hagane no kokoro

this is my personal dumpster fire

[omnidudes-deactivated20220117]

So I decided to look up what songs are turning 10 this year and I'm very *dabs* old and upset

[this-boys]

Dev Patel for GQ Magazine.

[catboyhrt]

I'll never understand the "Akito was forgiven too easily" take. Akito didn't even want forgiveness. She says that she wanted to apologize to the juunishi but thought doing so would make them feel pressured to forgive her, and that an apology wouldn't undo the kind of harm she has done. Many of the characters didn't even say they forgive her, they're just acknowledging it's a good thing for the Sohmas that she's going to be atoning, and Rin directly states she'll never forgive Akito. Akito also was very clearly punished by the narrative, as well as the consequences of her own actions, when the juunishi do leave her to have better lives.

Just because the story didn't end in retributive justice, but rather restorative justice, doesn't mean that there was no accountability. Retribution isn't the only form of accountability, and I'd argue that the restorative justice of Akito making efforts to reform the world of the Sohmas and atone for what she's done is so much more meaningful than if she were simply punished. Punishing Akito as an individual would do nothing to change the context that made her the way she was, nor would it change everything in the world of the Sohmas and their way of life that she was a figurehead for.

When an antagonist is so clearly the product of their environment, it'd be a poorly written resolution for the antagonist to be individually punished without any changes to the environment that made them that way. In this sense, Akito dedicating the rest of her life to atoning for what she's done and breaking the cycle of abuse is the justice that the Sohmas needed the most.

[yukisohmasmokesweed]

“akito should be locked up” tell me you missed the point of fruits basket without telling me you missed the point of fruits basket

[yukisohmasmokesweed]

when i’m thinking about akito and “the point of fruits basket,” i think that “everyone deserves a second chance” is a bit of an over-simplification. in my opinion, the point of akito’s arc, and this message that ties all the characters in fruits basket together, is that everyone has room to grow. it’s not about forgiveness or atonement but that everyone can grow if they find it within themselves to do so.

fb eases us into this idea by presenting us with a flawed but very sympathetic character: kyo. the audience can immediately sympathize with him as it’s clear that, underneath all the anger and bitterness, kyo is a very damaged young person who doesn’t harm people on purpose, but because he has emotional issues that result in him losing control. once he is met with kindness and real friendship it becomes quickly apparent that kyo is a good person who needed support in order to grow and change, and once he is offered that support, he does this of his own volition. 

a character slightly less sympathetic but extremely likable who fb presents us with next is ayame. ayame, like kyo, is a very flawed individual, but he is self-admittedly complicit in abuse, primarily yuki’s abuse from both akito and their parents. ayame knows that there is nothing he can do to change the past, that his actions were harmful and that yuki doesn’t owe him forgiveness, so instead he does his best as an adult to offer yuki love and support now. the damage has been done and it’s something that will probably affect yuki and ayame’s relationship for the rest of their lives, but because ayame took it upon himself to grow as a person and acknowledge his mistakes, his and yuki’s relationship slowly improves over time. 

there are numerous other characters and relationships who embody this theme of personal growth (kyoko, uotani, haru and yuki, yuki and kyo, to name a few), but the one who embodies this the most is akito. akito spends 20+ years with an extremely warped sense of right and wrong, suffering under the same system of abuse that everyone else is while simultaneously spearheading that system, and it isn’t until she stabs kureno and realizes how many lines she has crossed that she understands that the way she treats the others is cruel and wrong. the only person who can change akito is akito; no poking and prodding by shigure, no rejection from yuki or momiji, not coddling from hatori or kureno can improve akito’s situation. akito’s story is not one of forgiveness vs retribution, but one of someone who has committed countless wrongs taking accountability for their actions and deciding for themselves to change their behavior and grow as a person. this ties into fb’s theme of inner strength (something that was also highlighted in 3x9 by tohru, akito’s foil), so in the end, i don’t believe the culmination of akito’s arc requires “forgiveness” or “atonement” from anyone else but, rather, the acknowledgement that akito is not a lost cause if she decides that that is the case and chooses to grow as a person.

[castielatlas]

Caught up on Fruits Basket's last ep and the animation choices piss me off so much. Some shots are beautiful af and the voice actors are amazing but overall it's just so.... dull? it lacks the raw emotion, the closeness, the complexity in the character's eyes and the beautiful yet simple panels that make scenes overwhelming. idk I'm glad they remade it because I wanted to see some scenes on screen so badly, but at the same time I'm disappointed bc the animation lacks finesse imo.

[yukisohmasmokesweed]

akito: is born into a hereditary position as the family head and is groomed from birth to lead the family, centers her entire identity and self-worth around the family and the zodiacs, pathologically fears abandonment from the zodiac that spirals into a total breakdown when her fears start becoming a reality, and subsequently dissolves the family and never talks to 99% of them again

fandom: akito didnt go to jail so she got off totally consequence-free 😤

[castielatlas]

Sad that Akito haters legit miss out 50% of Takaya's genius. Akito is the most complex, well-written character of the entire series and reducing her character to evil is so small minded 😪

[shokou-deactivated20241015]

Fruits Basket S3 - Ending

[nowthatsanairship]

Money-saving tips adapted for people w/ ADHD:

1. Convince yourself that the future is Real and numbers have meaning

[itzaboutchloe]

Me enjoying the chaos when animeonlys will find out why Shigure got kicked out of the main house.

[weirdplutoprince]

[videoclubs]

THE WIND RISES (2013) dir. Hayao Miyazaki

[chalamet]

SKAM (2015 - 2017) created by Julie Andem Season analysis

[usermaxie-deactivated20220227]

You don’t get to have me. Not my body, and sure as hell not my heart.

[magicmooshka]

FMAB doodle requests from Insta!

[melcavill]

Jennifer Connelly in Blood Diamond (2006)

[ratliker1917]

I just realized the reason so many people will call someone “an abuser” when the facts of the matter indicate instead that the person is actually simply “an asshole” is because you can’t just create engaging social media guilt by association drama by demanding people unfollow x or y if they’re simply an asshole, but if you re-reframe banal assholishness as genuine psychological abuse it means you can also start shit with anybody who associates with the asshole in question. That might also explain why people say “this person is a gaslighter” when they instead mean “this person says lies”.