Impression
There is definitely a storm brewing overhead as the story progresses to the point that now both Rin and Haruka have been officially scouted. And is it just me, or do I smell something fishy about Sousuke? Though I could be very wrong, I have this weird sneaking suspicion that Sousuke has not in fact, been scouted yet. That idea crept into my head after seeing how he had reacted when Rin told him that one of the universities which he had been scouted by was the same one that Sousuke had. I am also growing more and more concerned about how the guy is going to lash out because frankly speaking, I am under the impression that he is a ticking time bomb, just waiting to explode. His frustration we have been given a glimpse of today when Rin got angry at him tells me that there is a whole lot more bottled up within them just waiting to burst. That dark look in his eyes when Gou caught sight of him in the area tells me that there will probably be a confrontation next week- and all I hope is that nobody gets seriously hurt (both physically and emotionally). I wouldn’t put it past me if Gou calls her brother, and I’m sure if something does happen, Rin will be there in a flash.
While watching this episode, it suddenly occurred to me was how Sousuke may also extremely upset at the fact that he wasn’t there to be Rin’s support when he crashed to the lowest point. I get the feeling that might be one of the reasons why he can’t stand to acknowledge the others despite the fact Rin is eternally grateful for what they have done.
Another thing that was pointed out today is that Haru and Sousuke are almost like two sides of the same coin. We have Haru who just wants to swim freely, while Sousuke wants to swim but competitively. Both share the passion for swimming, but have very different ideas of what they want to do as a career. This is probably the most stark contrast we could get between the two characters. But what I appreciated the most today was what Rei had said to Haru (gosh this guy always has the best quotes):
“I really love the way you swim, Haruka-senpai. It has nothing to do with theory or calculations. It just makes me feel something very powerful. It made me want to be able to swim that way, too. Freely…That’s why I think it’s fine for you to remain ‘free’. Being free can mean many different things. But I think its truest meaning is having a free heart that can’t be bound by anything. So no matter what choice you make, as long as you remain who you are, you will forever be free!” – Rei
And you can tell that this really struck Haru, in a positive way. Everyone has been pushing him and encouraging him to take a hold of the opportunity of swimming professional, but to Haru- he doesn’t consider that to be free. Just as Rei had said: “…its truest meaning is having a free heart that can’t be bound by anything.” What some may not understand is that swimming competitively can cause the swimmer to be bounded because if they don’t get enough wins, they won’t be able to continue their career. I don’t think Haru wants to be burdened but that stake. Right now, considering how devoted he is to the team (he even tweaked their training regimen so that he could help the team become stronger) I could see Haru potentially being a swimming instructor as oppose to a professional athlete. Sure he is a quiet guy, but when he really wants to get involved, he speaks up.
It was sad without a doubt to see our precious team lose, but hey at least they will be able to have a rematch in the regional now that their time allowed them to pass the preliminaries. I am sure it was painful for all us to see Makoto mess up his reaction time. Ugh my poor heart. It wasn’t a strong race for any of them as Nagisa’s form was off as well and Rei was up against Sousuke and then Haru had to race to close the gap that had grown between the two teams. But it wasn’t just a sad day for them, but also Nitori. Now as some of you may already know, I am NOT fond of Nitori at all, he drove me nuts last season (but I will say this much: he has become a bit more bearable) yet I felt so sad for him for not be able to participate in the relay. He has worked so hard, but still his time wasn’t good enough. During this moment was probably the ONLY part of the entire episode where Sousuke wasn’t being a douche, by telling Nitori not to give up.
The last thing I wanted to mention was that it sure feels like Makoto is increasingly growing frustrated with the fact Haru isn’t embracing the opportunity of being scouted. The one thing that Free! has always excelled in since the first season is body-language. The one that stood out to me the most was when Makoto had that ‘tch’ expression with his lips. Makoto can be hard to read at times, but I do wonder how badly, or if at all, he aspires to be a professional swimmer. Seeing how he responded when he said that he will probably apply to a local university tells me that it isn’t what he truly wants. By the look of it, we may be lucky enough to find out what is going through his mind next week, and how he truly feelings about the present circumstances as well as the condition of his relationship with Haru.
