Powerful comment. I agree 100% lol
I always understood that Free! was a none Yaoi/shounen-ai series that catered to fangirls/boys and lowkey to shippers, without ever crossing the line. But for the sake of fanfiction my rotten goggles couldn't accept that the majority shipped mako/haru instead of rin/haru. Well it's fine since it's all over now (has been for a while) and no one will end up with Haru, cause, you know, Free! is about friendship and not about ships. (Especially not mako/haru ships. lol jk. ok nt rly. -I'm almost over this! Almost.)
Just an observation here. While it's true that the anime doesn't "cross the line," Kyoani has always played up the hidden fujoshi aspects of the anime in every possible way through official alternate media. Some have called it queerbaiting, but whatever you call it, it's suggestive and has been said-but-not-said in many ways. Makoharu, Sourin and Reigisa have been the focus of their efforts after gauging Japanese fan preferences, with Makoharu topping the list since the start of the series in 2013 and Makoto being the most favored character since that time, as well. You can argue with it, dislike it or say Haru will end up with no one in order to help yourself "get over" the fact that Rinharu was co-fostered with Makoharu for S1 and S2, then downplayed into a simple rivalry but there's really no need for that. Shipping is all about what you imagine, logical or not, so if you want to ship Rinharu, ship it. I've shipped rarepairs, top pairs, secondary pairs - you name it. I've never let what the majority of fans ship influence my feelings about who I thought belonged together and I don't begrudge other shippers their choices. It's only in certain fandoms that I've seen hostility in this area and it's foolish. Just enjoy what you enjoy. Angelle aka Luxartisan 04:45, March 26, 2019 (UTC)
I say different strokes for different folks. Let's not argue about it, eh?