In keeping with Fruits Basket’s tendency to follow happy, joyous parts of the story up with more sad and somber ones, following last week’s upbeat, energetic episode, this week we’re treated to a much more subdued and bittersweet one. During this, we learn more about Momiji, that he was rejected by his mother who, subsequently, had all her memories of him wiped. We also got to watch Tohru mark the anniversary of her mother’s death by visiting her grave. So, what about this episode stood out to me? Well…
Never have the similarities between Tohru and Momiji been more obvious than during this week’s episode. I think I’ve mentioned before how both characters radiate this happy, positive energy that draws other people to them. This is in spite of the fact that (as we learn during this episode) both Tohru and Momiji are still coming to terms with the loss of their mothers. OK, so Momiji’s mum is still very much alive, but his connection with her, as a result of her rejection of him, is completely severed, so it’s still a loss of some sort. If they do differ in any way, it’s that I can’t help but feel that Momiji is far worse off! I don’t want to write off Tohru’s pain, but at least she had a good relationship with her mother until she passed away. Momiji never had that. What’s more is that he feels compelled to watch as his mum dotes on his little sister, spoiling her rotten and showering her with all the love that should have, rightfully, been his. It speaks volumes to his character that he is in no way bitter towards his mother or jealous of his sister, instead, wishing them all the happiness together as he looks on from afar.
That’s not to say that Momiji isn’t hurting. He experienced rejection at the hands of his mother not once, when she said that she regretted ever having him, but twice, when she opted to have all her memories of him wiped. I can only imagine the pain that this would cause Momiji… But he concludes that, in spite of the hurt that these memories cause, unlike his mum, he’d never choose to forget them. This goes unsaid, but I suspect that the reason for this is because, in much the same way that his mother choosing to forget him was a kind of rejection, if Momiji chose to forget all his painful memories of her, he would be rejecting her in turn. Far from wanting to reject his mum, in spite of everything, he still adores her. Not only does Momiji continue to watch her from afar, but he also boasts about her and carries around a picture of her (again, much like Tohru) in his wallet.
You know, I can’t help but agree with Momiji, that even painful memories are worth hanging on to. And that’s because these, too, have value. To demonstrate, as a result of sharing his story with Tohru, the pair grow closer than ever. It also helps Tohru move further along in her grief journey, as she realises that she wouldn’t want to forget anything about her mother, even her death. She hopes that even this can become a precious, if bittersweet, memory someday.
Tohru’s visit to her mother’s grave goes just about as you’d expect… She brings Kyo, Yuki, Uo, and Hana (who shows up looking like she’s about to host a seance). They then proceed to flout the graveyard’s rules by having a picnic before Kyoko’s grave. If I were to point out anything strange or unusual it would be Kyo’s nervousness throughout their visit. Aside from his bickering with Uo, he is strangely subdued, and partway through steals himself away. Hana follows after him and Kyo asks her if her mysterious powers allow her to speak to the dead. She says that they do not, rather, they allow her to pick up on the emotions of the living. Hana then goes on to ask why, when standing before Kyoko’s grave, he feels such guilt. Kyo declines to answer her, but he later whispers an apology to Tohru while she’s fast asleep on the Sohma’s porch. Does he know something about Kyoko’s death? I don’t know the answer myself, but it seems like a definite possibility…
Once again, thanks for joining me! As always, I welcome your thoughts and theories on this week’s episode. Until next time!
Watashi Wa Bucho!! 
This might have been the most difficult episode to watch — and I have to add, “so far.”
As a parent, I have _some_ empathy for Momiji’s mom. I tried to imagine what it would be like to hold my son for the first time, only to see him turn into a rabbit.
But…
My son’s deaf. When we found out, it felt devastating, but not in the way that Momiji’s mom seemed to feel it was devastating. I’ve read science fiction all my life, so I was already open to different modes of communication, being, and even form. Not only that, but even before my son was born, my wife had, on a whim, taken a class in American Sign Language. So when we found out, we already understood a way forward.
We saw the situation not as “oh no, my deaf son is (whatever)…” but “oh, my son is deaf…we need to…”
I’m not saying this to judge Momiji’s mom. My son is, at the end of the day, human. As a child, when I hugged him, he retained a human form.
Even if he hadn’t, though… I don’t understand how that would have impacted my responsibility as his father. My job is to raise my son well; to protect him and prepare him for the world. What does it matter what specific form he takes?
So I’m having a hard time understanding Momiji’s mom. I’m not qualified to judge her, certainly. But… just look at Momiji! He’s a great kid. How could she not be proud of him?
Just like my son, who’s a great kid (okay, he’s almost 30 now…). How could I not be proud of him?
All I can come up with is that maybe Momiji’s mum was not made fully aware of the Zodiac curse until after the fact? Or perhaps she couldn’t face living in constant fear, of Momiji’s secret being discovered? At any rate, I can’t really get to grips with her rejection of him either. Sure, he transforms when you embrace him, but it’s into an adorable little bunny rabbit! Maybe if he transformed into something like… I dunno… a giant spider, I could get where she’s coming from!
To be honest with you, this episode was painful for me too, though for different reasons. I’m not a parent, but like Momiji, I _have_ experienced rejection at the hands of a parent. When my dad found out that my mum was expecting me he did a runner (they were both very young). Though he later made amends and was an excellent dad growing up, it still hurts to think that, initially, he didn’t want me. The reason I know all this is because my mum, trying to win one over on my dad, told me this herself. Nice, huh? I also experienced rejection at the hands of my mum (when she chose drugs over feeding me, an abusive relationship over my safety, etc.). Unlike Momiji, I’m not a kid anymore. I don’t have to face my parents on a day-to-day basis. It does still hurt to reflect on all this, though. But watching Momiji tough it out and use his pain to relate to and help other people gives me a lot of strength and courage…
Thanks for telling me a bit of your story. Your son is lucky to have such wonderful parents!
“All I can come up with is that maybe Momiji’s mum was not made fully aware of the Zodiac curse until after the fact? Or perhaps she couldn’t face living in constant fear, of Momiji’s secret being discovered?”
That’s a healthy perspective, I think. We’re all broken, or damaged, to some extent, aren’t we? Trying to understand one another’s the best way forward, isn’t it?
“The reason I know all this is because my mum, trying to win one over on my dad, told me this herself. Nice, huh? ”
I cannot imagine how that had to feel.
“I also experienced rejection at the hands of my mum (when she chose drugs over feeding me, an abusive relationship over my safety, etc.). ”
I am so sorry to hear that. Reading your work here, viewing the anime episodes from your perspective, I never would have guessed such a terrible thing was in your past. Whatever you’re doing to grow beyond it is working!
“But watching Momiji tough it out and use his pain to relate to and help other people gives me a lot of strength and courage…”
I can’t believe how much courage I’ve taken from fiction! That’s one of the reasons I’m so passionate about it. Characters like Momiji or Tooru help us remember… something. It’s a word or concept that’s just beyond my memory right now…
The closest I can get is that it reminds me of a quote from The Return of the King, when Sam is teetering on the edge of despair, and he sees a single star twinkle in the sky:
“Far above the Ephel Dúath in the West the night-sky was still dim and pale. There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
We can just do what we can do, right? Maybe try to improve what it is that we can do. And hope for the best.
Thanks for sharing your perspective — Fruits Basket is powerful catalyst, isn’t it?
“Your son is lucky to have such wonderful parents!”
Thanks — you’re very kind. Some day I hope to live up to that!
Generally speaking, I’m quite the pessimist. Though the one thing that I’m not pessimistic about is other people. I always try to see the best in others. Though I’ll never understand how some people can so readily hurt other people (e.g. rejecting their own children), at least trying to put myself in their shoes better positions myself to think “how can I help this person?” I also don’t like to think that anybody is inherently bad. That’s a pretty depressing line of thought.
I’ve mentioned some of the stuff that’s happened to me before, here and there when I feel it’s relevant, but it’s not something that I bring up often (I don’t want people to think I’m attention-seeking). That being said, I know that it can help others to know that somebody out there has been through something similar… That’s the main thing that I’ve taken away from Furuba. It doesn’t really matter to me that its characters are fictional, it still helps seeing somebody go through something similar and come out the other side. Maybe you could call it vicarious healing?
Thanks for sharing the LOTR quote. It was beautiful. The movies are easily some of my favourite movies of all-time, but you reminded me that I must go away and read the books!