The Herald Anime Club Meeting 100: Fruits Basket, Episode 2

Meeting Date: 4/14/2019

Disclaimer: The Herald Anime Club discusses shows as they’re airing. Naturally, there will be spoilers for a given episode. You have been warned!

Samantha Ferreira: Hi everyone, and welcome to the Herald Anime Club! I’m Samantha, and I’m here with L.B. Bryant
L.B. Bryant: Hello!
Samantha Ferreira: Tonight, we’re talking up the second episode of Fruits Basket: “Happy Caturday”, or “Suddenly: Akito.”

L.B. Bryant: This needs to be said: one episode of this series per week is not enough.
Samantha Ferreira: Haha
I dunno
I don’t think my feels can take more than one a week
L.B. Bryant: With that out of the way, my primary takeaway from this episode was how aggressive they are portraying Yuki this time around. I don’t recall him doing the wall slam thing when talking about the family curse in the original series.
Samantha Ferreira: True that. I mean… he’s much more in tune with his manga version, for sure.
I’m kind of liking it, to be honest
Like… I really enjoy the different portrayal, and how they use it to flavor the narrative
L.B. Bryant: Yeah, it’s just one of the biggest changes I’ve noticed so far from the original so it definitely stuck out in my mind.

Samantha Ferreira: Indeed. And it’s a pretty significant one
Like… episode 1 was almost 1:1, but seeing the changes this time was pretty fascinating
L.B. Bryant: I didn’t expect such a remarkable change so early in the series.
Samantha Ferreira: It will definitely catch a lot of folks off-guard
L.B. Bryant: I also noticed a very small change in dialogue in the English dub. When Shigure signs for the package as a dog, John Burgmeier wasn’t forced to let out a “woof” sound lol
Which might sound insignifcant but I actually giggled at that joke every time I watched the original series so it was sad to me that it wasn’t included this time around.

Samantha Ferreira: Interesting, lol
I loved that scene, too – it’s still adorable
I think that’s what is going to hit people, though – like… there’s still this sugary, sweet exterior, but the darker elements are presenting themselves a LOT earlier
L.B. Bryant: Yeah, the Akito scene alone kind of foreshadowed how dark this version is going to get.
Samantha Ferreira: Indeed. I mean… that’s the thing. The Fruits Basket manga got super dark in places, and I want to see how far they lean into that with the anime
What they’re showing so far already has a lot of promise
L.B. Bryant: My guess is that they are going to go full throttle into the dark before too long.
Which is going to startle those of us who didn’t read the manga lol
I’m hoping that we’re all able to collectively adjust but some people are going to get turned off.
Samantha Ferreira: Oh god yeah
I think there will be people who only know the anime
And they’re going to be thrown for a loop
…I want to see the heads explode.

L.B. Bryant: Some people just want to watch the world burn.
Samantha Ferreira: You’re goddamn right, lol
L.B. Bryant: I’m more curious about how they are going to write Kyo going forward. They’ve already started planting the plot seeds for his bracelet.
Samantha Ferreira: Likewise.
I really want to see how they present that, too. (not spoiling, here)
Also, on a more random note: Did you notice the giant “SEASON 1” text in the credits?
L.B. Bryant: Yes I did lol

Samantha Ferreira: This is a long-haul show and I’m excited for that
L.B. Bryant: As am I. I’d love it if they could confirm the actual episode count though.
Samantha Ferreira: 52, I’d wager?
L.B. Bryant: That’s what I’m guessing but I didn’t want to assume.
Samantha Ferreira: You don’t do a Times Square ad buy for 26 episodes
L.B. Bryant: lol fair point
Samantha Ferreira: lol
I will say this, now: Shigure rocks a suit and rocks it well
L.B. Bryant: Damn right he does.

Samantha Ferreira: Hrm… any final thoughts this week?
L.B. Bryant: This continues to be a very pretty series that I’m enjoying just for the eye candy as much as the story.
Samantha Ferreira: Agreed, lol
Anyway, that’s all the time we have this week. Til next time, remember: If your dog’s signing for packages, then he is a good boy.
L.B. Bryant: Night!