High☆Speed!: Free! Starting Days

Haruka Nanase and Makoto Tachibana are beginning middle school, facing the challenges of growing up. While Makoto adjusts easily, making friends and staying enthusiastic about swimming, Haruka has a harder time. Haunted by past struggles with the sport, he avoids joining the swim club and struggles to connect with his classmates. Unsure where he belongs, he hesitates to pick any club. The other students, including Makoto, are just as uncertain about their choices. After a disagreement pushes them to join the swim club despite their doubts, the boys work to improve their skills and align their different approaches to swimming. Along the way, they also confront their complicated feelings about the sport-and each other. With determination and raw talent, Haruka, Makoto, and their classmates begin to grow, both as swimmers and as individuals, during these early days of their journey.