Fruits Basket (Episode 46) - There Was, Definitely

Yuki recalls his childhood and how Akito slowly broke him down, piece by piece. He’d almost given up, believing Akito’s twisted words, but a chance encounter gave him a new outlook on life.

What happened?

From a young age, Yuki’s parents abandoned him with Akito. He was a zodiac spirit after all, and not just any spirit, but the rat – the closest of all the zodiac spirits with their god. For a while, Akito and Yuki seemed to get along. Akito would have the occasional outburst, but nothing too severe. However, one day, Akito snapped, believing the world to be shrouded in darkness. And Since Akito was in the dark, that was where Yuki would be too. Alone in the darkness.

Yuki had been told over and over that he was useless and that no one liked him nor needed him. He’d briefly met Kyo who appeared to hate him. Akito told Yuki that Kyo’s mother had committed suicide because she wished Kyo had been the rat and not the cat. Yuki had tried to reach out to Ayame, but he brushed him off without a second thought.

Then, one morning Yuki left the Soma estate. He wasn’t sure why or where he was going, he just knew he needed to get out. He ran and ran and ran until he happened upon a mother screaming at the police to help her find her lost daughter. Yuki remembered running past a little girl crying and retraced his steps. Knowing that he can’t let a girl get too close, he led her back to her mother and placed his cap on her head before slipping away. He realised that, at that moment, someone needed him and it gave him a renewed strength.

Fruits Basket Episode 46 Young Akito and Yuki

What did you think?

I think I’ve talked about burning the Soma estate to the ground with Akito inside it, and I’m pretty much back on that train of thought. Akito is a monster and I find it abhorrent that no one has put her in her place. (Yeah, I’m still sticking to Akito being a girl.) The thing with Akito is it is impossible to believe anything she says. Did Kyo’s mother really leave that note or was it something that Akito arranged? I’m sure we’ll find out more in time. It was interesting to see Yuki finally say what it was that he wanted and it probably wasn’t what many were expecting. He wants Kyo to be his friend and sees Tohru as the mother he wished for!

What have you learnt?

I thought it was interesting that the hat Yuki gave to Tohru had been Kyo’s before that. It feels like that should have come up sooner and been used as some sort of misdirection or misunderstanding. Either way, it was a pretty powerful episode and I think it paves the way for Kyo to step up as the sole love interest for Tohru, which I think he already has, but this just clears that all up. I’m very curious what Kakeru has to say after Yuki’s revelation. He’s bound to say something funny or inappropriate, or he could be incredibly insightful. That guy’s an enigma!