#flashback ryuuji

[everyryuujisuguro]

[caffernnn]

Did Makoto even say Haru-chan in the whole movie?? 🤨

Sorry, the -chan budget was used up by the Ryuuji/Kiyofumi flashback and all of Nagisa’s new besties 😔

[anime-fyi]

A few captures from the seventh episode of Senpai is an Otokonoko. We spend a bit of time in flashbacks with Makoto and Ryuuji, seeing how they spent time together as kids, as well as how Ryuuji at times tried to distance himself from Makoto. It all culminates in a key moment that brings us the photo, but also why we found them so isolated in the beginning. All of that said, that photo slip-up, that then becomes the focus of things as things become a bit awkward. Curious to see what happens here, and we're hinted that something's happened with Saki's grandmother so how will that impact them?

[lurkingteapot]

If it's with you 君となら恋をしてみても Ep 2

This episode started fairly abruptly – right into the flashback, no holds barred, and now we're off to the baths together! I love how straightforward Amane is, and how Ryuuji isn't holding back at all, either. I like that they're not teasing us about the backstory too much, just letting it come out little by little. And oh, I hurt for Amane – mustering the courage to come out to someone and not having the other person believe you … that's the worst. I love that they addressed Ryuuji's speech patterns — the contrast between the "ore" and the desu/masu thing was so noticable! Ah, of course — get caught in the rain, catch a fever. These kids are so cute.

This story moves fast, but I guess if they only get five episodes they have to, and it doesn't feel rushed at any rate. I'm excited to see where this goes.

[ankhisms]

flashback to when ryuuji was going "oh jeez im gonna have to make sure i look after these two" last episode and now he is in fact having to be like WAIT DONT-

[whityoungfan]

I wonder whay the next interlude will be about

Probably Ryuuji or Isao if I had to think about it

Or maybe a Ryuusei flashback

But nahh can we talk about how they did Ryuuji so fuckin dirty 💀💀

in the QnA vid from a few months ago rimu mentioned the episodes and I think she said the next one features “the devil” from the end of the CA trailer (im so excited bro)

HE RLY DID I FEEL SO BAD 😭😭

[rosalinesurvived]

Inazuma Elevrn GO Galaxy must've been so traumatizing to literally everyone. Like, you have the kids, actually dealing with this and then you have the adults who had to fight aliens back when they were kids, only for the aliens to be fake. No wonder Gouenji didn't believe Ozrock at first.

I wanna see the rest of the IE adults reacting to the fact that aliens exist and the kids have to go through it again.

(Actually, at the same time I don't. Its gonna be awful)

[inazumaelevenimagines]

Imagine Gouenji's moment of irony when Oz rock proves himself an ACTUAL alien, ten years after the Alius Incident(better yet, imagine Midorikawa andHiroto's reactions when they were told!)

[radariant]

This was a sketch request warmup for @fifth-essence‘s prompt of Shuu that I got inspired to take a little further!

[ominous-meme]

Free! The Final Stroke Part 2!!

So I managed to snag first day first show tickets at my local theater, and I WATCHED THE MOVIE.

IT WAS THE BOMB.

My Japanese isn’t the greatest, but here’s what I saw!

WARNING: MAJOR MAJOR SPOILERS FOR PART 2 UNDER THE CUT

Starts with Ikuya and Kaede talking, with Sousuke and Hiyori joining shortly afterwards

Recap of the fight

In the background during the short recap: ETERNAL SUMMER OPENING REPRISE WITH TATTSUN BEING A BLOODY VOCAL GENIUS WITH NOTHING BUT THE PIANO TO ACCOMPANY HIM

Rin questioning his decisions in the aftermath of the fight with Haru

Haru pushing himself so hard that even RYUUJI has to tell him to cool it lmao, and the old man says something like "there will always be other tournaments"

Eventually, Haru reconciles with Rin and Makoto after cutting them off for a few months; Rin and Haru have an informal race with Makoto giving them the start, and the security staff at the pool MAY have implied that the two just broke the world record

Haru remembers how good the water feels, and after he and Rin pull Makoto into the pool, he thanks them

For the Ryuuji Azuma antis: no, we do not get a shot of Rin killing him, but the two do have a confrontation after Ryuuji forces Haru to rest

Rei and Nitori are attending Shimogami Uni!!!!

Nagisa is now Kaede’s kouhai, along with some of the other Samezuka kids!!! Also, Nagisa and “Kin-chan” get along??????????

Momo becomes Samezuka captain; Ayumu is now the Iwatobi captain (and apparently an Ojou-san as well??? She has a freaking HELICOPTER that takes everyone to Fukuoka????)

We see flashbacks of Haru's grandma!! And BABY INFANT HARU!!

Lots and lots and lots of flashbacks to childhood memories, especially for Haru. He sees his past self running away from the offer of the relay by little Rin!!

But he eventually returns to that memory and tells his childhood self that he’s not going to lose himself just by swimming in a relay. “You are you!” he says “I’m me!”

Baby Haru cryingggggggggg

Kaede, to Haru: “Why do you put so much into swimming? I only swim for myself”

Haru’s answer: “The water is my special place”

Even RYUUJI gets a redemption arc, where he tells Kaede “I won’t run away anymore” and takes a step back from coaching Haru after Haru reconciles with Makoto & Rin

Ryuuji cries at the end, during the Fukuoka tournament

Ryuuji's childhood friend Kiyofumi apparently used to call him "Ryuu-chan" lol and Ryuuji used to go "stop using -chan" exactly like Haru

After Ryuuji and Mikhail step back, Makoto and Nao, especially Makoto, come into their own! I think the others even start to refer to Makoto as their “trainer”!!!

Haru overworking himself so badly that he slumps from exhaustion after the 100m free heat in the Fukuoka tournament, so he can’t swim in the finals because HE’S IN THE CLINIC

Qualifying relay team at Fukuoka: Hiyori, Ikuya, Natsuya, Kaede

FINALS RELAY TEAM CONFIRMED: SOUSUKE, IKUYA, RIN, HARU

Makoto also kinda being Ryuuji’s assistant at the Fukuoka tournament???

Relay team: “Haru, are you ready?”

Haru’s way of saying yes: “I only swim free!”

Lots and lots of chatting between different characters, including some unexpected ones!

Haru reaches out to Albert using the power of swimming, and gives even HIM a redemption arc lmao

Haru, to Albert: “Let’s swim again; I don’t hate your style of swimming.”

Albert: “That’s the first time someone’s said that to me.”

Haru’s team wins, but he collapses from the exhaustion (making it look like he died or something)

Roll credits!

DW, HARU’S OKAY - HE GOES TO HUNGARY (????) AND HAS SOME REHABILITATION, AND HAS A CONVO WITH MAKOTO

Haru’s mom (????) overhears Ikuya and Nitori saying that Haru’s ok

Rin also in Hungary, and he meets Haru at the train crossing!

Final scene: Haru, Rin, Albert at some tournament (Olympics?) and swimming what I assume is the 100m free

THE TIME CAPSULE GOT DUG UP, AND THEY SHOW HARU’S LETTER IN IT

Haru’s final line is something along the lines of: “The moment when I become an ordinary person...I’m fine with it happening a little later."

All in all, I really liked the way it ended! An amazing end to an amazing series! My little heart has been so warmed, and I’m glad that we got this show to love and cherish for all these years. Maybe we’ll get 10th anniversary content next year? Who knows. But this series has come to mean the world to me in such a short time, and I’m glad I could see the conclusion in theaters.

Stay happy, stay free!

[everyryuujisuguro]

[kudouusagi]

Free! Final Stroke (part 2) spoilers

Since they still haven't announced the new Free movies being licensed in the US, I made the trip to Mexico with @seakittens to watch the last movie this past weekend!! It was an adventure and I almost died from the heat but I guess it was worth it.... the things I do for anime, man.

It's taken me a while to recover and then type this up but I'm gonna try to write as much as I can think of so this will be long lol...

So of course, here come the SPOILERS!!

So, the movie starts Ikuya stuck under a bridge because it's raining. He's talking on the phone to Hiyori and telling him he'll be late to meet him at Maron because he didn't remember Kisumi telling him it would rain. Hiyori offers to bring him an umbrella but Ikuya says he'll just wait. When Ikuya hangs up he turns and sees Kinjou standing next to him. Kinjou apologies for being so mean to them and they talk about the tournament for a bit before Kinjou runs out into the rain.

When Kinjou leaves Sousuke shows up and tells Ikuya he isn't lost but Ikuya calls him out on it. They talk about how Ikuya has decided to go pro and the tournament in Sydney. Then Hiyori shows up with an umbrella for Ikuya.

Next we see all of the Mikoshiba siblings talking over zoom. Momo is talking about how he's going to beat Nitori at the Samezuka farewell race next week and become the next captain. Then they start talking about the Sydney tournament and they show flashbacks to the first part of final stroke.

Dried up youthful fame version:free starts playing and they show parts of Rin and Haru's fight from the end of the last movie. They added a new line of Haru saying that he wants to swim in the lane next to Rin at the next tournament. Haru sounds sadder than he did in the last movie, so things are slightly different than how they played out the first time but it still ends the same.

After the fight it slips into Still life goes on they and show more flashbacks and training...

After all that we then see Haruka as a baby with his grandma and she's showing him the water and videos of waterfalls and stuff. She comments that it's like he's loved by the water.

They show an interview with Haru like the video from the beginning of the first movie with interviews about Haru from the other team members. Haru talks about how he feels about swimming. They ask him about the relay and there's a flashback to when Haru and Rin were fighting in Elementary school and got held after class for fighting and the teacher tells them they need to talk about why they're angry or they'll never solve their problems. Makoto and Nagisa are watching from the hallway and Nagisa says that he hopes they make up and get along soon and Makoto pictures them as the Doppelganger rangers that Makoto mentioned all the way in episode 1. The rangers decide to stop fighting and join forces to beat the bad guy.

It then shows that Haru is watching this scene in a movie theater with his younger self in Albert's jersey sitting a few rows in front of him. It's quite an artistic shot I guess? It appears this is happening in Haru's dreams because they show him sleeping and talking in his sleep.

It then shows people talking about Haru quitting the swim club in middle school and Makoto chasing after him but unable to reach him. They show Rin saying he's quitting in middle school but they've got the adult voices (though acted to sound younger) rather than the original kid voices from season 1.

Haru's younger self in Albert's jersey is an asshole and says mean things and Haru keeps arguing with himself. They show flashbacks of season 1 while him and Rin were fighting and kid Haru tells him he's all alone.

They show Albert sitting alone in his room crying while thinking about Haru's swimming. Mikhail comments about how Albert's swimming is lonely and that makes it feel completely different from Haru's swimming. But that Haru's swimming is like Ryuuji's when he was younger.

Haruka wakes up and goes for a run early in the morning but he exhausts himself and crouches on the ground panting. Sousuke is driving by in his car and picks him up and takes him back to his place. Haru is just spacing out staring out the window and looks really pathetic. Sousuke tells him everyone is worried about him and asks if something happened between him and Rin. Sousuke tells him that him and Rin have fought a lot and hurt each other without realizing it but they've always made up so it will be okay between them too.

As soon as Haru gets out Natsuya is just THERE and I don't even know how he got there lol. I assume he hopped in as soon as Haru got out but I have no idea. Maybe he was secretly there the whole time. Natsuya comments how it's tough being a hero in reference to Haru.

Rin stands in front of the door to Mikhail's office talking to himself, practicing a speech to tell Mikhail about how he wants to know how to keep swimming 5-10 years into the future. To be a pro. To keep swimming with Haru. When he opens the door to the office Mikhail isn't there and he's disappointed but then Mikhail shows up behind him and apparently heard the whole thing anyway. Mikhail tells him it's decision and if he wants to do it he'll support him.

Next we see Asahi at the laundromat washing clothes and when he turns around he's startled to find Rin there. He didn't notice him at all. Rin is sitting there looking super depressed.

This image doesn't do it justice... there was a shot of him looking even more depressed lol.

Asahi tells Rin since he can swim butterfly so well he should have more confidence and Rin says he hasn't lost his confidence... or maybe he has. Maybe he was just expecting too much. Asahi tells him that he once had a time where he wasn't able to swim free anymore and he realized how important it was just just be able to swim normally. Rin tells him that Ikuya asked him what he wanted to do and Asahi tells Rin that anyone would ask him when they see him looking like that and Rin just wonders if Haru would ask.

Next we see the underclassmen joining the college teams. Rei and Nitori join Shimogami with Ikuya and Hiyori. Nagisa and a whole bunch of Samezuka guys join Naribusawa with Kinjou. The Samezuka guys comment that Kinjou reminds them of old Rin and that he seems scary. Nagisa just goes up to him and asks him if he can swim and stuff and acts all cheerful and Kinjou is kind to him so the Samezuka guys think he might be okay but Kinjou yells at them when they talk to him.

We then see Nitori, Rei, and Nagisa bowling. Rei of course sucks because he's just thinking about the theory on how to do it. Makoto shows up and they talk about how they all decided to keep swimming and Nagisa says it's because they actually really do love swimming. They ask about Haru but Makoto deflects and says that he's just busy getting ready for the next tournament. Nagisa tells him if he's worried about Haru he needs to tell him.

Haru is training with Ryuuji but he's exhausted. Ryuuji tells him to stop for the day but when Haru tries to walk away from the pool he collapses. Haru's legs twitch in a weird way and Ryuuji demands to know when that started but Haru says it doesn't hurt and that after swimming his hardest he just can't get any strength in them. Ryuuji tells him that he should stop swimming like that until he reaches the last 20m of the race and Haruka demands to know why. Ryuuji tells him that he's pushing too hard and that he's going to injure himself if he keeps going the way he is. He needs to take a year to build his body up. Haru complains that will be too late because Albert announced he was retiring after the next tournament and he won't be able to beat him at this rate.

Sousuke, Asahi, Ikuya, Hiyori, and Natsuya are all training with Makoto and Nao as their trainers. They're still worrying about Haru.

Haru is still overworking himself. Ryuuji catches him swimming hard and tells him he told him to stop swimming like that and forces him to stop swimming. We see Rin training and then he gets a call from Makoto. Rin shows up at Haru's training place where Makoto is talking to Ryuuji and demands to know why Haru isn't there training. Ryuuji tells him he's forcing him to take a week off. Rin yells at him and says that if he takes a week off now he won't be in shape to do the tournament. That swimming is too important to Haru. Makoto makes Rin stop, but Ryuuji yells back telling Rin if he cares so much he should tell Haru himself.

Rin and Makoto run around Tokyo searching for Haru. They aren't able to find him anywhere. Rin thinks about how he's always is so selfish and pretends like he doesn't notice Haru's feelings and took advantage of how strong Haru was. Rin trips and rolls onto the ground. He looks up and sees a sakura tree in bloom above him. He looks up through the branches and sees Haru on a roof of a building. Rin calls Makoto and tells him he found Haru.

Rin and Makoto go to the top of the building and find Haru floating in a pool on the rooftop. The sign outside calls it a "night pool". It's night time and there are red lights shining on the surface of the water. I don't even know how long Rin was standing there staring at Haru before Makoto got there but Makoto starts walking towards Haru and Rin stops him and starts walking toward Haru and stripping. He hops into the pool and asks Haru to race him. Tells him he has an obligation to swim with him since he hasn't said he will quit again. (reference to season 1 fence scene) They race, Haru swims better, he doesn't feel exhausted and one of the lifeguards watching the pool comments they set a world record but the other one says that's crazy. Rin hugs Haru, him and Makoto tell Haru how they feel. Rin says he admires Haru and he needs to stop making him saying over and over. Rin and Haru tease Makoto and pull him into the pull with them when he tries to get them out.

Makoto tells Haru a story about how when they were kids Haru was upset because he lost to some middle schoolers in a race and he was upset about it. The middle schoolers also made fun of Makoto and Nagisa. Nagisa and Makoto wanted to cheer Haru up and tried to go to his house, on the way they see Elvant(sp?) Volandel (which the staff said at a theater stage greeting is Albert's dad) at a stand at a festival buying a mamori (for safe childbirth because Albert's little brother was about to be born). Nagisa and Makoto decide to buy one as a present to cheer Haru up. They go to Haru's house but he's not there, they eventually find him at the festival and follow him up to the ocean lookout that they go to all the time in the series. They give a mamori to Haru but he asks why it says anzan (安産 safe childbirth) and Nagisa and Makoto are shocked it doesn't say anshin (安心 peace of mind) so Nagisa writes over the second kanji to say shin instead with a pen.

Haru trained harder and ended up beating the middle schoolers in the next tournament, they stopped bullying Makoto and Nagisa, and Rin heard about the tale of the elementary schooler beating some middle schoolers and decided he had to race that guy and that's how he originally got interested in Haru. Haru says he doesn't remember something that happened so long ago.

Haru says he wants to beat Albert at the next tournament, that he doesn't want it to end this way. That he doesn't know what will happen to his body but he wants to swim his all. Makoto and Rin go with him to talk to Ryuuji and ask him to let Haru practice and let the practice together. Ryuuji tells them to do what they want.

Ikuya and the others are all training together and Natsuya tells them they have to train hard because they have to qualify at the All Japan Tournament in order to qualify for the tournament in Fukuoka.

There's a flashback to when Ryuuji and Mikhail are younger and Mikhail is resting his arm on Ryuuji's shoulder and asking him to race with him. Ryuuji tells him there's no point since they're alone in the water. Kiyofumi comes up, apparently they haven't seen him in a while, and he calls Ryuuji "Ryuu-chan" and Ryuuji tells him not to use -chan. Kiyofumi tells Ryuuji he wants to see his swimming because his swimming makes everyone feel better. Current Ryuuji says that while they might have been cocky back then if he could go back to that time he would.

Sousuke and the others find Haru sleeping outside under a tree and they comment that he's been sleeping before practice a lot recently. They all decide to to everything they can to help him like doing his laundry and stuff.

Through the rest of the movie they keep mentioning that they're doing medical checks on Haru and he keeps passing them so I GUESS he's fine but he's sleeping all the time lol.

It's time for the All Japan Tournament. Rin and Sousuke compete in fly. Sousuke asks if they should bet who buys drinks over who wins but Rin says since they've made it this far they just need to aim for medals. Haru and Kinjou qualified in 100m free, Rin, Asahi, and Natsuya qualified in 100m fly, Ikuya qualified in 100m breast, Hiyori and Sousuke qualified in 100m back. They originally had Sousuke swimming backstroke for rehabilitation but since there were so few back swimmers they had him train in it.

Nagisa and Rei make misanga (good luck bracelets) for everyone.

The Gou, Isuzu, Momo, and the younger Iwatobis are all planning watching the Fukuoka tournament at Iwatobi SC but Ayumu isn't there because she had to do something with her family and will arrive late... apparently that means in a helicopter and they end up going to Fukuoka to watch the tournament in the helicopter.

Ryuuji is getting ready at the tournament and has Makoto helping him. They run into Kinjou and Ryuuji tells Kinjou he has learned he loves swimming this past year and that he won't run away anymore. He says that someday he'll save Kinjou too in order to fulfill is promise with "that guy" (Kiyofumi). Kinjou says okay and then tells him that he thinks Haru is at his limit. Makoto wonders what it means and Ryuuji says that Haru's overworking himself when he swims fast and he probably can only swim like that for one more tournament.

In the locker room Kinjou asks Haru why he's doing so much for swimming and Haru says he doesn't know but that being in the water is his special place.

Haru swims in the qualifier for the 100m free, Ryuuji is watching and telling him to hold off on swimming harder but Haru speeds up right after the turn and Ryuuji calls him an idiot. Haruka wins but Ryuuji asks "why now?" and they show a flashback of Kiyofumi dying.

Rin and Ikuya talk about making this far, Hiyori says that he believes in Ikuya and Ikuya blushes.

Rin and Ikuya win bronze in their races. Rin puts the medal around Gou's neck and she says it's heavy and Rin agrees and says it's surprisingly heavy. Rin's mom and Gou both congratulate him but Rin's mom tells him that he still has something to do (implying taking care of Haru.)

Kinjou find Haru sleeping on a bench and puts his jacket over him. Sousuke comes up and tells him not to mess with him but Kinjou is just worried about him. Kinjou wonders why everyone is so obsessed with Haru and Sousuke says maybe he'd understand if he swam with him. Kinjou says to let Haru sleep since Haru still has things to do. Sousuke takes Haru to the nurse and he sleeps through the 100m free final. Kinjou wins bronze. Albert wins gold. Kinjou asks Albert if he's okay quitting without racing Haru.

While Haru sleeps he has a dream about Rin and the others asking him to swim in the relay with him in elementary school. Child Haru runs away and Adult Haru stops him and asks him where he's going. He tells himself not to run away from his feelings and that he needs to do what he wants to do.

When Haru wakes up Makoto, Rin, and Ikuya are there with him. They tell him not to move yet but Haru says he has to go.

The Team Japan leaders start to announce who will be in the relay but Natsuya tells them to stop and that they should let Haru swim in the relay. The other leaders are outraged but the director is all for it and lets them do it. They set up two teams so Haru can rest and if the first team makes it through the preliminary race, Haru can swim in the final. The teams are Hiyori (back), Ikuya (breast), Natsuya (fly), and Kinjou (free) for the preliminary and Sousuke (back), Ikuya (breast), Rin (fly), and Haru (free) for the final.

Albert also asks to participate in his team's medley relay so he can race Haru.

Nagisa hands out the misanga to everyone before the relay races to cheer on "team Haru".

(at the staff talk they said Nagisa forced Kinjou to wear one too)

Haru is sleeping again during the prelim but he somehow managed to pass another medical check so he's fine.

Rin and Ikuya wait outside the room and Ikuya asks if he's okay not seeing him right now, but Rin says he told him they're not like that. Ikuya says it's their turn to support Haru this time. Rin says that's the reason he swims.

Hiyori, Ikuya, Natsuya, and Kinjou swim the prelim and win (obviously) and then Sousuke, Ikuya, Rin, and Haru swim their race. They come in first and get the gold medal. They all hug and cry. Even Haru. Ryuuji crys watching them. As they hug Haru passes out and Rin pulls him into his lap. Everyone from the team runs down to the poolside calling out Haru's name.

we see a large billboard of Haru in Tokyo that says "Stay strong! Be Free!" on it (pictured above) and people commenting about the billboard. There's a girl walking down the street reading a news article about Haru winning and being hospitalized. She looks around when people say "Nanase" commenting about Haru. It has been confirmed this girl is Aki as designed by Nishiya in one of the staff stage greetings. Nishiya also designed the causal clothes that Haru and Rin wore in the movie.

We hear Nitori and Ikuya talking about Haru. Nitori asks if he's okay and Ikuya says that Haru was released from the hospital last month and returned to Iwatobi. Nitori hopes that he's able to swim again because not just free, but relays are part of who he is.

We see the credits which show almost every single magazine art published for free over the years... there's a few missing but it's a ton of art.

We see Nagisa, Rei, and Asahi getting ready for a tournament and talking about how everyone is getting better.

Momo is the captain for Samezuka, Ayumu is the captain for Iwatobi (but how I don't know. She can't even swim!? How do you have a captain who can't swim??) She has red glasses like Rei and seems to be acting like Rei.

Hiyori comments about how Kinjou's cousin was Ryuuji's childhood friend and Kinjou says he'll explain later. Sousuke tells Kinjou to act nicer and Kisumi teases Sousuke for being the one to say that. Kinjou asks Sousuke to race him in butterfly but he says that he needs to race Asahi first. Ikuya says he'll race him in free and Kinjou says they can do IM too. They argue over it and Kisumi comments that he hopes they'll get along soon and Ikuya says it will take a while before that happens.

Next we see Gou and her friend talking about how Rin has gone overseas again. This time to Hungary. They talk about how well Haru did at the tournament and Gou's friend says that it's sad that Haru wasn't swimming anymore since then and Gou starts to say that she heard from her brother that he is now.

Albert also came out of retirement to continue swimming because he has someone he wants to swim with. Natsuya says this will make the Athens tournament even more interesting. Haru is swimming again. He apparently swim in a tournament in Mexico last week. Mikhail teases Ryuuji about being happy about Haru and Ryuuji tells him to shut up because Rin is in Hungary right now. Mikhail says he is and so is Haru.

Makoto is wandering around Hungary by himself and manages to find Haru on the street and Haru is surprised to see him. Makoto comments that Haru's rehabilitation seems to be going well. Haru says it is and it's relaxing to be here instead of Japan because he was getting hounded by reporters for interviews there. Makoto says that Rin is in Hungary too.

Rin is on the street looking at things with Ai because Ai is doing an exchange program in Hungary. Rin comments that Ai never told him that he was related to Mikhail and Ai says he was too embarrassed but now he will tell people because he's going to get even stronger.

Rin and Haru are walking towards a train crossing and the arms come down and a train passes. When the arms lift they walk into the middle of the train crossing. Rin says he saw a dream about a tournament and Haru says he did too. Rin asks if he wants to know how that dream will turn out and Haru says he obviously does.

We see Asahi and his sister talking about the Athens tournament and then they talk about Asahi's sister's husband who is a swimming reporter and how he made a documentary about Haru and the others. He took a whole bunch of things that were filmed of them over the years and interviewed people about them.

We see the second time capsule they burried, Haru is wearing his high school jersy so the image is probably when they were burying the time capsule. The letter he put in says "even if I become a normal person, I'll keep swimming" and Haru's voice over says "I can wait to become normal for a little longer."

The end.

[skania]

Back on September 2022, the Free! brainrot was eating at me so I ended up writing how I’d like the last movie to go. I had completely forgotten about this, but the movie coming out made me go back to find the file. It’s funny seeing which things I did get and which things I didn’t get at all 😂

Warning: Lots of wishful thinking and lots of RinHaru, because it couldn’t have been any other way.

My original notes from September 2022: So, what do I think might happen in Part 2? Honestly, I think it all depends on how quickly—or rather, on how long they want to stretch out Haru’s conflict. 

While I don’t want them to spend most of the movie making Haru and everyone suffer, given the build-up, it’d feel kind of anti-climatic if it’s resolved within the first fifteen minutes. 

I think it’s important for us and for the characters to see how Haru fares with this new mindset. Will he completely fail because he’s not mentally into it, just like what happened to Ryuuij? Or will he become an unfeeling swimming machine like Albert—but through a swimming that isn’t beautiful nor captivating nor free? 

Both possibilities are interesting and worth exploring. In any case, I think a slight time-skip might be necessary so that Haru can be at that point already by the start of the movie. 

It’s kind of impossible to predict since I don’t know what exactly they’ll be going for, but if it were up to me, I think I’d do it like this:

A month or so has passed since the first movie. We’re at a tournament. A swimmer is crushing the rest. It’d be easy to assume it’s Albert, but when he comes out, it turns out to be Haru. Kaede loses against him.

Makoto is happy for him but uneasy with his win. We find out that he has barely had any contact with Haru since New Year’s.

Flashback. Rin and Makoto talking. Rin tells Makoto what Haru told him, and Makoto is shocked. He says Haru would never say something like that to Rin, because that’s not the way he feels. Rin is dejected. He says it’s okay, that he understands why Haru would feel that way. But that even if Haru would be better off without him, he can’t leave him alone. Makoto then asks Rin, what will you do? Rin looks thoughtful, but doesn’t answer.

Back to the present, we’re with Haru and Ryuuji. Ryuuji acknowledges Haru’s win, but makes a critique about something or another. Haru tells him that he knows he hasn’t reached his full potential yet; he has yet to beat Albert, after all. Ryuuji looks at him with sharp eyes, but says nothing.

Kaede is frustrated that he lost against Haru. He runs into Hiyori and they briefly discuss this. Hiyori tells Kaede that he lost because of Haru’s swimming, but Kaede says swimming against Haru was no different than swimming against Albert. Hiyori falls silent at this because he himself noticed there was something off about Haru’s swimming. Kaede says it must be because Haru threw something away, but what else can Kaede himself throw away to beat him and Albert? Hasn’t he already lost everything (Hiyori, his brother)?

Rin and Ikuya are shown working on their own swimming. Ikuya is practicing with Natsuya. Natsuya comments that while Ikuya has been focusing on his breaststroke, he’s still every bit as good at freestyle. Ikuya answers that it’s because there’s something he still needs to do, but he doesn’t elaborate. Meanwhile, Rin is also swimming fly but Mikhail can tell there’s something in his mind. Rin looks sadly down at the water, but doesn’t say much. Mikhail then reminds Rin of the time he told him that he could see that what mattered most to Natsuya wasn’t there. He feels it’s the same for Rin, too. So, where is it? Rin looks surprised and then he looks down sadly, but says nothing.

Some time goes by. There’s a reunion at Iwatobi, but Haru does not come. Rin is both disappointed and a little relieved. Sosuke or Rei talk to him outside. If it’s Sosuke, he’ll tell him that hesitating this much isn’t like Rin. That he has been saved a lot of times by Rin’s heartfelt honesty, and he’s sure it’s the same for Haru. So why doesn’t he go to Haru already instead of being so scared? Sosuke might not know Haru as well as Makoto, but even he can tell Rin is a precious existence to him. After all, Sosuke feels the same way. If it’s Rei, we’ll get flashbacks to S1. While no one told Rei, he figured that if there’s something off about Haru’s swimming, it must be related to Rin. After all, Rin has always been the driving force behind it. So, no matter what happened, they should hurry and make up.

Inside, Makoto, Nagisa and the others are concerned about Haru. They all feel like something is off about his swimming and that he has pulled away from them again. That the last time he was like this, it was when he was at odds with Rin. Makoto looks down knowingly at that, but knows it’s not his place to reveal what happened. Then Nagisa says it would be great if they could get to Haru somehow, or leave him a message that moves his heart, like last time in S1. This will make them remember the video message and they’ll get excited and hopeful.

A little time goes by again. We see some of Albert, Haru and Kaede; but they all keep their distance from each other. Albert however does tell Haru that it’s a shame. The first time they swam together, he felt like the water favored Haru. Now, it feels like Albert is just swimming with himself. It’s not fun. Haru reminds him of what Albert told him; they’re there to win, not to have fun. Albert realizes then that his true self had slipped, remembers what his trainer tells him, and he goes “… Right.” With a sad smile.

However, before the race, we find that Makoto is trying to see Haru. He runs into Ryuuji, who tells him Haru isn’t there because he likes to be alone before his race. Makoto is silent but then he faces Ryuuji and asks him what is going on with Haru. Ryuuji says he doesn’t know, but Makoto tells him he must have noticed he isn’t swimming like himself. And doesn’t that defeat the purpose of why Ryuuji set his sight on him in the first place? Makoto may not be a trainer yet, but he wants to be. And he knows that if one of his swimmers changes like this, Makoto will try to help him. So shouldn’t Ryuuji do the same? Ryuuji says nothing, but it gets to him. Makoto leaves the video with him and tells him to give it to Haru.

Ryuuji will go to find Haru and will give him the video. Haru will say he’ll look at it later, but Ryuuji will tell him to look at him now. Haru will go to his room and do so, and it’ll be a message from all of his friends about all the ways Haru and his swimming touched them and all the things he has taught them. Lots of flashbacks to S1; S2 and S3. It’s not only the message they recorded in S1, but they also added some new stuff from their present selves. Haru is moved. Makoto’s is the one before last, and Rin’s is last. When it gets to Rin, old Rin is a little tsundere but he says that he dreams of swimming with Haru on the world stage. But even if that dream doesn’t come to be, he won’t care for Haru any less. Present Rin says that hasn’t changed now. Haru is near tears, he looks down and bites his lip.

Haru goes to stand on the lane but he’s off-kilter, mind still reeling from the video. He doesn’t look around him, doesn’t hear the announcement with swimmer’s names. In the benches, we see Ryuuji reading the swimmer’s names and his eyes widen, and then he smiles. Back in the lanes, Haru hears a voice. It’s Rin, in the lane right next to his. Rin tells him they have always communicated better in the water, so he figured this was the way to go. Haru can’t reply because they need to get ready to dive in. He can hardly breathe. Go.

When he dives in, the water soon becomes filled with memories of all the times they have swum together. With thoughts and feelings and all they mean for each other. It’s like no one else is in the pool. Haru sees the sight then, and the comes first while Rin comes second. Haru is heaving and trying to catch his breath, while Rin looks at him—and then Haru turns to him and tells him he’s home. Rin’s eyes widen and it looks like he’s going to cry, but he just welcomes him home. From the benches and across the TV, all of their friends are smiling, moved. Ryuuji is smiling, too. Kaede and Albert feel like they saw something impressive they can’t put their finger on. Meanwhile, we see a flashback from a smiling Ikuya; he and Rin had agreed to do their best so that at least one of the two could classify and swim with Haru at least once, so they could try and save him. In the end, Rin had been the one to make it; and Ikuya thinks it couldn’t have been any other way.

Haru is up against Kaede next. With his swimming, Haru is able to teach Kaede see what he has been missing; but Kaede isn’t fully ready to accept it yet.

After the race, Ryuuji talks to Haru. He tells him his story. Tells him he sees himself and his friend when he looks at him and Rin. Haru has found what matters to him, so he should now find a way to swim that is only his too—without losing sight of what matters. And doesn’t he have somewhere he would rather be, now?

Ryuuji also will have a talk with Kaede. He’ll apologize for what happened to his brother, tell him how much he has regretted it. Will tell Kaede to not make the same mistakes he made. Swimming with Haru made him see it, didn’t he? So, won’t he go get back what he has given up on?

Haru will meet with Makoto and apologize. They’ll tell each other they’re proud of the other. Then, at the end, Haru will leave. He’s waiting for me, I can feel it. Makoto will smile and tell him itterasshai.

Then, we cut to a tree that’s identical to the For the Team tree. Rin is there. He and Haru have a much needed heart to heart; Rin will apologize for always sweeping Haru up in this whirlwind of a life, but it’s just that Haru means so much to him that he wants him everywhere he goes. Haru tells him that no matter how much it hurts to see Rin leave, no matter how much Rin might shake up his life, it has always been for the better. That he can’t imagine a life without Rin because Rin is the one who changed it; the one he aims for. That no matter what the future might bring—no matter what stroke Rin might focus on, Haru will support him and will be there on the podium with him. Because they are connected, and Rin is there with him whenever he’s in the water—just like all his friends. Rin is thrilled obviously and almost crying, but he tells Haru he may have just figured out a way for them to keep swimming together. Haru will be like, huh?

Cue Ikuya and the rest of Iwatobi showing up. Haru wonders what they’re doing there, and Ikuya tells him that while he’ll be focusing on breaststroke, there’s a way to keep swimming free together. A relay. Haru is confused, who will be their fourth swimmer? Ikuya and Hiyori say they have an idea about that. Haru is still confused, but then Rin calls his name. When Haru turns back, Rin is engulfed in light and cherry blossoms. Rin reaches out to him and tells him to swim in the relay with him. If he does, he promises he’ll show him a sight he has never seen before.

Flashforward to the relay (with, perhaps, the hotel stay in between; if they stay at the hotel, we can have a Haru and Ikuya talk and also a RinHaru bedroom talk to parallel their S2 one). The fourth swimmer is Kaede. He isn’t fully into it, but Hiyori and Ikuya had convinced him and he was starting to wonder if he was missing out on something. They swim in the relay, Ikuya first, then Kaede, then Rin and finally Haru. We get the Haru!! plus eye shine again. This time, there are a lot of flashbacks about all the relays Haru has swum. And when he sees the sight, he swims towards it full force. They win. Kaede is shook and a little breathless; he doesn’t know how to cope with what he saw—his brother—but he’s near tears. When Ikuya pulls Haru out of the pool, Haru hugs Rin and tells him he has shown him a sight he has never seen before. Complete parallel to S1. Ikuya pulls Kaede to them and they join the RH hug. Cue everyone watching them, celebrating and moved; and Albert also watching them, a little envious. It looks like they’re having so much fun. He has almost forgotten what that feels like.

We finally get some flashbacks about Albert and his childhood in the water, of how much he used to like it; but his father, aka his trainer, messed all of that up.

Back with the gang, Rin went to present his medal to his dad’s grave. Kaede and Ryuuji are at peace with each other. Then they’re all happy and positive about Haru’s future in swimming, but he says there’s something else he needs to do. Helping Albert.

In the final stretch, he faces off against Albert in the finals and finally wins. But Albert is freed through their race and is finally able to have fun while swimming again. He tells Haru, see? I told you the water favored you.

As they accept their medals, Albert asks Haru: what will you do, from here? And Haru tells him, “…I’ll keep swimming with my friends and become the best in the water.” Albert smiles and tells him, if it’s you, I can believe it. He’ll be rooting for him, though he isn’t planning on getting out of the way. Haru tells him he wouldn’t have it any other way.

The ending starts. We see a montage of what everyone has been up to; Albert’s relationship with his father/trainer has improved. Ikuya, Hiyori and Kaede now often swim together. Rin, Ikuya and Haru want to do another relay but this time an IM one, and Sosuke tells them to wait for him because he’ll definitely catch up to them and join them. Makoto says he hopes he’ll become their trainer, and Rin and Haru tell him not to let Mikhail and Ryuuji hear him.

Then, at the end, Haru and Rin are running together—parallel to S1’s ending—and they’re chatting. Rin tells him that he decided he’ll pick freestyle back up; that if he wants to be the best of the best, then this should be no problem for him. Then, he asks Haru what will he do? And Haru tells him that he won’t lose to him. But also—that what he wants most is to keep swimming with him in that world, forever. Together.

Screen goes black. Then it turns back on. It’s the race we saw at the end of S2. Some years have gone by. Sosuke is among the swimmers waiting for their turn, Makoto among the trainers. Rei and Nagisa watching the race, but having obviously fulfilled their dreams. And then, we have Rin and Haru. They turn to look at each other before diving in. We see chibi Rin and chibi Haru. Chibi Rin grins at Haru, whose eyes widen—and then he grins back and morphs into older Haru. Things have come full circle.

Ready, set—go!

In the sky, we can see a message in white letters. For the team, for the future—for our dream.

The end.

I kind of wish I had had the will to turn all of this into a fanfic, because I feel like the mental pictures aren’t bad at all 😂

[chroniclesofalonewolf]

A SHOUT OUT TO MY FAVE ANIME GUYS - PART 1 (Because they also deserve it, you know....)

SPIKE SPIEGEL (Cowboy Bebop)

His Deal: Main protagonist of Cowboy Bebop. Bounty hunter born on Mars. A skilled martial artist that practices Jeet Kune Do. Well acquainted with guns. Owns a mono racer Swordfish.

His Criminal Past: Before teaming up with Jet Black aboard the Bebop, he was part of the Red Dragon Criminal Syndicate. But after being tangled up with his former colleague Vicious (and fell in love with Julia), he decided to leave the life of crime. Unfortunately, his past kept on creeping back to him during the course of the series.

RYUUJI TAKASU (Toradora!)

His Deal: Looks mean but he's actually a good guy. Can make a good house husband since he does all the work in their household. Takes good care of Taiga Aisaka, his eventual love interest.

The Tiger and the Dragon: Taiga and Ryuuji crossed paths on their second year of high school when the latter accidentally bumped into her. Thing got even more interesting when one night Taiga "attacked" Ryuuji in his home to retrieve the love letter intended for Ryuuji's friend Yusaku Kitamura. What's more, Taiga discovers that Ryuuji has a crush on her friend Minori Kushieda. The two then decided to help each other out with their respective crushes. And then chaos ensues... 😅

ALPHONSE ELRIC (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood)

His Deal: Younger brother of Edward Elric. After performing human transmutation with his brother to revive their mother, he lost his physical body in the process. His soul is retrieved by Ed, though it is now enclosed in a suit of armor.

Polar Opposites: While his more famous elder brother is a bit stubborn, Al is kinder, more patient. Amidst battling his own insecurities, Al cares deeply to the people closest to him, even risking his own life in the process. Cases in point: Al protecting Xing princess May Chang and his ultimate sacrifice to save his brother Ed, both happened during the Promised Day arc of FMAB.

ASHITAKA (Princess Mononoke)

His Deal: Former Emishi prince. Have to leave his village to find the cure for the curse bestowed upon him by a demon he faced (in a shape of a wild boar). A skilled archer and sword fighter.

Caught in the Middle: While traveling far and wide in search for the cure, he was caught in the crossfire between to warring factions - the people of Irontown led by Lady Eboshi (one of the most complex antagonist in the Ghibli canon) and the forest creatures, spearheaded by San.

MAKI SEIJI (Bloom Into You)

His Deal: The Student Council's resident aromantic (though he admires people in love and even gives love advice). The one who first to discover what's going on with Touko Nanami and fellow freshman Yuu Koito.

Yuu's Lifeline: Maki has been a key figure in guiding through Yuu's journey especially regarding her relationship with Touko. His shining moment came in Episode 39 of the manga, during their day-off at the batting range. While Yuu admitted that she does not care about romance anymore, Maki made her realize that: 1) they are not the same (aromantic) as Yuu claimed to be; 2) she's been in love with Touko all this time (as Maki repeatedly telling her beforehand); and she's just running away for the fear of getting hurt. That moment became a turning point for Yuu, as it sets its stage for the fateful Episode 40.

TOMOMI MASAOKA (Psycho-Pass)

His Deal: Former Detective of the Public Safety Bureau then was demoted to Enforcer after his frustration on the Sibyl System. He was assigned at Division 1, working with the likes of Shinya Kogami and Nobuchika Ginoza. He also has a prosthetic left arm.

Daddy Issues: As he appears to be the father-figure of Division 1, he's actually the biological father of Inspector Ginoza. Although their relationship can be a little strained at times, they do care about each other, esp. when Ginoza seeks advice to her father. Tragedy struck when Masaoka fell into the hands of Shogo Makashima, in an attempt to save his son's life.

SHUN KAZAMA (From Up on Poppy Hill)

His Deal: Student at Konan Academy. A regular contributor to "The Latin Quarter Weekly", the school's newsletter. Have a bit complicated family backstory (I won't spoil it here for those who have not seen the movie!).

Jackass Moment: In one of the attempts in voicing out their disgust on the impending demolition of the Latin Quarter, the clubs made a bit of a scene during the school's lunch break. Shun - an active supporter to the cause - jumped from the Quarter's rooftop, hit a tree, then fell on a pool full of water. Umi Matsuzaki - the heroine of the movie - lended a hand to help Shun out.

DUTCH (Black Lagoon)

His Deal: Former US marine that fought in the Vietnam War then went into hiding and become a mercenary. He is the leader of the Lagoon Trading Company.

A Lover Not A Fighter: Dutch is more into negotiating to clients in a peaceful manner and giving orders to the rest of the crew. But he can be one dangerous fellow if the need arises (he's an ex-Marine after all!). But 'til then, he leaves all the dirty work to their resident trigger- happy colleague, Revy.

NAGISA "NAGI" AMANO (Weathering With You)

His Deal: Hina Amano's younger brother. And he's pretty much a scene stealer in the movie.

Ladies' Man: At a very young age (elementary school age?!?), Nagi has been pretty smooth with girls. This came in handy, when he seeked the help of her girl friends to escape on the foster care facility, and also save Hodaka as well.

JET BLACK (Cowboy Bebop)

His Deal: The captain of the Bebop. He can be one hell of a tough guy but he knows how to do house chores as well. On occasion, we may see him either cooking or tending his bonsai trees.

The Black Dog: In a series that deals about the past, Jet's backstory is no exception. Before living a life as a bounty hunter, he is a detective of the Inter Solar System Police (ISSP). But during his years as a cop, his girlfriend Alisa left him (as shown in a flashback on Session 10: Ganymede Elegy) and was betrayed by his former colleague Fad during a case against Udai Taxim (another flashback, this time on Session 16: Black Dog Serenade) that cost his left arm (hence why it is in prosthetic) and ended his career in law enforcement.

[booperbeanv3]

i assume i put the right kazuakis in the right tiers

clearup for the lower tiers

- i have mixed opinions on ryuuji and imposter kazu. i don’t love them or hate them

- i didn’t like the love blaster ending so i’m biased

hitori hate under the cut

- it’s not that hitori is bad he’s just. not good. if you asked me right after i finished bbl i probably would’ve liked him [who doesn’t like helping big bros] but holistar ruined that impression. i dunno, it’s probably because i related so much to kazuaki-kun during the flashback that i felt personally attacked when the twist happened. yes i know he’s probably fine during preliminary inspection and mirror but i just feel kind of uncomfortable. no hate to him of course

[cobblepottery]

hatoful boyfriend for the fandom meme!

YES

the first character i ever fell in love with: 

Nageki. First route I watched. Credit to @fledgling-witch​ for amazing voice acting

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not:

HA. HA. HA. :) Hitori Uzune. It is no exaggeration when I say I have never felt more anger towards a fictional character in my entire life.

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not:

hmmm... I originally shipped Ryouta/Hiyoko but now I lean more towards Ryouta/Sakuya & Nageki/Hiyoko

my ultimate favorite character™:

Ryuuji Kawara will you PLEASE stand up. Ok um you don’t need to stand on the lab table. Ok sir please sit down you’re knocking over the experiments

prettiest character:

oh, it’s gotta be Shuu, right?

my most hated character:

Hitori, come right back up for your second award!

my OTP:

Ryuuji/Shuu, Sakuya/Ryouta, Ryouta’s mom/Shuu’s mom.... (yes that’s basically just two OCs but I’d die for them)

my NOTP:

Quail boyfriends, especially when it’s super fluffy

favorite episode route:

Of the non-BBL routes, probably Shuu’s or Anghel’s. Both are just so fun.

saddest death:

pretty sure I was non-stop sobbing from the King’s flashback until the end of the game, so. that.

favorite season game:

I don’t think anything beats BBL, but Holiday Star sure gives it a run for its money.

least favorite season route:

Unfortunately I can no longer watch Professor Nanaki’s route without going into a blind rage

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate:

HITORI AGAIN... not that everyone loves him but quail boyfriends is still a pretty popular ship

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave

This describes most of them but I’m gonna have to go with Yuuya on this one. mon ami~☆

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave:

Listen. Kazuaki isn’t a cinnamon roll. But by god did he deserve better than this

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship:

oh boy. Technically Ryuuji/Shuu sometimes falls under this category but I already said that so *checks my list of MOST guilty pleasure ships* Yuuya/Sakuya it is. Press F!

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship:

Tohri/Shuu. Why the fuck isn’t this more popular

Gosh I miss Hatoful. Moa where’s that third game (just kidding, no pressure)