Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Fruits Basket
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KitKat1721
 Posts: 953 |
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I was curious how the season was going to end because obviously there's resolution needed with Kyo + Kazuma, but there was also a certain character in the OP that I thought might be present in the finale (she wasn't). You would expect some overall fallout with the major characters in a finale, and since the show is taking a short break, you would hope there's some teasers for S2 to entice newbies. All things considered, I thought the anime pulled off Ep. 25, and everything they needed to accomplish, beautifully.
The Kyo + Kazuma moment started us off with quite the emotional punch. Kyo’s childhood guilt of “dragging Kazuma down” by association is such a heartbreaking thing to be aware of as a kid. That self-destructive tendency to push away someone close to you to protect them is not an uncommon theme (and Kyo is not the first or last character within Fruits Basket itself that deals with it), but more often than not its seen through a romantic lens. And in contrast to Uotani’s story, it has absolutely nothing to do with Kyo's actions. His “worth" (or lack there of) within the Soma family is just that ingrained from an early age. Also, I'm not going to lie, I had to do a small double take hearing Kyo say "Tohru" so casually in conversation. After years of only reading it, I'm not used to it yet! Anime, give me a moment please haha This finale further reminded me of just how good of a friend Hatsuharu is, with a lot of awareness when it comes to those close to him. He instantly knew something was off with Yuki and Tohru just from small observations and short conversations, but didn't press Yuki too far. He acknowledged him and understood that he "didn't want to talk about his feelings." He's a good ox. I love that this finale in doesn't revel in a sense of finality or character resolution (outside seemingly the aforementioned father-son moment). While we've seen Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo go through hardships all season and come out for the better, they are in no way out of the woods yet. When Yuki acknowledges that he's taking steps towards self-improvement, even if they aren't huge, its so important. We should remind ourselves of the good we're doing for ourselves instead of becoming overwhelmed by where we are (or more accurately, where we aren't yet). For Kyo, one big emotional breakthrough can't magically get rid of trauma (like his hatred for Yuki). Sometimes, it may start with a catalyst, like Tohru entering the Soma's lives, but change is hard work and never as easy or fast as we want. And that's not taking into account any outside obstacles this fable has potentially blocking their path. spoiler[Just a quick note on new characters: I was so excited to see Rin, Kakeru, and Machi! Even if they are just little teases, its crazy to finally see them animated. Rin is just as beautiful as I hoped she'd be, and I'm also pretty sure Kakeru has an earring, which seems to be an fun adaptational choice.] Lastly, major props to ADR Director Caitlin Glass + the scriptwriters/cast for the passion they've put into the English dub AND keeping up with the same-day simuldub schedule for the entire season. This is the first time I can remember since maybe Space Dandy (can't remember for sure) where the same-day dub has stayed consistent throughout the season. Shows like My Hero Academia, SSSS.Gridman, etc... eventually had to fall back when Funi could no longer get the materials early. Shield Hero's dub was delayed by almost two months. All that hard work is really appreciated.
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Collectonian
 Posts: 104 Location: Texas |
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Yes! I don't think it's as apparent in the previous adaptation, but Haru is just a beautifully empathetic being and his friendship with Yuki is just so so good! I also love he just takes Tohru in as another one to look after in his own way, consoling her when he realizes she's worrying and doing his bit to help make it right, while at the same time not pushing his own feelings or being overbearing. Just a quiet, I think often overlooked presence as he cares for the people who matter to him most. |
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getchman
 Space CowboyPosts: 9120 Location: Bedford, NH |
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Morose Mononokean 2 is the only other complete same day dub |
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yuna49
 Posts: 3804 |
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It was the first thing to cross my mind as well. Maybe they'll order takeout. |
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NeedMoreCats
Subscriber Posts: 318 Location: Westchester, NY |
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Jacob, Jacob yay hooray! Welcome back!!! I hoped and prayed you would be able to return for season 2, and I’m so delighted to see it has come to pass. Hope season 2 finds you and yours healthy and safe in these troubled times. Thank god we have Tohru and gang to see us thru.
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KitKat1721
Posts: 953 |
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Really, really happy Jacob was able to return to cover Fruits Basket! I love how in-depth these reviews can go and they add a lot to my watching (and re-watching) experience.
I agree that's its uh an interesting choice to start off the second season with an episode that barely features our main cast outside Yuki, and it almost feels like this should be episode 2 material maybe. But I'm also struggling to remember what else they would really put here for the premiere instead that wouldn't immediately jump into a longer arc. Plus, introducing new characters is a good way to intrigue newcomers who have only heard that this is the first season with new "manga-only material," even if there were episodes last season that were new too. The random shots of the other Somas at the end of the episode did feel a bit ham-fisted, as if, "We promise, there's more coming up soon!" I thought the episode was fine, and will probably play better in re-watches than as the official S2 return premiere. If this is where we end things with Motoko for a while, that's fine with me. I'm so excited to see more of the student council personally. I love their whole dynamic and what they bring to the story outside of the Soma Family. I also liked the little moment when Tohru's eyes sort of sparkle as Yuki tells her how Kakeru's words made him sort of happy. It almost stands as a direct contrast to Motoko's possessiveness and sudden panic when realizing someone else could make him happy. She knows this is probably going to be good for him and tells him so. As far as the Rooster speculation, spoiler[even if the ED pretty much states who it is, I've seen plenty of people still think Akito is the rooster (as its the only one left after the Horse is very clearly shown in the OP).] Also as an aside, I really loved the English dub casting for Kakeru and Machi now that we've heard more of them. Aaron Dismuke was always my top choice for Kakeru, but I originally had Caitlin Glass pegged as a different major character way back before S1 began. I think I just forgot to consider her for future roles after she was named the ADR director, but she sounds great. As far as any future castings (because I assume this dub is obviously going to get delayed at some point soon, so might as well have some fun speculating). These aren't super original picks since I'm going off the top of my head, but I'll put down spoiler[Alexis Tipton, Monica Rial, or Brynn Aprill as Kimi and Justin Briner as Naohito. For Kureno, I could easily hear Daman Mills, Josh Grelle or Jason Liebrecht.] |
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BodaciousSpacePirate
 Subscriber Posts: 3017 |
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Welcome back, everybody!
I feel like it's a fantastically effective framing device: A few years back, ANN did a feature retrospective on Kimagure Orange Road, in which the writer suggested that, unlike most of the 80s/90s harem and reverse harem titles that she had previously encountered, KOR made her want to know more about the love interests than the protagonist. To me, one of Fruits Basket's chief strengths has always been that, rather than this just being "Tohru's story", everybody has their own set of stuff to deal with, and sometimes dealing with that stuff (or, in the cases of certain characters, actively avoiding dealing with that stuff) causes other characters to become part of their lives. This episode seems to go out of its way to point out that Kakeru and Machi are going to have stuff of their own to deal with, while simultaneously distancing them from any of the other characters' ongoing narratives (other than Yuki's). I really like that we don't yet know what, if anything, these two are going to have to do with the Sohmas, or what, if anything, they are going to have to do with Tohru. It lends an air of mystery to the pair, while also leaving it up in the air as to what possible roles they might have to play in unraveling any of the story's pre-existing mysteries. Also, although we're clearly supposed to want to know more about these characters, and maybe eventually even care about them, Kakeru immediately comes off as kind of a pain, and - this being a shoujo - Machi immediately comes off as a possible future romantic rival for the affections of one of the Sohma boys (I'm sure that there has been fanfic that pairs her with virtually every single one of them by this point). I feel as though it certainly doesn't hurt to present their first appearances in contrast with two characters who fans generally dislike, and make them seem immediately more appealing by comparison. 
Anyway, thanks, Jacob! |
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Alexis.Anagram
 Posts: 278 Location: Mishopshno |
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Nice to have Furuba and these reviews back. <3
As the resident Motoko/mean girl apologist, I have to say I still think her character brings a valuable perspective to the story by delineating some of the ways young girls and women are often conditioned to predicate their sense of self-worth on the merits of their social and cultural standing in relation to other women. It underscores the narrative that plays out in a number of individual character arcs and backstories (Arisa's, Hanajima's, Kisa's, and above all Yuki's) in which school is the microcosm which functions as a precursor to all the shit life likes to fling at people, and that experience can be variously marginalizing or empowering depending on how each person decides to act upon their circumstances. Motoko is just another player in the game, and projecting a facade of adoration which lends her the appearance of being close to the school's darling student as a vehicle for status and social capital is one way of getting ahead. The breakdown for her comes in recognizing that the authentic feeling she wants to communicate is incompatible with the calculated and cynical machinations she has employed thus far to try and secure Yuki's attention -- by making other women subservient to her. In that sense this chapter has never read to me as being so much about Motoko's relationship with Yuki or Yuki's relationship with Motoko, but about both of their relationships with Tohru: she symbolizes both anathema and cure in this context, since her sincerity and natural detachment from hierarchical rule sets betrays the feeble arguments of a system designed to reward women (and people in general) for engaging in intracommunal power struggles which only serve to separate people based on the degree of their ambition. Ascension doesn't say anything about the merits of one's character, but Motoko has obviously internalized the idea that it does, while Yuki is in the inverse position, actively fearful of seeking power or status because he's been on the abusing end of it and has internalized the notion that making oneself visible, and thus being seen, is something shameful. It takes the felt impact of a person like Tohru to put a crack in both of their facades, and it's telling that Yuki's walls have been chipped away enough that her influence is now resonating through him in such a way that others can and will take notice-- in the same way that it's telling that Motoko knows Tohru is the one responsible for helping Yuki get to this place as a person, and is made to confront feelings of both resentment and surrender at the realization. So although I agree that Motoko's closing resolution is more convincingly paced in the original manga and 2001 anime, I like the conceit of merging the student council proceedings and Yuki's confrontation of his own anathema with Motoko's budding arc of reflection; moreover, I think it serves as a strong thematic prelude to the issues of autonomy and hierarchy which will be central to the events of this season. Not everybody is going to be so accommodating of a shifting dynamic that doesn't favor their power interests, and Tohru isn't always going to get off this easy... |
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Clematis
Posts: 66 |
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Oh how I missed this series and the associated reviews and comments! Welcome back, everyone.
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18179 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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While I didn't have the emotional connection to episode 27 that Jacob described (probably because my family situation doesn't have anything in common with these characters), I was definitely struck by the transition between last season and this season that this episode crystallizes. Whereas most of the first season was about looking backward and dealing with the problems of the past, this episode (and, to a lesser extent, episode 26) has been about looking forward and preparing (or not) to deal with the problems that are coming. In that regard Tohru is more similar to Yuki and Kyo than she would want to acknowledge: she's also been avoiding thinking about what the future holds but is getting to the point where she can't do that anymore, hence the emotional cracks.
One other interesting observation: Kyo's not getting flustered by Tohru crying anymore. That, I think, is also significant. |
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catandmouse
Posts: 213 |
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I’m glad Furuba is back. I’ve read the whole manga before, but it’s been a while and I can’t remember the small details. I’m impressed when people can go back and say “this actually happened in chapter so and so”. I remember the broad overall story, but I’ve forgotten some minute details. For example, people kept saying this summer cottage break is pivotal, yet for the life of me I can’t really remember what exactly happened during the summer in the series.
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KitKat1721
Posts: 953 |
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This was a great review for Ep 27! There was a lot to unpack this week, and this review had lots of little observations and personal reflections sprinkled about without forgetting the larger narrative picture. The first paragraph is a really good summation of the formula shift Fruits Basket is taking and why. I know in the first season we got hints that not every conflict was wrapped up with a nice little bow (and most resolutions were only a step in the right direction), but its going to be even more starkly apparent as the season progresses.
I also really liked what Jacob said about abusive families discouraging independent thinking with complacency as the end-goal. Even if the degree of which might differ (Momiji does at least have a dream, even if he’s not as open about the situation as Kyo), all the Somas in this episode clearly have a shared expectation that their future isn’t really their own to decide. I love how they really hammered home the level of ease, trust, and comfort Tohru and Kyo have around each other. First names and closer body language aside, it’s almost a little shocking to see a panicking Tohru pulling on Kyo's beads and even more so that he doesn’t freak out about it at all. When Tohru opens up about her anxiety, Kyo doesn’t really try to absentmindedly placate or fix everything, he just lets her vent when she wants to and lets her change the focus when she needs to. Its really heartwarming and just feels very grounded in reality. I figured the scene with Kazuma confronting Kyo’s biological father (and yes, the physical resemblance was way more striking here compared to the manga) was going to be the biggest gut punch this week but honestly, the whole talk about coping with anxiety really got to me. I don’t normally consider myself a very anxious person outside of what I’d consider pretty typical bouts of uncertainty, but I think everything been heightened due to the current situation going on in the world. And even ignoring the major implications this scene brings for Tohru as a character, I think I personally needed that short scene more than I anticipated. |
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BodaciousSpacePirate
Subscriber Posts: 3017 |
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I think it helps that the English release of Fruits Basket Another was relatively recent, as many fans (myself included) re-read the original manga in preparation for the sequel series. |
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FlowerAiko
 Posts: 218 |
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I actually quite liked the change of location for what was originally the garden scene... it always felt off to me such a vulnerable conversation was held after Ayame essentially invaded Yuki's safe space... it instead taking place in Ayamae's space, which Yuki came to on his own terms, makes a lot more sense to me. Ayamae opening up about his own trauma in a place he made specially to escape the Sohmas feels like more of an emotional risk than simply being in snake form. Especially since he was in snake form due to unrealted reasons. The emotional backtracking didn't bug as much either since that's natural in an uneven relationship that's just starting to heal, plus the presentation felt like Yuki didn't fully believe what he said to Tohru. I also like how the episode put more of an emphasis on paralleling Tohru and Mine.
I'd say this was weaker than episode two but stronger than one. |
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catandmouse
Posts: 213 |
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I read (and own) all three volumes of Fruits Basket Another, but didn’t go back to re-read the original Furuba. I’m not sure where my Furuba volumes are... Even though this new Furuba adaptation did refresh my memory on a scene from Furubana
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