the producers of Free! send makoharu think??
You mean⊠the MakoHaru canon facts from the creators of Free!? Hmh lemme think, Free! is not a BL, so the most âcanonâ thing those creators can talk about is their âdeep bondâ and âfriendshipâ. If youâre ok with such definition of âcanonâ, OK here you go!
The most recent translated interview of Yokotani-san (the script writer) is much much supporting Makoharu. I mean⊠even he IS conscious about the level of intimacy those two can get. His exact quote is:
Makoto is Harukaâs childhood friend and partner. The relationship of these two is really interesting. There are scenes once in awhile where itâs just the two of them and theyâre so close that it almost makes you wonder, âWhatâs going on with these twoâŠâŠâ (lol). If I grew too conscious about that, it would become indecent, so it was hard finding a good balance as I was writing the script. (source)
I donât know what he means by âindecentâ. But⊠if a guy and a guy are put into some âonly we knowâ concept too much and they âARE SO CLOSEâ too much, then what kind of âINDECENTâ it can be :)?
In another interview, Utsumi-san (the director) commented about ep 6 âItâs meaningless without youâ. I really consider that one quote is âcanonâ.
Haruka thought about it after heard them, He didnât respond to Makotoâs words in episode 6, but with Nagisa and Reiâs words in episode 8, you can tell that Makotoâs words probably resonated within him in the end, and so he decided to swim in the relayâ (source)
Shippers and haters have long time debating over MakoHaru shippersâ headcanon âthe one who makes Haruka want to swim in the relay the most is Makotoâ (tho I cant fathom why haters would care about our headcanons?). And I think this one sentence from Utsumi-san confirms that such headcanon is canon. The way she said it, âwith Nagisa and Reiâs words in episode 8â meaning with the support of Reigisa, âMakotoâs words probably resonated within him in the end, and so he decided to swim in the relayâ meaning Makotoâs words are the key impact to finally get Haru into the relay. The key impact. Sure!
From that same interview, thereâs another strong canon point about MakoHaru like this:
Of course, Haruka and Rin are the protagonists in âFree!â but, I think the one who was always supporting Haruka from the shadows was Makoto. I think itâs because Makoto was there that Haruka was able to make it this far without stopping, thatâs what I mean by my chest tightening at the relationship between those two.
Of course Free! is not a BL, so the creators canât say anything like âthe love between them is what makes them strongerâ or the like. But the above sentence has the MUCH SAME MEANING, that their relationship (whatever it is) is what makes Haru stronger and keep moving on. Itâs the MOST CANON FACT I WANT TO THROW AT THE FACE OF THOSE HATERS WHO SAID MAKOTO IS USELESS FOR HARUKA AND THE SHOW FRICK THEM!!! HARUKA CAN MOVE THIS FAR BC HE HAS MAKOTO SUPPORT HIM YOU HEAR ME?
Also, itâs funny how both creators admitted that they have to cut off a lot a lot a lot MakoHaru so it wouldnât be too much (yeah I know, bc Rin and Haru are the main protas Makoto and Haru canât be too much ^^. I feel sorry for them that the fandom still doesnât go their way). Well, quote for you:
"Also, we cut a lot of scenes where Makoto appeared too much. We also fixed ones where he looked at Haruka too much (lol)â
ăŒThere are still plenty of those though(lol)
"Well thatâs pretty much a habit for Makoto. Of course there are plenty of scenes of Makoto worrying over Haruka, Heâs always looking at Haruka but when you think about why heâs looking at him, itâs because Haruka was in such a dangerous place, heâs watching him from the point of view of a caretaker, and the role of a caretaker really fits Makotoâs personality doesnât it? But we had to convey the fact that Makoto was watching Hauka to the audience, It had to be shown but but we also had to be careful not to sow it too much (lol) I also them communicating with their eyes on screen so, so looking too much, not watching over him too much much, although there are a lot of scenes where heâs just looking a bit, we really had to be careful of how we seasoned it.â
Also, thereâs this one from Free! guidebook I really like:
He was childhood friends with Haruka, so thereâs not anything he hates about him. Conversely, he knows quite well the things he likes about Haruka. And because of that, he knows how to handle Haruka very well. (source)
I really like how she actually said âthings he LIKES about Harukaâ. âLIKESâ. Umh⊠the creators usually say this one character adores another, this one appreciates this one, but saying âLIKESâ⊠gosh⊠yeah Makoto LIKES Haruka, LIKES this and that in Haruka. Need more canon?
This one in New Type is cute too, about MakoHaru relationship:
Because he is the type to want a deep relationship with someone close to him, he is normally thought to come on too strongly. However, he can continue to have a very good relationship with Makoto, who also likes to have deep human relationships with others as he does. Because they both understand each other, they will be able to support each other.Â
Because Makoto strongly seeks a spiritual connection, he has a mutual understanding with Haruka, who also strongly seeks a deep relationship. While he thinks that it is his responsibility to support the delicate and highly sensitive Haruka, it is actually a relationship where he is soothed instead by Harukaâs purity. (source)
Really⊠do I need to explain about this one *crying*.
Btw, we canât forget the thoughts of the voice actors, right? The voice actors have much influence over a series through their work on voicing. We can say that voice actors are those who understand characters the most. Here, from Nobunaga Shimazaki (Haru):
For Makoto, âeveryoneâ is his concern. He cares for everyone, he looks at everyone, heâs nice to everyone, and he wants to swim with everyone, but at the same time, he feels strongly for Haruka alone. Within that group of âeveryone,â Haru is always there andâ how do I say this? His vector involving Haru is a bit more special. (source)
Or from Yonaga Tsubasa (Nagisa):
Harukaâs line to Makoto, âIâm grateful that youâre always there for me. Thank youâ is memorable to me. Haruka also says âThank youâ to Nagisa in the same episode 11, but (Shimazaki) Nobunaga-kun changed his way of acting completely for that line. I personally could understand that difference, and it made me feel that there is indeed a very deep bond between Haruka and Makoto. (source)
There might be more canon from the creators that I missed (yep I was 4 weeks late in fandom xD). But well, they cannot say MakoHaru LOVE each other, but we have âlikeâ âdeep bondâ âvery deep bondâ âspecialâ  âso closeâ⊠Umh⊠canon much (çŹÂșÏÂșçŹ)?
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