EARLY ACCESS Fruits Basket Season 2 Episode 1 Reaction

This will actually be a short comment. I think this is a great episode for the start of season 2 continuing the Yuki stuff. I wouldn’t say I love her but I do really enjoy Motoko as a character. I’m sure if you pointed out other characters like her I would see it but I like the deconstruction of the fan girl type character and I like this story’s ability to give emotional stuff to a very comedic character with her not liking herself very much. I love how quirky and strange the other 2 members of the student Council are and their interesting because we don’t know much about them yet. I think Manabe is a good challenge for Yuki to deal with because of the type of person he is. Also him liking super sentai is icing on the cake. The conversation at the end between Yuki and Tohru is fantastic showing development for Yuki. In regards to the opening I love the great focus on the characters and nice symbolism of the characters moving forward also the song is wonderful. Great analysis and theories especially the interesting loose connection between Motoko and Akito. Interesting thoughts on Yuki's character. This story and characters are so well written. I can’t wait for the next reaction. Keep up the great work. :-) <3

Supermonaman

Season 2 is just so good. I'm so ready for the reveals yet to come.

Smily

Ok this will be my first time really commenting on your reactions so hopefully I don't put my foot in my mouth or accidentally say anything that should be kept under wraps till later but!! What an amazing reaction to kick off the new season!! I wanna start with something I think Jacob pointed out? Regarding Yuki perhaps needing to help someone that struggles with something he struggles with as well in order to truly realize it, and begin to work on it inside himself. Then Caleb you stated being uncertain if Yuki has come far enough in his own journey to be able to do that, or has had the opportunity to do so. Can you recall Kisa's introduction episode and how she badly she struggled with standing up for herself, and speaking out when her classmates began to tease, then bully, and then ignore her? How badly Yuki initially responded when Haru told him part of the reason why he's so concerned for Kisa is because how she's responding to the situation and her feelings reminds him of how Yuki was. And later it's in recognizing the similarities in their flaws &amp; struggles that give him the words and support he does end up giving Kisa. Their struggles are different but they do very much involve being true to how you actually feel and SPEAKING YOURSELF, especially when it comes to moments where it's important that you stand your ground and say what you need to say. Yuki HAS already taken this step before, he is at a place where he has recognized this aspect of himself, and has officially told Tohru he plans to put in work on it. This episode is perhaps the first time we see him actively doing so. And in this specific case, he was very much rewarded for those efforts. He certainly had to be SHOVED by Manabe's words to get to a place where he was pissed enough to push past his own walls &amp; stand up for himself, but he did it!!! Now regarding Manabe, who is probably one of my favorite characters from the manga. I absolutely loved you initially linking him to Shigure!! Because while he's not who Yuki reminds him of, your thoughts are 100% valid. Manabe in this introduction I feel actively showcases aspects of both of these characters. He's very blunt &amp; fast-placed, almost to a point of having that kind of whirlwind energy that Ayame also has that does tend to wear on Yuki if he's exposed to it for too long, or Ayame doesn't slow down a bit. But in this episode Manabe was also lazy, playful, provocative, and lowkey manipulative. It may just be me seeing what I want to see, but that change you mentioned seeing in Manabe when that initial layer fell away to something more REAL reminded me a LOT of how Shigure can get. That kinda mean and manipulative streak he can sometimes have. When he said what he did to Yuki and that layer dropped, and then how he answered Yuki's reaction with him saying Yuki's more interesting than he originally thought, feels a lot like yes he may have been putting a foot in how mouth and going too far with teasing Yuki, but I like to think Manabe may well have pushed a little too hard on purpose just to see how Yuki might react. Maybe cause he's a jerk. Or maybe because he wanted to see if he did if he's get to know Yuki better. Which if that's what he was doing already indicates a very and rather surprising amount of insightfulness for his character. Wether that was his reason or not though I'll let you two hash out together, I just wanted to share my thoughts on it after the similarity of him and Shigure being brought up XD Lastly, RIN!!! Obviously I wont confirm or deny anything regarding her being or not being a part of the zodiac but I will point back to what you've already seen/heard so far. She's mentioned Shigure, so she knows him. And now both Hiro &amp; Hatsuharu have come to see her personally. So she may not be OF the zodiac, but she clearly has some sort of link to the zodiac itself or at least the Sohma family. Can't wait till your next reaction lads, I think you're both in for a real treat with this season in I feel a lot of what you two have talked about wanting for season 2 is on its way, especially SUMMER SHENANIGANS XD !!!! Merry Christmas you two!! And a very Happy New Years to you both as well!

Cas

Gonna jump off of this and be a little more specific since this is a moment you both have already watched. This episode is where Machi &amp; Manabe are officially introduced to the audience but it is not the first time the audience has seen them. The last episode of season one shows them together on a staircase, so this is a second case of the two having been shown spending time TOGETHER. Also if you look back on the scene once Manabe saw that the room was trashed, I agree that it would have been hard for him to not notice it if it was Machi as it looks to have been happening right beside him. But he did not immediately BLAME her. He asked if it was her doing when Yuki showed up. Maybe trying to give her an out in case she didn't want to admit to it in front of Yuki upon meeting him? Maybe hinting that in asking her it's not the first time he's seen this behavior from her? There's so many different conclusions or theories you can make with how this scene was done and I'm definitely looking forward to you both maybe coming back to this scene later as you get to know these two better!

Cas

Love watching you guys trying to count / remember the zodiac members :D

Laura

Manabe is another best boy in the series and I’m kinda sad the show didn’t go into some more of his character that’s in the manga.

Kara Spangenberg

Thank you for explaining! I have seen some people confused about the “Sho” thing. Your English is very clear and understandable.

Katie S.

Kakeru : "Man plus Abe spells Manabe for Kakeru Manabe." In Japanese he said, "The pot of truth flies." His name is written as 真鍋 翔 (Manabe Kakeru) in Japanese. This kanji has the following meanings. 真=truth 鍋=pot 翔=fly Kakeru : "I prefer you call me Sho." Kanji characters usually have multiple readings. His name 翔, can be read as Kakeru as well as Sho. That's why he said that. I am Japanese, so my English is not very good. So, if you can't understand what I mean, please let me know.

Just as a by the way, this is not the first time we've met Manabe and Machi [the new student council members]. I don't know if I should say more than that, but they definitely appeared and acted in season one, and the audience is supposed to remember it, and yall can draw your own conclusions from that info. Love this season with all of my heart, and I can't wait for yall to get deeper into it. The heavy beach theme of the intro seems to hint positively towards fun summer shenanigans, just like yall wanted :)

Kohl

Honestly I could have done without a lot of the Motoko scenes making it into the anime but Takuya likes her so.....

BriBri