Rolling Review – Fruits Basket 2019 (15)

Episode Synopsis:

Shigure invites the kids and Hatori on a vacation for Golden Week, and the gang settles into a lakeside cabin. Yuki and Kyo have been moody and silent since the day they visited the cemetery, and Tohru is deeply worried, but some transformation shenanigans help lighten their moods. As the kids prepare to visit the lake, Ayame arrives to crash their party.

With Tohru and the boys away, the “adults” have a chance to relax and reminisce. Eventually it comes out that Shigure had invited Hatori along to support him after Kana’s recent wedding. While Ayame disapproves of how Hatori has handled the situation, the doctor seems to have found some measure of peace.

Episode Review:

Man, these last few episodes have been seriously good and, at times, pretty dark. After some seriously heavy stuff with Momiji and the memorial for Tohru’s mom, episode 15 serves as a nice transition back to the character dramedy that is the signature of the series.

While I roll my eyes at the common anime trope of a rich person/family hijacking the cast for a preposterous vacation, I’m glad that Fruits Basket has kept things relatively grounded. Their living history village of a home may be loopy, but the Soma’s vacation spots are pretty reasonable. I also appreciate that the boys are immediately suspicious of Shigure’s motivations, even if he’s actually using his talents of manipulation for good, this time (not including the part where he has once again ditched his long-suffering editor).

The first part of the episode is mainly focused on Yuki and Kyo trying to assuage Tohru’s fear and misplaced guilt over their moodiness since the memorial service. The boys keep cagey about the obscure flashbacks we’ve been seeing, but it isn’t long before they’re back to their usual bickering selves. It’s as fun as ever, though they seem to have changed how Kyo’s face appears in his cat form, and the results are…

The rest of the episode is far more interesting to me, as it focuses on Shigure and Ayame gauging how Hatori is handling the fact that his former girlfriend has recently married someone else. In spite of being his usual dramatic self and taking things several notches too high, Ayame’s heart is in a good place when he orders his friend to secure his own happiness. It’s good to see the supportive side of the Soma family, considering how much baggage the name has left the fellows with.

Episode 15 is good all-around, with plenty of fun banter and some great comedic cut-ins, especially around Ayame. He still irks me a tad, but like Momiji, he’s started to grow on me, and I appreciate his position in the cast. I’ve also realized that the oft-exasperated Hatori may, in fact, be my spirit animal.