Mr and Mrs Nanase

Mr. and Mrs. Nanase are two minor characters in the anime series Free! beginning with Free!. They are married to one another and are the parents of Haruka Nanase.

Appearance
Mrs. Nanase is of average height and build for a Japanese woman with long, nearly black hair. In the film High☆Speed！－Free! Starting Days－, she is seen wearing khaki slacks, a long-sleeve grayish blue sweater and a bib-style apron. In episode 13 of Free!-Eternal Summer-, she is seen attending an important tournament wearing a short-sleeved purple dress and carrying a handbag. And in the movie Free!-Timeless Medley- the Bond, she is seen wearing a purple skirt and yellow long-sleeved pullover sweater or a pink sweater and blue denim jeans.

Mr. Nanase's appears only twice in the series. The first occasion is during the above-mentioned tournament where he appears to be of average height and build with short black hair. He wears gray slacks, a light green t-shirt and a teal camp shirt. The second occasion is at the beginning of the movie Free!-Timeless Medley- the Bond where he is seen with Mrs. Nanase and Haruka as a toddler. There he is seen wearing a long-sleeve shirt and blue cardigan over brown trousers.

Personality
Mrs. Nanase seems to be a pleasant and loving woman who is interested in Haruka's well-being. She's aware of his talent from his earliest days and supportive insofar that she allows him to enroll in swimming lessons and participate in tournaments. Mrs. Nanase accepts her son's quiet nature, and encourages him to be responsible and independent, as seen when she must leave him alone for a week while he is only in Grade 7 in order to take care of her husband who has been injured at his then-assignment in Hokkaido. She simply asks Haruka if he will be alright and accepts his decision without undue worry. Being long-time friends with the Tachibana family, she tells him she will ask the Tachibana family to watch out for him during her absence.

Story
Their presence in the franchise is minimal, appearing in only a few scenes to establish Haruka within his family of origin. What appears is appropriate and loving, especially when Haruka is a young boy. The Nanase family seems to enjoy spending time with the Tachibana family when their boys are young and as the friendship between Makoto and Haruka grows, the boys are frequently in one another's homes. The Tachibana have such faith in Haruka's upbringing that they allow him to babysit their younger children along with Makoto and for Makoto to spend time at Haruka's house unsupervised following the death of Haruka's grandmother and his parents departure due to work transfers.

Mr. and Mrs. Nanase recognize Haruka's prodigious talent early in his life and support it throughout his elementary school years. There is no evidence of their reaction to his choice to leave competitive swimming in junior high school nor his return to it in high school. Haruka's ambivalence towards competition reflects his laissez-faire approach to life, an attitude likely modelled by one or both parents and supported by Makoto's description of them as "free spirits." They are seen attending an important tournament while Haruka is in high school and while it is unknown how Haruka's university and private coaching costs are covered, it may be speculated that his parents are responsible for monitoring the funds as this is expected from a cultural perspective.

Relationships
Mr Tachibana and Mrs Tachibana are neighbors with the Nanase family. The two couples have sons within months of one another and they, along with their boys, establish a friendship. When Mr. Nanase's job forces him to leave Iwatobi Town, Haruka is left in his grandmother's care until her passing, at which time he lives alone, the Tachibana family keeping a close eye on him and treating him like one of their own.