Latest Posts by bpdnanaseharuka - Page 8

dandelions

Artsy student Namine 🎨🖌️

i feel like its easy to forget or miss that the exact reason sora was so emotional here is bc his subconscious briefly came in contact with the memory of aqua telling sora to keep riku "safe". then sora is ripped away from this by the very person who took riku away from him. hes plunged deeper into sleep because his light (riku) was stolen. its not hard to see just why hed be feeling so emotional and delighted to see riku "safe" from harm. even outside of riku risking his life to wake sora up, i feel the fact that sora is near tears and throws his arms around riku was a bit of a nod to there being more at play here. and the reason they show riku waking up here and not sora is because it was more important for sora to see riku waking up this time. and narratively yknow "the world was freed from darkness but has yet to wake from it". at this point, riku is finally no longer trapped in a never ending nightmare of things never getting better for him and sora gets to be the one to personally greet him upon waking from that nightmare.

hes awake and hell be okay.

sora needed to have this moment. he needed to see that.

The theory is fascinating, but the Ienzo evidence doesn’t hold weight when considering the original JPN text.

本体の方とは初めましてだったかな

”I guess this was my first time meeting the main body.”

Vanitas having Ven’s old memories: is in the Organization with Lauriam and Elrena, canonically states he has memories from the past in the KH3 novel and that they could possibly be Ven’s

Sora having Kairi’s old memories: restores Radiant Garden, makes the difference in saving Aqua, forms a X-Blade with Kairi, Kairi cannot find memories past a certain point suggesting they went SOMEWHERE, Xion acts like Sora but looks like Kairi, Riku is shown working out of Radiant Garden during the search for Sora while he seems unsure Kairi will find anything, all the imagery of Sora falling from the sky or being sent to Destiny Islands

Here’s the transcript of the explanation from episode 7.03: Lance: Wow, a lot of things have really changed over the past few weeks. Acxa: “Weeks”? What are you talking about? Allura: The last time we saw you. You were fighting us alongside Lotor. Acxa: That was three deca-phoebs ago. No one has seen you since your fight with Lotor. Keith: That’s impossible. Acxa: It’s true. After Lotor jettisoned us, we managed to make it to cover on a meteoroid. There we saw both Voltron and Lotor disappear. Eventually Voltron re-emerged… alone. But then there was an explosion and after that… nothing. That was three-deca-phoebs ago. Lance: Whoa. Allura: So, as far as everyone else in the universe is concerned, Voltron has been gone for three deca-phoebs? Pidge: That explains the discrepancies in the star charts in our Lions. I thought they were off because of our inter-dimensional jumping, which I guess they were, in a way. Because when you think about it, that must have been the cause of the time slippage between our experience and that of the rest of the universe.

Keep reading

Quintessence, part II

This is a two-part comprehensive post on quintessence, its functions and role within the narrative of Voltron: Legendary Defender (VLD), and its effects on particular key characters - Zarkon, Haggar, Lotor, Allura, Shiro, and Keith. Part one found here. Images can be better viewed on another tab after right-clicking (PC) or control+clicking (mac) on them, then choosing “Open Image in New Tab”. As with any analysis, these are my interpretations of the text and not meant to be treated as canon, though I strive to support my readings with canonical evidence. This post contains spoilers for all aired six seasons, including SDCC 2018 information.

In 1.01, Allura states, “The quintessence of the pilot is mirrored in his lion.” Earlier on in the same episode, however, we get the first implied mention of quintessence through Haggar after she senses something amiss across the galaxies.

Likely due to her exposure to the trans-reality comet and deep connection to sorcery, Haggar also detects something off about Lotor, who has secretly been building the Sincline ships out of the trans-reality comet he seized from Voltron after the Paladins ventured into another reality. (4.03)

During 6.02, we learn that the Galra were able to design sensors that recognize the lions’ signature energy within limited range. This allowed Galra scout teams to score through the systems under Zarkon’s command after the discovery of the Red Lion. 

The signature is nearly identical to that of the Red Lion’s.

How did you know to look for the Blue Lion on Earth? We didn’t. After Sendak found the Red Lion, the Galra engineered a way to pick up the lions’ signatures from close range. Zarkon had thousands of scouts searching for them. 

(Is it coincidence that the first time the Galra are introduced in the series, they were scouting near Kerberos? Doubtful, but nothing is certain yet. It is clear that over a year later, Zarkon located the Blue Lion on Earth, prompting Ulaz to help Shiro escape from the empire.)

Because Alfor connected Allura’s life force to the lions’, she can locate their whereabouts by using the Castle of Lions and enhance Voltron’s quintessence. (1.01, 4.06)

Furthermore, she can even carry the quintessence of another living being; after learning Oriande’s secrets, this ability becomes refined. This is key for the Balmera-Altean symbiotic relationship and for Shiro’s “resurrection”. (Allura heals the Balmera in the episode called “Rebirth” even…) (1.05, 1.08, 6.07)

Interestingly enough, Keith at times has shown a similar aptitude to perceive and guide quintessence without outside assistance or mechanical instruments. Somehow he is able to find Shiro inside the Garrison’s quarantine tent with no delay. (It is important to note that many times energy is detected, it is quintessence or quintessence-related, so bear that in mind.) (3.04)

He is the one who sensed the Blue Lion in a general vicinity but couldn’t pinpoint its specific location until Hunk, Pidge, and Lance came along.

Inexplicably, he identifies the Red Lion’s position within Sendak’s war ship (after echoing Shiro’s mantra regarding patience/focus), an impressive feat unlike the other Paladins finding their lions because of the long range and lack of provided coordinates. (1.01) 

It is quite analogous to how Allura is able to track down the compass stone located inside Haggar’s lair with Lotor’s encouragement. (5.06)

The Red Lion has attuned with Keith in a similar fashion, finding Keith when he and Allura are stranded and reacting violently as Keith chooses his role as a paladin over recovering his identity during the Blade of Marmora trials. 

Right as Keith is engulfed in red, the Red Lion’s eyes illuminate. One can infer that these cases are only possible through the quintessence linking a pilot and their lion together. (A really nifty blink-and-miss detail is Allura’s eyes shift towards Keith when Shiro says “connect”, considering Allura’s composure turns fraught as she stands by the sidelines with the rest of the team as the Red Lion batters the Marmoran headquarters.) (2.06, 2.08)

During the assault on Naxzela, Coran notifies the Blades of Marmora’s strike team that the oncoming Galra fleet ceased quite a distance away from the planet, confounding Keith at the uncharacteristic move. Then he realizes that it spells danger, and acts upon that intuition with the rebel forces. Indeed, Haggar has repurposed and activated Naxzela as a bomb that could wipe out at least ten solar systems. (4.06)

When Voltron suffered from the effects of a virus on a sub-molecular level, Allura revealed that the bayards amplify each paladin’s life force; Keith is the first to employ his bayard while the lions are joined as Voltron, bisecting Myzax. (5.03, 1.03) This amplification may have saved Shiro’s life in the battle against Zarkon and evolved Voltron’s sword from standard to blazing sword. (2.13)

With Keith piloting the Black Lion, it was able to locate clone Shiro - likely because it sensed original Shiro’s signature energy, the foundation of the copy’s essence - before he could expire in his escaped vessel. (3.05)

Here are some more visuals to illustrate and compare Keith’s innate ability.

Notice the difference in coloring and framing of Shiro seeing through the Black Lion’s eyes, Alfor seeing through the Red Lion’s, and Keith seeing through the Black Lion’s eyes. (1.02, 3.07, 6.06) Alfor and Shiro’s are direct parallels to each other as they form and communicate through a psychic link with the Lions, whereas Keith’s is a superimposition. His eyes also do not glow yellow with the Lion’s; they glow in blue, the color of pure/concentrated quintessence. 

Allura as she prepares Voltron to unlock the rift reflects the former examples as well. (6.07)

Keith’s instance as a medium for quintessence to activate the Black Lion’s wings/teleportation ability is similar to what transpired when Allura absorbed Shiro’s quintessence from the Black Lion and integrated it with clone Shiro’s body. (6.07) 

Another comparison can be drawn to when she innately counteracts against Naxela’s magical gravity; blue quintessence surrounds her before outlining Voltron. (4.06)

Altean alchemy along with quintessence manipulation facilitates restoration, which is further foreshadowed by Haggar awakening both her memories of a past life and Zarkon from his coma through sorcery, and reverting to Honerva once she gains even more knowledge from undertaking Oriande. (3.07, 6.01, 6.07)

Perhaps Keith’s connection to quintessence is similar to Allura’s (and by extension, to Alfor’s and Haggar’s), just on a smaller scale. After her, he even comes next in line when they channel their energy together to open the rift in 6.07; I bring this up because based on top-down sequence, Pidge should come after Lance as she is the left arm, but Hunk, one of the legs, precedes her. I postulate that it indicates the ranking of each paladins’ sensitivity to quintessence.

Keith has constantly resonated with quintessence almost on an instinctual level. 

After Voltron enters the rift, just like Alfor, Keith is the first paladin to be focused on; I find this significant because in 3.07, Alfor is the one guiding his team into the rift, since it is Altean alchemy which makes it possible to enter it. However, instead of the frame focusing on Allura, it is Keith. 

Keith, again, is the focal paladin as the team pursues and experiences the visceral surge of energy from the quintessence field. (6.07)

Getting power from the quintessence is the only way we can match his strength.

All this quintessence is keeping us at full power. It’s more than that. Can you hear your Lions talking to you? Voltron is capable of more than we ever imagined.

Later, after saving the multi-universes as we know them, the team confronts the state of Shiro. Keith informs them that he interacted with Shiro in the Black Lion's consciousness, where the Lion retained Shiro's essence ever since Zarkon was grievously incapacitated. Shiro's life force resonates with Keith's, allowing them to communicate with each other in the astral plane; because quintessence is also involved, both Keith and Allura are instrumental to Shiro's reanimation. (6.06, 6.07)

This body is barely living, but Shiro’s spirit is alive. It’s inside the Black Lion. I’ve heard him talking to me.

We’re glad you’re back, Shiro. Rest. 

As to why Keith is quintessence-sensitive is left unanswered for now. Many, including myself once upon a time, theorize he is part Altean, which is not far-fetched, but it seems like too easy of a conclusion to settle upon. This reboot is known to twist itself in satisfactory ways. Going full circle, it was a deliberate choice to have him chase after the Blue Lion’s leads in 1.01 and the druid in 1.10, foreshadowing his hunt to find the enriched quintessence for over two seasons (and years). (4.01, 6.02)

It’s been two years. We can finally finish our mission.

I’m picking up some readings similar to those of the quintessence Ranveig found. This is the source of the readings. Let’s go check it out. (6.02)

Moreover, I believe Zarkon’s scouts encountering the Kerberos crew, Shiro’s return to Earth after Zarkon’s scouts located the Blue Lion, and the cave markings depicting a momentous arrival are connected, and may shed light on Shiro’s unique role within the story and on the probing question on everyone’s minds: why is Haggar so fascinated by him that her very agenda was to weaponize him?

Both Haggar and Allura have demonstrated the ability to harness and channel this mysterious substance for divergent purposes. They each use Altean alchemy to manipulate it. Haggar’s grand extraction of quintessence emphasizes her absolute disregard for life, the same disregard she stubbornly upholds prior to her reanimated state, which ultimately catalyzed doom for Daibazaal, Zarkon, herself, and even Lotor. Tangentially, I want to briefly touch on Lotor. Gradually Lotor’s goals are exposed, some intentionally given by him, and most times under pretenses and delusions. 

Due to the fact he was conceived before Honvera entered the rift, quintessence is part of his genetic make-up, slowing his aging as well as imbuing him with powers that may have granted him the Mark of the Chosen yet overall remained dormant until he once again returned to the quintessence field. 

(Notably, his marks look different from a typical Altean’s marks, and look similar to emaciated Honerva’s elongated marks before and after entering the rift. They both were immersed and came into contact with the rift creatures.) (5.06, 6.01)

Lotor’s fascination-turned-obsession for quintessence predates him. It is highly probable that Lotor will return from his prison, warped beyond recognition, just like and unlike his parents. Behind the veneer of charm and composure, quintessence reveals Lotor as a man completely consumed by his traumatic upbringing and heritage, keen to achieve his vision of peace with whatever brutal means necessary. But one does wonder... have we heard all there is to know about Lotor’s Altean colony and quintessence harvesting? Lotor has mentioned before that quintessence acquisition for him is something of an equivalent exchange, which echoes the Altean-Balmera rejuvenation ceremony. (1.07, 5.06)

And what did he mean when he does not wish to resort to the barbarism of the komar when he still gathered and harvested Alteans like livestock for over a millenia? (5.01) When, according to Romelle’s account, he exhausted them as scientific resources for his research on quintessence? When, in a particular perspective/interpretation based on one-sided evidence, he manipulated Allura to do his bidding by cultivating a veneer of charm and admiration for Alfor/Altea, appeasing her deference for her father, their shared culture and her wish fulfillment towards universal peace?  What other uses did Lotor have for the enriched quintessence? (5.01, 6.04, 5.06)

But in order to [create another Altean colony to increase their chances of survival], he needed to assess which Alteans were viable candidates to survive the journey. One by one, every Altean in the colony was given a series of tests.

Lotor is a monster and has been harvesting Altean quintessence for generations! 

Back to Haggar and Allura: as Haggar’s inverse, Allura serves as a conduit (like her name’s meaning - “Divine counselor” - suggests), transferring that life energy to mend others and to facilitate advancements. (1.08, 6.01, 4.06)

In the same vein, the komar and Lotor suffer the detrimental results of suffusing an extreme amount of concentrated quintessence. (2.13, 6.07)

We give Lotor all the power he wants.

What did you do in there? I transferred the excess power from Voltron. It’s a technique I learned on Oriande. Thanks to Lotor.

A running motif regarding Allura’s quintessence manipulation is that it is selfless. It emphasizes giving. This mirrors her character development from refusing to expose her worries and concerns, to becoming openly vulnerable to others. It commends dependability. That is how she connects with the Blue Lion, whereas stubbornly commanding it had been futile. (3.03)

Her trials in Oriande punctuate this point: she yields and presents her life as an offering, ultimately unlocking Oriande’s secrets. (5.06)

On the other end of the spectrum, Haggar uses force, puppeteering events to happen to her own benefit. (6.01)

She wields quintessence to create monstrous alterations using organic life, technology, and dark magic. Robeasts, an amalgamation of “robot beasts” helpfully coined by Hunk, are manufactured through an excruciating process of transferring a living being’s essence from its biological body into a massive artificial one. (1.03, 1.06)

I’ll audaciously throw in my speculation that clone Shiro is a sophisticated robeast that was...not-so-subtly foreshadowed back in 2.03; at least his glowing cybernetic arm counts. (1.01, 2.03, 6.05)

Here’s another observation I found. White/silver hair on a person seemingly insinuates quintessence (over)exposure (or more aptly the individual possessing quintessence-fused DNA). 

All the following characters have this hair type: Alfor, Allura, Allura’s mother, Lotor, eventually Haggar, and, with 6.07, Shiro. One wonders if Shiro’s white forelock in the beginning denotes the types of experiments Haggar forced upon him (and his clones…) during captivity. (3.05)

Speaking of clones, it’d be remiss to bypass clone Shiro’s amplified version of original Shiro’s negative traits relating to control and ruthless survival instincts; his actions seem more brutal after undergoing Haggar’s experimentations. And since learning that Project Kuron eliminated Shiro’s degenerative disease, one wonders if Haggar used quintessence to do so, just as she had done before for Kova. The unkempt appearance of Honerva poisoned by the quintessence and Shiro’s clone compromised by injections, as well as their increased assertion on authority, mirror each other. (1.11, 3.07, 1.03, 5.03, 6.04)

I digress again to mention that only white/silver haired individuals have been able to enter the trials - presumably Alfor, certainly Allura, Lotor, and Haggar/Honerva… Would that mean Shiro would undergo different trials proctored by Oriande’s guardian? Hardly a coincidence that clone Shiro vicariously experienced the trials, particularly being engulfed by its guardian lion, through Haggar as she manipulated her way into restoring herself.

We have yet to explore the reason why Shiro became heavily affected by Oriande, so I look forward to hopefully receiving answers in the upcoming episodes. But that’s for another post altogether. 

Six seasons of VLD has a lot to unpack, but I think I covered everything I wanted to discuss regarding quintessence for now… I’m sure future episodes will provide more topics to go over. I hope you enjoyed the read, and let me know your thoughts!

Edit: I included some bold italics regarding Lotor’s actions and the colony reveal. After some thought, it’s never made clear exactly if Lotor committed the very things Romelle passionately accused him of doing. Not to mention the incongruities found in her account; nothing was ever corroborated, almost as if this is something to resolve in later seasons. 

Quintessence, part I

This is a two-part comprehensive post on quintessence. I figured I should gather my thoughts regarding quintessence, its functions and role within the narrative of Voltron: Legendary Defender (VLD), and its effects on particular key characters - Zarkon, Haggar, Lotor, Allura, Shiro, and Keith. There is a lot of information to sift through, so bear with me (images can be better viewed on another tab after right-clicking (PC) or control+clicking (mac) on them, then choosing “Open Image in New Tab”). As with any analysis, these are my interpretations of the text and not meant to be treated as canon, though I strive to support my readings with canonical evidence. This post contains spoilers for all aired six seasons.

Quintessence is woven ubiquitously throughout the series’ mythos, but we only have it properly defined around the tail end of the first season: “[...] [T]he substance with the highest known energy per unit volume in the universe.” (1.10)

Essentially, it is the VLD universe’s “life force”, a self-generating power source that provides fuel, longevity, and restoration. Zarkon’s dominating empire relies heavily on it as standardized fuel, colonizing and mining countless planets in order to harvest its power. Within the present timeline, Haggar successfully constructs and brandishes a device called the komar, capable of consuming an entire planet’s quintessence in minutes. (1.06)

We have seen it heal lifeforms. (1.10)

Confirmed when we see that Honerva administered an ailing Kova to live beyond his life expectancy, it is the elixir keeping Zarkon and Haggar alive over 10,000 years. (3.07)

Ultimately, quintessence drives Zarkon’s obsession to seize Voltron in order to create a new rift and attain unlimited access to the purest kind of quintessence which comes from the zone between realities. (1.11, 3.07)

It is why Voltron’s return after its absence did not deter Lotor; his means to enter the quintessence field (again) was within reach. (3.03, 3.04) 

The main, overarching conflict of the series stems from quintessence acquisition. (5.05)

The properties found within quintessence can be broadly defined within two categories - healing and transmutation. It can be divided into subcategories by color: yellow for raw, purple for refined, blue-tinged white for concentrated/pure. The following are visual examples. The first is Zarkon’s quintessence-infusion ritual conducted by Haggar and her druids sprinkled across the first season; Zarkon then has them enhance his paladin-lion link to track down the Black Lion across great distances. (1.03, 2.06, 2.03)

Next, is the results of Haggar performing her tests on the komar and using it in combat. (1.06, 2.13) The container which housed an entire planet’s worth of quintessence could not withstand Voltron’s, implying that Voltron’s quintessence greatly exceeds the amount found within a planet, and there are still some remnants left even after the extraction. Removal of quintessence begets death.

In contrast, immersion of quintessence promotes life. (1.08) (Too much of it, however, can be addictive and poisonous; I’ll touch more on this later.) 

After raw quintessence is refined into fuel, it powers Galra technology and grossly augments or sustains biology. (1.10, 2.10, 2.13, 5.02, 5.05)

Enriched quintessence makes its presence known in recent seasons, once even overloading Kolivan’s sensors while gathering intelligence. 

Keith becomes adamant that this new form of quintessence has something to do with Lotor, and rightfully so. (4.01)

His search leads him to one of Zarkon’s commanders, Ranveig, who intercepted a shipment containing the unusual quintessence. 

Ranveig experiments with the quintessence in order to create an incredibly powerful superweapon whose whereabouts are currently unknown. (5.05, 6.02)

I was with Ranveig when an unmarked cargo ship passed into his region. When we checked it out, there was no crew aboard. The ship had been nearly torn to pieces, but inside, a single vat of quintessence remained. It was unlike any other quintessence we’d seen.

Later, it is revealed conveniently insinuated by Romelle and Keith that one source of this type of quintessence comes from Alteans harvested by Lotor. (6.04)

As they explained their mission to me, we knew there must have been a connection between the missing Alteans and the pure strain of quintessence.

No! Petrulius! What’s happening to them? These people were supposed to be headed to the colony! Lotor is harvesting their quintessence. 

He uses concentrated quintessence to unsuccessfully traverse through the inter-reality gate before he recalibrates his plans. (4.05) It is uncertain if he used this type of quintessence for any other purpose, but the existence of large amounts of it, which are transported through clandestine, sometimes rigged routes, raises some suspicions.

Without quintessence, Voltron would not have ever existed. (5.01)

The inception of Voltron came from a comet that pierces through Daibazaal’s atmosphere and leaves a tear across reality in its wake. (3.07)

These tears, or rifts, radiate pure quintessence because quintessence resides in the layers between realities; these openings can lead to the quintessence field. (3.07, 3.04)

Alfor’s research into the quintessence-fused ore uncovers the secrets of life, encouraging further exploration to synthesize industrial uses for the universe’s sustenance. A single drop of quintessence can energize machines with no lapse in performance, a principle that Alfor implements to supply the Lions with endless energy and one that Zarkon seeks after for his own purposes. 

Quintessence also seemingly grants a sense of sentience to the Lions, which offers them a way to communicate with their chosen paladins. 

Alfor’s experiment with the ore in all likelihood led to his discovery of Oriande, the birthplace of Altean alchemy; the knowledge gained there is used on the Lions. Magical engineering grants machines remarkable resilience, demonstrated throughout the story.

When spacecraft made from the mysterious comet are successfully imbued with quintessence via Altean alchemy, they obtain the ability to traverse between realities. (3.07, 3.04, 5.05)

Voltron and the Sincline ships benefit from Allura’s abilities and alchemic knowledge, making the quintessence field accessible to them. (5.06, 6.02, 6.07)

Your father, King Alfor, was a gifted alchemist, whose unique ability allowed him to infuse the Voltron ore with Altean energy, granting it and the paladins access to the quintessence field. Now you, Allura, possess that same gift.

Our visit to Oriande has taught me more than I ever thought possible. 

How can he just disappear like that? He’s entering the quintessence field at will. Didn’t we blow up the gate? How is he entering without it? Because I gave his ships the ability.

Form sword. 

Being neither inherently good nor evil, quintessence is pure and malleable. External factors can determine its usefulness. Alfor and Zarkon’s ideological differences and goals for quintessence exemplify this: Alfor wanted quintessence to be used as clean energy dispersed throughout the universe whereas Zarkon aggressively coveted it because of his greed for power, mirroring Honerva’s insatiable pursuit for knowledge. (3.07)

Allura and Lotor repeat this polarization: Allura shows reasonable fear towards this ultimate power, while Lotor eventually abuses it for his own selfish agenda. (Is he truly autonomous, or is his agency compromised as well? Another point to tackle later in this post.) (6.04, 6.07) 

In the hands of the wrong person, this power could easily corrupt.

I can feel the quintessence coursing through me.  It’s like my spirit, my whole being, is more alive. 

Poor Allura! All the power in the universe at your fingertips and you still fear using it. 

Caution should be exercised when handling quintessence; like medicine, too much quintessence can deteriorate the mind and body. (3.07) Quintessence overdose also accentuates the negative aspects of the individual misusing it, leading to fatal consequences. 

(As an aside, clever in hindsight to have Shiro - his clone, yes, but still ultimately another Shiro - mention inner darkness as his own is involuntarily perverted by Haggar’s hand, once again drawing narrative parallels between the fallen hero and antagonist.) (6.04)

But even if they do reach the quintessence field, then what? That last time anyone got in there, it turned Zarkon evil. [...] Zarkon fell prey to his own evil instincts. The quintessence field didn’t create them, it revealed them. 

Hints scattered across the show illustrate this: Zarkon has always shown a sense of ethnocentrism and superiority based on social hierarchy and strength. His detestation for weakness means he has no qualms with looking down on those he deems lesser and extinguishing them. This is highlighted by his prejudice towards Alteans warping into unadulterated hatred for the entire Altean species after his resurrection. (3.07, 1.01) Remorselessly, Zarkon destroys Altea in retaliation to Alfor destroying Daibaazal. He shows zero hesitation in killing his own kin if their actions read as a threat of usurpation. (5.02)

Honerva gradually discards ethics and morality in the name of science, viewing anything living as expendable and only worth her attention if it advances her research. As Haggar, her sadism knows no limits. (3.07, 6.05)

However, you’ve continued the work I started all that time ago and have indeed seen it through to heights I could have only imagined. Your never-ending pursuit of knowledge is truly-- [...] You are an abomination. A twisted perversion of what was once so pure and beautiful. 

Lotor’s fear of yielding to his enemies morphs into a frenzied determination to wipe out all of his foes, boasting his status as a pseudo-god. The story emphasizes that Lotor’s all-consuming, infectious violence felt within the quintessence field stems from prolonged exposure to it. No one is immune to it. (6.06, 6.07)

Once I wipe out Voltron, I’m going to start a new Altea. An Altea that will never know of Princess Allura or King Alfor. Nor will they know of the Lions of Voltron. All they’ll know is me, their great leader! I’m ready to wipe the universe clean of all my enemies. Voltron, Haggar and the rest of the Galra.

Let’s end this! Finish him! Let’s destroy that guy! We have to get out of here. What are you talking about? This is exactly what happened to Zarkon. Exposure to all this quintessence turned him into a monster!

If we’d stayed in the quintessence field, we would’ve kept fighting until we destroyed ourselves. Just like Lotor. 

It may explain why Alfor kept the location of the second trans-reality comet (the one from which Lotor built the Sincline ships) a secret, to avoid it from falling into the wrong hands again. (3.04)

Similarly to quintessence-infused vessels, strange, shapeshifting creatures are capable of safely traversing between realities. (3.07)

Do they reside in the quintessence field? Or do they come from the particular reality neighboring the core one? Oddly enough, when Voltron and the Sincline ships fight within the quintessence field, no dark creatures appeared, which may mean they reside elsewhere yet still have the ability to traverse through the field… In any case, these creatures affected Zarkon and Honverva when they exposed themselves to pure quintessence, and perhaps give reason as to how they returned from the dead. (3.07)

Would they also explain the growing fractures in sanity experienced by Honerva, Zarkon, and eventually even Lotor, the latter with whom was exposed to the rift creatures in utero? Perhaps the rift creatures leech off of quintessence for sustenance; the more quintessence overdosing a living being partakes, the more the rift creatures consume, poisoning the being’s mind. As she writhed in pain, all Honerva could utter (likely under the influence of the rift creatures) was quintessence and the one thing that could ultimately wrest even more of the addictive substance - Voltron. 

During Shiro’s astral trip down memory lane, Zarkon’s eyes are glowing, unlike his former self before Honerva’s research, suggesting he was affected by quintessence and/or rift exposure but not to the extent that Honerva’s constant contact within her lab perpetuated (2.07).

Continue to part two here.

Edit: After reading up some theories that we don’t know the full story regarding Lotor, the Altean colonies, and Romelle’s suspicious, biased account, I altered some claims I made regarding Lotor.

after seeing misguided assumptions like the above littered in the sheith tags, i decided to impulsively conduct a survey. it’s a fun experiment to test the hypothesis: "Are Sheith Shippers Cis Straight White Women?"

bear in mind the pool was 300 responses, ergo do not wholly reflect anything, but there are apparent patterns which arise from the results. some data is expected to be skewed, as the respondents were not required to sign-in so as to maintain anonymity. the same respondent could have responded more than once to this survey

the survey’s questions/instructions were the following:

Do you ship Sheith?

Select the age range you fall under: 

Have you created and/or are creating fanart and/or fanfiction for this ship?

Do you ship other people with Keith or Shiro? (i.e. Are you a multishipper?)

Are you cis(gender)?

Are you straight?

Are you white? (If you are white-passing, you are NOT white)

Do you dislike Lance as a character? (This is a common assumption made about Sheith shippers)

Cont. from the above question: If you picked "yes" or "neutral/apathetic", please briefly explain. Character bashing is not permitted.

Do you think Sheith Fandom has a colorism problem?

Do you think Klance Fandom has a colorism problem?

Do you think VLD Fandom as a whole has a colorism problem?

Do you think you are treated unfairly within fandom because you ship Sheith?

Cont. from above question: If you picked "yes", please briefly explain/share your experiences. All responses are anonymous.

the results more or less poked holes through the hypothesis

the choices were “Yes”/“No”. 283 out of 300 respondents chose “Yes” and were directed to the second portion of the survey. 17 out of 300 respondents chose “No” and were directed to the submission page

the choices were “Under 15″/“15 - 17″/“18 - 20″/“21 - 29″/"Over 29″. 160 out of 283 respondents chose “21 - 29″  73 out of 283 respondents chose “18 - 20″ 25 out of 283 respondents chose “15 - 17″ 20 out of 283 respondents chose “Over 29″ 5 out of 283 respondents chose “Under 15″ 

the choices were “Yes”/“No”. 170 out of 283 respondents chose “Yes” 113 out of 283 respondents chose “No”  i was curious about whether or not a sheith shipper was also a content creator

the choices were “Yes”/“No”. 185 out of 283 respondents chose “Yes” 98 out of 283 respondents chose “No” i was curious about whether or not a sheith shipper was also a multishipper

the choices were “Yes”/“No”/“Questioning”. 159 out of 283 respondents chose “Yes” 90 out of 283 respondents chose “No”  34 out of 283 respondents chose “Questioning”

the choices were “Yes”/“No”/“Questioning”. 228 out of 283 respondents chose “No” 28 out of 283 respondents chose “Questioning” 27 out of 283 respondents chose “Yes” 

the choices were “Yes”/“No”. 151 out of 283 respondents chose “No” 132 out of 283 respondents chose “Yes” 

the choices were “Yes”/“No”/“Neutral/Apathetic about him”. 185 out of 283 respondents chose “No” 69 out of 283 respondents chose “Neutral/Apathetic about him” 29 out of 283 respondents chose “Yes”

Free Responses

the choices were “Yes”/“No”. 256 out of 283 respondents chose “No” 27 out of 283 respondents chose “Yes” 

the choices were “Yes”/“No”. 163 out of 283 respondents chose “No” 120 out of 283 respondents chose “Yes” 

the choices were “Yes”/“No”. 142 out of 283 respondents chose “Yes” 141 out of 283 respondents chose “No” 

the choices were “Yes”/“No”. 150 out of 283 respondents chose “Yes” 133 out of 283 respondents chose “No”

Free responses

my conclusions? don’t assume anything about someone based on their shipping preferences. ship wars should not condone ostracization and hostility

thank you for responding! i was pleasantly surprised by the turnout. the most illuminating part of this survey, personally speaking, was the free responses. if you have the time, please look through those. i deeply appreciate the ones who shared their experiences; it can’t have been easy disclosing them (cw for emotional manipulation, bullying, harassment, mentions of csa and racism)

please remain respectful in the comments/tags, and don’t hesitate to share constructive feedback and thoughts regarding the results.

you can contact me using the following avenues: https://twitter.com/aomine_ebooks | https://curiouscat.me/aomine_ebooks

ep2: :’) the only version of shkl@nce i tolerate

 ep2: i can’t believe i’m saying this but lance is cute

i can’t believe goli0n baptized akira/shiro in pure light and no one else

“i’m afraid of heights!!”

“just don’t look down” 

why is vld lnc so...ew abt hunk’s stomach issues but in bkg he’s actually considerate/reasonable

OMFG THIS SHOW IS SO NOT CHILD APPROPRIATE WHAT THE HELL AT THIS GORE

wait so goli0n challenged the god of the universe?

“what’s a god to a nonbeliever”

okay finally getting my ass to watch bkg. i’m. charmed. 80′s an*me is something

oh wow! um, thank you for the new follows and reblogs/likes. i barely have the time/energy to draw souharu lately (grad school+depression lolz) but i have been thinking a lot about getting back into drawing my fave free characters (esp since ka effed up their dynamic again AND ruined continuity...idk how i feel with a new free series....) anyways, hi!! you can find me on twttr and curiouscat.me mainly @aomine_ebooks if you want, but no pressure to follow! i just thought if anyone wanted to idk chat and stuff i'm down with that :) feel free to message me here as well

souharu holic au no one asked for

SouHaru Week | Day 7: Competition & Olympics

/aggressively ignores kyo*ni’s treatment of these boys so their rivalry can thrive/

belated because of stress and working on two comprehensive souharu meta posts but i digress from shameless self-promotions

SouHaru Week | Day 3: AU 

sci-fi stardust au, where humans and fallen stars co-pilot huge, ancient mechas to protect galactic kingdoms. imagine haru flipping his hair in sousuke's face, sousuke spluttering and sneezing out stardust

haru shrugs, "it's what stars do."

Flowing Energies, part 2

Part 1 can be found here.

In the opening of Free!: Eternal Summer (FES), Haruka and Sousuke are centerpiece foils, ostensibly illustrating their conflict and eventually their resolution as essential to their respective arcs. For the sake of a significant plot point, namely the overarching theme “future,” the conflict between them prioritizes Rin’s inclusion and by the series’ conclusion the dispute remains unsettled, aside from them ending on more friendlier terms. Only a few things are retained from the novels while many aspects of characterization are overblown for underwhelming drama. 

Episode 1:

Following his notorious monologue, Haruka contemplates over the water cupped in his hand, designating it tamed, defanged, sterilized of its vitality, “just not enough,” and thus lacking its vibrancy. He slowly sinks further inside the bathtub.

“You’re not here to join the club?”

Sousuke arrives in front of the newly established Iwatobi Swimming Club Returns (ISCR), confirming with Coach Sasabe that the building is indeed the same Iwatobi Swimming Club. When Coach Sasabe offers his indoor pool for the practice of Iwatobi High’s swim club, Haruka immediately dives in. 

Unbeknownst to the others, Sousuke watches from behind the window of the lobby, obscured; by contrast, Haruka is bathed in light. Portended is their respective roles within the narrative before intersecting: Sousuke, embittered and lurking in the shadows with his dreams in pieces, discarding the old to embark on the new; Haruka, peacefully immersed in his safe space, lighthearted in his boundless potential. They occupy different planes, separated by the glass window, Sousuke on the outside looking in.

After a botched attempt to actualize Rin’s childhood wish (“I want to try swimming like that sometime, in a pool full of cherry blossoms.” High Speed, 1), Rin berates Haruka and Makoto for their lack of graduation plans, signaling the season’s central theme, “for the future”. Rain passes through Iwatobi High School, leaving the cherry trees bare of blossoms, and Haruka sights a bird circling the sky. Subsequently, the closing scenes depict Sousuke’s transference to Samezuka Academy. The sequence of images perhaps serve as a callback to their sky parallel found in High Speed! 2 (HS2).

A neat observation is the connection of weather and the arrival of the enigmatic “antagonist”. Last season, a windswept petal landing in Haruka’s bathwater precedes Rin’s return to Japan, whereas an abrupt rainshower separating the cluster of petals precedes Sousuke’s official introduction. Another interpretation found within this symbolism is the clashing of two different elements (wind and water) and of the same element but from different sources (pool water and rainwater). Interestingly, Haruka is the first character introduced in the episode, with Sousuke being the last, almost like bookends for the season’s onset.

Episode 2:

Sousuke introduces himself to Samezuka’s swimming team. Nitori greets Sousuke as he flexes his left shoulder, hand flinching when Nitori mentions Haruka.

“He’s got nothing to do with Haru.” “I know about Nanase.” 

According to Rin, Sousuke and Haruka share zero association with each other, which contradicts HS2. Rin and Sousuke exchanged letters about Sousuke’s interactions with and opinions of Haruka. Sousuke disputes Rin’s claims, explaining how he encountered Haruka and the experience of racing him:

“I once raced him at a tournament. My entire body buzzed with energy when I swam with him. I see why you’re so taken with him.”

Sousuke’s aforementioned quote reorients the sentiment so it focalizes Rin’s fascination with Haruka (to Rin’s embarrassment), when it is supposedly meant to illustrate Sousuke’s recognition of Haruka’s swimming prowess and as a worthwhile rival. (“Rin’s feelings, I finally understood them. [...] The pressure of being gained on by Nanase. [...] While swimming, my skin tingled. That was the first time. [...] – But, I’ve already experienced it. Next time, I won’t let you overtake me!” HS2, 12) Remember, this electrifying sensation was shared between Sousuke and Haruka; it was not one-sided. (“He was able to feel Sousuke to the extent that his skin tingled with electricity.” HS2, 12)

Coach Sasabe prepares for the grand opening of ISCR, “Splash Fest”; with the assistance of Iwatobi High’s swim club, posters are distributed and the launch’s main event is decided upon after Haruka suggests a relay event. With any race, one needs opponents, which leads to the crew asking for Rin’s help; he reluctantly agrees. 

“I’d like to swim the freestyle leg.”

“I just feel like swimming freestyle.”

Hesitant to ask his own team members for their participation in an unofficial event, Rin wonders how he should broach the request. Sousuke volunteers himself under the condition he swims the freestyle leg despite his speciality being butterfly. Just like in the past, where Sousuke joined his middle school’s swim club to actively challenge Haruka, Sousuke wishes to settle a score.

On the day of ISCR’s grand opening, the establishment bustles with activity. Sousuke enters the building alone; Haruka is the first to notice his presence, eyes shifting towards his approaching figure.

Ensue slow-mo stare down, indicating some history leveled between them. Sousuke’s eyes are dim to contrast Haruka’s bright albeit cautious gaze.

Introductions and friendly banter are exchanged, then Rin leads the Samezuka group away, leaving Haruka to watch Sousuke’s retreating back. A quizzical expression crosses Haruka’s face, as if deciphering a code. An argument could be made that Haruka shows immediate, quiet concern for Sousuke and the hostility exuding from his gaze: What had hardened Sousuke’s challenging gaze into something cool and unforgiving? What has caused this tension between them? Haruka’s and Sousuke’s supposed last encounter – from the novel, though not much of the anime adaptation extrapolates from it aside from some characterization and incidences – ended on a hopeful note, vowing to face each other in friendly competition.

Before the main event, while getting a drink from the vending machine, Haruka initiates conversation with Sousuke, who is leaning against the nearby wall behind Haruka. Haruka tentatively glares, wary of Sousuke’s intentions: 

“What do you want, Yamazaki?” “It’s been a while, Nanase. I saw your relay at regionals last year.” “You’re out here now?”

“As it happens. What you guys did was really idiotic, though. You even dragged Rin into it.” [Sousuke laughs mirthlessly.] “What is it you want to say?” [Sousuke’s smile drops and his expression turns pained.] “I would never have made him do something like that.” [Haruka glares defensively.] “What do you mean?”

Coming off the wall, Sousuke steps into Haruka’s personal space, which results in Haruka taking a step back into the vending machine obstructing his path. The discordant music creates dissonance between what happens onscreen and what one expects to happen, considering Haruka and Rin’s strained reunion last season, specifically the fence scene. Unlike Rin, Sousuke does not lay a hand on Haruka, but he uses his imposing height inappropriately as he goes into overprotective friend mode. 

Sousuke sternly utters, “Don’t ever get in Rin’s way again.” Looming over Haruka, Sousuke’s eyes stay locked with Haruka’s until Sousuke walks away. Haruka’s face looks as though he is experiencing déjà vu.

Despite Sousuke’s grim behavior, it does not deter Haruka from throwing pensive looks in his direction. The medley relay commences. 

Both of them seem to discern the other as an opponent they refuse to lose to, just like they did in seventh grade. 

On the freestyle leg, Haruka leaps from the starting block and slips easily into the water; Sousuke lifts his eyes in a glare. 

At the turn, Haruka senses Sousuke, his sharp intake of breath palpable. Sousuke has little difficulty closing the gap between himself and Haruka. 

“He’s keeping pace with Haru’s speed!”

This is the first time Haruka looks back during a race; Sousuke gaining on him leaves an indelible impression. Slamming his hand against the wall, Haruka emerges from the water, gulping for air, immediately followed by Sousuke.

Haruka is nonchalant by the victory, but he watches Sousuke as he climbs out the water, preoccupied until Makoto reaches out a hand. 

Observing Sousuke who stands apart from Samezuka’s team, Haruka keeps his gaze fixed on him. As if sensing those inquisitive eyes, Sousuke turns his neck, profile stony. Haruka’s expression drops into concern. 

Sousuke’s confrontation brings up last year’s regional tournament where the Iwatobi swim club and Rin pulled off a stunt that got them disqualified. Sousuke’s appropriative anger seems reasonable to an extent because the repercussions could have been more severe: Rin could have been expelled or suspended from Samezuka’s team and banned from future competitions, thus jeopardising any chances of getting scouted as a third-year. Rin’s dreams to become an Olympian would have gone up in smoke. From Sousuke’s limited perspective, Haruka’s actions threaten Rin’s swimming career by dragging him into unnecessary antics. Sousuke is not bullying Haruka. He is, however, being a misguided, loyal friend running off on little knowledge of the events that transpired between Haruka and Rin.

Not only is Sousuke overly defensive of Rin, but one could argue that Sousuke resents losing his rivalry with Rin to Haruka – something that was resolved in HS2 through Sousuke and Haruka mutually challenging each other into a new rivalry. Once again, instead of exposing Rin to his raw emotions, Sousuke hurls his frustrations at Haruka; the difference here is Sousuke does not reflect on the error of his judgment or make immediate amends like he did back in middle school. Eventually Sousuke’s animosity towards Haruka shifts from treating Haruka as the flighty distraction, to the swimmer he envies and thus refuses to acknowledge, to the prodigy unaware of his extensive influence on Rin.

Justifiably cautious towards Sousuke’s grudge, Haruka does not rely on his avoidant coping mechanisms when encountering Sousuke. Not only does Haruka spark dialogue with someone obviously angry at him, but he faces that anger head-on by asking for clarification. Fandom has a tendency to victimize and infantilize Haruka but Haruka never feels endangered by Sousuke. Even at the vending machine, Haruka is startled and confused by Sousuke’s rude presumptions rather than threatened or frightened. Of course this does not excuse Sousuke’s invasion of Haruka’s personal space, but their relationship is not a pattern of harassment and physical violence. If that was the case, Haruka would hardly be proactive in his attempts to understand Sousuke, let alone even converse with him.

Episode 3:

“Haruka-senpai?”

Haruka takes a reprieve from laps until Gou’s voice pierces through his meditation. In contrast to last season’s passiveness, Haruka plainly inquires about Sousuke: “Can I ask you something?” 

“Did something happen with Sousuke-kun?” “No.”

Attentively listening to Gou, Haruka learns that Sousuke’s future has already been decided through a university scouting him; he transferred to Samezuka to spend his last year of high school back home and to swim in his own way. Haruka flashbacks to Sousuke’s crude warning.

Notably, rather than dissociating from Sousuke, whose hostility spells trouble, Haruka consciously acts on his curiosity and investigates. It exemplifies his character development from season one, where he sees the benefit of assertiveness. Regardless of the emotional changes undergone, Haruka is still equivocal, as attested by Haruka denying Gou’s conjecture that something transpired between Sousuke and him. However, neither Gou nor Makoto function as a bridge between Haruka and the season’s “antagonist” like they did last season. Haruka brings up Sousuke and asks further questions about him of his own volition, something that stops occurring around the reveal of Sousuke’s shoulder.

Episode 4:

“Rin and Yamazaki?”

Gou mentions bumping into Rin and Sousuke during her shopping trip for protein powder. Haruka’s eyes widen after hearing Sousuke’s name.

During warm ups, while Rei helps Haruka stretch, the former asks why Rin didn’t swim the sixth-grade relay with Sousuke if they were best friends. Haruka freezes.

In the flashback of Rin and Sousuke’s first and last attempt to swim in a relay together, Sousuke delivers solemn truths which seem to mirror Haruka’s opinions on cooperative swimming:

“I guess for me, swimming really is an individual sport. When you dive in the water, you’re alone. And it’s not like feeling all buddy-buddy makes you any faster… We think too differently about this. You and I are better off not teaming up. I swim for myself. So I want to swim and be responsible only for myself.”

Ultimately, that was what being in a relay meant. You couldn't swim just for yourself. You had to be concerned with things like winning and losing, responsibility, and teamwork. (HS, 4)

Swimming was fundamentally an individual contest, and Haruka thought relays were an extension of that. That was why it seemed logical to him to practice individually, and he saw no need to fixate on being in a team. [...] Once you jumped into the water, you were alone. All each swimmer had to do was show their respective power and swim as fast as they could. There was no other way that Haruka could think about it. (HS, 5)

Another discrepancy crops up between HS2 and FES. Sousuke has no qualms with swimming in a team, but the show implies that after the one attempt, Sousuke never tries to participate in a relay again until he chases after his new dream. Ohji’s Sousuke never rejects the concept of teamwork, but Rin does claim that because of their deep similarities and understanding of each other, they often quarreled or inadvertently silenced one another, making it exhaustive to be on the same team (HS, 7).

Episode 6:

“What about Yamazaki?” “Sousuke-kun’s specialty is butterfly, but it looks like he’s not racing in the butterfly here.”

Another example of Haruka taking blatant interest in Sousuke occurs during prefecturals, to Nagisa’s quiet astonishment: “What about Yamazaki?” Sousuke opts out of participating in the butterfly event, foreshadowing his injury.

Regardless of the 0.02 second difference between them, when Rin comes second to Haruka, Sousuke admonishes Rin as they prepare to depart from prefecturals:

“You can’t go losing a race like that, Rin.” “Easy for you to say. That Haru… Every time I swim against him, he gets faster. He’s like a freaking monster!”

At Rin’s appreciation of Haruka’s ability, Sousuke’s face becomes crestfallen. It can be postulated that bitterness lurks behind Sousuke’s expression because he envies Haruka for having Rin’s approval, the abandoned rivalry between Rin and him, the capacity to even swim and pursue aspirations Sousuke has lost. Imagine if the show had extrapolated from Ohji’s writing, where the Sousuke-Haruka rivalry remained intact and Sousuke envies Rin for becoming Haruka’s match, as Sousuke grapples with his debilitating injury. It is not out of character for Sousuke to want what Rin has but personally lacks. (“He felt envious of that Rin, who can run off with such a vague motive. Within Sousuke, there was nothing like that.” HS2, 4) In any case, the show does not adequately convey this side of Sousuke’s resentment in explicit terms, since the audience is not privy to Sousuke’s introspection.

Additionally, there is a glaring disconnect in Utsumi’s interpretations of Ohji’s characters. Sousuke is the type of straightforward person who gets caught up in the moment, but he is quite self-reflective when he crosses lines. Several times in the novel he bluntly confronts Haruka, changing his attitude when appropriate, and yet they barely have any two-sided interactions throughout the show, with Sousuke largely unapologetic with regards to his belligerence. Their conflict is left incomplete by the end of the season; the bonus episode fails to address the crux of their turbulent relationship despite presenting the signs of a mutual truce.

Episode 7:

Glaring sidelong at Haruka, Sousuke recalls Rin’s lofty words: “But I was saved by Haru and the others. By my friends.” However, Sousuke refuses to understand the sentiment behind the claim, as Sousuke’s misdirected envy consumes him: Even so, I won’t acknowledge you.

“Haru...”

The theme of future apposes between Haruka and Sousuke, as they navigate through their respective character arcs. On Haruka’s end, Ama-sensei bears news of a scout contacting the school because of his stellar performance during prefecturals. Haruka does not share the rest of the cast’s enthusiasm, his features and response neutral. Delighted that this may inspire Haruka into exploring post-graduation options, Ama-sensei reassures that this will make things easier on him, only for Haruka to walk away mid-conversation and dive into the pool. Ever the big-brother type, Makoto does not look pleased by Haruka’s deflection.

“Are you not feeling well?”

On Sousuke’s end, Rin informs him that the same university that scouted Sousuke contacted him. When Rin good-naturedly chuckles at the thought of him and Sousuke potentially swimming in the same team after graduation, Sousuke instantly drops the weight machine to a complete stop. Seeing Sousuke turn dismissive and sullen flares up Rin’s suspicion over the peculiar behavior, becoming irritated by Sousuke’s reticence.

Episode seven concludes with Haruka and Sousuke as inverses, reflecting the contrast between companionship-determination and loneliness-resignation. Moving forward with his teammates, Haruka speaks candidly, “I want to swim with you guys. Right now, what I want to do is treasure this feeling.” Eyes downcast and mouth set in a somber line, Sousuke heads to the hospital alone.

Perhaps because of insecurity, Sousuke rejects Haruka. Haruka aided Rin in overcoming his wall while Sousuke remained helpless during Rin’s five-year long silence. Haruka can stand by Rin’s side so effortlessly whereas Sousuke recklessly damaged his body in hopes of reaching the same stage and still failed. Yet, according to Ohji’s handling of Sousuke, Sousuke acknowledges Haruka’s efforts, even offering advice on how to perfect a new swimming form (HS2, 8) and congratulating Haruka for breaking records (HS2, 12).

Episode 8:

His shoulder...healed?

Kisumi delivers the bomb: “Oh, so then Sousuke’s shoulder must have healed, huh?” Haruka’s eyebrows furrow, taken aback by Kisumi’s words. At the news of Sousuke’s participation in tournaments, Kisumi explains that he ran into Sousuke back at the hospital while getting treatment for a minor injury. 

“Sousuke?”

Caught red-handed, Sousuke grits his molars in the flashback. But since Sousuke is competing, it must be guaranteed that his injury was minor or at least not a deterrent. 

Haruka seems, if not skeptical, at least clearly worried. 

The preview for the upcoming episode has Sousuke’s disembodied voice ask Haruka some hard-pressed questions, with Haruka faltering in his response:

“Nanase, what do you intend to do? Are you prepared to cast aside everything else and swim for a dream you cannot surrender to anyone else? If you’re not prepared to do that, then you have no right to stand on this stage.” “Dream? Future? I…”

One would presume that this exchange would delineate the last stretch of the season’s theme through the conflict between literary foils. Disappointingly, the series does not even end on a Haruka-centric note, despite him being the main protagonist and the fundamental character whose lack of a concrete future plunged him into a crisis, let alone draw conclusions between Haruka and Sousuke. The latter character does not even have a denouement to speak of; Sousuke conveniently disappears and reappears, complicit in the writing’s treatment of Haruka as the key to Rin’s narrative fulfillment, while he – as an injured athlete – has no future or place in the pro swimming world.

Episode 9:

Episodes nine and ten are fondly and frustratingly referred to as “catharses that went nowhere,” at least for this analysis. Before diving in, here is a lighthearted parallel of two introverts and their aversion towards inconveniences.

“No fair! Coach me, too!: “What a pain...”

“Haru-chan, teach him how to swim!” “No, that requires effort.”

“Oh, it’s nothing...”

“Gou-chan, have you heard anything about Yamazaki-kun?”

At the end of practice, Gou announces that Nitori may be swimming in the relay for Samezuka; Nagisa, thrilled that his rival in breaststroke is potentially participating, worries about the strong competition “Rin-chan” and “Sou-chan” will impose. Recalling Kisumi’s words and snapping out of the memory by Gou, Makoto asks her if she has heard anything about Sousuke, Haruka averting his eyes in the background. When prompted to elaborate his curiosity, Makoto deflects. 

On their way home, Haruka and Makoto sit by the shore, Makoto wondering aloud the validity of Kisumi’s claim. Haruka replies: “Who knows? It doesn’t matter either way. If he can swim, it must be fine.” 

Makoto agrees: "We need to worry about ourselves right now.” Haruka’s profile stays reflective as the sea breeze ruffles his hair.  

Haruka tends to perceive things at face value and hardly considers hypotheticals and possibilities which negate direct observations. Consequently, he expects others to be forthright and genuine with their intentions – which is why when people suddenly contradict their previous statements or actions, he becomes frazzled and vexed. He does not pry or badger those who withhold information from him because he tends to keep to himself. Usually Haruka logically evaluates a situation with a stiff upper lip, keeping quiet of his restless emotions. In retrospect, Haruka also seems to be reassuring himself that Sousuke’s condition is nothing to fret over, while simultaneously throwing furtive looks of worry at him. Considering Haruka’s belief that water holds healing properties, (“Once he got into the water, he was healed. After he swam, something as small as a cold would always be cured as if it had never been there at all.” HS, 2; “[H]e felt as though he was being healed. For Haruka, this is how the water always was.” HS, 3; “He wanted to be healed by the water.” HS2, 5) Haruka rationalizes that Sousuke is in good health, as he has seen no evidence that points otherwise.

Regionals come to pass. Mirroring episode two, Samezuka members arrive in the same hotel after Iwatobi’s do, and Haruka silently observes Sousuke as the two swim clubs interact before going their separate ways. A night out in the city leads to the Iwatobi club running into Seijuro, Samezuka’s ex-captain, and Toudou, a scout from his university. Earlier in the episode, Haruka receives congratulations and praise from the principal and guidance counselor; meeting Toudou triggers Haruka’s ornery resistance against his escalating anxiety.

“I sense your talent has infinite potential. We can’t allow that talent to go to waste. I’m positive you’ll climb to far greater heights. We have high expectations for your race tomorrow!”

Despite Toudou’s compliments, Haruka’s expression darkens. Even in the hotel room, Haruka slips out in hopes of relieving himself from stress, only to bump into Sousuke and a hotel worker in the elevator. 

When the worker tries to exit the lift, the towel trolley snags over the threshold, causing its contents to fall over. Instinctively Sousuke tries to catch the towels with his bad shoulder. Haruka notices Sousuke’s wince from his periphery. 

Afterwards, Haruka strikes up conversation: 

“Your shoulder hasn’t healed yet?” “What are you talking about?” “I ran into Kisumi the other day. He told me.” [Sousuke clicks his teeth, turning his head to the side.] “Damn him.”

[Sousuke steps out of the elevator.] “Wait.” “It won’t have any effect on the match. But… Don’t breathe a word of this to Rin.” [The elevator doors gradually shut on Haruka’s upset face.]

Haruka calls out to Sousuke, which is a significant act in its rarity. Not one to beat around the bushes when it truly counts, Haruka delves straight into the heart of the matter, but Sousuke instantaneously shuts down further discussion. Sousuke’s loyalty to Rin rears its head again, making Sousuke behave like a scared animal baring its fangs.

“So swim already.”

Outside, Haruka runs, everyone’s expectations lingering on his mind, chasing him into his dreams. Within his subconsciousness, Haruka backs into the wall and his shadow morphs into Sousuke. Haruka’s nightmare leaves a festering wound which affects his performance. 

As Rin gets into position on the starting block, Sousuke and Haruka watch. Preceding Haruka’s race, Sousuke leaves after Rin places first place in his heat. The genius freestyle swimmer burns out. In the locker room, Rin criticizes Haruka until the latter explodes, impulsively confessing he has neither a future nor a dream, to everyone’s shock. Meanwhile, Sousuke silently agonizes under the spray of the showers. Incoming wretched parallels.

Episode 10:

Haruka surveys Rin’s next event with an unreadable countenance, until he leaves the bleachers. The next scene is of the lobby area where Sousuke sits in contemplation, cradling his shoulder. Rin eventually exposes Sousuke’s secret. 

Coincidentally, sitting outside in a daze before noticing the two’s presence, Haruka overhears Sousuke share the painful details of his crushed ambitions to Rin. But since Kyoani does not find it imperative to expand on Haruka and Sousuke’s seventh-grade promise to compete against one another in the future, Sousuke sank into fatalism. “Of course it broke down.”

“I decided to give up swimming.”

After long deliberation and going in and out of physical therapy, Sousuke chose to lay his old dreams to rest. The news leaves Rin and Haruka equally stunned. 

“I want to truly become your friend. Rin, your friend!”

Listening to Sousuke’s heartfelt wish to swim with Rin again, to become Rin’s teammate, instills a renewed drive within Haruka. Perhaps he remembers his own emotional gratification from swimming in relays, from cementing bonds which engulf him in light. Haruka slips away, undetected.

“I want to swim. I want to swim the relay with all of you.”

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

“I want to swim in the relay. I want to swim with you guys again!” (Free!, 9)

Returning to his teammates, Haruka apologizes for his tardiness, stalling in preparations for the final medley race, gaze resolute.

At everyone vocalizing their surprise and concern over Sousuke’s bruised shoulder, Haruka speaks:

“Yamazaki...saw our relay last year. After watching us, Yamazaki found his dream. And he learned what it means to swim with friends. He also gained a strong desire to swim the best possible relay on the best possible team. Even if it meant wrecking his shoulder. So I want us to respond to his wish with all we’ve got.”

The fire in Haruka’s eyes burns bright, evoking his teammates’ fighting spirit. Consistently Haruka is portrayed as highly intuitive and hypersensitive to emotions, easily propelled forward by their momentum. Sousuke’s simple yet poignant dream resonates deeply with Haruka because he, too, once yearned to escape from loneliness and to rebuild his strong sense of self after experiencing loss, no matter the compensation paid.

“I want to swim in a relay with all of you. With the best team I could ask for... I’m sure you feel the same way, Haruka-senpai! The race isn’t important! There’s someone you want to swim with, right?!” (Free!, 12)

“It’s their wish. They want to swim with Nanase no matter what.” Sousuke was where Natsuya was looking. He looked at Haruka with glaring eyes. He wondered if he could swim it. He wondered if he could swim in a way that would satisfy Sousuke. (HS2, 7)

After all is said and done, Haruka looks on as Sousuke expresses his gratitude to his teammates. Fandom reduces Haruka and Sousuke as two teens filled with hatred and spite for each other, but that is far from what the canon presents in both the novel and the show. Even during the tentative stages of accepting Sousuke’s rivalry, Haruka acknowledges and gradually reciprocates Sousuke’s passion. In the same vein, Haruka feels inclined to fully respect the feelings of camaraderie overflowing from Sousuke’s heart. Essentially Sousuke’s final request as a swimmer rejuvenates Haruka’s inner fire. It complements Haruka’s emotional growth and journey of learning the importance of friendship and teamwork. Sadly, the anime warps their relationship as one that is heavily dependent on Rin whereas the novel has them cultivate and sustain something in his absence. Rin is the thread which leads Sousuke to Haruka. However, it is Sousuke who chooses to approach Haruka out of friendship loyalty; it is Haruka who chooses to warm up to Sousuke, even though having equals in water affinity used to evoke negative emotions like anger and insecurity. Both of them operate outside of their association with Rin, who – contrary to Kyoani’s belief – is not the epicenter of either Haruka’s or Sousuke’s life. Put in fannish terms, Haruka, Sousuke, and Rin do not form a triangle, romantic or otherwise.

For the preview for episode eleven, Haruka narrates: “Unchanging sky. Unchanging nothing…” Makoto replies, “Even if they don’t look different, both the sea and the sky do change. And so do we.” Not only are Haruka’s and Sousuke’s faces superimposed on key parts of the aforementioned quote, but it seems to support the idea that the two share complementary arcs. Too bad the writing falls flat.

Episode 11:

“I can see some hesitation in Haruka-senpai’s swimming.”

There are distinct parallels juxtaposed between them. Rei is disconcerted by Haruka’s listless swimming. Rin looks worried over Sousuke. 

“And what caused him to change like that may have been us.”

“Hey, good practice.”

The scenes switch between Haruka and Sousuke as they float in limbo: Haruka stays behind post-practice, contemplating, as Sousuke changes in his dorm room, his shoulder brace out in the open. 

“Yo, Nanase.”

Walking past the school’s gates, Haruka stops in his tracks at his name being called. It is Sousuke, waiting for him. This encounter seems analogous to the one found in chapter seven of HS2. Sousuke echoes the same words from back then: “Come with me for a bit.”

“What do you want?” “At the tournament, you stopped in the middle of a race.” [Haruka’s eyes narrow.] “That’s none of your concern.” “Maybe not, but it concerns Rin. If you stop, Rin could end up stopping, too.” “You’ve come to hound me about that before.” “I still don’t acknowledge you. But you are important to Rin. You understand that, don’t you?” [Haruka steels his shoulders defensively.] “So what?” “Swimming with you brings out Rin’s potential. He needs you.” 

“Why are you always so concerned about Rin?”

“I want him to stand on the international stage. The international stage I couldn’t stand on.” [Haruka averts his eyes in sympathy.] 

“You have incredible ability. So you need to stop wasting time. Take a step! Forward!”

Presumably Sousuke does not witness Haruka’s breakdown since he was experiencing his own breakdown in the showers. If he had been present, it would have been a great callback to Sousuke lecturing Haruka for racing past his limits and failing to face Sousuke with all his might. Not to mention, the irony this would manifest, as roles have been reversed – it is now Sousuke who swims beyond his limits, undoing two-year’s worth of rehabilitation.

Sousuke believes Haruka’s vacillation and inaction discredit Rin’s endeavors; this insinuates that Rin is dependent on Haruka’s swimming, something confirmed by Rin in episode 12. (“That’s why it’s hard for me when you’re not always there ahead of me, showing me the path I should take. Without you, I have nothing to aim for, you know?”) Sousuke’s words ultimately reinforce Rin’s idolization of Haruka and inability to improve without Haruka. This is not so much as a guilt tactic so much as Sousuke making Haruka aware of the bone-deep effect he has on Rin, which is irrelevant because the only one who should be held accountable for that is Rin, the one orbiting around Haruka. However, one cannot argue that the narrative endorses rushing Haruka to choose professional swimming as his dream. Haruka’s and Sousuke’s second direct interaction is cringe-worthy because it aggravates the pressures Haruka faces in the final half of the season. Ranging from school faculty to classmates to friends, Haruka is bombarded by expectations to swim for victory and records, to pursue a career in swimming, with scant breathing room. Conveniently, Sousuke stays ignorant of this fact.

During his unsolicited lecture, Sousuke contradicts himself – he says he does not acknowledge Haruka and yet he praises Haruka’s skill. Moreover, it is a variation of this line – which has been a pervasive infliction on Haruka and unintentionally reduces him to his talents – that makes Haruka snap during his confrontation with Makoto: 

“The truth is, you want to find a dream, too! You should find that dream, and go flying into the outside world to follow it! You have the ability to do that!” “Even you’re talking like this?”

Sousuke calls out Haruka’s obliviousness of his influence over Rin, but it really is no different to how everyone else regards Haruka: his influential ability is meant to be shared to everyone else’s benefit. The difference is Sousuke never postulates himself as Haruka’s ally nor does he treat his brusque actions as sanctimonious. In the novel, they mutually acknowledge each other as worthy opponents; Sousuke confronts Haruka mainly for Rin’s sake, but Sousuke expresses his own interest in and respect for Haruka as a fellow swimmer, which Haruka fully requites.

What is the meaning behind Haruka’s loaded question, “Why are you always so concerned about Rin?”? Nothing is elaborated in the show, as Haruka’s thoughts are largely inaccessible. Had the anime sufficiently covered the base of their rivalry, Haruka would not have asked Sousuke why he shows adamant concern over Rin, as this is barely a frustration of his from HS2. (Logically, what does Haruka’s swimming have to do with Rin’s progress?) “Why are you always so concerned about my life choices?” would have been the more apt question from Haruka – which is exactly in line with their initial dynamic as written by Ohji. (“It’s not like I’m swimming for the sake of pleasing Rin in particular. I swim for myself. It has nothing to do with you.” HS2, 4) In the past, Sousuke has approached Haruka after being thoroughly disappointed in him. In spite of that, Sousuke encourages Haruka to perform at his best when facing each other. Haruka adjusts to and enables Sousuke’s challenges, having an inner desire to race against someone even though such a notion once peeved him. In fact, Haruka welcomes the exhilarating presence of Sousuke swimming in the neighboring lane. (“Sousuke made the turn ahead of him. For a moment, their eyes met. – Come. Sousuke provoked Haruka. He didn’t even need to be told. He released all of his energy at once.” HS2, 12)

Episode 13:

Both Haruka’s and Sousuke’s character arc resolutions, as well as their relationship conflict, suffer from poor execution. The misunderstanding between Haruka and Sousuke is never completely addressed as it is repurposed for Rin’s fulfillment.

“Jeez, talk about going overboard!” “Yeah, I might’ve. But going overboard was worth it.”

“I see...”

The only follow up between Haruka and Sousuke is an indirect one, with Sousuke looking across the pool at Haruka, content that Haruka remains on his pedestal for Rin.

Somehow Sosuke magically accepts Haruka, despite the story lacking any concrete unpacking of his animosity and insecurities tied to his condition. Somehow Haruka stops feeling compelled to reach out to Sousuke, despite imperceptibly chasing after him throughout the season. Permanently injuring Sousuke hinders any further development within his and Haruka’s rivalry; the implication is that neither Haruka nor Sousuke can have rivals aside from Rin, contradicting Ohji’s groundwork. Another implication is the unresolved injury arc has very little to do with Sousuke and more to do with providing Rin with tear-inducing angst. The culmination of Sousuke’s arc is Rin’s tears. It is never made certain if Sousuke attained a future, whether he has made peace with quitting or remains trapped in inertia. Similarly, Haruka’s storyline ends with him having an unnatural, forced investment in professional swimming alongside Rin, with little transition that is neither convincing nor advantageous to the character Ohji crafted.

Both marooned by their circumstances, in better hands perhaps they would find alternatives for their futures. For Sousuke, it would be casting aside his defeatist outlook over his injury and fostering his coaching aptitude. For Haruka, it would be searching for what Haruka wants, not what is expected of him, as he asserts that although his swimming may unintentionally affect another swimmer’s progress, it is not his responsibility to bear. Haruka and Sousuke fall along the same spectrum with regards to the future (lost dreams versus nightmares/no dreams). Instead of having Haruka and Sousuke be rivals meeting halfway, learning things from the other, complementing their strengths and weakness, they are cheated out of their own satisfactory conclusion.

At least the bonus episode gifts the audience with a hopeful tone reminiscent of Ohji’s writing of Haruka and Sousuke’s reconciliation. Pretty self-explanatory, right?

“He competed against Haruka-senpai during middle school, right?” “I guess.”

“Use your head. “Then you come up with a plan.” “If you follow it, sure.”

“Now.”

“You saved me. I owe you one.” “Save the thanks for later.”

“Nanase, dodge!”

“Yamazaki...” “Well, here’s your payback.”

Like his novel counterpart, Haruka presents to Sousuke a peace offering and an opportunity to transform their initially fraught relationship into something harmonious. Sousuke, amused, wholeheartedly accepts:

“See you, Sousuke.” “See you, Haru.”

Flowing Energies, part 1

Dedicated to my partner in SouHaru Sin, @izumikouhei, who also was an immense help with these analyses and their proofreading. 

English translations from sunnyskies and janeypeixies from Nanowave Translations

I think it prudent to analyze the interactions between Nanase Haruka and Yamazaki Sousuke chronologically, mainly to dissect their dynamic and development, parts which were underwritten in the show. There are some discrepancies between High Speed! (HS), its sequel High Speed! 2 (HS2), and Free: Eternal Summer (FES), which will be noted. Fair warning the following is quote- and picture-heavy, broken into two parts – novel and anime. As with any analysis, these are my interpretations of the text and not meant to be treated as canon, though I strive to support my readings with canonical evidence. (Though I am aware of the show’s staff providing their own interpretations, intentions and opinions of Ohji Kouji’s characters and groundwork, I do not treat them as strictly authoritative, nor do I find them absolutely significant to what I am discussing.)

Although Sousuke has a brief appearance in High Speed!, introduced as Rin’s classmate from Sano Elementary and a member of Sano’s Swimming Club, it is interesting that he and Haruka share an indirect parallel by asking the same question about Rin’s deceased father to Rin:

“Same as usual, I guess. That aside, did you get to meet your father?” (HS, 7)

“Did you get to meet your father?” Haruka uttered the same words that Sousuke did at that time. (HS, 8)

Not too significant to be constituted as an interaction, but nonetheless, Ohji draws the comparison between the two.

Fast forward to a couple of months later, with Haruka attending Iwatobi Middle School (IMS). With Rin overseas, Makoto in a different class with different extracurricular activities and Nagisa in an entirely different grade level altogether, Haruka keenly feels loneliness but chooses not to dwell on it; ruminating on his vulnerabilities disconcerts him. He chooses to distract himself with Makkou, a stray dog he reluctantly takes as a pet. For a few days this makes him too busy to regularly attend Iwatobi’s Swimming Club (ISC), where Nagisa has been left behind. Haruka decides to visit ISC and promises to cheer for Nagisa in an upcoming tournament, which he and Makoto are not entering. Eventually, Haruka gets roped into joining his school’s swim club, steadily acclimating to duties and practices.

The last day of Golden Week finds Haruka and Makoto at the Hiyori Swimming Stadium to support Nagisa’s efforts. During one of the events, they see a familiar tall, lanky figure – Sousuke. Next Sunday, IMS’ swim club will face Sano Middle School’s (SMS) swim club, as is their annual tradition to promote camaraderie. The tournament ends; Nagisa laments over his lousy performance until his teammates encourage Nagisa to improve and swim in the relay with them for the next tournament. Nagisa leaves with his fellow sixth graders, energized. Before Makoto and Haruka leave as well, a voice calls out Nanase – it is Sousuke, demanding why Haruka had not entered the tournament; despite it being the first time they have exchanged words with each other, Sousuke speaks to Haruka “as if they’ve known each other from before. No greetings or self-introduction, either.” Haruka becomes puzzled and miffed by Sousuke’s inconvenient “rival spirit towards” him, since there exists “a bunch of guys faster than Sousuke” as consequence of transitioning from the elementary school age group to the middle school age group. Sousuke throws his contempt at Haruka for starting club activities and at the club seniors, with Makoto acting as the flustered spectator-mediator. Notice that it is only after Sousuke insults one of Haruka’s upperclassmen does Haruka offer a retort: 

Sousuke snorted derisively. “Doesn’t that mean that he’s not very good at swimming so he was turned into a trainer?” Something snapped and surged up within Haruka. “Don’t say something so underestimating.” “Who’s underestimating who!” Sousuke responded to Haruka’s words. Without even trying to hide it, he bared his emotions. “Have you guys even thought about Rin’s feelings? Have you thought about what kind of feelings he’s swimming with right now? Can you be faster with that? Did you think Rin would be satisfied with that!” When left exposed by Sousuke’s strong gaze, without Haruka aiming to do so, energy released from his body out of its own will. “It’s not like I’m swimming for the sake of pleasing Rin in particular. I swim for myself. It has nothing to do with you.” Sousuke pushed back against that energy.“– Don’t screw with me!” 

Before parting, Sousuke punctuates his resentment: “Don’t forget it. Rin’s feelings of wanting to swim with you guys. I won’t forgive you if you do something halfhearted, just to be clear.” His words incite the same irritating ripples in Haruka’s chest that Rin did; as if summoning calmness, Haruka's eyes gaze at the same sky Sousuke sees as he reflects over his outburst:

Taking a deep breath, Haruka looked up at the sky just once.

It was a blue sky, Sousuke thought. After he parted from Haruka and Makoto, Sousuke looked up at the sky while walking down the path lined with plane trees. When he let his breath out together with what had accumulated in his chest, his feelings calmed down just a little.

Haruka tends to look up at the sky, as if seeking an escape from the roiling emotions found within (“While thinking about things like that, he looked up the blue sky that seems to be sucking him in.“ HS2, 1). Sousuke’s introspection includes awareness of his unfair treatment towards Haruka – such as projecting onto Haruka Sousuke’s stunted rivalry with Rin; the contents of his last conversations with Rin before his transfer to Iwatobi Elementary; and a yearning for reconnection:

He wondered why he ended up getting so worked up over it. Perhaps it had irritated him that they didn’t enter? Perhaps he had felt a sense of lacking from them starting something like club activities? No, it wasn’t just that. He had felt resentment towards himself that with a loss against Rin, he even ended up losing the chance to repay the debt. Then he ended up overlapping Rin with Haruka. Without knowing it, Sousuke smiled bitterly. At best, he took it out on Haruka for no reason. From Haruka’s point of view, what a terrible backlash it was. However, when he thought of Rin’s feelings, he couldn’t stand to not say it after all.

Sousuke looked up again at the blue sky that the plane trees narrowed. He wondered how far this sky could be stretching. He was sure that it could stretch endlessly. He thought – that it could stretch. (HS2, 4)

This confrontation exposes several things about Sousuke’s character: his loyalties to Rin warp his better judgment, causing him to misdirect his anger (the main source of conflict between Sousuke and Haruka); his tendency to be overcritical, quickly flinging disapproval based on incomplete knowledge; he values rivalries and harbors regret with regards to his friendship/rivalry with Rin and channels it; and he is capable of self-reflection over his unsavory behavior. Sousuke immediately recognizes post-altercation that he misfired his frustrations and pessimism over Rin’s transfer/departure (“[Rin] should at least be a little more apologetic about it.” HS2, 4) and his inability to pay back his loss against Rin from last year’s tournament (“Whoever lost today would be carrying around those feelings of frustration for years.” HS, 7) onto Haruka. From Sousuke’s limited perspective, Haruka has “insulted” Rin’s dedication to their rivalry by declining competitions and diverting his attention elsewhere (club activities). 

Furthermore, Sousuke may be envious that he cannot share the same rivalry with Rin ever since Haruka entered the picture – Rin chased after Haruka to Iwatobi Elementary School and then dashed off overseas, leaving Sousuke behind, dreamless and rival-less. Instead of addressing all of this to Rin, Sousuke bottles it up until something that threatens his friend in any way – in this case, Haruka’s ostensible indifference and half-hearted investment in Rin’s rivalry – unleashes those repressed emotions. It seems easier to vent his emotional vulnerability on Haruka, a stranger, than on Rin. Because Sousuke understands Rin the most, he ends up clamping his mouth shut of the things he wants to say, playing the role of an alter-ego than that of a friend:

“…… I see, got it.” He felt like there were a lot of things he wanted to say, things he wanted to ask. But he knew the words Rin would reply with to what he says, and reality wouldn’t change by what he asks. It was just that Sousuke should come to terms with it inside himself. [...] Sousuke didn’t talk to him at all. He didn’t know what he should say anyways and it felt like they had already talked about everything that they ought to. After they left the Swimming Club, too, he walked with Rin in silence. Maybe Rin was thinking the same thing? He was probably thinking it. That was why he didn’t say anything. There was no need to talk about anything. (HS2, 4)

“Because we understand each other too well. [Sousuke]’s even more theoretical than I am, we often quarreled. So, we settled on it that the faster way is always correct, but our competitive spirit wasn’t half-baked anymore. It’s a hard thing, being birds of a feather.” [...] “I still think of him as the person who understands me the most. But sometimes, it becomes difficult to be together… When I end up understanding his feelings, I end up not being able to say the things that I want to. I can no longer seriously go up against him. That’s not a friend, it’s like an alter-ego, isn’t it? You don’t like or hate your alter-ego. Ending up like that, no longer thinking of them as a friend, it’s really painful…” (HS, 7)

“Because we know each other too well. Sousuke is way more theory-based than me, so we got into a lot of arguments. In the end, he’d calm down when I’d say the fastest would win the race, but it always took something out of my competitive spirit. [...] In fact, even now, I think he understands me better than anyone else.” (FES, 4)

There is ample, concrete evidence that supports that this presumption is not a one-way street. The comfort and history of their friendship replaces and hinders productive communication from both their ends. Sousuke’s observations of the sky may represent his thoughts on his own endurance. Could his suppressed feelings reach Rin through this endless sky that stretches to his friend’s side of the world?

Haruka’s days continue on with mishaps and curious encounters, library duties and club activities interspersed between. A ride to the third station away from Iwatobi leads to SMC on the day of their joint practice match. Prior to their arrival, grave news looms over them: Shouta, a second-year member and Yazaki Aki’s older brother, has been banned from club activities after swimming in the river, even involving the police. He panicked after losing to Haruka in a one-on-one swimming competition, due to his fear of being replaced by a first-year. Though Aki insists that her brother’s foolhardy actions are not Haruka’s responsibility, Haruka blames his own involvement in the club, on his preference for swimming freestyle – via his promise to swim only in freestyle events – for cornering Shouta; had Haruka either quit the team or refused to participate in the one-on-one match, Shouta would not have been driven by impatience. This is significant because it exhibits Haruka’s guilty conscience and his understanding of and even criticisms towards one’s pride, foreshadowing many events which later transpire. Though it is the other swimmer’s denial of their self-perpetuated limitations which trap them, nevertheless Haruka internalizes the pain his skill unintentionally brings. Such a burden clouds his mind, leading to self-destruction. It would not be presumptuous to claim that Haruka feels responsible for ruining other swimmers; it is a defining characteristic which may tie into the necessity of maintaining distance from people, as he is perturbed by the effect he has on others.

The joint practice match commences, allowing the first years to gain experience at the start of the season and mingle between the two middle schools. Three familiar people – including Sousuke and Kisumi – walk up and greet Haruka:

Sousuke’s gaze remained fixed on Haruka for a while now. “I’m only in the 100 free today. Can’t say’s a surprise, since I just joined.” It seemed that Sousuke had joined after that tournament. His motive was clear. Quite the trouble he went through, Haruka thought. “I’m in the 100, too.” When Haruka said that, Sousuke showed a happy smile. “I see, looking forward to it.” He held out his right hand. It’s a huge hand, Haruka thought. There was no reason to refuse. He grabbed his hand. He felt their energies flowing into each other’s body.

Sousuke's clear motive is to challenge Haruka directly through their respective swim clubs. Disregarding his initial contempt, Sousuke joined SMS’s swim club some time after their confrontation and anticipates his budding rivalry with Haruka, which Haruka hesitantly receives.

An awkward event occurs between another IMS swim club member, named Asahi, and as a diversion, Makoto asks Kisumi if he knew of Rin during his time at Sano, since they both attended the same sixth grade class: 

“What do you mean know him, we were in the same class. Until partway through sixth grade, though. Right, Sousuke?” “Uh huh, until he went to your place.”  [...] Makoto cheerfully spoke. “Really? What an incredible coincidence, huh. What was Rin like?” Kisumi and Sousuke looked at each other. “In a word, easily gets carried away, I guess?” When Kisumi said it, Sousuke nodded and took over. “Yeah. And he was kind of an irritating guy.” “Right. Kinda irritating, huh? Rin.” Kisumi agreed. On that matter, Haruka had the same sentiment, too. [...] Kisumi got a thoughtful look on his face, and with that expression, he spoke in a murmur. “Self-centered, and hates to lose.” “That’s for sure. For someone who cries right away, he always spoke his mind.” Haruka agreed with Sousuke’s supplement, too. “Ah, and also……?” Makoto, who was bad at giving up, asked again. Could he be hoping for a beautiful memory or something? Makoto should just try recalling his own memories. On top of twisting them around his little finger as he liked, Rin did as he pleased and went off somewhere. Supposing that there was some kind of good memory, it was obvious that something like that washed away long ago. “That’s right. He was always trying to show off in front of girls, wasn’t he? Sousuke.” “Aah, that’s right. Also, he got mad when we called him ‘Rin-chan’.” No objection to that. That was about it for memories with Rin. These two have truly perceived Rin correctly.

After a hilarious roasting of Rin's immature and competitive personality courtesy of Kisumi and Sousuke (with Haruka's silent assent), the boys' 50m freestyle event is held; Haruka wins easily, starting the practice match with IMS leading. He has six more events to compete. Despite finishing first in his next event, the 200m, Haruka gauges a sharp decrease in his speed and an increase in exertion, perhaps due to his leisurable practices and inexperience with the new technique – the biaxial crawl. As Haruka watches his teammates' races, he recalls Asahi's accusations of Haruka hindering Asahi’s ability to swim freestyle; Haruka contemplates over his interactions with Asahi that could possibly support the accusation but comes up blank, which segues to a miserable performance in the 400m freestyle event.

Overcompensating inexperience with brute force, Haruka depletes his waning stamina quickly, resulting in a loss and no applause. Given a slight break before his next event, Haruka's eyes meet the dark gaze of Ikuya, a club latecomer who does not welcome Haruka's presence on the team. Haruka assumes Ikuya's disdain stems from envy that he cannot participate in this competition and Haruka receiving special treatment, as he is swimming in multiple events. Ikuya is ignorant of Haruka's promise with Natsuya, captain of the swim club and Ikuya's older brother, and Haruka believes it is all a terrible misunderstanding. Under the condition of only swimming free during his time in the club, Natsuya made Haruka promise to participate in every freestyle event for competitions (“But I only swim free.” “That’s just like you, huh. When you swim, you at least hear rumors. – Fine. In exchange, I’ll have you enter in all the free events.” HS2, 3). Haruka, confused by and underestimating the gravity of such a request, nonetheless is merely fulfilling it diligently.

However, Haruka's efforts are made in vain. Swimming through the 1500m proves disastrous, Haruka moving forward to merely remain "afloat with difficulty," muscles in excruciating pain, lungs demanding oxygen, heart on the verge of breaking. Bitterly Haruka relives the memory of one of his early performances in last year's relay (HS, 7), how he rejected the water, utterly humiliated by his inadequate swimming. To rub salt on the wound, Natsuya pulls Haruka out of one of the relay events with a second year; Haruka becomes chagrined:

Could he have been concerned about him being tired? Or perhaps, could he be scorning him for making an unfulfillable promise? That guys who couldn’t even keep their promises shouldn’t have cocky obsessions……. “I will swim. I can still swim.” [...] “I will go for the medley relay.” “What’s a guy who can’t swim saying? That’s rude towards your opponent.” Haruka sank in the humiliation. Endlessly, endlessly to the bottom of the chaotic swamp……He thought of his lack of physical strength as cowardly. He wondered if becoming fixated on it was ridiculous pride. Haruka unconsciously chewed his lip. “Swim just the 100 free.” “Eh?” “It’s their wish. They want to swim with Nanase no matter what.” Sousuke was where Natsuya was looking. He looked at Haruka with glaring eyes. He wondered if he could swim it. He wondered if he could swim in a way that would satisfy Sousuke. Would he have enough strength left for just that? Staring at his right hand, he tried to clench it. “……Yes.” There was no strength in it. 

In spite of Haruka's hesitance in viewing Sousuke as a rival, Haruka shows concern in the possibility of disappointing Sousuke in the same manner he has disappointed Natsuya, which seems related to Haruka’s perfectionism and heightened emotional empathy. Haruka reproaches himself for being the arrogant underclassman making unfathomable promises, subsequently suffering the backlash and self-devaluation. Haruka may lack strength in his grip, but he still wants to race Sousuke, is not deterred by his glare, by his own heavy limbs. The one who myopically claims he swims for himself, that his swimming has nothing to do with Sousuke, questions his ability to satisfactorily respond to Sousuke’s wish.

The 100m free event caps the end of the competition, as the highlight of the practice match. Haruka's lackluster "swimming" leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth. Ashamed, Haruka climbs out of the pool without Makoto's assistance and rushes for an escape from prying, worrying eyes:

Suddenly, someone stood in Haruka’s way. When he lifted his face that he had cast down, Sousuke’s lanky body was there. Without even a smirk, he held out his right hand to Haruka. It’s a huge hand.  When Haruka tried to lift his heavy arms, seizing his hand by force, Sousuke jerked him close. “Come with me for a bit.” Saying it in a voice low enough so only Haruka could hear, Sousuke started walking towards the changing room.

Haruka makes a failed attempt to grasp Sousuke's proffered hand because he has no strength left. Sousuke grabs Haruka’s hand and leads him to somewhere more private. Makoto showing his habitual concern for Haruka’s state flares irritation towards “his cowardly self”, for needing to be pitied and coddled, for being weak.

There was no one in the changing room. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. The announcement of the results were held now. Haruka stepped into the changing room and Makoto followed after him. “What’s the meaning of this? Nanase.” Sousuke said it while taking something out of his locker. Haruka couldn’t answer. It was impossible to answer. As he stayed silent, Sousuke walked up to him and stood face to face with Haruka. Then he stretched out the fingertips of his right hand and placed them on Haruka’s left shoulder. They were long and thin fingers. Wondering what he was trying to do, when Haruka tried to brush off that hand, Sousuke’s fingertips tapped Haruka. His balance slightly breaking, he tried to withstand it, but standing firmly on his feet weren’t working, and his center of gravity drifted backward. Taking two, three steps backward, the back of his knees hit the bench. Dropping his waist and sitting down like that, he almost fell backwards with too much force remaining. “Haru!” Supported by Makoto, he somehow managed to avoid falling down, but he ended up making a terribly sorry display of himself. “You sure had the gall to swim against me like that.” He grit his teeth in humiliation. It would only be an excuse, no matter how he tried to patch it up. It was all caused by Haruka’s trivial fixation. There’s nothing for him to do other than grit his teeth. “’I swim for myself.’ Nanase said it that time, didn’t he? To think of what kind of swimming it is… If you’re just playing, do it elsewhere. When you’re up against me, come at me with all you’ve got!” He didn’t care what Sousuke said. He just swims for himself. He couldn’t stand it when people arbitrarily created illusions and pushed them on him. Or could he be intending to scorn him? If it’s humiliation, he’s had enough of a taste to the point of hating it. (HS2, 7)

Before Haruka leaves the changing room, Sousuke gives him Rin’s letter to read, perhaps to solve Haruka’s reliance on mere talent and lack of drive in hard work (“‘There’s no talent that can surpass hard work.’ It’s what Rin said before going to Australia.” HS2, 7). Sousuke assumes these are Haruka’s problems hindering his athleticism, when in actuality Haruka has too much drive, causing him to overestimate his own ability and over-think its effect on those around him, which are merely reinforced by everyone and himself. Sousuke throws back Haruka’s previous words – that Haruka would swim on his own terms – which frankly leave Sousuke dissatisfied after witnessing Haruka swim beyond his limitations. Sousuke’s disapproval reflects Haruka’s inner critical commentary running through his head. Instead of condemning Haruka as a waste, Sousuke forces Haruka to confront his complacency, his rigidity, his frustrations, because Sousuke – perhaps not fully, but a small part of him, believes in Rin’s faith in Haruka as an ideal swimmer. Sousuke himself is curious in Haruka’s ability. Though Haruka remains impassive towards winning and times, he becomes despondent when he fails to meet others’ expectations, something that unsettles his very core. Contrary to his fiercely independent spirit, Haruka is sensitive to his surroundings, strongly influenced by the emotions of his friends/teammates and opponents – almost to a fault.

Returning to the lull of his daily life, Haruka attends school and practice with minor complications. On his way home he stops by the supermarket alone, purchasing a pack of croquettes. He halts when he stumbles upon Sousuke sitting at the bottom of the steps leading to his house, waiting for Haruka: 

“Hey.” A keychain dangled from [Sousuke’s] raised right hand. A familiar, flat dolphin plate swayed. It was the one [Haruka] bought on the school trip to the aquarium. It was supposed to be attached to his house key…… When he looked at it suspiciously, Sousuke slowly stood up and threw the keychain back to Haruka. “Dropped it in the changing room yesterday.” Receiving it, he turned over the dolphin. Haruka’s name and address were written on it. “Did you go out of your way to bring it to me?” “On the same occasion as paying a sympathy visit. I thought Nanase might still be conked out.”

For someone who has a rather unfavorable opinion of Haruka, Sousuke went out of his way to not only restore Haruka’s possession, but to also check up on his recuperation. Haruka easily invites Sousuke over to share the croquettes as thanks for returning Haruka’s keychain, and Sousuke obliges. Sousuke learns that Haruka’s parents work, thus leaving Haruka alone to his own devices. Haruka treats him hospitably, offering him leftovers he cooked:

“I made it yesterday.” Sousuke’s chopsticks stopped, he looked up fixedly at Haruka’s face. “……Nanase made it?” “That’s right.” “This?” “Uh huh.” [...] Sousuke stared intently at the inside of the tupperware. Then, he took his eyes off of it in a huff and sank his teeth into the croquette again. “I hate bamboo shoots and butterburs,” he said, bluntly. Haruka pulled back the tupperware, and after turning his back to Sousuke, he picked up a bamboo shoot between his fingers and put it in his mouth. [...] After Haruka put the tupperware into the refrigerator, not feeling like looking at Sousuke’s face, he gazed at the recipe. Looked like it would be sweet-and-sour pork tonight.

Sousuke takes a long pause to refuse food he seemingly hates, making certain that Haruka indeed cooked them; whereas Haruka in his dismay, refuses to meet Sousuke’s eyes, reassuring himself that his cooking tastes fine. As Sousuke finishes his meal, he admits that the letter from Rin was actually meant for Haruka, as attested by the writing’s one-sidedness and the faint “you” imprinted underneath the “him” in the line, “I wanna swim as fast as him — as fast as Haru!” With Sousuke being the dutiful type, evident in his returning Haruka’s keyholder and the year he spent under the tutelage of Rin despite finding him to be infuriating, Sousuke predicts Rin expected him to show the letter to Haruka; according to Haruka, it is a self-serving form of encouragement, confounding as ever, that Rin. (“Could [Rin] be telling him to swim? For as much as [Rin] was suffering, could he be requesting for Haruka to swim, too? Could [Rin] be telling [Haruka] to keep swimming in front of [him]? As always, he’s a self-indulgent guy, [Haruka] thought.” HS2, 8)

Putting the last piece in his mouth, Sousuke washed it down with barley tea. “Aah, that was delicious. Thanks for the meal. Oh right, Nanase was doing biaxial, huh?” “Only for about a week so far, though.” “Wow, getting that far in a week, that’s very good.” “Don’t really get it, though.” “So, that start, what is it?”

Sousuke means the start Nao – student coach of Haruka’s swim club – drills into the first years. Haruka demonstrates the secret to the technique – the karuta grab, where two people sit on their knees facing each other, with their hands pushing down on the ground and waist slightly lifted; the first to swipe away a bottle cap sitting between them wins. Sousuke does not contain his wonder and excitement at the display as Haruka teaches it to him. In each implementation, Haruka beats Sousuke, whose hands remain unmoved.

“The rest is learning by repetition.” Picking up the cap, [Haruka] brought the ‘karuta grabbing’ to an end. “Oh, oh. Awesome. The coach at Nanase’s place is awesome!” “He’s manager and trainer.” “Sorry!” Keeping the ‘karuta grabbing’ posture, Sousuke lowered his head. Before, he had looked down on Nao. He was probably apologizing for that, but he didn’t need to go as far as kneeling down. “I’ll tell you in exchange–” Sousuke raised his head. “I’m practicing the biaxial now, too, give the ‘2LR stroke’ a try. It’s a practice where you do the stroke twice left and twice right at a time. You can’t do it unless you put your weight on the axis, so it’s perfect to capture the feel of it.” Haruka raised the corner of his mouth a little. “Sure you should be telling me that? Don’t blame me if you lose.” Standing up while he kept his eyes glued to Haruka, Sousuke raised the corner of his mouth, too. “Who’s gonna lose? Come at me with all you’ve got next time.” The right hand he held out is huge, he thought. He didn’t want to have a heated handshake with such a hand, but he had no reason to decline, either. When he grabbed his hand, Haruka’s energy and Sousuke’s energy flew into each other’s body and he heated up, all the way to his chest. They recognized each other as opponents they couldn’t lose to. That was why he didn’t want to shake hands. Seeing off Sousuke until the front entrance, they parted with a ‘see you later’. The setting sun started to sink into the horizon. He remembered that he had to feed Makkou and go outside. From between the dogwood and longstalk hollies, he could see Sousuke running through the port. His long and lanky shadow grew even longer and swayed. (HS2, 8)

As mentioned before, Sousuke holds himself accountable whenever his misjudgments get the best of him. He performs dogeza, an elegant albeit submissive bow of a person who is irrevocably in the wrong and sincerely apologizes for it. Because the action is perceived by Haruka, it is not made explicit whether Sousuke begs for forgiveness for his belittlement of Nao or for his brusque treatment towards Haruka or for both. By initiating a challenge against Sousuke – a feat unprecedented on Haruka’s end – despite their rocky start and then shaking his hand, Haruka readily acknowledges Sousuke and the energy transmitting from him, which ignites Haruka. They cannot deny the effect they have on each other; Sousuke and Haruka mutually view the other as a potentially worthy rival. They even trade swimming tips, something Haruka normally does not do; Haruka usually does not contribute to discussion regarding the mechanics of swimming, as most of his thoughts are left internalized. Gradually, Sousuke’s negative impressions of Haruka shift, as Haruka’s acceptance of Sousuke as his peer burgeons, cultivating genuine and proactive reciprocation.

Time passes. Haruka practices Sousuke’s 2LR stroke, which corrects his swimming form during the biaxial crawl. Club activities temporarily cease as exam period goes underway. Hospital visits, companionships fumbling as they form and reform, Haruka steadily moves forward...to arrive at Hiyori Swimming Stadium for another tournament, this time with Haruka participating.

Sousuke stood in front of the locker room, leaning his back against the wall. Folding his long arms like he’s finding them to be slightly unmanageable, he was slightly smiling. “Yo.” His gaze fastened onto Haruka. [...] “Uh huh.” Reluctantly just giving a reply, he passed by in front of him. “To Rin –” It seemed that [Sousuke] wouldn’t let them get away with passing by. Stopping, he looked up at Sousuke’s face. “I wrote a letter. About the competition.” “So what?” “That Nanase’s not a big deal.” “And then?” “A reply came from Rin.” “What was it?” “He said not to make light of you so much.” “Then, you shouldn’t. We –” Haruka’s gaze became a strong energy and pierced through Sousuke. Sweating only a single drop, Sousuke withstood it. “Today, it’s the 100 free and medley relay for me. For Nanase?” “The 50 and 100 free. Also, the relay and medley relay.” “Don’t completely exhaust yourself again.” “The start?” “I’ve made it my own.” “Alright then.” Haruka cautiously removed his gaze from Sousuke and went inside the locker room. [...] His heartbeat was awfully agitated. He couldn’t restrain the thing squirming deep in his body. When he thought that perhaps Sousuke had stirred him up, there was vexation as well, but he thought that it also resembled the exhilarating feeling after he swims with full force. It seemed like it wouldn’t calm down for a while.

Their concern for each other – Sousuke preemptively warning Haruka not to tucker himself out and Haruka asking Sousuke on the status of the start Haruka passed down to him – further exemplifies the healthy mutuality of their rivalry. Although Sousuke has not seen a worthwhile performance from Haruka aside from last year’s relay, he approaches Haruka on multiple occasions. If neither mattered to the other, their words and actions would not leave such deep impressions. Though annoyed by how heavily affected he is by Sousuke’s competitive edge, Haruka finds it thrilling, heart-racing. Using his teammates’ feelings, Haruka creates resolve for himself, resolve that turns into energy filling his entire body. Spurred by the encouragements from his friends cheering on the sidelines, Haruka soars, landing in the water’s welcoming arms; he wins and shatters the first-years’ tournament record. Afterwards, is the 100m freestyle event:

In the neighboring lane, – was Sousuke. “Yo, that was perfect.” “I wonder how it would’ve been, if you were there.” Haruka diplomatically told him that it would’ve been a close match if Sousuke had swam. “Pff, I’ll prove it to you.” He was saying that in the race they were going to swim now, he would prove to [Haruka] that his real ability was greater than his. “I won’t lose, though.” H[aruka] has no intention to be fixated on winning or losing. It just meant that if Sousuke wished it, he would swim for real. “That’s good.” [Sousuke] meant to come at him in that spirit. It meant that it wouldn’t be interesting if he didn’t. [...] His reaction time was approximately simultaneous with Sousuke’s. They float in midair like they had synchronized. Raising small splashes, he landed in the water. Dolphin kick from the streamline. Haruka narrowly pulled ahead. However, Sousuke’s true value was from here on out; just when he thought that he forcefully came gaining on him, he easily jumped in front of Haruka. – He felt him. He felt Sousuke to the extent that his skin tingled with electricity. And he understood from the undulations being transmitted that Sousuke was feeling Haruka, too. Sousuke made the turn ahead of him. For a moment, their eyes met. – Come. Sousuke provoked Haruka. He didn’t even need to be told. He released all of his energy at once. He was being heated up. His hands, his feet, his body were burning red. All the water that touched him instantly evaporates.

Because Sousuke and Rin are so alike they are almost treated as alter egos and Haruka’s analytical mind observes through comparisons based on past experiences, Haruka briefly superimposes Rin’s image onto Sousuke. To overtake one, Haruka overtakes the other; overtaking one means he overtakes the counterpart. Since Haruka swims ahead of Rin, he cannot lose to Sousuke.

Furthermore, Sousuke gleefully congratulates on Haruka’s achievement, while Haruka explicitly expresses a yearning to swim against Sousuke, to truly engage in the challenge. Haruka wants to prove himself to Sousuke, and the sentiment is shared:

Touching the goal with his hand, Haruka lifted his face. In the neighboring lane, Sousuke lifted his face as well and breathed in deeply. Sousuke held out his hand over the rope. When he grasped it, while thinking that as always, it’s a huge hand, he felt Sousuke’s lingering energy flowing into him. Again, Sousuke was supposed to be feeling the same thing, too. 

When the time came to enter the course soon, Sousuke called out to Haruka. “Rin’s feelings, I finally understood them.” “What?” “The pressure of being gained on by Nanase.” “That is?” “While swimming, my skin tingled. That was the first time.” “So?” “– But, I’ve already experienced it. Next time, I won’t let you overtake me!” “Only if you can swim ahead of me.” After lightly saying it, Haruka raised the corner of his mouth. Responding to that, Sousuke also smiled fearlessly. After staring into each other’s eyes for a few seconds, prompted by the whistle, they split up and went towards each of their courses. 

While waiting for Asahi on the starting block, Haruka had his eyes turned towards Sousuke, who was in the same heat. The Sousuke he saw through his goggles was lankier than usual. – Sorry. I’ll be making the start first. (HS2, 12)

Unlike his anime counterpart for most of its run, Sousuke in HS2 readily acknowledges Haruka as a swimmer and seeks him out as an opponent, but he neither obsesses over Haruka’s talent nor renders Haruka unattainable. Because their rivalry is not rooted in idealization, it stimulates improvement and frankness beneficial for both individuals. Sousuke makes a declaration of war, and Haruka wholeheartedly meets him halfway. Technically speaking, it is Haruka who reopens the rivalry after the air is clear of misunderstandings, an auspicious moment for him seeing as Haruka has frequently viewed rivalries as wasteful, vexing and thus undesirable.

It wasn't a name that he'd known before, but now that he knew it, it didn't make much difference. Haruka just wanted to remember him: the opponent who had annoyed him so. (HS, 1)

At the idea that there was someone in front of him who could feel the water more than he did, his body had grown hot. The heat had flowed all through him. He hadn't even felt like trying to hold back.

Even after he had climbed up onto the poolside, he continued to smolder, unable to burn off all of his energy. […] And when he thought that someone like Rin had thrown his emotions into disarray like that, he was disgusted with himself. Deeply regretting that he'd let himself be provoked and gotten so thoroughly carried away, Haruka left the pool. (HS, 2)

It was just that there might be someone who could swim faster than Haruka, and that might mean that he could feel the water more than Haruka could, and it was a fact that this left a small knot of worry in Haruka's heart. (HS, 2)

Haruka wasn't going to deny that there was someone who could swim faster than him. But he wasn't going to acknowledge it so easily, either. It wasn't that he wanted to win, or that he hated losing; it was just that he couldn't simply accept that there was someone who could feel the water more than he could. (HS, 3) 

“Yup, I go to Bandou SC and Haru goes to Iwatobi SC, though. Well, it’s like that. What they call rivals.” When [Haruka] thought of Asahi considering them as such, his mood fell another level. (HS2, 2)

Sousuke didn’t avert his gaze from Haruka. The same as Sakuyuki earlier. Every last one of them looked at him with challenging eyes. He can’t stand to take on every single one of them. (HS2, 4)

“I think he’s being impatient. The first years are all experienced, he might be worried that his spot as varsity swimmer will be taken. Like when he was playing soccer……” Ridiculous, [Haruka] thought. He’s not swimming because he wanted to be a varsity swimmer. If [Shouta] wanted that, [Haruka] would let him have it. (HS2, 6)

Making the turn, he passed by Shouta. That made him remember, he was swimming with Shouta. It’s not that he forgot. It’s just that he didn’t feel him. It was only the two of them in the pool, but he couldn’t feel Shouta. What could Shouta be feeling, thinking in the water? Or could it be that he wasn’t feeling anything? If Shouta were to harbor some kind of emotions towards the water, even if they were feeble, they should be conveyed to Haruka. But he didn’t feel anything. Nothing was being conveyed to him. It was a sensation as if he were swimming with a mechanical doll. (HS2, 6)

Backtrack to Haruka’s first experiences with having Rin challenge him – a novelty for Haruka which rankled him deeply – and others subsequently challenging Haruka, and compare those reactions to the ones he has when facing Sousuke. One will see that – according to Ohji’s writing – Haruka’s rivalry with Sousuke is special in its own way, as Sousuke instills a keen thrill within Haruka that he is not only receptive towards, but also attempts to match in response.

I find the anime’s adaptation of Sousuke’s and Haruka’s rivalry paltry, undermining the significance of their development and competition as merely background noise; the show even failed to write a satisfactory conclusion for their conflict. The next part of the series – an analysis on the anime scenes – will go more in-depth on the differences between Ohji’s interpretations versus Kyoani’s interpretations of these characters. 

SouHaru Week | Day One: Firsts & Childhood

the first time sousuke beats haru in a race, he plops his head on haru’s lap. haru just hopes sousuke doesn’t grumble about his bony knees.

219q vs 145q

i think part of the rsn is that majority of fandoms perception of aomine is persistently negative but treated as Harmless Fun, evident in the frequency of ahomine jokes (even though theres little in the text that suggests stupidity - immaturity+naivety yes but those are not synonymous to fandoms mockery of aomine the “basketball idiot”; im also not keen on belittling others based on how they perform academically, another distorted yet widely accepted as Canon Truth fandom readily adopts. we dont even really see aomine in an academic setting, so all these hcs of how he sucks at school and only attends just to play basketball are unnecessary bc EVEN IF WE WERE GIVEN CONCRETE EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THIS, it shouldn’t even matter???????? his athletic talent+his worth as a person are not connected to his scholastic achievements and the lack of the latter is not grounds to trivialize him)

perhaps fujimakis and fandoms colorist prejudices arent as in-your-face as reos “campiness”; theyre innocuous at face value, but bc fandom extrapolates and blows them up into memes/fandom-wide interpretations, im surprised fandom is still upholding truly baffling, discriminatory impressions theyve had since aomine was first introduced in the manga

fujimaki (and by extension knb fandom) and the relationship with colorism

[snipped]

fujimaki (and by extension knb fandom) and the relationship with colorism

fujimaki has some extremely questionable views on dark skinned people

its like…the only other character in the series that exhibits sexual “interest” bc he reads gravure mags as a past time, has dark skin (haizaki is notorious for his sexual exploits but its supposed to be frowned upon…hes clearly marked as Bad…so the unfortunate implications are rather telling re: aomine…not to mention how fandom ran with this trivia as some Definitive Character Attribute of aomines l o l)

the only character in the series that exhibits infantile toilet humor (farts, burps) as well as being the Dumb Musclehead character, has dark skin

we wont even mention how momoi, in a fit of rage/frustration, calls aomine ganguro, so essentially using his dark skin as a pejorative and kise made a weird mention of aomines dark skin when he first met him (why? its not connected to his status as a basketball prodigy) or his Biggest Weakness is that he cant clean when his miragen cohorts cant draw, cook, carry a tune, or make a joke? or how nebuya is referred to as a gorilla by sports spectators

and of course, the fandom engages with these characters - particulary aomine - in some insidious ways that match with fujimakis prejudices, but pointing that out incriminates fandom or makes you an oversensitive killjoy

though im not ascertained if the colorism+negative views on dark skin are as prevalent or normalized as it was back in the day, its still rather difficult to navigate in this fandoms content when im constantly bombarded with claims that dark skin means youre a hypersexual/sexually predatory fetish, intellectually deficient, unclean, vulgar, a subject of perpetual derision

its especially disheartening when you yourself are judged constantly by the darkness of your skin, both in the setting of east asian culture (japan has a long, ugly history with colorism and xenophobia) and the setting of US-ian politics (do i even have to spell it out?) and then be told that i should be grateful to fujimaki for even considering dark skin representation?? (these types of people have been brainwashed by tumblrs obstinate and incredibly shortsighted identity politics tied with media repesentation)

honestly being reminded of scott mccall hate stemmed from racism perpetuated by teenwolf fandom when i engage with aomine fandom and its alienating/infuriating