kinosternon

I don't know how much information is available about the newest and final installment in the Free! series, or whether there's any information about an official, timely international release, so I decided I'd try my best to give a detailed summary here for those who are interested but can't watch the movie yet.

Obviously, spoilers abound, so beware. The summary progresses scene-by-scene, following the movie order to the best of my ability. I've tried to include a few paraphrases of the Japanese dialogue where possible, as well as my interpretations of the inferences the movie invites us to make. Other than that, I'll be trying to keep my commentary to a minimum (for this post).

Finally, a disclaimer: I've seen the movie multiple times, and I've taken notes, but neither my memory nor my Japanese is top-notch. In particular, I may have messed up the order of specific scenes and events. A lot of stuff happens, jumping between a lot of characters and time periods, but I've done my best to keep things both understandable and in line with the original. Still, I take full responsibility for any errors or misinterpretations. Please let me know if you have questions or concerns, and I'll do my best to answer them!

Pre-opening sequence

The movie opens on a very rainy day in Tokyo, possibly in March or April. Hiyori's waiting in Café Marron and is on the phone with Ikuya, who wasn't paying attention to Kisumi when he said it would rain and forgot to bring an umbrella with him. We see Ikuya waiting under an overpass for the rain to stop...next to Kaede Kinjou. Kaede apologizes for behaving so harshly towards Ikuya and Hiyori in the past, and mentions that he was angry after racing Haruka and Albert.

Kaede leaves after that, saying that at least he's apologized, and suddenly Sousuke appears beside Ikuya. (He claims he isn't lost, but Ikuya instantly realizes that he totally is.) Sousuke and Ikuya get to know each other a little bit in this conversation, with Sousuke complimenting Ikuya's recent performance and asking him about his plans for going pro. They talk a little bit about Haruka's last race with Kaede and Albert as well. Ikuya asks Sousuke if he thinks Haru's going to win, but before Sousuke can answer, Hiyori comes running up with an extra umbrella for Ikuya.

Cut to a video chat between Seijuro, Isuzu, and Momotaro Mikoshiba discussing recent and upcoming swimming competitions. Their conversation is overlaid by a montage of events from the past events and the past film, focusing on Haruka and Rin's competitions...and finally, their conflict at the end of the first film. At this point in the montage, the opening song begins.

Nagisa and Rei pack and meet up on a bus to the Iwatobi train station. Kou and the other Iwatobi members (and advisors) are there to see them off as they leave for Tokyo.

Returning to the time of the opening scene, we get a (voiceless) montage of different meetups. Ikuya reports to Hiyori, Sousuke, Asahi, and Kisumi about meeting Kinjou, and Sousuke getting a call from Natsuya and Nao shortly thereafter and leaving to meet up with them. Kou, Isuzu, and Ayumu have a Zoom chat to discuss muscles. Seijuro and Isuzu meet up to go shopping for protein powder and discuss training regimens. Makoto and Hiyori meet with Natsuya and Nao to discuss training. Kou messages Rin to wish him luck while looking nostalgically at a photo of them together. AFter some shots of both Rin and Haruka training (separately), we get the title card.

Post-opening sequence

Next, we enter what seems to be a dream sequence made up of memories, focused on Haruka. Haruka's grandmother talks to toddler!Haruka about water and swimming—holding him in her lap while they watch a TV show about a waterfall, turning on the faucet for him to wash his hands, and praising his swimming (though she also warns him not to be too conceited (?) about his talent). A pre-school-age Makoto praises Haruka's drawing of a fish, and preschooler!Haruka says he wants to learn to swim more freely. We see another collection of the Iwatobi interview videos that start with Haruka answering relatively normal questions that get progressively more deep and come on faster, and then there's a montage of scenes with younger Haruka interacting (mostly butting heads) with Rin, projected in a movie theater.

<i>Then</i> the "movie" shifts to a fake super sentai/Power Rangers-style program with a red and a blue fighter refusing to get along, only to ultimately combine their powers to beat a stronger foe. It's a young Nagisa and Makoto in the theater now, with Nagisa commenting that he likes it best when the characters are working together. Young!Makoto grips his drink tightly and doesn't answer. There's a brief cut to Makoto asleep in bed, frowning, and then get a dream sequence of when Makoto quit swimming, with Makoto running after him but unable to reach him. The scenery shifts to Makoto running after Haru in the festival (the same sequence as in the last movie), trying to reach him and give him what he's holding but unable to do so.

In Haru's dream sequence, meanwhile, he realizes that as a child, it was he—not Rin—who first tried to break his ties with the team, by refusing to try a relay. Haru tries to catch his younger self as he runs away from his friends, but his younger self runs straight through him, and Haru falls into darkness, fearing that his younger self will always be alone because of his choices. There's a flash to a red sandal in the waves, and Haru cries in his sleep. At the same time, across the world, Albert is staring out the window next to his metaphorically appropriate birdcage, and is surprised to find that he, too, is crying.

Training montages, 1/∞

We hear a brief conversation between Ryuuji (Haruka's coach) and Mikhail (Rin's coach) that starts on the topic of a younger Albert and how sad his swimming seemed—how he swam as though with an unquenchable thirst, even though the water clearly loved him. Mikhail compares this to Ryuuji's swimming, which gave everyone courage, rather like Haruka's. Ryuuji says that sometimes swimming can't save anyone. They then talk briefly about how they know that Haruka and Rin argued but are staying out of it for now. Mikhail worries because Rin was crying, but Ryuuji says that at least he can still cry.

Haruka goes for an early-morning jog near his training facility, but is exhausted and breathing harshly the entire time. He collapses on the sidewalk, and Sousuke, who happens to be driving by, spots him and gives him a ride back to the training center. In the car, Sousuke mentions that a new swimming facility is being built nearby (possible foreshadowing for later), and then tells Haruka that Makoto is worried about him. He also mentions that he and Rin, too, have bumped heads and hurt each other on accident several times in the past, just as Haruka and Rin do. He says that time will fix it, but Haruka is doubtful. After dropping him off, Sousuke reminds Haruka that rest is a part of his training, and warns him not to catch cold.

When Haruka leaves, Natsuya gets into Sousuke's backseat (presumably Sousuke had initially intended to come pick him up). Natsuya says it's hard to be a hero, and Sousuke responds that it's harder not to be able to become one in the first place. Natsuya says he understands Sousuke's worries about Rin because he and Nao have been through a lot, too.

Rin monologues in front of the door to Mikhail's office. He says that he wants to continue as a pro so that he compete for five or ten more years, and wonders aloud if he's made the right decision. Mikhail appears from a door on the other side of the room once Rin's done, and tells him that it's his life and his decision how to train going forward, but that Mikhail will support him.

Next, we see Asahi in a laundromat, singing to himself as he does his laundry. He turns around to see Rin slumped dejectedly in one of the seats there. After trying and failing several times to engage Rin in a conversation, he offers to buy him something to drink. They get cans of soda and Asahi asks Rin what's wrong. They discuss Rin's self-confidence (or lack thereof). Asahi guesses that Rin's not just unconfident, but also hungry. Rin says he's wrong, and then gets surprised when Asahi starts getting grumpy with him, leading him to say that he's bad with people. He wonders aloud whether he's expected too much understanding from those around him, and Asahi grasps that whatever Rin's going through is complicated. Trying to offer advice, Asahi says that there was a time in the past where he couldn't swim, and he said that he'd lost sight of his normal, which is something important to hold onto. Rin mentions that Ikuya asked him after the last tournament what he wants to do, and Asahi says that anyone looking at his current demeanor would ask that, including Makoto and Haruka. Rin wonders if Haruka really would care enough to ask.

New school year (Haru & co's sophomore year, spring)

We get another brief training montage (Haruka and Albert) and then we get to see the introduction of incoming members to the university swim teams, with blooming sakura trees marking the beginning of the new school year. Rei and Aiichirou join the Shimogami University team with Hiyori and Ikuya...and Nagisa joins the Naribusawa University team, which is currently being led by Kinjou with Sudo Kotetsu (creepy-smile dude who competed with Ikuya in breaststroke in the last film) as his vice captain. Nagisa instantly greets Kaede as "Kin-chan," much to the fear and dismay of the former Samezuka newcomers, who see Kaede as similar to Rin back when he was scary. However, Kaede replies calmly, reminding Nagisa to do his stretching properly before starting practice. The other team members wonder if this means Kaede's not as scary as he seems, but then he yells them down the second they ask him for help as well, confirming their fears.

Ai, Rei, and Nagisa go bowling together. Rei tries to use his theory of bowling to shine and, continuing his earlier patterns, performs worst of the three.) Makoto joins them and they go to a café to discuss what their friends are doing. Nagisa immediately tells Makoto off for not telling Haruka he's worried for him.

Haruka collapses at the poolside at the end of practice, with Ryuuji barely catching him in time. He claims that he isn't in any pain, but feels like he loses all strength in his limbs after going all-out. Ryuuji tells him in no uncertain terms to stop pushing himself too hard in practice and overtaxing his body. He says that Haruka needs to take a year to build up his body so that his technique isn't like putting a huge engine in a small car, but Haruka pushes back, saying there's no time for that.

Albert's announced to the media that he plans to retire, angering his father and adding to the pressure on Haruka to improve in time to win against him. Ikuya, Hiyori, Sousuke, and Asahi training with Makoto, Natsuya, and Nao's help. Makoto praises Ikuya's improvements in breaststroke, and Hiyori comments that Makoto's very observant of details of individual swimmers' performances. Ikuya, Sousuke, and Makoto discuss their concerns about Haruka; Ikuya says he wants to believe in Haruka, seeing him as a hero, and Sousuke says that they won't make Haruka any happier by worrying over him.

After yet another training montage, Haruka's left gasping on the poolside with Ryuuji yelling at him to quit overdoing it. There's a brief flashback to Kiyofumi, smiling faintly and speaking to a younger Ryuuji while looking at the ground in orange light. Meanwhile, Rin is struggling in his own practice, with Mikhail privately opining that unless Rin can get over his mental block, he won't be able to improve, and it's something he needs to do on his own. Rin is thinking the same thing in the locker room after practice—berating himself for not pushing himself harder, when he knows Haruka is—and is interrupted by Makoto calling him.

Argument resolution

Next we see Makoto and Rin confronting Ryuuji, who says he's sent Haruka home early because he was at his limit. Rin blows up and yells at Ryuuji, grabbing him by the collar telling him that Haruka can't miss practice at this stage, and that Ryuuji doesn't understand that swimming is everything to Haruka. Makoto begs Rin to stop, but when he subsides, Ryuuji turns the tables, pinning Rin to the wall and taking his turn to yell. He tells him that if he feels that strongly about Haruka's swimming, he should tell Haruka himself and stop relying on others. Rin runs out, close to tears, and Makoto apologizes. Ryuuji apologizes too, saying he got too heated but that Rin's an interesting guy who's better than "a fool who couldn't do anything" (with the old flashback to a younger Ryuuji standing in the doorway of a dim hospital room). He tells him that Haruka needs him right now.

Makoto and Rin both rush around looking for Haruka. Makoto checks out other swimming pools. Rin, meanwhile, checks Haruka's (locked, unoccupied) apartment and then runs desperately down the street, remembering Haruka's accusation that he "suddenly disappears" and berating himself for willfully ignoring how Haruka was feeling and relying on him for too much. Eventually he trips, rolling several times and about to start crying. He catches sight of an illuminated sakura tree above him and remembers the tree by their school. When he gets up, still looking upwards, he spots Haruka's silhouette on a nearby rooftop. Makoto's standing at the seaside where they ran into the surf together in the past (with a brief flashback to Haruka yelling before running in, and Rin & Makoto joining him) when Rin calls him to say that he found Haruka. The two of them hurry up to "Night Pool," a bar with a rooftop pool where Haruka is floating on his back, staring up at the sky.

Makoto starts forward, but Rin halts him and gets into the pool with Haruka instead. He says that since he's told Haruka not to quit in the past, he has a "duty" to compete with him, and offers to race him now. Makoto referees as they swim a (presumably 100m) relay, appearing to tie. In the second half, Haruka's technique dramatically improves, to Makoto and Rin's delight. (There's a brief cut to the lifeguards, one of whom is shocked to have seen what might have been a world record, while the other ridicules the idea.)

After the race, Haruka's taken aback that breathing doesn't hurt (a symptom that seems to have first shown up for him after the argument with Rin, and was hinted at persistently after that point). Rin hugs Haruka in tears. Haruka apologizes for the cruel things he said, and Rin apologizes for saying whatever he felt like to Haruka over the years. Haruka says that Rin taught him important things, and Rin says that he's always looked up to Haruka. Makoto smiles and, after a moment, offers his hand to them, telling them to get out before they get cold. Instead, they tease him, with Haruka and Rin grabbing his hand and pulling him in (fully clothed) with them. Makoto says that Haruka's finally swimming like himself again, Haruka explains to him and Rin that he'd been stuck in a dark place after losing to Albert and lost sight of what was important in his swimming. He thanks them for reminding him.

There's a brief cut to Ikuya, Hiyori, Asahi, and a few others (Kisumi?) who spot some shooting stars overhead, with Asahi saying something good must be happening.

Next, we see Haruka, Rin, and (a presumably very damp) Makoto lying on the poolside, looking up at the night sky. Makoto starts reminiscing, leading into a flashback to elementary school-aged Nagisa and Makoto worrying about Haruka, who's started skipping practice after losing a race to much older elementary schoolers. As they sit in front of a shrine after practice, Makoto worries that Haruka might quit swimming. Nagisa tells him not to say things like that and complains that people focus on the negative and give up too easily. He pushes Makoto to admit that he likes (lit. "suki") Haruka, and then says that he should tell Haruka his feelings. They're on their way to Haruka's house when they overhear a group of bystanders exclaiming that Albert (who's already famous) is at a nearby booth with his teammates, buying a protective charm. Nagisa gets the idea that Makoto should buy one for Haruka to help express his feelings.

However, when they go by his house, they learn that Haruka isn't home. Instead, they go looking for him at a crowded festival. This is when the memory of Makoto struggling and failing to catch Haruka in a crowd of adults actually happened. In the memory, they eventually find Haruka at a nearby outdoor shrine (the one from the dramatic MakoHaru argument in Season 2). Makoto presents the charm and Nagisa explains what it's for...only for Haruka to point out that the charm they bought says 安産anzan (i.e. "safe birth"—a protective charm for pregnancy). Nagisa and Makoto are mortified, as they'd meant to buy one that said 安心 anshin ("safety"). Nagisa gets out a pen and writes しん shin (phonetic) over the zan to fix it, and then they talk about the race. Haruka says that he's not sure if he feels discouraged after losing to the older kids, but that something in him just won't settle. He mentions that they also teased Makoto and Nagisa, which really pissed him off, and that while that has nothing to do with their swimming ability, he still plans to win against them next time. Makoto finally speaks up, saying that Haruka should swim for himself, not for anybody else, and that he really loves Haruka's swimming! He then turns bright red and starts mumbling, and Nagisa laughs at him.

The flashback ends with Makoto reminiscing to Haruka about this as they lie by the Night Pool together. Haruka claims that he doesn't remember that at all, and Rin teases him for being "straightforward," even as he remembers telling a young Sousuke about the young swimmer who beat kids much older than them and how he can't wait to compete against him. Haruka says that he wants to win against Albert before he retires, and that doing so will mean pushing his body to its limit. Still, he thinks he almost grasped something important when racing with Rin, and he asks him and Makoto for their support. They agree to help him reach his goal of beating Albert.

Penultimate training montages

Rin, Haruka, and Makoto go back to Ryuuji and Mikhail, apologize, and ask if they can train together. Ryuuji agrees with mildly poor grace, and Haruka calls him out for hiding how he really feels, which exasperates Ryuuji coming from him in particular.

We get another training montage of Natsuya and Nao training the others (Sousuke mentions that Haruka and Rin are practically next door, swimming in a nearby—perhaps newly constructed?—facility) with Ikuya, Asahi, Sousuke, Hiyori, and Natsuya spending time all training together with Haruka and Rin to prepare for the world championship in Fukuoka.

(One memorable moment in here is Ikuya watching Makoto coaching Haruka with a complicated look on his face. These moments happen a lot where Haruka is concerned, with Rin, Makoto, and Ikuya all making this face at some set of the others interacting with Haruka at various moments. Make of this what you will. Another fun moment, near the beginning of the montage, features Rin and Haruka arguing as they're wont to do, with Hiyori looking dismayed and both Asahi and Makoto taking a second look and then smiling knowingly.)

Linked to the idea that everyone benefits as a group, there's a flashback scene to a younger Ryuuji and Mikhail, with Mikhail wheedling for Ryuuji to join a relay and Ryuuji saying he'd rather swim alone. A young man with greenish-brown hair, a hat, and a kind smile comes up to them, and tells Ryuuji (insisting, following Mikhail's example, on calling him "Ryuu-chan") that his swimming is the kind that gives others strength. This is Kiyofumi (who finally gets a name drop!), and he's shown up multiple times in Kaede's flashbacks as "Kiyo-nii-chan," the one who keeps telling him that the water will surely accept him for who he is if he dives into the world of swimming—and also the one whose zipper pendant Kaede wears. (Also, it's heavily implied, the one who Ryuuji so regrets failing to do anything for.)

Shortly before the world championships, Asahi and Ikuya, walking in a park come upon Sousuke looking at Haruka, who's asleep on a bench. They talk about how more and more often, Haruka is sleeping whenever he isn't training. After watching him in silence for a few moments, Asahi goes to launder Haru's jersey, and Ikuya goes to ask for advice about their training and meal plans. Sousuke looks after them, then turns to the (sleeping) Haruka and wonders aloud if he's aware how much the people around him want to support him. (He has a line that literally translates to "Hurry up and realize, protagonist," which, well...I wasn't aware sports anime characters were allowed to be that genre-aware. Pretty great, though.) There's another moment where Natsuya and Nao discuss Haruka's health check (which has come back fine), and Natsuya says that they're going to look after Haruka as best they can. Nao agrees.

Nationals

The movie moves at top speed through the national tournaments, at which the swimmers need to perform well to qualify for the world championship in Fukuoka.

There's a shot of some lanterns floating on the water (I think this is supposed to indicate time of year? My first thought was Obon, so possibly it's now August??) and it's time for the Japan national tournament! It's Nagisa, Rei, and Aiichirou's first time at the tournament. (Kisumi's watching with Makoto up in the stands, and a bunch of Samezuka guys are up there too.) Unfortunately, none of the three first-year university students do particularly well or qualify for the world championships.

Sousuke's officially made a comeback, and he and Rin are swimming butterfly in the same heat to qualify for the nationals. Sousuke asks Rin if they want to bet a drink or anything on the outcome of the race, and Rin rebuts that they're obviously aiming for something much bigger now. They both finish at the top of their heat, with Sousuke saying that he won't lose the next time, and Rin referencing that they'll have plenty of chances to compete in the future.

Hiyori, competing for backstroke, is surprised to see Sousuke in the lane next to him. Ikuya, for his part, beats out Sudo Kotetsu in the breaststroke to qualify. Haruka and Kaede both qualify for freestyle as well, though they're in different heats.

After the tournament, there's a meeting in a café as the friends celebrate their efforts and the folks continuing on to finals: Rin, Haruka, and Kaede (not present) qualified to progress in freestyle. Hiyori and Sousuke qualified for backstroke—Nao had originally added the stroke to his regimen because it was easier on the shoulders, but he signed up to compete in it after getting good times. Asahi and Natsuya qualified for the 100m butterfly; Asahi complains that Natsuya's stealing his limelight during the announcement, but Kisumi and Rei praise him and he starts to cry a little.

World Championships in Fukuoka

Rei and Nagisa stay up late finishing the charm bracelets they're making for all the Iwatobi folks to wear together at the world championships. Back at Iwatobi Swim Club (Returns), Kou and Isuzu hug each other and congratulate each other on getting to see everyone's muscles (especially Rin's, in Kou's case). The ISC coach has set up a big TV to watch the events, but the club members bemoan the fact that they didn't have enough funds to get tickets and go to the Fukuoka tournament in person. However, Ayumu, who messaged Kou and Isuzu to "leave it to me!!" shows up in a freaking HELICOPTER with a bunch of black-suited security guards in sunglasses, saying that she's arranged for tickets and transportation for the whole team. (This came completely out of left field for me. I forget if we knew she was a super-rich girl from a powerful family before now...)

Makoto's helping Ryuuji carry stuff into the venue when they come across Kaede. Kaede comments that Ryuuji seems like he's in a better mood than before, and Ryuuji admits that he's come to enjoy swimming again. After referencing their previous conversation, Ryuuji says that he made a promise to Kiyofumi to save Kaede someday. In return, Kaede warns him that Haruka's nearing his limit. After he leaves, Makoto asks Ryuuji what he meant, and Ryuuji admits that Haruka's swimming technique exceeds his body's current capacity, and probably won't last him more than one more competition.

In the locker room, Kaede and Haruka have a conversation in which Kaede asks Haruka why he swims like he does. Haruka says he doesn't know either, but that he can be himself in the water and he thinks he's closer than ever to understanding why. Kaede says he only swims for himself, but admits that he thinks that's true of Haruka, too. Then, they both compete in the same 100m freestyle heat. As Albert watches from a screen in a solitary room, everyone else cheers him on, and Ryuuji and Makoto watch with consternation and worry, respectively, Haruka resorts to his more intense technique early in the heat. He finishes the prelims first in his heat, with Kaede a close second. After the race, he falls asleep on an indoor bench outside the main arena.

In their final races, Rin wins bronze in butterfly, and Ikuya bronze in breaststroke. They hug and congratulate each other afterwards. We see Kou outside the arena marveling at how heavy Rin's bronze medal is, and Rin agrees that it's surprising. His mother gently prompts him to go back to the arena, as he's got unfinished business there.

Back in the arena, Kaede stares at Haruka, remembering Kiyofumi telling him that "your feelings will reach others someday," before spreading his coat over Haruka like a blanket. Makoto and Sousuke appear, concerned and (in Sousuke's case) suspicious, but Kaede reassures them flatly that Haruka's fine, just asleep. Makoto silently goes to Haruka's side to check, and Kinjou asks why everyone's so drawn in by Haruka's swimming. Sousuke answers, asking whether Kinjou hasn't experienced it for himself after swimming with Haruka, and in response, Kaede grips the zipper pull around his neck before turning away. As he leaves, he tells the other two to let Haruka rest, as his role isn't finished.

In his dream, Haruka sees the younger versions of his teammates again, asking his younger self to join a relay. This time, when his young self runs away from them, the present-day Haruka is able to grab him by the wrist, and (tell him as he bursts into tears) that while he only swims freestyle, he's not wrong in his decision to do so, and that he experiences all emotions in his own way and he's allowed to be himself. He leaves his crying younger self to be comforted by his friends, and falls down, smiling, into darkness.

Haruka, who's still asleep, misses the final for the 100m freestyle. Kinjou, who wins bronze, asks Albert (who won gold) whether he's satisfied with his victory. (He doesn't seem to be.) As they watch the ceremony, Natsuya wonders to Nao how Haruka must feel about this, and Nao says that Natsuya can probably guess. Haruka eventually wakes up after the finals in a medical room, and Makoto (accompanied by Rin and Ikuya) tells him that Sousuke carried him there.

That night, there's a meeting of the Japanese team to go over the events in the following day, and Natsuya requests a change of the relay team, officially recommending Haruka. Haruka's blood test has come back fine, and he arrives (late) to the meeting with Makoto, Rin, and Ikuya, to echo Natsuya's request. There's some back and forth, before Kinjou volunteers to be the anchor only for the qualifiers, leaving the final to Haruka if they win. Hiyori does the same, offering Sousuke the chance to swim in his place in the finals, and Natsuya offers to swap out with Rin. Ikuya says that he's confident in his ability to compete in both races, and with the Japanese team supervisor's blessing, they prepare to compete.

The next day, before the medley relays, Asahi and Nao converse from the stands, with Nao asking if Asahi is upset that he doesn't get to compete. Asahi denies this, saying that Natsuya's times were better, but says that he's determined to have an amazing relay with his friends in the future. Nao praises his maturity.

Meanwhile, Haruka is resting in the nurse's room again, with Ryuuji and Makoto watching him. Ryuuji says that Haruka passed his health check (amazingly), and Makoto says that Haruka's at his best in the water. Rin and Ikuya wait outside the door. Rin refuses Ikuya's suggestion to go inside, saying that he and Haruka don't have "that sort of relationship," and Ikuya and Rin agree that they're swimming this race for Haruka.

Before the preliminary race, the relay members talk things over. Kaede refuses to admit that he's nervous but snaps at Ikuya when he reminds him that they're racing for Haruka. Once the race begins, Hiyori starts out strong in backstroke, with Ikuya taking over from him. Kaede is visibly impressed by Ikuya's breaststroke. Natsuya takes over in butterfly, boasting about their achievement as brothers among the best of the best, and does very well as well. On the starting block, Kaede promises that he'll bring back first place, and tells the others to shut up and watch.

There's a brief cut to Makoto and Haruka, sitting in the medical room in silence, before Haruka thanks Makoto and leaves.

Kaede wins them first place in their heat, as promised, saying afterwards that he's not even tired when the others congratulate him. The group ends the race on friendly terms, high-fiving and congratulating each other on a job well done. Sousuke and Rin, who were watching from the wings, head back to meet Haruka.

Before the race begins, the previous and next teams (plus Asahi) meet up in the preparation room to pass the metaphorical torch. Haru does his best to give a pep talk, saying that he didn't understand what was so important about winning at first, but that he's going to put everything he has into this race. The others tease him a bit, and Haruka complains half-heartedly about this before wondering if they'll ever see a moment like this again. Sousuke says they'll see better.

The final race is suitably dramatic, with Sousuke doing well in backstroke (and Hiyori in particular praising his performance aloud). The audience is amazed, and Seijurou shouts about how Sousuke is a Samezuka alum before leading all the Samezuka spectators in cheering him on. Before Ikuya's leg of the race, he tells the others that he'd forgotten swimming could be this fun, and he goes on to do excellently in his leg of this race as well. (Sousuke's watching the race continue with Rin holding him up with an arm slung over his shoulders as he winds down from his leg of the race.)

Rin does especially well the race as well, thriving on the heat of the moment, as Mikhail points out. And then, finally, it's Haruka's turn to swim against Albert. On the block, Haruka tells Albert that through this race, he'll give his answer to Albert's question about why he swims. Albert says that there's "something about him." Once they begin, Albert pulls away at first, but after the turn there's a moment where Haruka (as a child) reaches out to Albert metaphorically, while pulling even with him in the race. They both speed up, approaching the world record for the 400m medley relay as they do. Albert's father, watching long-distance, is incredulous and displeased; In the stands, Ryuuji is already crying, with Mikhail teasing him gently about it. Everyone cheers as hard as they can for Haruka, with Makoto's yell coming last and loudest.

We see the end of the race, but not the official result (though it's strongly implied that Haruka's team won gold). Albert calls Haruka's swimming "the real deal," and Haruka says he wants to compete with Albert again, that he doesn't hate his way of swimming. Albert is surprised, saying, "No one's ever said that to me before."

The relay members gather for a group hug, smiling and crying. They praise Haruka for his amazing performance, with Sousuke saying that he showed them something amazing. Haruka says he couldn't have done it without their support. We see people around the world watching the aftermath of the race, then the spectators in the stands...and then Haruka falls out of the embrace, collapsing at the poolside. Just about all the other major characters panic at this, rushing down to the poolside as Rin holds Haruka on his lap. They all call out to Haruka, who wakes briefly before slipping back into unconsciousness.

The final scene opens at Shibuya crossing, following a woman holding a suitcase and looking at news about the race on her phone as an image of Haruka is displayed on a massive billboard. Nearby, Aiichirou and Ikuya are discussing the aftermath of the competition: Haruka had to leave early to recover at home in Iwatobi, but he's going to be okay.

Then the credits happen—a series of songs with a clipshow of promotional art throughout the series' run, from the first season through the prequels and the first movie.

Post-Credits

After the credits, we see a few cuts of Tokyo interspersed with an inter-school Iwatobi-and-Samezuka school practice. (Ayumu is the coach for Iwatobi, and Momo's the coach for Samezuka.) Meanwhile, Rei and Nagisa are training together with Asahi and some underclassmen from Iwatobi as they compete for nationals. Then, we see Kisumi, Sousuke, Hiyori, and Kaede hanging out together. We finally get some confirmation as to who Kiyofumi is, as Hiyori asks Kaede about whether the rumor is true that his cousin was Haruka's coach's childhood friend. Kaede says it's complicated and that he'll tell the whole story someday, then asks Sousuke to compete with him. Sousuke refuses, saying they're both busy with other rivalries, and Ikuya comes up, offering to compete with Kaede in freestyle instead. Kaede snidely replies that he's fine doing a medley, as he'll win anyway, and Ikuya tells him to save that smugness for after he wins. Kisumi comments that it'd be nice if Kinjou could get along well with everyone, and Hiyori smilingly replies that that might take a while.

We see Mikhail and Ryuuji discussing Haruka and Rin's movements. Haruka's currently in Hungary, though he recently competed in an unimportant competition in Mexico on a whim.

Makoto arrives in Hungary and boards a bus, wandering along a river (?) before coming upon Haruka. He greets him and Haruka seems surprised, even though Makoto was on the phone a moment before. They catch up, sitting on a bench together. Haruka says his rehabilitation is going well, and that Hungary's more restful than Japan, where he's had to deal with the press. Makoto says that everyone's been wondering how Haruka's been doing, and that Rin is coming too.

We see Rin looking in a toyshop window with Aiichirou, who's come to Hungary while studying abroad. He says that he hopes it'll help him improve, just as it did for Rin while he was having difficulties. Rin argues the point, saying that he was doing fine when he went abroad, and Aiichirou placates him while remembering some of the difficulties they had back in Season 2. Rin asks why Aiichirou never mentioned that Mikhail was his uncle, and Aiichirou says he was ashamed to bring it up when his performance as a swimmer wasn't so impressive. He then pulls out his phone and reports that Makoto's found Haruka.

In the next scene, Haruka is stoopped at a train crossing, with Rin on the other side. After the train passes, they step into the crossing, meeting in the middle. Rin says that he had a dream about the next tournament, and Haruka says he did, too. Rin asks if Haruka wants to see how the dream continues from there, and Haruka confirms that of course he does.

There's a scene between Asahi and his sister in Café Marron, with Asahi watching old high school videos of Haruka and the others (an excuse to call back various moments from the anime series). He says that he'd originally intended to be starting his job hunt by now, but that watching the others made him want to keep competing seriously. His sister says she supports his decision.

As the ending music plays, we see Haruka, Rin, and Albert competing in the same heat of a tournament, while the others watch from the stands. Haruka remembers opening a time capsule at Iwatobi, and a note he wrote to himself, saying that he can still swim even if he becomes a normal person. He agrees with that, but says to himself that he can wait a little longer to become a normal person. And that's where the film ends for real.