct them and gives up because it got tiring (''"It’s Kou--ah, nevermind…"''). From that moment on she just stopped asking. I think the whole "Call me Kou!" thing was more intended as RuleOfFunny than it came off as; I believe Gou/Kou didn't actually hate being called Gou, she just didn’t found it to be girly enough (seeing as Nagisa and Makoto called her Gou and Haruka called her Kou, I’m guess she used to alternate between both of them or something when she was younger, so the former two probably didn’t think it mattered all that much to her).

* Maybe this is just ValuesDissonance, but the treatment given to the whole Kou/Gou thing just sits poorly with me. What's the deal with that? Is it a matter of respecting the name her parents gave her? As someone who's called by my birth name rather than my preferred name all the time, it's pretty hideous. But it just drops out of the story entirely without any explanation - she asks them to refer to her as Kou, they don't, and it vanishes. What the hell?

*** Demanding others to take responsibility is what I was referring to in that first part about expecting others to take responsibility. But honestly, if Rei has no problem ''starting a physical confrontation'' with Rin (with no apologies or backing down), how is Rei's choice at all about him being deferential to a senior? He certainly didn't care about smoothing things over then. I think the idea that the discontent perceived to be Japanese-Western ValuesDissonance is more from not looking at the entire picture, as well as making broad strokes about Japanese culture.

*** Rei does call out the group for that, but that was when he still thought Rin was some sort of bad guy trying to mess with their heads by joining the relay. The second confrontation between Rin and Rei, where Rei got a better understanding of Rin, most likely had a part in Rei's decision. It wasn't just to placate Haru, and if it was enormous pressure he was feeling, it would be from himself because no one else pushed him to do anything. And Rin wasn't screaming to make them accept them into the relay, so I don't think that's an apt comparison either. He was even angry at first that Haru went to seek him out. There have been interviews/notes that say that even if Rei wanted to swim with them, he still felt like a part of them during that relay and didn't regret anything. If it becomes a plot point in the second season, that would be pretty redundant because ever since Rei joined the club, the others have always tried to make him feel included. Why wouldn't he want to give back to them for that? Sure, people don't have to like the decision, but it's still important to recognize how it was being deliberately framed as opposed to personal interpretation.

*** Demanding others to take responsibility is what I was referring to. But honestly, if Rei has no problem ''starting a physical confrontation'' with Rin (with no apologies or backing down), how is Rei's choice at all about him being deferential to a senior? He certainly didn't care about smoothing things over then. I think the idea that the discontent perceived to be Japanese-Western ValuesDissonance is more from not looking at the entire picture.

*** Responsibility also is important in Japan ("I expect you to take...") so I don't think that's it either. Those consequences that were inflicted on himself were the story punishing Rin. Should he have faced consequences that he didn't inflict on himself, like some sort of hamfisted LaserGuidedKarma that wouldn't do any better at showing him that he was on the wrong path?. His friends just don't want to see him suffer any more, they know his suffering is what's making him a {{Jerkass}} and if they ease his suffering it'll all get better. If it was about harmony, that could have been achieved by just forgetting about Rin eventually. By episode 12, Rin would more than likely have disappeared again if the group didn't chase him down. It sounds it more comes down to if you're a more compassionate person (to a fault or not, you decide), which isn't exclusive to any culture.

*** Perhaps I worded that badly -- what I should have said was that demanding that ''other people'' to take responsibility for their actions, especially if they are senior to you, is seen as a more extreme course of action -- if people can simply "smooth things over," that seems to be the most agreeable path, since the other way leads to confrontation of some sort.

*** True enough -- I'm just suggesting a reason for the sense of discontent (and remember, there's no guarantee that the team will get through the first round next year). As to it being of Rei's "own free will..." I suspect that anyone in his position would feel ''enormous'' pressure to be the one who "fixes" things. Would the rest of the team really have forgotten Rin and moved on if Rei hadn't made the sacrifice? Plus, it's a little jarring given that a couple of episodes ago, Rei who calls the rest of the team out on being so focused on the past that they forget the present, and yet he validates this way of thinking by prioritising the old friendship with Rin over the present friendship with Rei. For my part, I'm fond of both Rin and Rei...but I still found the finale was a case of the screaming child getting the cake over the well-behaved one. Rin's reaction at the very end was really heartwarming, but while he thanks Haru and apologises to his own team, we don't actually see him thanking ''Rei''. I think if we did, the displeasure would be less vocal.

*** Responsibility also is important in Japan ("I expect you to take...") so I don't think that's it either. Those consequences that were inflicted on himself were the story punishing Rin. Should he have faced consequences that he didn't inflict on himself, like some sort of hamfisted LaserGuidedKarma that wouldn't do any better at showing him that he was on the wrong path?. His friends just don't want to see him suffer any more, they know his suffering is what's making him a {{Jerkass}} and if they ease his suffering it'll all get better. If it was about harmony, that could have been achieved by just forgetting about Rin eventually. By episode 12, Rin would more than likely have disappeared again if the group didn't chase him down. It sounds it more comes down to if you're a more compassionate person (to a fault or not, you decide), which isn't exclusive to any culture.

*** Responsibility also is important in Japan ("I expect you to take...") so I don't think that's it either. Those consequences that were inflicted on himself were the story punishing Rin, his friends just don't want to see him suffer any more, they know his suffering is what's making him a {{Jerkass}} and if they ease his suffering it'll all get better... If it was about harmony, that could have been achieved by just forgetting about Rin eventually. it sounds it more comes down to if you're a more compassionate person (to a fault or not, you decide), which isn't exclusive to any culture.

** As to the ValuesDissonance...as far as I understand it (more knowledgeable tropers, please feel free to correct me), but in Japan, the major emphasis in social situations is on "keeping the peace" not "taking responsibility for your actions." I believe there are instances of people who were undeniably in the right being forced to apologise to an attacker just to maintain harmonious relations (especially if the screw-up is senior to / older than them). [[spoiler:Rin]] screwed up...but he [[EasilyForgiven never had to face]] any consequences that he didn't inflict on himself, because other people made major allowances and sacrifices for him. Most Western audiences would probably have expected ''some'' sort of comeuppance.

** As to the ValuesDissonance...as far as I understand it (more knowledgeable tropers, please feel free to correct me), but in Japan, the major emphasis in social situations is on "keeping the peace" not "taking responsibility for your actions." I believe there are instances of people who were undeniably in the right being forced to apologise to an attacker just to maintain harmonious relations (especially if the screw-up is senior to / older than them). [[spoiler:Rin]] screwed up...but he [[EasilyForgiven never had to face]] any consequences that he didn't inflict on himself, because other people made major allowances and sacrificies for him. Most Western audiences would probably have expected ''some'' sort of comeuppance.

* I don't know how much of a can of worms the ending still is, but but after looking at the YMMV page, [[spoiler:why are the different views on the last episode considered ValuesDissonance between Japan and Westerners? Aren't the AFriendInNeed / GreaterNeedThanMine tropes culturally universal? And caring more about the team than one's own personal glory is a common aesop in sports stories in general.]]

** RuleOfFunny?

* Is there a reason why so many of the boys names are feminine?

** Because the whole point was that Haruka doesn't swim for competition, he swims because he likes to, so he swims "free". And joining the medley relay when they were kids was the only exception to that because, in the novels, [[spoiler:Makoto asks Haruka to join the race since he would be afraid to swim otherwise (long story). Haruka never liked the idea of competitive swimming, but only did it for his best friend]]. So besides the one competitive swimming race he participated in when he was younger, he only swims freestyle simply because he feels free to swim whenever and however he feels like.

** I think you mean Haruka. And I would assume that this will be revealed in later episodes, but my guess is that he preferred to swim alone, without a team ("free", as it were).

* Why doe Rin keep saying that he only swims freestyle whenever the issue of the relay comes up? The relay is swum in freestyle in the first place, and even if they're talking about the Medley Relay, there's a freestyle leg. So him being a freestyle specialist is no barrier to him participating in the relay.

** He probably forfeited that dream when Haruka beat him, or else, didn't want to join unless Haru still beat him. It's shown in episode 2 that Rin is sort of bitterly depressed over losing even when he beat Haruka.

* Why didn't Rin join the Samezuka team immediately when he transferred there? Considering that he wants to be an Olympic swimmer (unless that's changed, too), you would think that he would take as much practice and training as he could get.