Fruits Basket (2019): The Final Episode 12

This episode… absolutely WRECKED me. Especially in that last portion of the episode, but I’ll get to that later. But in all honestly, almost the entire episode was extremely emotional. Even in the beginning portion, I felt myself tear up. We really are closing in on the end as we’re seeing a lot of closure for a bunch of characters and just a bunch of good feels all around.

First we finally get the continuation of Yuki running to go meet up with Machi after she called him up right when he needed her most. We get some touching moments with them as both of them were able to find each other because it was Tohru that ultimately brought Yuki out of his shell and giving him the confidence he now has. And man, this boy is freaking SMOOTH AS ALL HECK. I constantly had to pause the episode because I was blushing at just how smooth he was. Like BRUH, you can’t be doing stuff like that! It’s not good for my heart…

And man, just as Yuki was about to confess to Machi about his curse, his curse breaks in the most ethereal fashion with him standing in a dark space with the bonds hanging all over the place and his itty bitty rat form standing in front of him. As the first one in the Zodiac, Yuki was the last one to be freed and just seeing god walk back towards the other animals while thanking all of them for remembering the promise made years ago and the bonds slowly dissolving was so beautifully done. And with that, the bond was officially gone. Seeing Yuki get all choked up from saying goodbye to his cursed form honestly nearly brought me to tears. Shimazaki really knows what he’s doing with his performances. Always killing it with the emotional scenes.

While the rat spirit was a burden on Yuki, he must have still felt like it was a part of him considering it’s been with him all of his life up to this moment. However, when you say “goodbye” there’s always a “hello” just waiting around the corner and with the rat spirit’s parting, it granted Yuki his freedom. Finally allowing him to hug Machi. In turn, she asks if she can call him by his given name and then YOOOOOOOO FREAKING YUKI GOES IN FOR A KISS. I know it was inappropriate, but I just started laughing hysterically at how literally EVERYONE in the are was just watching Yuki and Machi kiss. And I didn’t catch this the first time I watched the episode, but he actually goes in for ANOTHER soon after. BRUH. Yuki, CHILL my dude lol. I do have to appreciate that this pair doesn’t have extremely heavy baggage or drama hanging over them like literally every other main ship in this series. Though I will admit that them getting together did feel a bit fast in the anime, especially since they cut a lot of their content from the manga.

We then move along to the former Zodiac members gathering one final time (minus Kureno and Shigure) where we get some rather hilarious moments that just had my DYING. First with Kagura and Momiji conspiring together to get back at Kyo which I’m like “fair” considering Kyo was not nice to both of them for the longest time. So I think they deserved to teasingly get back at him. And I absolutely lost it when Hatsuharu told Yuki he will always love him while Isuzu just glares at the two of them in the background. And of course it’s always a fun time when Ayame comes in declaring his brotherly love for Yuki and giving the worst advice lol. Man, I’m going to miss these losers… And not gonna lie, it was rather touching to see Kyo be with the others like this for the first time. Even if he got lost initially lol.

We then get serious with Akito revealing to everyone that she is a woman (though with one final laugh with Ritsu believing Akito adopted his cross-dressing habit and Akito giving a straight up NO) And I can completely understand why Akito didn’t apologize and instead just acknowledged the fact that she did terrible things to everyone and is determined to remain as the head so she could possibly change how the Sohma family works. I gotta give Akito kudos on that regard because yes, the Sohma clan really does need to change their ways. If she had just apologized, it would have just seemed like she was trying to avoid getting into trouble. Instead, she accepted that she may never be forgiven for what she has done and I can respect that. Especially since now that she has become more aware of just how much pain she brought to the others for so many years, the blemish she created will remain with her forever. And just as Shigure said, everyone will have to see what Akito does from this point on and how she atones. And while it did show her snap at Shigure, I appreciate that she didn’t completely kick her old habits as it shows that she still has a ways to go and it will take time for them to be overcome. A realistic take if you will.

And then we get to see the conclusion of the most controversial relationships in the series. Even if I do like Akito now as a character, I still can’t quite get behind Shigure and her. Especially with how possessive and downright spiteful Shigure can be in regards to her. Even now, I don’t hate Shigure, but I also don’t particularly like him either. And honestly, I don’t think he received the retribution he deserved or any for that matter. This shady man literally got away scott free. Their relationship still feels a bit toxic to me, especially when both of them have really intense feelings towards each other, whether it be hate or love. Though I will say it is interesting that Shigure will only make moves when Akito is the one to approach him. And I do like the symbolism of always showing Shigure beyond an open door. He’s always willing to take Akito in, she just has to be the one to come outside to him. But otherwise… Ehhhhhh… this ship is still weird and mildly unsettling. Good for them, I suppose?

After that controversial pairing, we get some focus on Kyo and Tohru where they’re visiting Kyoko’s grave. Now that he’s free, Kyo is free to do and go as he pleases. He’s never had the luxury to think of such things until now and up until this moment, he had been avoiding engaging with people and the world around him. Which makes sense since if his ultimate fate was to be locked away forever, why should he get attached to anyone or anything? Especially since it hurts more to lose something than to never have had it in the first place. So now, he finally wants to experience the world around him as a normal human with Tohru. I’m sure Kazuma is just bursting at the seams since this is what he’s wanted for Kyo for so long. It must have meant so much of him to finally see Kyo looking towards his future rather than just submitting to his fate.

Tohru immediately accepts Kyo’s proposal, despite it meaning she’ll have to leave all of her friends behind because it would hurt her more to be away from Kyo. And that’s where I can’t help but be a little iffy since I personally can’t relate to wanting to be with a person so much that I’d willingly leave behind my friends and family just to be with them. Especially since those two things mean so much to me. So, to each their own I guess lol. Though I will admit, it was very sweet to see Tohru imagining her life married to Kyo in the future.

I do really like and respect that Tohru remains firm in her belief that her mom didn’t tell Kyo she’ll “never forgive him” out of malice. Especially since she was absolutely right. And I’ll tell you right now, that I was a sobbing MESS during this final sequence. Just going through Kyoko’s thoughts and feelings while she was dying was absolutely heartbreaking and you can just hear the fear and sadness in her voice when realizing that Tohru would be left alone when she died. Kyoko realizes that not only being left behind hurts, but leaving is just as painful. This hit so close to home as I felt just overwhelmed by mommy feels. I couldn’t help but wonder if my mom had similar thoughts before she passed away. And it was then where I just started sobbing especially after Kyoko wondered if she had loved Tohru enough while she was alive.

We then finally see Kyoko’s true feelings behind what she told Kyo upon seeing him before she died. She wanted him to keep the promise he made to her all those years ago to find and protect Tohru if she ever got lost again or else she’d never forgive him. She put all of her hope into Kyo at that moment to protect her beloved daughter, desperate to reach out to that reassurance that Tohru will be all right without her. At this point I had to pause the episode because I just needed a moment because I was crying so hard. I even had to get my cat and just hold him as comfort.

It was such a bittersweet moment to see Kyoko pass away because on one hand, she was leaving Tohru behind. But then on the other, she was finally able to reunite with her husband. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll be getting their backstory together in the anime, but if you’ve read the manga… OOF. We’ve already seen glimpses of Kyoko being sent into a severe depression upon Katsuya’s death so it’s not hard to guess just how much Katsuya meant to her. And to finally reunite with him was probably extremely cathartic for Kyoko in that moment.

This was probably the hardest I’ve cried to Fruits Basket in its entirety. Man was it an emotional roller coaster. One minute, I’m dying of laughter, the next I’m gross sobbing. It certainly was an experience lol. With this, we only have one final episode with these beloved characters before we have to say goodbye to the anime. I’ll have to reread the manga sometime to pick up the things they skipped over even if I’m a bit iffy about the art. Hope you’ll join me in my final impressions next week because I’m about to just vomit all of my feelings I have for this wonderful series.