The stories that anime tell may be fictional, but that in no way, shape, or form lessens the impact that they can have on our lives. I will gladly defend that statement with every fibre of my being, because, for me, it’s the truth. There are many shows that have had some kind of an effect on my life, but by far one of the most impactful is Fruits Basket (2019), which came along at just the right time in my life to really minister to my heart…
Right as I began to watch Fruits Basket (2019) I was going through some… stuff. I’ve mentioned this before on WWB, here and there, but I had quite a rough childhood. During my most delicate years, my mother wrestled with an addiction to Class A drugs, drifted in and out of a particularly violent relationship, and used me to shoplift for essentials (a minor can’t be charged for their crimes, after all). Even after those things ceased, throughout my teen years she still relied heavily on alcohol and was verbally and physically abusive towards me. Even now that I’m an adult (and live in a whole other continent to my mother), up until very recently I was still experiencing emotional fallout from all of this. Right as I began to watch Fruits Basket (2019) I was still struggling with anger, low self-worth, and unforgiveness. I was still having nightmares of her hitting me. My mother once told me that I was an accident, and I couldn’t help but trace all of the ways in which she’d hurt, neglected, or let me down back to that statement. That is, until Fruits Basket (2019) came along…
It was Momiji’s story, in particular, that really affected me… He’d also experienced rejection at the hands of his mother, who couldn’t handle that he’d been born afflicted with the Zodiac curse. She actually opted to forget that he’d ever even existed, just so that she could live a happy, carefree life with his father and his little sister. While the exact circumstances surrounding our rejections may have differed (last I checked I do not transform into a cute, little bunny rabbit when embraced), I felt his pain. Like, actually, physically felt it…
But Momiji and I differed in some ways… He allowed himself to feel the pain, sure (you could see it in the way he gazed at his mother from afar), but he didn’t pick at it, over and over, like a scab, allowing it to fester and become infected like I did. No, he just experienced it and then… let it go. I think this was why he radiated such positive energy and why, much like Fruits Basket’s heroine, Tohru, people were so drawn to him. While I didn’t understand the exact means by which he was able to pull off such an awesome feat, I knew that I wanted to be like him, which meant, somehow, letting go of my own pain.
After coming to that decision, things slowly began to improve. I prayed through a lot of my pain, anger, and unforgiveness and, for the first time, I tried to see things from my mother’s perspective. I’m now around the age that she was when she had me and I couldn’t say, with 100% certainty, with the limited resources that I currently possess, that I could have done a better job of raising two kids single-handedly. I’m still far from perfect. I’m not the radiant ball of healing vibes and positive energy that Momiji is. But I’m no longer experiencing nightmares, I don’t get angry when I think about my mother, and I’m starting to see how I can use my experience for good. And it’s all thanks to Momiji…
Watashi Wa Bucho!! 
Fruits Basket heals. I wish I could put it in a more clear or profound way. But every time I watched it, I could feel it affect my being. In a way, what you just said about the series in general and Momiji in particular validates that.
“I tried to see things from my mother’s perspective.”
that might be the most mature thing I’ve read this year. After what you described, being able to even attempt that…
I’m really glad you’re sharing this with us. It’s hopeful precisely at a time when we need more hope…
It’s interesting, but I actually read the majority of the manga a long time ago, back when I was 14/15. It didn’t affect me nearly as profoundly then. I think it must have been because I was still a very angry person. I wasn’t ready to let go of those emotions, because, back then, they were like a protective shield. I’m glad that I’ve reached a point in my life where the hopeful, life-giving messages of Furuba actually reach me and help to inspire further change.
Thanks again for stopping by. You’re one of my favourite guests, I always love hearing what you have to say!
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