Yesterday, Crunchyroll's news blog reported that 100 taxicabs in Tokyo will feature panels from the wildly popular pirate anime One Piece to commemorate the upcoming milestone of 100 manga volumes published. And it doesn't look like the manga will end very soon, but there isn't much left of the story, according to creator Eiichiro Oda. The anime is currently in the Wano Country arc.
Crunchyroll reports: "While some of the famous panels may bring up some tearful memories for some fans of the series, I'm sure seeing panels of One Piece whizz by on the streets of Shibuya or Akihabara more than makes up for reliving those moments in the Straw Hat's journey." Makes me think there will be a Going Merry (the Straw Hat's first ship, the little ship with a soul) panel or two, and perhaps some of Luffy's adopted brother, Ace. Both of these beloved characters died in tearjerking scenes. Read the Crunchyroll post here: https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2021/05/24-1/one-piece-dons-100-tokyo-taxis-in-celebration-of-100-manga-volumes
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Yuki is the Sohma clan member who carries the curse of the Rat. If a girl hugs him or he feels ill, he transforms into a rat. When he was little, some friends were over and a girl hugged him. He transformed, revealing the Sohma secret. His uncle erased their memories. To this day, Yuki avoids contact with girls, which is difficult since most girls love his princely good looks.
But Machi. In Season 2 we see some girls bullying her because she says Yuki is not princely and is an airhead. Yuki overhears her and is shocked. She also says he seems lonely. She is spot on. He's shocked about that too, almost as if she has seen into the part of him that no one else sees, even family. In an earlier epsiode in Season 1, we witness Yuki confessing to Torhu that sometimes he is jealous of Kyou for his easy familiarity with other people and his ability to easily make friends. Yuki was tormented by the head of the Sohma clan (Akito Sohma, the "God" figure of the curse) for years. He can't help but notice Machi has issues with order. Machi's father is a rich man with a wife and a mistress who fight over which kid will inherit. She was caught trying to cover the new baby up (she thought he was cold) and her parents accused her of trying to smother him. They got the teenage Machi an apartment where she lives alone now. She messes up her place, breaks windows, throws boxes of perfect pieces of chalk, messes up the school room where the student council meet, stomps muddy bootprints into perfect new fallen snow. Anything to be "imperfect." Yuki gently confronts her with this, and sobbing, Machi confesses how trying to be perfect for her parents made her anxious and ill. Yuki promises to walk with her in the snow to make footprints. (NOTE: an ironic thing is that "Yuki," is Japanese for "snow." Later, at a student council meeting, someone declares it's not their turn to do notes on the chalkboard and puts the opened box of clean, new chalk in front of Machi. We can see her beginning to lose it, when Yuki (who is addressing the council and seated next to Machi), reaches over without breaking his talk to the council, and breaks one piece of chalk. Machi, surprised, calms down and begins to ask within herself if he will really walk in the snow with her and thinks how this is the first time she has ever wished for snow. Just as Kyo and Torhu were meant to be, as the "outcasts," the "rice balls in the titular fruits basket," Yuki and Machi were meant to be as the "imperfectly tormented" tying, and failing, to be perfect for others. Yuki has reached the stage where he is no longer trying to be perfect for others, thanks to the help of Torhu. Now, he perhaps sees a chance to help someone else facing the same torment. Torhru was meant to help Kyo heal. And Yuki was meant to help Machi heal. NOTE: this was my first Fruits Basket review from a month+ ago. As I go along, I will post mini-essays on the characters and the plot of Fruits Basket. I knew these two were meant for one another from the titular episode "Rice Ball in a Fruits Basket." That episode was also the one where I knew that every episode from then on would leave me in a puddle of feels. I will also do an essay on that episode, as a standalone post with the subject of "black sheep and fitting in." I'm enjoying season 3, the final season of anime's most dysfunctional family...the zodiac cursed Sohma family. I have cried 10 times so far and we are only on episode 3. Ep 2 really got me in the dang feels. Fruits Basket Final Season-mini review. Torhu just found out that one member of the Sohma family managed to break the curse...she's not sure she should tell any of the others...but when she decides to, it would be her crush Kyo, the twice-cursed cat (Kyo doesn't just turn into a cute orange kitty when hugged by the opposite sex or when he is sick...when you remove the sealing beads he wears around his wrist he turns into a monster). Kyo, not used to dealing with people, or dealing with her (the crushing is mutual but there will be a whole lot more drama and tears before either of them can admit it) brushes her off. Torhru gets upset but not for the reasons Kyo thinks. Then Kyo gets upset because he thinks he's made her sad. Then... this is the best scene of the season so far. The flower. Goddess, has someone seen my heart? These two just stole it. The way he looks at her! *swoons A few episodes ago in this final season, everyone all got to see a more grown-up Momiji than what I’ll talk about here. I’m going to talk about the Momiji of episode 14 of the first season. Just when you’re thinking, here’s a zodiac member who seems happy and care-free with no problems. The episode starts with Torhu saying it’s coming up on the 1 year anniversary of her mom’s death, so she wants to visit the grave. Then we run into Momiji at school playing cops n’ robbers with classmates. He says he’ll see Tohru later at her work (he visits her there sometimes). It’s there that he tells her his father owns the building and shows her a picture of his mother. He brags about how his father went to Germany and got such a good looking woman to marry him. He tells her about his little sister (who is not a zodiac member). Then he sys “Momma doesn’t know about me, though,” which puzzles Torhu. Then, suddenly, a voice is there behind them, “Momiji! What are you doing here?” It is a blond woman with a little girl behind her. Tohru realizes this is Momiji’s mother, but as she listens to them making small talk, the woman says “Shouldn’t you go home? Your mother will be worried about you.” Tohru is taken aback. Later, Momiji tells Tohru. The mothers of zodiac animal children are two types: either overprotective or they reject their children. Momiji’s mother rejected him. To the point it drove her mad. So Momiji’s father asked him if they could let Hatori erase her memories of Momiji to save her. He was just a small child, a toddler at the time. But he agreed. Then, he says, as Tohru begins to cry, looking out the window of mother and daughter walking away, “I want to keep my memories, though, as painful as they are. I don’t believe there are any memories we should forget.” Torhu flashes back to her mother, lying dead in the hospital, breaks down, and embraces Momiji...who turns into the rabbit. This makes me burst out bawling no matter what and that’s only the first half of the episode, we still had the scene at Tohru's mom’s gravesite! Momiji’s life will take a turn for the better later in S2, when Momo (his sister) approaches Torhu to ask her if he is her brother and say she’d like to meet him some day. S3 has a taller, more grown up Momiji telling Kyou he better get his shit together or he’s going to steal Torhu from him. In that episode, at the end, Momoji becomes the second zodiac member to have his curse broken. Akito is furious, demanding he doesn’t leave her side, but he tells her: “I will walk my own path going forward.” That season 3 episode ends with Momiji coming upon his mom in the Sohma compound. They chat. She still doesn’t remember him but she says she will “See him later” at the end of it, which makes him very happy. My main complaint with the manga is that it never tied things up with Momiji and his mother. His sister got to meet him and she ends up going to the same university as he does later on, but they never let him reconnect with his mother, though it is hinted that it may happen. The only good YouTube video I could find of this episode is where another reviewer reviews it, but it is good. You get to see a grown strong man (who loves Fruits Basket) cry. Warning for language. “Reject him! HE’S A BUNNY RABBIT! Several cousins in the Sohma clan have feelings for one another.
Hatsuharu (Haru, the ox) fell in love with Isuzu (Rin, the horse) when they were kids. He saw how Isuzu was abused by her parents and Akito (God of the zodiac curse), mentally & physically. Rin suffers from eating disorders, anxiety, and is obsessed with ending the curse. Not for herself, but for Haru. She also sees Akito lash out at Haru in jealousy. Isuzu suffers most from Akito’s fits of rage. Rin was hospitalized when Akito pushed her off a balcony and Rin’s back was cut open. After she recovers, Isuzu goes missing. Later, we learn Akito had her imprisoned in the Cat’s Cell (meant to imprison Kyo when he graduates). Akito has sheared off Isuzu’s long, beautiful hair in ugly jags. Kureno (Akito’s companion, the Rooster) finds her and takes her to the hospital. When Haru finds out, he almost punches Akito. He then finds Rin (who left the hospital) collapsed on the street and he tells her to come home to him as he carries her away. Episode (4) and episode 5 are about transitioning childhood into adulthood. In 5, Haru and Rin. Next, I’ll cover the other transition, and one of the saddest zodiacs. Momiji, the brave little bunny. |
anime n' mangaI blog about a lot of regular, harmless sci-fi and fantasy anime n' manga, but I'll throw the occasional yaoi n' yuri (gay) posts in here. 'Cus I like that shit too. archives
December 2021
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