[rinharu] here's freedom, the closest thing he had to a dream this season & hypothetical s2 speculation
Let me start by saying that I’m aware I might be looking too much into this, but I’m still feeling the high from the finale so please excuse me haha
When it came to wanting things, we saw Haru express a desire to become ordinary (episode 01), to swim with his friends (episode 09), and to swim with Rin (episode 12). It also goes without saying that before realizing that he swam for the team, Haru was still stuck on wanting to become “free” - or rather, he was stuck on what becoming “free” meant to him at that point in time (no obligations to others, no one pushing him into things he does not want to do, so on so forth).
When it comes to dreams and goals, however, Haru was never shown even alluding to having one of his own. The one character who explicitly had a dream and goal to fulfill was Rin. So, it’s no surprise that when Rin turned the question on Haru and asked him about his own dream, Haru looked pretty taken aback, as if the thought of having a dream had never even crossed his mind:
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What was fairly interesting however was Haru’s reaction afterward.
As I’ve mentioned above, as far as we knew, Haru didn’t even really have a dream. Yet, after having considered Rin’s question for a few seconds, we saw Haru’s expression change:
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His look in the first cap doesn’t seem just like a surprise to me: it reads like a realization. And that soft and pensive smile that followed it only solidified this impression in my eyes.
Whatever it was Haru just realized, it’s something that made him happy. He starts to reply, then:
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“I’m…" free, is what most likely followed that unfinished sentence, if the pun present in the episode title is any indication ("遙かなるフリー” or “A Distant Free” sounds a remarkable lot like “Haruka becomes Free”).
Now, assuming that is what Haru was going for, what would being Free mean in this context? Given that we’re talking about dreams, thus about things one wishes to do or to have or to accomplish, I believe it means that Haru is no longer aching for something; that he has essentially attained that which he sought for, thus is now “free” and happy.
In orther words, I believe that what granted him the freedom he wanted was fulfilling what he wished for. Which would in turn become the closest thing he had to a dream, because it was the one thing important enough to free him.
So, what exactly was that?
(I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this lol)
Let’s go back to Haru’s fortune in Episode 07:
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That episode featured Haru being reunited with the person he wanted to see (Rin) and then losing the race and consequently losing Rin (“I’ll never swim with you again. Never”). Haru did make good friends, though; and he swam a relay with them. We then from Episode 09 to 11 saw Haru coming to terms with his feelings regarding them and showing them his appreciation. We saw him realizing that he wanted to swim with them, for the team.
Lastly, we have: “your wishes will come true with help from others”.
Just what became true with help from others in the finale?
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Thanks to Rei (casually one of the ‘good friends’ Haru made) offering to allow Rin to take his place in the relay, Haru was indeed able to swim with Rin. This fits the fortune down to a Tee: Haru’s wish did come true with help from others.
Another thing that clearly points to swimming with Rin being that wish alluded to in Episode 07 is the fact that we saw Haru truly become “free” only once he had attained it:
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In other words: while Haru spent all season wanting to become free - though his meaning of freedom obviously changed and became the polar opposite, from seclusion to ’for the team’ - and swimming with his friends for the team does play a very important role in that freedom, the key to his freedom was to swim with Rin. Because it was only once he resolved all of his issues with Rin and Rin was back into the team and thus, a part of Haru’s life again, that Haru considered himself to be free.
So, I think it’s safe to assume that swimming with Rin is what Haru truly wanted to do all along, even if it took him 12 episodes to realize it and put it into words.
Now, if Haru truly meant to reply to Rin’s inquiry about his dream with “I’m Free”, it indicates that Haru has attained what he wanted - and thus, that what it took to attain it [his true freedom] would most likely be the closest thing Haru had to a dream of his own all season long.
That being: swimming with Rin.
Which takes me to Season 2 (/Movie/OVA whatever it is KyoAni has planned) Speculation territory. For the sake of arguing, let’s say that we don’t know for certain what Rin’s dream is and we’ll just assume that he is going to continue to aim for the Olympics (which his words about Samezuka “aiming for the world” seemed to suggest, imo). Considering just how important it is to Haru to keep swimming with Rin, it makes me feel optimistic about the possibility of Haru agreeing to join Rin in his quest in some way, shape or form.
This is only speculation, of course. But I feel another thing that may suggest Haru feeling inclined to do so is the contrast between Haru’s monologue at the start of the show and the one he had at the end. While we see that he holds the same thoughts he had as a kid in regards to water, we no longer see him thinking that all he wants to do is 'feel it’ - and, more importantly, Haru never thought about wanting to become ordinary again throughout the series. Not once.
Not since Rin came back and automatically made this happen:
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Which was, casually, already foreshadowed by the very moment we saw Haru thinking that he wanted to be ordinary:
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Right as he thought about it, a sakura petal out of all things fell on his bathtub. And we all know which is the character that’s closely tied with sakura petals.
I’m bringing this up because going to the Olympics is the opposite from being ordinary. So while the Haru from High Speed! and from the beginning of the show wouldn’t have even entertained the thought, I think it’s not too out there to think that this Haru, coupled with Rin’s positive influence on him and what he always does to Haru’s drive, might consider it.
So all in all, here’s to hoping we might see these two embark together on whatever journey they might choose.
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