The heartwarming drama of Fruits Basket has returned for season 2. Fans are excited to jump back into lovely world of Tohru Honda and her Zodiac friends. So here are my thoughts of season 2 episodes one and two called Hello Again and Eat Somen with Your Friends.

Fruits Basket has always had a very special place in my heart. It is one of the first animes I have ever seen, and its moving story has always stuck with me. The reboot has been a wonderful and refreshing remake of a story that struck a cord with me.

Before I jump into my review of the first two episodes of season 2, let me talk about my feelings about season 1. Season 1 is a roller coaster of emotion, character development and plot development. It has its insanely funny moments (Ayame is the king of comedy in this) and its profound and heartbreaking moments as well. Unlike many animes that rely on fast paced action sequences and shocking reveals, Fruits Basket is a much slower paced story. Its core focus are the characters and the heart that lives in this story.

With that in mind, what did I think of this premier of Season 2 named Hello Again? Was it as strong of a premiere as the season 1 opening? No I would say it wasn’t, but that is completely okay. Season 1 had to have a strong opening, and leave a lasting impression. Season 2’s opening, on the other hand, feels like you are being reacquainted with an old friend. It does seem slow and nothing major happens in this episode, but it does introduce some new characters that I think will be important to watch.

The episode focuses on Yuki as he begins his first day as student council president and his biggest fan Motoko Minagawa. Motoko is trying to figure out who is fellow council members will be that is picked out by the previous student council president. Motoko is a downright stalker and a little too intense. She becomes insanely jealous of the possibility of there being a female member of Yuki’s new student council team. What I liked about this interaction is that Motoko realizes just how awful she is being. She also realizes that Yuki is smiling and growing into a different, better person, but not from anything she is doing. She realizes that the girl she hates, our very own heroine Tohru Honda, is the very reason why Yuki is changing and reaching out to other people. She even has a very touching moment where Yuki asks if she is okay after she takes something he says the wrong way. I like when characters that are initially terrible have this moment where they are a little less terrible and they realize their own flaws. That’s human and that is also good character development in a show.

Now, though Motoko’s part takes up quite a bit of the episode, I think the most important part comes with the introduction of two new characters, Yuki’s new student council vice President Kakeru Manabe and his treasurer Machi Kuragi. Not much is shown on these two other than first impressions. We meet Machi as she is destroying the student council room before Yuki gets there. Why? There is no reason as of yet as to why she is doing this. All Yuki knows is that she is a quiet girl with destructive tendencies which makes him a bit nervous as he is to be her superior officer so to speak.

But the bigger impression made on Yuki is Kakeru. Kakeru is caught sleeping in the student council room by Yuki and he comes off as both super lazy and super extroverted and strange. Yuki has a moment where he feels like Kakeru reminds him of someone and then it hits him. Kakeru is very much like his very over the top older brother Ayame, which I have stated earlier is comedic gold. Yuki is horrified by this as we know that Yuki has a difficult time dealing with his brother’s over the top and bizarre behavior. So it will be interesting to see how he deals with Kakeru.

Overall, the first episode is very light in story telling compared to the more dramatic and sadder ending of season 1.

Episode 2 Eat Somen with Your Friends

Now as for episode 2 Eat Somen with Your Friends, this is an emotionally moving episode that really shows the heart of the show. While the first episode is a bit of a filler, this episode really brought back the drama. The core concept of the episode is the future and what each of the characters are thinking of it.

For Kyo this is a bleak future though he is not fully aware of it. In this episode, we get a sad introduction to Kyo’s father. Kyo’s hateful father wants Kyo to be locked up for the rest of his life because he thinks that Kyo is nothing more than a monster. He blames Kyo for Kyo’s mother’s death. It is a sad reality that we see for Kyo, but luckily Kyo has one person in his corner, his teacher Kazuma Sohma.

I really loved the scene we get of Kazuma Sohma. I especially love how he stood up to Kyo’s father as he tells him that Kyo deserves to live a full and happy life. He has seen just how much Kyo has changed. We see that Kazuma really sees Kyo as his own son, and it is such a beautiful moment. We also see that Kazuma is willingly to go up against anyone including Akito if it means keeping Kyo from being locked up all his life.

I think the other part that really moved me is centered on Tohru. As I said earlier, at the core of this episode is the discussion of the future. So many characters are looking into what their futures may look like. Tohru is usually a very optimistic and chipper despite terrible things happening around her.

What I liked about this episode, Tohru breaks down in tears. Seeing her like this really hit me because it is so rare that fans see Tohru break down. It is as if she is emotionally overwhelmed with everything around her and she just needed to get it out. I loved the interior monologue that Tohru has as she faces just how scary the future can be.

So even though the episode may be slow as to plot progression, it did so much character development and really did a fantastic job with the emotional story. I really loved this episode.

Overall, it is a really lovely beginning of season 2 and I can’t wait to see where this goes.