Fruits basket gay
Content warning: discussion of homophobia, both societal and internalized; familial abuse
Spoilers for Fruits Basket (manga and anime)
Though its name is fruity by nature, the best-selling and beloved Fruits Basketisn’t necessarily the first title that comes to thought when I think “queer manga.”
The first time I read the series, this wasn’t exactly a surprise to me. Despite shoujo manga serving as the foundation for both preceding BL (boys’ love) and early yuri, collective memory of 90s/early s shoujo manga tends to center zany, at times melodramatic, and above all very straight plotlines. Even when these stories are riddled with queer subtext, it’s most likely by accident or intentionally played for laughs. The main or “serious” aspects of these stories always stay within the safety of cisheteronormativity… or do they?
In the article “The Transient Queerness of Fruits Basket,” Garrick Shultz gave an outstanding critique of the problematic handling of queerness within Fruits Basket. Her examination is thought-provoking and reliable, and I offer my perspective not in conflict, but as a reclamation of sorts.
As a woman loving woman, Fruits Basket was not written for me. Even so, the
Fruits Basket's Ending Has One Big Weakness: Heteronormativity
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Fruits Basket: The Last Season Episode 13, "See You Again Soon," now streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation.
The ending of Fruits Basket is a heartwarming happily-ever-after: everyone's doing improved after the curse has broken, most of the Sohmas find romantic partners and Tohru and Kyo grow old and possess grandchildren together. For the most part, it's extremely satisfying, but there is one big flaw in the anime and manga's conclusions: almost everything ends in the most heteronormative way possible.
Fruits Basket has plenty of bisexual and/or gender non-conforming characters, but with only a couple of arguable exceptions, all of these characters terminate up in straight-passing relationships and/or start conforming to the traditional roles of their assigned gender at birth.
RELATED: Fruits Basket Spinoff Series Announced
To be obvious, this is not about judging or invalidating the many bisexual people who do end up in straight-passing relationships. This is simply pointing out the trend that, while many Fruits Basket characters own expressed explicit or
[Potential Spoiler Commentary] We don’t trust including characters who are not straight/cis would hold deeply affected Akito’s decisions regarding the Zodiac or any major parts of the overall story.
While men and women being unable to hug is a symbol of not entity able to connect with “outside” people, the story is so much more than than the plain act of not organism able to hug. At most, this is a (heteronormative) side effect of the curse. The curse is not the hug-transformation; it is the bond between the Zodiac members and god. (And the fact that this hugging problem is specific to men/women is a heteronormative standard frequently found in the media today.) After the first few volumes, we rarely see the Sohmas convert into their respective animals. Also, there is definitely more that can result in the transformation, other than the act of hugging. The bonds are strained not only by romantic adore, but outside forces and creating new bonds to friends, goals, and dreams, as well. The series surrounds the characters finding themselves, not necessarily the unbent, romantic pairings that guide to hugs.
It is true
The canonical queer characters of Fruits Basket
There aren't many. I mean, there is a mountain of characters that don't conform to gender roles, but that doesn't make a person queer.
So, in increasing command of canonicity:
7. Saki Hanajima. Clearly loves Tohru, but whether that love is more than platonic is never explicitly stated.
6. Ritsu Sohma. It's unclear whether Ritsu is a cross-dresser, or a closeted trans woman. In any case, Ritsu never argues with anyone calling them a man, but that is consistent with entity closeted.
5. Makoto Takei. Implied that he may be gay for Yuki, but may be more of a creepy obsessive. Not the best representation.
4. Ayame Sohma. Very likely bi, although his flashback about giving himself equally to both boys and girls may have simply been him being particularly Extra.
3. Hatsuharu Sohma. Probably bi, depending on whether you accept his declarations of love as more than platonic. The difficulty is, he's usually so passive, it's hard to tell.
2. Mitsuru. Shigure's editor. Definitely bi. She is dating Ritsu even though she doesn't grasp Ritsu's gender.
1. Akito Sohma. It's
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