Fruits Basket S2 Anime Review: Needs More Tohru and Kyo
Fruits Basket Season 2 is a slice-of-life season - very much focused on character development and school life, with not as much romantic development as I had hoped for. The animation in this remake is as gorgeous as ever. I just want to put out there how grateful I am that anime execs decided to revive this story and really tell it from beginning to end! So despite the gripes/complaints I may have about this season, I am a huge fan of Fruits Basket, and will follow it to the very end. At its essence, it is a heartfelt and sweet show that has beautiful moments of friendship, romance, and moments that will have you bawling. Highly highly recommend!
This season is where the plot starts to thicken…but not that substantially. Now that most of the characters have been introduced and established in S1, we can start to get into the bigger plot goal of the series. However, it’s only around Episode 10 when Tohru figures out what her purpose is. I cried in one or two episodes, but nowhere near as much as I did in S1. And so, I feel like S1 is better at tugging at the heartstrings than S2, because the initial character introductions in S1 were so heartfelt. I think it has to do with the fact that Tohru is such a rare and pure character, that it hits extra hard when you are first introduced to her in S1. Towards the latter half of S2, there was a big focus on the character development of Yuki, especially with his activities at school. As much as I love Yuki, every time I saw that an episode was going to be focused on him, I was kind of disappointed, because what I truly wanted to watch was Tohru and Kyo. A few were scattered here and there, but I know that their storyline is being saved for Season 3.
Random side note: I feel like this anime is really starting to show its age. In a couple episodes when characters are discussing their future plans after high school, almost none of them feel like college is necessary. I feel like in today’s day and age, it’s almost implied that everyone is going to pursue at least some degree above high school in order to even have a shot at succeeding in the world. I’m not sure if it’s different in Japan, but I have a feeling that when the author was writing this series, it was definitely reflective of a different generation’s goals/priorities.
In conclusion…
Fans of Fruits Basket will obviously continue to love this show through Season 2, because the characters and relationships are still amazing and adorable to watch. It expands the story and sets up the stage for the final season. I anticipate that this season will be my least favorite out of the 3, even though the final season isn’t out yet, because S2 is a point in the storyline where we delve more into side stories and side character developments. Meanwhile, I’m still here dying to watch the main story and have the anime focus back on Tohru. I will be eagerly waiting for the final season when it comes out next year!