Ikuya Kirishima

Kanji 桐嶋郁弥
Romaji Kirishima Ikuya
Also known as Iku-Chan (by Nagisa Hazuki)
Description
Gender Male
Pisces Sign ♓
Birthday March 3rd
Age 12-13 ( High☆Speed! Vol. 2 )
16-17 (Free! - Take your marks -)
17-18 ( Free! - Dive into the future - )
18-19 (Free! - Final blow -)

Height 143 cm (4'8") ( High☆Speed! )
173 cm (5'8") ( Free! -Take your tags- )
176 cm (5'9") ( Free!-Dive into the Future- )

Professional status
Occupation
College student

Education Shimogami University
Shionezaki High School (former)
Unnamed US High School (Former)
Iwatobi Jr High (former)
Unnamed Elementary School

Clubs Shimogami University Swimming Club
Shionezaki High School Swim Club (former)
National Swimming School (former)
Iwatobi Jr High School Swim Club (former)
Bandou Swimming Club (former)

Swimming style Breaststroke (specialty)
individual medley

Events 4×100m medley relay
400 individual medley

Personal status
Relatives Mother
Natsuya Kirishima (older brother)

Debut
Anime High☆Speed！the Movie －Free! Starting Days－ (Movie)
Episode 26 (anime)

Ikuya is a muscular, though smaller, young man with dark amber eyes and dark teal hair with bangs that fall between his eyes. His eyelashes are particularly long and black. In competitions, he wears black jammers with subtle brown and gray designs. He tends to maintain a serious demeanor.

When first introduced as a member of the Iwatobi High School Swim Club, Ikuya is quiet, cynical, and distrustful of others. Although taciturn, he is not afraid to express his irritation with others, especially his older brother, Natsuya. When Natsuya, as swim club captain, tries to recruit new members, Ikuya resists, saying that school sports clubs are a waste of time. Although he eventually joins, it takes him time to warm up to his teammates—Haruka Nanase, Makoto Tachibana, and Asahi Shiina—but he grows to trust them. He greatly admires Haruka, secretly wishing he possessed similar confidence in the sport.

Ikuya's health is fragile, and he has a certain fear of water, having nearly drowned several times due to intermittent hypoxic training. However, being a determined athlete and not wanting to disappoint Natsuya, he pushes himself endlessly. This drive also stems from his belief that swimming and competition must be mastered, as indicated by the anime's depiction of water as an "enemy" that holds him back. In this way, he is shown to be both similar and different from Haruka—both brilliant swimmers with radically different approaches to their sport.

Another major difference between Ikuya and Haruka is Ikuya's desire to "never be ordinary." He professes this to Hiyori, who supports him in this belief, but who, unbeknownst to the others, is responsible for keeping Ikuya healthy while Natsuya travels the world as a professional swimmer. This responsibility strains their friendship, but Ikuya remains oblivious to Hiyori's struggle until he makes amends with his estranged brother. By making amends with his former teammates and after swimming an Individual Medley with Haruka in fulfillment of a long-ago promise, Ikuya feels reconnected to humanity and is also able to

to reconcile with Natsuya and Hiyori. Only then does he begin to see himself in a fully "humanized" way, although he still considers competition and victory as an important goal in life.

Ikuya enjoyed swimming as a child, but became disenchanted with it as he grew older. This is partly due to his idolization of his older brother, on whom he depended heavily. In a misguided effort to force Ikuya to become self-sufficient, Natsuya withdraws emotionally but maintains pressure on Ikuya regarding the sport. Instead of Ikuya rising to the challenge, his fragile self-esteem perceives the distancing as rejection, and he begins to forgo the things Natsuya and he once shared, like swimming. In middle school, he tries to avoid joining the swim club because Natsuya is the captain, but is urged to do so by Haruka, Makoto, and Asahi.

Once a member, it becomes clear that Ikuya is an excellent swimmer, but he suffers from health problems due to his perfectionism and overtraining. In the past, he was hospitalized and even rescued by Haruka. Over time, Ikuya comes to respect and enjoy the camaraderie of being on a team and hopes his new friends will continue swimming. Unfortunately, it is around this time that Haruka has a falling out with Rin Matsuoka and gives up competitive swimming. The team's plans to work together fall apart, as does their developing bond.

Shortly thereafter, Ikuya follows Natsuya to America, where he attends high school and meets Hiyori Tono. Upon returning to Japan, Ikuya and Hiyori attend Shionezaki High School and join the school's swimming club. As a university freshman, Ikuya reconnects with his old high school friends and teammates, making amends with them, Natsuya, and Hiyori.

Its themed animal is a beluga whale.
He is Satomi Nii's childhood friend, who only appears in the light novel.
Squirrels are his favorite animals "for their tenderness," although he won't admit it.
Her favorite foods are fried shrimp, sweet tamagoyaki, and pistachio cream.
As the youngest in the family, he always wanted a younger brother.
According to Hiyori, pistachio drinks are Ikuya's favorite.
It is implied that Ikuya and his brother attended high school in San Francisco, as indicated by the San Francisco "Fisherman's Wharf Sign" shown in a flashback in Episode 31.
Ikuya acquired his copy of The Little Mermaid in America. It was a gift from his father, and he cherishes it. When he arrived in America, he couldn't read English well, so he focused on the beautiful images.
At a staff talk event for Free!–the Final Stroke–, one of the character designers discussed the main characters' body types in terms of musculature. Ikuya was listed as being "type 2": slightly above-average muscle, but still quite thin compared to other body types.[1]
Those born under the sign of Pisces tend to be compassionate, kind, and charming, but they can also be overconfident and somewhat sad, with a desire to escape reality. They enjoy swimming and dislike the past coming back to haunt them. Those born on March 3 find fulfillment in cultivating a talent that allows them to work off excess energy. Traits are influenced by the position of the moon and other planets at the time of birth. [2]