Why I decided MakoHaru and not RinHaru
After watching ¾ of this series I have come to the conclusion that
MakoHaru is still my preferred ship.
THE REASON BEING THUS
I know Haru really wanted to swim with Rin again. I know he felt bad for what happened the last time they raced. I know he got dejected, moody and absolutely batshit depressed when he lost to Rin. And I know Rin is the only guy who has so far motivated Haruka to actually give a shit about his times and improvement.
That having been said, please let me direct you to the beginning song (sung by the seiyuu of Makoto wtf even), more specifically these few scenes –
Honestly I don’t know how I DIDN’T pick up on this any earlier (FAIL LIT STUDENT! FAIL!!!). But this basically sums up the entire relationship. Rin forces Haru into the water both literally and metaphorically (pls don’t say I’m hating on Rin because I’m NOT; I love Rin, I think Rin is such a beautiful little misguided puppy and I just wanna hug him), where he’s alone. Where he’s engulfed in darkness and he can’t see the way out.
I’m not going to argue that Rin ultimately kickstarts the stimulation Haru needed to start swimming competitively again, but it was also him who made Haru quit swimming competitively in the first place.
And then, you see a hand reaching for Haru’s. Does anyone even need to guess who that hand belongs to? Well, actually even then it’s not confirmed but my money, right, is on the person who is consistently the first to ever extend his hand to help Haru out of the pool –
[Image from here]
While I can’t disagree that there’s a lot of erm, UST (might as well be blunt) between Haru and Rin, I just think MakoHaru is the healthier relationship. Makoto knows exactly what to do, when to leave Haruka alone even when he’s worried sick about him (he didn’t even ask Haru to come out and watch his 100m backstroke during the tournament, which I’m pretty sure he would’ve wanted), and when to get him to talk.
[from this amazing tumblr, pls follow]
Let’s not forget Haru finally opens himself up to Makoto, after Mako initiates the conversation by “I just wanted to swim with all of you”. Haru needed that. And he needed his best friend, the guy who has seen him through everything and almost all his life, to properly express what he wants and clear his own head of all doubts.
So Makoto or Rin? I’m definitely siding by Makoto on this one.
And to clarify, I’m not going to say they’re canon (let’s face it no ship is canon except Seijuurou liking Gou so they’re half-canon I suppose), but whatever their relationship is – platonic or romantic or otherwise – it’s absolutely incredible.
