I'll like to apologise in advance if I make any mistakes, logical or grammatical. I also think that it's not a particularly well-written post and I'm not expressing myself well, but it's 3am and I'm drowning in tears right now. Also, warning that long post ahead. I like writing meaningless essays for anime discussions, oops.
For today's discussion, I'll like to talk about the theme of family. It's a recurring theme in this series, and this episode is the first time we really explore the idea of family. So we immediately continue where we left off from last week, and Tohru says she's moving back. As Yuki and Kyo basically said, it's 'normal' that she'd move back; after all, they're (blood-related) family. But Tohru admits later that she had wanted to stay with the Sohmas, to become a family with them, over her own relatives.
To me, I think that one of the biggest ideas of this series is the notion of blood vs bond, or the often-misquoted "blood is thicker than water". This episode basically destroys that idea: Tohru's own extended family has been set up to be antagonists thus far, and this episode naturally concludes that our protagonist would be far better off living with unrelated people who treat her kindly, rather than with blood relatives who don't.
What is a family? Perhaps the 'common' idea of a traditional nuclear family unit of a father, a mother, and kids would come to mind. Maybe with grandparents as well. They're likely blood-related too. But just because something is traditional, does it mean it must always stay like that? No, there can be change if there needs to be. Even Tohru's own family back then only consisted of her and her mother. Right from the start, Fruits Basket has already introduced the idea of atypical families, and the fragility of it; it can be shattered at any moment, whether it's through car accidents or completed renovations. It is this idea of transience that allows for the creation of a new family unit, one not bound by blood (between Tohru and the Sohmas, I mean), but formed because they wanted to become a family together. (And before anyone starts yelling at me about how families are increasingly non-traditional, I do know that. But remember this series was originally serialised in the 1990s in Japan, where things were very different compared to now.)
In giving Tohru the choice to stay with the Sohmas and become a family with them, the mangaka has given us the idea that 'family' need not be bound by blood, or even by parent-child ties. 'Family' can be with the people who accept you for who you are, whoever they are. And this idea that family is not by blood, but by choice, or "the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb", will be a recurring one throughout this series. In fact, there are already subtle hints being set up. Have you ever wondered why Yuki is staying with Shigure, instead of with his parents? Also, Kyo mentioned he had been training in the mountains with his master - but where are his parents? All these are subtle hints at the larger story, tying in with the idea of family. And of course, there's the whole deal of the Sohma family and the zodiac bond, which I will discuss in later episodes.
The theme of family is tied with the ideas of belonging and acceptance. Earlier in the episode, Tohru recounted the game of 'fruits basket' that she played as a child, how she was assigned to be a rice ball. Just like how a rice ball never fits in a fruits basket, so Tohru has never fit with her classmates. This is also paralleled in Tohru's family situation: though she may be blood-related to that family, she doesn't belong with them. It's only when she realises that she wants to stay with the Sohmas and vice versa that she's finally found a place she belongs, a 'fruits basket' that she belongs in. The title of this series is significant like this, and also conveys a hopeful message that even if you don't belong in somewhere right now, there will be a place for you someday. Did I mention I love the title? Because I love the title.
It's not just belonging either; the theme of family also ties in with the idea of fate/destiny. I'll like to point out that little flashback in the kitchen, where Tohru remembers what her mother said about being selfish. That's actually an original scene (though it does adapt it from existing content elsewhere, just not in this particular chapter being adapted in this episode), like the whole Kyo and Yuki one is too. I really liked the addition of this scene. Kyouko, Tohru's biological mother, is telling her that she can be selfish and choose to be happy, even if that happiness is not with her own blood relatives. It marks a shift from "what you're born with" to "what you choose to make out of it", and I think the addition of that scene is pretty brilliant.
It's particularly significant in Fruits Basket, where members of the Sohma clan are bound not just by blood, but by the zodiac bond they share. Remember that Yuki mentioned at the start of this series that he chose to leave the main house and enroll in a school not of the Sohma's choice: it was him trying to resist the fate of being part of the zodiac. The zodiac bond is something he's born with, but it's clear he doesn't want to accept it. Since Takara has already illustrated how 'family' isn't permanent, what about the zodiac bond? Just because it's 'fate', does it mean there's no other way to avoid it? Well, we'll see.
It's a ridiculously long post already so I'll just wrap it up. Feel free to reply to me, or PM if you want to discuss further. I'll end off with this:
REPEAT AFTER ME
A RICE BALL BELONGS IN A FRUITS BASKET!
Edit: Reworded some stuff. |