I was saving that Golden Boy reference for an opportune moment. I think I picked a good spot.   After last week's brief cameo, Rei makes his official debut in this episode. I wasn't sure how I would feel about him, but he turned out to be a lovable dork. I don't care how ripped your arms are, if you double-strap your backpack, you are a dork. The lovable part comes in from his interactions with the rest of the group, as well as the fact that he takes everything just a touch too seriously. He runs physics calculations in his head before pole vaulting, which is insane, and he talks about the beauty of sports with over the top hand flourishes. I dare you to find someone who does not like this guy.   Anyway, I enjoyed the series of events leading up to getting Rei to join the club. Last week, I thought that it would have to do with getting enough members to form the club in the first place, but this time it was a more logistical problem: they don't have enough people to participate in competitions. And if they can't participate in competitions, then they can't get the funding to join a gym that has an indoor pool. And if they can't join the gym, then they can't swim year-round. If you're Haru, then this is SERIOUS FREAKING BUSINESS. Nothing gets between Haru and a pool. So Nagisa tries to recruit Rei again, under the justification that he's another guy with a girly name. The statements about ~destiny~ were giving me unintentional Mawaru Penguindrum flashbacks. I'm halfway expecting fanart of Nagisa living under Rei's house now.   However, Rei keeps turning him down, saying that swimming isn't "beautiful." It's implied at first that it's just because he's really into track and pole vaulting, but the truth is, he can't swim. I love this show. (Source)   In the end, Haru shows Rei that talent and love for what you're doing plays just as big a role in sports as preparation, if not more so, inspiring Rei to let loose a little more. Although I'm pretty sure that's not how you pole-vault. In any case, it looks like next week will probably be about Rei getting up to speed so that he can compete. The emerging plot seems to be revolving around the summer swim competitions so that the club can make a name for itself and Haru can be with his waifu, water. Also, while I haven't been too interested in the shipping side of things so far (I feel that the fandom is reading into some things a little too much) aside from my OTP of Haruka/Water, I can't deny that Rei and Nagisa were really adorable in this episode. I don't know if I ship it yet, but it's really tempting... STOP IT Images from Crunchyroll.com.
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