#makoto makoto sousuke sousuke smk smk

[mochiri]

Makoto and Sousuke's Identity outside of Haru and Rin at the end of Free!

I've seen some people say they're a bit reluctant to finish the Final Stroke because Makoto becomes sidelined. Though, I did want to point out that Makoto's developed career ambitions at the end of the Final Stroke ends up being a beautiful closure to his insecurities and worries that actually start in High Speed! Starting Days.

Makoto, why do you swim?

Makoto in Starting Days, has his entire world turned upside down because he realizes his entire reason for swimming is because of Haru. But in the Final Stroke, he evolves his meaning of swimming into something that's very Makoto. He develops his own individual identity with swimming by being a coach for both children and for swimmers on the global level. Instead of swimming just for Haru and his friends, Makoto evolves his relationship to swimming to something he identifies better with. Which is connections with people and the ability to support them emotionally, physically, and mentally.

In relation (because Makoto and Sousuke are direct parallel characters as the best friends of RinHaru), Sousuke's own motivations for swimming is related to Rin (I don't want to say he directly swims because of Rin like Makoto does for Haru). But Rin is Sousuke's motivation enough to overwork his entire body, transfer schools, sacrifice himself to just swim one last race with Rin... Because Rin's motivation is friends and Sousuke doesn't really understand that at first as someone who always thought you're alone in the water.

But at Sousuke's "end" he actually learns to form connections OUTSIDE of Rin. Because sousuke throughout his entire arc tries to learn about what friendship means to him and how that can develop you as a person.

when he does rehab with Nao and Makoto they help him specialize in other strokes, remind him not to overwork his body, refine his swimming skills and overall he became a better swimmer through the connections he made and not alone like he always thought. Sousuke learning the power of friendship through Momo, Nitori, Makoto, Nao + the others in Tokyo.

So... Summarizing it all up:

Makoto whose original motivations to swim is Haru, develops an identity to swimming outside of Haru. And then makes it his own by adding his caring and nurturing personality through coaching.

Sousuke, whose original ambitions to swimming is individuality, competitiveness, and Rin, develops a relationship to swimming through connections and friends outside of Rin.

Makoto uses swimming to solidify and create bonds while Sousuke’s is the opposite where he realizes bonds are what can solidify his swimming.

Here's other related analysis about these swimming boys i care too much about:

Makoto and Sousuke as parallel characters

How Makoto uses backstroke to solidify bonds

Free! color theory (contains another soumako parallel lolol)