Fruits Basket (2019) S2 Episode 22

Man, Fruits Basket, why you gotta do my ship dirty like that? As if it wasn’t enough to already see the too strong of chemistry between Kyo and Tohru, you gotta pound the reasons why Yuki can’t be with Tohru over my head? I GET IT, HE ONLY EVER SAW HER AS A MOTHER. WE GET IT. In all seriousness, while I knew this moment was coming, it didn’t hurt any less. While my ship can never said in canon seas, I will continue shipping them in my heart. And it’s not like this revelation wasn’t foreshadowed.

I do find it interesting that Yuki actually tried to push himself to be more romantic towards Tohru since he was embarrassed at the thought that he only saw Tohru as a mother-figure. But in the end, he just couldn’t view her in that light and knows full well that Kyo is the one to see her as an actual love interest. And I do like that Yuki doesn’t have any bitter feelings towards Kyo in that sense and seems to give his blessings to them just as long as Kyo doesn’t do anything stupid to make trouble for Tohru. It just makes me happy that Yuki feels like such a strong character without being the spurned and neglected love interest who didn’t get the girl in the end. No, he is his own character that can stand on his two legs without specifically needing a love interest. (That isn’t to say he shouldn’t get one in the future by I digress) Though I admit I really do like how pure Yuki and Tohru’s relationship is even if it’s not in the romantic sense. Their bond is still so important even if they don’t interact with each other that much these days. However, there seems to be something shifting between Yuki and Machi as she called him out saying that he isn’t very princely. This was the first time that someone didn’t see Yuki as a prince and it shows that it caught him off guard. Even Tohru referred and viewed Yuki as a sort of prince. So it looks like SOMETHING is happening there.

The more I watch this reboot, the more I am coming to appreciate Kakeru. At this point, I think I have left my negative highschool feelings towards him behind and see that he is a fun character and a great bro for Yuki. Especially since he’s able to help snap Yuki out of his too serious of moods and I couldn’t help but laugh when he and Yuki started kicking the soccer ball at each other. He definitely brings out the more fun side to Yuki and I’m here for it. I also appreciate that he never made fun of Yuki after he admitted to viewing Tohru as a mother figure and even seemed to sympathize with the guy.

Speaking of fun, Ayame makes another glorious appearance as Yuki called him to make the costumes for the play. And considering how well Ayame makes his outfits, he was probably the best to call. I also love how much Yuki and Ayame’s relationship has evolved. While Ayame’s over the top behavior still exasperates Yuki, he never once yelled at him or got angry. He just kind of took it and gave back deadpan responses, which was hilarious. He’s like the straightman in the comedic duo and it’s great. I’m also pretty sure that Mayu had something to do with them getting permission to enter the school hah. Also I just burst out laughing when Yuki had to tell Ayame that he isn’t going to need several costume changes because it’s not a wedding. Ugh, these two’s relationship gives me life.

Not gonna lie, my dislike for Kyo bubbled to the surface in this episode. Not only was he just being extremely uncooperative when it came to the play, but his Yuki hatred was really starting to wear on me. I’ve already expressed just how much I hate it when Kyo starts yelling fallacies at Yuki, making him the bad guy so that he doesn’t have to face the reality of things. I literally felt my jaw tighten in anger when Kyo started blaming him again. Especially when we got to see first hand just how terrible Yuki’s situation was. Kyo makes it seem like Yuki had it all, but in reality, Yuki had nothing. No one pre-Haru friendship was there for him and he took matters into his own hands when he ran away that first time. Nothing was ever easy in Yuki’s life. We know that Kyo continues his “hatred” of Yuki because it’s a way to protect himself. However, we also know that this is unhealthy and unproductive as many characters have pointed out. For a while, Yuki just went along with it and it just hurts my heart knowing that Yuki must have felt so hurt by the verbal abuse from Kyo and he couldn’t help but lash out, especially since it came from someone he admired. It’s like, who the heck do you think you are to say that to him? It’s a coping mechanic, I know, but it by no means justifies Kyo’s actions.

Though I will admit that Yuki may have pushed it a little too hard by confronting Kyo on the matters of the hat earlier in the episode. But he doesn’t have the full picture of what that hat represents for Kyo as it was shown that it most likely represents not only his hatred of Yuki but also his connection with Kyoko. But to what extent, we don’t know yet. Well, at least anime viewers don’t, heh.

But man, I just absolutely loved Yuki’s side of this scene. He is first shown to be in a closed, stand-offish position with his arms crossed and back towards Kyo. However, as Kyo was yelling at him, he slowly unfolded his arms and finally turned to look at Kyo with the most vulnerable expression he’s probably ever shown him. That scene felt so powerful because in a sense, it was Yuki silently telling Kyo he’s done playing along with him and he won’t continue this cycle of hatred. He’s hurt and he isn’t hiding it from Kyo anymore. I also love the imagery of Yuki standing in the light because he has opened himself up to change and willingness to let others in now. While Kyo is still lingering in the shadows, still unable to escape his internal darkness and let go of his unjustified hatred. And when he sees that Yuki isn’t going to act like his villain anymore, he snapped and punched a window. If I were to wager a guess, I feel like the broken window represents the first breaking point to their usual dynamic and it could lead to a possible first good step to a change in their relationship. Because at this point, Yuki isn’t going to react the way Kyo wants him to anymore. He’s tired of it and he does want this relationship to change for the good of both of them.

But because of the previous scene, I couldn’t quite appreciate the Kyo x Tohru scene since I was still annoyed and frustrated with Kyo. He still has a long way to go but it seems like he always takes what Yuki has to say to heart on the inside. He realized that how he was acting was causing problems for Tohru and I feel like when he put his head on Tohru’s shoulder, he relented to both her and Yuki in a way. He knows that Yuki is right and he cares so much for Tohru. So hopefully he can move forward for the good of himself and Tohru.

And then there’s Tohru who’s feelings for Kyo seems to almost be on the verge of overflowing. This had to be the biggest blush we’ve seen from her and she looks almost conflicted and sad. But there are definitely a lot of feelings and thoughts brewing inside her that makes it understandable. There are still some unresolved things she still hasn’t worked out and it may be conflicting with her growing feelings for Kyo.

Next week should be fun since I believe we’ll get to see the newly rewritten play. Which is hilarious since they decided to just write the characters to fit the actors to make it easier. But hey, I’m sure it will be more hilarious this way since it is clear not everyone can act a completely different character.