Greetings! This episode of Fruits Basket focused on Machi (for the first half), which is exactly what I’ve been hoping for. A lot about her character is revealed here, as well as her thoughts about Yuki. And as expected, Machi is really my kind of character. One with whom I can empathize. Machi struggles with feelings of emptiness — or no, it’s better to say that she has accepted her emptiness as a fact. She is un-engaged with the world around her, feeling invisible and detached. Her view of life seems pretty depressive so far.

I’m sure that part of Machi’s emotional issues are due to the rough family environment in which she was raised. There was so much drama and chaos about who would be the family heir. Another part of this, however, is simply that Machi has not reached out or experimented to help her find herself. She calls herself “a void.” My hope is that Yuki will help her find a better idea of her identity. And it seems that the plot is heading in this direction.

Due to Yuki’s convincing, Machi agreed to come to the student council’s “party” at a restaurant. It’s obvious Machi is charmed by Yuki’s disarming manner and kindness. She also kept the leaf souvenir he gave her and made it into a bookmark. But Machi is still a bit hostile and cautious. She denies that she treasures the bookmark. She denies Kakeru’s assumption that she likes the color red. Machi is happy that Yuki remembered the first day at the student council, when he asked her favorite color. However, she shrugs it off and just thinks, “He’s weird.” The scenes of her being flustered and embarrassed are really cute.

After this, the episode switches gears to show that Tohru is spending New Year’s Eve with Shisho and Kyo. Rin is there too, much to Tohru’s delight. The horse of the Zodiac is temperamental as usual, and storms away after Tohru rushes in and tries to hug her.

Meanwhile, Yuki is going to the traditional banquet with most of the other Zodiac members. There’s plenty of humor with the lively Ayame and the mischievous Shigure. However, things soon take a turn for the worse. Yuki speaks his mind about how he’s no longer going to focus on blaming Akito for everything. Rather, he’ll continue to grow stronger by dealing with his own faults and weaknesses. Akito detects something in Yuki’s (perhaps a look of independence) that he does not like. So he throws one of his fits and breaks a ceramic bottle over Yuki’s head.

Yuki is alright besides a small cut on his head, which Hatori dresses. While there, Yuki says he’s sorry for holding a grudge about the time when Hatori had to erase his young friends’ memories. Hatori smiles and says Yuki is very kind. Meanwhile, Hatsuharu slips out of the banquet to go find Rin. Shigure says something mysterious, that Akito should just teach everyone a lesson already. Finally, the scene switches back to Tohru and Kyo. Tohru’s New Year’s Wish is to break the curse. She’s got really admirable resolve about a few things, and this is one of them.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your day!

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PATREON