For those of us that knew the story, there were always going to be a few moments where it was going to be very interesting to watch the reactions of new viewers.  One of them was the reveal of Akito’s gender – though truth be told, I always felt like that was being strongly hinted at.  This was another one, and the general “WTF?” take doesn’t surprise me.  This was truly the growth spurt from hell – it only makes sense to wonder if there was a timeskip and you missed it (no).  Momiji’s transformation is truly one of the oddest developments in Fruits Basket (pun intended).

In hindsight of course, it was pretty plot-critical.  So Occam’s Razor suggests that was why Takaya did it this way, because a more gradual transformation for Momiji would have dulled the impact of this episode’s events.  So spurt it was, and what a spurt too.  The best part about this for me is that it gives Han Megumi a chance to really stretch her seiyuu legs, and Momiji’s transformation is much more than physical.  In fact I’d argue that it was the physical that gave him the courage to change in other ways, and emotionally and intellectually he was already the person we saw this week.

It’s worth asking whether the growth spurt has something to do with Momiji’s curse breaking, which is certainly the buried headline here in the third paragraph.  We only know of one other instance of this and have no background on the event, and if one looks for anything unusual about Momiji’s recent past this physical metamorphosis is the obvious sore thumb.  But there’s no direct evidence to suggest that at this point, and Momiji certainly has no idea.  Frankly he’s got plenty of other things on his mind anyway.

In a different world (I’ve probably said this already) Momiji would have been the main character of Fruits Basket.  He’s the best of the bunch – his story has tremendous pathos, and he has more self-awareness than any of the younger cast members.  He’s also as strong as a bull emotionally, so the rabbit thing  – while it may fit from a personality standpoint – doesn’t quite do him justice. I think it’s been a badly-kept secret than Momiji was in love with Tohru – I mean, I certainly knew it before I read this chapter.  But that was just another burden he was carrying around in that bunny backpack.

That self-awareness really comes into play here.  Let me just reference something I said about Momiji last season:

I would argue, in fact, that Momiji is the strongest Furuba character in both the critical and narrative sense.  He chooses to play the role of the cheerful fairy prince because that’s the only way he can keep from giving in to despair, but it’s quite notable that Takaya almost never shows us Momiji in moments of solitude – and I suspect in those moments, with no one to perform for, he struggles to keep the pain from overwhelming him.

Momiji was well aware that his elfin adorableness allowed him to play a part, and he played it to the hilt.  But make no mistake, he was thinking serious thoughts inside that cute little head.  And he used his physical stature as a means to allow him to be close to the girl he loved, because he didn’t represent a threat (to her, or to Kyou).  Now, though, things have changed – appearances matter in life even if we’re the same person inside, and Momiji is way too smart not to get that.  The onus is on Kyou to do what he should, otherwise all’s fair in love and war.

The thing, though – and this is why I love Momiji so much – is that he says what he does in the genuine hope that Kyou will do what he should, even though that will bring great pain to himself.  Because he knows that’s what will make Tohru the happiest – and because he does love her, he wants her to be happy.  He sees Kyou dithering and knows it will break Tohru’s heart if he chooses never to act on his own heart, so Momiji uses his newfound threat status to give them a push.  Make no mistake, I think Momiji is on standby here – but he’s also a realist, and prepared to stand down should Kyou hold up his end of the bargain.

Even with the vile Akito, with whom he has every reason to twist the knife, Momiji takes the high road.  He knows this is a huge blow to her irrespective of anything he says or does, so he shows her a mercy and respect she would never show anyone else.  This doesn’t fundamentally change anything for Momiji in terms of his family – they’re still off-limits to him.  He could choose to force the issue, but he doesn’t – they seem happy enough, and he’s not going to jeopardize their happiness to try and claim his own.

It takes a hell of a strong person to face the emotional pain Momiji does and not only show the world a positive face, but carry on struggling – but Momiji is the strongest Sohma there is.  He deserves better than what life has given him, but he’s learned not to let that derail him.  His freedom is itself a burden, but carrying those is something the rabbit has plenty of experience with.  If every Sohma were like Momiji, Fruits Basket wouldn’t be the symphony of unhappiness it so often is.