Asahi Shiina

Asahi Shiina (椎名 旭 Shiina Asahi) is a main character in the anime Free! beginning with the movie High☆Speed！－Free! Starting Days－. He is also a minor character in the light novel High☆Speed！. He is currently a student at Hidaka University where he is a member of the swim club alongside Haruka Nanase and Seijuro Mikoshiba.

Appearance
Asahi is a slightly taller than average young man with a toned figure, messy red hair and pinkish eyes.

Personality
Asahi possesses a bright personality and a vibrant spirit. He is articulate and energetic in both words and actions, always ready to push his luck, a fact that often makes him quite comical. In High☆Speed！－Free! Starting Days－ he is determined to recruit Makoto Tachibana and Haruka Nanase into the junior high school swimming club after learning that they used to be part of their community's swimming club while in elementary school. He is also the one who goads Ikuya Kirishima into joining despite his negativity.

He enjoys competition and works hard to achieve success. While seeking books about self-improvement in the Iwatobi library, he inadvertently meets Rei Ryugazaki who offers advice. When facing challenges in sport, Asahi repeats saying "I am a genius" out loud to himself as motivation. This continues into university where Ikuya teases him about it.

History
Asahi always wanted to become the captain of the swimming club and in Free!-Timeless Medley- the Promise, he is shown to be the Captain of Kazami High School's Swim Club.

Trivia

 * Being born on the 18th April means Asahi is considered a cusp sign, meaning his personality could contain traits found in either Aries, the Ram, or Taurus, the Bull, but more likely Aries given the distance from the full change of sign from Aries to Taurus.
 * His motif animal is a ribbon seal.
 * At a staff talk event for Free!–the Final Stroke–, one of the character designers discussed the main characters' body types in terms of musculature. Asahi was listed as being "type 3:" definitely above average muscles, with more noticeable definition.

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Asahi Shiina