English Dub Review: Fruits Basket “It Was So Foolish”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Tohru pays Rin a visit to see how she’s recovering after her ordeal. Hatsuharu is thrilled that Rin’s made a friend, while Yuki is worried about the violence in their interactions.

Later, Shigure pays Rin a visit to chide her for failing to break the curse, and getting in trouble in the process. He reveals that the curse will break on its own, but not before Kyo is imprisoned in the Cat’s Room. Tohru overhears and is distraught. Shigure asks her if she loves Kyo, but she runs away crying in response.

Tohru visits her mother’s grave on the anniversary of her death. Yuki accompanies her, but Kyo has something to do. He visits to pay his respects later, and happens to chat with Tohru’s grandfather. The old man reveals that he calls Tohru “Kyoko” as a way of drawing a connection between the two, and keeping Kyoko’s memory alive.

He further explains that Tohru speaks the same way her father did. Despite relatives cruelly accusing her of potentially not being his daughter, and her “making him the bad guy” in her mind, it’s a form of resemblance she fostered.

Tohru is distraught, having vowed to put her mother first in her heart. She wants to admit her feelings to Kyo, but feels guilty and hesitant. Kagura, though wildly jealous, pushes her to make things official, even slapping her when she tells Rin how she feels instead of Kyo.

Kyo asks her later if she resembles her father in any way. She confirms her grandfather’s point about their shared speaking style.

Kyo thinks how foolish she was to stubbornly keep at it, and attempt to hide her loneliness. He assures her that her mother appreciated her efforts, and drew strength from them. But he also recalls being there when her mother died, and her haunting last words.

Our Take:

What an absolutely DEVASTATING episode to watch immediately after Mother’s Day. Admittedly, a main plot point in this series is Tohru (and Kyo) accepting the fact that the rewards of being loved require the mortifying ideal of being known. While the curse is indeed a bit of a stumbling block, a bigger issue is their unresolved feelings around Kyoko’s death.

Tohru is, understandably, trying to honor her late mother, admittedly in a slightly misguided, but ultimately well meaning way. Kyo, on the other hand, is haunted by how he could have potentially prevented Kyoko’s death. His inability to act is certainly somewhat related to the curse, but the misunderstanding of her last words are far more distressing than the thought of being imprisoned in the Cat’s Room.

Main romance and upsetting flashbacks to Kyoko and Kyo’s interactions aside, this episode is where Shigure really bares his fangs. His explanation to Rin that the curse is in the process of being broken on its own, “eventually”. Combined with his apathy about Kyo being imprisoned, highlight just how cold he can really be.

I will admit that the storyline this episode, while necessary, is the one that always makes me cry the hardest, since it just seems so…possible. Ok, maybe not the part about Kyo being imprisoned. Or a certain family member being necessarily shunned because of their role in a Zodiac curse (although you never know.) But car accidents happen every day, and survivors guilt can rack loved ones left behind. And prevent them from moving forward in life.

Regarding the visuals, this episode is right up there with the best. The scenes where Kagura hides behind the screen, and Tohru behind the sheet are gorgeous uses of shadow and light. And Tohru and Kyo’s embrace, while it does eventually cause him to transform, is a genuine moment of tenderness rendered with heartbreaking beauty.

Justin Cook (that’s Yusuke Urameshi for you fellow YuYu Hakusho fans) treats us to a few lines as Hatsuharu this episode. I love that his official Wiki mentions that he’s best friends with Jerry Jewell (who voices Kyo), and a cousin of Aaron Dismuke (voice of Hiro Sohma).

Although most of Rin’s part in this episode is her shocked silence, Brina Palencia (aka Nina Tucker in Fullmetal Alchemist) more than delivers with her spoken lines.

Finally, Lydia Mackay (Sephiria Arks in Black Cat) goes all out with sweet and maternal (but still youthful and fun) tones with Kyoko, to really set us up for the emotional blow when she croaks out her final, ominous sentence to Kyo. She seems to really have a knack for playing not just the trope “dead protagonist mom”, but really twisting the emotional knives.

Overall, when I wasn’t bawling my eyes out, I was lavished with the beauty that is this series. I know there’s plenty more sad moments to come. But we’re also moving towards the happy ending that these characters truly deserve.

It’ll just take some time (and tears) to get there.