Fruits Basket (Episode 41) - Ask Him For Me

Arisa finally reveals the name of the man she’s been obsessing over. It’s become such a problem that she quit all her part-time jobs and found new ones. However, Tohru knows of someone with that same name…

What happened?

His name is Kureno, but could he possibly be the same Kureno that was with Akito on that rainy summer’s night? The chances seem slim and it would mean getting awfully close to Akito which is not something Tohru wants to do, but if there’s a chance, even a slight one, she’s going to what she can for her best friend. Outside of the Soma estate, Tohru bumps into a little girl, literally, and is surprised to see that she looks just like Momiji and accidentally says his name. Momo, the little girl, asks Tohru if she knows Momiji and that she can take her to him if she does.

They sneak into the estate and find themselves outside Momiji’s room as he plays on the violin. Momo says that she wants Momiji to be his big brother because he looks like her mother. Tohru is struggling to keep her feelings inside and once Momo has gone she breaks down to Momiji, who is elated to find out that his sister has noticed him, although also, worried for his father. Anyhow, Momiji helps Tohru find Kureno who threatens to turn her over to the police for sneaking around. However, when she mentions Arisa, his demeanour changes and he lets her off with a warning. Tohru leaves Arisa’s contact details in a bush and leaves with Momiji.

What did you think?

There have been a lot of sad moments in Fruits Basket, but I think Momiji’s story with his mother is possibly one of the hardest ones to take. Seeing his reaction to Momo’s discovery was wonderful, but it was also hard to get excited for Momiji. As Tohru pointed out to Kyo on the rooftop, some wishes are not meant to come true. It’s a hard pill to swallow but it’s true and this one really seems like one of those times. Maybe the dream will be enough to satisfy Momiji or maybe Momo will see him once she’s older. Who knows, but there will always be some sort of connection between them. A truly bittersweet episode.

Fruits Basket Episode 41 Momiji and Tohru

What have you learnt?

I’m definitely team Kyo! I don’t mind Yuki, but he can get a little annoying and the last couple of episodes have really cemented that for me. Kyo seems to be dealing with his issues to a greater extent and his bond with Tohru has really grown over the first half of this season. I also think that this series is much stronger when Tohru has a central role in the episode. She seems to bring everything together and make the other characters shine. I still love the little segway episodes with peripheral characters, but Tohru really is what Fruits Basket is all about.