Rolling Review – Fruits Basket 2019 (02)

Episode Synopsis:

Having found out the Soma family secret, Tohru may be in hot water. It turns out the leader of the Soma household has the power to wipe memories! Yuki and Kyo continue to duke it out and things don’t get any better when Kyo transfers to the same school. Meanwhile, we get some insight into the Soma household and learn that not everyone is eager to be a part of it. Also…love triangles baby!

Review:

It’s been a very very long time since I’ve sat through something that’s pure shoujo goodness. I mean…just look at these available blushy flavors!

Coolata-Softa -> 140 calories. Warning contents may be PRINCELY

Flamata-Sensitiva -> 152 calories. Warning: Contents may be SPICY

Unlike Scott I have never seen Fruits Basket, and outside of knowing the premise (I read the description of the manga loooong ago) I am totally going in blind.

There’s a lot of moving parts in this episode. On the one hand we’ve got a little mystery on our hands regarding the politics of the Soma household. I like this tidbit. It makes it so that the whole show isn’t dudes -> turning into animals -> turning back into dudes (now featuring naked!) antics.

Oh my gosh…even the naked scenes have shoujo sparkles…

In fact, to do this show one better, I don’t even feel that the Soma boys turning into animals IS an antic. Their secret is pretty important. In this episode we learn about an incident with Yuki that shows (A) the head of the Soma household’s got some mad powers and is a bit controlling and (B) that everyone has their own feelings about being part of this cursed family. Yuki feels lonely and Kyo feels angry and abandoned. I’m curious to see how other members of the household deal with this.

Overall this episode is cute and it definitely sets the love triangle in motion. I’m glad Tohru isn’t just a potato girl. It’d be tough to get invested in her love-life if she wasn’t capable of belting a dude in the head with her school bag. She’s portrayed as pretty angelic in Episode 1, so I’m curious what kind of a girl she is, under all that perfect. If I had to complain about anything it’s that the romance feels geared for a Kyo x Tohru ship to sail and since we’re on Ep.2…that seems early to set out from port. It’s a bit on the heavy side.

Oh thank goodness child! I feared for your character development!

The animation continues to be pleasant and I like that they made the animal versions of the Soma boys soft and cartoony. I think if they had gone with realistic creatures it would throw off the balance of how round and smooth a lot of this animation is. The OP/ED is so gentle you could go to sleep to it. It’s very fitting for this show. Some part of me is glad I didn’t experience the older animation because looking at Scott’s comparison screenshots from Ep.1 is like THE DARKEST NIGHT vs ULTRA BRIGHT SUN DAY. Wow, things have come a long way in animation world.

I feel happy while watching this show, I chuckle every once in a while, and of course, I’m in love with Tohru’s besties. Hana…Hana for the win.

Here’s to more adorable animal transformation fun.

Summary:

This show is soft and fluffy and I’m excited to finally see a much loved shoujo classic.

Also, because fangirling is a must, I too will vote for Kyo as best lead boy, BUT it’s always critical to have some side-boy action.
Dog Boy…is gonna be my man for now. I reserve the right to swap and obtain side-boys as I see fit.