Fruits Basket The Final Season Episode 2

Alone in Secrecy

Last week, I didn’t really consider how the information about Akito Soma’s sex would affect Tooru. But, to be fair, that’s because Akito’s sex doesn’t really matter as far as we know. Why is it such a big deal? Is the leader of the Zodiac not supposed to be female?

I could understand Akito’s sex being relevant if all of the Zodiac members were male. And at the start of the series, as far as we knew, they were. But since we now know that there are also female Zodiac members, Akito’s sex seems to be less relevant.

If you really think about it, why would Akito’s sex matter to any of the Zodiac members who don’t already know it? I guess you could say that Yuki might think differently of her. But at the same time, she still tortured him. And as for everyone else, their relationship with her wouldn’t be any different.

But, regardless of what Akito’s sex means for the Zodiac members, it clearly means something for Tooru. It means that she’s privy to a Soma clan secret that most of the Soma clan — or at least most of the Zodiac members — aren’t.

Why this is important is because Tooru is conflicted about what to do with this information. It supposedly is directly related to the Zodiac members. But at the same time, it’s not her secret to share. And more so, she doesn’t know how they’d react to it.

Maybe the real issue at hand here is that Akito is keeping a secret from most of the Zodiac members. Perhaps that’s the problem, not Akito’s actual sex. Still, I don’t think most of the Zodiac members would care about that lie.

That’s an Unwavering Truth

It’s interesting how Fruits Basket has developed as a story over up until this point. At the start, it was about a girl who found herself intertwined with the mysterious Soma family. The Soma’s curse was the main focus of the series back then.

And while the Soma’s curse is still very much relevant, what role it plays in the series is vastly different. At this point, the series is more about power dynamics within the Soma clan than anything else. Relationships, secrets, and revenge are the name of the game.

Honestly, though, I’m probably more invested in this series now than ever before. Meeting all of the Zodiac members was fun for a while. But the first season and a half were basically just setting up the cast of the series. Now that the characters are established, we can get to the real story.

The one reason that Akito’s sex matters is because of the dynamic between herself, Kureno, and Shigure. We can now see why the relationships between these three have felt so out of place. It’s effectively a love triangle in which the characters also all hate each other.

Akito keeps Kureno around to keep herself from being lonely, while also being in love with Shigure instead. Kureno is free from his curse but stays by Akito’s side out of pity. And Shigure loves Akito but also hates her for effectively tossing him aside.

It’s these relationships that have kicked off the struggle for power within the Soma clan. Akito wants to maintain her control, Shigure is effectively the wild card, and Ren Soma was brought into the equation by Shigure as the one who wants to disrupt Akito’s control.

The Ultimate Revenge

I have to say, I thought the way Shigure got revenge on Akito was pretty amazing. I think the kids would call it “epic,” or even a “chad move.” Because Akito slept with Kureno, for some unapparent reason, Shigure decided to sleep with Akito’s mother Ren.

So, how did all of this come to pass? Well, it all started with Akito apparently just ghosting Shigure. He said he would always be there for her, he never went anywhere, and she just stopped coming to him for an unknown reason.

However, based on Akito’s reaction in this episode, it seems like she didn’t necessarily intend to abandon Shigure. Again, we don’t know why this is, but it appears that Akito felt like Shigure didn’t want her around for some reason, so she stopped seeing him.

From there, we have to fast forward until, at some point, Akito sleeps with Kureno. We know that Akito loves Shigure, and Kureno isn’t really interested in Akito like that. So, we can assume Akito did this in an attempt to fill the void in her heart left by Shigure.

It’s unclear exactly how Shigure found out about this. On one hand, I could absolutely see Akito rubbing it in his face to try to make him jealous. But on the other, I could also see Shigure finding out by stalking Akito or something.

What I find funny about this whole situation is how Shigure responds to it. Does he confront Akito or Kureno about it? Of course not. He goes and sleeps with the one person Akito hates more than anyone else: Her own mother.

When we were first introduced to Ren, it was implied that she was isolated by Akito because of how she raised Akito. But now, it seems clear what the real reason for Ren’s isolation is.

Conclusion

What do you think of Fruits Basket The Final Season Episode 2? Can you think of a good reason why Akito’s sex matters? Are you more interested in the current events of the series or those from earlier on? And, did Shigure’s choice of revenge surprise you? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 3 is available.