Fruits Basket Season 2 (Tears, Tantrums and Trauma!)
Fruits Basket was my saviour of 2020. There’s been some good anime out this year, but the one series I have anticipated more than anything else (even more than Attack on Titan) is our loveable tale of zodiac animals. It’s been so much fun seeing new fans get just as hyped as manga readers, and as the latter, I’ve loved seeing my favourite scenes get their well-earned anime adaptation. The animation, music, and stellar voice acting was even better than season one, and as the final season has been announced for 2021, I’m so excited to see what else TMS Entertainment will do next.
The gang is back: A nice Slice of Life Anime
Expectedly, the series opens with the usual antics of Yuki, Tohru, Kyo, and the gang. Arisa and Hanajima are still funny as always. The first episode was slightly disappointing as I wasn’t really interested in the Mokoto storyline, but now that I know how they ended the season, I understand that they probably used filler to ensure the final episode would end on the perfect cliffhanger. There’s a little foreshadowing to some upcoming episodes, such as Haru’s breakup with Rin, who remains a shadowy, vengeful mystery at this point, but that’s as far as the dark stuff goes, which completely sets us up for a shock when the Beach Arc arrives. From that point on, the anime is an emotional rollercoaster.
Beach arc: Akito’s a what?
Yuki loves Tohru. Kyo loves Tohru…and Akito’s a god. If anyone was unsure of Akito’s position to the zodiac, I’m sure this would have been a shock. It explains his unsettling hold on the other clan members. We also find out why it’s a curse: the zodiac are all forced into a bond with “god”, to eternally be at his side even if they don’t want to. Akito explains all this to Tohru as a warning to leave them all alone, but not to be intimidated, it only encourages her to find a way to break the bond instead. Beside her, Momiji is frozen in fear, unable to help Tohru even as Akito injures her, and in the house, the younger Sohma boys stare at the confrontation helplessly. In season one, Tohru pushes Akito away from Yuki when she sees that Akito’s presence is causing him emotional distress. Compare that with the inability of the four zodiac men to even speak in Tohru’s defence this time, further highlights just how ensnared they are. And unsurprisingly, Yuki and Kyo begin to blame each other for doing nothing, when deep down they know it was impossible.
Kyo’s confession is one of my favourite moments of the manga, when he finally admits to how he feels about Tohru. It’s heartbreaking also, as Akito is present while he is parsing through these revelations in his head, mocking him, and reminding him of his mother’s death.
The OTP: Haru x Rin
Are these two not the hottest couple in this anime? I’m sad they’re no longer together, but from the flashbacks alone it’s clear that they are perfect for each other. Haru loves Rin deeply. He stuck up for her when her parents said such horrible things to her, and helped her through the darkest moments of her childhood. I saw a lot of early comments berating Rin’s harsh demeanour, but all those comments disappeared when her backstory was revealed, including the moment when Akito pushed her out the window after he found out about her relationship with Haru. Now we know why she dumped him, and now we know why she has spent tireless hours alone, at the risk of her health: she has been trying to break the curse so that Haru can be free.
Haru, like Tohru, is one of the kindest characters in the series. Even when he is down or distressed, he always thinks about others. Rin and Yuki are the two he clearly cares about the most, and this care has created tension among the trio. Rin clearly sees Yuki as an airhead, who has no idea how often Haru has put himself at risk to see if Yuki is okay. When Yuki is made aware of all this, it does reduce him to tears, but like the sweetheart he is, Haru recentres the conversation on Yuki’s growth, promising him that one day, he'll find someone who understands him.
Much more happens between Haru and Rin (and Yuki!) in the next season. But there is more to Haru than the dazed, laidback ox we’ve seen so far. He gets some great development too, and so does Rin.
She’s His Mama
Condolences, Yukiru shippers. Yuki has finally put all his thoughts in order, and understands that Tohru has been a mother figure to him. Like most of his relatives, Yuki has had a difficult relationship with his mother. Since meeting Tohru, he’s finally had someone to encourage him, to listen to him, to help him and offer advice, and to take interest in his hobbies without judgement. More importantly, she genuinely wanted to be his friend. I definitely see the different between Yuki and Kyo’s interactions with Tohru, which Yuki himself identifies.
Take the beach arc, for example. During the hike with the kids, it was Kyo who immediately understood that Tohru was upset. Time and again, Kyo picks up on things about Tohru; whether she is stressed, hurt, thinking about her mother, or even when she has gone to visit Rin without telling anyone. He is looking at her, and understanding her. On the other hand, Yuki only sees Tohru from how she interacts with him, and how she makes him feel. I don’t think these are selfish behaviours, but it helps to show that for Yuki, Tohru is someone who gives him something he is missing, but with Kyo, Tohru is finally able to receive something else in return.
During the same beach arc, he was overwhelmed by how she covered the sleeping children in a blanket, as the image was so sweet and maternal. Later on in the season, Rin was filled with emotion when she saw Tohru folding blankets on Shigure’s porch with the same calm, serene expression. Like Yuki, Rin’s relationship with her mother is non-existent, and so she immediately identified that maternal innocence in Tohru. As he explains his feelings to Kakeru, Yuki ponders Rin. He knows that they both view Tohru in the same way. Rin was able to find the person who watches her in Haru; let’s hope that Yuki can find someone who watches him just as closely…
Yuki Develops; Best Boy Kakeru
Yuki’s confession is interspersed with his backstory. Now we know why he was so frightened to even look at Akito in earlier episodes. The god of the zodiac was closely connected to Yuki when they were children. An unknown incident causes Akito to snap one day, and he starts to abuse Yuki daily, forcing him to stay in a dark room where only Akito resides, and told over and over again that he was worthless. This chronic loneliness left Yuki with severe emotional and self-esteem issues, but thanks to Tohru’s kindness, he starts to push himself, becoming the president of the student council, and making new friends on his own. That he was able to explain all these feelings to Kakeru is proof in how far he has come, and it’s not until reviewing this season that I have been able to really appreciate Yuki’s character development.
Reading the manga, I’ve always been more focused on Kyo’s back story, his tale of trauma and abuse, and Yuki’s issues were always secondary for me. It’s been a treat to see Yuki’s progression over season two with fresh eyes. I’m just sad that so many anime-onlies are anti-Kyo right now. It’s understandable, but I hope that when his story is revealed in season one, they’ll be able to sympathise with the extreme isolation he has felt, and the way in which he was weaponised to hate Yuki for no reason.
Another Ship has Sailed
Not to worry about the mother thing: Machi is here! And it looks like she has been watching Yuki for a long time. In episode 23, she tells a bunch of groupies that she doesn’t see Yuki as a prince because he always looked lonely. We get to learn a little bit about Machi in this episode: she too has self-esteem issues because of an abusive mother. She is lonely and isolated in her own apartment, and feels like she has no purpose in life. As she thinks about these things, she considers how Yuki has changed over the school year, and how his smiles are genuinely joyful these days. No one else has been so observant of him, and it’s quite sweet that she has been secretly admiring his transformation alongside the anime viewers.
Then we get a cute tsundere moment where she denies that she treasured his souvenir to the point of trying to return it. I’ll just say from now there are many more cute moments with Machi to come in season three, and she’s adorably angry when she gets embarrassed.
Akito’s a WHAT?
TMS clearly loves a cliffhanger. So much is explained in this episode.
Firstly, we know the reason for Akito’s flare of anger during the New Year’s banquet. He says to Yuki “what’s that look in your eyes?” before smashing a bottle over this head. Kureno springs into action and pulls him away from Yuki. Now, in this season finale, we find out that Akito said the same thing to Kureno when his curse broke. Yuki’s “distant eyes” reminded him of the day that Kureno was no longer the rooster, an event that caused a physical and emotional reaction in Akito. Since then, Kureno has remained at Akito’s side out of pity, pretending to the other members that he is still under the curse, even though they all feel something is off about him. Rin tells Tohru in episode 19 that she doesn’t “see him as one of us”, which was a tiny hint that I doubt any anime-onlies would have noticed.
What’s sad about Kureno’s situation is that he is still so trapped. He can hug Arisa any time he wants, he can love anyone he wants and can go anywhere he wants, and yet, he can’t, because doing so would ruin Akito and sever the bond of the curse that means everything to him. I agree with Shigure, that Kureno should have left Akito: remaining by his side did not help, and if anything, it only made him more possessive and sadistic, prepared to do anything to keep the rest of the zodiac in line. Sadly, as the manga progresses, I’m inclined to agree even more than Kureno’s choice to remain (even when they both became adults) was the wrong one.
And yes, Akito is a girl! As it was revealed at the end of the episode, I kept her old pronouns to the end of this recap/review. But her real gender makes so much sense now: she is possessive particularly over the men, like Haru and Hatori, and cares very little for more genderfluid and effeminate men like Ayame, Ritsu, and Momiji. It also explains the toxic relationship she has with Shigure, how she expects a lot from him (blaming him for not coming to help her after Yuki’s defiance), and shuns him when he upsets her. But then, we understand that Shigure’s coldness towards both Akito and Kureno is down to jealousy, and his phone conversation with Kureno is both tense and awkward. We never see Shigure’s eyes, but his voice is deeper and less flippant than normal. Kureno on the other hand, presses his hand against his window for support, and clutches the phone to his ear. There are lots of sighs and pauses and they discuss things off-screen, but one of these is definitely the fact of Kureno’s broken curse.
The rest of the conversation between Kureno and Tohru will have to wait until season three. But I’m glad we’re finally over the biggest reveal of the series. Now onto the final act. Here’s to a better 2021!
rating: 10/10