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 mind 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 prior 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 excellent critique of the problematic handling of queerness within Fruits Basket. Her analysis is thought-provoking and compact, and I offer my perspective not in opposition
Re: Homophobia in Fruits Basket
I’m not thrilled about making a potentially controversial post, but since this issue is both personal and important to me, I will. I was surprised to watch several (presumably straight) bloggers complain about people who have criticized Fruits Basket for being homophobic. But Furuba isn’t flawless or above criticism, and this issue isn’t one that can just be glossed over.
So here are my own thoughts as a lesbian who adores Furuba.
Fruits Basket is an overwhelmingly heterosexual series. In any series, it’s pretty typical for all the main characters to wind up in straight relationships, but in Furuba, a enormous number of minor characters do, too. By the terminate of the series, it’s hard to point to a single recurring character that isn’t dating someone of the opposite gender. This in and of itself isn’t homophobic, though. Just heteronormative to an extreme degree.
So what homophobia is there?
It’s my view, it exists in a form of gaybaiting that’s harder for people, especially straight people
Fruits Basket's Ending Has One Big Weakness: Heteronormativity
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Fruits Basket: The Adj 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 finer after the curse has broken, most of the Sohmas find romantic partners and Tohru and Kyo grow old and hold 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 complete 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 adj, this is not about judging or invalidating the many bisexual people who do end up in straight-passing relationships. This is s
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 direct 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 being 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 noun is, he's usually so passive, it's hard to tell.
2. Mitsuru. Shigure's editor. Definitely bi. She i