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During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, watching people in movies and TV shows wander through crowds and embrace each other was surreal. Now that the curse is broken, they’re finally able to express their emotional ties to all sorts of people outside the family - and all those relationships are important, not just the romantic ones.Īdmittedly, they do make out like right after they hug Image: TMS/8PAN/FunimationĪnd while it’s become cliché to respond to every single piece about media as a commentary on the global pandemic, this climax is still a pretty poignant reflection about the world we live in. The Fruits Basket characters haven’t just been isolated from prospective significant others, but from friends and family members as well.
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The action of hugging is specifically hard-hitting, because unlike kissing, it isn’t primarily known as a romantic gesture.
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So many of these characters spent almost 60 episodes being unable to hold each other, which makes this moment incredibly satisfying. Even broody Hatsuharu and stubborn Rin - who don’t turn into animals when they embrace, since they’re both Zodiac members - choose each other for that first post-curse hug, after Hatsuharu remarks that the curse breaking is lonelier than he expected. The Rat of the Zodiac, mild-mannered Yuki, hugs his crush and fellow student-council member Machi. Dressmaker Ayame immediately embraces his devoted seamstress Mine, saying he can finally love her fully. For the others, the deliberate decision to embrace their loved ones in the wake of the aftermath is more evident. Granted, we don’t see Kyo, the Cat of the Zodiac, turn to Tohru after the curse falls apart, as he’d already decided to throw caution to the wind and embrace her, even before the curse ended. After they parse through the complicated emotions, many of them immediately just hug the person in their lives that they could not before. Their relationship with Akito has been toxic and traumatic, but also all they’ve ever known as their primary source of connection, and they lose it suddenly and completely. The curse shatters for all the remaining members at the same time, and they’re left confused by the complex feelings that flood them. That doesn’t excuse her shitty actions - like pushing one of the Zodiac members out of a window for daring to date someone - but it does mark the first active step for her to repent. After meeting Tohru, who does not turn her away and instead shows her more kindness than anyone has before, Akito realizes just how damaging the family’s bonds have become. The other characters with romantic arcs who haven’t been able to remove the curse do still value their respective partners - it’s just that it’s damn hard to cut yourself off from an abusive cycle when it’s all you’ve ever known.Īkito is the one who chooses to break the cycle that has trapped the Sohma family for generations. The few who have managed to split from the curse on their own were able to love something or someone more than they feared Akito’s hold over them. It isn’t just a physical quirk, it’s a metaphor for the way the Sohmas can never become emotionally close to others, as long as Akito has an overwhelming hold over them. She wants to be the primary factor in all their lives, which gives the magical turning-into-animals curse a more symbolic edge. She is deeply lonely, as much a victim of this curse as the Zodiac animals are, though that doesn’t necessarily excuse the manipulative way she wields her power over them.įruits Basket perfectly sums up ‘the mortifying ordeal of being known’ She’s also been told that the only thing special about her are the Zodiac bonds and her role within them, and that without them, no one would care for her. In the last season, she learns more about why Akito abuses that power.ĭespite what the majority of the family members believe, Akito is a woman, but because the role of “Zodiac God” has been traditionally male, she’s been forced to assume the identity of a man for her entire life. This isn’t the curse’s most immediately obvious quirk, it’s a revelation Tohru discovers over the course of the show. While under its influence, the Zodiac members are also under the influence of domineering family head Akito, the “God” of the Zodiac. The Sohma family curse goes deeper than the transformations. Those aren’t just little hugs - the embraces symbolize more than just gaining access to intimacy. When the curse is broken, naturally one of the first things many of the Zodiac members do is hug someone.