Fruits Basket The Final Season Episode 4

Fruits Basket The Final Season Episode 4

Raging Cow

I’d like to start this review of Fruits Basket The Final Season Episode 4 off with an apology. In my review of Episode 3, I said that Machi (or Kagura) might be the best girl in the series over Isuzu. After this new episode, I have seen the error of my ways. And for that, I apologize.

It’s clear now that Isuzu is the definitive best girl of Fruits Basket. I can’t imagine anything else happening in the series that would change my mind. Isuzu arguably has the best character design of the series, she’s cute, and she has a great relationship with best boy Haru.

And I think it should come as no surprise that Haru’s and Isuzu’s relationship is the one I’m most invested in. Not many other characters are actually in relationships, to be fair. But there are a decent amount of potential relationships in this series.

Haru going to confront Akito from the anime series Fruits Basket The Final Season
Haru going to confront Akito

What makes Haru and Isuzu so good is the lengths they’re willing to go to for each other. Isuzu has been trying to figure out how to break the curse for years simply so Haru can be free from it. And Haru is willing to physically fight Akito if it means protecting Isuzu.

When you consider that even Kyou, an outcast of the Souma clan, doesn’t directly defy Akito, it shows just how big of a deal it is that Haru and Isuzu are willing to for each other’s sake. Most of the Zodiac members have accepted their fate, but not those two.

Also, I liked how Haru didn’t go into his “Black Haru” personality when he confronted Akito. He was still entirely in control, which is important to note. He tends to go into blind rages somewhat frequently, but not when it’s about Isuzu.

Breaking the Curse

Obviously, in this section, I’m going to be discussing how the Zodiac curse could be broken. But, I’d like to preface this discussion by mentioning that I don’t really remember the circumstances surrounding Kureno’s curse being broken.

From what I remember, Kureno’s curse broke as he was simply watching a bird fly overhead. Akito wasn’t directly involved in his curse being broken. However, it seems to be implied that it broke because Kureno was dreaming about being free from the curse.

That seems like a very simple way to break the curse. And if that’s all there was to it, I’m sure we’d have seen other Zodiac members break free from the curse by now as well. However, after Haru confronted Akito, we got a shot that seemed to signify his curse was starting to break.

Haru threatening Akito from the anime series Fruits Basket The Final Season
Haru threatening Akito

So, what do the actions of Kureno and Haru have in common? What did Kureno do that went beyond what Haru did? And why doesn’t this apply to any of the other Zodiac members as of right now? As always, I have a theory.

First, what Kureno and Haru have in common is that they defied Akito’s will. However, despite defying Akito’s will Haru still kept his connection to Akito in the back of his mind. He wants Akito to leave him and Isuzu alone, but he didn’t dream of a world in which she doesn’t even exist as Kureno did.

And, this brings us to why the other Zodiac members haven’t had a similar strain placed on their relationship with Akito. No matter how much they may hate Akito, Akito is always in the back of their minds. That’s why people like Kyou and Yuki, whom Akito tormented the most, haven’t broken the curse.

Akito vs. Ren

Previously, I’ve questioned whether Ren Souma is a “good guy” or not. Akito is clearly the main antagonist of Fruits Basket. And since Ren is Akito’s mortal enemy (her mother), you’d think that means Ren wants to take down both Akito and the Zodiac curse.

Episode 4 destroyed any notion of Ren being good. It was revealed that she not only used Isuzu in an attempt to achieve her own goals but she’s also always hated and looked down on Isuzu. It’s unclear exactly why that is, but it probably has to do in part with Isuzu being a Zodiac member.

Akito also seems to hate Isuzu the most of all the Zodiac members, Kyou included. So maybe there’s more to it. Maybe their hatred of Isuzu has to do with how Isuzu looks somewhat like Ren? Has it been confirmed who Isuzu’s parents are yet? Could she be Akito’s younger sister?

Akito catching Isuzu in her room from the anime series Fruits Basket The Final Season
Akito catching Isuzu in her room

If Isuzu isn’t related to Ren or Akito, then maybe they both just hate her because she’s pretty and they view that as a threat to their rule over the clan. Or maybe they just don’t like that Isuzu doesn’t listen to authority. Honestly, it could be anything.

What’s a bit strange about Ren and Akito is that they both treasure the same object — a box that contains the cremated remains of Akito’s father. Or, at least, that’s what I assume is in the box since Akito said “father” was in it.

This is the object Ren wanted Isuzu to steal for her. But it’s unclear exactly what’s so special about it. I could understand Akito treasuring it because it’s what’s left of her father, the person who told her she was special. However, Ren wanting it that much too makes me think there might be more to it.

Conclusion

What do you think of Fruits Basket The Final Season Episode 4? Have you come to acknowledge Isuzu supremacy? How do you think the curse can be broken? And why do you think the box Akito has is so important to both her and Ren? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

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My review of Episode 5 is available.

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