That was pretty much your classic Fruits Basket sampler there – some Honeycrisps, some slightly overripe plums (and one peach, actually), and a big stinking durian right in the middle.  The usual formula applies here, Furuba being serious tends to be pretty good (at least) and Furuba trying to be funny tends to stumble.  Honestly, I find the school life portions of this series to be close to intolerable – they’re why fast-forward buttons exist – but any “joke” involving Yuki’s annoying worshippers is pure torture.

The only things in the school section that resonated, unsurprisingly, were the short bit with Momiji and the scene where Tohru and Kyou were along together.  In a different universe Momiji would be the protagonist here, because his story really does have the most pathos and is the most realistic in the context of the fantasy, but Takaya only ever seems to give us little teases with him.  At the moment he’s just found out that his little sister will be attending the same high school, and he cheerfully drops the fact that his father is horrified at the prospect.  But Momiji is denied even this small hope, because he’ll be graduating before Momo arrives.

Tohru right now is in torture mode, because she’s learned two honking secrets about the Sohmas and she’s not allowed to discuss either one.  Having swallowed the news that Kureno had broken the curse, she now tries to psych herself up to bring up Akito’s gender to Shigure.  But she can’t do it (not that this isn’t subject he knows all about and then some), though she does manage to hypothetically bring up Kureno’s situation to Kyou.  But he’s not the sort of guy to sink his teeth into hypotheticals, and this brings Tohru no relief.

The real focus of the episode is Shigure, who comes more and more into prominence the deeper we get into the story.  Hints about his twisted nature have always been close to the surface, but in many ways Shigure always seemed like the most dangerous person in the cast.  Turns out he slept with Ren as a means of getting back at Akito for sleeping with Kureno – and, it seems, as a means of getting himself banished from the main house.  It’s impossible to say how much Shigure’s words to Akito all those years ago mean to him, but it’s plain as day what they meant to her.

Are we to take Shigure at his word when he says – either to her or to Kureno – that he loves Akito?  How can one know how to take anything this eternal conniver says?  He even admits himself how conflicted and contradictory his feelings about Akito are, and it’s been clear for a long time that his ultimate intentions are kept very close to the vest.  Akito may pride herself on being able to totally control the lives of her Zodiac menagerie, but she can’t control the one member she probably would most like to.  I won’t ever say I have feelings of sympathy for Akito – we’re way past that ever being possible – but I wouldn’t wish being at the receiving end of Shigure’s machinations on anyone…