#spoilers for fruits basket???

[seagreenstardust]

Been watching Fruits Basket with my cousin and when Tohru falls off the cliff and Kyo finds her, Tohru’s inner monologue is just “please let me reach you” while stretching out her hand to Kyo and

I am just saying

[zodiac-monkey]

[soath]

one of the last barriers keeping jester from sending ludinus da'leth the most threatening four part save the date to her wedding has finally been removed. only the cage surrounding the moon still protects him.

[guardian-angle22]

911 lone star -> acknowledging the belts 🫡

[sunwhispers]

another week another shoujo manga. i read furuba through this week and just as my best friend speculated..........i'm insane about akito................... my princess with a disorder. she reminds me of my warrior cat oc.

[oldtestleper]

this shot is so crazy. he asks about mark's dead wife, invokes his grief to remind him of his misery and manipulate him into severing himself again, and then this shot where milchick moves, presses forward physically and rhetorically, and mark is obscured by an architectural division of space and utterly swallowed in shadow. milchick is real, alive, and agent, and mark is a ghost

[greatvaluegirlfriend]

mr. milchick is out there, boots on the ground, hiring and firing and doing the damn thing, and all i’m asking how he got fresh pineapple in the middle of winter

[goldenharmony]

Oshi no Ko & Fruits Basket: Monologue Comparison

I noticed there were some similarities between the relationship-based monologues in Oshi no Ko (Aqua/Akane & Aqua/Kana) and Fruits Basket (Yuki/Tohru and Kyo/Tohru). One thing I like about them is how they are able to portray both relationships in the mangas as distinct while making it clear which pairing is the endgame one based on what is focused on.

Yuki/Tohru & Aqua/Akane: Emotional Support

Yuki's feelings about Tohru: "I was hopeless...but she appeared before the helpless me once again. To be with me, close to me. She even listened to what someone like me had to say. She wasn't disgusted and she didn't scold. Time after time. She accepted me time and again. She's beloved to me. Like how the sky feels so close, yet so far. Like a mother."

Aqua's feelings about Akane:

One thing I noted is that both Yuki's and Aqua's monologues focus on what the girls did for them. There was unconditional acceptance and both note that the girls got close to "someone like them". The relationships are not equal as both have that mother/son angle, where the girl is not receiving as much in return.

Kyo/Tohru & Aqua/Kana: The romantic endgame

Kyo's feelings about Tohru: "Finding joy in the smallest things. Being happy and smiling so cheerfully. Why? She should think of herself more. Why? Doesn't she think she's getting the short end of the stick? She thinks that she's stupid, or that there's nothing good about her. I love you. I love you so much...just as you are."

Aqua's feelings about Kana:

Like with Fruits Basket, when we see Aqua's POV on Kana, it focuses on what he specifically likes about Kana, mentioning her personality and how she acts in situations. Both guys also want the girls to not get the short end of the stick, and wish that the girls would think about themselves more - as both girls adopted a selfless attitude due to their childhood trauma. These points also make it clear to me on why these 2 ships are the romantic endgames of their respective series.

[otaku-tactician]

whb ch1 ramble (not analysis)

this concept is so metal though... setting them free is a very neat idea.

I have read fictional works where a descendant of Solomon had the power to back the political status of the demon he liked the most before- such as Makai Ouji: Devils and realist, whose main focus puts the descendant of Solomon besides demons such as Dantalian, Sitri and Camio.

In that work, William (as the descendant) helped many demons come to terms with their past traumas- some accrued during their tumultulous time serving Solomon-and in a sense assisted them through many trials and tribulations, and compelled them through the power of his ring, though he preferred treating said demons as just "regular guys" (which is so funny).

So it's cool seeing another work that also brings an interesting perspective to Solomon's 72 pillars and their hardships, helping them to find peace alongside the descendent- whilst also helping them to settle their complex feelings for their time with the original Solomon.

But this concept of freeing the demons from their bindings to restore their true power is truly unique. Most fictional works that I have read tend to bind the demon into a form of obedience or slavery, not set them free and restore them to their past glory.

Also in the legends of Solomon that I've read, there are demons who objected to being bound and some who obeyed without question; and some occult blogs detail very negative experiences of binding demons to their bidding as well (the occult blogs can be argued to be non fictional spiritual experiences.)

So in regards to this, although it seems in WHB the demons all loved Solomon and seemed to not dislike being bound, I wonder if they also have complex feelings regarding being bound to him for so long.

.... So seeing a story where the demons are set free and then elected in the aftermath is kinda bittersweet. Like relinquishing the grieving chains of the past, but also a form of letting go- of saying a final farewell to their ephemeral time with Solomon.

[chodzacaparodia]

Another reason why Episode Nagi is a shoujo manga

One thing from Episode Nagi chapter 21 hit me hard. I mean the moment when Nagi was thinking about how Reo believed in him.

No one had ever placed hope in Nagi before. He himself has also never shown any initiative before. Nagi didn't seem like a person who would do something or be motivated to act because he believed in himself.

It wasn't until he realized that someone believed in him. Thanks to this faith, he began to act. And when there was no one around who believed in him, he was left with faith in himself.

However, Nagi would never believe in himself unless someone (Reo) believed in him first. Without it, he would still remain passive and do nothing with his life.

When I noticed this dependence, I immediately thought that a similar philosophy was presented in Fruits Basket (shoujo manga).

I'm specifically talking about story of Kisa, who had problems getting along with her classmates. She received a letter from a teacher who briefly advised her to like herself first so that others would like her.

However, Yuki did not agree with this.

When someone likes you, you will like yourself.

When someone believes in you, you will believe in yourself.

In both cases, the entire change depends on the other person. The character won't do much on their own because they need some motivator to influence them.

In Fruits Basket, this should not be surprising, because it is a shoujo manga that will focus on interpersonal relationships.

However, for example, in the main series of Blue Lock, where Isagi is the protagonist, the main character does not really need anyone's help for his development, because he is his own cause. Isagi does everything himself. Yes, he uses the help of others, but it is not perceived that way. He didn't need anyone else to believe in him to believe in himself. (Yes, this could be an example of his initial relationship with Bachira, when Meguru immediately began to have great hopes in Isagi. However, I don't see it as "Oh, Bachira believed in me, now I believe in myself! I wouldn't have gone this far, if it weren't for him.", because Isagi very quickly began to notice his own possibilities, which he was entitled to himself).

But Nagi is not like Isagi. He couldn't do anything on his own. He needed someone who would believe in him. If it weren't for Reo, his life would have come to a standstill. He would have no reason to believe in himself or work on himself.

Nagi is more like a shoujo protagonist who needs the presence of another person to initiate his development. He doesn't necessarily need this person all the time in order to continue to develop, but he certainly wouldn't be able to make any changes in his life without their constant presence in his mind.

And Episode Nagi (compared to Blue Lock) does not focus just on the independent development of the main character, but also devotes a lot of attention to his relationship with another person.

I'm not saying it doesn't exist in Blue Lock. It's just more emphasized in Episode Nagi, in a shoujo manga style.

[novelist-becca]

Somebody hug me, Kyo and Tohru from Fruits Basket are making me bawl

[iammissingautumn]

Okay but canonically out of all the elder zodiac members (fruba spoilers ahead) . Kureno, Shigure, Hatori, Ayame, and Ritsu. Ritsu is the only one who doesn’t know about the family head’s gender. Ritsu is basically a complete parallel to Akito in a lot of ways. Akito is uncomfortable dressing as a man but does it anyways out of needing to present powerful. Ritsu on the other hand loves dressing as a woman. To her it is bracing her femininity. For Akito it is filling in a dead man’s shoes with a bitter mother’s heart. Akito claims to never be at the wrong for anything and Ritsu apologizes for everything. Explodes.

[allhailnarusama]

Not me comparing atla and fruits basket as i suffer with hay fever and not sleeping and realizing i have a ship type.

If you like zutara as I do, please watch Fruits Basket or read the manga I beg.

[charaznablescanontoyota]

for the ask meme - Roxas and exploring on his own?

roxas pushes the car door open onto the smell of sea salt and the sound of ocean waves crashing against sand, and feels his throat constrict. joy or grief, he doesn't really know, but - a beach. there's a beach on the train. he's wanted to go to a beach for so long that it feels like all he's ever wanted - first with axel and xion, then with his friends in twilight town - and it feels uncanny to see one in front of him, close enough to touch.

he toes off his shoes carefully, leaving them near the door as it swings shut, and walks slowly and carefully down to the water. the heart that he isn't strictly supposed to have is pounding in his ears. his breath is shallow as he squats to trail his fingers through the seafoam, thinking in spite of himself, this can all vanish in a second. someone could come and take this away from you. or the ocean is actually acid, or there's a monster denizen underneath, or it's all a cover-up for something horrible in some other way. and even if none of that's true, you still have nobody to share it with.

in theory, he's just waiting for jason to catch up. has to believe that jason will catch up, actually, because if jason's not going to stay consistent, then what the fuck have they even been doing for the past several months. jason wouldn't (couldn't?) stand him up. shoka, his hopes are less high for, but...a part of him still hopes.

beneath the sound of the waves, another noise registers. sniffling. roxas wonders if he's crying without noticing, but he touches his face and his fingers come away dry. he glances to his right, then his left, and sees a girl planted on her knees in the sand a few yards off.

he might recognize her. he thinks he recognizes her. long, brown hair tied back with a ribbon on either side - there's something about it that rings a bell, but she doesn't look like she'd be an apex kid. then again, books, covers. roxas straightens up and tilts his head to one side, considering.

he only remembers it's rude to stare when the girl looks up, rubs her eyes on the back of her hand, and coaches her expression into a smile that looks panicked in its haste.

"i'm sorry, roxas," she says, softly. "i didn't see you come in."

"you know who i am?" he asks. he should be used to that by now, people who know his name without him remembering them, but it still feels uncanny.

her eyebrows tilt quizzically. "from the apex?"

"oh," roxas says. should have trusted his first instinct, then.

"we didn't talk much," the girl says. "you were always with those other two, jason and shoka. you seemed like good friends."

"yeah," roxas says. "good friends." he swallows, and feels absolutely no change in forcing a change of subject. "were you crying?"

the girl laughs; it feels forced. "oh, please don't worry about me."

"are you okay?" he asks, in spite of what he's just been told.

"yes," she says. her eyes are still red-rimmed. "i'm fine, i promise."

"why aren't you with the rest of the apex?" he presses her. maybe she is, and the rest of them haven't caught up to her yet - but he would hate for that to happen. the apex shouldn't be allowed to destroy a car this peaceful.

"a lot of them split up and went their separate ways. i couldn't decide who to go with, so i left on my own," the girl says. "i think it's about time i go home, but i don't really know how to do that." she blinks, like she's just realized something. "are you all by yourself?"

roxas digs a foot into the sand. "what's wrong with that?"

"do you want to be all by yourself?"

he frowns. there's an easy answer to that question, and an answer that is true.

"not really," he settles for.

"me neither," the girl says. "but now you're here, so neither of us are alone." she turns, and nods towards a boardwalk in the distance. "want to go get ice cream?"

roxas doesn't give himself time to think about this one; he swallows past the lump in his throat and says, "yeah, okay."

[yukinohoshikuzu]

his little fangs I just can’t-

[solunstell]

Akito Sohma, Fruits Basket, 9-25-24