Fruits Basket (2019) S2 Episode 20

So I’ve been dying to get back to Fruits Basket posts because my goodness thing have been ramping up these past few episodes, especially with Rin. But I’m back in the nick of time to cover yet another one of my boy’s episodes. Good timing too because next episode is definitely going to kick off another Yuki flashback and I would hate to miss that. Anyways, back to this week’s episode.

There were just so many Yuki gems throughout the episode, it was great. From his interactions with Kakeru to him essentially shouting at random times. I don’t know about everyone else, but whenever Yuki yells whether it be from shock or anger, it always cracks me up. The guy never really raised his voice that much unless it was out of concern or frustration. So seeing him flip out and raise his voice for different reasons is so fun to see. Especially since it also touches on how much he’s grown as a character where he’s able to freely emote like this. He’s so much more expressive now and I just feel so proud of him. Though I admit I definitely dokied a bit when he used his deep voice. MMMM.

As I continue to watch this series, I can’t help but notice that Yuki feels more of a main character than Kyo. Especially since this season has focused SO MUCH on him. Going into this series, I honestly thought that the spotlight would be fairly even between Yuki and Kyo. However, we have definitely been getting way more Yuki development and spotlight than Kyo which I’m all in favor for. It feels like the two main characters are Yuki and Tohru as we get to see more of those two’s headspaces than anyone else and their stories seem to be running along side each other rather than together. Which feels like a great story direction even if it hurts my Yuki x Tohru soul a bit.

Anyways, we learn a lot about Kakeru and a little of Machi this episode. After a rather unexpected throwing of a book out a window, we find Machi in a rather terrified state. I think everyone was wondering just what is going on between Machi and Kakeru since they are constantly around one another considering they were introduced together as well and it was revealed that they are siblings, just from different mothers. Because Kakeru was the oldest out of the two, this mom severely pushed him to become the family successor. I can’t help but think that Kakeru is probably the closest to what Yuki had to go through. And while Kakeru was able to free himself from that miserable situation, Machi is still trapped. I appreciate that Yuki tried to get to the heart of the problem she is facing rather than berating her and getting angry like what Nao did. He has always shown to be somewhat curious about her and genuinely seems to want to help and get to know her.

Speaking of Nao, he really bugged me this episode. On one hand, I understand his frustration of someone he’s supposed to be working with causing problems, but yelling at them and demanding answers is very dismissive towards the actual problem. I’m glad at how mature and thoughtful Yuki was during this whole ordeal and is trying to get to the root of the problem, knowing that everything has a reason. Nao was just so insensitive, not even caring to wonder what caused her to do such a thing and just went in yelling. It was like two different parenting styles almost in contrast with another. With Nao guilting Machi for what she did and Yuki trying to understand why she did it.

We also get to see some development on Yuki’s mom’s side. While very brief, it does seem like she was thinking over what Yuki had told her several episodes back about him being his own person and that he wants to make his own decisions. And while she’s still rather cold, there is progress in their relationship with her dropping the most “motherly” comment that she’s ever told him. It is sad that this was the first time she acted like a mom towards Yuki, however, I can appreciate the willingness to try and change. People are not inherently evil and can change if they are willing to put in the effort. While I don’t think that their relationship will ever be the “mother son bond” Yuki longed for, it’s a step in the right direction to at least put them on good terms with one another.

It was also interesting how Yuki described their relationship as a shirt that is buttoned up incorrectly. Basically saying it’s awkward and unappealing. However, I want to point out how much better Yuki seems to be interacting with her since the parent teacher conference. When getting her signature for him getting a cellphone, he seemed a lot more laid back than he was when we first saw them interact with Yuki being stressed, timid and uncomfortable. When he came to tell her about the parent teacher conference, he just passed off message to a maid and got the heck out of there. But we see him acting much more calm and dare I say, “comfortable” around his mom. Once he was able to finally speak his mind to her, it seemed to click with him that he doesn’t need to be afraid of her anymore.

But then I got second hand anxiety for Yuki once that door closed behind him, leaving him in complete darkness. Though I admit I laughed at the part where the door closed and you could only see Yuki’s dumbfounded eyes. That part was so much more silly than it needed to be, but I loved it. ANYWAYS, I especially got really worried when he tipped over that can of black paint and I thought this poor boy’s ptsd was about to be triggered considering part of his trauma was him being locked in a painted black room. Thankfully before his anxiety was able to fully catch up with him, Machi broke the door open with a chair. It felt rather symbolic and dare I say, foreshadowing??? But I’m glad she got him out when she did since his immediate reaction to getting out of the room was to feel nauseous which is most likely connected to his anxiety.

As much as I hated Kakeru back in high school when I first read this, he’s actually a very entertaining character. He’s able to pull out the best in Yuki, while also eliciting some great Yuki reactions (such as Yuki smiling while choking him and calling him a punk lol). He’s also the first person Yuki opens up to in a straight forward fashion that isn’t related to the Sohmas in any way. It’s been pointed out that Yuki often beats around the bush whenever he’s talking about something personal, so Kakeru telling him to get to the point feels like such a development beat. Kakeru is helping Yuki be more open and able to help him in ways that Tohru and Hatsuharu can’t and it’s honestly very touching to see. And I love how much Yuki has come to appreciate Kakeru enough to open up to him about how he really sees Tohru.

Now, I realize I dropped the realization way too soon in my previous posts because I legit forgot about this scene. However, by this point, they’ve basically spelled it out for you, especially with how Yuki expressed how he and Rin were longing for the same thing.  But even before that point, there have been some pretty big hints to how truly feels about Tohru. But still, oops.

This episode was another great Yuki developing episode with his interactions with the student council being an absolute joy to watch. Not only that, but I’m excited to see the school play animated because just like the miscasted cast, it’s bound to be absolute chaos. But man, I’m not ready for the next episode. I remember that was the part where I started loving Yuki and hating Kyo in the manga. I’ve grown out of my Kyo hating phase, but I’m sure seeing what he does in the flashback is still going to trigger me a little.