The way Fruits Basket Season 2 Episode 10 begins, you’d think this was going to be a light hearted episode with Tohru, the Zodiacs, the beach and the fireworks. 10 minutes through, you end up realizing that this one’s as emotionally draining as the previous two episodes of Season 2.

We doubt if any anime ever had such an emotionally heavy hitting beach arc?

So Akito finally confronts Tohru in this episode (so early in the season), and boy that was some traumatizing encounter. The meeting takes place totally out of the blue. Just while we were thinking Akito would be gone for good, he appeared in front of the Sohma vacation home, looking for Tohru. If you hated Akito for his behaviour so far this season, you’ll absolutely despise him for the way he looked down at Tohru, hurt her and tried to push her away from the Zodiacs. 

But this meeting had quite the reverse effect on her. Though she was pretty shaken by Akito’s behaviour, Tohru decides to fight and find a way to free the Sohmas from their curse and protect them with all she got. This is a direct contrast to Yuki and Hatsuharu saying how hard it is to protect someone earlier. Instead of buckling down under the pressure, Tohru rose up to Akito’s challenge (if it can be seen that way).

On a side note, we wonder what would have happened if Arisa and Hana would have seen Akito hurt Tohru like that. He would have left the vacation home on all fours, beaten and bruised. Maybe. 

The anime also revealed who Akito was to the Zodiacs. Answering Tohru’s question, Akito says that he is someone who is equivalent to a God as far as the Zodiacs are concerned. It is interesting to see that Tohru was able to deduce some part of that on her own.

However, this should not come as a major surprise to fans who have been paying attention to the details from the start. There are multiple scenes in Fruits Basket, which shows a God sitting in the middle of the Zodiac animals. Putting it together with how Akito was treated in a special way by the Sohma family and his literal God complex, one could have easily guessed his role. It is also confirmed that Kureno is the Rooster among the Zodiacs.

But the question that is begging to be answered here is, why isn’t anyone defying Akito? Why do the Sohmas choose to suffer all the mental and physical abuse in silence (call the cops dammit!)?

Momiji defying Akito to protect Tohru was the only instance where we saw a cursed Zodiac stand up to him. Momiji’s actions deserve special praise because, while he was bravely trying to stop Akito from hurting Tohru, the older guys who were in love with her just stood by and watched from inside. What is preventing them from going against Akito? 

As Tohru thinks to herself, it could be that the curse runs much deeper than something which merely prevents the Zodiacs from hugging people from the opposite gender. Akito states that he is the ruler and has command over the souls of the Zodiacs. Was it just a mere statement or does he really have control over their souls. Tohru understands that Akito has a reason to be the way he is and that he too is bound by the curse in some way.

We are sure that the curse has greater implications than what we were led to believe. It’s not just that the Zodiacs can’t have a normal life in the society due to them transforming into animals, it is something which affects their characters, lifestyles and even their souls profoundly (take a look at Kureno Sohma).

We are hoping that Fruits Basket Season 2 soon rolls out an episode which explains the curse and the Zodiac’s connection to Akito in detail. We are sure there’s a lot more to their family dynamics than what meets our eye. 

Also, we feel there was a definite air of jealousy between Shigure and Kureno. And why is Akito acting like such a drama queen with Shigure? What right does Akito have to complain about the kind of treatment he receives, when all he does is harass and abuse the other members of the family. That whole scene where Akito complains about Shigure not being kind enough seemed off, and has given rise to major doubts about Akito’s gender/personality/character/likes etc. Is Akito a transient being? We feel there are going to be some interesting reveals soon.

While the past few episodes were filled with tension and anxiety, the beach arc certainly was one of the better parts of Fruits Basket Season 2, with ample character development and much drama as expected from this anime. Considering that we still have episodes left before we reach the halfway mark of Season 2, the story surely has picked up pace.

What were your opinions of Akito and Tohru’s encounter in the latest episode of Fruits Basket? Let us know in the comments section!