Warning! This review on Fruit basket 2 Chapter 21 contains spoilers. If you haven’t seen the episode yet, I recommend watching it and then going back to read the review.
“There was definitely”
Fruit basket 2 Chapter 21 begins with Yuki’s childhood memories. As a rat, Yuki became Akito’s playmate. He grew up in isolation and was constantly tormented by Akito. In his greatest moment of vulnerability, he found Tohru, who didn’t know what she was, after helping her return home he could feel useful and needed what he wanted. Back in the present, Yuki finally opens up to Kakeru and tells him how difficult it was to live in the dark and how relieved he was when Tohru reappeared in his life. Finally, he expresses his “sad” secret, he sees Honda as the mother figure.
Yuki’s darkness
The curse of the Souma has shaped everyone differently, and this time we’re delving into Yuki’s memories. One of the most cherished figures in the zodiac is the rat. The reason for this is that, according to legend, he was the first to come to the banquet and thus came closest to God. According to this premise, Yuki was brought before Akito, the head of the clan and personification of “God”, as predicted, he was greeted by Akito as a favorite. The interesting thing about it is how the bond resonates and little Yuki’s mind is clouded in conflicting thoughts. Let’s not forget that the curse is nothing pleasant, but at the same time it was born as something good, hence the contradictions.
Yuki’s time as a “favorite” started off without any major problems, Akito wasn’t born the person we know. In Yuki’s memories, Akito was initially someone fragile and crying, someone in constant need of comfort. Something changed, however, it was so sudden that it was impossible to predict, the madness seized Akito and the decline in emotional stability began for everyone. Akito’s change in attitude had dire consequences for Yuki. As a loved one, he was the victim of abuse of the clan head. The price of closeness to God was isolation and indifference. Although it was something he hadn’t asked about, Yuki fell victim to his condition, they silenced his voice and deliberately ignored his calls for help.
The people who should have cared for him most turned away from him, his only “friend” reminded him day after day of his uselessness, he had to hear words of hatred and misery. Right from the start, they took away his identity, labeled him and prevented him from expressing his true self. It’s unfortunate, but Yuki really grew up in a world of darkness. Completely isolated, vulnerable, and constantly tormented with hateful words, these are the memories that flood Yuki’s childhood. But in spite of everything, its true root never withered, although it was hidden for a while.
What I have longed for the most
I used to say Yuki grew up in overwhelming darkness, but that couldn’t wither her true roots. This root that I speak of is hope, a feeling that Yuki could never forget and that was hidden in his heart, continued to grow within him. It is gratifying to see that Yuki constantly refused to give up despite the difficult circumstances. His first break point came in his childhood, without fully understanding his own feelings, he escaped the Souma state and so he met Tohru for the first time. It was a trivial meeting, or at least it should be, but that moment became meaningful because of the feeling that was born there.
After Yuki was constantly belittled and slandered, he felt that the reason for his existence was completely destroyed. He couldn’t find a reason to continue, but there were too many to stop fighting. The greatest harm to her heart was thinking of herself as a useless existence that her mere presence harmed others. Therefore, his little encounter with Tohru could rekindle hope in his heart. Because even without knowing her, she trusted him and at the same time he was able to react to this trust. Yuki needed to feel useful and needed, he wanted proof that his existence wasn’t all pain. Being able to help Tohru was the proof she needed, and it sparked hope in her heart.
From this meeting and this affirmation of his own worth, Yuki signed a feeling of hope in his heart. He realized that the mute was not a dark place, but neither was it immersed in light. What makes this world wonderful is the possibility that anything is possible if we believe in it and don’t stop looking for it. On that day hope was rooted in Yuki’s heart, although darkness reached him again and he managed to wrap himself in a shell, that hope never died. The best proof of this is that I never stop looking for what I have longed for the most, the warmth product, knowing that I have accepted and loved.
There is one more thing your heart longs for, the company and the understanding of your colleagues. Because of the circumstances of being the rat, Yuki became practically isolated from the other zodiac. This brought with it a longing for company that he couldn’t just look for because they kept telling him how much he was hated by these colleagues. This longing grew especially towards Kyo, perhaps because he was the cat, but Yuki was immediately fascinated by him. The circumstances of both created a void that was difficult to overcome, and longing in the end turned into envy. Be careful here, envy isn’t just on Yuki’s part, we’ll see that later. Anyway, Yuki kept watching Kyo and feeding his wish. Ideally, he just wanted them to be friends to be together, but that wish was twisted and now they are in what state they are.
“… like a mother”
Well, we’ve finally reached the biggest breaking point in this story. Knowing Yuki’s feelings is the first step in realizing her true growth. We’re no longer talking about getting up or taking a step forward, we’re talking about real growth. With this admission we can finally say goodbye to Yuki, who is unable to accept himself. One of the things Yuki always dragged around with him was his own weakness, he just couldn’t accept his own “me”.
This is partly because he never had a real chance at developing that “me”, at least until he met and studied Honda Tohru. This is exactly where Yuki’s feelings are born, because she gave him a place where he felt accepted and loved, and let him discover his true “self” in the process. Usually this role is filled by our parents, but as we’ve seen, Yuki’s parents didn’t do it for him.
Since it was Tohru who covered up the shortcomings her heart longed for, she became an idyll, the ideal of a mother. This picture is not something to brag about, or this is how Yuki sees it, he has been hiding his feelings for a long time because it seems a bit unfortunate. Basically, it seems because he feels he doesn’t respect her for two things, firstly because he doesn’t see her as a woman and secondly because he projects his ideals onto her. But there isn’t much to do, it’s something that happened naturally.
Anyway, I’ve been telling you of real growth for one simple reason, Yuki is always looking for Tohru’s comfort because no matter what, she accepts her weakness. But this time it is different, one of the greatest weights in his heart was not to unload it with her in order to be forgiven, but he opened up to a friend and himself. This time he did not ask Tohru for unconditional forgiveness, but turned himself in his own weakness to forgive himself. For me, this is the greatest sign of growth in Yuki. He has begun to part with Tohru’s diligence to wage his own battles.
Final comment
Fruit basket 2 Chapter 21 was an extremely painful episode. Knowing the past of the zodiac brings nothing but pain to our hearts. Each of them have gone through moments of pain and grief, each with their own scars. It is not and will not be my intention to compare someone’s pain. I think everyone had their own burdens and in their own way everyone can be more or less painful. This week we saw the pain Yuki had to grow up with, and I have to admit that the scene he breaks down in broke my heart.
Before I close this I have to tell you that I was really looking forward to this chapter. In my opinion, it is the biggest turning point in Yuki’s development and I confess that it is the moment that made me finally love him. Above, I’ve already mentioned the reasons why this is Yuki’s greatest growth moment, and it is these reasons why I was able to truly love Yuki up to that moment.
No matter how much he understood his burdens and reasons, he just couldn’t love a character who did his best to lie to himself. That’s why Yuki finally admits to himself and to someone else that his heart holds love, but is not romantic. Now he just has to forgive himself, because love is something wonderful and has different forms for everyone. Yuki needs to understand that her love for Tohru is natural and beautiful, not something compassionate.
However, that was my impression of this chapter. Tell me: what do you think of this episode? How shaken was his heart after seeing Yuki’s childhood? What is your take on the adult indifference and prejudice that surrounds horoscopes? Did you expect this final confession from Yuki? In the next chapter we will have this conversation between Yuki and Kakeru concluded. Yuki’s progress is wonderful.
