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Fruits Basket (Episode 16) – She Said Don’t Step on Them!

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It turns out Tohru is still using her middle school swimming costume, so Arisa and Saki strong-arm Yuki and Kyo into helping them buy her a new one. Shigure is also one hundred percent behind this enterprise!

What did you watch?

There’s still no progress on my Kyo-Kyoko theory (see last episode’s post for details), but I feel like we’re building up to something, especially as this was a fairly lighthearted episode with the exception of Arisa’s flashbacks. It’s worth noting of the three shows I decided to watch last season, this is starting to pull ahead. At the very least, it has been consistently good. Anyhow, get ready for the spoilers.

Fruits Basket Episode 16 Shigure Demands Tohru Gets A New Swimsuit

What happened?

So, in typical fashion, Tohru still uses the same swimsuit as she did in middle school. It still fits, so there’s no point getting rid of it. Well, Arisa has finally had enough and with Saki’s help, she visits the Somas to tell them to help them buy Tohru a new swimsuit. It’s the least they can do considering all the work she does for them. Kyo and Yuki are fine with the idea, but not sure why they need to come along, while Shigure is adamant that Tohru gets a new swimsuit!

While shopping, they end up going for lunch where Arisa tells them about how she first met Tohru. It involved Tohru’s mother who used to be the head of a biker gang. Arisa had never met her, but the stories built up a picture in her head. Then, when she discovered that the daughter of the legendary Crimson Butterfly was in her school, she had to track her down. Tohru was not at all what she was expecting.

Fruits Basket Episode 16 Crimson Butterfly Tohru's Mom

What did you think?

It was another slower episode which focused mainly on Arisa Uotani, one of Tohru’s closest friends. There were fun elements where they took Kyo and Yuki to buy a swimsuit and Arisa took every chance she could to embarrass them in public. They really are a couple of delicate flowers, getting embarrassed about swimsuits. It’s Tohru! She’s not going to pick out something obscene, not even remotely. It would surprise me if she ends up with a swimsuit that looked exactly like her old one but in pink.

Fruits Basket Episode 16 Arisa Asking Yuki And Kyo What Swimsuit Tohru Should Get

What was your favourite moment?

I love the way Saki and Arisa show up as the bitchy girls are talking about them or Tohru and scare the life out of them. Saki emerging from the water like some sort of ghoul was hilarious. After that, I think Shigure’s reaction to finding out that Tohru still wears her middle school swimsuit was excellent, spitting out his tea and telling her to get a new swimsuit as a priority.

Fruits Basket Episode 16 Saki Swimming

What was your least favourite moment?

The new OP stood out like a Hawaiian shirt at a funeral in this episode. It’s upbeat and fun, which might be fine, but definitely not on this occasion. The opening scene showed a young Arisa coming home to find her dad watching TV surrounded by empty alcohol bottles, and then subsequently dropping to the floor behind her bedroom door. It was dark and sad. You could feel her pain and how alone she was, so imagine immediately following that with a light and cheerful OP! It really didn’t work and on the whole, I don’t think it fits with the tone of the episode, unlike the first OP which would have worked.

Fruits Basket Episode 16 Arisa

Who was your favourite character?

Arisa has been one of my favourite characters from the beginning of the series, so it was great to finally get to see a little glimpse into her past. There’s still a lot to learn, but I feel like it will continue into the next episode. She was, and still is, a complete badass, although now she’s a little more relaxed, no doubt from the influence of Tohru and Kyoko. It was very sad watching her life before Tohru, especially compared to how she is now.

Fruits Basket Episode 16 Biker Arisa Uotani

Who was your least favourite character?

I’m going to go with Kyo and Yuki again. That’s two weeks in a row that neither has really done anything. Normally, that might be fine, but both clearly have something incredibly important that they need to say to Tohru, so step up and get it done already. I feel like it’s being dragged out so that it can be a big end of season reveal. If that’s the case, why push it so hard a couple of weeks ago?

Fruits Basket Episode 16 Kyo and Yuki

Would you like some more?

As I said earlier, this series has been consistently good and as long as it keeps it up, I will keep on enjoying it. Sure, there have been slower episodes and this one felt more like that, but the character development is excellent. Whether they’re introducing new characters or revealing more about the ones we’ve already met, it doesn’t seem to matter. I would like to start to get some answers, which may be a way off if the reports of sixty-three episodes is correct. It doesn’t have to be everything, but I would like to get to the bottom of what’s troubling Kyo at least.

Fruits Basket Episode 16 Arisa And Saki Hug Tohru Yuki And Kyo Stare

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5 Comments

  1. I’m with you on the OP. It really doesn’t fit. I actually skipped it this week because while I don’t dislike the song, it just doesn’t set the tone for watching Fruits Basket.

    • Yeah, it’s not a bad song, it just doesn’t fit the tone of the series at all and it was really apparent in this episode.

    • In a way, I think she mirrored Tohru in that she didn’t think she deserved to be happy. Her mom left her and her dad was a drunk, she felt like she was meant to be alone so seeing Kyoko and Tohru must have been brutal. Why couldn’t she have that? I’m looking forward to the second half of her story.

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