Impression
I am not entirely sure how to describe it, but there was definitely a major shift in Haruka’s and Makoto’s relationship. Today Makoto had requested Haru to have a serious race against him during the 200m freestyle preliminaries (that is why he entered). Yet despite having made such request, Makoto himself isn’t entirely sure why he wanted that. He claims his reasoning is because he wanted to have a chance to race Haruka seriously, before having to retire the club after the tournament ends. However later with Nagisa he admits that he might also have been a bit jealous of Rin being able to swim so up to par with Haru’s abilities. I have no doubt in my mind that somewhere deep in Makoto’s heart, he envies Rin’s abilities and the special bond he has with Haru. Back when they were kids, when they only had each other, Makoto was the one to suggest they join a swim club together. Initially, Haru refused, but agreed when Makoto said he wouldn’t do it without him. So in a sense, Makoto probably feels like Haru is almost or already out of reach as conveyed when he was reaching out to catch up in the race, (thus causes the rift in their relationship).
Yet despite his loss, Makoto still enjoyed having the chance to have a serious race with Haru, but poor Haru almost had a heartbreak when he thought Makoto was crying because of the loss (even with that sunny smile, I’m sure Makoto was crying on the inside). So where their relationship is at now, I am not entirely sure because the rift is definitely there- I just wonder whether or not the race made the rift bigger… We will find out next week.
With the previous drama that occurred with Rin when they were kids, I feel that Haru becomes very guarded and wary when his friends ask him to race him- especially for Makoto’s case: as he had never asked him race him seriously before. So I believe that while Makoto might feel that Haru is falling out of reach, Haru is more concerned with the potential rifts that could be formed in the aftermath.
I believe that Makoto has it in him to swim up to par Haruka’s and Rin’s abilities- he just needs to be trained properly. He made a huge mistake (one that Rin had immediately noticed at the beginning of the race) by not pacing himself properly in the beginning- which came back to bite him during the last lap, causing him to lose significant speed as well as his position.
It is really too bad that Rei’s race was the only one that was flashed-forward so that we couldn’t actually see him actively WIN with his own power. It is quite hilarious actually because I’m sure every. single. one. of us all agreed with Nagisa, and was so sure that Rei had totally jinxed himself, and then BOOM, he wins his heat (Rin was in a different heat) and makes it past the preliminaries! I do feel bad when I doubt Rei’s chances of winning, but regardless I am so proud of him! Way to go Rei! I’m going to flip out if we don’t get to see him race individually as the butterfly. SHOW US REI’ SPECTACULAR BUTTERFLY!!!!
As for everyone else, Iwasobi Swim Club have won their individuals, but poor Nitori didn’t make it past the preliminaries. Oh joy, Sousuke isn’t cutting the guy any slack (his eyes screamed: NITORI IS WEAK) – I almost dread what’s to come for the relay… Afterall, even Rin knows that Sousuke is not much of a team player…
It was SO much fun to see the Mikoshiba brothers interact (but most importantly: seeing Seijuurou again!). Seeing them realize that they both have a crush on Gou and are competing against each other for her heart is just too good to pass.
