Since the first episode was all about Yuki and his character development, it was kind of obvious that the next episode will be focused on Kyo. So the fans of Yuki should not really complain about it. We also get to see Yuki in this episode even if it was for brief moments. The other best thing that was the main focus in this episode was Kazuma as a father figure.
We were introduced to Kyo’s biological father in this episode which was a little surprising to me since he made the appearance a little later in the manga or probably it didn’t. It’s been a long while since I read the manga so maybe I’m wrong and he was introduced a little earlier. But nevertheless, we finally get to see Kyo’s father and what kind of a father or a man he is. He is a distrustful, uneasy person who tends to put blame on others while ignoring his own actions or taking responsibility for his own actions. When he blamed his son for every bad thing in his life and in response, Kazuma indirectly blamed him for something bad, he started finding faults in Kazuma’s actions, instead of listening to him. He told him that he has been taking care of Kyo, a zodiac member for money. The way he blamed others for everything, make him look like he is the biggest victim whose life has been shattered by everyone around him. We have been introduced to the parents of zodiac members in the previous season but I might say, Kyo’s father is the worst of them all. The most disgusting part is that he doesn’t consider his son a human as it kept referring to him as ‘it’ or ‘thing’. It clearly shows the extent to which he hats Kyo accusing him of all bad things in his life.
And although it might sound rude but I’m not the only one who think like that as Kazuma mentioned it himself that both father and son reacts the same when they are outcast or cornered by others around them. Kyo has been like that since the beginning who never face the hardships and run away from them instead, while putting all blames on others and in his case, he accuses Yuki for everything bad in his life. It’s same as his father doing with him. It evident and clearly showed in this episode that Kyo inherited these traits from his father and unfortunately all these traits are very toxic.
But unlike his father Kyo is different as he trying hard to change himself. He has realized a bit that living in twister of darkness and toxicity would only make him more miserable and he is gradually trying to let it go and even sometimes facing it. Kazuma is one of the most impressive character. He is not a biological father but one can clearly see the difference and compared to the biological father of Kyo, he seems the real one. Kazuma keeps testing Kyo both mentally and emotionally and even physically so that he can be emotionally strong and become a good person in the real world. Kyo’s father throws all accusations on Kyo without even thinking the consequences of his action to Kyo but Kazuma sees Kyo as a human who needs love and he also said to Kyo’s father to stop treating Kyo like that and focus on his own actions instead of blaming him for everything. If Kyo would not have Kazuma’s support or Tohru’s care, would have ended up exactly like his father. One of the hardest things for Kyo to control is his insecurities and accusing Yuki. Since he is trying his best to be a better person, he might change that too.
I didn’t noticed Kazuma’s character while reading manga but in anime I like how his episode was focused around Kazuma being a responsible and loving father figure and I’m actually starting to like Kazuma as a character. Apart of being kind and gentle, he can be intimidating to those who threatens him with those he loves. He is a great father. He genuinely loves Kyo unconditionally and is ready to go against anyone to save him. It was unexpected to see Kazuma being speaking to Kyo’s father like that after he was being accused for taking money in exchange of taking care of him. He claimed that he would never let Kyo suffer like his grandfather did.
Sometimes Fruits basket becomes actually becomes so relatable. The moment when Tohru started whining about her life after graduation and finding a decent job and becomes anxious about that, I could actually put myself in her place as it is something we all have been through in life. Those who haven’t graduated can also relate to this as they haven’t step into the professional world but keeps planning anxiously if they will be able to lend the right job. At that time Tohru seemed like a character from the real world. Shigure can sometimes be very wise and despite of being shady. He gave a very sensible advice to Tohru with the help of a very interesting analogy. He asks her to assume herself standing on a pile of dirty clothes to be washed. That metaphor was on point since once in a lifetime we all face our lives to get messy when things starts being thrown on us, piling up and we end up being overburdened by those problems and instead of solving one by one, we keep thinking about solving them all at once and end up making mistakes or making it messier. So, it was good to hear that advise as he is actually right about focusing on one thing at a time and prioritizing it instead of getting anxious and overthinking about it. It was nice to get that advise. I also like how he answered the question I had in my mind about getting tired to clean up that mess by saying that it’s okay to take breaks and have rest and give sometime to ourselves. The episode ended on a sweet note with all of them sitting together eating somen. Being anxious about the future would result in nothing but depression and sadness so it’s better to focus on the present while working on things step by step with the goal in mind.
It is unfortunate that Zodiac members can’t really think about their future as they will always end up with the though like “It’s hopeless to plan for future as it won’t turn out to be like that”. Especially Kyo, who know about his fate already being the cat spirit, he will end up being confined for the rest of his life like Kazuma’s grandfather. His is really sad and I hope that the zodiac members soon get freed from this cruel curse to have good fate.
Fruits Basket is a light hearted series but sometime it becomes very serious and throws light on some serious issues of life. The best thing I like about this episode was how Kazuma called out on Kyo’s father and that showed the comparison of both the biological and the foster father. The metaphor about focusing on one thing at once was very practical and sensible. I’m looking forward to the next episode to see who will be focused now. I hope it is more about Kyo or probably Shigure as there is still so much to be revealed about him.
