Fruits Basket (Episode 50) – I’m Different Now

Kurome watched the DVD of Tohru’s play and saw Arisa’s emotional outburst. It brought him briefly to tears, however, when he slipped out to see Tohru it was to give her the DVD back, but then he revealed something else!
What happened?
Shigure revealed to Hatori that when he had gone to see Akito, the door had been slammed in his face as he had not come sooner. He then made some references to Kurome and at that point, it was unclear what he was talking about. Luckily, Kurome phoned Shigure’s house looking to speak with Tohru. As you might expect, Shigure put the screws on him and made a point of saying that the chance of Tohru picking up the phone was slim so he obviously had more to say or wanted to be noticed.
When Tohru came home from school, Shigure asked her to buy some envelopes for him. She was all too happy to help. On her way, she noticed a group of sparrows and crouched down to talk to them. However, Kurome, who had been sitting in wait for her, approached and scared the birds away. But he’s the rooster, shouldn’t birds be drawn to him. He started to talk to Tohru, but a lot of it didn’t make sense to her at first. Partially because she was processing what just happened. Then, he hugged her… and didn’t turn into a rooster. He told her that the curse broke for him when he was younger and has since stayed by Akito’s side out of choice.
Kurome believed that he had only met Arisa a couple of times and in time they would fade from his memory. He couldn’t love someone when the connection could disappear so easily… but he did love her and struggled to come to terms with what he should do. Akito depended on him, but he was free, there was nothing binding him to her. That was when he revealed to Tohru that Akito is a girl!

What did you think?
So, how much time should I dedicate to saying “I told you so”? Back in episode 7 when Akito first appeared on the screen, I referred to Akito as her. I did it because I thought it was obvious and it never occurred to me that she might be pretending to be a boy. Only when I saw other posts about it did I realise that everyone was referring Akito as him. Well, it felt like I’d just stumbled upon something big. I kept my belief and mentioned it occasionally, although I was careful not to use genders when referring to Akito as I didn’t want to potentially spoil it for others. Now, after waiting for forty-three episodes, I can con confirm that I was right and it feels good!
In other news, I still feel absolutely no sympathy for Akito. Were her tears real or fake? She certainly seemed to understand the situation when Kurome’s curse was broken. The threat to her maids was clear. Then she forced Kurome into her room and turned on the waterworks. Without the forced bond, she needed to find a way to make him stay. Was this the moment that Yuki remembers as to when Akito changed? It’s quite likely. The fear of losing more and more of her connections is real and if they all broke, she would be nothing. And she certainly enjoys playing the roll of god!

What have you learnt?
I loved the look that Shigure gave Akito when she tried to tell him off for not visiting sooner. It was the look of someone that had finally figured something out and had more power than her. This series has evolved spectacularly from what I assumed was just a romance with a bit of mystery. There’s something for everyone, and on top of that, it is just an absolute joy to watch regardless of what you’re here for. The quality of every aspect of the production is incredible and I am certain that I will learn and have learnt a lot from this series. All we have now is to wait for the third and final season. It should be exciting.

Other reviews 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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I’m a witness! I remember you called Akito’s gender.
I’m still taking notes over how this series develops characters and evokes feelings. I feel like I’m watching an emotional symphony!
I think I have a license to mix metaphors around here somewhere…
For sure. I feel like I’m going to need to rewatch it and make a load of notes. There’s no reason that characters can’t connect with the audience like this in any story. We just need to work out how they did it.
Even the side characters that are only in it work an episode here are able to stir such emotion. It’s absolutely mind blowing.
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