12 Days of Anime 2019 – Ty Gets Motherly

Many of you already know this, but for the benefit of the few of you who don’t, I’ve been an anime fan for a long time. An entire decade, to be precise. And while my love for anime hasn’t wavered in the slightest, a lot of other things have changed in that time. I’m not just talking about my taste in shows, but my life circumstances and how these have influenced the way I relate to what I’m watching… 

When I first started watching anime I was but a 15-year-old girl. Chronically unpopular at school, I found myself drawn to shows that featured large casts of characters, shows that made me feel like part of something. I was also desperate for love, for my first “proper” boyfriend (who just had to be tall, dark, and mysterious. Hey, I grew up during that awful Twilight craze!). This meant that when I chanced upon an anime character who met these criteria, I would fall head over heels for the guy and spend hours wishing I could meet somebody just like them… 

Thankfully, I’ve grown up a little since then! I’ve made peace with the fact that I’ll never be Little Miss Popular and I’ve been married for nearly three years now. My husband’s not the tall, dark, mysterious vampire that I longed for in my youth, but I’m still pretty keen on him! Now that I’m older, wiser, more mature and just starting to settle down and start a family of my own, I no longer look at anime characters, particularly boys, with heart-shaped eyes. No, I now view them in a way that is far more motherly. This has never been truer than during this year, when a great number of anime characters have sent my motherly instincts into overdrive… 

12 Days of Anime 2019 – Fruits Basket (2019) Helps Me to Heal

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… 

Fruits Basket (2019) Episode 14 – the Value of Painful Memories

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…