Children aren’t the only ones who cry. Adults need to as well. Cry when things are unfair. Cry for the one you love who is pain. Cry to let out emotions that may have festered in your heart for too long. Welcome to a short recap of Fruits Basket S2 episode 12.
Recap
The badass homeroom teacher that we’ve seen several times before is the focus of this episode. Her nickname is Mayu, so that’s what I’ll call her. She and her mother run a bookstore. A surprise visit from Shigure made Mayu start to recall various memories.
Several years before, Mayu was best friends with Kana, who was dating Hatori. Mayu liked Hatori a lot but never tried to take him because she loved Kana. Mayu dated Shigure for a short time because she was lonely. Even though she had mixed emotions, Mayu truly wanted her dear Kana to be happy.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. There was the incident with Akito when he forbade the marriage of Hatori and Kana, going into a rage and injuring Hatori permanently. Kana believed Hatori’s injury was her fault and she obsessed over all this until it literally drove her insane.
After Hatori erased her memories, Kana went back to her old bubbly, cheery self. But it was painful for Mayu to see the way that Kana no longer knew Hatori, and Hatori lost his chance at happiness. Back in the present, Shigure tells Mayu that Kana is now married to another man and Hatori has a new girlfriend. He leaves shortly, only to be followed by another visitor: Hatori.
The somber man had come to pick up a book, but Mayu told him it wouldn’t be ready until tomorrow. When Hatori returned the next day, Mayu quickly dragged him outside to be away from her nagging mother. She handed him the book as they stood on a low bridge over a little stream. Mayu observed that Hatori doesn’t really seem happy, and the man replies that happiness is not for him. He doesn’t believe he will ever have it. There is no way to be free from Akito.
Mayu gets irrational but doesn’t care. She starts crying her heart out, sobbing and wailing loudly in public. Mostly, she’s crying for Hatori out of genuine sympathy. I think she’s also crying for herself and how she’s always loved Hatori in secret. Sometime amidst her emotional outbreak, Mayu adds that Hatori should at least try to be happy because he has a girlfriend now. To which Hatori responds that he is single and that Shigure had only been fooling Mayu for a prank.
Hatori tolerates Mayu’s outburst and reflects that maybe he ought to let it all out and cry sometime, too. He seems mildly pleased that Mayu cried for his sake, and he thanks her. That’s the end of their story for now, but the episode gives us a quick glance at the future, where Hatori and Mayu eventually become a couple and are happy and free together.
This was such a bittersweet episode. It seemed to me to be more of an “adult” episode, with themes of the complications of adult friendships and relationships, sad and cruel past experiences, and whether it’s possible to find lasting happiness. Anyway, thanks so much for visiting Anime Rants today. Stay safe and enjoy your day!
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