Fruits Basket Manga Review , ch 112 & 113 (part 1)
A surprise was waiting for in these two chapters..
A whole sub-plot was cut & I’m shocked at the content. I’ll go thro chapters (112 & 113) content in part 2, but here I wanna express my thoughts on the decision of cutting this sub-plot by the anime team.
Why do I think it’s a good decision to cut it & why do I think cutting it is another sign that se03 is underwhelming & frustrating.
-Cutting sub-plots: A look into its importance to the anime:
1-Frankly... cutting it is a good decision for a 13-eps season:
Thinking abt it from the directors’ perspective, if se03 is only 13 eps, then having this entire sub-plot cut is a very good idea. It adds nothing to the core basic climax: we know tohru suffered, we know tohru’s pain already. The theme of not measuring ppl’s trauma against each other & deciding who is sadder (that kakeru did) has already been presented subtly thro kyo & yuki’s own backstory. It just wasnt stated blatantly in furub’a direct style if se01. You get it thro seeing yuki tell his story in se02 & you already know kyo’s story from se01 finale & his major ep in se2, ep9, so you put two & two togther. Yuki & machi’s sub-plot love progression is already too late to be presented in the packed se03. The anime lost a chance to present that in se2 (yuki’s season) somehow without the attached (tohru-kakeru) thing, since the anime says tohru is only se03 material.
Thinking abt it from a viewers perspective: if se03 is only 13 eps, then imagine packing all this somewhere in the 13 eps we saw..Like where we’ll we see it? Where should it be placed now that the anime’s order doesn’t match the manga? Kyo & tohru’s sheet hug kicked the climax! so, if anything from this sub-plot would be added, then it needed to be in the early se03 eps.. but where? no place. Momiji sub-story was butchered. Kyo was made forgetful. no place for isuzu’s natural reaction to anything other than haru. The darn antagonist herself got one ep alone for her past, mentality & all.
To add this sub-plot within the 13 eps would’ve killed se03 completely, cuz then a major character from the ones who got tiny spotlight in se03 would’ve even got tinier space. Kyo, tohru’s & her past past, akito, shigure, momiji, isuzu, haru, hiro & kisa.. one of these would lose their spot to make room for this sub-plot to have an ep of its own... can you imagine the disaster it would be for character buildup? like right now se03 is suffering tremendously from that, can you imagine sacrificing more?
Personally I’d hate sacrificing anything that we saw already within the 13 eps for this plot. Knowing the driver who hit kyoko had a story will add nothing major. Seeing a deeper side to kakeru would be great but it doesnt worth sacrificing the major plot of akito, tohru, shigure, kyo or momiji. Yuki/machi having depth in their relationship is epic! but alas no space in se03 for it.. kinda wished at least the yuki-machi sub-plot love had some parts of it included instead of all the damn wasted spotlight for motoko!!!!!!!!!! Really, if you think abt it, ep3 has yuki-machi theme & the anime is all abt episodic themes, so couldn't they put yuki’s cute gift to machi instead of the horrible yuki talks to motoko thingy, then she & the fancub float.... & sing & worship yuki even more...
2- Cutting this sub-plot is a bad decision for overall in-depth story-telling:
The anime has already decided that the anime is not where fascinating story-telling is. Just go the manga..sigh~~~ They’re here to promote it anyway. If not, then tohru’s own story (without the kakeru’s plot) wouldn’t have been so messed up & bland. She’s the main protagonist, yet her own ep is the weakest ep in se03. It was all presented thro third person telling methods & cramped with characters that need their own spot light such as shigure, Isuzu, kagura & the grandpa.
To add this subplot means se03 MUST be more than 13 eps & if it truly was more than 13 eps then none of the problems that occurred in se03 would be present at all... If se03 was 20 eps, then Kakeru subplot would be there, yuki-machi would be relatable, realistic & so darn cute! Akito would be so believable instead of cartoon-ish villain who got saved, kyo wouldn't have forgotten anything cuz there would be no need for added drama. He wouldn’t have gone coco at the sight of the hat & tohru wouldn’t have conveniently forgotten her lover had a panic attack & went baking with momiji. The reason tohru was made to forget that kyo panicked is cuz ep 7 was needed to focus on akito quick before the climax!!!! no room for tohru & kyo plot, show them at the ep’s beginning only cuz kyo’s nightmare is important & quick move to akito. Kyoko’s story wouln’t have become a milking method for an ova & her interaction with her daughter wouldnt have been cut.
Overall, this subplot is so good yet so tricky. It is good to see more depth into unexpected characters, but it has elements of what I think furuba fails to do (more on that in part 2). Kakeu-tohru interaction in school now that they’re 3rd year students amuses me yet angers me so much. I’m not mad he was mean to tohtu in the past. Actually that was a realistic thing that lots of insensitive ppl do under the name of love & he got told off by komaki which is so fantastic. It’s their current interaction in school that I have issues with... lots of issues. More on this in the chapter analysis in part 2.
Now that I have expressed what I think of cutting or adding this chapter in the anime, I can move on to analyzing the chapter itself & its content. I’ll post it soon within two days<3.