Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-206.248.102.212-20130711220058/@comment-1454424-20130805204900

Before this conversation goes any more... wanky, Gou was present in High Speed! the light novel that acts as the background/concept for Free! She was there from the start. I don't think she's meant to be a romantic love interest as such but she is an important character. Saying she's just there to give the fangirls someone to identify with is just wrong!

Incidentally, High Speed! did have a female character who was clearly in there as a potential love interest for Haru. She hasn't turned-up in Free! and probably won't but if she does and Haru starts dating her, are people actually saying they will stop watching Free! because you know Haru would be canonically straight? o.O