Leshy is a writer from Raving Otaku, where she writes anime reviews, recommendations and roundups.
Alternative Titles: Bonjour♪ Koiaji Pâtisserie, Bonjour♪Sweet Love Patisserie, Bonjour♪恋味パティスリー
Aired: 2014
Genre: Comedy, Harem, Romance, Shoujo, Slice of Life
Studios: Silver Link, Connect
Bonjour♪ Koiaji Pâtisserie is a short anime series (OVA) with 24 episodes filled with sweet moments and mouth-watering desserts. Each episode only last 5 minutes and for that reason, it does not take up a lot of time from the viewers.
But is this anime about food worth watching even with its short duration?
Bonjour Koiaji Patisserie Plot
Sweet Love Patisserie revolves around Sayuri Haruno, a girl who wants to become a renowned Patisserie to open her confectionery shop. Sayuri worked hard to obtain a scholarship to attend the famous Fleurir Confectionary Academy to achieve her goal.
Sayuri must face different challenges through her period in the Academy, where she will compete against her classmates specialised in certain types of desserts.
However, this does not impede Sayuri to achieve her dreams. She is ready to face all the challenges that the school throws at her.
A sweet story but was it enough?
Bonjour♪ Koiaji Pâtisserie did not leave me a great impression. I wished that the anime would have developed the relationship between Sayuri and a specific male protagonist (in my opinion, with Ryou because that chemistry they had was amazing) a little more. I know this anime is supposed to be a reverse harem, but somehow it did not feel like one at all.
I usually prefer when they develop a relationship between two specific characters and not the female protagonist with the entire male cast because sometimes the girl does not choose anyone and by doing so, their relationships end in a friendzone or are just left behind.
Did we get interactions between the female protagonist and male protagonists? Yes, but still, they did not develop a “romantic” relationship between each other. They did have a lot of cliched scenes, but I think that was all because there is no further development, except between Ryou and Sayuri.
But the two did not end up together. And from what I could understand from the ending, Sayuri did not stay with any of the other male protagonists either, which I found to be pretty sad and disappointing.
We’re left to wonder what will happen to their relationships, unless we get to have a second season which I do not think will happen soon. This anime was supposed to be the TV series for an upcoming otome mobile game, but it never came out. There is also no further news or information about it, leaving us high and dry.
Great character designs but cliché personalities
The characters all look adorable, as expected of an otome game-inspired show. But sadly, it also falls victim to bland characterisations that come with adapting these games into anime.
Sayuri Haruno: The thing that I liked the most about Sayuri was her design. Aesthetically, she was cute and the different outfits she wore were beautiful. Her personality is nothing remarkable, she is the typical otome game MC who is a sweetheart that tries her best to achieve her goal.
Ryou Satsuki: Ryou is Sayuri’s classmate. He might appear to be a bit cold and mean at first, but in the end, we could agree that he is a kind and sweet guy. He really cares about Sayuri, and they shared almost the same goal (I think that is how Sayuri caught his attention). In addition, I think he was the one that had the most chemistry with her.
Mitsuki Aoi: Mitsuki had a great character design too, and yeah, my heart is weak when it comes to this type of anime boy. He is one of the teachers in Fleurir Academy who is known for being an excellent patisserie when it comes to desserts made of chocolate. His personality is charming, truly cares about his students and wishes them to succeed in their profession.
Gilbert Hanabusa: Gilbert is a teacher at the Fleurir Academy who specialises in French desserts. Gilbert is known for being an energetic and charismatic guy, catching everyone’s attention. His past is a bit sad, but he does not let it get him down and he always puts a smile on his face.
Yoshinosuke Suzumi: Yoshinosuke’s design reminded me of Tsukiyama from Tokyo Ghoul. That aside, he is also a teacher in the Academy specialising in Japanese sweets. His personality is shown as someone emotionless and mean, but the truth is that he is really passionate about his profession and a wonderful man.
Beautiful Art
Koiaji Patisserie has a strong point when it comes to its type of art, it is what I liked the most about this OVA. The character designs are good and they added a lot of details. I like the line art and the palette of colours they used for the different sceneries like the city, parks and shops.
The academy design is cute and it shows all the facilities that a confectionary school needs to have, like classrooms, kitchens and ground areas. It also shows a great implementation of lights and shadows in the different scenes.
For its animation, I cannot mention many things because it does not really have a great impact. As it only lasts five minutes per episode, there is almost no time to develop a lot of movements to show off their animation.
Forgettable soundtrack
Personally, I did not like the soundtrack of Koiaji Patisserie. It did not fit the kind of story that was unfolding. The openings and endings were fine, but still, I think they are extremely forgettable.
However, I did like the voice cast for the characters. The voice actors did an amazing job and each one of them suited perfectly to their different types of personalities.
Conclusion:
For me, the ending of this anime was disappointing, and the story is not really well-developed, but I think that was because each episode only lasts 5 minutes. Despite that, I will give this anime a 6/10 because it was still fairly enjoyable and it is not that bad compared to other reverse harems.
Images from: Bonjour Koiaji Patisserie. Dir. N Akitaya. SILVER LINK + Connect. 2014
Fruits Basket The Final Season has brought Tohru’s emotional journey to a close.
For some of us, the journey to Fruits Basket The Final Season has been a long time coming. I don’t know when the manga became available for people to read but I do know that in the early 2000’s I stumbled upon a bright supernatural shoujo anime with a bit of comedy and fell in love with Tohru and the members of the zodiac and then the series ended and there was nothing more.
Fortunately, 2019 saw a reboot of Fruits Basket with the first season of three launching and telling the story again. There were changes between the original series and the reboot but the sentimental feelings remained the same and these characters made me fall in love with them all over again and want to give them all a hug.
While there were some aspects in the second season that felt a little weaker, such as the introduction of the student council that Yuki would work with, overall everything was needed because Fruits Basket The Final Season brings all the threads together, stirs the viewers emotions, and leaves us with a story that you really do have to experience.
See, even Hiro is crying.
As always, the strength of Fruits Basket The Final Season remains the characters and their emotional journeys. Whether we like these characters or not, we can empathise with them and what they are going through and the story guides us gently through their trauma, to the stirrings of finding hope, to finding a resolution and then looking toward a new future.
That it does this again and again and somehow manages to feel fresh each time and for each character is a real testament to how this story has built up its cast over the prior two seasons.
Whether we are watching the more innocent antics of Kisa and Hiro, the more passionate Hatsuharu and Isuzu, seeing the more malicious and darker relationship between Shigure, Kureno and Akito, the awkwardness of Yuki with Machi, or even focusing on the endlessly adorable Kyo and Tohru all of these characters stir an emotional response in the audience and have made us invested in their outcome.
They are just too adorable.
However it isn’t just tears. Fruits Basket the Final Season will take you through the full range of emotions.
You will get angry, at Akito most definitely but even at some of the other characters. You will feel joy and smile like a fool. You will be concerned and curious and at times just feel drained. The emotions on screen are portrayed well and the visuals and music perfectly accompany them to move the viewer, but more than that, they feel earned.
None of these events have sprung up out of nowhere just to tug our heartstrings. They are the culmination of some fairly carefully crafted story work over three seasons of anime and I found Fruits Basket the Final Season was wildly successful.
Finally, some answers.
The series was not just relying on the ‘feels’ to keep viewers invested. Clues about the nature of the ‘curse’ and how the Soma family came to be were dropping throughout Fruits Basket the Final Season and these both added to and slightly changed what we knew about the situation before leading us to the final reveals.
While the plot overall isn’t usually the driver of Fruits Basket, with the characters and their feelings taking front and centre, the curse has been the underlying problem throughout the whole series and is responsible for the distorted relationships and upbringings that have caused so much of the character trauma that we’ve witnessed. So for the ending to really feel satisfying, the curse needed to be addressed and I’m very happy with how this plays out.
They don’t move us away from character drama for an exposition dump. Rather the information comes through character interactions, choices, and one or two flash back sequences that tell us more about character relationships while moving the plot forward.
It’s highly effective and leaves you feeling like the journey really has come to a close.
They finally made it.
If I was to offer a criticism of Fruits Basket The Final Season, it would be more a personal preference. As a weekly watcher of this anime, the final two episodes felt like they were dragging the epilogue of this story out. I know that on a rewatch, when you binge episodes 11 through to 13 together it will actually feel kind of beautiful, however the climax really is episode 11 and so the final forty minutes of episodes 12 and 13 are really wrapping up all the loose ends.
And I do mean all the loose ends.
While Fruits Basket hasn’t been weighed down by its large cast previously, seeing every single character’s epilogue and seeing all of them end up with a more-or-less happily-ever-after (or at least the potential to reach one in the future) definitely felt like overkill.
Admittedly, who would decide which characters to leave out? Fruits Basket the Final Season is the end and so we won’t see these characters again and every character has fans.
For me though, it was a little much and I’d have happily settled for a slightly shorter conclusion to this story.
Yep, Shigure is a bit of a downer this season.
Ultimately though it is a petty complaint. Fruits Basket The Final Season is beautiful.
The animation, the use of colour, the characters… It is a real joy to watch. Everything really just fits the purpose for really moving the audience to the right emotional tone.
Likewise, the use of sound continues to really complement the story. That said, I will put one more criticism out there: I really didn’t like the OP. Most Fruits Basket openings I have really enjoyed but this one I tried three times and then just skipped it.
However, for anyone who has watched Fruits Basket at all, Fruits Basket The Final Season is a must watch. Bring the tissues along and ensure you have someone or something to hug because you are going to need it (particularly if you try to binge watch).
This is a really beautiful anime with a beautiful story with characters I am sorely going to miss (at least until I rewatch it).
Images used for review from: Fruits Basket: The Final Season. Dir. Y Ibata. TMS Entertainment. 2021.
It seems such a petty complaint when I consider the dizzying emotional heights this final season of Fruits Basket has delivered, but realistically after episode 11, both 12 and 13 have felt kind of anti-climatic. Part of me almost wishes they’d just made episode 11 a forty-minute special and truncated the content of these final two episodes. Because waiting a week in between each one to just get more wrap up feels a little… well lame.
Binge watchers will have a definite advantage here because to be blunt, they can ride the emotional high from episode 11 and be swept through these final two episodes and left with that final happy smile of joy at a sickly sweet conclusion in which everyone gets a happily ever after. For seasonal viewers, Fruits Basket’s ending lacks any kind of meat and two weeks is a long time to trail out an ending of saccharine sweet smiles.
Not that they aren’t still adorable.
And you know, it doesn’t undermine my overall love of this anime. Three seasons of Fruits Basket and it has told a beautiful story and part of me is really happy that the characters are working toward their happy ending and we’re seeing what happens next. However as an episode to review my impressions of I’m left with the unmistakable feeling that pretty much nothing happened other than the slow demonstration that all the characters are moving on and making sure we know they got to happily ever after.
That doesn’t leave you with a lot to say and the few moments of comedy offered up by Hanajima really don’t give much to discuss either.
Though, this episode does make a point of touching base with all the key characters and couples and we see their reactions to Tohru leaving (with Kyo). There’s lots of sighs and wistfully staring off into a future and then there’s the plans they make for themselves.
Probably the one that made me happiest was seeing Hatori making plans to travel. He’s lived a longer time in the clutches of the family and had never really rebelled against it. Unlike Ayame and Shigure he stayed in the main estate and did what he was asked to do so seeing him planning to go somewhere and maybe have his own life for a change was actually a pretty touching moment in amongst a lot of similarly played out sequences in this episode.
While the future for many of the kids is ambiguous, they make it clear they are all moving on with their lives and relationships.
I will get to the full season review of Fruits Basket: The Final Season soon but really I think I need to binge watch the whole season. While week to week was fine, the emotional roller coaster makes it difficult to really be objective as a whole. I do know that Fruits Basket really did do something special and this final season has been a brilliant conclusion, even if the final episodes have felt like they are dragging just a little bit.
Images used for review from: Fruits Basket: The Final Season. Dir. Y Ibata. TMS Entertainment. 2021.
A strange calm is settling over the cast of Fruits Basket.
It was kind of inevitable that whatever came after the emotional heights of episode 11 was going to be a bit of a let down. Admittedly, Fruits Basket made a solid attempt at tugging the heart strings this week but this is definitely the start of a long epilogue that won’t conclude until one more episode.
That might be an incredibly cold thing to say about an episode that deals with the final bonds breaking in the zodiac, Akito finally realising an apology is owed but unable to give it, and finally seeing Kyoko’s final moments and words, but Fruits Basket has reached such incredible heights that honestly while this episode provided satisfying continuations and revelations, emotionally I was pretty calm this week.
Okay, my reaction was a lot better than Kyo’s was.
In case it sounds like I didn’t like the episode, I’d like to say that isn’t true. Episode 12 of this final season of Fruits Basket is every bit as well crafted and cohesive as the rest of the narrative has been.
For me this is just a case where binge watchers have the advantage. They can come straight from the emotional high of last week to getting their denouement and it would be almost cleansing from an emotional point of view. However for those with a week to mull over the previous episode and have distance from those emotions, this ends up being more a Lord of the Rings style epilogue where sure it gives us more information about what is coming next for the characters but it isn’t strictly speaking needed to feel satisfied.
It was nice that Fruits Basket did allow Yuki his moment in episode 12. While the focus has been on Kyo for a fair while now, it is important to remember that Yuki has been in this story since the beginning and his journey is every bit as important.
Yuki distracted from Machi.
While a lot of viewers seem to really like Machi and appreciate her as a character, for me Machi has always felt like a late addition that hasn’t quite earned my emotional attachment and so while I was thrilled for Yuki in this sequence as the two were adorkably sweet together, Machi is more just a necessity for Yuki’s ending rather than feeling like a character I’m particularly concerned about.
Likewise, Akito’s appearance this week and reconnection with the other zodiac members (now that they are freed) and then with Shigure, does nicely help to close up any potential loose ends and continues Akito’s redemption arc even if actual redemption is a long way away. However given this path had already been set in the previous episode of Fruits Basket seeing it play out was more just kind of a nice addition rather than a must watch moment, even if I absolutely loved that outfit.
A different look for Akito.
The real emotional power of the episode comes from seeing Kyoko’s final moments from a different perspective. While this is framed around Kyo’s decision about the future and Honda’s desire for him to forgive himself, Kyoko has been a powerful character throughout the whole narrative despite being dead when it really started. Giving her these final moments actually felt like a weighty addition to the story and not just another loose end to be tied.
With one final episode to go it will be interesting to see what note Fruits Basket will leave us on. Will it do a time-skip to reveal the characters further on or will we simply get to the graduation of the main group and have them go their own way? Are there any surprises left in store or is it just waiting it out as this story that has kept me enthralled through three seasons draws to a close?
The banquet is over.
What I do know is that regardless of what the final episode brings, this is one series I would firmly recommend. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll do both at the same time. Fruits Basket will leave you emotionally wrecked while giving you confidence and hope. The characters will charm you and annoy you and end up feeling like family. At the end of the day, I’m going to miss this show once the final curtain falls.
Images used for review from: Fruits Basket: The Final Season. Dir. Y Ibata. TMS Entertainment. 2021.
Tohru and Kyo…Fruits Basket…Words are now failing me.
Episode 11 of Fruits Basket the Final Season is an emotional watch and if the YouTube reactions I found after watching it were anything to go by I’m not alone in feeling that way. While the episode is titled ‘Goodbye’ my initial thoughts were pretty bleak but honestly this episode manages to be aww inducing cuteness followed by contemplative and cathartic. Overall there’s a sense of resolution as the banquet is finally demystified and finally we are left with a sense of relief.
As always, watching Fruits Basket is akin to going multiple rounds of emotional boxing and I’m just not all that well equipped for having my emotions rocked like that.
Incidentally, spoilers below.
Kyo, when you look at me like that…
I do know that after watching this episode I am going to have to go an rewrite my list of top 5 anime confessions. Seriously, this one has to absolutely be on that list. I’d put this one on par with the confession in Dakaichi in terms of intensity but given that confession came out of nowhere at the beginning of the story (before we knew either character) and this one between Kyo and Honda has been so long coming…
Yeah, to be honest, the emotional payoff here was just brilliant. Fruits Basket absolutely nailed this moment and honestly if this final season leaves us with nothing else in its final episode, episode 11 has already given me everything I needed to be happy. Sure there are still some unanswered questions but most of what I wanted from this season has been revealed and then some.
I am curious about whether the characters will continue to live at Shigure’s house or whether they will return to the main Soma estate. Will the main Soma estate even remain after all of this? Or are they all going to go and find their own ways. I will admit, I never read the very end in the manga. Once I found out enough about the curse and where the characters were going in Fruits Basket to satisfy my curiosity I put this story away until this rebooted anime.
Kyo, sometimes Tohru makes us all feel like that.
One thing I am happy season 3 of Fruits Basket has fully resolved is the question of whether Tohru would end up with Kyo or Yuki. From the start of this season it couldn’t have been clearer and honestly, that made this moment all the sweeter. If there had still been some doubt, or if Yuki hasn’t been so clear with Kyo in episode 10, there would be that ongoing awkwardness that usually results when a love triangle resolves.
However, this episode actually had a lot more in it than Kyo and Tohru being utterly adorable. And actually, a lot of it was pretty important. The problem is, that Fruits Basket began its episode by giving me the fan moment I’ve been waiting for forever and so it was a little difficult to focus on the rest while I had my inner fan-girls dancing a conga-line through my brain for the rest of the day after watching the first part of this episode.
Okay, onto the more serious side of things.
So most of the rest of this episode of Fruits Basket really looks at God’s relationship with the animals in the zodiac. We see this through Akito’s genuine pain as the bonds most definitely break. However we also go back to the original story that we were told about god holding the banquet. Only this time, we get a lot more about what happened before the first banquet and unsurprisingly it involves God’s relationship with the cat.
It isn’t at all surprising that a story passed down through generations and between incarnations had become quite distorted and details that should have been remembered were forgotten. The relationships between god and the zodiacs and the zodiacs and the cat became symbolic and chains, mimicking their original connection but the purpose being quite forgotten.
Akito’s finally going to be on her own.
Letting go of these bonds, being alone (truly alone) for the first time, is painful and not just for Akito. As we saw from Kureno and others who broke free of the bond previously, it isn’t exactly a happy moment initially. But, if any of these characters are to move forward it is a necessary step.
Honestly, I’d really have been happy with this as an ending. Sure it will be great to see next steps and have a few other questions answered, but in terms of this narrative I kind of feel like this is going to be the emotional peak for me. Fruits Basket episode 11 was incredibly satisfying viewing and will perhaps remain one of my favourite resolutions in anime (I really should do a top 5 list of those).
Images used for review from: Fruits Basket: The Final Season. Dir. Y Ibata. TMS Entertainment. 2021.
Will Kyo admit it? Fruits Basket Final Season Episode 10 asks the question.
There’s a change in the air this week with Fruits Basket. Tohru is absent for most of the episode given she’s still in the hospital but her presence and her actions hang over everything. That said, there’s almost a sense of release occurring and while emotions for the characters are still running high as a viewer I felt that this week’s anime episode was almost a breath of fresh air. Definitely spoilers below.
Admittedly we are closing in on the end of the road now with MAL giving this season of Fruits Basket 13 episodes. I’m not sure I’m ready for it to end even as it seems the journey is definitely coming to a close. I mean, having watched the original anime and then investing in the remake since 2019, Fruits Basket and the characters have been a part of my viewing life for a very long time now.
Not even the student council can believe this is going to come to an end.
But I digress. Episode 10 has Yuki trying to sort through his emotions, as many of the characters seem to be. They are coming to terms with what has transpired and trying to figure out where they now stand. Whether it is Hiro and Kisa, Kureno and Arisa, or even Akito, there’s a definite sense that they want to move to somewhere, they feel they can move, but they are all kind of hesitating and unsure about what is coming next.
The level of uncertainty makes sense given most of these characters have felt, long before the events in the anime started, that their lives were predetermined and they had no other options. Forging a new path sounds exciting but it’s pretty terrifying when the moment finally comes. That said, there’s one character in Fruits Basket who still seems very much locked in place.
And Yuki has had enough.
Yuki and Kyo’s relationship has never been good (understatement). The two have violently clashed again and again and about the only point they’ve ever agreed on is that they needed to look out for Honda Tohru. However, Yuki now has some clear advice for Kyo and he rams it home with both fists and a few violent kicks to Shigure’s long suffering house.
This was definitely advice giving. Not a fight.
I have to admire this moment. Even as angry as Yuki was he still made it clear to Kyo. The two finally communicated and realised, probably for the first time, that the envy they feel for the other is reflected right back. That said, Yuki told Kyo what he needed to hear and that was that he made Honda happy simply by being near her. The power of Tohru’s smile should not be underestimated.
The upshot of all this advice is that Kyo leave Shigure’s house however he doesn’t head straight to the hospital and Honda. At first I thought this was a foolish move but then we realised who he went to see. Kyo was seeking some closure of his own as we near the end of this final season of Fruits Basket and had decided it was high time he spoke with his father.
Honestly, it doesn’t go well but I don’t think the viewers of Kyo expected it to. But it did give Kyo what he needed. The chance to stop running from his feelings of guilt and to face the past that he had always shut away. Despite how dark this scene became it didn’t change the feeling that somehow shackles were being released and everything was moving once again.
All of that alone would have made for a solid episode of Fruits Basket. However, they had one more treat for us. Kyo confessed (at least in his own head) that he loved Honda Tohru. As he approaches the hospital the words resound in his mind again and again and if you are anything like me you are cheering like a crazy idiot at your laptop and anyone else in your house is wondering just what happened.
And then the moment arrives…
In true Fruits Basket fashion the tone then shifts as Honda sees Kyo and then flees. He chases after her screaming that she shouldn’t run right after leaving the hospital and the episode ends while I’m left with a ridiculously cheesy smile on my face. So yeah, perfect. Plus the most perfect final shot of Arisa and Hanajima. Love those two.
My prediction last week that it would all end in tears proved far too true.
Fruits Basket is one of those anime that time after time reduces me to tears. The thing is, not all of those tears are sad tears. Some of them are as we learn about the tragedies in each of the characters’ back stories. However a lot of the tears I’ve shed for this anime have simply been overwhelming emotion or warm tears of joy and relief. Episode 9 of the final season of Fruits Basket manages to make you cry every kind of tears for and with the characters and while the end result of the episode might seem a little on the trite side given how dire things seemed to get, you can’t fault the journey we took to get here.
Absolutely spoilers below.
I’ve longed for someone to wipe the smug look off of Akito’s face. Events this episode finally did.
So much of this final season has been around the various members of the Zodiac finding themselves and in the process moving away from the eternity Akito longed for. Tohru, on finally realising that at heart Akito is just lonely and pathetic, did the usual Tohru thing and reached out to hug the knife wielding maniac. There’s nothing out of character in her actions and while the same action by another protagonist might have me rolling my eyes toward the heavens, it was so expected of this character and so established that this is exactly what she would do that all I could do was hope she didn’t end up eating the knife.
Fortunately, Akito had clearly had their fill of stabbings and after being loved past the point of tolerance she ran away. Now if only Tohru had let her go things may have played out quite differently but I’m not sure we’d ever get to the ending we need. Instead we have a confrontation of Akito’s rejection of kindness versus Tohru’s absolute conviction that she can reach anyone if she just tries hard enough playing out on the dirt cliff that collapsed back in episode 1, all those years ago, burying Tohru’s tent and current home.
Knowing the cliff collapsed under rain then more or less sets up where this scene is going to go but there’s still tension as Tohru has her back to the edge and there’s a genuine question of whether Akito will snap again and give her the little push that would send her over.
They both look a little worse for wear here.
One thing that was certain though, Tohru was always going over that cliff. It was basic Chekov in action. Here’s a crumbling cliff known for landslides in rain back in episode one and here we have two main characters have an emotional outpouring at the top of that same cliff.
Once again, Fruits Basket isn’t reinventing the wheel or doing anything revolutionary with its narrative. But it has solid fundamentals in character and narrative structure and there’s an absolute certainty in where it is headed. While some might argue this makes it a little predictable, I’m fine with that as I watch the scenes play out because while it isn’t trying to do anything new it is ensuring that each scene strikes the exact emotional chord they are aiming for.
I don’t feel sorry for Akito but the face they make after Tohru goes over is probably the best moment of character redemption ever. For the first time Akito is made human through their horror over what has just happened and we see as the episode plays out that the weight of all their actions are settling upon them. They still don’t fully own these actions and are still calling those who forgive them idiots but its at least a first step.
I don’t think the audience of Fruits Basket is supposed to forgive Akito (which is a good thing because I don’t think we ever could) and Momiji is the perfect vehicle to show this. Not vindictive in any way, Momiji merely pushes Akito to continue pursuing their current path without actually forgiving them for prior actions. I will admit, Momiji is definitely becoming one of my favourite characters as these final episodes play out.
Akito cannot believe that just happened.
But what of Tohru and Kyo and everyone else? Well… I guess we’ll wait and see what the outcome is next week.
Images used for review from: Fruits Basket: The Final Season. Dir. Y Ibata. TMS Entertainment. 2021.
Although perhaps that is a redundant thing to say given most episodes of Fruits Basket in this final season have been reducing me to tears. That this latest episode keeps you on the edge of tears from start to finish and then leaves you with the absolute certainty that a tragedy is about to befall all of the characters is perhaps a testament to the control of emotions this story has.
After the episode ending last week that really should have been show-stopping, it is nearly forgotten as episode 8 draws to its dramatic close leaving us with a cliff-hanger that will most definitely haunt our dreams until the next episode.
Episode spoilers for sure.
Convenient rain for emotional sequences – check.
For those who have followed my episodic coverage of Fruits Basket so far, you will know that I love this adorable awkward pairing with Kyo and Tohru both so absolutely clueless at romance and yet so utterly needing someone in their lives to love.
Fruits Basket is masterful at bittersweet.
That this whole episode is Kyo largely outlining the reasons why Tohru can’t possibly love him and should never forgive him before she smacks his reasoning flat in a single line means that the audience gets the heart wrenching experience of seeing one of our favourite characters belittle himself and cast himself in the worst possible light while re-experiencing the real tragedies that have shaped his character up until this point. It really does hurt to watch and that is more or less exactly what is intended.
Tohru, please give him a hug. I know he’ll transform, but do it anyway.
And yet, if you believe that Tohru cutting through Kyo’s reasoning would lead to a happy outcome, you’ve clearly been watching a different anime to me. Cornered by Tohru’s refusal to simply accept that he is unlovable or that he is to blame for everything bad that has literally ever happened, he runs. And it is such a Kyo thing to do. He’s been running and avoiding since season one and that was hardly going to change right at this moment.
That Yuki chooses to pursue the fool and leaves Tohru alone in the rain is simply plot convenience so that the final scene can be established before the audience is left wondering whether the worst possible outcome is about to occur.
Now Kyo, you didn’t really think she’d just accept your explanation.
What I do love about this episode is how neatly it ties our plot back full circle. The boy with the hat, Kyoko’s death, Kyo’s training in the mountains and his over-the-top anger at Yuki during season one. We had seen Yuki’s memories and Tohru’s to a point but now Kyo’s perspective has been layered in on top and once again changed the way we see each sequence and how the characters have reacted.
It also makes Arisa’s earlier comments that she wished Kyoko had met Kyo as she’d probably love to tease him all the more prophetic. Kyoko did meet Kyo and she did have fun teasing him when he was younger before he chose to break off contact. Once again, Kyoko’s reach is felt despite her having been dead prior to the events of season one.
Kyo and Kyoko – these two would have made a fine pair if Kyoko had lived.
I don’t know if I’ll ever be emotionally ready for the next episode. I don’t know if I’m really finished processing episode 8 of Fruits Basket. What I do know is that I was mesmerised and I’m almost sure I barely breathed during the entire run-time and now I’m wishing the minutes away until I get the chance to watch the next episode.
Images used for review from: Fruits Basket: The Final Season. Dir. Y Ibata. TMS Entertainment. 2021.
For those who aren’t familiar with it, Ghost Hunt is an anime series from 2006 that essentially goes through a number of story arcs about a team of paranormal researchers. While some stories are better than others, the whole series is actually pretty entertaining. What follows are my thoughts on each story arc after rewatching the series.
Evil Spirits All Over
Here is the crack squad of would be ghost hunters minus the boss.
This arc nicely introduces Mai to Kazuya Shibuya, a 17 year old who dresses in black and runs the Shibuya Psychic Research company. She also meets his assistant Lin and a range of other spiritualists including a monk, a shrine maiden (kind of), a clairvoyant, and a priest (from Australia and I must say that accent is truly dreadful though that’s only a problem if you watch the English dub as the Japanese version has a different location and accent).
The case in this arc of Ghost Hunt involves an old school building at Mai’s school. A number of accidents have occurred and the Principal wants the building cleansed so it can be demolished. While the mystery in this arc isn’t particularly compelling, it is a nice backdrop to introducing the characters and Mai’s entry into the world of ghost hunting.
Without spoiling the conclusion of this arc, it is difficult to say anything more about what happens. We learn a range of facts about ghosts and poltergeists and are introduced to each of the characters specialties when it comes to dealing with spirits. We also see that they don’t always get it right.
This is a very satisfying introduction to the series.
Positives:
The voice actress for Mai is a fantastic screamer. Very few screams in television are as satisfying as some of Mai’s.
The show isn’t going for flash or gimmicky. It’s keeping a steady pace and measured tone but uses the characters and the atmosphere to keep you interested. It’s refreshing for a show to not feel the need to dress itself up and go over the top.
Negatives:
Already mentioned it, but John’s Australian accent is horrendous. To the point where I was showing Ghost Hunt to a friend of mine and she actually asked if his character was going to die soon so that we wouldn’t have to listen to it any longer.
A lot of narrative convenience, like most mysteries. If you pay attention, you’ll probably solve this case before the characters do because it isn’t that mysterious.
Anyway, you should definitely check out Ghost Hunt at some point. The opening theme is also kind of interesting because it has no lyrics and doesn’t use character images. Instead you just get a simple orchestral piece and a range of visual effects that set a nice, spooky tone. While the opening gets old after a few episodes, it is definitely different from the usual anime fare.
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The Doll House
Creepy doll.
The SPR team are hired to investigate a haunted house where a woman lives with her sister-in-law and niece in this arc of Ghost Hunt. The rest of our psychics, spiritualists and mediums show up to help out on the case.
This arc is a great creepy, haunted house story. You’ve got the creepy kid with the seriously creepy doll and a step-mum who seems mysteriously cold. Add in some thumps, bangs, furniture rearrangement and messages being written on walls and you have everything you need for an entertaining ghost story.
This arc does use a lot of the same techniques as the first, but it feels more like they are trying to establish a pattern before they get a bit more experimental in their ghost hunting.
Positives:
Mai demonstrates some psychic ability of her own even while she continues to learn about the business.
Ayami is adorable as the creepy kid.
Minnie (the doll) is possibly able to hold up the horror end of a ghost story all on her own.
Negatives:
Why doesn’t Kazuya just tell the others what he is going to do? I know this becomes an established pattern, but it makes no sense and adds needless conflict.
The step-mum leaves and no one ever mentions her again. Hello, she just ditched her step-daughter and left and no-one thinks this is worth commenting on?
While the doll house isn’t one of my favourite arcs from Ghost Hunt, it certainly has impact and is effective as a ghost story.
Mai really nails the damsel in distress role at times, though isn’t always needing rescuing (just a lot).
We’re back in school again, although this time SPR were called in to deal with a string of incidents including a haunted desk and a cursed club. Turns out a girl named Kasai demonstrated psychic talent and was then harassed by certain members of the student body and staff and declared she would ‘curse them to death’. However, Mai insists that Kasai isn’t the culprit.
This arc of Ghost Hunt really brings out the investigative skills of SPR and friends as they are faced with what looks like a haunting and events that must be supernatural, but there are no spirits to be found. Thanks to Mai being clueless, many of the characters offer explanations of various phenomenon for the audience to get up to speed in a way that doesn’t feel overly forced, and the resolution is quite satisfying.
Also, while there is the investigation into the phenomenon, there’s a lot of discussion around how psychics and strange phenomenon are viewed by the public at large and how they are represented within the media. While this discussion doesn’t really come to any kind of conclusion, it certainly gets the audience thinking about their own views and how people are accepted or not within society.
Positives:
Mai continues to demonstrate growth in her abilities, even if she has no control whatsoever.
Kazuya is at his absolute sweetest in this arc and the way he comforts Mai is the most human you will see him in the entire series.
Negatives:
Takigawa and Ayako are at their most pig-headed in this episode. While they’ve butted heads with Kazuya in the previous arcs, there they seemed to have a point. Here, they seem to be objecting for the sake of keeping some tension in the group.
The case may be solved but a lot of the emotional damage from the events in the story will remain. No clue is given as to how any of that is going to be resolved.
As a stand alone story I find The Afterschool Hexer one of the most satisfying cases Ghost Hunt has to offer. It isn’t as dark as some of the cases later on, but it develops nicely and the couple of twists feel natural and planned. Well worth a watch even if you don’t watch the rest of Ghost Hunt.
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Ghost Story in the Park
A brief moment of excitement.
This stand alone episode is a refreshing change. We’re outdoors, in the park, and getting soaked by a petty and vindictive spirit who dislikes seeing couples in love. Honestly, it’s a filler episode at best but it does show Mai’s jealousy as Masako uses the opportunity to get closer to Kazuya. There’s not a lot more to say about this one but you can just watch it on its own.
A Silent Christmas
Don’t turn into a ghost and possess everyone now.
While it only goes over 2 episodes, this arc hits a fair emotional punch. We’re dealing with orphan children at Christmas time and a possession by a child’s spirit. When the spirit possesses Mai things get even more distressing.
Positives:
Lin actually speaks in whole sentences during these episodes.
Because the cases are smaller there is more focus on the characters in these episodes.
Negatives:
The storyline is pretty uncompelling as there is little mystery in what is going on.
Kazuya seems to take a back seat to some of the other characters during this story.
I must admit, I regularly skip right past this story when I’m rewatching Ghost Hunt. It doesn’t add a great deal to the series and doesn’t quite match the tone of some of the other story arcs. That said, if you’re watching the series for the first time, there is some good character development to be found.
And for a third time Ghost Hunt returns to a school setting, but this time it returns for my favourite story of the series. Strange occurrences are happening on a daily basis all over the school and the students are panicked. Several aren’t coming to school anymore at all. However, the strict staff at the school think it’s all in their heads or that they are playing some silly game and won’t deal with any of the issues. When the SPR and friends arrive on the scene it is already chaos and within minutes of setting up a base a phantom dog attacks a girl in a classroom.
There are several reason why this is my favourite story but the first would have to be the introduction of a new character, Yasu. He’s a student who contacted SPR to try to get the situation resolved and he hangs around helping out with odd jobs and providing valuable insight to the location. He also stays on in a support role in the remaining narrative arcs.
The second reason I like this story is there definitely seems to be more menace in this story. We’ve encountered ghosts and curses and all sorts of other things previously, but there’s been very little sense of ongoing danger. The Forbidden Pastime turns that on its head and at time you genuinely wonder how things are going to be all right at the end.
Positives:
Mai learns some magic. Not well and she doesn’t use it particularly well here but it is about time she learned something about how to defend herself from spirits given her current occupation.
Yasu is a fantastic addition to the cast and adds some genuine levity into scenes that are very heavily weighed down by the dark atmosphere of this story.
Lin finally gets to show off some of his expertise.
Negatives:
Kazuya continues to not tell people things for the sake of being Kazuya. Seriously, would a ten second explanation kill him?
A lack of any teaching staff at the school that express anything other than contempt for the ghost hunters. If phantom dogs, weird smells, fires and other strange events are occurring that often, how can all of the staff assume the students are lying?
There are some tense moments in this story. It isn’t exactly horrific but it will make you sit up and take notice and it definitely preps you for the arcs coming as Ghost Hunt takes a turn for the more creepy. Well worth a watch.
Okay, I’m not overly squeamish, but I found some parts of this story hard to watch. Probably because the story is being told from Mai’s perspective and she goes through some genuine trauma during this arc of Ghost Hunt. While the theme is still more mystery than horror, if you don’t like blood or dismemberment, you should probably give this arc a miss.
Kazuya and team are hired to investigate a mansion that has a very weird design and is known to be haunted. A teenager went missing while inside with friends and then a fireman who was part of the search team looking for him disappeared. However, Kazuya is not the only one hired for the job and so he asks Yasu to stand in as the company boss so he can get to work and not deal with the other teams. It’s pretty cold and pretty typical of Kazuya this far into the series.
Once inside the house, the weirdness keeps growing. The design is insane and without a floor map a lot of the earlier episodes are devoted to exploration and holding a séance (which ends about as well as expected when you are in a haunted house). Mai also begins experiencing some very vivid and very disturbing dreams. Once not one, but two members of other teams go missing, Yasu is sent away to ensure that everyone has someone with them at all times that can protect them.
There’s a couple of twists and turns in the dealings with the other teams that I won’t get into to avoid spoilers. The main mystery is solved but there’s definitely a sense that this wasn’t a victory this time around and Ghost Hunt shows us once again that dealing with spirits is tricky. This story is dark and highly affective.
Positives:
Yasu is back and has some great lines early on when little else is happening. Without him, there’s a good chance the first episode in particular would have been snore worthy.
Mai continues to grow as a person and psychic.
Kazuya get’s put in his place a couple of times by a former mentor.
Negatives:
John’s presence in this entire story is almost completely pointless. So much so that at times you forget he is actually with the team.
Why are the other psychic researchers so useless? Surely even they can do some basic background checking on the house?
Once again, if you don’t like too much blood then maybe don’t touch this particular story. It isn’t horrific but it isn’t exactly nice either.
It’s going to be hard to really review this without spoilers so I’ll keep it simple. A family who own a certain property have been cursed and they hire SPR to look into it. Unfortunately several members of the family are already possessed which leads to some very violent encounters. You can tell we’re at the final as the body count in this story stacks up and the number of spirits encountered is quite extraordinary.
One key event that I am going to mention is that Kazuya is possessed in this story arc and then knocked out and kept unconscious by Lin until he can be exorcised. While we’ve kind of had indications before that Kazuya must have been dangerous, this is the first time we are overtly told that he has power.
Needless to say, he’s in a bad mood when he does wake up.
I’m going to leave it there because anything else is going to spoil this final story of Ghost Hunt for you.
Positives:
All of the characters get a moment to shine in this final story, including Ayako who has previously had very little chance to show off what she can do.
It suitably ups the tension to leave us with a very satisfying conclusion to the series.
Negatives:
Talk about leaving you wanting more. It feels like these characters are just touching the edge of their potential and we could learn so much more about them.
Overall, Ghost Hunt is a great mystery anime with a focus on the supernatural. Its episodic nature works in its favour when you only want to watch a couple of episodes and this allows you to see a whole story quickly. However, I’d love to see more stories with these characters and watch them grow even more and encounter other supernatural events. It was just great fun watching them.
Images used from: Ghost Hunt. Dir. A Mano. J. C. Staff. 2006
Fruits Basket does a deep dive into tragedy this week and in the case of truly tragic characters there seemingly a moment or a choice where each one potentially had a chance to avoid the domino of events that is now leading to all of their tears and emptiness and yet someone missed that moment or deliberately turned their back on it.
While many of the faults lie with an older generation that seemingly set things in motion through greed and jealousy, the younger generation need to own their decisions as well as they’ve been participating in the farce that is the god’s banquet all along. Incidentally, there will be a major episode spoiler toward the end of this post so count this as the warning.
Poor Kyo doesn’t get a break even in his dreams.
Of course, a character isn’t truly a tragic character unless their own decisions and choices have in some way contributed and that without that decision they might have somehow been saved or a redeemable character. I mean, sure they might be a pitiful character or a very sad one to watch, but without some hope that they might not have ended up in that current state they really aren’t agents in the story and are merely being swept along with events.
Fruits Basket often leaves the characters feeling powerless even when they aren’t.
While Kyo, Yuki and the others have certainly been swept along at times, all of these characters have at different moments had pivotal points where a choice has been made and all of their choices up until now have kept them bound to the curse.
Arguably, they may have chosen differently if a certain Kureno had actually bothered to share the fact that he had been freed from the curse. That dangling hope may very well have been a catalyst for inspiring different choices or even being able to really believe in another path. Instead, what we see now is a family with darkness compounded by darkness and a mother, jealous (ridiculously) of a father’s affections for a child, who more or less twisted that child into the paranoid and hate-filled creature that is Akito.
The whole thing is ridiculous when you consider that her claim is that everything of the father’s belongs to her and that she treasures his everything and yet she treats his child (and hers) as something that is very much in the way and disposable.
This is a pairing that would have been toxic beyond all measure.
None of that excuses Akito’s life-time of abuse and crimes. Claiming no-one ever gave her a different path sounds like she would like to frame herself as a tragic heroine. While her mother certainly has a lot to own up to, as do the servants of the house who also didn’t provide any kind of buffering to protect the child, Akito also needs to take some responsibility for the choices she has made and the consequences they have wrought for others.
Terrible mother or not, pushing someone off a balcony isn’t going to be excused because you were a little bit confused. Nor is partially blinding someone in a fit.
Actually, the real question is how much money do the Soma’s have because clearly they have paid off literally all the authorities or there would be one big investigation into a whole range of human-rights abuses going on in that compound.
Can someone give that child a hug right now so she doesn’t grow up to be the single worst person ever?
It’s hard to even argue with Akito when she confronts Kureno at the end of the episode (BIG SPOILERS COMING IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED).
It is too late for him, the older of the two to suggest a different path. Kureno doesn’t have the luxury of excusing his complicit nature on the curse because he has been freed for some time. Instead, he has chosen to stand by Akito as she has become more and more possessive and hurt the others and he’s comforted her rather than tried to in anyway deter her actions.
So Akito’s accusation to him is not an empty one but rather quite justified. Of all the characters in Akito’s life, Kureno is the one who had the most chance at perhaps guiding her in a different way but chose instead to accept her exactly as she was (which is hugely broken).
While Akito’s next action may infuriate some, it actually makes a lot of sense and honestly, if Kureno had walked out of this narrative without getting a taste of some of the pain he’d allowed to continue that probably would have left a bad taste in my mouth. It is tragic and awful but within the context makes sense. Kureno is punished for his role in allowing the tragedy to continue and whether this punishment is ultimately lethal or not is left ambiguous by the episode and I suppose we’ll find out later whether he survives it (it doesn’t look like he should be who knows).
The only part of this that caught me off guard was that Akito stabbed him in the back and not the front. Almost like she was avoiding owning the action whereas with the others she openly hurt them.
Let’s be real: Episode 7 of Fruits Basket: The Final Season is all of the darker elements of this story without any of the humour and light, and it needed to be. As we see small hopes of more characters freeing themselves from the curse we see others being dragged down and now they are hitting rock bottom. The only question that remains is how many will still have the strength and will to claw their way back to the light by the time this is all over.
Images used for review from: Fruits Basket: The Final Season. Dir. Y Ibata. TMS Entertainment. 2021.
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