Fruits Basket Episode 3

Let’s Play Rich Man-Poor Man!

The culture festival is coming up (because why wouldn’t it be?) and Tooru’s class has decided to run a rice ball stand. But, before I discuss this further, I just want to say that I really hope next week’s episode doesn’t turn into an obligatory school festival episode.

Alright, so why does the rice ball stand matter? The simple reason is because although the class has decided on what they’re going to do, there are many ways to go about doing it. Tooru wants to make three different flavors, Kyo wants students to literally fight over them, and Yuki thinks mixing in bad flavors is a good idea.

As you can see, Tooru’s idea seems to be the best, but since Yuki is the “prince,” all the other girls in the class go along with his suggestion instead. I don’t know about you, but if I’m paying for food I’d like to not have a 25% chance of getting something bad.

But, the different takes of these characters on selling rice balls illustrates just how different each of them are. Tooru wants to make everyone happy by having options, Yuki wants to make it into a game because that will make people like him, and Kyo is just being abrasive as usual.

However, as different as they all might seem from the outside, they’re all very similar on the inside.

Yuki and Kyo

Tooru is the same both inside and out, so I’ll be skipping over her. The two that really matter are Yuki and Kyo. They seem to be polar opposites, but as Tooru discovers, they’re actually the same in a lot of ways.

Each of them has things they’re good at, and things they aren’t. The problem these two have is that they both ignore the things they’re good at and instead focus on the things the other is good at. Because of this, they’re each jealous of what the other has to offer.

Kyo is jealous of Yuki because he’s considered a full-fledged member of the Souma clan, and Yuki is jealous of Kyo because of his freedom from the Souma clan. Each of them wants what the other has, which is the true reason for their animosity towards each other.

We also learned a bit about how each of these boys deals with interpersonal relationships.

Yuki tends to distance himself from others on an emotional level. While he acts in a way that will make everyone, mainly the girls, like him, he doesn’t actually let any of them get to know who he really is or how he really feels. This means that although he’s popular, he’s alone.

Kyo is Yuki’s opposite in that he seems to be somewhat of an outcast, but is in fact popular. While he has an abrasive personality, it’s actually just a facade. Once he gets to know people he opens up and can become good friends with them; something Yuki is unable to do.

A Foreigner Appears

About halfway through an episode we’re briefly introduced to a new character, a small, German boy. Based on his inclusion in the ED, I’m fairly certain he’s a member of the Souma clan. And, since he’s holding a stuffed animal rabbit in the ED, that’s my guess as to his zodiac animal.

I liked that after he spoke German, Tooru responded by saying she doesn’t speak English. I wasn’t paying much attention to the Japanese dialogue at the time, so this may have just been the subtitles, making her say English instead of German, but it was a nice touch.

But, the real reason I’m bringing up this boy is because I’m confused by his very existence. Why is there a young, German boy in the Souma clan? I mean, maybe he’s not actually German, but that doesn’t really alleviate my confusion.

If he’s not German, then why is he speaking German to Tooru? And if he is German, then how is he a member of the Souma clan? I’d imagine the Souma clan doesn’t really interact with outsiders much, so I don’t see why they would have brought in an outsider.

Basically, everything about his existence confuses me at this point, but I assume we’ll learn more about him in future episodes. However, I think it’s safe to say at this point that he won’t be vying for Tooru’s love alongside Yuki and Kyo.

Plums and A Romantic Rival

Towards the end of the episode we get a bit more character development for Kyo in the form of Tooru’s rice balls with plum analogy. Basically, she explains that it’s difficult for people to see what’s so good about themselves, but easy for them to see what’s good about others.

What I liked about this analogy was that Kyo actually accepts and goes along with it, showing that he’s starting to understand what Tooru means. He has a long way to go before he’s able to accept the good and the bad about himself, but this is a start.

I’d also like to say for the record that I’m team Kyo. I think he’s a much more likable character than Yuki, and if I were to get my way then Tooru would end up with him in the end. However, I’m still not sure how the romances in this series are going to work out, and that’s what’s keeping me invested in the story.

However, at the end of the episode a wrench was thrown into my ultimate Tooru x Kyo ship. Some unknown girl appears at the Souma household and asks if it’s wear Kyo lives. Clearly this is a new romantic rival for Tooru, and it worries me.

Does this mean that Tooru is actually going to end up with Yuki and this new girl is going to end up with Kyo? She’s cute, but she’s not Tooru with a ponytail cute, so I don’t think I can stand for such a development.

Conclusion

So, which team are you on? Are you on team Yuki or team Kyo? Also, what are your thoughts on the young, German boy? Is he a true member of the Souma clan? Is he actually German? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

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My review of the next episode is available here.