Fruits Basket (Episode 1) – See You After School
Following the death of her mother, Tohru Honda is determined not to be a burden on anyone else. She’s going to pay her own way even if that means living in a tent for a while.
Fruits Basket (Episode 1) – See You After School
What did you watch?
With season two of Fruits Basket just around the corner, I thought this would be a great time to bring back my episode reviews of season one. This was the second season of anime that I started to cover on an episodic basis as it was released. I had no idea what I was getting into and knew nothing of the series before starting. In fact, I only decided to watch it because someone on Twitter was adamant that I should. Anyhow, get ready to relive Fruits Basket in preparation for season two.
What happened?
Tohru Honda lives in a tent in the woods with all of her possessions. When her mother was killed in a car accident, her family couldn’t agree on who would take care of Tohru, so she went to live with her grandfather, but he was about to get his house renovated and recommended she would be best if she could find a friend to stay with… Family, eh!
Anyhow, one morning after zipping up her tent, Tohru stumbled across a house she’d not noticed before and ended up meeting the occupants, Yuki, the popular classmate from school and his older cousin Shigure. Surprised that anyone lives nearby, Yuki offers to walk Tohru to school. Later that night, Yuki and Shigure notice Tohru walking through the woods and follow. Unwilling to let her live in a tent on her own, they invite her to stay with them.
What did you think?
I really enjoyed it. If I’d read the synopsis, I probably wouldn’t have even given it a chance, so I am pleasantly surprised. It had a great mix of comedy and tragedy. I liked how there were lots of clues as to what was going on long before the reveal at the end of the episode. The best one was when Tohru and her friends discussed how Yuki leapt away from a hug.
What was your favourite moment?
It was when Tohru made it back to her tent after a hard night’s work. She went back outside to splash some water on her face and ended up face-to-face with Yuki and Shigure. There was a brief moment of silence as she realised who it was and then Shigure started laughing. I started laughing too. His reaction was so unexpected it was hilarious.
What was your least favourite moment?
That was the group of girls at school claiming to be some sort of Yuki fan club giving Tohru a dressing down after Yuki walked her to school. It could have been funny. There were lots of bizarre facial expressions from the girls, but it just seemed a bit too odd.
Who was your favourite character?
Shigure, without a doubt. I enjoyed his dialogue from the first moment he met Tohru and it just seemed to get better and better, until he was laughing in her face. It was a little cruel, but also oddly funny. He was far more likeable than Yuki.
Who was your least favourite character?
That would be anyone from Tohru’s family who abandoned her after her mother was tragically killed. It seems to be a fairly common trait in anime, but I still don’t get it. If it was someone I knew, there’s no way I’d let something like that happen to them. Shame on them!
Would you like some more?
I’m looking forward to seeing where this series goes, especially after the reveal at the end of the episode. There’s obviously going to be some sort of back-and-forth between Yuki and the cat. As long as Shigure is there to offer his timely opinions and inappropriateness, I’ll be fine. I also found Tohru to be quite inspiring in how she approached life. It had obviously been hard for her, but she hid it well.
Other posts in the series
- Season One
- Episode 1 – See You After School
- Episode 2 – They’re All Animals!
- Episode 3 – Let’s Play Rich Man, Poor Man!
- Episode 4 – What Year Is She?
- Episode 5 – I’ve Been Fooling Myself
- Episode 6 – Perhaps We Should Invite Ourselves Over
- Episode 7 – Spring Comes
- Episode 8 – See You When You Get Back
- Episode 9 – Yuki Was My First Love
- Episode 10 – It’s Valentine’s, After All
- Episode 11 – This is a Wonderful Inn
- Episode 12 – You Look Like You’re Having Fun
- Episode 13 – How Have You Been, My Brother?
- Episode 14 – That’s a Secret
- Episode 15 – I Wouldn’t Say That
- Episode 16 – She Said Don’t Step on Them!
- Episode 17 – This Is for Uo-chan!
- Episode 18 – What’s Important Is…
- Episode 19 – I’m So Sorry!
- Episode 20 – I Can’t Believe You Picked It Up
- Episode 21 – I Never Back Down from a Wave Fight
- Episode 22 – Because I Was Happy
- Episode 23 – You Look Well…
- Episode 24 – Let’s Go Home
- Episode 25 – Summer Will Be Here Soon
- Season Two
- Episode 26 – Hello Again
- Episode 27 – Eat Somen with Your Friends
- Episode 28 – Shall We Go and Get You Changed?
- Episode 29 – I Got Dumped…
- Episode 30 – Wait for me, tororo soba!
- Episode 31 – Are you really this stupid?
- Episode 32 – Let’s Start the Watermelon Splitting Contest!
- Episode 33 – Well, It’s True
- Episode 34 – My Precious…
- Episode 35 – Who Are You?
- Episode 36 – All Mine
- Episode 37 – You Cried for Me
- Episode 38 – Sure Thing
- Episode 39 – I Should Just Die…
- Episode 40 – See You Later
- Episode 41 – Ask Him For Me
- Episode 42 – You Will, I’m Sure of It
- Episode 43 – Do You Wanna Kiss?
- Episode 44 – There’s Just No Way!
- Episode 45 – Are You Okay?
- Episode 46 – There Was, Definitely
- Episode 47 – That Isn’t What I Want
- Episode 48 – It’s Cinderella-ish
- Episode 49 – Here You Are
- Episode 50 – I’m Different Now
- Season Three
- Episode 51 – I’ll Hold Another Banquet
- Episode 52 – That’s an Unwavering Truth
- Episode 53 – I Hope It Snows Soon
- Episode 54 – I’m… Home.
- Episode 55 – I Mean… You Know, Right?
- Episode 56 – It Was So Foolish
- Episode 57 – That’s Right, It’s Empty
- Episode 58 – I’m Disappointed in You
- Episode 59 – What’s Your Name?
- Episode 60 – I Just Love Her
- Episode 61 – Goodbye
- Episode 62 – You Fought Well
- Episode 63 – See You Again Soon
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“That would be anyone from Tohra’s family that abandoned her after her mother was tragically killed. ”
Didn’t you just want to go through the screen and read someone the riot act?
Well, I hope I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. That’d be really awkward.
Yeah, I’m reading another manga where the same thing happened. The poor kid now lives with a sexy demon so the jokes on them. Also makes me think of Grave of the Fireflies and the way the children were abandoned and I don’t like to think about that too much.