So, the much-anticipated beech arc ends on an emotional note after revealing a lot of things about various characters and the curse. Starting off with the character that was mainly focused in this episode, Akito as something significant was revealed related to him. I had almost forgotten about his chapter in manga so I read it again and recalled how terrifying this chapter was that revealed the true nature of the head of the Sohma family. Although this is not the first time, we have seen Akito doing something violent but still it was hard to see Momiji being punch so hard in the face that made him bleed!
The position of Akito in the Zodiac was made clear in this episode and it was very different from what we were told in the original anime. In the original Fruits Basket anime, the heaviest burden of the curse was on Akito and so it was implied that he would die sooner which was the reason he was violent with the zodiac members so that he won’t be forgotten. The demonstration of Akito being dominant and violent was quite weak in the previous version so making him the god of the zodiac members is understandable. Although the reason for him being violent has not been revealed yet but we have been given the reason why Akito is so important to the zodiac members as he is more than just the head of the Sohma clan. It also made it clear why Akito is so obsessed with all zodiac members and why they have to obey him even unwillingly. There are some more things related to Akito that will be revealed in the future as something about ‘that woman’ seemed something significant to Akito.
Like I mentioned in the previous review, Akito doesn’t want anything to change around him. He wants all the zodiac members to stay with him forever. He even forcibly made Tohru understand that it is useless to try to save Yuki and Kyo because they are fated to be confined and live in the Sohma estate for the rest of their lives in “Eternal Banquet”. Akito basically warned Tohru to not cross the limits of involving in the matters of Sohma. He even scratched Tohru’s face in a very cringy way. It was pathetic of Akito, particularly, knowing that Akito is using Tohru in a way. We also get a glimpse into Akito’s twisted mind as it made him furious when some one is concerned about him, probably because he thinks that will make others look down on him. That is the reason why Akito’s character stands still and. The way he thinks and sees the world is very childish. He thinks of himself as someone who is never wrong and if someone tries to prove him wrong, he becomes violent or doesn’t want to hear it. As if he is unable to understand it. There is nothing other than black or white.
The scene between Shigure and Akito is worth mentioning but, since I already know everything about their story because of the manga, it’s better not say too much about that. But the look on Shigure’s face when Akito left can’t be ignored. I don’t think I’ve seen him so seriously angry about anything before and that look was quite disturbing in that dark environment. The way Shigure talks to Akito is quite different compared to others as if he is somewhat special to him as he also asked him to be nice to him. Unlike others, he refused in his way and it seemed like he pushing away a stubborn child who needs attention.
Kyo has been showing a great deal of development as he understands why everyone left Tohru and went to see Akito when they were summoned. He realizes that it was actually to protect Tohru from Akito’s rage. If Akito would be left alone because of Tohru, he would confront her and deal with her the way he does because that’s how he is obsessed with all the zodiac members. I like that Kyo admitted that Yuki was trying the right thing as he was trying to protect her from Akito. I’m happy to see him changing and getting mature. And like I mentioned before about Kyo and Momiji, I’m glad that it was Momiji that he opened to about that. Momiji has always been taking initiative to talk to Kyo in a friendly way as he doesn’t treat him the way other does. Even Kyo understands that and this time he didn’t tease him but actually had a proper heartwarming conversation with him.
Momiji outshined everyone in this episode and gained my all respect. He literally stole the show. It’s not that I never liked him but he wasn’t one of my favorites as either. Despite of his heartbreaking past, Momiji never made me feel for him the way I do for Yuki or Hatsuharu or even Kyo. But this episode changed that and he really impressed everyone in this episode by taking stand infront of Akito and saying no to him which is not something zodiac members usually do. He straightforwardly refuses to wake Tohru up when Akito commanded to because he had noticed that look on Akito’s face and it was very evident that Akito is not in a good mood and is certainly calling Tohru to do something bad to her. But poor Momiji stood against Akito and was beaten up by him for not doing as he asked. It was mentioned earlier that Akito dislikes Momiji probably because he is mentally strong. He is the only one who seems less intimidated by Akito and does not let him control himself. Momiji was even being considerate towards him but Akito pushed him away as he takes that concern as something bad. Since Akito has a superiority complex, he doesn’t accept that concern from someone below him. It was so sad to see him crying for not being able to protect him.
There is so many things about Fruits Basket that you might not understand while reading manga for the first time as the characters develops in a way you might not notice in the first place and that happened with a lot of characters in this arc. While reading the manga there were many things that didn’t understand in this arc but having read the manga twice and watching it in anime, things are more clear and I can’t stop being amazed how well these characters are written. This entire beech arc has brought so many changes to many characters which include Tohru, Kyo, Yuki and probably others too. This arc also reveals so many details about the curse and its wrath upon the zodiac members in a true sense. This arc is like a turning point in the series and things seem to change from this point onwards as Tohru knows more about the curse and Akito, not to mention about Kyo being confined for the rest of his life. She is now determined to break the curse as she understands it’s importance for the happiness of all zodiac members. Until now we have been watching things being hinted which are made clear to some extent like Tohru and Rin trying to figure out how they can break the curse. Shigure scheming something on his own and the extent of Akito’s possessiveness for all the zodiac members. I really want to know how this season will conclude and what will happen when furthermore is revealed.
