Fruits Basket the Final

Episode 7

Welcome to the Mom Show! Here on Fruits Basket the Final we've got moms aplenty: that means good moms and bad moms, but definitely not any in-between moms—that's simply not dramatic enough. This week's title, “That's Right, It's Empty,” incredibly doesn't refer to any character's blackened, shriveled heart (though I could think of a few contenders). Instead, it's an episode about past trauma that has an insidious way of creeping into the present when we least expect it. Protagonist or antagonist, no one is immune.

Poor Kyo is carrying around trauma from his past entanglements with not one, but two different moms! The first is Kyoko, who was a bit irresponsible with him: as an adult, it's her job not to unload her custody rights and other issues onto a grade-schooler, but that's exactly what she did. This conversation would be strange in any context but is especially discordant to Kyo, a child whose mom killed herself rather than raise him. This memory returns to Kyo in a vivid nightmare where he is stuck between these two moms, both of whom he envisions as malevolent ghosts. It's a visual manifestation of the heavy stuff Kyo has been carrying around with him since childhood—the feeling that if he had just been better, neither his mom nor Kyoko would have died. This gives way to a new intrusive thought: if he wasn't “good” enough to save these moms, how is he supposed to trust himself to protect Tohru? Yes, I do see this scene as yet another example of the way Fruits Basket compartmentalizes Tohru into a maternal role; comparing her to actual mother figures in other characters' eyes yet again. It's less of a critique than a reminder of the story's dated material: we don't get too many motherly heroines in the #girlboss era.

It isn't long after Kyo's nightmare before a third mom appears, when Ren grabs Shigure's sleeve. There's some real Madonna/whore dichotomy imagery going on in this episode; good moms are purity embodied, while Ren's cruelty is intertwined with her sexiness. Since Ren was Akira's maid, the other Sohma servants suspect her of being a social climber. But despite the way her breathy voice and devilish smile seem like a seductive act, this episode provides an ironclad defense of Ren's love for her husband at every turn—as well as his for her. Ren's love for Akira is real, but it's twisted into something sinister. As a mom myself, I found it especially creepy that Ren's whole plan to raise Akito as a boy came from her insistence on being the only woman in Akira's life—she even saw her infant daughter as competition! Shigure realizes this and knows exactly how to press Ren's buttons when he says he only likes looking at her to fantasize about what Akito would look like presenting as a woman. Ren immediately turns on him: “Who do you suppose you have to thank for that kid even being alive?!” This outburst encapsulates Ren's inferiority complex toward Akito. She can't even say Akito's name, calling her “that kid.” And likewise, Akito only calls Ren “that woman.” All the more tragic is the revelation that Akira truly loved his wife, saying on his deathbed: “At least I could leave her a child… our child being special proves that Ren and I were special, right?”

For a while, this episode serves as Akito redemption propaganda. By showing the audience how much Ren's jealousy has screwed up Akito's childhood, there were even points in the episode when I sympathized with Akito. The first was during Akira's death scene, when Ren exploded at Akito, insisting that nobody even wanted her. It was gratifying to see Akito was brimming with confidence, fresh from her father's constant assurances that she was special. She was able to be her own advocate at such a vulnerable time when she was effectively made an orphan. The second sympathetic moment was when Akito defended her way of life to Kureno by reminding him that with no parents to teach her, she had to muddle her way through: “Nobody ever gave me any other way to live… !” Akito never had anyone she could trust, not even the loyal servant who gave her an empty box and a lie. It's a tender moment… until Akito literally stabs Kureno in the back. It would have been more understandable if she stabbed Ren who was about to stab her anyway, but instead, she stabs the Zodiac who always had her back. Once again, Akito can only express herself by hurting people, and a crappy mom is no excuse. Is Kureno dead? Arisa's ominous discovery of a dead sparrow sure isn't a good sign, but as usual, don't look for spoilers for this decades-old story if you want to wait until next week to find out.

One of the reasons she doesn't stab Ren: it's at the instant that Hiro breaks his curse. Suddenly, we're in the room with Hiro and his Good Mom, with Hiro holding his baby sister and his mom instantly comprehending the significance of that simple gesture. Rather than push her own emotions about this development onto Hiro, she gives him space to process his feelings. And isn't that the sharpest distinction between the good and bad moms of Fruits Basket? The bad moms can't get their own hangups out of the way long enough to even let their children breathe.

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Fruits Basket the Final is currently streaming on Crunchyroll (sub) and Funimation (dub).

Lauren writes about geek careers at Otaku Journalist and model kits at Gunpla 101.