Recap: Haruka, Makoto, Rei and Nagisa manage to win the relay and qualify for regionals. After a heroic welcome upon their return home, they decide to treat themselves to a visit to the local festival. Rin and the boys from Samezuka are there as well, though Rin does not seem to be his usual self.

After last week’s high stakes, Free! returns with a  breather episode that manages to make good use of Haruka’s morose demeanor to provide some charming laughs. No good slice-of-life anime makes it through its run without an obligatory festival episode, and aside from the ample yukata fanservice, a visit to the carnival also allows Kyoto Animation to show off how good they are at lighting. The soft hue of lanterns provides a beautiful wallpaper for some of this episode’s more introspective moments. Despite the focus being mainly on Nagisa and Rei using all of their dorkiness to prevent Rin and Haruka from running into each other, the latter two manage to bring their respective character arcs to a satisfying close. Even though everyone with half a brain could have seen Haruka’s ‘new’ reason for swimming coming from a mile away, his decision is presented in a heartwarming scene that manages to remain well within the boundaries of good taste.

Who the heck is the girl on the left?

Equally unsurprising is Rin’s resolve to join the relay, even though he told Haruka they would never swim together again. Upon revisiting their old elementary school, he realizes that he cannot enjoy swimming as much without his old friends around and despite the blatant honks in the general direction of the boys’ love fanbase, the character development here steers clear of the exploitative stench marring many other shows that prefer baiting over actual credible plot progression. It seems pretty obvious where Free! will be headed next, and with three more episodes and two tournaments to go, I do not expect any major drama bombs to be dropped. Free! has been remarkably focused in its storytelling, consistently alternating between character development and shenanigans. Whether the Iwatobi boys will actually manage to win nationals I severely doubt, but I think it is safe to say that their future looks bright.

Random observations

• With all the mentions of squid in this episode, it felt like watching an episode of Squid Girl.
• I get why Rin is such a jerk. How would you act if you had that whiney-voiced suck-up Nitori follow you around every breathing second of your life?
• Never name your pets, especially not after your friends. What will happen if one of them dies?
• Young Rin is voiced by Akeno Watanabe, who also voices his sister Gou. Nice little casting gag there.