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Fruits Basket – The Final Episode 10 Review – Still Running, Just Not Away

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Fruits Basket – The Final Episode 10 Review – Quick Summary

In Fruits Basket – The Final Episode 10, “I Just Love Her,” Tohru continued to recover in the hospital. Kyou not only hadn’t visited her. He had moved out of Shigure’s home. What is Kyou up to? In the hospital, while visiting Tohru, Saki Hanajima and Arisa Uotani came upon Akito. This was after Tohru had given her friends the “one-minute summary of what happened.” How would Saki and Arisa react to Akito, knowing Akito’s role in Tohru’s hospitalization? Finally, Yuki found that Kyou had stopped by to pick up a few things. Yuki confronted the Cat, and they exchange perspectives. Will Shigure’s house recover from all the damage?

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.

Favorite Quote from Fruits Basket – The Final Episode 10

Fruits Basket - The Final Episode 10: Haru remains Haru

Of course, Haru’s the one with the question mark over his head! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Haru provided my favorite quote of this episode, simply by being Haru. Yuki and Shigure had gone to buy breakfast from a convenience store. Because Tohru had been hospitalized, they had run out of food and neither of them knew how to cook anyway. As Shigure observed, “Yeah, we’ve only gotten worse at adulting since Tohru-kun moved in” (06:37).

They came back to Shigure’s home to find Haru chilling on the floor. Haru mentioned that Rin had been beside herself with worry over Tohru’s condition. Apparently, her skin had changed colors, though to be honest, I’m not sure Haru’s a reliable narrator in this case.

As if to prove my point, he told Yuki and Shigure that Rin’s breasts had also gotten bigger in response to Tohru’s hospitalization.

“Are you trying to lighten the mood, brag, or sexually harass me?” Yuki demanded.

“All three?” Haru answered (07:47).

I’ll give Haru points for being honest!

Best in Show Moment for Fruits Basket – The Final Episode 10

Fruits Basket - The Final Episode 10: Tohru wasn't ready to talk

Kyou looked upon this face and knew his purpose in life. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Setup: Kyou and Tohru’s Long Journey

I finished watching this episode about two hours ago, and my reactions are still unspooling in my mind. They packaged a lot of emotion into a single episode. The mix of characters made the experience so emotionally dense! I mean, come on. Arisa declaring her feeling to Kureno so perfectly fit her character that I could not has asked for more (not reasonably, anyway!). That would have been enough for an episode. But we also got to see Yuki and Kyou’s long-simmering feud erupt into violence — then reconciliation. That, too, would have been enough for an episode.

But no, they weren’t done yet! We got to see Kyou confront his father, but this time, Kyou came armed with the Light of Tohru(tm). With the clarify of that light, he saw how the foundation of his self-loathing had been misplaced. For the first time, he had the information he needed to reinterpret his childhood. That reinterpretation revolutionized his whole self concept.

Kyou saw his father clearly for the first time

Using the Light of Tohru, Kyou saw into his “father’s” heart. The experience changed Kyou for the better. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Ah, but that just set the stage for the final scene, along with the details of Kyou and Tohru’s long journey. Tohru’s adamant refusal to abandon Kyou to his self-loading in this season’s episode 8 only represented the most recent milestone. I remembered back to season 1, episode 24, when Tohru embraced Kyou, in his full-blown Cat form. Now, finally, Kyou got his chance to express his feeling to Tohru when she wasn’t lying at the base of a collapsed cliff in a pool of her own blood.

Delivery: Tohru’s Squeal and Sprint

First Things First

But one detail remained: Kyou still hated himself enough that he could not, even after everything had happened, accept that he had any place in Tohru’s life. I mentioned this scene a couple of paragraphs before. Yuki confronted Kyou and had to smack some sense into him. In the process, Kyou broke at least one door, though I can’t blame Kyou for that. The force of Yuki’s fist sent Kyou though that door, after all. But after a fantastic moment of male bonding, Yuki got his point across.

Kyou had said that he didn’t deserve to be near Tohru because he couldn’t protect her. “You did protect her, dumbass,” Yuki roared (well, as close to a roar as Yuki can get — dude’s not exactly huge). Later, Yuki hammered home his point with (10:51), “You made Honda-san smile when you were with her!”

Kyou at the Hospital

That sent Kyou on a trip to meet Tohru as the hospital discharged her (after a brief visit to his “father”). As he approached the entrance, Arisa and Saki walked out. I could not help but notice that Saki held an adorable stuffed bunny. Kyou saw them but not Tohru, and he paused. The two young women stopped and turned, talking to someone who hadn’t emerged yet. That someone was Tohru.

As Kyou reflected just how impossibly much he loved her, how she was everything to him, he took a breath to speak. Tohru looked at him. Their eyes met.

Fruits Basket - The Final Episode 10: Tohru's speed shocked everyone!

Tohru managed some impressive acceleration for someone just discharged from the hospital. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

And Tohru squealed and dashed off in the opposite direction. The move surprised even Arisa and Saki! Kyou, though, had had enough of running away. Saying (22:02)”Dammit, I’m faster than you are!” he ran off after her.

That might be the most perfect moment in the series so far. It could easily have gotten too sappy. Instead, the brief moment of levity not only demonstrated Kyou’s love for Tohru. It reflected the change in his life’s direction. That’s a lot of work for a few seconds!

What did you think of what Kyou realized when he confronted his “father?” What was your Best in Show moment? Let me know in the comments below!

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4 thoughts on “Fruits Basket – The Final Episode 10 Review – Still Running, Just Not Away

  1. I must have looked a lot like Arisa (in that screenshot at the end) when Tohru dashed off. I totally didn’t see this coming, but, well, it made sense.

    We’re definitely closing in on the finale. “The Final” in the title has been bugging me all season long, but it’s starting to feel appropriate (I know it’s the final season, but I keep tying it to the episode by mistake and that used to cause cognitive dissonance – no longer, though).

    1. “I must have looked a lot like Arisa (in that screenshot at the end) when Tohru dashed off”

      You and me both! I expected some highly charged emotional moment. I think it says something positive about a series when, after all these episodes, it can still surprise me!

      I kept seeing “The Final” as an episode title. Still do, in fact! Guess there’s no point in working on it now, with a handful of episodes left.

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