Warning! This review on Fruits Basket 2 chapters seven and eight contains spoilers. If you haven’t seen the episodes yet, I recommend you go check them out and then come back to read the review.
“Let’s start the watermelon splitting contest!”
Fruits Basket 2 Chapters Seven begins with a Yuki monologue after his encounter with Akito. Before returning to it we see that Hiro receives the news that he will soon have a little sister, this creates a conversation about the parents. Tooru wonders if he hasn’t been insensitive to the others on this topic, but a chat with Kyou helps him to remove that idea. Akito’s arrival at the villa causes everyone to go to greet him, Tooru worries about Yuki and the rest, so he goes out to wait for them. Yuki is on the beach and they have a conversation with him. After the meeting with Akito Yuki he decides to confront his feelings, although this is only the beginning, he still has a lot to assimilate but his feelings for Tooru are clearer now that he has recognized them.
“It is, it is true”
Fruits Basket 2 Chapter Eight begins with a talk between Isuzu and Kaguya, Isuzu’s plans direct her towards the beach villa. On the other hand, Tooru can’t help worrying about the conversation he had with Yuki. The uncertainty increases as everyone must continue to attend the village to see Akito, which causes Tooru to remain alone with Kyou. Tooru’s concern makes Yuki insist that he is okay and she decides to trust him. The next day Akito goes for a walk and sees Tooru and Kyou having fun on the beach, they hold a talk about the cat’s nahual and this leaves Tooru reflecting on Kyou’s burden. In the middle of his reflections he loses a sheet and when he looks for it he meets Rin, but soon Yuki arrives to mediate the meeting.
Finally, Akito demands to see Kyou, a storm is coming.
The paper of the parents
The reflections in this series do not stop and in these chapters we could see the small storm that grew in Tooru as a result of Hiro’s words. Although it is true that she bears her own complexes regarding her mother, it is also true that she cannot avoid worrying about others and seeing herself so insensitive regarding the Souma’s family relationships, she cannot stop turning around and avoiding things of somewhat awkward. After noting that the zodiacs harbor conflicting relationships with their parents, Tooru falls into the mistake of thinking of himself as insensitive. Since without considering her circumstances she does not stop talking about her mother and how good she always was, something that the Soumas do not seem to have.
Of this, only two realized about it, Hiro, since it was he who made the comment in the first place and Kyou, who remains very attentive to Tooru’s changes. It will be Kyou who puts Tooru in perspective regarding this issue. Although it is true that almost all the zodiacs do not have true affective ties with their parents, that does not mean that she should walk on “eggshells” on this subject. Something Tooru has done for them is provide them a refuge, this is something that Kyou recognizes and encourages her not to lose herself in pursuit of this, because her feelings matter as much as the rest.
She is the one who has had a more marked maternal figure and that is exactly what makes her who she is. There is no need to repress that part of herself, because that part of her is a reason why others can come looking for her warmth. This is a very essential point for the development of characters, since Tooru has a very marked maternal shadow and that will be essential for the growth of two characters.
Move the waters
So, a little aside from the issue of parents, we have Akito’s situation and his weight in the zodiacs.
That Akito decided to travel to the villa was a mere whim instigated by Shigure’s words. For the zodiacs Akito’s existence is many things, mostly related to fear and hatred. The influence he has on the zodiacs is not small, as the head of the Souma clan he is authoritative but his connection goes beyond just that. In addition to his influence on the zodiacs, there is also the issue of his own personality. What we have seen is that he is someone self-centered, capricious, arrogant and extremely proud. Akito figures as someone immersed in misery who cannot be calm unless he sees others in the same situation. So far we can see a character without virtues, we can hardly empathize with him.
But Akito is not the worst of evils, but the one who pulls the strings behind. Shigure is still a character full of mystery, we cannot know if he is good or bad, and the reason for this is because we do not know his goals. The only thing that is clear to us is that he is playing a dangerous role by moving the pieces of his board to create waves in the calm waters of the relationships that the zodiacs have formed with Tooru. From before we could already see a dark side in Shigure, he is not the fool he pretends to be, his plans are deeper and more sinuous than they appear. With all intensity he is seeking to alter the apparent peace in which all are submerged, that which he longs for is on the other side of that peace.
The cover that Yuki I raise
The end of chapter seven may seem shocking to us, and it certainly is, it is a moment of growth so special that it becomes heartbreaking. Prince Yuki, that perfect being that he appears to be, has decided to step forward and begin to accept himself. He has decided to confront his feelings no matter how embarrassing they may be, however he has come to this conclusion because he can believe again, since there is someone who tenderly encouraged him in this growth campaign.
It’s been 32 episodes since this remake started and for the first time I can say that I genuinely cared for Yuki. Perhaps because this is the moment that frames his evolution, for the first time I glimpsed the true Yuki and found him terribly vulnerable. This does not mean that before he did not see his weakness, he simply could not touch his true nature. But this episode gave us the true Yuki in all his infinite fragility, like a child seeking comfort in his mother’s arms.
Coping with her feelings has had a calming effect on Yuki. Now that he has stopped escaping he is able to see his surroundings with better perspective, it is fair to say that Yuki’s growth can only be increasing from now on. Although of course there is much that he still needs to work on, as he himself is aware that it is a little late to start certain things. In the meantime, we can only continue to watch over its growth. As I said, this will be affected by more situations and people who come into your life. But now that you have been able to deal with your feeling, you are ready to receive these new experiences. When that moment arrives, that will be the moment when I will begin to truly appreciate him as a character, because he will finally be able to free himself from the mask that has been imposed.
The details of the narration
The beach arch is a moment of great importance in this story. It is full of moments of inflection for the plot and therefore it is very important to pay attention to the details, because not only the peak scenes are an axis of attention to understand the great changes that will come. Loose dialogues and expressions are essential to capture the full real weight of what is happening. In that sense I can say that the quality of narration has been very verbose to capture the details. They have known how to spin future events very well with the present and do not forget the past, they give it their respective burden.
All this is just to make a small invitation to pay attention to the dialogues that seem to say nothing but carry great weight. Without going too far, I leave you the example of Rin and Kagura’s conversation. In just a few sentences they make a strong revelation about the future of Kagura’s feelings and how she will face them. In the same way we see the conversation of Akito and Haru. It takes us back to when we met this character and the trauma he had and that Yuki put aside. Proving with this that the growth of the characters is not free, and is not forgotten.
Final comment
Fruits Basket 2 Chapters seven and eight have been very strong episodes in terms of emotional growth. At this point we can say that we have witnessed a great advance in Yuki but not only in him. Although a little backwards we have also been able to contemplate the abyss that Tooru still cannot observe, but the fact of being able to recognize this is in itself an advance. Another step forward that fascinates me is Kyou’s relationship with Tooru. With a firm and confident step, Kyou continues to position himself as the golden armored knight who helps Tooru when he is in decline. In every gesture and action she shows us that she genuinely sees Honda Tooru and seeks to appreciate her whole being, including defects, and does not allow even herself to devalue her feelings. Kyou certainly wins my heart every time.
Anyway, this has been my impression of these chapters, tell me: What do you think of these episodes? What is your opinion of the uncovering of heart that Yuki has experienced? Now that Akito has sent for Kyou, do you think a storm is really coming? Could it be that everything is going according to Shigure’s plan? What is coming for chapter nine is one of the scenes that I have most expected to see animated for years. I have a very high hype for what will happen, and I can only tell you that my gangsterism beat me terribly in the following review.
