Free! (KyoAni Swimbros!)

Wasn't there some sort of superstition that learning to swim is pretty much asking for your ship to get sunk?

Yeah to me it screams, "Let's see you hope to see Gou in a swimsuit NOW! Hahaha!"

As far as I understand it was the thinking was that if you went overboard it was most likely in a situation (storm, battle etc) where the odds of being picked up were slim to non-existent and being able to swim would just prolong the inevitable and if you were going to die, better to do so quickly as possible.

Hey, she can still sunbathe in one. And Ama-chan-sensei isn't going to be able to keep her secret forever.

edited 21st Aug '14 11:45:16 PM by KnightofLsama

Episode 20:

• Makoto's a good coach. Sousuke too, but more Makoto. This episode's his playground.
• A new character appears! And he has a connection with Makoto and Haru. And his name's Kiss Me Kisumi.
• Haru was clearly...not thrilled seeing an old friend again.
• ...Broken shoulder? Whazzat about?

Episode 21

• Nitori makes the cut, to the surprise of virtually no one.

• So was Sousuke half-assing it the entire time? This is the first time I recall seeing him with shoulder problems.

• What the hell does Momo eat to be that hyper? I get exhausted just from watching him.

• Speaking of Mikoshibas, the Good Captain's reappearance was a delightful treat.

• And speaking of surprise reappearances and delightful treats, witness the return of Makoto's sexy back!

• Poor Haru, I knew the pressure and the uncertainty over his future would get to him but I had no idea it would be that intense.

Haru only cares what people think when it furthers the plot.

-Haru needs to get his head out of his butt and accept the scholarship. It doesn't mean he has to become a professional swimmer, he doesn't need to do it all his life, it doesn't mean he's "selling out" his "freedom" and he gets a free education. If his parents weren't on their home planet, under the sea, or both, they would tell him to take it.

- I guess I kind of get it? Haru be like "Damn, people have expectations of me now! I can't handle that!" He's still really stupid though.

- Haru, you tremendous turd. You really don't want to go anywhere in life do you?

- It's not what you swim for but that doesn't mean you have to screw yourself over so it never, ever happens! It's not what you swim for, it's an added benefit, you stupid hippie!

- So what the heckie deckie is Haru's story that he doesn't care about his future at all? Is he dying, is he going back to his home planet in a year, what? Please to explain.

That's what bugged me. He seems to have been given the plot of someone who "is naturally good at X, but doesn't like it that much"....the problem ia, as far as we know, Haru loves swimming, you know, with the whole wearing his swimsuit under his cloths, stripping and jumping in the pool at the drop of a hat, etc, etc. The fact that he seems to be balking at people wanting him to do something he's good at and loves doing is....odd. .

The fact that he doesn't seem to care what anyone thinks of him....till this episode for some reason doesn't help either. Same with Sousuke's shoulder. It kinda feels like it came up bc....it was plot relevant now. Would have been nice to have some foreshadowing there.

Well, nobody watches this for the plot anyway, so I suppose it doesn't matter.

edited 27th Aug '14 3:51:01 PM by kiukiuclk

......

.... hey um.... it is a HOLIDAY in Japan this week.... orrrr.....

Never mind I found the video.

…okay after that performance, I doubt you'd want to compete again in ANY kind of swimming relay, Haru!

So the reason he always wants to swim free is because he doesn't have the confidence to swim any other way and can't work under the pressure of others' expectations?? I highly doubt it. I know he's better than this. You mean to tell me Haru hasn't gone through ANY kind of anxiety like this before?? The only way I can justify is actions is if that WAS his first time experiencing cracking under pressure, but even then, why would you want to almost sabatoge something you love to do??

And at what time did Sosuke's shoulder hurt? It seemed to just pop up last episode!

edited 27th Aug '14 8:53:58 PM by kyun

This season needed MOAR DRAMA so the production staff smacked Sousuke's shoulder with a cricket bat just before the episode.

Thanks man. I needed that image in my head!

Honestly, I can understand how Haru feels.

I mean sure, he may love swimming, but he's always been "free" to do it his way, he doesn't have to do anything others tell him to to raise his value to them, he has friends that love him and don't pressure him into anything, he's totally in a comfort zone with everything he wants.

The scouts (and the future in general) however become threatening to this status quo, both because it is an unknown and because it's likely to separate him from these ideal times. If you don't have ambitions(because he doesn't see any need for improvement) change is all downhill from there.

I don't think Haru should take swimming as a job(or to satisfy anyone else, at least in the long-term) either, to be honest. It's a hobby, and when people start telling you to do your hobby in a specific way over and over and over(especially because of how you just can't keep yourself from doing it your own way), it gets gradually less and less interesting until you want to avoid them altogether, also decreasing how much you would enjoy your hobby anyway. I know there's all those "I love my job" people out there, but that tends to involve PR and unless whatever they were going to do has little restriction on what they actually wanted to do(i.e. gamers becoming game testers specifically because they find it fucking awesome to try out all these things to see if there would be a bug as a result) or unless they simply highly appreciate how they can specifically contribute to the collective effort toward what they want in the end(in the case of Haru, this would be things like the relay with his friends, not, say, how well he represents his country/school/hometown/whatever or something) it could end up turning a former pleasure into tedious and guilt-tripping pain, or, at least, desensitizing him to what used to be exhilarating.

It's like how writers tend to hate Executive Meddling, how indie musicians may turn into mainstream pandering money grubbers, and how artists(the drawing kind) agonize over when the rules they can't forget about bind their minds from considering better (or at least newer) possibilities.

edited 28th Aug '14 12:25:08 PM by YuukiAsuna

Episode 21:

• Expectations are irritatingly restricting. Poor Haru...
• Momo's so moved to be on the best team! ...Sousuke's gonna mess this up if he doesn't tell the team about his shoulder problems...

So I see that Sousuke's shoulder didn't heal enough..

And yeah, Haru's case seems to be one of those, "What is success to one person is torment to another." This is because unfortunately to some/many, things like money, glory, knowledge, and other things like that are not the be-and-all definition of success.

Fortunately, if some of the Slice of Life moments and the ending animation are to be considered, then it seems he does have another potentially good career path ahead of him.

edit: Also, I remember a certain line from a certain someone from all the way back to the first scene of the first episode of the first season.

edited 30th Aug '14 9:04:01 PM by Ikiniks

Funi pointed out the foreshadowing for those who didn't catch it at first. And it's quite possible he's been hiding the building pain much like a pet or wild animal (he still should have told Rin right away, but something to consider).

edited 2nd Sep '14 11:54:02 AM by PikaHikariKT

Episode 22:

• Hmph, Sousuke really should've had his shoulder checked out. Yay, he relayed with everyone else, and put on a good show, but... When you notice warning signs, do something about it before it becomes a problem!

WARNING: Spoilers for Episode 23

• There's no publicity like success! If this doesn't bring in new blood, Nagisa and Rei will just have to join the calligraphy club.

• Nagisa is...taking his studies seriously(?)! Yay for character development!

• Haru's life continues going into free-fall.

• I think Momo nearly title-dropped the name of this season.

• Makoto wasn't the only one with misty eyes when he and Haru had that fight, that was just hard to watch.

• Makoto is going to a university in Tokyo after high school. That explosion you hear in the background? That's not just fireworks, it's Haru's life as he has known it going up in flames.

• With all this stress, Haru could use a vacation. Good thing Rin has him covered.

Is the next episode the last one? If so, they are going to have a lot to cram in to make it all work.

I'm kinda sick of this Haru thing it's so dumb it feels like a cheap attempt to create drama.

I have no clue how they wrap this up in 1 episode.

How can you be so unsympathetic? Nobody understand's Haru's feelings for Water-chan! You're just like the rest of them!

- The love triangles in this show are intense...

- "Coming home for obon?" "Free spirits?" I CAN'T TELL IF HARU'S PARENTS ARE IMPLIED TO BE DEAD OR NOT.

- Pyunsuke is an adorable name...

- Drinking game, every time somebody says "swim" take a sip of water because anything stronger will kill you within three minutes.

- Haru's dream is to be a merman, but that dream can only happen when he goes to bed in his head movies. #manlytears

- AW SWEET WE ARE HEADED TO AUSTRALIA!!!

Episode 23:

• The Swim Club brought home fame and prestige. If no one joins next year...!
• Funny name for your beetle, Momo.
• Heartfelt feelings try to reach Haru. It failed.
• Haru's all broken and tired, and frustrated. Know what ya need, Haru? A trip Down Under! ...Huh, so Rin received two tickets instead of one? Why the extra ticket?

I hope some of the wildlife shows up

Episode 12!

- "Where are you taking me?" Well, you're already in Australia, kind of funny to be asking that now.

- "Hop inside the car, son." CREEPY AS HELL. "What if Rin was molested in Australia and that's the real reason he came back such a brat"-level creepy. No, I'm sure he's actually a good person.

- Baby Rin's English is bad, but understandable.

- Rin's homestay parents really are nice. And Winnie!

- Also it seems there are no Japanese subtitles for all the English?

- His boyfriend came with him, silly. Well, one of his three boyfriends.

- Hotter than hell, but is it hotter than wherever you are in Australia?

- It's probably Rin's fault.

- Hotel desk lady is a bit rude. But Rin was probably intimidating her with his shark teeth, so.

- So Rin decided to do professional swimming, and Haru is thinking about it. I guess the ED was just for artistic purposes and that's probably not really their future careers.

Judging by the preview they look to be somewhere near Sydney. And since its summer in Japan it would be in the middle of the Australian winter which does get rather cool (exactly how cold depends on how far inland you are).

I didn't see the point of all the child Rin flashbacks.

I meant comparing summers in Wherever, Australia to summers in Iwatobi, Japan but I wasn't really clear about that.

I thought they were kind of important.

edited 17th Sep '14 3:54:22 PM by Ruise