Educational Guidance Teacher

This nameless man is a minor character in the Free! series. He is an educational guidance teacher at Iwatobi High School, helping students with academic counseling, personal development, college planning and, sometimes acting as a disciplinarian.

Appearance
He is a middle-aged man of average height and build with close-cropped brown hair and purple eyes. He is sometimes seen wearing a white shirt with a brown sweater or a gray short-sleeved polo shirt and khaki trousers.

Personality
The teacher is stern when it comes to correcting the behavior of students as seen when he scolds Haruka Nanase, Makoto Tachibana and Nagisa Hazuki twice (though, Haruka gets away once) for entering the Iwatobi Swimming Club building and Samezuka Academy's indoor pool without permission, calling the act illegal trespassing.

However, he also takes a genuine interest in the team and their development, as seen when he accompanies the Principal on his visit to see the Iwatobi High School Swim Club as they practice well after school hours. He assures the team and their advisor, Miho Amakata, that their late presence on school grounds is acceptable.

Story
This character can be stern when required, such as when the team members break school rules. His planned punishment is usually softened by Miss Amakata's intervention, which consists of reciting odd quotes from literature that she believes pertinent, but which he never understands, but still finds annoying. When he chides Haruka, Makoto and Nagisa for the second time and Miho tries to help them by saying yet another "famous saying" related to fish, he immediately interrupts her, saying that he hates fish, causing Miho some awkward feelings.

Relationships
As colleagues, this teacher and Miho Amakata seem to have a pleasant and professional relationship, though he is often irritated by her habit of quoting great figures which, in turn, makes both of them feel awkward and causes him to deride her for doing so.

Trivia

 * He doesn't like fish.
 * Rumor has it that he is scared of Miho.
 * Since 2013, the Japanese educational system has sought to modify the role of the Educational Guidance Teacher to be more pro-active in addressing the developmental needs of teens and in creating a caring and supportive school environment. This change can be seen in the different approach the teacher takes from Free! episode 2 (2013), where he chastises the team, to Free!-Timeless Medley- the Bond (2015), where he encourages the team to continue practicing despite it being past school hours.

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