Fruits Basket 2×11 & 2×12 Review: “All Mine” & “You Cried for Me”

I love all the Somas (except Akito), but if forced to pick a favorite, I would find myself waffling between two – Kyo and Hatori. Isn’t it convenient that being a week behind in my reviews again means that I get to talk about both of them so much in one post? “All Mine” focuses on the relationship between Kyo and Kagura, while “You Cried for Me” shines a light on someone else from Hatori’s past. Each episode got to me in different ways.

I knew very little about Fruits Basket when I started watching this series last year, but the first few episodes – which were very humorous and light-hearted – lulled me into a false sense of security. I won’t let my guard down again when I watch – I know that there’s a gut punch hiding behind every corner – but some episodes hit me harder than others. “All Mine” and “You Cried for Me” gave me a one-two punch, and I’ll be honest – I was not emotionally ready for that combo.

“All Mine” starts out by giving us a little more information about the Soma family curse when Tohru visits Kazuma to try and discover how to break it. He knows frustratingly little, but it seems the “curse” is the mystical bond shared between the members of the Zodiac and Akito. Kazuma talks about how Akito is a spoiled brat – and under normal circumstances, no one would give this brat the time of day – but whatever bond exists makes it nigh impossible for the Zodiac members to refuse Akito. Even at the expense of their own happiness.

We sort of got that impression already based on the past few episodes, but just in case you missed the hints, Kazuma really spells it out for you.

But Tohru is determined – as are Kazuma and Rin – to figure out a way to spare the people they love from having such terrible fates. Between the three of them, I’m sure they’ll think of something.

A side note about Rin: we know she is trying to break the curse, and now she knows that Tohru is trying as well. It’s very curious that Rin hasn’t attempted to seek Tohru’s help. There are a couple of reasons why I think this is. For one, Rin is very proud; she walked all the way to the beach house but left without really seeing anyone, and she seems determined to solve this puzzle on her own. But also, she has already been put in the hospital – I don’t believe it’s been mentioned why yet but my money is on Akito – and she likely doesn’t want to put anyone else in danger.

The bulk of “All Mine”, though, centers around Kyo and Kagura’s relationship – specifically from Kagura’s point of view. We’ve not really gotten inside her head before, so it’s interesting to see how she views Kyo and the love she claims to feel for him.

In the end, it seems that Kagura’s “love” was born primarily from pity; she was insecure and sought out the only person who she thought had a worse life than she did. And then she hated the way she reacted when she saw Kyo’s true form and tried to force herself to love him to make up for it. But as she tells Kyo, she wasn’t thinking about him at all; she was only thinking about herself.

Even her confession to him was all about her feelings. He told her that she didn’t need to say anything, but she kept talking – not because she thought he needed to know, but because she needed to say it. Kyo forgives her and thanks her for her love and attention, which helped him a great deal when he was a lonely child.

It’s sad when you think about how much insecurity and self-hatred ingrained in these children from a young age; their parents fight over them or lose their minds, and each of them is taught a hierarchical structure from the start. That Kagura, as a little girl, only befriended Kyo to feel better about herself is just one cruel moment in a sea of cruel moments in the Soma family.

However, through Kagura’s eyes, we’re able to witness just how much Kyo has grown as a person. We see it week-to-week but Kagura hasn’t been around in a while, and this is really the first time she has gotten to witness this new, slightly more mature Kyo. In previous episodes, he was defensive and angry around her; in “All Mine”, he just seems resigned.

Now we pivot to “You Cried for Me”, which is yet another episode that gave me all the feels. I love Hatori so much, and I consider his backstory to be one of the – if not the – saddest of the Soma family. It only slightly nudges out Momiji’s because while it’s devastating to have your own mother forget you, Hatori had to erase himself from the mind of the woman he loved. And now Hatori is just meandering, at Akito’s beck and call (although not often enough, apparently) with nothing else in his life.

That’s why it’s so wonderful that we get another version of Hatori and Kana’s relationship, this time from the perspective of Mayuko. There have been references before – that Mayuko and Shigure dated, that Mayuko and Kana were friends – but “You Cried for Me” spends almost half of the episode flashing back to when Kana and Hatori were together, and we discover that Mayuko has been in love with Hatori almost since she met him.

Mayuko really resonated with me in this episode. How many of us have had feelings for someone we couldn’t have? But ultimately, she shelved her feelings because of how happy Kana and Hatori were together. She was even willing to push past it when she thought he had a new girlfriend. A lot of people talk about confidence and going after what you want, but a big part of loving someone is realizing when it’s not a good time because it’s not just about you.

I love episodes like “You Cried for Me”, where they focus on the side characters. It really helps flesh out the show, but it also gives you a different look at the main characters. This episode was a breath of fresh air after all of the drama that’s been going on with the younger Somas.

“You Cried for Me” also shows us a new(ish) side to Shigure. Look at him in those flashback scenes, wearing actual pants! Who knew? We can also see that while he’s still manipulative, this is one of those times where his scheming is for the greater good. Shigure, Hatori, and Ayame are extremely close, and in previous episodes, it’s been shown that Shigure does care about Hatori’s well-being. He’s still maneuvering people the way he wants, but occasionally he’ll take a break from his evil plans to make sure his friend finds happiness again.

The episode ending with some happy foreshadowing was a nice touch. Everything looks so bleak at the moment that it’s really wonderful to be given some hope that these characters will get happy endings. (Plus, as someone who’s nearing 40, as much as I love Kyo and Tohru and Yuki stumbling through first love, I’d much rather see Hatori finding love again after such a traumatic breakup.)

Have you seen “All Mine” and “You Cried for Me”? 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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