CHARACTERS MOOK vol.1 Rin & Sosuke/Interview

Random Theme Talk
Rin & Sosuke’s Charm! Rin’s Youth＊ and Dedication Hosoya ： Rin’s charm really comes out at the start of the second season when he becomes appointed captain. I thought that he changed a lot compared to the first season. Miyano ： Ooh! Rin grew up a lot, didn’t he? Hosoya ： He’s the type of character who changes when you keep watching him, so I thought that his charm was well captured in that. In the recording before this, when Sosuke said that he was going to quit swimming (Season 2 Episode 10), we got to see the recap of when Rin was super angry in Season 1 (the last episode). Miyano ： Ah, it must’ve been hard to watch that scene. Hosoya ： Just by watching it you kind of get a tingling sensation. When you see him kick the trash can and send it flying, you kind of think “wow…he really became like this…” Miyano ： I bet when Sosuke saw Rin like that, it must have really hurt him too much. Hosoya ： It must’ve hurt, so that’s why he really couldn’t say anything. He must’ve thought “is this person even Rin?” (laughs). Their past has been brought to the point that seeing the gap between then and now must’ve been very intense for him. But the Rin he sees now is the real Rin. He treats everyone as friends and also motivates others as captain. He’s quite different from Coach Mikoshiba who came before him. I really thought that Coach Mikoshiba was super interesting. He was the kind of person who really attracted others towards him. Rin also has very pressing feelings about swimming as well as strong feelings towards the relay. He’s not the kind who decides things because he has power, but he puts a lot of thought into his surroundings and then conveys his feelings. With that drive to work hard, I thought it added great dedication and youth to his charm. Miyano ： But then again, it’s still developing. His feelings include what he wants to do from here on out. Even if he clearly plans out his own goals, whether or not what he is doing is right all depends on how he tries out each of them. More so than holding onto what he deems to be right and advancing with that, I think he also thinks “I want to be like this” and it might have something to do with hitting puberty and finding that sense of youth. By embracing those feelings and becoming a third year, I think it’s the perfect time to actually talk about what he wants to do after graduating, and it really is amazing that he has such goodness in him. Hosoya ： It’s because he has that that makes him so wonderful, but maybe I think that because I’m taking on Sosuke’s role. Also the director told me prior to this exactly what Sosuke’s end role will be to probably calm me down a bit. But before she could tell me the details, I thought that it would be bad if I knew everything beforehand, so when I was playing Sosuke, for a moment I just wanted to put all my thoughts away. But then I thought “what exactly would Sosuke’s philosophy be regarding this? Wouldn’t he have already known that he and Rin’s path will diverge from here on out?” That’s why I think he already knew this and thought to himself, “this will be the last time that I get to swim with Rin.” Miyano ： Sosuke knows exactly what he wants. But in order to have that goal realized, he probably didn’t know what would happen because of it. From our perspective, it seems like he definitely thought “I must not give up,” but even this in itself was very painfully captured… Hosoya ： Sosuke’s thoughts of “I want to swim on the same team with Rin” is so strong that he really can’t see anything else besides what he wants. However, if you notice, he opens up a bit to Nitori, for example, and helps him with his practice as well as before their relay, he tells Rin that “I want to swim in the relay.” (Season 2 Episode 4). In this episode, he races with Rin in the pool with all his emotions, and I thought, “wow he really has a drive that pulls him forward!" Miyano ： You mean because he didn’t have any regrets? Hosoya ： No, what I mean by this is that Sosuke really has a lot of guts to do this. Even when he was a child he told his best friend “I want to swim for myself and no one else,” and don’t you think that kind of philosophy is very mature? When they were kids they were talking about such big things like this, and as high schoolers, I feel that Rin and Sosuke both remember different things. That’s why I think that what they said in the past should be overturned, because now the exchange between these two men takes on a very sensitive turn, in my opinion. That’s why I think Sosuke might be a bit nervous when he tries to convey his feelings towards Rin.

For Sosuke, even though he didn’t do anything but shoot for his goal of reaching Nationals and training like crazy for it, because of his shoulder, he wasn’t able to realize his dream. After realizing this, I think it was definite that he wanted to swim with Rin one more time. As expected, from Sosuke’s point of view, Rin’s driving force is so strong, and it’s in that that Sosuke finds Rin’s charming point. I think it’s amazing that to Sosuke, Rin’s strength is so great that it pierces through Sosuke’s own mentality and because of that, he decides that “Even if I don’t know what will happen, I just want go on with Rin.”

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Because of that Moment, You are Here Right Now. Miyano ： By saying Sosuke tries to turn towards that amount of heat, he probably has a different motive. Even after swimming with Rin, he wants to take away something from this experience. Rin is someone who really puts a lot of thought into the idea of friends/teammates. When Rin was with Sosuke when they were children, the memory of the relay left a great impression on him. “It’s not just something you can see by yourself, it’s a huge sight!” It’s something he would say without any regrets, and I feel that made a great impact at that time.

Because of this, when I think about Rin, I don’t feel any sort of discomfort. That’s why I think that he really did grow up, and it is because of this growth that he probably has a slightly different way of thinking now.

It’s kind of like falling for something that is bound to happen. Because he had a taste of what it is like to be frustrated at such an important time and not really understanding what kind of path you are really going down and having everything be a black hole for you—it’s stuff like that that he probably understood what exactly it felt to go through such a dark period.

I feel like Rin thought that he had finally taken out the thorn that was lodged into himself. Because of that, even though he did experience growth, perhaps that growth also has a connotation of “sin” to him as well. Before this, he had lots of memories of his friends and as a sportsman as well, so he had lots of things that he really needed to do, and perhaps he had to sacrifice some of these people in order to achieve that. But if this moment didn’t happen, then he wouldn’t have been able to fix himself, and I think that he also held these thoughts to himself.

That’s why the Rin that we see now is who he is because of the people around him. “Because of that moment, I am here now” “Because of that, Coach Mikoshiba appointed me as the next coach of the swim team.” It’s thoughts like that that the people around him continue to support him, and I think that he really puts large importance in regards to this. That’s why for all the swim team members, “self strength and determination” are very important words, and it’s because of this that drives people to propel forward as one. I think that’s what Rin’s presence as a captain means to everyone right now. For Rin, he’s probably overflowing with many emotions and feelings of thanks to those around him. And as for Sosuke’s charm point, well as for me I end up seeing it from Rin’s point of view. With that being said, Rin probably feels that “I am glad that Sosuke can be here with me,” and there are many moments that he feels this way. The amount of times that Rin is able to loosen up and relax has increased because of this.

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An Atmosphere That Would Not Exist If Not for Sosuke Hosoya ： Ah indeed, in addition to being a captain, having Sosuke there beside him, the man who is Rin’s best friend as well as the same year as him allows their interaction with each other to take on a sort of informal approach. Miyano ： Even though before they already had this kind of relationship, only Sosuke is able to have this kind of atmosphere with Rin. If you take that into account, Sosuke is the kind of best friend who even despite all of Rin’s reckless behavior and craziness, still takes all of this and wraps it around himself to bear. It’s because of Sosuke’s large heart that even more so than that, the times when Rin is able to fully let go and have a peace of mind has increased with Sosuke’s presence. <font color=>Hosoya ： By playing Sosuke, I put a lot of thought and attention to what he thinks about Rin, and there are times such as during Episode 1 that I wondered exactly how his appearance would affect what is to come and why exactly does he have that kind of relationship with Rin. But today during the recording, I was able to realize that “It would have been really great if someone was there to support Sosuke through this (referring to his shoulder),” and this was the kind of talk that happened during the recording.

But then again, if he did reveal this, then Rin would definitely not have let him swim. If Rin saw him like that, he would definitely ask “What about your shoulder? What about the life of an athlete?” Sosuke knew that he would definitely be asked those questions, so that’s why he stalled in front of Rin. Sosuke is really a great friend and understands Rin, and that is why he is there. <font color=>Miyano ： Rin occupies a lot of Sosuke thoughts, doesn’t he? <font color=>Hosoya ： There are many different definitions of what it means to be a “best friend,” but in Sosuke’s case, he is wholly committed.

In Season 2 Episode 2, he speaks to Rin about Haruka at the poolside and says “no wonder you were so captivated by him (Haruka)” before diving into the water. At first you might think that this scene doesn’t really mean much, but when you think about it now, Sosuke was probably thinking “what kind of fleeting charm does he have?” Sosuke is so devoted to Rin that he thinks “No matter what, I want Rin to stand on the world stage since I can no longer do so myself.”

When I was acting the lines for episode 2 and 3, I didn’t know exactly what kind of challenges were ahead for Sosuke, but now that I think back on it, Sosuke words probably correlate to “I entrust my most important feelings to you” (in regards to having Rin stand on the world stage instead of him). But then again, even if he were to say something like that, Rin would cry. <font color=>Miyano ： He would say “I knew you would cry” while seeing Rin cry, right? (laughs) <font color=>Hosoya ： But then Rin would say “I’m not crying!!” (laughs). But he didn’t want to take that chance, so that’s why he hid the fact about his shoulder, and endured it by himself by doing things such as going to the hospital alone, etc. He did all of this in order to not make Rin worry about him. <font color=>Miyano ： So everything Sosuke did was for Rin? (laughs) <font color=>Hosoya ： Yes. He didn’t want Rin to worry about him. But then hiding those things doesn’t mean that it’ll get better. <font color=>Miyano ： “Everything I did was for you,” is something that he wouldn’t say at all, right? <font color=>Hosoya ： For Sosuke, Rin is basically a hero. A sort of whirlwind of power like Ryouma Sakamoto** (**a very famous samurai who overthrew the shogun in the 1800s). He probably thought “this guy (Rin) would definitely be able to overturn Japan!” <font color=>Miyano ： Wait a second, that’s kind of stretch, don’t you think? (laughs) Anyway, before this we were talking about Rin’s point of view, but what is Sosuke’s charm point from Mamoru Miyano’s point of view? I would say that I think it comes from the center of the drama that plays an important part in Free! ES. I don’t know if you would call this a charm point, but Sosuke’s shoulder issue took on such a huge role, and with him having to give up on his dream, I think Sosuke has the most tragic position in this show.

Actually today, when Hosoya-san and I were coming to record, we talked a little bit about how this is a very painful topic for Sosuke. But then we realized the cause of it was Sosuke probably thinking that “Since Rin is trying his best over seas, in order to catch up to him and stand on the same International Stage as him, I have to do my best as well!” and he did so without thinking of anything else. It was a great dream and he did not want to give up on it. So that’s why when that scene from their past came up, Sosuke thinks that the relationship he had with Rin was that of “rivals,” and sure, he might have thought that this was the best way to put it.

However, what really shattered Sosuke the most was not being able to be by Rin’s side. This in itself was Sosuke’s largest despair. <font color=>Hosoya ： It really was too fast.

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Being Attracted to the Drama that Sosuke Holds <font color=>Miyano ： By that, I feel like this will be a very hard thing to talk about if I were faced with it myself. <font color=>Hosoya ： Since we have to do recordings from her eon out, I feel like losing my voice would be pretty bad. <font color=>Miyano ： Yeah, you’d cry. <font color=>Hosoya ： I’ll cry! <font color=>Miyano ： If I were to have to face that kind of drama, sorry for saying this Sosuke but, I feel like this would definitely add to my charm! Experiencing something like that would really add to your existence. Even though his secret was revealed, you empathize with him. It doesn’t stop and it’s fleeting. But for Sosuke, even with such a painful condition, he is able to find peace with it at the end. I think that is true bravery. <font color=>Hosoya ： He really is an adult. <font color=>Miyano ： He even says stuff like “my dream came true!” <font color=>Hosoya ： With a super relieved face as well. (laughs) <font color=>Miyano ： On the other hand for Hosoya-san, if something like that were to happen, he would probably say that he is fine even though he really isn’t. In Sosuke’s case, though, even though there are different futures to choose from and different things to see, he still is satisfied with himself. Because of that he commits himself wholly to Rin’s own dream. He really is mature. <font color=>Hosoya ： And for a high school student to say something like that, he really is amazing. Even if he can’t win against his rival, by telling Rin “you must go on to the path that I cannot follow” really takes guts, and even adults can’t say that! <font color=>Miyano ： He carries his pain with him, but he holds all of these feelings for his partner very tightly to himself… It is in this that Sosuke really shines.

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Please tell us what you thought about today’s interview <font color=>Hosoya ： It was really fun. <font color=>Miyano ： Yeah, it was fun! It’s the first time I really got worked up using such a loud voice for an interview! (laughs). During the interview I even felt an excellent flow of story telling. <font color=>Hosoya ： Yeah, there was! (laughs) <font color=>Miyano ： We really were able to enjoy talking, so we hope that we can convey our thoughts to all of you out there!

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＊ Translator’s Notes: 青さ was translated as "youth” because it really means “not having the experience (because of being too young)” or “carelessness” or “not being ripe yet,” so some liberties were taken in translating this.