Why I think Nanase Haruka is autistic
Quick word before the analysis:
I’ve always related a lot to this character from Free! Iwatobi Swim Club and recently along with the realisation that I might be autistic, I’ve noticed that some characters with which I relate a lot are actually easily readable as autistic. I don’t know if they were written with that intent (it would be interesting to ask the creators) but I just wanted to share my point of view here. Also english isn’t my language so sorry if it’s badly written :)
Starting with the obvious one, it is a secret for no one that Haru is obsessed with water and more specifically, swimming. I think his passion clearly goes beyond what would be a simple hobby.
Take it for what it’s worth but I can really relate to how much he wants to be in water. He doesn’t care about his time, about competition, about prizes, he just wants to swim.
-> Haru constantly think about swimming (nothing else matter much in comparison).
-> His conception of water itself is different than most people’s (he thinks of the water as something alive, something you have to adapt to)
-> Makoto sums it up pretty well. Haru can’t live without being in water.
2. Doesn’t get the implicit:
This one is something I only recently noticed. Haru often seems to not understand implicit meanings in his conversations with others. Here are two examples:
Ep1 S1: Makoto asking him “Why are you frying mackerel now” (implying that they’re too late to be frying anything now) and Haru answers by “I haven’t had breakfast yet”. He seems to miss the implied point about them being late. Also he may be unable to rush because frying mackerel is part of his routine (but I’ll get to that later)
Ep2 S1: Makoto says something like “this is fun, it feels like returning to elementary school” to which Haru answers… “but kids wouldn’t have to repaire a pool.” Again, he missed the implied feeling of nostalgia that makoto wanted to share with him and answers pragmatically to the words that were used instead.
People with Asperger syndrome tend to eat the same food a lot because their senses are so sensitive. Haru’s “safe” (sensation-wise) food is definitely Mackerel.
Also his culinary obsession with mackerel is to the point that his friends joke a lot about it/mention it a lot.
I wouldn’t say that Haru is expressionless because that’s not true but compared to other characters his facial expressions are very subtle. I don’t know if it is that common in autistic people but I read quite a few time that children with Asperger might not have many facial expressions. Also this is something that I have personally experienced (people often asking me if I’m fine, angry, tired because my face isn’t very expressive).
Also his friends joke a lot about the fact that he doesn’t smile in pictures!
Haru is pretty hard to understand for people who aren’t his close friends. He seems quite shy and reserved and even when he tried really hard to be sociable his facial expressions and words don’t match what he’s really trying to convey. For example that scene (Ep3 S1):
He really wants to convince people to get in the swimming club but his facial expression is scary and he says something like ”hey! (in a rude way) I’ll give you this (referring to the keychain mascot) so come join the swimming club.”…. Which is a very clumsy way to ask someone to join in.
7: Trouble understanding his own feelings/meltdown:
While Haru seems to feel very strongly on the inside he seems to have trouble expressing and identifying it. An example that comes to my mind is when he looses against Rin in season 1. While he knows that he’s feeling pain it takes him quite a while to understand exactly why he feels that way.
Also I have yet to rewatch these episodes but when he stops swimming during the competition, it could be interpreted as a meltdown.
Haru seems to have an established routine for most of his days (for example he takes a bath in the morning and fries some mackerel then goes to school with Makoto. People with autism tend to follow the same routine because it’s reassuring.
I’ve already mentioned that he’s probably very sensitive to taste and smell because he tends to eat the same food but I’d like to add a few examples of him having very sensitive senses or in the contrary not feeling as the others (this is also something common amongst people with autism):
-> always buy the same sort of swimsuit (sensitive to touch and pressure)
-> swims in very cold water and doesn’t seem to be affected (his friends tell him to get out the pool because his lips are turning purple)
-> eats hot food in hot weather and doesn’t seem affected either (in comparison the others are sweating and complaining)
Haru is always described as a genius/as someone extremely talented in what he does and the way I think about it is: of course he’s talented because he’s literally always in water. He’s always swimming or thinking about swimming and his way of thinking about all of this is unique. Compared to other characters it might seem like he’s just born talented and not trying to improve but this is far from the reality in my opinion. His gives so much to his specific interest (time, energy, heart, youth) that of course he’s going to improve without even chasing after success.
To me this feels very relatable because people have often praised me on how “naturally talented” I was when clearly I wasn’t. It’s just that I was constantly thinking or doing what was my specific interest and eventually I improved.
Basically these are the main points on why I really think Haru has autism. I don’t know if anyone read this until here but hey if you did thank you very much! If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask ;)
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