Fruits Basket Review Episode 18

Love and Courage

Fruits Basket Episode 18

After two episodes that filled in Arisa’s back-story we now get a single episode that introduces Kisa, the tiger from the zodiac, and also shows us Yuki finding the resolve to take action. In this episode of Fruits Basket we learn that many of the children of the zodiac become victims of bullying and the events surrounding Kisa’s decision to stop speaking and then to run away strike a chord with Haru and Yuki, to a lesser extent Kyo.

However, as with Yuki and even Haru, Tohru’s personality acts as a soothing balm and Kisa, while not instantly cured, starts to find the strength to stand again. As much as nothing changed about Kisa’s situation at school and with her classmates, knowing Tohru gave her the resolve she needed.

Likewise, Yuki, through watching Kisa’s struggle and knowing how Tohru’s presence made all the difference, could reflect on himself and realised that even though he wasn’t still curled up alone in a room, he wasn’t really moving forward either. Again, Tohru’s presence in his life gave him the strength he needed to make the decision to act.

While the episode doesn’t deal with the outcomes of either Kisa’s decision to return to school or Yuki’s decision to become the next student council president, the mere act of them moving forward is all the resolution this episode needs.

Affiliate Link – Manga

And if nothing else, it is worth remembering that Tohru is practically the light at the end of the tunnel for every character in this series. Her very existence makes their world brighter.