Fruits Basket (Episode 40) - See You Later

It’s the long-awaited parent-teacher conferences to discuss the future of the students and with Tohru’s grandfather injured, Shigure steps in with absolutely no ulterior motive whatsoever…

What happened?

So, maybe he did have another reason to go… or several. Firstly, it was to see Mayuko and have fun with her, although she’ll probably tell you it wasn’t much fun. Shigure even wore Hatori’s suit to make things even more uncomfortable. Either way, they both seemed to agree that Tohru should take her time to consider her future, although Shigure did offer her the chance to become his wife…

Yuki’s mother rearranged her meeting with Mayuko and when she finally showed up, she’d already decided exactly what and where Yuki was going to go. He sat there in silence desperately trying to speak up and have his say on the matter. It didn’t seem like he would find the confidence, but then Ayame burst into the room with a bouquet of roses for Mayuko and took over the meeting, forcing their mother to leave in a huff. Yuki went after her and managed to speak for himself.

Fruits Basket Episode 40 Mayuko and Shigure at Tohru's career discussion

What did you think?

I felt like this was a return to form for the series. It managed to have a number of truly delightful moments, rip you to pieces with some darker moments, and then leave you laughing out loud. I’m constantly amazed that it’s able to pull all those feelings together, but it really does. Seeing Shigure mess with Mayuko was him at his best, but it also showed a little bit of how others see him. Rin’s reaction to what he’s doing with Tohru was interesting and clearly needs to be explored more. I will also never understand a parent that wilfully neglects their child for any reason. Yuki mother was awful and I was so glad when Ayame arrived. That guy always cheers me up and it was nice to see Yuki warming to him.

Fruits Basket Episode 40 Yuki and his mother

What have you learnt?

It’s taken a while, but Ayame has been able to regain Yuki’s trust. Sure, he’s still over the top and impulsive, but that’s probably just what Yuki needs. The best thing about their relationship is that we’ve seen it develop over the course of a season and a half. We can see the problems they have and even where they are similar. The way it’s been handled and revealed to us makes the current status that much more believable. It’s not perfect, but it works.

Taking the time to do it right has been worth it. Had they tried to resolve this in a single episode it would have felt forced. This way we get to learn more about them and grow with them. It helps that there are so many different threads being explored that they can jump back and forth between the stories, although that shouldn’t take away from how well it’s put together.