People who having issues with female characters and shoujo and don't allow them to have flaws, be feminine and have issues now apparently. They keep chosing the worst characters to make a point like this. Tohru Honda is one of the most complex protagonists in shoujo and one of my favorite characters period.
She is kind, bubbly and feminine however it comes from a sense of wanting to be loved and a fear of abandonment. She is inherently kind but there's reasons behind her kindness. Her kindness can also hurt her because she struggles to say no and can let people use her.
Tohru slowly learning her self worth across the manga and starting to stand up for herself and love herself despite what others might say is character development that appeals to me personally. Tohru is incredibly relateable and complex, I don't understand people who call her a bland protagonist.
Me: feel like watching Fruits Basket again, but I can't deal with the angst rn, so I'll just watch season 1.
My brain: Kyo knew since the beginning who Tohru was, and when he meets her, he has just come back from four months of grieving her mother's death and blaming himself for it.