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just one more redesign. surely one more redesign will cut costs. surely if we redesigned the railway currently mid construction to be slower it would cut costs right. surely if we alter the specs for the trains we already ordered we'll save money. surely if we downgrade the signalling system and upgrade it later it'll cost less. just one more redesign trust.
Tories: There's no magic money tree.
Also Tories: *Happy to spend £100 billion on HS2*
sometimes I still think about Haru comparing Sousuke’s and Makoto’s hands in High Speed 2.
Haru shaking Sousuke’s hand:
Haru taking the hand Makoto offered to get him out of the pool:
Just by holding their hands, Haru acknowledged Sousuke as a challenger in the water and Makoto as a comfortable and secure presence in his life. It’s just so sweet that Haru feels so much even when he shows so little on his face.
Sousuke/Rin provide stormy seas and thrill to Haru while Makoto is the safe harbor he will always return to.
I’m..ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my heart.
Haru’s genius always caught him in trouble, especially during middle school.
You see, Haru was the type who hated showing weakness, whether in swimming, in school or his health. He displayed mental fortitude, strength and nonchalance that few of his peers could have ever hoped to achieve. However his prodigious ability and his strength usually earned him different reactions from his peers.
Part I. with Ikuya and the Others
All Haruka wanted to do was feel the water well. To do that he swam as best as he could. Shouta, Asahi and Ikuya became overwhelmed by his presence and ability. Since all of them were also of age the age of puberty, emotions ran high and most of the peers whom Haru encountered didn’t hold back in telling him what they just felt.
Asahi and Ikuya ended up blaming him for the things he had no control as excuses to hide their weaknesses. Makoto also had an existential crisis wherein he unknowingly made Haruka even more anxious.
All these resulted in Haru developing self-doubt and feeling uneasy of himself and his fixation on the water. He echoed the words of the others and blamed himself too, even when the truth was he had not needed to be involved. Combining these with his irritation of being left behind by Rin and hoping that he didn’t have to rely on his bonds with other others, he hated the weakness that was forming inside him. (x)
All of that was slowly resolved because of the brilliance of Nao Serizawa, their club manager and trainer. When they visited him in the hospital he literally said to Haru “to stick to his obsession and have others acknowledge it.”
Nao said the first line in front of Makoto, Ikuya and Asahi too. Later on, the three all agreed to accept Haru for what he was before they took part in the medley relay contest.
Everything was resolved when the other three and Shouta made peace in their hearts that that’s just how Haru was. Because of that all of them were able to move forward and improve.
Take note that it only took one summer for all of these to be resolved. It was quick because they all worked as a team and had good senpais to guide them.
Notes:
The others: Ikuya, Asahi, Shouta and Rin were all drawn to Haru’s swimming and abilites.
Makoto, true to his character, was much more drawn to Haru as a person rather than his swimming. That’s why his statements all revolved around Haru being always “there” for him.
Part II. Rin
In the January of their first year in Middle School, Haru accidentally met up with Rin. At this point Haru was happy to be in a Swimming Club with his new friends and was excited for the new things he was about to experience with them. We can see it in how happy Haru is in this screencap, while telling Rin updates about his and Makoto’s life.
All those time Haru missed Rin terribly and wished to swim with him again. However due to Rin’s own problems and inferiority complex, he had a different agenda in asking Haru for that race. He wanted to gauge his abilities against Haru’s and used the result to choose his next decision. This race was highly unfair to Haru because Haru was again blamed for something he had no control of.
Among all situations of people who were upset because they couldn’t surpass Haru, Rin’s was the one most impossible to resolve because they never saw each other again until after three years. Haruka, feeling hopeless and abandoning all the advice Nao gave him, finally plunged into seclusion and depression.
Haru spent THREE years trying to think of a way to reconcile with Rin (even when Rin was the one who wronged him).Haru even with his personality, just wanted to keep being friends with all of them. Haru just wanted peace and closure so that he can be healed and fully comforted by the water.
Notes:
If Rin had a senpai like Nao, he wouldn’t have fallen into the dark depths of his thoughts too.
PostScript
It has come to my attention that Ikuya said “he’ll be like Nanase.” When I read HS2, I thought maybe he just wanted to run forward and concentrate on the things he liked. In the end Ikuya developed an obsession/fixation to Haruka himself.
Read High Speed 2 here (x)
honestly steverazo explains haru way better than i could here (x)
There is an emphasis on “being babied” in High Speed 2 when the characters faced their problems.
It started when Satomi Nii, childhood friend of Natsuya and Ikuya, says that Ikuya was being babied by Natsuya all those time the three of them were together.
When Ikuya confronted Satomi in front of Haru and Makoto, Haru commented “By being babied, there’s no moving forward” in the midst of everybody.
Makoto later absorbed Haru’s words and translated the meaning of being “babied” to “being spoiled” by Haru when Makoto was unable to help Haru pull out his twin siblings from drifting away into the ocean.
Haru himself also had his own definition of being “babied” after realizing and internalizing his statement towards Ikuya.
Parallels between Ikuya, Makoto and Haruka
Notes:
Natsuya felt he was too overprotective of Ikuya so he left Ikuya behind in Bandou SC.
Makoto thought he was being pampered by Haru whenever Haru acknowledged his aquaphobia.
Haru kept seeking the water’s healing and protection whenever he was agitated about something.
Haruka’s simple declaration of “by being babied, there’s no moving forward” led to
Haruka realizing his own feelings towards friendships and his fixation on swimming.
Ikuya wondering if Haru was upset about something too.
Makoto feeling insecure and upset about his inability to move when facing his fear and thinking that he is a burden to Haruka.
Makoto’s Fears and Quitting the SC in Middle School
Makoto in Free! S1 anime never directly said that he joined or quit the swimming club in middle school. He only kept mentioning Haru quitting but never himself (x).
Makoto only really revealed that he resigned from the swimming club with Haru in the S1 Novels.
Novelization Chapter 0
I knew something happened but he won’t talk about it. I didn’t dig any deeper and just smiled and said “I quit.”
I’ve already said in this post before (x) that the reason Makoto quit the SC after Haru quit was because at that time Makoto was still pretty much afraid of water.
Despite the fact that he had already swam the relay with Ikuya and Asahi, it was only with Haru’s presence that MS Makoto was able to swim. Without Haru, MS Makoto couldn’t face his fears in the water.
High Speed 2 Chapter 9: Makoto talks to Natsuya about Ikuya
“If I were pushed away from Haru, if it would turn into that, I’m sure that I wouldn’t know what I should do anymore. Feeling disheartened, I might end up crying. I might blame Haru as to why it happened. ……I know very well that I’m depending on Haru, but…… but, because of that, I want to become a strong person who may be relied on by someone....”
High Speed 2 Chapter 10: Asahi, Ikuya and Makoto gather around Ikuya’s pictures and speak of their problems. Haru watches them.
“Sometimes, I become unable to swim, too.”Asahi and Ikuya direct their eyes towards Makoto. Raising his brows, Makoto was showing a good-natured smile.“I get hopelessly afraid of the water, and when that happens, I become unable to swim anymore.” Makoto’s hand leaves Asahi’s back, and he tightly grabs onto just the bottom edge of Haruka’s clothes.“You know, a little while ago, too, the rubber boat my siblings were riding in was carried away by the sea…… But, I was scared and couldn’t go save them……”Still smiling, Makoto’s grip gets stronger.“ In the end, Haru saved them for me. I can’t do anything unless Haru’s there.”
High Speed 2 Chapter 10: Makoto swims the 1500m Free
Makoto stares intently at the water’s surface. He hasn’t been able to completely wipe away his anxiety yet. However, it’s not that he was feeling a distinct unease. It’s not that he has a presentiment or is feeling agitated. It’s just that the unease is drifting vaguely.“Don’t worry. Makoto––” With the timing as he’s about to head to the starting block, Haruka called out to him.“I’ll swim with you.” With that one phrase, he felt the unease disappearing as if the fog’s clearing.“––Yeah!”
“Makoto––”Haruka’s voice––. Even now as he’s about to be swallowed by the water, that voice is the only thing he doesn’t fail to hear. “Don’t forget. I’m with you!” Right. Haruka said that he’d swim with him.“I’m swimming with you!” He’s swimming with him. Haruka is swimming with him. He was able to become strong just by thinking like that. He was able to stay with strong feelings. Brushing aside both resignation and despair, a hot lump comes welling up from the depths of his chest.
I’ll accept myself, too, he thinks. If Haruka’s with him, he ought to be able to do it. There’s nothing he can’t do. He can overcome anything. If he’s with Haruka, he can accept anything––.
As we can see, MS Makoto was hopeless in the water when Haruka was not with him. This was the primary reason why he also quit the swimming club. Supporting Haru came secondary to MS Makoto later.
From Timeless Medley: The Eternal Blue of Journeys to Come!
Makoto: I’m sorry, even I’m leaving the club.
Ikuya: It’s not your fault Makoto. Take care of your siblings.
Makoto: Yeah. Thanks. But I’m reallly sorry. It was almost time for the tournament and our team broke up. Asahi left so suddenly... And Haru, I wondered what really happened with him. I thought I understood Haru but I probably didn’t understand him at all.
Makoto told Ikuya and the rest of the swimming club that he resigned because he had to take care of his siblings. That may have been true to some extent but I believe Makoto’s fear of water was the primary reason.
High Speed 2 Ikuya knew about Makoto’s fears so he heard Makoto’s unspoken words. It was the safest statement to stop people from inquiring more about him. Even so, the members of the SC would have just assumed that Makoto and Haru were just joined by the hip.
To summarize these notes I’d like to list the reasons why Middle Schooler Makoto quit the swimming club in order of importance:
Without Haruka near, he couldn’t overcome his fear of water and therefore cannot swim .
He had to help his parents take care of his twin siblings.
Even though he didn’t know the cause of Haru’s depression, he quit in solidarity and support of Haru.
I wish Kyoani did better on the explanation for the school clubs though. In Starting Days, Makoto said they were required to have an after-school club (I didn’t see this rule in HS2 Novels). Yet both of them quit!
Does that mean Makoto and Haru joined different clubs after their first year? Or was Makoto suddenly exempted from the rule because he had to go home early to take care of his siblings? and what about Haru.. did he join the Art Club, perhaps? Well we’ll never know what happened in those hidden three years but it’s fun to speculate.
Natsuya with Ikuya and Nao.💞
