#furuba analysis

[cinderella-ish]

Yuki, Kakeru, and the boyhoods they never had

So, I was talking with my partner the other day about how Kakeru and Yuki are always touching each other (one of many reasons they're the most popular non-canonical furuba pairing on Ao3). Anyway, it got me thinking-- if we don't read all this physical contact as necessarily romantic, what are some other possible explanations? An examination:

When Yuki first meets Kakeru, he immediately gets up in his face talking about his favorite Super Sentai character, then walks him out of the student council office with an arm around his neck, despite Yuki's obvious discomfort.

When Kakeru puts a hand on his shoulder soon after, he teases Yuki about his feminine features. Yuki bats his hand away and decides he already hates Kakeru.

In Kakeru's next appearance, he puts a hand on Yuki's shoulder, removing it when Yuki gives him a death glare.

When Kakeru stays behind that day to needle Yuki about Tohru, Yuki is the one to initiate touch this time. This leads to the two of them sharing a moment of vulnerability and the true beginning of their friendship. Kakeru putting his thumbs up on Yuki's shoulder is also a change to the way he's touched Yuki before - it's perhaps a bit more comfortable for Yuki, who's reacted negatively to all touch from Kakeru before this. Kakeru's communicating in his own way that he'll try and consider Yuki's needs from now on.

Next, we have the Kyoto trip, in which Yuki is still not fully comfortable with Kakeru (shown by his embarrassment when he tells Kakeru they wouldn't be friends anymore), but is starting to consider him a friend and spend time with him intentionally. We also have some sweet moments like this exchange between Haru and Kakeru, which Kakeru takes very seriously.

After this, Yuki finally learns (some of) Kakeru's backstory when he goes to help Kakeru clean up after Machi destroyed the student council office again. Yuki gets context for why Kakeru is the way that he is, learns about the successorship conflict, and then tries out some Kakeru chaos for himself. We also see Yuki initiate touch for the third time. I think this episode is where the real shift in their relationship happened. Yuki sees that there's a wisdom to Kakeru that he wasn't seeing without that context of Kakeru's oppressive childhood-- something to which Yuki can relate all too well. In a way, Kakeru's impulsiveness and sense of fun is his own way of either reclaiming or living out the childhood he didn't get to have, along with other traits like his love of Super Sentai.

And now, a brief aside.

We see pretty clearly that the other three cursed Sohma boys around Yuki's age are all pretty comfortable interacting with each other physically. Kyo will roughhouse with Haru and give Momiji noogies, Momiji will hug or lean on both Kyo and Haru. These sorts of interactions began when they were young boys, and are pretty typical of boys through adolescence. Yuki, being shut in a room with Akito or alone, didn't get to have that experience of boyhood. All his physical interactions with Kyo are negative, and his physical interactions with Momiji are neutral-ish (Momiji jumps on him at the culture festival, Yuki dabs his tears in Kisa's first episode, and Yuki scolds Momiji a handful of times). (Aside within the aside: while Haru sometimes reciprocates the affection from Momiji or rough play from Kyo, he clearly has a special way of physically interacting with Yuki in the T-shape and shirt pinch, or the stroking of his chin, etc..., and he initiates touch with Yuki much more often than with the other two, likely because he noticed that as one more thing Yuki was missing out on and wanted to include him in a way that would be comfortable for him.)

So when Kakeru tells Yuki about his childhood, and Yuki gets stuck in the storage room later that episode and has a flashback to his own terrible childhood, he's already primed to open up to Kakeru about his own childhood and to start looking at the world more like Kakeru does.

So, after that day, their friendship becomes much more physical. Yuki no longer bats away Kakeru's hand and even initiates touch more often. They roughhouse and Kakeru often puts his arm around Yuki in a gesture of affection. To me, it's a way of reclaiming those experiences they didn't get to have in their childhood-- especially the type of friendships neither of them got to form when they were younger.

[yellowbluemoonshine]

Feminine Archetypes In Fruits Basket;

Honda Tohru - The Maiden;

Maidens are tend to be innocent, they give that ‘take care of me’ vibe. They are innocent and creative, sometimes naive and positive. They tend to be a little more sensitive. They have that youtfull energy, and childish curiosity. Maidens are also explore their sexuality very slowly. And their weakness is sometimes they can lack commitment, direction or they can be codependent.

I think all those traits fits really well to Tohru. Since she is very sweet, ‘take care of me’ type of character and positive and naive too. She also tend to be very codependent.

Sohma Akito - The Queen;

Just like any typical queen, Akito has that royalty energy. She is natural noble, elegant, she has confidence and natural leader, she has manners. Queens’s weakness are that they tend to struggle when they dont have partner. They are also very loyal and expect loyalty from them to the point they justify their partner’s toxic behavours. I know pre-redemption Akito is toxic but this is what actual Akito would be, if she actually had life and she deserves very good, loyal guy. Also, queens tend to easiely erase their female friends which is one of the biggest flaws they have.

Sohma Kagura - The Maiden;

Just like Tohru, Kagura also tend to be very naive, she has very youthfull energy. She is also very childish.

Uotani Arisa - The Huntress;

Huntress are adventreous type, they are passionate and competitive, though they sometimes might emotionally dumb. All those traits fits well to Arisa.

Hanajima Saki - The Mystic;

Mystics are asocial, they live in their small world, and they are fine with that. They have very cozy, comfortable energy. Which also fits very well to Hanajima.

Sohma Kisa - The Maiden;

Kisa is definitely ‘take care of me’ type of character, she is also very sweet, naive and innocent.

Sohma Rin - The Huntress;

Huntress are more adventerous type, they desire freedom and one of the biggest of flaw of them that they sometimes might be emotionally distant. Riin always give me that ‘adventreous’ type of energy.

Kuragi Machi - The Sage;

This one was hard for me to find out but i think sage fits better for Machi since she is succesfull woman and tend to act with her logic. At least, it fits better compared to other types.

Extras;

Tohru’s mother is huntress. Sohma Kana is maiden. Shiraki Mayu is huntress. Sohma ren is very ‘toxic’ lover type. Minagawa Motoko might be maiden. Toudou Kimi might be lover type. I dont remember others. Mother type character doesnt fit to any characters. I write the type what those girls fit the most, they all great though, they all are different which is what makes it fun to analyze.

+ This is made for fun, inspired by this video, yeah.

[chodzacaparodia]

Another reason why Episode Nagi is a shoujo manga

One thing from Episode Nagi chapter 21 hit me hard. I mean the moment when Nagi was thinking about how Reo believed in him.

No one had ever placed hope in Nagi before. He himself has also never shown any initiative before. Nagi didn't seem like a person who would do something or be motivated to act because he believed in himself.

It wasn't until he realized that someone believed in him. Thanks to this faith, he began to act. And when there was no one around who believed in him, he was left with faith in himself.

However, Nagi would never believe in himself unless someone (Reo) believed in him first. Without it, he would still remain passive and do nothing with his life.

When I noticed this dependence, I immediately thought that a similar philosophy was presented in Fruits Basket (shoujo manga).

I'm specifically talking about story of Kisa, who had problems getting along with her classmates. She received a letter from a teacher who briefly advised her to like herself first so that others would like her.

However, Yuki did not agree with this.

When someone likes you, you will like yourself.

When someone believes in you, you will believe in yourself.

In both cases, the entire change depends on the other person. The character won't do much on their own because they need some motivator to influence them.

In Fruits Basket, this should not be surprising, because it is a shoujo manga that will focus on interpersonal relationships.

However, for example, in the main series of Blue Lock, where Isagi is the protagonist, the main character does not really need anyone's help for his development, because he is his own cause. Isagi does everything himself. Yes, he uses the help of others, but it is not perceived that way. He didn't need anyone else to believe in him to believe in himself. (Yes, this could be an example of his initial relationship with Bachira, when Meguru immediately began to have great hopes in Isagi. However, I don't see it as "Oh, Bachira believed in me, now I believe in myself! I wouldn't have gone this far, if it weren't for him.", because Isagi very quickly began to notice his own possibilities, which he was entitled to himself).

But Nagi is not like Isagi. He couldn't do anything on his own. He needed someone who would believe in him. If it weren't for Reo, his life would have come to a standstill. He would have no reason to believe in himself or work on himself.

Nagi is more like a shoujo protagonist who needs the presence of another person to initiate his development. He doesn't necessarily need this person all the time in order to continue to develop, but he certainly wouldn't be able to make any changes in his life without their constant presence in his mind.

And Episode Nagi (compared to Blue Lock) does not focus just on the independent development of the main character, but also devotes a lot of attention to his relationship with another person.

I'm not saying it doesn't exist in Blue Lock. It's just more emphasized in Episode Nagi, in a shoujo manga style.

[goldenharmony]

Colour Association with Romantic Interest (OnK/Fruits Basket Spoiler)

As a fan of both these series, I noticed a vague similarity with ships.

Kana’s idol colour is represented through white, which also happens to be Aqua’s favourite colour. 

Similarly in Fruits Basket, Yuki is pinned to be “red” based on the student council being assigned colours, and its later revealed that Machi likes the colour red, which was also hinting at her feelings for Yuki.

[haydenthehistorian]

New video! The FRUITS BASKET PROBLEM

Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgbDHEye_Xk

Art by https://twitter.com/aime_bun

[kursed-arcana]

Rin feelings for Kagura and their bond as foster siblings

Rin and Kagura's foster sibling relationship may be rocky but its clear they both care about eachother. Siblings don't always get along. Sometimes being close to someone involves petty arguments and cruel remarks (like rin telling kagura her love is fake). A lot of siblings aren't exactly super close and loving, sometimes there's animosity, but still a sense of loyalty for those you're stuck with. Rin didn't get that from her own family, and she didnt choose kagura's, but kagura and her mother are loyal to her. That's what it's about at its core. But more importantly, a lot of subtlety was lost in the anime.

It's important to realize that most of the early stuff we saw of Rin was her at her worst. She was pushing everyone away. Haru, Hiro, kagura. She was trying to push them away to protect them while she risked her life to free Haru from the curse.

Takaya sensei has also said that Rin got into fashion partially as a result of living with Kagura (and that haru made her acessories lol). And speaking of fashion, we see Rin's sense of fashion change of her arc is resolved. She goes from wearing a lot of tight clothes. To wearing more loose fitting items. This change helps illustrate her personality softening and her no longer feeling the need the need to be held tightly. It shows her being more comfortable and relaxed

There were great moments that show Rin and Kagura's character development that were left out of the anime. Like how rin snapped at kagura for hitting tohru and how kagura apologized and comforted her with a hug. And then later when kagura is whining, she asks rin to comfort her, rin calls her annoying but her expression is softer, and she doesn't try to remove kagura from her shoulder. Sensei's (kyo's dad's) assistant even comments on how they've gotten much closer recently.

Rin is just a hit of a tsundere. We see it in her interactions with tohru and haru as well. She gets embarrassed and gets a little obstinant about hiding her true feelings.

This is why moments like these are important and the anime butchering the finale season is such a tragedy. We get the core character arcs but we don't really get to see how the characters change. It's why the manga is a well written masterpiece and the anime falls short. Too many stories tell and don't show. Fruits basket shows how the characters change, even characters who didn't get much attention like Ritsu.

Bonus

I primarily focused on Rin in thus analysis because I saw someone saying they believe Rin doesn't like Kagura, but there are multiple clear moments of affection on Kagura's side and I'd like to briefly mention a few.

Like kagura going to visit Rin and stay with her instead of attending the barbecue at Shigure's or her concern about Rin being missing, and wondering if she was really in the hospital, as well as picking up her diploma for her graduation.

[kris-creations]

Here’s Season 2 of my analysis for Fruits Basket Cuts and Changes

I apologize for the delay, been really busy and had Furuba burnout while working on this.

Here’s part 1

Left Out/changed entirely:

-Kyo noticing and feeling relieved Tohru’s scratch from True Form healed with no scars.

-Hiro ran to Kazuma’s dojo after stealing Tohru’s notebook.

Season 2 Ep 1, Chapter 42

Left out: Minegawa not wanting to elect a new Yuki Club President and the discussion of hiding the fact she broke a Yuki Club rule.

Season 2 Ep 2, Chapter 46

Left out: Kyo noticed a glimpse of Tohru’s anxiety for the future.

Season 2 Ep 3, Chapters 36, 47

Changed: They awkwardly combined both of Yuki’s important conversations with Ayame.

Season 2 Ep 5, Chapter 50

Changed: Kureno actually bumped into Arisa as well at the convenient store, further adding the similarities to Arisa’s first meeting with Tohru.

Season 2 Ep 5, Chapter 53

Left out: Tohru’s window broke and Kyo saw her holding the hat.

Part 2: https://www.tumblr.com/kris-creations/724948386244067328/xgirl109

Part 3: https://www.tumblr.com/kris-creations/724949438171316224/xgirl109

[anime-mysticism]

Yuki Sohma: "Was she always this small?"

This is a crucial scene where he stands up to his over controlling mother, and suddenly realises how small she really is. Yuki, after all these years of bearing it, finally takes autonomy over his own life. That he has thoughts of his own.

That he gets to decide what happens to his life. To rightfully say, "I'm doing this whether you like it or not. Don't decide it for me." And that it doesn't matter whether she approves of it or not.

Overcontrolling parents - think they're doing this for our own good, that the decisions that they make for us are always the right ones since they "know everything" and we're young and naive. But this level of abandoning of a child's narrative and decisions causes the child to never learn how to make their own choices, in fact, to be afraid of their own choices since they don't feel like a whole person. Yuki went by his own life watching it from the sidelines, just watching things happen to him instead of having a part in it. His life always being the outcome of other people's choices.

When we are kids, that parent may seem like The Parent, our guider, our caregiver, we have to do as they say because we depend on them. And so we always feel so small in front of them. And then one day, you build a little more courage, trust yourself a little bit more than you can afford to, and take a step, and you see - the parent is just a person. Not an undefeatable, enormous being. Just a person. And suddenly, you're not so small anymore.

[essaysofanime]

Fruits Basket: A meaningful ending

So, I finished watching Fruits Basket and I can confidently say that is an emotional masterpiece. The character writing is so well done that made me feel like this people were real and their trauma and development were straight out of reality. That's why I find this show so relatable to anyone, because we all have the struggles and difficulties portrayed in this anime and we can also heal from those with the right people around us.

But now I want to talk about the ending and its beautiful meaning.

First of all I want to say that this is a happy ending but is not fully happy for everybody. I think that the creator did a fantastic job at writing the ending of Fruits Basket because is not that stereotypical ending of every tragic story like this, where all the couples are happy together.

For example, Kagura is happy for Kyo and Tohru, but deep in her heart she still loves Kyo and is kinda sad for her to see the person that she loves the most doesn't love her back in the same way. As she speaks to Ritsu and knows that he wants to get married to Mitsuru she realises that all those around her have someone that cares for them, only she remains left out.

I think this is a beautiful touch to the story beacause it shows that even if the curse is broken, it doesn't mean that all end happily. Some of the Sohmas have to find themselves the happiness.

Another good example is Kureno. After all the curse was broken he didn't wanted to stay. Instead he began to travel and see the world even if he had Uotani waiting for him. He followed his dreams after all these years when he spent most of his life on the Sohma Estate.

Rin's ending shows that she is not fully healed and has a long way to go until she will be happy again. The moment when Akito imprisoned her and cut her hair impacted her the most and if you mix it with the childhood trauma that she had you can figure out how much Rin had suffered throughout the series.

However, Hatsuharu is there for her and supports her on her way to healing.

Momiji is another character that doesn't have a relatively sweet ending. He is optimistic, though and wishes to get a girlfriend and to make Kyo jelous (of course, not in a serious way).

The next characters I REALLY want to talk about are Akito and Shigure.

Their relationship is really messed up and all that Shigure does is to manipulate Akito into wanting him more. After the curse is broken. Akito changes very much and feels guilty for all that she have done to the other members, but she still can't apologize to them. She is literally a very bruised character, maybe the most bruised of all. Towards the end, Akito starts to show more of her vulnerable side, a side that had been hidden under a mask of anger. Akito still has a long, long way to go until she will recover from her personal trauma and the trauma caused by her actions and I think she will never heal completely especially if she has Shigure besides her.

Shigure is the manipulative kind of character who will play with your emotions and feelings and this is pretty much what he does to Akito. He knows when Akito is vulnerable and knows when to play his game to get what he wants and this makes him a VERY intelligent character (after all...he is the one who planned everything).   (I’ll make a character analysis soon, I promise)

Shigure ISN’T a good match to Akito, is probably the WORST MATCH FOR HER! She needs someone who can be empathetic to her, who can hug her and understand her sadness and Shigure isn't the best one at doing that.

Personally, I think that the author did a great job at putting in the story a toxic relationship, because not everything is sugar and honey and this is what this show portrays: that life is not all light, there are ups and downs, but at the end we all reach for the Sun.

(Sorry for any bad English...)

[sohmaluver]

let's stay together!! 

sooo a while ago i had my heart set on making character studies and corresponding playlists for the fruits basket characters, starting with akito and making my way through the zodiac and so forth but i lost a lot of energy in the process but i figured now i will buckle down and do it!! i have a huge fruba playlist that i made for me to enjoy this summer which does include most if not all the songs i will cover here but thats besides the point!!

i'm getting ahead of myself but basically, i want this to be in-depth - this isn't some chaos remix but a character study where i break down backstories and traumas through music. join along on this adventure if you'd like! (WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS)

today we will start with akito:

akito is a very sensitive discussion across the furuba fandom. it's very much a "you love her" or "you hate her" sort of situation. personally i believe that neither should be the case.

if we look from the beginning, akito's trauma stemmed from her mother's abusive words on top of her father constantly telling her she was special. being given the title of "God," being forced to present as male, as well as being elected the family head since birth forced akito to grow up very fast. (this is partially what makes akito weaponize her femininity.)

akira's words as well as her mother's neglect are what led to the creation of such a needy child in her. we see her in various situations where she wishes to be held by the older boys, particularly hatori. akito's bond with the eldest zodiac boys grows here, particularly her bond with kureno and shigure. akito at this time is still very young and impressionable; regardless of that fact she develops her unhealthy obsession and belief that the zodiac is around to love and serve their God (her).

even after his death, akira's words still held onto akito: so long as she held the bond with the members of the zodiac everyone would love her. this starts to fall apart after kureno's curse breaks. it sends akito into hysterics as she feels she is losing the grasp and control she has on the zodiac members.

going into a further dive, akito's relationships become more toxic and abusive (from both sides). arguably this stems from shigure's confession to her at such a young age; another reason forcing her to grow up quickly but also forcing her to use her body to make herself appear desirable to the zodiac men so that their bond will not break.

at this point we've seen all the other abuse akito has brought upon the younger zodiacs and how deeply they affected the youth, once again this abuse was used to show that akito was in power and control and to mask her fear that the zodiac might be slipping from her. this is a huge reason as to why akito hates tohru so much. yes, akito uses her as another means of control but at its root akito envies tohru for her geniune bond with the zodiacs. tohru is arguably the true God of the zodiac which is what akito geniunely wanted from the beginning.

when we reach the final arc of the series it is so refreshing to finally see the lengths of akito's abuse to catch up to her. it's here when she releases all of her wrongdoings with the stabbing of kureno and tohru falling off the cliff and she is able to accept that she has been the abuser all along. (everyone say thank you miss tohru honda)

as we jump to the end of the series, so many fans are so quick to say that akito doesn't deserve a redemption arc. the truth of the matter is akito never recieved one. by the end, everyone has simply decided to move on. it is known that akito's actions are unforgivable and even akito herself is able to see that she doesn't deserve to be forgiven. this is what makes akito such a good character. even though she caused so much harm as an antagonist her growth is what makes her such a well written character in this series. she is honestly one of my favorite characters and i think her arc and growth is some of the best the series has to offer.

songs:

are you satisfied? - marina and the diamonds

always forever - cults

animal - sir chloe

you should see me in a crown - billie eilish

real men - mitski

bust your knee caps - pomplamoose

runs in the family - amanda palmer

god must hate me - catie turner

[headphonemouse]

I've been trying to watch shoujo romance anime lately.

Historically I've never been into it, and I'm still not into it. But I remember reading something somewhere about how many young teen romance stories are all about what's appealing as a fantasy to a high schooler, even if it's not something they'd want in real life. So when watching it you can relax on calling out how unrealistic it all is.

And I see that. The cold nobleman you've been married off to is mean to everyone but you. The gang member is big and scary but only protects you. The popular senpai who is liked by everyone but he only has eyes for you. The handsome new teacher, the boy next door, the beast in the woods, One Direction, etc etc. None of these are realistic or even desirable in real life but in this fantasy they are all attentive and kind and reliable and want to be with you forever and ever

I think it's great that this genre exists so that people could indulge in their fantasies without thinking about trivial things like how many people your bad boy gang member has carved up or how many peasants your nobleman is exploiting. I think watching shoujo romance is a great exercise in suspending your disbelief for the sake of not losing the main point (the main point which is that the main girl is getting swept cleanly off her feet). I think more people should be able to indulge in the expectations of different genres without focusing too much on things the author didn't give half a thought about*. Sometimes you need to get way too invested in shitty romance tropes and cheer on the female lead with all your heart, just to feel something. And sometimes yeah, her mundane enemies DO need divine punishment for trying to get between her and the male lead, in the form of a surprise truck on a rainy day (I kinda wanna see the interloper get isekai'd. Enough blank sheet isekai protagonists I wanna see someone who spent the entirety of their last life being a straight up cunt, die miserably, then wake up and keep doing it. I dont want them to get better i want them to Win)

*not saying this to discourage deeper media analysis, of course. But sometimes you just gotta let it go

I just looked up shoujo anime ratings of course furuba is on top. I wonder if my opinion on this genre would change if I watched a good show? I watched most of the top rated ones when I was in school but I don't think I finished any

[cinderella-ish]

Momiji Sohma and his beautiful, complex relationship to Kyo (part 1 of 5)

So, if Yuki is my favorite character of the main trio, Momiji would have to be my favorite of the large cast of secondary characters. He may even be my favorite character outright- a hard pick, as there are so many characters to love in Fruits Basket!

When it comes to Yuki and Kyo, their relationship to each other and Yuki's relationship to Haru (which is beautiful and now I want to do a post on them, too) are perhaps the two most obvious dynamics among these four boys. But I think Momiji and Kyo have their own important, deep relationship, with huge significance to the plot and to Kyo's arc in particular.

In many ways, Momiji and Kyo's stories are parallels.

They both lost their mothers at a young age. Kyo watched as his mother stepped in front of a train, and Momiji watched as his mother's memories of him were erased (though it's worth noting Momiji's mother was also suicidal). Both watched their mothers suffer for years because of the curse.

Both had a parent who viewed them as sub-human. Momiji's mother referred to him as a "creature," and Kyo's father called him a "monster."

Both also had fathers who put responsibility for their mothers' mental health issues on them and ultimately abandoned or neglected them. And both had loving surrogate father figures who took them in out of guilt, Kyo in Kazuma and Momiji to a lesser extent in Hatori (it does seem like Momiji's father was somewhat present in his life, though Hatori was much more present for him).

They also both had reputations as a bit of a wild child, Kyo because of his short temper and aggression (and stereotypes about the cat), and Momiji because of his id-driven hedonism and frequent lack of supervision. They're both impulsive to a fault, Momiji in pursuit of maximum fun, and Kyo out of extreme self-hatred and a desire to protect the people he cares about (mostly from himself). They each lean into people's misconceptions about them - Momiji encouraging people to underestimate him due to his small size because it allows him to get away with more, and Kyo willing to let people see him as a monster because he believes that's true (and therefore using physical intimidation as his main strategy for protecting people he cares about).

They're also both quite good at reading others - for Kyo, this is remarked upon several times in canon, and for Momiji, he's often cited by fans as possibly the most emotionally mature character in the series.

And they both are at their best when they act a bit more like each other, Kyo when he lightens up and lets himself have fun, and Momiji when he stands up for himself and the people he cares about.

I would even argue that Kyo is the main driver behind Momiji's character development, and that Momiji is the main catalyst for Kyo to understand and accept his feelings for Tohru.

So, with all that in mind, let's look at Momiji's first appearance with Kyo at the first culture festival.

(An aside: Hiroshi's reactions in this scene will never not be funny to me.)

So, the first time we see Kyo and Momiji together is at the first culture festival, when Momiji is officially introduced to Tohru and thus to the reader (after a brief appearance 1 chapter/3 episodes earlier, where we're not entirely sure who he is). In quick succession, Momiji proceeds to:

jump on Yuki's shoulders and tell him he looks like a girl

get scolded by Hatori for running off on his own

excitedly introduce himself and Hatori as relatives of Yuki and Kyo to the crowd of students, making sure to mention that he's half-German

climb on top of the rice stand, frightening everyone, eating a rice ball he probably didn't pay for

get dragged away by a grouchy Kyo, laughing all the way

It's quite a memorable entrance!

But a closer look at this scene suggests that Momiji was causing a stir for Yuki's sake as much as for his own desire to have fun.

he jumps on Yuki right when Yuki's feeling extremely self-conscious about all the attention he's receiving, immediately after both Tohru and Kyo have made comments about his appearance

he climbs atop the riceball stand right when Yuki looks ready to murder Hatori

One could argue that this is just Momiji being his typical wild-child self, especially since he tells Yuki he looks like a girl right when Yuki's at his most self-conscious about his feminine appearance, but it fits with a pattern we see repeated throughout the series: Momiji is willing to make a spectacle of himself if it helps him achieve his goals, whether they are to have more fun or to protect someone he cares about (all the better if it's both!).

I do wonder about that comment - Fruits Basket can be very subtle, so I think there are multiple ways of interpreting Momiji's comment to Yuki. It's possible he made that comment because he didn't know what Yuki was so upset about, or to remind Yuki that of course people are going to talk about what he's wearing when its unusual for him, or maybe for another reason altogether. But what I think is most telling is that he says it without any judgment - it's simply an observation of fact. That, in and of itself, might be enough to help Yuki feel less self-conscious about the whole thing, whether Momiji intended that or not.

As Momiji is dragged off, Hatori reveals to Yuki that they're here because Momiji brought home the flier Tohru dropped when they met 3 episodes/1 chapter earlier. He also reveals that Akito wanted to come, to Yuki's terror, but was too ill, so Hatori is here in her place.

After Kyo drags Momiji away, we see the first iteration of their play big-brother/little-brother dynamic. Kyo's been trying to scold him this whole time, and Momiji fake cries that Kyo "hit" him, but he immediately beams when he realizes Tohru is right behind them.

Kyo probably gave Momiji a light rap on the head or something while scolding him (we know Kyo's a skilled martial artist who knows better than to fight people without training), and Momiji overreacted because teasing Kyo is fun and that's their "thing." But what's super interesting to me is that the only other person Kyo has scolded up until now or given a knock on the head is the only person we know he cares about and wants to protect: Tohru. So, even though outwardly, Kyo seems angry and annoyed at Momiji, he's treating him the way he treats people he cares about and wants to protect.

Momiji then goes over to Tohru, where he:

tells her he came specifically to see her

FLIRTS WITH HER IN FRONT OF KYO ("Ja! Fate brought us together that day, huh?")

tells her his papa owns the building where she works and he likes to hang out there

and confirms she knows the Zodiac secret before announcing his plans to hug her

Kyo physically prevents Momiji from hugging her and they have this INCREDIBLE exchange.

Kyo: "Hold it, Romeo. Remember where you are." Momiji: "Keeping Tohru all to yourself just because you like her? I bet you hug her every day!" Kyo: *blushes* "As if I'd do that!" *drops Momiji* Momiji: *jumps into Tohru's arms* "Gotcha!"

At this point in the story, I doubt that either Kyo or Momiji feel the deep, romantic love they both feel for Tohru by the end of the series. But if we accept that they both have at least a crush on her by now, they're going about it in completely opposite ways. Momiji openly wants to hug Tohru as often as possible and spend as much time with her as he can, whereas Kyo wants to avoid making Tohru uncomfortable and avoid any semblance of impropriety that could reflect poorly on her.

So, Momiji hugs Tohru and transforms, and Tohru's classmates pull back the curtain and start asking questions about what happened. How do they get out of this situation?

Well, Yuki takes a lesson from Momiji's earlier actions, making a spectacle of himself to protect the family secret (and therefore Tohru).

So, in summary, in Momiji's first appearance:

he shows Yuki it's okay to play up the aspects of yourself that make you different in pursuit of a goal

we clearly see that his crying at Kyo's scolding is an act

he immediately notices and calls out Kyo's feelings for Tohru to trick Kyo into letting him go

he generally just does whatever he wants, including hugging Tohru, in stark contrast to Kyo, whose approach to life seems to be all about denying himself what he wants because he doesn't believe himself worthy (which is the exact opposite of the advice he gives Tohru, that it's okay to be selfish sometimes)

We see that Momiji is much smarter than he lets on, but also that he has a lot of growing to do, and that he and Kyo are opposites in many ways.

I'll leave you with these cute shots from S2 (because they didn't fit with any of the other posts), where we see their big brother/little brother dynamic was already in place in elementary school. (Also, poor Yuki!)

Momiji and Kyo: Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

[berrychanx]

Do you have any ideas on why the 02 Anime might have gave Ichigo the rod instead of Mint? What the reasoning would be for making such a big change? The only thing I can think of is only the main magical girl got powerups back then but that's pretty silly

1) seems like neither Mia Ikumi or Reiko Yoshida were involved in the production of the 2002 anime (ikumi didn't seem to mind, from her manga statements, that's nothing new same happened to sailor moon, furuba)

2) Ichigo is the leader/main character so all power ups, upgrades, romance and heavy episodes must be focused on her. (which again is kinda sad, since every girl got to wear the mew aqua rod in the manga, Ichigo only used it on return / 2020 version) <— i call this the sailor moon syndrome

3) This is just my personal opinion and I'll take about it more in my episode analysis... It always saddened me (after reading the manga) that the mew aqua rod, such a powerful weapon, was only used twice in the amime... Where in the manga it was used 4 times, to clean pollution, to stop the overgrowth expansion for a forest/stop an earthquake (pretty OP), stopping a genocide attack? (i never understood what was happening when zakuro used it 😂)

Sure the mew aqua in its pure form also did the job... But we needed more episodes with the other girls getting in contact with it (resonating to their feelings) and it was another great excuse to input the insert song glider some more 😜

[beebo-biris]

HELLO.

Iris • she/he/they • 20 • ace (aro?) lesbian

ABOUT ME: I am a white (Irish/Japanese) ambiguously gendered individual who very much still questioning her identity :). Read specifics below!!

Minors should block #minors dni or #nsfw

I am a dance/ English major in college. I train in styles like ballet, modern, improv, jazz, and salsa. (I am somewhat new to dance! I’ve been doing it since I was 16). I’m a big lover of literary analysis, especially queer coding in any media. I also write poetry, I sometimes post them!

Interests:

PODCASTS! Red Valley, TMA, Malevolent, Alice Isn’t Dead, any Pipedream podcast (esp mystershack lookback), Nightvale, Trials and Trebs, and many more I need to listen to

SHOWS! Usually cartoons, like Owl House, Amphibia, Gravity Falls, OTGW etc. HLVRAI, Echo House, OFMD and TLOU :). I am only just getting into anime but my fav show/media of all time is Revolutionary Girl Utena :DD. Rn I am rewatching the show (for the third time) and going though each ep and writing down my thoughts about them, tagged as #rgu and then by characters I mention

READING! Usually fantasy, I usually read more comics or manga such as The Property of Hate, Heir’s Game, Kingfisher, DAIL, Furuba, Sailor Moon, Hooky and Marionetta . Poetry includes Dickinson, Sappho and like Shakespeare idk. I'm a double major in English so there’s a lot of that

MUSIC! Fiona Apple, Crane Wives, Echo and the Bundyman, Pink Floyd, The The, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Depeche Mode, Lemon Demon, Kate Bush, New Order, John Denver, Miracle Musical, dodie, ABBA, general soundtracks and scores (ghibli!)

GAMES! Minecraft, Super Mario Galaxy, LEGO STAR WARS AND LOTR, Raft, FNAF, Undertale and Deltarune, Kingdom Hearts, Celeste (I watch more games than I play lol), Resident Evil and TLOU

[animebw]

Ooohhhh you review Furuba! This is my favourite anime of all time, and it makes me so mad when people underplayed it just because the slice of life genre or looks like harem or whatever. Can’t wait to see your reaction and analysis to each of characters because this is one of those rare anime cases when every character is so fucking good and well-developed we can see their progress from start until the end. Good luck!!!

Excitement!

[helloescapist]

Hello, hello!

Requests are OPEN! 🌸

Welcome to the Request Guide! I’m happy to have you here. Before you go any further, please be sure to review the posted rules of my blog to ensure that your request is not dismissed.

Now that you have reviewed my rules, there are a few things to know about requests on my blog.

As mentioned in my rules, I do attempt to fulfill all requests (that follow my rules) that I receive. However, I retain the right to deny requests as I see necessary.

My requests are rarely ever closed, and because of this, I ask that you allow me time to fulfill my inbox. They are often completed in the order that they are receive, and added to my fic release schedule.

Some requests will take me longer than others to complete—it’s likely because I’m so attached to the concept that I want it to be perfect.

Request lengths will vary. Some will be shorter while others are longer. Please be understanding.

Unless otherwise stated in the request, I will most likely default reader to gn!reader.

Just as, unless otherwise requested, I will default all requests to SFW material.

Again, please note that this is a [insert character] x reader blog.

Without of the way, I understand that some inquiries are often unsure of what to add to their request, and as such, I set up this request guide to help ensure that your request is answered as individualized as the submitter (or at least as much as you would like it to be!).

Please indicate what kind of request you are making. Whether you wish for a headcanon prompt, short, au, fluff, character analysis, or even just a prompt/suggestion you want me to run with.

As mentioned, indicate if you are looking for SFW, or NSFW.

Be sure to express what character and fandom you are requesting. Example include: Shinobu Kocho [KNY], Amajiki Tamaki [MHA], etc. This is a multi fandom blog after all.

Add details you are comfortable with disposing such as personality, appearance, exceptionalities, interests, career/goals, etc, but please, be sure not to reveal any personal details. Your safety matters to me.

You will find my ask, 💌 at the top of my page. I look forward to seeing your request soon!

Some fandoms I am familiar with:

Bleach

Buddy Daddies

Demon Slayer

Fruits Basket (Furuba)

Guard Me, Sherlock!

Horimiya

Ikemen Prince

Inuyasha

Kamisama Kiss

Kaguya-sama: Love is War

Komi Can’t Communicate

My Hero Academia

Naruto

Obey Me

One Piece

Ouran High Host Club

Romantic Killer

Samurai Love Ballad Party (SLBP)

Soul Eater

Spy Family

Tears of Themis

I am now realizing why my mother was so concerned that I would die alone.