Fruits Basket 2×04 Review: “I Got Dumped…”

“I Got Dumped…” shines the character development spotlight on Hatsuharu, who so far has mostly been relegated to the background while everyone else got a focus. Haru has been instrumental in other characters having their moments (Kisa, Yuki), so it’s nice to see him getting his own episode.

At last, we’ve properly met Rin, who we were briefly introduced to near the end of the first season. She’s in the hospital for as-yet-unknown reasons (trust me, you will eventually find out exactly what happened), and Haru visits her frequently. As he admits to Yuki later in “I Got Dumped…”, this is because the two have been secretly dating, but now Rin has ended things, which has caused Haru to go into “dark mode”.

I love all the members of the Soma family for various reasons (except Akito), but I’ve always had a special place in my heart for Haru. (Always, or you know, in the year it’s been since I’ve read the manga.) He’s so young and he feels so much; he’s quiet and unassuming until he suddenly loses his cool, and as a person who deals with anger issues, I identified with him almost immediately.

It’s really hard not to feel for Haru in this episode. We were all 15 once, and everything is so much bigger when you’re that age. Emotions are amplified, and everything feels like the end of the world. He’s hurt and angry and confused and he doesn’t know how to handle it so he just goes on a rampage and destroys everything. You can hardly blame him.

Haru’s rampage affects not only him, but Yuki and Kyo as well. Yuki, worried about Haru, ventures to the Soma estate for the first time in ages, which gives him a panic attack. Yuki is still dealing with a lot of trauma and repressed emotions from his childhood, and it was very empowering to see him overcome that, if only for a short while, to comfort Haru.

Yuki’s visit to the Soma estate highlights the contrast between the main estate and Shigure’s house. His encounter with the elder emphasized that everything at the main estate revolves around Akito; we’ve gotten hints of this before, with how virtually every decision has to be run past Akito, and everyone worries about Akito discovering information. But “I Got Dumped…” really shoves it in front of you.

The estate itself is big and empty and impressive looking, but it comes across as very cold and uninviting. Compare that with Shigure’s house, which is bright and warm and welcoming. Everyone there is big and boisterous. It’s no wonder that most of the Zodiac kids prefer hanging out at Shigure’s.

Another thing I want to mention is that Rin is recuperating in a hospital with her family’s name on it. In case the ridiculously massive estate wasn’t much of a clue, this is an insanely wealthy family with a lot of power and influence. It’s why they can get away with things like, oh, say, locking up a teenager in a small windowless room for the rest of his life just because he happened to be born with the cat spirit.

Speaking of Kyo, “I Got Dumped…” shows that Kyo is still coming to terms with how he hurt Tohru when he was in his true form. In the manga, he apologized for his actions; this is something I’m hoping comes up later in the anime, but it’s nice to see he is very regretful over what happened and is still bothered by it. He’s also getting way more protective of Tohru, which I am absolutely here for.

It looks like the beginnings of a shipping war are developing in the Soma family! Momiji and Shigure are Team Kyo, while Haru and Ayame are Team Yuki. Place your bets!

Have you seen “I Got Dumped…”? What did you think?

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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