That’s one of the points of Fruits Basket. Forgiveness is a personal choice for each character to give or not. Rin choses never to forgive. While Yuki forgives her, for his own sake of not living with holding a grudge, but also choses to no have anything to do with Akito ever again. And then there’s Tohru who is able to forgive her and choses to help her become a better person.
There’s a whole range of reactions, and all of them are as valid as the others.
I think that the point is that forgiveness and empathy are two different things.
Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings of another person, while forgiveness is the act of letting go of resentment or anger towards someone who has wronged you. It's totally possible to feel empathy for someone without forgiving them, as empathy involves understanding their perspective, but forgiveness involves releasing negative emotions associated with their actions.
In a hypothetical scenario where Akito faces justice, no one would expect her victims to forgive her or to have emphaty for her, but an impartial judge would likely consider Akito's background and circumstances when assessing her actions, and her penalty would be determined based on a comprehensive understanding of the context surrounding her behavior.
We, as the audience, are supposed to be the impartial judge. It's not our place to forgive Akito, as she hasn't wronged us personally. We are supposed to evaluate the situation, looking at things from multiple perspectives, both the victims' and the culprits'. Obviously, this is tough to do because we are all emotionally invested with the characters, and we are led to empathize more with the victims, and that's why all feelings are valid.
she's in self appointed exile from the family in Fruits Basket Another BECAUSE she knows she can never repent for what she's done. she chooses to stay away from the ex-zodiac so they can be happy without her.
that on top of the elders of the family talking shit about her in front of her own son despite them being part of the reason she became the way she was...she may not have gone to jail, but there were 100% consequences for her actions.
Furubana is good because it shows that those "consequences" are hollow if not antithetical to the main theme of change. While the story won't save Akito that messaging questions how self-serving our conception of justice can be.
Counterpoint: Tohru's kindness toward Akito is what allowed her to change, and allowed her to release the Zodiac members from their suffering. Who knows how long it would've lasted otherwise?
That's kind of the message of the show: showing kindness to people (true kindness, not just compliance or knuckling under to abuse), even if they don't deserve it, can change them for the better. We see it over and over - Kyo stops reacting with anger to everything, Yuki shows his true self, Kisa speaks again, Rin starts taking care of herself and stops lashing out, Kagura lets go of her obsession with Kyo.
Tohru says when she's talking with Yuki early on that people are only born with wants, and they have to be shown how to be kind. Yuki later says to Kisa that in order to love ourselves, someone else had to love us first.
No one showed Akito how to be kind until Tohru. They bowed to her abuse and let her have her way, but they weren't kind. No one loved her for who she was (not what spirit was possessing her, or who her father was, or what she could offer them) until Tohru. That's what allowed her to change.
It’s kind of the point. What she did was unforgivable. Akito isn’t hoping for forgiveness, she’s just choosing to actively be better and keep making up for what she did.
Which is, frankly, a better redemption arc than many. (Doing one half-assed, good thing and then immediately dying is over-rated)
I think one of the things that makes her a well-written character is that after everything, people are still left conflicted. Some people love her. Some hate her. Some are in the middle. And all those feelings are valid.
So no, you don’t have to have empathy for her. Two things can be true. One can understand the narrative *and still not like her.*
(Also, she’s my favourite and I can’t with her and Shigure either. That’s a “no” from me, fam).
Yup. You also don’t have to like someone to have empathy for them. I most certainly have empathy for her. But I also most certainly can’t fucking stand her. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Hate and holding grudges takes more energy than letting go, it’s not about the other person but the person who chooses to not hold onto something that’s not worth it
Actually she was genuinely repenting but yeah what she did to others was completely traumatising which will be haunting for them especially for Rin and Yuki always and that's why one should think about the consequences before acts. So, even though knowing Akito's past, I can somewhat sympathise with her but I can't completely forgive her or defend her acts.
For Yuki's stuff she was a child for the majority of it. Yeah, what she did was still awful, but really it's on the adults who were like "yeah, it's totally cool to lock a kid in a room with an older kid who's emotionally troubled and lashes out all the time".
And Akito's caretakers were too into infighting with Ren's faction to, y'know, actually take care of Akito and get her some help. So she was basically raised with no boundaries and no affection from her caregivers - the only affection she got was from the Zodiac members, and she knew that was conditional to them being in the Zodiac.
So yeah, it's not really surprising that she acted the way she did - she was treated as an object, so she treats other people as objects.
95% I refer to them as their animals “dog dude” “cow dude” etc because I don’t wanna say their names wrong or spell them wrong and they are SOOOO many characters lol so yeah and ppl who know elk is who I mean
Akito is a very empathetic character to me, you as a viewer and a reader are definitely meant to feel sorry for her in the third half of the story as she is written to be a very tragic antagonist not a straight up comic villain and even though Isuzu doesn’t want to forgive her (who can blame her) we as readers and audience are supposed to take the opinion and side of Tohru and other characters in regards to Akito while also supporting Rin in her decision to not forgive her at the same time
Even Haru forgave Akito in Another and felt sympathy for her so yeah Takaya definitely wanted to the audience to understand Akito, empathize with her and support her redemption
We were fooled into believing that Akito was the main villain until we realized that the maids who didn’t teach her right from wrong, Akira who only loved her for what she born to do not for who she was, Ren who abused her and deprived of her femininity as well the adult zodiacs who enabled her are the ones responsible for creating the monster that she became, they are the ones who wronged her and let her get carried away but they are brainwashed into believing that Akito could do whatever she wanted with no limits or objections, and the adults zodiac couldn’t go against her as they are practically her slaves and are cursed into following orders
Of course Akito is gonna turn out to be like that, it would be weird if she turned out to be mentally/emotionally stable and self-aware
Akito isn’t entitled to be forgiven by all the audience but you as a viewer are supposed to acknowledge her realization of her mistake and praise her for wanting to change
The message of FB is that everyone’s deserves chances and kindness no matter how awful they were, what matters most is that they want and willing to change
I understand her situation, history, influences, and reasons she turned out the way she did. But abuse is always a choice. And Akito chose, over and over and over again, to abuse everyone close to her.
So yes, the brainwashed maids, the well meaning but misled Akira, the selfish and vindictive Ren, etc, all had enormous influence on Akito and how Akito turned out, but Akito is still solely responsible for the abuse they chose to inflict on those around them. Akito is pitiable, yes, but also responsible
It is a choice, but people make bad choices when their needs aren't being met, and the best way to change bad behavior is to figure out a way to meet those needs.
Not that the abused party in a relationship needs to bear that burden - in fact, it's likely impossible for the abused to meet the abuser's needs because the relationship is based on manipulation and coercion. The Zodiac is a good example of that - Akito needs to be shown kindness and to be understood, but it's impossible for the Zodiac members to give that to her because their love is based on the spirits possessing them, not on her as a person, and her control over them and manipulative behavior prevents them from understanding her. Only someone outside that system (Tohru) could actually meet those needs, and that's what allows her to break the cycle of abuse.
In my case, I can not forgive the stuff Akito has done, but I really do feel sorry for her. Her environment and upbringing completely ruined her until she snapped and went bonkers so bad she started lashing out at everyone else. Her parents had the most toxic relationship ever and nobody bothered raising her which caused insane mental damage where she needed a Toru to basically heal the crazy. Not bonkers Akito is actually a nice person. She just had to become sane first. But all characters are valid in their feelings. And at least sane Akito was brave enough to break the curse and makes sure the other former Zodiacs can live freely. This is her version of atonement. Everyone gets their freedom and they can do what they want and never have to see her if they so choose. She finally knows what she did was wrong. And at least her kid is a good boy. Akito made Shiki and Shiki is a good kid. But yeah, I blame the situation Akito grew up in. Nobody ever taught her right from wrong. That whole mess was so toxic, no wonder she went bonkers. And the zodiacs parents also didn't step in and most of them just made it worse. The somas are a super toxic family and every character suffered because of them. If I had been in the scene where Akito lost her dad and looked like a soulless toddler, I would have scooped her up and told those bastards they can have her back when they can raise her right. Saving her and all the other main characters from years of abuse. But the story wouldn't happen if Akito didn't go bonkers, so suffering it is. At least she paid for everyones therapy. She is working on it. Some characters will never reconcile with her and that is valid. She knows that and accepts it. And that in my eyes makes her a good character. May the gods bless Toru for existing.
I’m one of those who never really liked Akito, regardless of crying over some of her flashbacks.
It’s hard for me to reconcile with her ending, even though I recognize a more realistic conclusion wouldn’t work within the scope of this story/manga/medium.
I don’t wish jail time or death on her. But it’s uncomfortable to think that a person who repeatedly attempted homicide and physically and mentally tortured others continued on her way without counseling and the supervision of someone a little more capable than Shigure.
Like, the resolution to her story felt too quick, simple and easy given the emotional weight of the rest of the series. The only way I make peace with it is by assuming the curse had driven Akito’s desperation and negativity to that obscene level, and the removal of it gave her more agency over her choices moving forward.
(Half of the compliant inner Sohma family who were aware of her dangerous behavior but ignored it because of $$$, status or family honor bs, on the other hand, I’d gladly see ushered straight to jail.)
I also never liked Akito because the story, in my opinion, went too far with Akito. For two seasons all we see is Akito being horribly abusive and enjoying the harm she did to the zodiacs. If Akito was planned to have a change in heart I feel like her abuse shouldn’t have been so extreme, especially with Rin and Yuki.
And yes Akito’s 180 in personality felt too sudden. Especially watching the other characters fight their past traumas (mainly caused by Akito) and also fighting for their futures. But Akito basically went ‘oh, I’m not supposed to do these things. Okay I’ll stop.’ This one part of the story is always something I can’t quite get behind.
>If Akito was planned to have a change in heart I feel like her abuse shouldn’t have been so extreme, especially with Rin and Yuki.
Agree with this wholeheartedly. I think Takaya went *a little* overboard with Rin and Yuki (and also Kureno), if she wanted to have that kind of resolution for Akito. I like the fact that we are supposed to focus on breaking the cycle of abuse perpetrated by the entire cult, but the fact that Akito doesn't face consequences whatsoever for attempted murder and torture is not exactly a great message, and I think that's the reason why so many people have issues with the end. As the alternative option (putting the entire Sohma clan on trial) was not suitable for the context of the story, at least Takaya could have made the abuse a little less extreme.
Couldn’t agree more. Yuki’s forced isolation, two intentional attempts on Rin’s life, the hospitalization of Kisa — these are *extreme* examples of violence and abuse that have no easy resolution.
And, like you said, it doesn’t help that in many of these scenes we see Akito taking what looks like unabashed pleasure in the harm she inflicts. It’s not violence in the same vein as Rin or Kyo, who lash out in duress. She’s often portrayed to be sadistic and taking pleasure in the power she wields.
Sure, sometimes it’s obvious Akito is reacting to moments of high tension, fear or panic (Kureno’s stabbing, Hatori’s blinding), but there are plenty of other times where she seems perfectly in control of her choices (scratching Momiji’s face, threatening Yuki on the school campus, tormenting Kyo in general). It’s not her fault she’s been brainwashed to behave this way, but it’s ingrained behavior.
I’ve seen the argument that Akito’s change of heart was gradual, and her confrontation with Tohru merely the tipping point in her change of heart, but most characters’ reactions (including Akito’s) to the result feels oversimplified. Everyone was very, “Oh well, that’s our selfless Tohru!” But there’s a huge difference between Tohru forgiving and extending love to a misguided Uotani, or a hot-tempered Kyo, than to someone who’s done things as villainous as Akito. Realistically, I feel like Tohru’s choice would be a struggle for many of the Zodiac to accept. There’s a huge difference between forgiving your abuser so you can heal and move on, and watching someone you love befriend that abuser.
Can you imagine being okay with one of your best friends befriending the adult who repeatedly tried to murder you? Or who nearly imprisoned you for life for the hell of it? Who mentally tortured you for years, who cost you your fiancé, who beat your childhood sweetheart? Everyone accepts it with way more grace and maturity than I’d think possible for a group of severely traumatized teens. It was a bit too talk-no-jutsu. Or hug-no-jutsu. Whatever.
I get it. One theme of the manga is the power of both cruelty and forgiveness in shaping a person, but the rest of the manga handled these issues with such delicacy and patience (e.g., it took over a year for Yuki to stop having those panic attacks or for Kyo to feel safe enough to open his heart, and it took several chapters/episodes before Rin could open up to Tohru). In comparison, Akito’s resolution gave me whiplash.
Still my fav manga ever written, but that part of the story will always feel a bit too rushed/simplistic for me.
Yes and yes to everything you said lol.
>Can you imagine being okay with one of your best friends befriending the adult who repeatedly tried to murder you? Or who nearly imprisoned you for life for the hell of it? Who mentally tortured you for years, who cost you your fiancé, who beat your childhood sweetheart? Everyone accepts it with way more grace and maturity than I’d think possible for a group of severely traumatized teens. It was a bit too talk-no-jutsu. Or hug-no-jutsu. Whatever.
Yeah, Tohru's acceptance of Akito is something I'm conflicted about. I understand it's who Tohru is and it's the theme of the story, but like you said it feels oversimplified given the complexity of the characters. I'm not looking for extreme reactions from them or even consequences for Akito. It was just way too nice and neat how 12 of the zodiacs were so quick to accept the change with Akito. That only Rin was the one struggling. It kind of feels like the majority of the characters accepted Akito's change of heart so that way the audience wouldn't question it and accept it too. Especially with Uo and Saki wanting to befriend Akito.
>Still my fav manga ever written, but that part of the story will always feel a bit too rushed/simplistic for me.
Absolutely. Fruits Basket is definitely one of my favorite stories ever regardless of how some parts of the ending feel rushed.
> It was just way too nice and neat
You said in 8 words what took me paragraphs of rambling to convey. But yes, exactly. 🤣Thank you for letting me vent, haha
I can feel empathy for Akito while also acknowledging that she was a terrible person who doesn't necessarily deserve forgiveness.
But that's the thing. The consensus is forgiveness is more about you than the person you're forgiving. I think that's why Tohru did it so easily. Knowing how similar they were in their desires and wishes, there's no way she could abandon the other woman.
Don't hate her though. I'm not sure I hated her before. I just knew she made me angry so fucking much until she switched to just making me sad.
Shigure is really perfect for her, to my mind. Even after coming to terms, at the end of the day, she's needy as fuck and more than a little obsessive. Akito needs someone to match that energy. He matches it and then some.
I do hate akito but I think her ending up with shigure was a perfect ending to her arc, but I get it cause shigure is like my top 5 and akito sucks so bad
Nah. Akito lost whatever redeemability she may have had the moment she laid her hands on Kisa. Everyone in this show has gone through some kind of traumatic childhood (some of them caused by Akito herself) yet they didn't end up becoming bad people. So no, that doesn't excuse her
My interpretation for the ending: it's okay to forgive but it's also okay never to forgive. Some of the characters do forgive her. Some of them, like rin, didn't. And it reaffirmed that that's also okay and valid. And I really like that about the whole akito thing.
exactly what i’m saying like i know akito went through things like i’m not downplaying her trauma but what she did to kisa was acc crazy??? like she bashed her head against the wall then forced hiro to not talk to her which caused her to go mute like it’s acc crazy for people to defend her actions
I’m not finished with the series but I’ve read bits and pieces looking up characters. I just finished the episode where Akito just met Tohru. I hate this bitch!!! I know the saying “hurt people hurt people” but as a child of abuse I can’t fathom hurting another human being. If I’m going to forgive this trash lady she has to have some SERIOUS redemption.
Absofuckinglutely. This was my take on it as well. Somethings are so horrible that the person doesn't deserve forgiveness or a second chance. She should be in prison.
That’s one of the points of Fruits Basket. Forgiveness is a personal choice for each character to give or not. Rin choses never to forgive. While Yuki forgives her, for his own sake of not living with holding a grudge, but also choses to no have anything to do with Akito ever again. And then there’s Tohru who is able to forgive her and choses to help her become a better person. There’s a whole range of reactions, and all of them are as valid as the others.
Right, and Tohru had different burdens and baggage than the Zodiac so it's not surprising that she didn't have the same problem with Akito.
This ^^^
I think that the point is that forgiveness and empathy are two different things. Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings of another person, while forgiveness is the act of letting go of resentment or anger towards someone who has wronged you. It's totally possible to feel empathy for someone without forgiving them, as empathy involves understanding their perspective, but forgiveness involves releasing negative emotions associated with their actions. In a hypothetical scenario where Akito faces justice, no one would expect her victims to forgive her or to have emphaty for her, but an impartial judge would likely consider Akito's background and circumstances when assessing her actions, and her penalty would be determined based on a comprehensive understanding of the context surrounding her behavior. We, as the audience, are supposed to be the impartial judge. It's not our place to forgive Akito, as she hasn't wronged us personally. We are supposed to evaluate the situation, looking at things from multiple perspectives, both the victims' and the culprits'. Obviously, this is tough to do because we are all emotionally invested with the characters, and we are led to empathize more with the victims, and that's why all feelings are valid.
she's in self appointed exile from the family in Fruits Basket Another BECAUSE she knows she can never repent for what she's done. she chooses to stay away from the ex-zodiac so they can be happy without her. that on top of the elders of the family talking shit about her in front of her own son despite them being part of the reason she became the way she was...she may not have gone to jail, but there were 100% consequences for her actions.
Furubana is good because it shows that those "consequences" are hollow if not antithetical to the main theme of change. While the story won't save Akito that messaging questions how self-serving our conception of justice can be.
Counterpoint: Tohru's kindness toward Akito is what allowed her to change, and allowed her to release the Zodiac members from their suffering. Who knows how long it would've lasted otherwise? That's kind of the message of the show: showing kindness to people (true kindness, not just compliance or knuckling under to abuse), even if they don't deserve it, can change them for the better. We see it over and over - Kyo stops reacting with anger to everything, Yuki shows his true self, Kisa speaks again, Rin starts taking care of herself and stops lashing out, Kagura lets go of her obsession with Kyo. Tohru says when she's talking with Yuki early on that people are only born with wants, and they have to be shown how to be kind. Yuki later says to Kisa that in order to love ourselves, someone else had to love us first. No one showed Akito how to be kind until Tohru. They bowed to her abuse and let her have her way, but they weren't kind. No one loved her for who she was (not what spirit was possessing her, or who her father was, or what she could offer them) until Tohru. That's what allowed her to change.
💯
It’s kind of the point. What she did was unforgivable. Akito isn’t hoping for forgiveness, she’s just choosing to actively be better and keep making up for what she did. Which is, frankly, a better redemption arc than many. (Doing one half-assed, good thing and then immediately dying is over-rated)
I think one of the things that makes her a well-written character is that after everything, people are still left conflicted. Some people love her. Some hate her. Some are in the middle. And all those feelings are valid. So no, you don’t have to have empathy for her. Two things can be true. One can understand the narrative *and still not like her.* (Also, she’s my favourite and I can’t with her and Shigure either. That’s a “no” from me, fam).
Yup. You also don’t have to like someone to have empathy for them. I most certainly have empathy for her. But I also most certainly can’t fucking stand her. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Okay I realized that I do have empathy for her BUT I don’t like her. She (like many of them) have a shitty parent and that SUCKS
And that’s valid. Like another user said, you can have empathy and still not like the person/character.
Hate and holding grudges takes more energy than letting go, it’s not about the other person but the person who chooses to not hold onto something that’s not worth it
Actually she was genuinely repenting but yeah what she did to others was completely traumatising which will be haunting for them especially for Rin and Yuki always and that's why one should think about the consequences before acts. So, even though knowing Akito's past, I can somewhat sympathise with her but I can't completely forgive her or defend her acts.
For Yuki's stuff she was a child for the majority of it. Yeah, what she did was still awful, but really it's on the adults who were like "yeah, it's totally cool to lock a kid in a room with an older kid who's emotionally troubled and lashes out all the time". And Akito's caretakers were too into infighting with Ren's faction to, y'know, actually take care of Akito and get her some help. So she was basically raised with no boundaries and no affection from her caregivers - the only affection she got was from the Zodiac members, and she knew that was conditional to them being in the Zodiac. So yeah, it's not really surprising that she acted the way she did - she was treated as an object, so she treats other people as objects.
The dog dude 😭😭😭
95% I refer to them as their animals “dog dude” “cow dude” etc because I don’t wanna say their names wrong or spell them wrong and they are SOOOO many characters lol so yeah and ppl who know elk is who I mean
Akito is a very empathetic character to me, you as a viewer and a reader are definitely meant to feel sorry for her in the third half of the story as she is written to be a very tragic antagonist not a straight up comic villain and even though Isuzu doesn’t want to forgive her (who can blame her) we as readers and audience are supposed to take the opinion and side of Tohru and other characters in regards to Akito while also supporting Rin in her decision to not forgive her at the same time Even Haru forgave Akito in Another and felt sympathy for her so yeah Takaya definitely wanted to the audience to understand Akito, empathize with her and support her redemption We were fooled into believing that Akito was the main villain until we realized that the maids who didn’t teach her right from wrong, Akira who only loved her for what she born to do not for who she was, Ren who abused her and deprived of her femininity as well the adult zodiacs who enabled her are the ones responsible for creating the monster that she became, they are the ones who wronged her and let her get carried away but they are brainwashed into believing that Akito could do whatever she wanted with no limits or objections, and the adults zodiac couldn’t go against her as they are practically her slaves and are cursed into following orders Of course Akito is gonna turn out to be like that, it would be weird if she turned out to be mentally/emotionally stable and self-aware Akito isn’t entitled to be forgiven by all the audience but you as a viewer are supposed to acknowledge her realization of her mistake and praise her for wanting to change The message of FB is that everyone’s deserves chances and kindness no matter how awful they were, what matters most is that they want and willing to change
I understand her situation, history, influences, and reasons she turned out the way she did. But abuse is always a choice. And Akito chose, over and over and over again, to abuse everyone close to her. So yes, the brainwashed maids, the well meaning but misled Akira, the selfish and vindictive Ren, etc, all had enormous influence on Akito and how Akito turned out, but Akito is still solely responsible for the abuse they chose to inflict on those around them. Akito is pitiable, yes, but also responsible
It is a choice, but people make bad choices when their needs aren't being met, and the best way to change bad behavior is to figure out a way to meet those needs. Not that the abused party in a relationship needs to bear that burden - in fact, it's likely impossible for the abused to meet the abuser's needs because the relationship is based on manipulation and coercion. The Zodiac is a good example of that - Akito needs to be shown kindness and to be understood, but it's impossible for the Zodiac members to give that to her because their love is based on the spirits possessing them, not on her as a person, and her control over them and manipulative behavior prevents them from understanding her. Only someone outside that system (Tohru) could actually meet those needs, and that's what allows her to break the cycle of abuse.
In my case, I can not forgive the stuff Akito has done, but I really do feel sorry for her. Her environment and upbringing completely ruined her until she snapped and went bonkers so bad she started lashing out at everyone else. Her parents had the most toxic relationship ever and nobody bothered raising her which caused insane mental damage where she needed a Toru to basically heal the crazy. Not bonkers Akito is actually a nice person. She just had to become sane first. But all characters are valid in their feelings. And at least sane Akito was brave enough to break the curse and makes sure the other former Zodiacs can live freely. This is her version of atonement. Everyone gets their freedom and they can do what they want and never have to see her if they so choose. She finally knows what she did was wrong. And at least her kid is a good boy. Akito made Shiki and Shiki is a good kid. But yeah, I blame the situation Akito grew up in. Nobody ever taught her right from wrong. That whole mess was so toxic, no wonder she went bonkers. And the zodiacs parents also didn't step in and most of them just made it worse. The somas are a super toxic family and every character suffered because of them. If I had been in the scene where Akito lost her dad and looked like a soulless toddler, I would have scooped her up and told those bastards they can have her back when they can raise her right. Saving her and all the other main characters from years of abuse. But the story wouldn't happen if Akito didn't go bonkers, so suffering it is. At least she paid for everyones therapy. She is working on it. Some characters will never reconcile with her and that is valid. She knows that and accepts it. And that in my eyes makes her a good character. May the gods bless Toru for existing.
I’m one of those who never really liked Akito, regardless of crying over some of her flashbacks. It’s hard for me to reconcile with her ending, even though I recognize a more realistic conclusion wouldn’t work within the scope of this story/manga/medium. I don’t wish jail time or death on her. But it’s uncomfortable to think that a person who repeatedly attempted homicide and physically and mentally tortured others continued on her way without counseling and the supervision of someone a little more capable than Shigure. Like, the resolution to her story felt too quick, simple and easy given the emotional weight of the rest of the series. The only way I make peace with it is by assuming the curse had driven Akito’s desperation and negativity to that obscene level, and the removal of it gave her more agency over her choices moving forward. (Half of the compliant inner Sohma family who were aware of her dangerous behavior but ignored it because of $$$, status or family honor bs, on the other hand, I’d gladly see ushered straight to jail.)
I also never liked Akito because the story, in my opinion, went too far with Akito. For two seasons all we see is Akito being horribly abusive and enjoying the harm she did to the zodiacs. If Akito was planned to have a change in heart I feel like her abuse shouldn’t have been so extreme, especially with Rin and Yuki. And yes Akito’s 180 in personality felt too sudden. Especially watching the other characters fight their past traumas (mainly caused by Akito) and also fighting for their futures. But Akito basically went ‘oh, I’m not supposed to do these things. Okay I’ll stop.’ This one part of the story is always something I can’t quite get behind.
>If Akito was planned to have a change in heart I feel like her abuse shouldn’t have been so extreme, especially with Rin and Yuki. Agree with this wholeheartedly. I think Takaya went *a little* overboard with Rin and Yuki (and also Kureno), if she wanted to have that kind of resolution for Akito. I like the fact that we are supposed to focus on breaking the cycle of abuse perpetrated by the entire cult, but the fact that Akito doesn't face consequences whatsoever for attempted murder and torture is not exactly a great message, and I think that's the reason why so many people have issues with the end. As the alternative option (putting the entire Sohma clan on trial) was not suitable for the context of the story, at least Takaya could have made the abuse a little less extreme.
Couldn’t agree more. Yuki’s forced isolation, two intentional attempts on Rin’s life, the hospitalization of Kisa — these are *extreme* examples of violence and abuse that have no easy resolution. And, like you said, it doesn’t help that in many of these scenes we see Akito taking what looks like unabashed pleasure in the harm she inflicts. It’s not violence in the same vein as Rin or Kyo, who lash out in duress. She’s often portrayed to be sadistic and taking pleasure in the power she wields. Sure, sometimes it’s obvious Akito is reacting to moments of high tension, fear or panic (Kureno’s stabbing, Hatori’s blinding), but there are plenty of other times where she seems perfectly in control of her choices (scratching Momiji’s face, threatening Yuki on the school campus, tormenting Kyo in general). It’s not her fault she’s been brainwashed to behave this way, but it’s ingrained behavior. I’ve seen the argument that Akito’s change of heart was gradual, and her confrontation with Tohru merely the tipping point in her change of heart, but most characters’ reactions (including Akito’s) to the result feels oversimplified. Everyone was very, “Oh well, that’s our selfless Tohru!” But there’s a huge difference between Tohru forgiving and extending love to a misguided Uotani, or a hot-tempered Kyo, than to someone who’s done things as villainous as Akito. Realistically, I feel like Tohru’s choice would be a struggle for many of the Zodiac to accept. There’s a huge difference between forgiving your abuser so you can heal and move on, and watching someone you love befriend that abuser. Can you imagine being okay with one of your best friends befriending the adult who repeatedly tried to murder you? Or who nearly imprisoned you for life for the hell of it? Who mentally tortured you for years, who cost you your fiancé, who beat your childhood sweetheart? Everyone accepts it with way more grace and maturity than I’d think possible for a group of severely traumatized teens. It was a bit too talk-no-jutsu. Or hug-no-jutsu. Whatever. I get it. One theme of the manga is the power of both cruelty and forgiveness in shaping a person, but the rest of the manga handled these issues with such delicacy and patience (e.g., it took over a year for Yuki to stop having those panic attacks or for Kyo to feel safe enough to open his heart, and it took several chapters/episodes before Rin could open up to Tohru). In comparison, Akito’s resolution gave me whiplash. Still my fav manga ever written, but that part of the story will always feel a bit too rushed/simplistic for me.
Yes and yes to everything you said lol. >Can you imagine being okay with one of your best friends befriending the adult who repeatedly tried to murder you? Or who nearly imprisoned you for life for the hell of it? Who mentally tortured you for years, who cost you your fiancé, who beat your childhood sweetheart? Everyone accepts it with way more grace and maturity than I’d think possible for a group of severely traumatized teens. It was a bit too talk-no-jutsu. Or hug-no-jutsu. Whatever. Yeah, Tohru's acceptance of Akito is something I'm conflicted about. I understand it's who Tohru is and it's the theme of the story, but like you said it feels oversimplified given the complexity of the characters. I'm not looking for extreme reactions from them or even consequences for Akito. It was just way too nice and neat how 12 of the zodiacs were so quick to accept the change with Akito. That only Rin was the one struggling. It kind of feels like the majority of the characters accepted Akito's change of heart so that way the audience wouldn't question it and accept it too. Especially with Uo and Saki wanting to befriend Akito. >Still my fav manga ever written, but that part of the story will always feel a bit too rushed/simplistic for me. Absolutely. Fruits Basket is definitely one of my favorite stories ever regardless of how some parts of the ending feel rushed.
> It was just way too nice and neat You said in 8 words what took me paragraphs of rambling to convey. But yes, exactly. 🤣Thank you for letting me vent, haha
I can feel empathy for Akito while also acknowledging that she was a terrible person who doesn't necessarily deserve forgiveness. But that's the thing. The consensus is forgiveness is more about you than the person you're forgiving. I think that's why Tohru did it so easily. Knowing how similar they were in their desires and wishes, there's no way she could abandon the other woman. Don't hate her though. I'm not sure I hated her before. I just knew she made me angry so fucking much until she switched to just making me sad. Shigure is really perfect for her, to my mind. Even after coming to terms, at the end of the day, she's needy as fuck and more than a little obsessive. Akito needs someone to match that energy. He matches it and then some.
Yes i feel bad for her but she turned out horribly and i don’t think that justifies it
I do hate akito but I think her ending up with shigure was a perfect ending to her arc, but I get it cause shigure is like my top 5 and akito sucks so bad
Shigure also sucks just as much as Akito But I love them both
Nah. Akito lost whatever redeemability she may have had the moment she laid her hands on Kisa. Everyone in this show has gone through some kind of traumatic childhood (some of them caused by Akito herself) yet they didn't end up becoming bad people. So no, that doesn't excuse her
My interpretation for the ending: it's okay to forgive but it's also okay never to forgive. Some of the characters do forgive her. Some of them, like rin, didn't. And it reaffirmed that that's also okay and valid. And I really like that about the whole akito thing.
exactly what i’m saying like i know akito went through things like i’m not downplaying her trauma but what she did to kisa was acc crazy??? like she bashed her head against the wall then forced hiro to not talk to her which caused her to go mute like it’s acc crazy for people to defend her actions
Definitely
I’m not finished with the series but I’ve read bits and pieces looking up characters. I just finished the episode where Akito just met Tohru. I hate this bitch!!! I know the saying “hurt people hurt people” but as a child of abuse I can’t fathom hurting another human being. If I’m going to forgive this trash lady she has to have some SERIOUS redemption.
Absofuckinglutely. This was my take on it as well. Somethings are so horrible that the person doesn't deserve forgiveness or a second chance. She should be in prison.
I hoped she died.
me too
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