When we talk about season 1, all I can think of is the amount of tears I’ve shed watching it, but for this 2nd season, the first thing that comes to my mind is how much I hated this particular character. I already hated her in the first season, but she’s more evil incarnate in this 2nd season.
I’ll tell you more about it in my review below. That said, I can’t guarantee if I won’t be dropping some spoilers below, so read on your own risk, *wink.
Opening & Ending Theme + Song
I am loving the fun summer vibe of the first opening which is actually what the first few episodes of this season showed us. The song on the other hand is definitely not a party song, but I think fits perfectly with the theme and the series as a whole.
The 2nd opening on the other hand is lowkey giving me a hint of an impending sobbing session coming hahaha. It’s a bit mellow and the song especially on the line “you’re my home, sweet home” is already giving me the feels.
As for the ending, I absolutely love both the songs. The first ending song is very solemn so when I searched its english translation, I just loved it even more. The theme is giving me a Christmas vibe, I’m not even sure why lol, I think it was because of the lighted trees?
The 2nd ending theme on the other hand is gorgeous. I love all the illustrations! All of them would be a perfect wallpaper <3 And the song is equally beautiful. I’m not just saying that because I love Monkey Majik hahaha, I feel that the lyrics are just perfect for this series.
Story
After that teary season 1, I’m glad the first few episodes of this season let us rest our eyes, lol. The first few episodes were a light watch since it's finally their summer break so the characters are enjoying the beach until Akito cuts their fun short. What a killjoy.
The remaining episodes were a mix of funny and emotional scenes. I didn't cry as much as I did in season 1, but I really learned a lot about the other characters and laughed with them.
Also compared to season 1, there was only very little mention of Tohru's mom here particularly because most of the screen time was about the other characters aside from Kyo, Tohru and Yuki.
For me, the pacing is pretty much the same as season 1, where every character was given enough screen time for us to get to know them and also highlight their struggles for us to relate to them.
Tohru also finally learned about the soma curse and she's now determined to break it. She also finally met Kureno who is the final member of the zodiac that she hadn’t met yet.
Romance was not visible in season 1, but here in season 2, we can finally see it. Aside from the main characters, you will also be cheering with the other pairings as well. I love that each of these pairings has a unique story so I'm sure you will enjoy it.
Aside from the drama, another thing I always look forward to in Fruits Basket is its ability to make you laugh. I suppose it evens out the times that it will make you cry lol. There were some new and old characters here that were so amusing to watch.
And lastly, that ending was definitely something and if I wasn't spoiled, I would be really really surprised. Definitely a great season finale which makes the viewers get all hype up for the final season.
Characters
It's a new season so there were a few new characters introduced here. All of them were also properly introduced.
We’ve got to know a lot of characters from season 1 alone and most of them left me crying my eyes out. I thought we already knew what we needed to know, but there’s more. Season 2 gave us more about the main characters which makes me understand them more and hate Akito even more, hahaha. If you are already familiar with this series, I’m sure you already know who Akito is.
She’s bad news already on season 1, but heck. I just can’t imagine how she lives her life doing such unspeakable things to other people who she is supposed to love. I know everyone has their reasons, but I can’t honestly see any justifiable reason to hurt someone like that. She isn’t just hurting them physically but also mentally. She’s so twisted I want to get inside the story and kill her myself, ahahaha. Sorry, I just really really really hated her. I guess I endured too much not to talk about her in my review for season 1 just to avoid dropping some major spoilers. In this season, we still didn’t get to see her side of the story, but based on the other characters' backstory, I think I can understand her a little bit. But I STILL HATED HER. I don’t think I’ll ever stop.
Aside from Akito, I have been wary of Shigure too. Well, I’ve read a spoiler before so I already have an idea why he is doing what he is doing so I always keep an eye on him hahaha. It’s really hard not too since we’ve got to see that “other” side of him in season 1. I can see that he’s not that bad and most of the time I see him genuinely caring for Tohru. He is definitely a scheming bastard but I think he doesn’t want anyone to really get hurt that bad.
Yuki is still struggling but you can really see his determination to be strong and finally face his fears. He's not one of my favorite characters but I am really proud seeing him going forward.
Kyo on the other hand is also changing and he is starting to mature, but he’s still picking a fight with Yuki once in a while though hahaha. In this season, we finally got to know why he’s so hell-bent on beating Yuki and I can’t really help but feel for his character even more. Kyo is one of my favorite characters so I am really worried about what's going to happen next in the final season.
In addition, Yuki and Kyo finally accepted their true feelings and it finally cleared up a lot of things for me. I personally love watching episode 9, see for yourself why, *wink.
Aside from the main characters and the soma’s, we’ve also got to know more about the side characters. I can’t help but think that the author really gives a lot of thought to her characters because all of them reflect to most of us so it's very easy to relate to them.
Lastly, we finally got to see Kureno’s background story and I have to say that it was definitely a very good season finale. I’m just so glad I didn’t watch this season during the time it was aired because I don’t think I could stay still after that ending, hahaha.
Art
I only got little to say about this aspect because everything just looks good to me and it was consistent with the previous season. And if it looks good to me, then we’ve got nothing more to talk about, right?
Voice Actor
I watched this series in full Japanese dub and it was still beautiful as with the 1st season. I tried watching it in English dub but it just doesn’t work for me anymore. I can name some few really good English dub with my hands, but it just hits differently when it's a Japanese dub in a drama.
***
I actually had to delay watching this season - sometimes just watching 1 episode a day, or I go back to the first episode again and again - so that I could prolong it. This is what I usually do when I really love a series because I don’t want it to end, and I’m not ready to move on. The final season only has 13 episodes and that’s too short so I don’t want to finish it yet. But after that ending, I don’t think I can delay it again, hahaha.
That said, you absolutely have to try this series. And if you do, please ready a box of tissue because I’m sure it will also make you cry, *wink.
