This premiere was a pretty good summation of why covering the new season of Fruits Basket would be a real problem for me. I’m very all of nothing with this series at this stage – the episodes that actually matter are quite compelling, but there are a lot in-between about which I could honestly not care less. I don’t quite see how that would work over the course of two cours – I suppose I could pick and choose which eps to blog, but that seems like a very odd approach. But I don’t see any other way, because I’m not going to do one paragraph snippets every other week or more. So in the end, I think it’s unlikely I’ll cover it.
It’s been long enough since I read Furuba that I don’t recall if this premiere covered the chapters immediately following the end of S1, but I can’t think of any other possible reason why you’d choose to open a new season with this story. And if indeed that’s why it was chosen it exemplifies why faithfulness for its own sake is not a virtue in adaptation. Re-ordering chapters to find fitting ways to open and close seasons is perfectly standard practice, and it’s one that should have been applied here.
Among its issues, Furuba has too many characters, and too many characters that are frankly really annoying. Motoko and the whole Yuki fan club branch pretty much fall into the latter category. I’ve said it before but it bears repeating – Fruits Basket is so, so much better when it’s about something of consequence. These blind alleys are a major drag on the series’ momentum, and they happen way too often. I was prepared for that of course, but it defies all logic to open with an episode as disposable as this one. I don’t find it especially discouraging because there are really no open questions about what either the source material is or what this version of it is, but it’s still a drag.
I’m sure there will be plenty of attention paid to this season, as Furuba remains quite popular with the Western audience even after all these years. I’ll be watching, though I admit I’ll only be paying close attention intermittently, but I’m inclined to pass on covering it. I suspect it would bring more frustration than satisfaction, and that’s just not going to do anybody any good.
Kim
April 7, 2020 at 6:44 pmIt’s a shame you won’t be covering it. How about instead of doing it weekly do several episodes in one week
That way you can talk more about the episodes you like and less about the ones you don’t in any given week
Guardian Enzo
April 7, 2020 at 7:08 pmWell – that’s a thought. There are logistical challenges to that approach though – writing up an episode requires some legwork, even if you don’t plan to publish right away. But it’s certainly worth considering, thanks for the suggestion.
zeroantizero
April 7, 2020 at 8:36 pmI think I see what you mean – even with the character introductions, there really isn’t much to say about this episode. And what recap they gave really pushes you to watch season one to understand what’s going on. That said, if memory serves, this is just the calm before the storm; and in that case, starting with a side-story episode was probably for the best.
It’s regrettable you won’t continue covering this, but if you don’t feel it, you don’t feel it; and there’s no sense to push yourself in that case.
Guardian Enzo
April 7, 2020 at 8:55 pmIf I felt only mild enthusiasm for even most episodes, that would be one thing. But what makes this show especially challenging is that there are going to be so many eps (like this one) in which I literally have almost no interest. As I said, it’s very all or nothing – when I’m invested I’m right there, but when I’m not… That makes it a very unusual specimen in my writing history and I’m honestly not sure how to handle it.
Alonom
April 7, 2020 at 11:51 pmI support the approach of writing only about the episodes you feel compelled to, especially because (based on the first season) the bad episodes almost always could be treated as filler in my opinion. I could skip them and not even notice. also your reviews are essential to my viewing experience! so there’s this selfish reason too
Guardian Enzo
April 8, 2020 at 8:39 amDuly noted, thanks.
Rasu
April 9, 2020 at 7:43 amWell, I guess they started with this because they have to introduce the council members, specially that scene with Machi that will be later explained along with her relationship with her brother. The council arc is Yuki’s arc, so those characters are important for his arc, and Motoko served as to puntualize that Yuki is changing.
After Yuki’s arc there’s Isuzu mini arc which leads to the real deal with Akito’s nature, after that Tohru’s arc is next (which includes her parents arc and explains why Kyo acted the way he did when they met), after that Kyoto’s arc is next (which consolidates the main relationships) and lastly the final arc where they solved the issue with the chinese horoscope and revealed the true promise.
The only episode that can be considered a fill-up will be the one with Aya’s shop where they would resume the closure of his character development, his relationship with Mine and why he decided to approach Yuki. Maybe they’ll include Kagura’s episode for the same reason as Aya’s