Line #19 Fridge/FruitsBasket


1	!!FridgeBrilliance
2	* For pet owners, the fact that Kyo [[DoesNotLikeSpam hates leeks, onions, and miso]] makes perfect sense - those foods are dangerous for cats and should be never given to them. The Zodiac animal within Kyo is merely negatively reacting to what are, instinctively, health hazards.
3	** As for Haru, pay attention, and you can tell he's the Ox before he reveals it himself. Oxen/bulls are known for attacking with their heads/horns, right? How does Haru initially attack Kyo when he angers him? By ''headbutting'' him!
4	** Similarly, Kagura's first scene has her smash through Shigure's house wall to get to Kyo. Now what [[FullBoarAction animal is known for charging head on at a target?]] Lampshaded by Shigure.
5	* You know that New Year's dance Yuki was so ashamed of? Well, it turns out that there are actually ''two'' members of the Zodiac that dance together, the "old year" and the "new year". Since the Ox follows the Rat, [[HoYay Yuki would have danced with Haru]].
6	* If you think about it, the real origin of God and the zodiac, the story of the zodiac that's known, and the state of the Sohma family makes a lot of sense. In the real story, the Cat was good-hearted, but God and the other animals didn't want to hear what it had to say. Instead, they chose to believe that the Cat was betraying them, and spent countless reincarnation cycles hating it. This is why the person possessed with the Cat is the scapegoat of the family - the rest of the Sohmas don't want to acknowledge all of the problems they have, so they vent all of their hatred on one person, for something that's not their fault. Meanwhile, the zodiac legend was told to show the Cat in as bad a light as possible - as a gullible idiot.
7	* The Sohma Curse itself is one giant case of this. Once you realize that the actual curse isn't that they turn into animals, but that they are tied into an everlasting bond, where they both fear and love, hate and want, their relationship with their God and Family. It only gets better when the symbolism of this playing out like a ComingOfAgeStory is made clear. Everything about the Sohma Curse works to reinforce these themes in such a brilliant way, especially Kyo's place as The Cat as partially stated above, this troper can't ever stop thinking about it. "Time changes and people, too. And what was once a bond became a curse."
8	* While Kyo could never defeat Yuki in a fight, Kyo did win against Yuki in the sense that he was the one Tohru fell for. Yuki even points out in-universe how he could only make Tohru react like a blushy little girl, while with Kyo, she acted more like a 'woman', and Yuki would try, and fail to get the same response from her.
9	* A lot of the DysfunctionJunction surrounding the Sohma family stems from issues with their AbusiveParents. Who better but Tohru, the TeamMom, to be the one to help them through it?
10	* The previous Cat was Kazuma's grandfather. Which means he probably ended up with another Zodiac member. The brilliance comes in regards to the relationship between Kagura and Kyo. In the past, for selfish reasons another Zodiac member got together with and had a child with the Cat of that generation. In the present, though Kagura fell for Kyo, she realizes her selfish feelings and steps back, refusing to make the same mistake as the previous generation.
11	** Kazuma's grandfather was isolated from the rest of the Sohma family in the Cat's room however, so it would have been difficult, if not outright impossible for anyone who wasn't the God of his generation -assuming the God was alive when he was (it was mentioned that for generations, not all of the Zodiac members were born around the same time)- to visit Kazuma's grandfather, much less any other members of the Zodiac. Kagura stepped back because she realised Tohru's feelings for Kyo were of a more pure reason than her own.
12	*** It's outright stated (atleast in the 2019 anime) that Kazuma's grandmother was the caretaker assigned to the cat, and the brief glimpse we see of her it looks like she's in the typical servant uniform, so it is very unlikely she was a member of the zodiac. Her job probably involved bringing him food, and clearing out whatever he put the end result of that food into. How exactly their child was conceived is still up for debate, but those bars were decently wide and there are a number of ways to achieve the necessary level of contact without being so much to transform ( I believe that is even implied by Shigure at one point).
13	* TheReveal that Yuki sees Tohru as a ParentalSubstitute is Foreshadowed by how he treats her compared to Kyo; he doesn't get flustered around her and is always calm. Not something you expect anyone to be around a LoveInterest, even for someone as calm as Yuki.
14	** In the manga, during the beach house arc, Yuki gives a LongingLook towards Tohru while she is laying a blanket over the younger Zodiac members in a clearly maternal gesture. The foreshadowing isn't blatant, but it's definitely there.
15	* Shigure truly embodies the qualities we associate with dogs, but they're either corrupted or wrapped up in some selfishness depending on your interpretation. He's motivated by a very selfish UndyingLoyalty for Akito, and is the only person who can stand to love her. He's genuinely warm and engaging and friendly, though it's partially to get on the good side of other people. He's even a playful person; his manipulation is reflective of him thinking that everything is a game on some level, to the point that he feels at least a little bad that his plans got people hurt.
16	* In volume 10, Hiro points out that Tohru is obsessed with her mother and finds it odd that she doesn't have a photo of her father. While he was being rude, he turns out to be absolutely right. And he's the only one who noticed this because unlike the other Sohmas, he doesn't have family issues that cause him to [[TeamMom gravitate to Tohru]] and his personal dilemmas are either PlayedForLaughs (wanting Kisa's affection) or something Tohru can't help him with (witnessing Rin's fall). The other Sohmas may adore Tohru, but they get so caught up in their own problems that they (and even Tohru) have a hard time realizing what she's going through.
17	* On the same line of thought as above, Tohru's rather unhealthy attachment to her dead mother is foreshadowed as early as the first chapter; she goes into complete ''hysterics'' when her tent is buried, going on about how her mom (the photo in there) can't breathe. She actually tries to claw her way into it, which considering her usual status as TheDitz TeamMom who tends to keep her cool except for comedic moments is an early warning sign that Tohru has a lot more issues than she seems.
18	** As a bonus round, what kind of ''normal girl'' thinks that she would be a burden to her '''best friends''' if she relied on them and instead gets a cheap tent to live in? Tohru's own issues are foreshadowed from the start but the Sohma clans' issues are much more front and centre for a long time before Tohru's DarkAndTroubledPast starts to break free of her StepfordSmiler facade.
19	* Tohru actually is like Katsuya, but LighterAndSofter.
20	** Kyoko was a huge influence on both of them, as Katsuya found someone he wanted to live for and she was Tohru's entire world. Without her in their lives (before meeting her and after she died), they both appear happy on the outside and internalize their sadness.
21	** Katsuya went out of his way to patiently help the troubled Kyoko, while Tohru did the same for many of the Sohma family members and even Uotani.
22	** Katsuya pushed himself too hard while he was sick, and Tohru nearly does the same thing twice before the Sohmas step in and take care of her.
23	** And to top it all off, they both fell in love with two very similar people. Tohru may have initially emulated what she remembered of Katsuya to keep Kyoko from leaving her again, but there was more to her father than she or her father's relatives knew. Of course they thought Tohru wasn't really Katsuya's daughter - they never really knew Katsuya themselves.
24	* In the dub of the reboot, Momiji dropping his played-up German accent in front of his mom would definitely resonate with Tohru -- she had to imitate her father's speaking style in an effort to make Kyoko happy. She also has a lot of trouble letting go of her mom, keeping her memories first and foremost in her heart like Momiji (but in a more unhealthy way than he does).
25	* Momiji shows himself to be smarter than he lets on but acts like a child most of the time. Considering that he is essentially abandoned for the sake of his mother's mental health at most likely a young age, he could have been acting more like a child to make up with the fact that he had to mature so quickly in light of this because he never had much of a chance to be a child.
26	* While Yuki does have respiratory problems, most people wouldn't say a cold is exactly dangerous, as Tohru believes. When she says her mother would agree with her, it may seem like Tohru took Kyoko's words ridiculously to heart; however, it's later revealed how, due to overworking himself while ill, her father suddenly died and left her [[BreakTheCutie mother in pieces]].
27	* Kagura believes that Zodiac members should intermarry because, supposedly, only they can understand each other's curses. She probably got this idea from Rin, who lives with her...although, being an outsider to Rin and Haru's relationship, she took [[StrangledByTheRedString the wrong lesson]] from it.
28	* Something interesting this troper noticed whenever someone tried to justify Akito’s abuse or why the Zodiacs must follow the guidelines of the curse. People have said things like “it’s only a bond they can comprehend” or that “they were born to serve Akito”, but never go further and never actually explain it’s importance beyond tradition. Even the Zodiac don’t understand why they need to stay close to one another and their “God”. There ''isn’t'' a true meaning anymore, and this shows how the curse is only being justified because the Sohma’s have grown so accustomed to it, another symbol of Sohma familiy's deep-seated issues and cycle of abuse. As mentioned by the above statement, this matches the series’s theme of moving on from the past. The curse is essentially a false tradition that lost its true importance, and needs to be left behind in order for the Zodiac and the Cat to become free and move on..
29	* In hindsight, it should have been obvious that Kyoko’s DyingDeclarationOfHate... wasn’t. For starters, she hadn’t even seen Kyo before being hit by the car, so how could she have known that he could have pulled her back? For all she could have known, Kyo might have just stumbled upon the scene of the accident. It also seems a little out of character for Kyoko to use her last words to tell someone that she hated them as opposed to something like, say, passing along a message to her beloved daughter. Sure enough, her full message was indeed for her daughter’s sake.
30	** This was lampshaded by none other than Tohru herself in the 2021 anime last season, who points out that her mother must be saying that not out of hatred and it doesn't make any sense for her that she just say it to any random people or even someone like [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Kyo]], knowing very well her mother isn't a type who would easily hold a grudge on other people.
31	* The two guys who develop romantic feelings for Tohru are Kyo and Momiji... Both of whom, depending on which version of the zodiac you're looking at, might be an animal left out of it. The Chinese version excludes the cat, but in the Vietnamese version of the zodiac, it's actually the rabbit who isn't counted as one.
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33	!!FridgeHorror
34	* The effects of Akito mind raping Kana. Allegedly, after the ordeal, she spent all of her time sobbing and blaming herself for Hatori's eye injury, no matter what Hatori said to her. Don't get it yet? Kana was driven to clinical depression.
35	* What ''did'' Akito do to Kisa that put her in the hospital? It certainly wasn't just knocking her to the ground ([[DestinationDefenestration unless the ground was really far away]]).
36	** The manga is (slightly) more explicit. NoHoldsBarredBeatdown.
37	** In retrospect, this might've been adapted out for a reason. Beating a child to the point of her needing hospitalization is so cruel (even more than what she does to Tohru) that [[MoralEventHorizon it might've turned the audience on Akito completely]], and would've made everyone who even slightly defended her look like absolute monsters (Shigure most of all).
38	* Momiji's mother rejecting her newborn son after he changes in her arms sounds unnecessarily awful, especially compared to Hiro's mother who loves her son.... until you realize that a newborn lamb is still cute, but a newborn rabbit looks like a HAIRLESS RAT, which could certainly disgust her. She could've easily KILLED her own son in numerous ways while he was in that form.
39	** Taking the above into account, what about Yuki and Ayame's mother whose sons could change into a [[YouDirtyRat rat]] and [[ReptilesAreAbhorrent snake]], neither animal which could be considered [[WhatMeasureIsANonCute cute]]. Might explain why she acts cold and detached from both of her children. In fact, the only reason why she hasnt disowned either Yuki or Ayame is due to relatives of the Zodiac being granted high status and financial recompense.
40	* Given how Akito tend to treat Rin far worse than others due to her long hair strongly resembles her vile mother, Ren, just imagine if Rin's hair is a normal long hair instead of her usual Hime cut...
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42	!!FridgeLogic
43	* How can Yuki consistently best Kyo in fights, but be so weak and ill the rest of the time? You might ''possibly'' chalk it up to an adrenaline rush, but the backlash afterwards should put him in the hospital.
44	** Unless this troper missed something, Yuki was only very sickly and weak when he was a child. By the time Tohru (and the audience) sees them fighting, and Yuki kicking Kyo's ass, they're both young adults, and Yuki seems very healthy and active.
45	*** As I recall, he still has weak spells (They have to carry him to school and bring Hatori in to examine him at one point.) Maybe he has improved, but it still seems a stretch that he could match a martial artist that's constantly training...
46	*** You don't have to be physically strong to be a skilled martial artist, it's more about technique. Yuki is alot more tranquil and focused than Kyo which usually makes for a better fighter than one who is driven by simple rage and just blindly attacks.
47	*** Also, the cat can never defeat the rat-- when Kyo and Haru first fight, Yuki explicitly says to Tohru that Kyo probably is stronger against Haru. This seems to imply that the curse is interfering whenever Yuki and Kyo fight.
48	* Wait, a minute, Hatori is completely blind in one eye. Why is he the most competent driver?
49	** Well clearly, Shigure is so horrible a driver that a man blind in one eye is better behind the wheel than he is.
50	*** And the other people old enough to drive would be Ayame (Hatori at one point refuses to let him drive), Ritsu (ha!), Rin (probably hasn't had time to learn), Kagura (possibly) and Akito (who gets Hatori to drive).
51	** Maybe that's why he drives a foreign car.
52	** There is one other Sohma old enough to be a possible driver - Kureno - but at least it makes sense as to why he doesn't drive. Namely, Akito both tries to segregate Kureno from the other Sohma as well as keep him from leaving, so Akito probably did everything possible to prevent Kureno from learning.
53	** Because he's the only level-headed Sohma among the adult zodiac. Shigure and Ayame enjoy screwing with people too much, Ritsu is a nervous wreck, Kagura has a hair-trigger temper, Kureno is like Tohru (plus locked away), and Akito doesn't need to drive because she's the head honcho.
54	** He's only blind in one eye and has clear vision in the other, as evidenced by the lack of visual medical devices, such as glasses. It is easy enough to compensate for a missing eye once you get used to the new field of vision. I.E Turning your head a little further to look around blind spots within the car and using mirrors. He might not have been driving right after he lost his eye, but there wouldn't be much to stop him from learning to compensate for its loss.
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Context Fridge / FruitsBasket