In the first season of the anime, Rin experiences an intense and expansive range of emotions that pulls the viewers into his world. We see him change from a bright young boy to an angsty teenager full of self-loathing. We learn about his father's death and the pressure Rin puts on himself to carry out his father's dream in his place. We watch Rin fight with anyone and everyone who confronts him and eventually, we watch him break down, finally letting the tears he's been trying to hold back fall.

But it's not all doom and gloom. At the climax of the first season, Rin builds himself back up with the help of those around him, gracing us with a smile brighter than anything we've seen before. Rin's back - and thanks to the hard times he's been through, he's stronger than ever. We can see this throughout Eternal Summer, as Rin becomes a pillar of support for both the Samezuka and Iwatobi teams, and in particular, Haruka. What's more, this new strength means that he is now able to express his emotions more freely, even if his tsundere nature means that he can't put them into words.

If there's one characteristic about Rin that stays with you long after the anime has ended, it's the way he works incredibly hard to achieve his goals. In order to train to become an Olympic swimmer, he made the decision to leave all of his friends and family behind and move to Australia to attend a prestigious swimming school - an incredibly difficult thing for a sixth grader to do, never mind alone. And when that didn't work out, he didn't give up. Despite battling depression and an inferiority complex, Rin kept swimming. He kept persevering.

Even though he puts so much effort into his sport, Rin remains humble - or rather, unable to see his own worth. No matter how much of an incredible athlete he has become, he is constantly trying to improve himself, whether that's by hitting the gym to improve his muscle mass, or swimming to improve his times. What's more, this devotion doesn't just apply to swimming - he is also devoted to his friends, teammates, and family. He's not just working hard for himself, but for everyone that he cares about, making us as viewers care for him all the more.

Rin not only treasures his ties with other people - he's also not afraid to show it. Due to his emotional struggles and isolating himself from others, we don't see this side of Rin until the end of the first season of Free!, when he rushes to embrace Haru after the relay with the Iwatobi team. This is a monumental moment as it shows that Rin is finally returning to the way he used to be, and how grateful he is to Haru for accepting him.

With this, the affection floodgates open. Throughout the second season of the anime, and even in official art, Rin can often be seen expressing his feelings for his friends through physical gestures. Whether it's an arm teasingly slung around someone's shoulder or encouraging hair-ruffling, it seems Rin finds it hard to keep his hands off his nearest and dearest, making him seem more like an adorable puppy than a scary shark.

One of the things that stands out about Rin's character is his romantic nature and his desire to create meaningful connection with others. We see this for the first time when he's in elementary school, after he, Haruka, Makoto, and Nagisa have won the relay. Rin suggests that they bury the trophy they won as a kind of time capsule and dig it back up when they are reunited. It is also around this time that Rin introduces the others to the English phrase "for the team", something which becomes so deeply ingrained in Haruka's mind that he still remembers it years later.

As if that isn't sentimental enough, we also learn that other than becoming an Olympic swimmer, Rin has another dream - to swim in a pool filled with cherry blossoms. And it seems that Rin's romance is infectious - as in the first episode of Eternal Summer, the Iwatobi gang fill their own pool with the flowers to surprise him. Although rain ruins their plans, eventually Rin makes his dream come true himself at the end of the second season, pouring cherry blossom petals in the Samezuka pool, and inviting everyone to swim in it.

How far would you go for a friend in need? How about 4,000 miles across the ocean? That might seem a bit extreme, but it's exactly what Rin decides to do in the penultimate episode of Eternal Summer. Seeing Haruka struggle with trying to find his dream, Rin steps in and sweeps him away to Australia. There, he takes Haru to swim alongside Australia's national team, hoping to inspire him and help him discover what he really wants to do. Thanks to this, Haruka is able to get over his fears and realise that he too wants to aim for the Olympics.

It's not an exaggeration to say that Rin and Haru's relationship forms the very basis of Free! and is extremely important to both of their character development. However, this trip is especially significant as it shows the lengths Rin will go to to help those he cares about. Just like if it wasn't for Haruka in the first season Rin would not have been able to move forward, if it wasn't for Rin's actions in this episode, Haruka would still be struggling. It is thanks to this trip that both of them are able to pursue their dreams, and stand tall as professional swimmers.