| Episode 7 has the backstory of Doc Dragon Souma. The austere and melancholic man in black suffered repeat strokes of fate: he lost most of his left eye, the love of his life and fiancé, and his zodiac animal is life threatening: a tiny water breathing sea horse. His life is emblematized as an eternal winter, and falling in love as the snow melt in spring. Both the lost love of his life and Tooru are given the same phrasing when talking to im about snow melt and spring, transferring his fiancé's attributes to Tooru. The mood and theme of the episode is self-sacrifice for a loved one, loneliness and loss. Doc Dragon had to erase the memories of his love to cure her from depression, destroying his own way out of sad loneliness. Which was caused by the Souma family head Akito not permitting their marriage. In the resulting brawl he almost lost his left eye as well, to add insult to injury. Akito has been seen before, they permitted Tooru's stay with Dog, Cat and Rat. We see them again in the last scene, driving by in a luxury car in a typical villain pose. Another player, and maybe the first one who isn't a nice guy. Doc Dragon's zodiac transformation into a sea horse is the first life threatening one we learn about. A small helpless animal destined to suffocate without external help is quite a trauma and explains his cold demeanor and distance. The Japanese word for sea horse is "bastard child of a dragon", and in Eastern mythology is considered a dragon. So not only is the doc cursed with the zodiac transformation, he also is denied the powerful adult form of his animal. The show keeps changing the sub-genre by the episode, after slapstick, SoL, ensemble drama we now got tragic melodrama. I can just repeat myself, the writers master each narrative style they touch. They even manage to add twists and deconstruct tropes as if it was easy doing so. The tiny fly in the ointment is Tooru, who is at high risk of being reduced to a self-insert Mary Jane character in episodes like this. Of course she had her own backstory, of course she's the looking glass character starting with zero knowledge about the Souma family. Yet her kindness and empathic abilities ("spring!", the jackpot answer out of a million) are dangerously close to super-powers. The cliff-hanger is the Doc Dragon x Akito conflict, and my prediction for the next narrative theme the show could explore is: drama. Without the melo- part, open conflict and darkness. Akito seems to contrast the melancholic darkness of the doc with actual mean spirited darkness. The shoujo genre is no stranger to this element. |
inimDec 16, 2021 12:49 PM
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| Hello, @inim thanks for the info on Doc Dragon, i missed the significance of the seahorse completely. So he is supposed to be the dragon zodiac, but in the juvenile form, hence his embarrassment. After reading your comment I can see Doc Dragon's similarities to Faf-kun from Kobayashi, although i can't see Faf-kun ever having a fiancee. Episode 8. We're seeing the development of Rat and Cat due to the Tooru effect, listening to what she says and taking her advice. But they completely ignore it when Wave girl tells them how lonely Tooru will be on the first new year without her mum. I wonder if Cat, Rat and Dog have actual parents, they always seem to speak of Akito as the parent, or is that merely just in terms of the head of the family. Another slower episode taking the time to show us how much the characters have changed, in a positive way, since the introduction of Freud Tooru into their lives. Have a good day. |
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| Onto episode 8. Not much to say about this one. It’s probably my least favorite so far, since everything in this one is rather predictable and it doesn’t include anything particularly revelatory. Tooru once again puts others before herself, telling our main trio and her closest friends that they should be with their families on New Years, which would leave her alone. This would be the first New Years without her mother, so she doesn’t want to be alone, she just doesn’t want anyone else to be left out on account of her. Though this initially leads the Rat and Cat to go to the Souma estate, their mistake is put in stark relief by Tooru’s dark and brooding friend, and they run back to spend New Years with Tooru. There’s also a bit of intrigue at the Souma estate and some uncertain repercussions for their choice to GTFO, as well as a brief look at the families of her friends, but this one just felt like it was retreading old ground with characters that have begun to embrace the way they feel about Tooru. Neither the Rat nor the Cat would have been likely to do this in the early episodes, so I appreciate that this shows their growth, but overall there’s not a lot going on here. And maybe that’s part of the point. We’ll see where things are going, but my guess is that events will conspire against them for a bit after this, so maybe this is a last respite before the real drama comes crashing in on them. |
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| Episode 8's first half almost felt like a recap with Tooru's kindest moments. The main focus is on "falling in love with Tooru" here. Then Rat and Cat pick staying with her over their sacred family duty. There's some character development in that, because they bury the hatched temporarily knowing their love iterest hates it. We learn a bit about the inner workings of the Souma family as well. Dog and Akito seem to have a special relation. Otherwise, a calm episode setting a counterpoint to the rapid development of the previous episodes. |
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| Hello, Hope you're all doing well this Saturday. The weather has improved and we've got warm winter sun here in the south of the UK. Episode 9. So we meet Haru, the bull or cow Zodiac and he's a bit arrogant, but likeable. Plus a split personality, dark and light Haru, one is forward and arrogant, the other more demure and sensible. Another slow episode introducing Haro and his past anxiety about Rat. Have a good day. |
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| Episode 9 ends the New Year's Eve cease fire between Rat and Cat and pushes it to a new height: school sports competition. Despite an upcoming cold, Rat accept Cat's challenge. We also see Wavegirl developed more into diva and goth type character. I'd compare her to the New Romantic stereotype of the mid-80s, mixed with emo and Dark Lolita fashion elements like https://myanimelist.net/character/31008/Ruri_Gokou - add superstition, drama queen and a heavy dose of chuunibyou. Which anidb translates to "8th-grader syndrome", and adds "In most cases sufferers attribute supernatural abilities to themselves.". She's fully living up to that anime staple. The Ox is introduced as a new male Souma family member. His attributes are bi-colored hair (white and black), just like the bull he transforms into. This is reflected in a split personality character, one kind version and "dark Haru". This is another anime classic, found e.g. in Monogatari's Black Hanekawa where the same hair color pattern is used as well. Special focus is on Ox's relation to Rat. In the legend, it was Ox who carried Rat to the God's invitation, which kind of makes him complicit with the betrayal of Cat. His excuse is that he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and his good-naturedness was abused. Yet he still "loves" Rat. I'm wildly speculating here, but this mix of shared guilt, childhood friend backstory and "love" could evolve into a boy's love baiting sub-plot. No self respecting shoujo harem comes without that, just like yuri baiting is ever popular in male target group fan service. Anyway, the legendary scene is re-enacted when animal form Ox carries a feverish Rat home on is back. Another node in the increasingly complex sociogram, with a lot of options. Overall, a character development episode for Wavegirl and Ox. Writing style wise, slapstick comedy is back. The sheer size of a cast of 12+1 starts to hurt story progression a bit. Otoh, it's really good to see that the show was planned and written for 64 episodes from the start and they take the time for a very good global pacing. Unlike modern development conditions where the studios can't plan further than one cour. Still, speeding up pacing again and introducing a drama arc would benefit my enjoyment currently. |
inimDec 18, 2021 7:06 AM
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| Onto Episode 9. Looks like the wave of backlash drama that results from the Rat and Cat missing New Years is still a ways off for now, but in the meantime, we get the Ox character (was actually pretty delighted to be able to call this one). It's interesting that we have now been introduced to two Zodiac characters with what are basically split personalities (Ox and Boar), not sure if there's something going on with that. Anyway, this one had some of the funniest moments in the series so far. That scene at the very beginning where those girls are ogling Ox boy only for him to hop on his bicycle and ride away really got me. There's some intriguing interaction between the Ox and the Rat in this episode, particularly in their pasts. Appreciate the background on the story, @inim, helps couch this a bit. In any case, not too much to say about this one. No real incisive moments from Tooru Freud in this one - she largely just seems to be tossed around with the rest of the cast for this episode. We're getting background and building out the character roster little by little, though it remains to be seen what place the Ox will take in the longer term of this story. |
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filifjonkan said: In Germany it's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinner_for_One as well, with uninterrupted broadcast on New Year since 60+ years. We also have that large "Countdown" type music, dance and comedy shows. But unlike Japan it's not named the same each year, not on the same station and there's little continuity. It's just "big show".in Sweden, we have a similar TV- show like Kohaku (even if I have no idea what that is about), the show Dinner for one is always broadcasted in Sweden. on New Years Eve. I just wonder if you have someting similar in the UK, in Germany and the US. |
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filifjonkan said: Hello and onto episode 7, 8 and 9 for me. I like to watch some episodes in a row, it gives me another kind of context. I enjoy reading all your comments @23feanor, @inim and @whiteflame55 they are always interesting to digest. I have a question for you guys; in Sweden, we have a similar TV- show like Kohaku (even if I have no idea what that is about), the show Dinner for one is always broadcasted in Sweden. on New Years Eve. I just wonder if you have someting similar in the UK, in Germany and the US. Hope that your evening will be nice! /Fili We don't have anything similar in the UK and I've never heard of this show, apart from the Japanese version from anime. We have some music shows (with celebrities and musicians) and fireworks shows that air on new year but nothing like a long show on during the whole day/evening. Learnt something new, thanks ^_^ |
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filifjonkan said: I have a question for you guys; in Sweden, we have a similar TV- show like Kohaku (even if I have no idea what that is about), the show Dinner for one is always broadcasted in Sweden. on New Years Eve. I just wonder if you have someting similar in the UK, in Germany and the US. Can't say I know anything about this kind of show, so I'm afraid I can't provide any pertinent information. I know there are some music shows here in the US, but I haven't researched it enough to provide you with insights beyond what a simple Google search would get you. |
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filifjonkan said: You're probably thinking about the South African animal documentary Animals Are Beautiful People (1974) famous for that drunk animals sequence. It was quite popular in Germany as well. There's also Oscar winning Serengeti Shall Not Die (1959), but it's far more serious than the former as it was made by an actual zoology professor. Neither of the two is connected to New Year - just family TV staples with countless re-broadcasts. Germans just love those two :)I thought that the German television was sending something about the savanna in Africa, all animals getting drunk from eating a fruit that fermented. Every single animal got real shitfaced, except the leader of each pack. |
inimDec 19, 2021 4:10 AM
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| Episode 10 covers Valentine day and how it's not a good day for the zodiacs. The risk of hugging and by that transformation followed by messy memory reset cleanup is very high. We see some typical Valentine's Day shenanigans in school happening to Rat and Cat, along the proven technique of the anmie to use tropes and at the same time mildly deconstruct them. A typical scene is a trash bin full of chocolates, which the girls stole from the lockers to get more attention for their own present. At home, Boar-chan is waiting for poor Cat who is showered with her crazy affection. The solution found is a double date and cinema visit with Boar, Cat, Rat and Tooru, which is another standard trope played with slight twists. The characters with development this time are Dog and Dragon, and indirectly Akito as the elephant in the room they talk about. The tone of their conversation fits their adult age, and makes clear there is another layer to the juvenile events with Rat, Boar and Cat. Both senior zodiacs agree that Tooru has a good influence on the younger family members. They mutually accuse themselves of manipulating the situation, and that this will backfire. Both are hinted at hiding some dark soul and secret in them. Dragon leaves to visit Akito afterwards, once again hinting at a special relation of the two. Dog is visited by his book editor and pushed to work harder. Overall, anoter slice of lifey episode checking standard tropes. A vague darkness is introduced, the adult clan members seem to have more dirty secrets than meets the eye. |
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| Episode 10 focuses most of its runtime on the dynamics between the main players, particularly as they relate to Valentine's Day. It has some fun with the premise, particularly in terms of how the ladies at their school lavish chocolates on Rat while simultaneously removing all other chocolates to make themselves stand out. There's also some drama on the part of Cat, which gets somewhat resolved and then has a monkey wrench thrown into it with Boar appearing on the scene. All of that is relatively basic for this show at this point. What makes this episode interesting is when the focus shifts to Dog. It's actually the first time we've gotten to spend much time looking into Shigure and how he's thinking about Tooru. That smile he's been putting on with her is, in some ways, a shield meant to protect himself from her digging to deeply into him as she's done with Rat and Cat. He's got secrets, a clear goal in mind that those around him either do not know or cannot understand that is associated with Akito and involves Dragon. It's a bit of dark intrigue that shines more light on Dragon's earlier behavior and puts Dog's behavior up until now into context. It's been easy to dismiss Dog as the most stable and put together of the trio so far, but he seems the most troubled considering his concerns about even being around Tooru and what she could bring out of him. We're starting to see more of the general flow of the world around Tooru, and I suspect she'll become aware of it in due time, which will put her in direct conflict with Dog's aims. Looking forward to seeing how that plays out. |
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| Episode 11 is the Rabbit's episode, and has quite a new new revelations. He invites the gang into a family owned onsen: Rabbit, Cat, Rat, and Tooru. Interesting to see this trope in the shoujo version, no half under water oppai but a romantic princely gift at night. Rat gives a hair ribbon to Tooru in this scene, an unexpectedly direct romantic move. We learn the onsen is owned by the mother of another zodiac member, the Monkey. First time we meet a parent, and she's just as batshit crazy as pretty much all female Soumas we know about. Cat has multiple anger management moments, Rat is a master of pushing buttons and he's just reacting to it each time. In a Rabbit side note, he once again used a German idiomatic phrase: "Wenn schon, denn schon." (If I do it, then for real). I think the Japanese just love the slightly varied alliterated sound of it, as in Doki Doki or Ara Ara. Another unique part is an allegoric fairy tale narrated by Rabbit. He tells it after it became clear trough Dog's question that Tooru is broke after spending all her money on valentine's presents. It's about a "fool" who gave away everything he had to people exploiting his good nature. Money first, clothing, body parts, and eventually his life. Yet, because he was a "fool", he felt very happy to be able to help ll the time. One can only hope Tooru listened well. The narration has a nice change in art style and is mildly reminiscent of Monster's way to intgrate a fairy tale into the story. Rabbit's invitation for a free onsen trip is also a result of this situation. Overall a good episode with story progression after the recent character development episodes. I really liked the fairy tale. |
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| Hello, We're currently moving into our new flat over the course of this week (Xmas week is not the best time to be doing this) so i may be having to play catch up this week until things are more sorted and settled. Episode 10. @filifjonkan yes we have valentines day here in the UK and it's a big deal at school. I bought gifts every valentine for one girlfriend or another since i was 11, so have gotten rather good at finding good girly gifts. Nowadays Em and i don't bother much with it though, it's young persons thing. One difference, Valentines day here is for either girls or boys to give to their crush or partner, we don't have White Day for guys in March like they do in Japan. The dialogue with Shigure was interesting, i wonder whether he and Akito combined will be the real villains of the show. Not sure what they have planned but it doesn't sound good for Tooru, Rat and Cat (maybe she'll have to chose one or take on the curse for them something like that). The ED has really snuck up on me. I thought I liked the OP more but find myself humming the ED throughout the day. Episode 11. The fable of the Idiotic traveller hey, interesting comparison from Bunny. I wonder when Dog will be won over by Tooru, much later on i guess. We don't even know what his wish was, something supernatural (from the dream we saw it sounded supernatural) or the love of Akito maybe, a forbidden bishi love? We get the hot springs episode but as @inim noted before it's not for the male gaze, the girls are all wrapped up in towels and it's the boys that show more skin, especially Bunny. Another couple of slower episodes but with interesting revelations about Dog. Until we know his plans and dreams he's going to be an unknown. Have a good day. |
23feanorDec 20, 2021 4:53 AM
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| Onto episode 11. Normally not a fan of hot springs episodes due to the fan service, but this one surprisingly worked for me. The lack of the usual antics that we see in scenes like this (male characters sneaking a peek at the females, in particular) is welcome, and while there is fan service here and our Bunny boy does try to bathe with Tooru, it’s played as childishness rather than lewdness. A breath of fresh air. I enjoyed the dynamic with the proprietor, who also foreshadows what’s bound to be a crazy interaction with her son, the monkey Zodiac, who is also apparently a bit of an outsider in his own right. I’ll be on the lookout for crazy characters, but this could always be a misdirection and the mother just thinks he’s weird when in reality he’s perfectly normal. Doubt that, but we’ll see. Anyway, the proprietor is absurd and I love it - whether she’s telling Cat off or defending her child for something Tooru (and we) don’t understand, she’s just a joy to watch. Despite her apparent weakness, she’s got quite the presence in this episode, and great for both the humor of the scenes she’s in and a hint of melancholy during her heart-to-heart with Tooru. As others have mentioned, I was entranced by Rabbit’s story. It’s appropriate that our resident German voice would tell it as well, given the German proclivity for dark as hell fairy tales. This one is no exception. The visuals are a welcome departure from the series, evoking a picture book, and the relation between the story and Tooru’s is pretty obvious, albeit she’s been protected from those who might seek to do her harm or take excessive advantage of her kindness. Perhaps, though, this is a point for these characters to truly recognize the kind of person she is. Tooru is selfless to a fault, and though the other characters recognized this to some extent before, the story draws that character trait (flaw?) out to its somewhat hyperbolic conclusion. In some ways, though this was explored more in the previous episode, this may shine a light on their own instances of leaning on her too much, largely inadvertent though that may be. I liked this episode quite a bit, one of my favorites so far. |
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| Episode 12 is connecting a lot of loose ends in interpersonal relations of known cast. Focus is on two Soumas and their links to the better known players: Aktio and Ox. The setting is the begin of the first high school year, which Akito and Dog attend as elder family members. They're all not yet middle aged, so the question where the older generation is hiding becomes even more mysterious. Scene one is Ox and Rabbit vs. authority, represented by a caricature student council president and his two yes-women. Ox stands out as flamboyant by wearing his uniform with open chest, collar and pedant on it, and bi-colored hair. Dark Ox beats up the wimpy president, and wins this round by showing him (off screen in the toilet) proof that his hair color is natural. The details of this proof, despite Tooru's direct question, remain open. Bi-colored pubic hair is a thing? Rabbit is even more flamboyant, dressed in the female version of the school uniform and and a Cardcaptor-Sakura-Memorial cap. He chooses to to leave the fighting to Ox and evades the presidents attacks smoothly. Questions: Rat, Cat, Ox and Rabbit are all the roughly same age, first grade high school. They can't have the same mother, yet they consider themselves family. Rabbit keeps doing the lolishota fan-service, and Ox now joining in as delinquent / rebel stereotype. I still think he's also set as the gay harem member, today's outfit contributed to that in my book. It's also about time to break Rabbit, about whom we know nothing really. He's hiding behind his childish cross dressing facade, but so far all Soumas have a dark backstory. Given how cheerful he is built up, his may be the darkest of them all later on. Scene two is Akito finally talking to Tooru. It's harmless small talk until Rat enters the scene. Temperature (emotional and dramatic) drops below freezing point, the tone becomes aggressive. Akito reminds Rat of his time in Akito's isolation torture, which broke him until today - the fear and pain is all over his face. Akito wants Rat "back", it's unclear as what. Lover, ally, house mate? More questions than answers here. All we know that hate is in the air. Against her usual behavior, Tooru interrupts the scene by physically getting on Akito, and leaves with Rat under a flimsy excuse Akito sees trough but plays along with. The third scene is Akito in the back of their luxury car with Dog, trash talking Tooru down (dumb, ugly, naive). That confirms the hate of the last scene, and that superficial small talk was all they did. At home, Dog and Dragon discuss the events, and once again Dragon emphasizes the change Toorun brings along. He thinks that Akito may underestimate her and fails to understand it's long term impact. He clearly sees her as harbinger of his own revenge on Akito, which is a soft revenge. The parallel character montage in the Spring/Winter quote about his lost love laid the foundation for this. Dog's position is less clear, he never openly speaks out for Tooru, yet seems to be a confident of Akito, and he's the oldest known zodiac family member and as close to a father this family has. The final scene is a happy one. The freshly baked high-schoolers have a long friendly match of badminton until sunset. This is a nice contrast to the intrigue and drama of the rest of the episode. Needless to say that Rat's team beats Cat's team :D Overall, the dark tones prevailed in this episode, the family secrets and tectonic scale rifts in the Souma family take over the plot. There's the mystery of the missing parents. Akito is obviously ruling with fear, why is this possible? What's their source of power and money? The fabric of the show becomes ever more complex and richer, and this episode spun quite a few new layers. |
inimDec 20, 2021 4:23 PM
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| And here we are at Episode 12, where the drama begins in earnest. Akito has been set up for a while as the central antagonist, given the clear negative relations between him, Rat and Cat, as well as the story we've heard from Dragon. And this episode furthers that very clearly, though the way Akito is approaching Tooru is interesting: he's putting on a farce of kindness while trashing her in private. I think part of the purpose here was to draw out Rat, but perhaps there's more to the way he's approaching her than we can see at the moment. He then talks to Rat about his frustrations with the latter having missed out on the New Years party, and threatens to put him back in isolation torture of some kind. I don't think we've ever seen Rat look so terrified as he was in that moment. However, the stand-oout moment was Tooru physically pushing Akito away, an action she seems to take subconsciously, but is nonetheless confrontational in a way that our heroine has never shown before. I can't say what sort of changes this portends in her, but clearly she recognizes the threat that Akito represents, even if she feels unable to address it. Cat levels quite the murderous stare at Akito as he leaves, but it's quite clear that he can do little or nothing to address what he's seeing. The rest of this episode is light and fluffy, with our two new classmates in Rabbit and Ox making their presence very well known in the school (and having a somewhat comedic interaction with the class president... who definitely got to see Ox's crotch to prove his hair color is real...), and a badminton game that takes place after the confrontation for the express purpose of helping Rat relax. This episode is setting the stage for the latter half of the show, which will clearly involve a great deal more Souma family drama. I'm sure Akito's backstory will be a point of great interest whenever we see it. |
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| Hello, Hope you're all well today. The new variant has struck and our family xmas plans have been thrown into chaos, never mind there's always anime, lol. Episode 12. Time passes fairly quickly in this show i've noticed. Akito is voiced in the eng dub by Colleen Clinkenbeard, my top VA ever (as a female for Erza and others, not as Luffy in One Piece), sounds weird to me. So we meet head of the Souma family Akito and primary villain of the show, so far. He clearly holds power and fear over the family, but as you guys said above, we don't know how or why he wields such power over them all. @inim it's a good point you raise about whether Bunny, Rat, Cat and Ox have the same parents and are biological brothers or whether they call themselves family as they are all part of the zodiac. We haven't seen any parents except the mother of Monkey, whom we haven't met yet. I wonder if zodiac children are chosen from birth and taken away from their parents (but not in Monkey's case?)? It's an open question that may explain why Akito has such a hold over them if they haven't had actual parents raise them early in life. Have a good day. |
23feanorDec 21, 2021 2:25 AM
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whiteflame55 said: Rest assured that French, Scandinavian and Slavic fairy tales are just as dark and violent. Fun fact is that I live about 150 km from Göttingen, which is the college the brothers Grimm worked at as linguistic professors during fairy tale collection. So my place is at the Northern border of the region they sampled, mainly by visiting old people and recording in the 1800/1810s. E.g. the real world Seven Mountains referred to the Snow White fairy tale are located about 50km from where I live.It’s appropriate that our resident German voice would tell it as well, given the German proclivity for dark as hell fairy tales. This one is no exception. If you are interested in darker fairy tales, there's a must see: https://myanimelist.net/anime/3043/Andersen_Douwa__Ningyohime It offers three things: First, the 99% authentic version of the fairy tale as written by Hans-Christian Andersen, including the sad ending later versions dropped. Second, it has a lot of visual elements later ripped off by Disney's Arielle, you'll notice when you see them. "Can I copy your homework?" "Yes, but vary it a bit so it's not too obvious". Third, it's a genuinely good anime and quick watch. whiteflame55 said: I'm meanwhile convinced that the whole Fruits Basket experience is written and paced for 64 episodes (=S1-S2-S3), and that I want to see the story from A-Z. Which means moving straight to S2 after S1 finished. I don't expect all mysteries to be resolved by the end of S1, given we haven't even seen all Zodiac members. Given that, we're hardly past the 20% / prologue mark. Opinions?This episode is setting the stage for the latter half of the show, which will clearly involve a great deal more Souma family drama. I'm sure Akito's backstory will be a point of great interest whenever we see it. |
inimDec 21, 2021 3:08 AM
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| @inim my initial feeling is that I'm up for watching S2 then S3, although i don't want to make that a hard promise. I've learnt from our Macross experience where i found i was emotionally tapped out after 36 eps and needed a break from Linmay, Misa and Hikaru. I expect I'll be up for S2 of Fruits Basket and maybe see how we feel then. I've got a feelling that FB could be as emotionally intense as Utena for me, but watching 1 ep per day and being able to discuss it lessens that emotional burden for me somewhat. Speaking of Macross I may watch the DYRL film over xmas as I wouldn't mind revisiting the story now some time has passed. Also need to catch Macross Zero. @filifjonkan I spent the day at Ikea, a Swedish empire, and wow what a place, all the furniture we got was good as well. Had some Swedish meatballs as well, but likely not as nice as those you can get. |
23feanorDec 21, 2021 10:40 AM
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| @inim Fascinating. Can’t say I’ve traveled much abroad myself, though it sounds like you were really close to a lot of inspiration for those dark, pivotal fairy tales. I have no doubt that the Scandanavian countries have their own sets, a few of which I’m familiar with due to a class I took back in the day. I’ve added that anime to my ptw list! Also, I think I’d be on board for the long haul with this anime. Fruits Basket is clearly unconcerned with rushing it’s narrative, and that’s much to its advantage. The series had built-in fans from the original series and the manga, and it had enough word of mouth beyond that to recruit broadly from there, not to mention a story good enough to keep audiences enthralled after they started. Unlike so many other series that feel the need to rush things to keep audiences invested, it’s good to see that this is focused on narrative development in a slow burn and I’m here for it. So I would be down to complete the whole series, and though that will take a while, it will provide a sense of finality on this year when we can add its final season to our completed lists. |
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| Episode 13 introduces a new Souma, the Snake who happens to be Rat's older brother. He's a perfect Bishounen specimen: tall, lean, eloquent, charming, light-hearted, has long white hair and an extravagant fashion style. The show turns this up to eleven when he's shown with the typical shoujo sparkle aura in one shot. He owns his own shop for cosplay and bridal wear, aka fetish fashion. He's the type of guy to talk his ass out of almost any situation with grandiose, far-fetched, hard to argue with over the top stories. We see him successfully dealing a visit to the red light district when he was student council president (we did it o guarantee the procreation of our species!) and rejecting to cut his hair in school (I'm a prince and it's my holy heritage's duty). His handicap is sensitivity to cold, which triggers animal transformation. He happily seeks Tooru's warmth below her cloth, and it's once again hard to tell how much of that claim is true and how much is a smart excuse. The episode also explores the relation to his far more serious and emotionally stunted (at close distance) little brother Rat. They never were able to communicate on an emotional level, which has lead to alienation bordering hatred, with traces of envy. Rat isn't able to accept his brother's easy style and rejects bonding. Snake on the other hand can't bring over that he's seriously caring for his brother, he can't overcome his light and seemingly superficial style. So the emotion explored is bonding, and the inability to do so because of mismatching communication. One event contributing was the lack of help Rat got from Snake during his isolation torture experience with Atoki. It's unclear what happened in detail, but it's a dark shadow on their relation never dealt with successfully. We've seen Rat being able to be prince charming like his brother at a distance, and panic when somebody comes close. His brother delivers at both short an long range. Another theme is hindsight 20:20 as an adult and the inability to undo mistakes made as youth. I think Snake's surprise visit was noting but an attempt to bond and repair the relation with his little brother, probably not the first. Tooru's presence may be catalyzing change for both, it seems things went better than in previous attempts. Rat can successfully fight his envy over Snake inviting Tooru to a restaurant. In the final scene, Rat is able to say "thank you" to Ox for his recent help when he carried the sick rat. Overall, an emotionally very complex episode - despite superficially little plot and a lot of bishi trope comedy. I'm not fully able to verbalize it, my own ability to deal with emotion is closer to Rat than to Snake. This yields a few "hits close to home" moments in the episode for me. I have similar weird and ancient emotional lockups in my own family. Thus I think the episode is better and "deeper" than meets the eye. |
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| In Episode 13, we're introduced to a stereotype with depth... that's strange to say... As @inim already mentioned, our new addition is the Snake, rounding out a trio of slightly older men who are part of the Souma family along with Dog and Dragon. He comes off immediately as pervy to the extreme (though not quite horny - he's dancing on that line) and has the usual pretty boy demeanor with his long hair and confident attitude. Have to say, I like him pretty well as a character. Like several members of the Souma clan, he has two sides to him, but unlike them, he wears them both proudly. He clearly charts his own course and very few people (Dragon excepted, though we don't know whether Akito could influence him) can divert him from a path he's chosen. He finds ways to get what he wants regardless of impediments, often in hilarious fashion (hence the fabled prince role and the basis for visiting a red light district), but what makes him interesting is that he also recognizes where he is limited. He wants a real brotherly relationship with Rat, but he knows that he's done a lot to sour that relationship, perhaps because of that very drive that pushed him away from something that, at the time, he didn't want in his life (a sick, needy younger brother). That past decision haunts him, and though he's clearly doing all he can to move beyond it, it clearly does affect him. Perhaps there is some symbolism in him being the Snake while his brother is the Rat, the latter usually prey to the former, and Rat certainly feels his brother's affection too tightly around him in this episode like a constrictor. Of course, this provides some background on Rat as well, partly explaining his isolation that was discussed in the previous episode. That may have initially been justified on the basis that he needed to be quarantined due to some illness. It's unclear what that illness was, why it required quarantine and, apparently, what led to its extension under Akito and continued use by him as a threat. More will become apparent soon enough, but this is fast becoming a complicated backstory with multiple layers to consider. Overall, much enjoyed. One of my favorite Soumas to date. |
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| Hello, Episode 13. I can't add anything to the reports above. @inim as I've said before i think you convey your analysis, insight and interpretation of emotional plot points very well, as does @whiteflame55. So Snake is Rat's actual biological brother, which still leaves the question of how these zodiac members are all related, if they even are, are they all various degrees of cousins maybe? I wonder how Snake was able to evade Akito's powerful clutches, or does he charm Akito as well. From what we know of Akito, he's possessive of all the zodiac members and doesn't like them going off and doing things on their own or living as they want, so how did Snake achieve it but Rat didn't? Did Akito develop a particular attachment to Rat? Repenting as an adult for the mistakes you made as a child (Snakes comments to Tooru), hmmm, this show sure does have some thought provoking writing, which i guess wouldn't be immediately obvious to a teenage audience. Every time Snake speaks all i hear is Zoro from One Piece talking, lol. The cast continues to grow and become complex with every passing episode. Have a good day. |
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| Episode 14 now that the show has it's hands around my emotional neck, it does the expected thing: squeeze. We finally get Rabbit's parent backstory, and it's not pretty. His German mother rejected him after he turned into animal form right after birth. Really bad luck for baby boys and their baby hugging mothers, compared to baby girls who have a little more time until dad arrives at the scene. His mom called Rabbit a bakemono, became suicidal and after failing at harakiri (the famous German suicide method) her memories are erased by Doc Dragon. Rabbit moves to the Soumas. He speaks very lovingly of his mom and little sister, which he sees from time to time from a distance, despite everything she did. Next is Tooru and the first anniversary of her mother's deadly traffic accident. We learn her dad died a decade earlier of an unspecified infectious disease. On Dog's request, Cat and Rat join her at the grave visit, as do Wavegirl and Thuggirl. The latter with pride wears Tooru's mom's biker (gang?) cloak embroidered with a crimson butterfly. That represents her name in the biker gang (?), who only saw her red backlight when she rode. I had a brief wtf moment, because Tooru is indirectly associated with a butterfly, an East Asian symbol of death. We've not learned the final truth about that totem animal for sure. Much to the surprise of Cat and Rat, the girls celebrate cheerfully and have a picnic in front of he grave. Obviously Tooru's mom (Kyoko the name) was a rather unconventional party girl, as Tooru argues she would like it this way. Another mystery: why did Thuggirl inherit the coat? Is she a gang member herself? The last scene has two cliff hangers. Cat finds a sleeping Tooru and bows over her, whispering into her ear. An approaching Rat sees what looks an awful lot like a kiss scene. At the same moment Rat seems to recognize the gray baseball cap from the "lost and guided by a strange boy" childhood story Tooru told a few eps before. Overall, death, insanity and tragedy are now in full effect. I blame the show to resort to a German mom to reject her child. We all know no mom ever rejects her child, kindly use a Japanese villain mom next time Mr. Writer. As a friend of dark shoujo, I really welcome the tonal changes. And hope we won't lose @23feanor when the trend continues. |
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| Episode 14 reveals a bit about Rabbit that actually presents him as the most similar to Tooru, at least in regards to attitude. His past is incredibly tragic, having been born to a mother who spurned him immediately due to his transformation and was actively hurting herself (perhaps with suicidal intent, though at minimum, she was on track to cause her own death by accident). In effect, something about him that he has no control over became a wedge between himself and his mother, and it has clearly continued to affect him deeply. However, he doesn't take the obvious route of wallowing in despair, feeling as though he was a burden to his mother or even that he was the cause of her torment, as might be the case in other anime. Nor does he blame her in the way someone of the opposing perspective might. No, he's grown to the point that he wishes she could have managed her feelings, but understands that she couldn't, mourning what he and his father lost in the process. As with Dragon, they can only watch and hope for her happiness while experiencing an emptiness that can only come from knowing a loved one is there, but that only you see them that way. It's honestly hard to comprehend that experience, but the tragedy of it is palpable. Next to that, the visit to the gravesite is outright uplifting. Tragic though the death of Tooru's mother was, Wavegirl and Thuggirl clearly face that reality with upbeat attitudes that embrace what her mother was in life. We learn a bit more about what Tooru's mother was like in life, and her experience as part of a gang, though that's really not the point of this scene. It's to give insight for Cat and Rat, as well as the audience, into how these characters remain affected by her death and how they choose to address it when directly faced with it. Finally, we have the scene were Rat finally becomes aware of his more distant history with Tooru, perhaps something he believed had happened to someone else or that he had just completely forgotten about. It was already strongly hinted that Rat was that boy who helped guide her back to her mother, but this is the first time it has become obvious that both sides know about it, even if Tooru doesn't know it was Rat who did it. Cat apologizes to her in her sleep, though it's unclear for what. Drama's in full swing, everyone. Buckle up. |
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| Hello, It's that end of season time, we've had some amazing shows this year. I finally picked up Odd Taxi and am half way through, I knew it was good going into it as almost everyone has said so, but you never know. Now i'm hooked, what a fun little animal world and story, well fun might not be the right phrase, intriguing. @inim a show would have to be really dark for me to drop it out hand, and I can't see this being any worse than Utena. I just take them bit by bit which is perfect for a daily watch. I've also got a lot going on irl so don't have too much time to dwell on anime stories like I did with Utena and Macross (anytime i hear the Utena OP/ED, or hear Minmay saying "Hikaru" in that beautiful accent of hers, all the emotions, angst and thoughts I had on the shows come flooding back, but in a good way, now we know how the stories turned out). Episode 12. We get a new OP, slightly brighter than the 1st one. I wonder if Cat had something to do with Tooru's mum's car accident, or saw it happen and couldn't save her, just a feeling. @inim you were spot on with your suggestion that as Bunny appears to be the happiest, his past may be the darkest. We also learn that new Zodiac members are chosen in the womb (does the previous incarnation pass away?), maybe that's why they don't know their parents or mention them much, they have their memories of their children taken at birth so the child can be offered to the zodiac and Akito becomes their defacto parent maybe? Bunny's dad sounds a nice guy. Wave and Thug girls are really good complimentary characters for Tooru and help us as the audience understand her. Personally i think the idea of visiting a grave and celebrating with your deceased family member in the asian tradition, or keeping a small shrine in the house after someone has passed is a touching lovely idea, keeping their memory alive and something we don't seem to do well in the west (or not that I've ever seen anyway). Once they're dead and buried I've noticed people talk about them less and less until they're all but forgotten apart from photos. From that "I'm sorry" from Cat at the end, I think Cat knows something about Tooru's mum's death, whether he was involved or not I'm not sure. A dramatic episode. We got alittle hint from Thug and Wave girls that Tooru and Cat/Rat aren't ready for romance yet, so not expecting too much in that department this season. So boy in the cap was Rat, or so it appears. Have a good day. |
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| Episode 15 deals with the aftermath of the grave visit and, more importantly, gives an insight into the chemistry of the three adult zodiacs, Dog, Dragon and Snake. Since the grave visit, Dog and Cat seemed to be muted and melancholic. I don't think this is a direct result of the cheerful picnic, but rather of the memories that came back on that day. Rat has a connection to a young Tooru (maybe her family even?) and has it refreshed by seeing the baseball cap. Cat felt obliged to excuse to Tooru, which the other group watchers connected to a role in Kyoko's death. Thanks for that thought, I had missed it and the words of the whisper "I'm sorry". Dog suggests that a short vacation at a lake will cheer the teens up again, and he'd join them. He arranges for Dragon being the driver. Shortly after arrival an uninvited Snake joins them in the vacation hut by the lake. First scene are the teens. Tooru accidentally turns both of them into animal form, and soon Rat and Cat are back to their usual bantering and fighting. Tooru breaks out into laughter, happy to see them distracted from their previous broody mood. So it works out as intended by Dog, the three of them have a careless summer day in a beautiful nature. The main dish, and probably Dog's real plan, is an adult talk about Dragon's former fiancé. She has married recently, barring any way back. Dragon emphasizes how thin the ice of his memory erasing technique is, and that contact still must be avoided to safeguard against a relapse / return of shadowy memories for her. Snake by his standards is rather constructive and serious, and urges Dragon to move on and find a well deserved new love. To me the scene feels pretty realistic and how talks of this difficulty are actually conducted among adults. The contrast to the careless teens in the woods makes this stronger. This episode's cliffhanger shows Tooru's homeroom teacher (Mayuko Shiraki) and the camera move ends on a photo of herself next to Dragon's ex-fiancé in bridal dress. I'll be damned if she bought it from Snake's shop. Overall, this feels like a closure to the Rat-Toru-Cat triangle, prepared by Wavegirl's "they are not ready" earlier. They bonded, they are a team, they respect each other. A new arc with adults seems to take off, prepared by the hints that the Soumas and Kyoko have connections maybe older than Tooru herself. The ex-fiancé is linked to both Snake (bridal) and Tooru (via her teacher). Another polygon to explore. |
inimDec 23, 2021 4:41 PM
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| Hello, A merry xmas eve to you all. Our place is covered in boxes atm, we're going to leave moving the last bits till Monday. Need to enjoy our last xmas as next year we'll have a little baby with us, so no all day drinking on xmas day after this year, although Em can't do that tomorrow anyway so it'll just be me. @inim I'm picking up Tokyo Godfathers as my xmas anime watch today and looking forward to it. Onto episode 15. I don't like Dog teasing his editor, I know it's played as a joke but it shows a cruel side i think, someone that enjoys teasing, manipulating and playing with others to amuse themselves. It sounds like Snake is very much in Dragon's corner and believes Akito wronged Dragon and Kana by taking away theri chance at happiness together. Kana has been able to move on thanks to Dragons memory tampering but is left alone with all the sorrow. Dog meanwhile remains silent, he is Akito's close confidant. Surely any other women that Dragon meets and falls in love with will meet the same fate, Akito won't allow the marriage and they'll be in the same position, unless they simply live together without getting married and without Akito's formal blessing. I wonder how Tooru's teacher, Mayuko, fits into this. I wonder if she'll be the right person for Dragon, i hope so, i like Dragon, more than Dog or Snake. Have a good xmas eve guys. |
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| Merry Christmas Eve everyone! I'll keep this one short because it looks like @inim and @23feanor covered a great deal of it. There's not a tremendous amount going on in this episode in terms of drama, though there are certainly some scenes of it. Rat seems particularly skittish about giving up the fact that he was the boy in the baseball cap, though it's unclear why. Tooru seems exceptionally good at finding ways to right the states of mind of Cat and Rat when they're out of sorts, which is nothing unexpected. However, the focus of the episode isn't on our main trio. It's an opportunity to revisit Dragon for a bit, which I have been waiting to see. It's nice to see the kind of influence that Snake has on Dragon, especially given how much we know that Snake respects Dragon. Snake is honestly fast becoming my favorite of the Zodiac, given how open and forthright he is over things like this. Dragon's cold demeanor is, in part, a mask meant to cover up his pain, and Snake sees right through it. He recognizes that Dragon's focus on just being happy for her defers his happiness and increases his suffering. Like Tooru, Dragon is more concerned with others than himself, and in the process, he can blind himself to his own needs. It's interesting to see these kinds of parallels between our main heroine and members of the Zodiac, all of whom are markedly different. Can't say much about the cliffhanger beyond "this is going to get interesting," so we'll see where things go from here. |
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| Merry Christmas everybody! Episode 16 offers another genre (social drama and delinquent) and another backstory for Thuggirl (Uo). It also showcases swimsuit and swimsuit shopping ropes in their shoujo versions. Boringly, to girls the actual swimsuit and it's color seems to matter and not what's inside. There's a single long arc in this episode giving backstory for Thuggirl and Crimson Butterfly mom. Thuggirl has a classic delinquent backstory with divorce, alcoholic father, gang violence, single parent and poverty. Her glowing role model is the legendary biker gang leader Crimson Butterfly, Tooru's mom. Uo learns that Tooru is her age and a school senpai, but is very disappointed when she finally meets "a wall flower", shy and clumsy. Her good nature is emphasized when she helps Tooru to pick up dropped files and gets at boys careless trampling on them. The writers deem this characterization important enough to make it titular for the episode. Tooru takes Uo home after school but they meet her mom on the way already. She's totally doting her child, the very opposite of Uo's mental image of a successful gang leader. At Tooru's home a visibly confused and angered Uo accuses Kyoko to have sold out her gang ideals. She answers that he takes things more lightly only. Even more confused by this answer, Uo runs away. Tooru follows her but can't calm her down. We see, however, how the words triggered something in Uo, eventually leading to her current "reformed thug" status and close friendship with Wavegirl and Tooru. There's a very funny delinquent comedy post-credit in which Uo and two friends practice provoking and insulting their prey / victims. The scene could come straight out of the 90s, GTO is proud of them. Their test subject randomly turns out to be Rabbit, who beats them by inviting them to a hamburger deal in J-mangled German. I rewinded 3 times, if I didn't know this is supposed to be German, I wouldn't have guessed it (watching DE-sub with JP audio). Actually that may add to the comedy for me :) Overall, a piece of finest social drama sandwiched by two comedy segments (swim suit and shouting contest). Can't wait to learn about Wavegirl's backstory now, revealing myself as a fan of mental Gothic Lolita characters like Oreimo's Kuro Neko. And Wavegirl is like the more mature version. 23feanor said: Hana-chan best mom in anime. I'm glad to read to read in your mini-review that you tasted Kon blood. Dunno if I'd call his style hyper-realistic but I get your point. The characters have noses and eyes smaller than their mouth. You've two more movies, the nearly movie length OVA Memories and Paranoia Agent left. I used the opportunity for a rewatch today, still as good as I remembered it.I'm picking up Tokyo Godfathers as my xmas anime watch today and looking forward to it. 23feanor said: I hope it's not a spoiler to say that anidb tags the show with "multiple couples". Shipping is welcome. And not only Mayuko can be shipped. After this episode Thuggirl and Wavegirl certainly deserve a zodiac just as well. I totally agree that Dragon is first in line, with a backstory as melodramatic and tragic as his.I wonder how Tooru's teacher, Mayuko, fits into this. I wonder if she'll be the right person for Dragon, i hope so, i like Dragon, more than Dog or Snake. |
inimDec 24, 2021 1:17 PM
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| Episode 16 is yet another change-up from the series. It's incredible to see how many different types of stories this series is telling, and while that does mean that it diverts from what has been set up as the central through-line story of this series, I've always enjoyed series that are willing to take the time to really flesh out side characters like this, so long as they never lose sight of that central story. We really get to know Thuggirl in this one - how she came to know Tooru (didn't start out so good), the background she brought to her first meeting with the Crimson Butterfly (also not so good), and some idea of how that interaction affected her. We haven't seen this story play out in full yet, as the history of Thuggirl in this episode has yet to move beyond her delinquency, yet we can already see that the Crimson Butterfly's transformation from gang boss to doting mother (given the inherently transformative nature of a butterfly's development, it suits her) has made her the perfect role model for Thuggirl's own transformation. As for Thuggirl's family life, I did remember seeing her father in the New Years episode (Episode 8) and went back to check. The focus of this episode was partially on a bad home life where her father is distant and an alcoholic, but you could have guessed at least the latter from Episode 8 where she polices him to ensure that he only has one beer on New Years. He may still be an alcoholic, but either he closed the gap between them or she did (more likely the latter) and that connection has facilitated substantial recovery from the dreary home life she found herself in when she felt so out of control that being a delinquent felt like the only way to wrest some back. And yes, that post-credit scene was hilarious. Rabbit is one of my favorite characters in this show, and clearly these delinquents have no idea how to handle him. It's actually quite clear that they have no idea how to handle any of the Souma clan, as they fawned over Cat and Rat rather than executing on their previous, largely unknown plan. This episode was very well balanced between drama and humor, and gives us a bit more insight into not just Thuggirl's backstory, but Tooru's and her mother's as well. Looking forward to seeing more! |
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| Merry christmas guys. Had a long busy, tipsy day today and have a family day tomorrow then moving into our new flat on Monday so it may be a couple of day before I catch up. |
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| Episode 17 has Thuggirl's (Uo) backstory part 2: Redemption and Rebirth. It's remarkable what writing for 64 episodes can do for pacing as compared to the boilerplate backstories seen in 12 episode shows. Few shows would take the time to spend two episodes on a side character, even if this secretly is also part of the backstory for Tooru and her mom. Story wise there are few surprises, though. Uo is not used to warmth and emotional safety, and at first afraid and cautious. In frequent visits she accepts that this isn't a trap and starts to appreciate being doted. We don't know about Kyoko's own exit from her gang, probably her memories of her own evolution give her the patience and respect to deal with Uo. Tooru is almost a side character in this episode. It's Kyoko V 1.0 and her relation to her new foster child Kyoko V 2.0. In a long montage of small scenes we see how the discreet charm of the bourgeoisie wins over Thuggirl. She returns to school, cares for Tooru when she's questioned about their relation, rejects a fight despite heavy provocation, and finally is willing to take the beating required as mandatory rite of passage to exit the gang. Which she is served, until Kyoko appears in heroic pose and carries her home. Eventually we see V 2.0 having a positive influence on the three V 3.0 girls we saw in last episode's post-credit scene. History repeating for the better. The final scene is delinquent comedy again with the V 3.0 girls. Who started to imitate Uo, who will certainly go down as a legend on her own this way. She made her mark and got the exit in time. Overall a simple redemption story narrated slowly and very visually in montage style. It has it's fair share of melodramatic kitsch, but stops before it hurts. Thuggirl was officially promoted from stereotype to developed character. And I still hope Wavegirl is next :D |
inimDec 25, 2021 3:01 PM
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| For a series that has been relatively episodic, often changing genres between episodes, Episode 17 being what is effectively part 2 of Episode 16 stands out. This story is clearly one that the writers felt was necessary to flesh out, perhaps for the fact that it provides background on three characters (Tooru, her mother and Thuggirl), though many episodes pull extra duty like that. It's more likely that this story has a through line that will be very important for future episodes. Or maybe I'm just overthinking this and, as @inim mentioned, this is a show that just has both the space and will to truly examine its characters in detail. Especially given that this is our first real look at Thuggirl, perhaps this is just making up for lost time with an important secondary character. In any case, this episode does begin to bridge the gap between the Thuggirl of the last episode and her modern incarnation. In that respect, there's nothing too fancy here. We see her slowly warm to the environment that Kyoko has created in her household wiht Tooru, leave the gang (with predictably physical consequences that Kyoko thankfully interrupts due to her friend Akimoto's information - a shame we may never get to see her again), and set her life straight all for the stated purpose of being a friend that Tooru can be proud of. It's beautiful. Looking forward to how they detail Wavegirl's background after all this. Probably going to return to the Zodiacs first, though. |
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| Episode 18 has the return of Tooru Freud, behavioral children's therapist. And while at it, she treats Rat in one go. The episode has the single theme of rejection and it's toughest form ijime (~ mobbing, bullying). It presents a solution, which is finding somebody to accept you and by this boosting self-esteem and resilience. Easier said than done for many victims. First a new member of the zodiac is introduced, the Tiger. Kisu is a little girl around 10 years of age who ran away from home and brought to Tooru HQ by Ox. Obviously Soumas come in all shapes, forms and ages. We briefly see Akito and Kisu's mom dealing with her after that but the decision is to keep her under the roof with the MC group for therapy. Tiger is frightened and as a result bites each hand getting near her and doesn't speak. She's completely inside her shell and nobody can reach her. Enter Tooru Freud, who tells about her own past with ijime and fears. Both Tiger and Rat listen carefully, and as a result Tiger starts to trust Riceball Freud and follows her like a freshly hatched chick. Fast forward montage telling two stories in parallel visually: Tooru doing house chores happy as if she was Cinderella herself, and Tiger helping her. Got it, Tooru is really that laborious and kind a girl, and whistles while she works. The next therapy break-trough happens when Tooru correctly guesses Tiger's favorite food. The last mile is done by Rat, who watched and listened carefully. His situation in isolation at Akito had very similar reasons. Zodiac kids often have unusual hair color and traits and often become outsiders in Japanese group think. Insert mild social commentary here. His childhood wasn't very different rom Tigers, a vicious cycle of rejection, retreat and more rejection. Akito's lack of humanity and empathy made the situation worse. Thus prophet Rat spoketh: to break the cycle, you needeth somebody to respect and accept you for what you are. Only by learning that others accept you you can learn to trust yourself and respect yourself. I made Tooru my personal Lord and Saviour, and now I can see the light. This impresses little Tiger so much she throws away her crutches, walks and talks again. Halleluja. Praise the Rice Ball. Also, Rat is now ready to take over responsibility as class president he had rejected before. I'm a bit sarcastic because that scene hits close to home. I have a long record of rejection and retreat, took me a decade to understand and break it. Thus now that scene feels a bit cheesy to me (yet the message is true). A few years ago my reaction would have been either "wtf he's talking about" or "sob, sob". Story wise, not the first or last show to look at ijime and offer a solution pattern, but it was done solidly. Certified average episode by the show's high standards. 4 zodiacs are left: Horse, Goat, Monkey and Rooster. Which means with the pacing they use, the exposition really is all of season 1 and the story will kick in in S2. @whiteflame55 @filifjonkan @23feanor, how about your decisions to continue straight with S2? |
inimDec 26, 2021 12:07 PM
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| Not too much to talk about with Episode 18, which introduces us to the Tiger Zodiac member. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that she's so young compared to all the ones we've seen so far, but since the members we've seen aside from her have been either around Tooru's age or a good bit older, it was surprising to me. In any case, it seems that this young girl has a mother who is... well, she's not as bad as Rabbit's mother was, but she clearly is going through quite a bit that may or may not (they hint that it is) related to her being a member of the Zodiac. Adorable as a baby tiger might be, it's still a baby tiger, so I guess there's some more credence to that here. In any case, the Ox has brought her by for some much needed psychotherapy after she is bullied in a way that honestly sounds a lot worse than the usual, basically making her feel like she's a joke within her class, resulting in her decision to not speak. Tooru starts the process of helping her open up by providing her with someone who understands her problems (Tooru was subject to bullying as well and, given her apparent age in the flashback, this was well before she had met Thuggirl and Wavegirl), and is willing to do whatever it takes to reach her. This only resolves part of the problem, however, since it only creates a safe space in which Tiger can find comfort. The essential breakthrough comes from Rat, whose background includes instances where he has felt just like her, providing a much more direct and empathetic connection. He and Ox also find the right words to say in response to her teacher, who suggested that she find ways to love herself when all she can think of are the things she hates about herself. They rightly point out that finding connections with others who will bolster your self-esteem can be an essential part of that process. And yeah, as @inim points out, this is a real come to God-type moment for her as well as one that allows Rat to move beyond some of his hang-ups. It's a little too sickly sweet for my taste, but given that this is only the beginning of our experiences with the young Tiger, we may see that the results of this conversation don't play out all sunshine and rainbows. Still, a fine episode, if not one that really stands out for its themes. @inim @filifjonkan @23feanor I would be good with continuing straight into S2. |
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| Episode 19 another Tooru Freud episode introducing another missing zodiac, the Monkey. He's a cross-dresser, has zero self-esteem, panics on the slightest occasion, is hyper-apologetic and can't think of his raison d'être. We also meet Dog's editor Mitsuru, who has a similar insecure character albeit not as extreme as Monkey. I can't really consider either of the two real characters, they are comedic reliefs. There is a lot of slapstick and sit-com in the episode, but frankly I didn't really found it funny this time. A lot of action but little substance in it. Of course Tooru has the right words to stop Monkey from suicide (which I don't think was a serious attempt anyway). The solution presented to the problem is that two angsty and insecure people like Monkey and Mitsuru can help each other. Overall, a weak episode which feels a bit as if they needed to introduce all 12 zodiacs. I think and hope we won't see Monkey too often, he's more annoying than funny. |
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| Another episode introducing us to a fresh member of the Zodiac (though we'd had some hints of him from his mother at the hot sprints), the Monkey, Episode 19 doesn't do anything new, but it does take what initially looks like a one-note character in Monkey and gives him some depth. He wears womens' clothing, which hasn't really come up as a point of contention yet, mainly one of surprise. More essential to how he functions and in a similar fashion to Tiger, he lacks self-esteem, though unlike her, this seems largely based on how he sees himself. He struggles with feeling useless and only causing what he sees as harm to others. Tooru literally talks him off a rooftop, giving a twist on the talk she had with Tiger to give him some hope in fighting his insecurity in others, which he only begins to manage with the other massively insecure character - Mitsuru. This one felt mainly like it was another opportunity to flex Tooru's insightfulness and give us some weak comedy bits from watching Monkey's interactions with the other characters. So yeah, on the weak side of the episodes so far. |
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| Hey, Apologies for the interruption, we are now all moved into our new flat, despite a mini panic. Whilst moving stuff into the new flat I left a plastic box on top of the hob, which I knocked on. We came back 5 mins later and a bottle of Fairy clothes washing liquid had melted on the hob and the new flat was thick with acrid smoke, fire alarms blazing in the new building. Next morning and after cleaning and airing out all is ok thankfully. I'll be catching up today and/or tomorrow and am happy to move straight onto S2. I managed to pick up eps 16 and 17 today and really liked the backstory for Uo-chan. She is very much my type when i was younger, a bad girl type that's gone good (bad girls are a nightmare and very high maintenance so i found reformed bad girls much better). I wonder if all girl teenage gangs really exist in modern Japan, they sound more like anime fiction to me. I loved the younger bad girls all impersonating Uo at the end, a light bit of comedy to got with the more serious drama. Have a good day. |
23feanorDec 28, 2021 8:00 AM
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23feanor said: Apologies for the interruption, we are now all moved into our new flat, despite a mini panic. Whilst moving stuff into the new flat I left a plastic box on top of the hob, which I knocked on. We came back 5 mins later and a bottle of Fairy clothes washing liquid had melted on the hob and the new flat was thick with acrid smoke, fire alarms blazing in the new building. Next morning and after cleaning and airing out all is ok thankfully. Hey @23feanor, sorry you've had such a rough go of it with the move. Glad to hear it was only a short-term emergency, but still, that kind of thing can scar you for future moves. Hope the new flat is worth it! Episode 20 drops another Zodiac into the mix, this time the Ram. We've met some antagonistic Zodiacs before, with Akito standing out as the most antagonistic, but this one brings something a little different: jealousy. Our little Ram has a close relationship with Tiger, whom we learn a bit more about here as well. It turns out that Ram professed his love for and desire to protect Tiger at some point in the past, and that Akito put Tiger through some kind of hell over the course of two weeks over it. It seems clear that Tiger is not aware that it was Ram's professing that led to her harm, as she is surprised when Ram becomes suddenly distant from her afterward, trying to maintain some distance in hopes of not causing her any further harm. Seems like a common thread among a lot of the Zodiacs, actually: Dragon distancing himself from (and wiping the mind of) his former fiance to protect her, Rabbit distancing himself from (and Dragon wiping the mind of) his mother to protect her, and possibly something similar to this circumstance between Snake and Rat (though that remains to be fully clarified). In any case, Ram clearly regrets his decision to create said distance because it meant he wasn't there for Tiger when she was being bullied and needed support. And this is where Tooru comes into the picture. Ram is jealous that she was the one who swooped in and helped Tiger recover, but he also generally dislikes the kind of person Tooru is, viewing her as a doormat to others around her. He's not too far off, either. Tooru sacrifices a lot to help others, and though she's beloved for it, she depends on others returning that kindness and support. In a sense, the Ram does return her kindness in the end by purchasing their crepes, but for the majority of this episode, he rebuffs her kindness and challenges the way she approaches others. The other Zodiacs chide him for it, and rightly so, but he's not completely in the wrong here. Young and strong-willed as he is, Ram might just have some things to teach Tooru. An improvement over the last episode with some background melodrama and the inclusion of a Zodiac who should shake things up a bit. |
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