Fruits Basket (2019) S2 Episode 11

You know stuff are about to go down when they don’t play the opening. (Though it also makes sense in the regard that it’s not the beach arc anymore) We can expect there to be a new opening next week from what I assume. Not only do we get a little more insight on someone looking in on the curse from the outside, but we get the ending of Kyo and Kagura’s relationship in a sense.

After the insane amount of character development Kyo and Yuki had, I’m glad to see that they seem to be very different people once they came back home. When they got back, I literally screamed “AYAMEEEEE” in dismay after seeing the guy surrounded in garbage. Judging from how Yuki reacted to Ayame, we can see already see a big change in their relationship. Instead of Yuki immediately blowing up at him, he just talked to him normally if not slightly exasperated. However, he’s not closed off to him anymore and it warms my heart that the brothers are making progress in their relationship. I also appreciate that Ayame was concerned for Yuki’s well-being when he heard that Akito had shown up at the summer home. Though from the way he said that, it makes me wonder if Ayame is actually afraid of Akito since it seems like he didn’t go because he knew Akito was there. It’s never really explored how Ayame thinks of Akito so I can only theorize. Though it would be interesting if he was legit afraid of Akito since the guy is so crazy 90% of the time.

Also I died when Ayame offered to heal Yuki’s heart in his embrace and Yuki just backed away slowly.

We also see a little bit of development between Kyo and Yuki. The two aren’t arguing as they typically do. And Yuki just being super blatant about how he feels about Kyo’s choices is just too hilarious. Initially, Yuki just seemed to dismiss or show indifference to Kyo while beating the crap out of him. But now, he seems to be showing more emotion around Kyo whether it be sass or disappointment. Hopefully he’ll show more positive emotions around him in the future and vice versa.

While Tohru hasn’t gone through the same amount of development Kyo and Yuki have from the beach arc, a lot was revealed to her and fueled her determination to break the curse. Which honestly sounds like she’s getting ahead of herself since she doesn’t even know the origin of the curse or how it even works. Though I do like that she chose to confide in Kazume, someone who may possibly have answers for her and is aware of most of the situation. Kazuma was definitely the right person to call. I can admire the steps she is trying to make in making a difference.

And I have to say, it is interesting seeing the contrast between someone of the Zodiac views Akito as opposed to someone who isn’t cursed. To the Zodiac, Akito is someone that is worthy of respect and revered, but also feared and someone they can’t oppose. While Kazuma, someone on the outside, views Akito as the audience does, a screaming, unstable and hysterical man child. So it seems to the uncursed Sohmas who do not directly serve underneath Akito, he isn’t necessarily someone they respect or really care for. It just seems to be a lot of indifference from Kazuma’s reaction to Akito. I’ve talked about how the Zodiac members can’t simply leave Akito and this is exactly why. They are bound to him whether they like it or not. The curse seems to forge this bond between all of them that no one can completely explain or understand. It holds them all back from just straight up walking away. They don’t have a choice in the matter, which is extremely sad. Especially when so many of them want to be free but the curse prevents them from going too far. It’s something “outsiders” like Tohru and the audience can’t understand.

Sadly, Kazuma can’t really do anything in regards to breaking the curse, but he assures Tohru that he will do everything in his power to stop the confinement. But even with Kazuma fighting, I don’t think he can stop it on his own.

And then there’s Kyo and Kagura. Both Kyo and Yuki have changed a lot and we get to see Kyo’s change first hand with how he interacts with Kagura. Like with Yuki towards Ayame, Kyo showed a lot more maturity by not blowing up or getting super irritable towards Kagura. Instead, he acted calmly and didn’t yell at her as he did back in season 1. The fact that he seems more calm I feel stems that his anxiety of not being locked away and desperation of beating Yuki has turned into acceptance of his fate. Which is still sad, but it makes him more pleasant to watch now that he isn’t blowing up at every little thing.

I feel like Kagura gets a really bad rep because of how she acts. I don’t particularly like her, but I don’t particularly dislike her either. She’s kind of in the middle ground for me. However, she has also proven to me that she isn’t just a one-dimensional character I initially pegged her for. She shows an exponential amount of maturity on her part for confessing to Kyo that she essentially looked down on him when they first met and her feelings for him were built on guilt. Even at the start, we could see that Kagura and Kyo’s relationship wasn’t healthy, considering she forced it upon him in the first place. But with this extra layer, we can safely say that this “relationship” wasn’t good for either of them.

Despite Kagura’s terrible reasons for befriending Kyo in the first place, I honestly can’t be angry with her. She was a freaking child. And upon getting further insight of her upbringing, we see that she didn’t have a an easier time growing up as I thought (or remembered). She still faced judgement from others just like all the Zodiac children. Considering we have only seen her mom in the present day, I can only assume that she may be living in a divorced household. A normal divorce definitely will have some negative mental effects on the child, making them question if it was their fault their parents separated. But being part of the Zodiac and witnessing them fight because of her, I can’t even imagine how Kagura must have felt. She hated herself, especially since I can only imagine that if her parents actually did divorce, she would feel entirely responsible. At that age, I don’t think a child would be able to handle that amount of mental and emotional stress, which is probably when her two-sided personality started coming out.

And while yes, Kyo has suffered more than her, I do think it’s unfair to compare who was hurt more. If we compare the two in that aspect, it would make it seem like Kagura’s suffering didn’t matter or should be disregarded. But that shouldn’t be the case. Both of them have suffered in different ways, both of them have been hurt by this curse. It shouldn’t be a competition of who got hurt more. Both of them are hurt individuals. And for that, I respect Kagura, especially since she was mature enough to admit to her ugly feelings in regards to Kyo and the curse and is finally able to move past them by letting go of Kyo. I like that this decision wasn’t completely based on Kyo and Tohru growing close together and more on the fact she saw the contrast of how she and Tohru reacted to seeing Kyo’s true form for the first time. It felt more of a reflection on how she’s acted up this point rather than just seeing how much “better” Tohru is for Kyo.

I feel like a lot of people are going to hate Kagura more after her backstory, but I found that it added to her character. While I wish they added her more to the story so we could see more hints about this, but I’m still satisfied with what I got. And while I admit what she did was terrible, I still think she was important to Kyo’s childhood. Even Kyo admits that he doesn’t resent her for thinking little of him and he’s thankful for the time they shared as kids. There was a lot of maturity on both sides and I’m glad to see that they were able to break off this relationship on good terms.

While it felt like not a lot happened, a lot of things were dropped. Such as the state of the Zodiac and Kyo and Kagura’s relationship. Not to mention we see Rin make another appearance. As hard-headed as Rin seems to be, she also seems like she wants to prevent Tohru from getting further involved with the Sohmas. It also makes you wonder… how do the rest of the Zodiac feel about Kyo. Especially since he could easily be perceived as someone less fortunate than even the regular Zodiac members. Do the others have similar feelings to Kagura in that regard?