If we think of the following: why do ppl watch sth they know its story already? Among the reasons are:

To see it come to life! To feel the emotions they once felt reading but this time with the powerful tools of voice, colors, & music to maximize the experience. Books are good & everything & they provide depth & time that moving pictures can't, but visual imagery wins if it's coupled with epic screenplay/perfect adapted plot.

Ppl have different perspective, what one likes isnt necessary what others like. So, some fans might just want to see their novel come to life to see their own fave cute scenes & that's it. In their mind, the books are superior, so they accept beforehand, that they wont see the " story/plot" at its best, so they're excited for certain cute scenes that are related to certain feelings they experienced reading the books. Nothing is wrong with that.

Some are individual fans, so they're here for certain characters, if this character gets their "story" told properly, they're not bothered with how butchered the rest are. Again, nothing is wrong with that.

Some care for the story itself & while they accept that things are bound to change, reduced or cut, they're intelligent in picking up on what harms the overall plot & what doesn't. These fans get called " haters" if they criticize cuz they aren't " grateful". Granted some of them might be disrespectful in their criticism. but those who are respectful get drowned under the "ungrateful/ you dont understand it is tv/anime adaptation not faithful" accusation. Altho, furuba kinda dug its own grave with their " we are faithful to the original work" advertisement. Reading the manga now, nope. They aren't faithful at all in the third act/final arc, except for the ending. Tohru got axed. Akito, too.

I get your frustration with the final arc. You understood what was cut & felt disappointed, I'm discovering what was cut & feeling confused! XD. For all the reasons to cut content, furuba is one of those rare instances where they cut the real good & best part! They cut depth!. The thing is they are blatantly biased. Only certain characters get depth & others meet the ax. But I've never seen a show that cuts its own protagonist! But it's all comes to the anime's understanding of its protagonist: "perfect girl saves cursed family". Notice how the only tohru-cut content is when it is NOT abt "perfect girl saves cursed family". Once the story is abt tohru's own personal struggle & she's no longer saving anybody, it is CUT & the things they cant cut cuz they're part of the ending, the anime water it down: " tohru's se03, ep6" or alter it for cheap drama " tohru's se03, ep6". That is tohru's only focused ep in 3 seasons... she had focused ep in se01, ep5 but that ep only scratched tohru's surface.

-The argument that" C'mon, just be happy we got a reboot! we never thought such day would ever come" & " hey~ the manga isnt going anywhere" is true & wrong. The argument is true cuz:

Yes, be happy the reboot exists. Other anime wish for that.

Be happy 60% of the story (two thirds) is faithful. Other anime with great manga, get butchered anime endings or no endings.

Be happy, we have a finished manga with satisfying ending, other manga are unfinished for good, others are on hiatus, others have disappointing weird endings.

but still, The argument is wrong cuz:

you are allowed to express your own valid dissatisfaction & disappointment with respect. Actually, thats healthy!

Criticism is form of love. You only care cuz the cut/ruined part is 100 times better than uncut part & the comic fillery content in all 3 seasons! They cut the best part not the worst which is.. disappointing.

All forms of art are subject to personal taste & subjective perspective. Those who love everything abt it can gush & enjoy & those who don't can express that. If seeing one side bothers the other, simply block~ one button is all it takes~

Also, unfortunately, female protagonist are mostly way less complex & shallower than male protagonists.. so it is a shame seeing potential female depth cut in favor for the "perfect woman" imagery. That alone warrant valid criticism.

I love furuba se03. its the best part of the entire anime, but yeah~ i could see its " plot" issues from far away even before seeing a single manga panel. Reading the manga now makes me feel mixed feelings & i'm gonna express them, the good & the bad alike. It wont change how precious furuba is to me as a story, but it will be a good healthy outlet to express valid appointment.

Hi dear friend!

I’m sorry that you feel the this way. More importantly, I think it is good that you decided to stop after feeling disappointed & let down. These are valid feelings you shouldn’t ignore & I’m happy that you decided to look for an end to them. At the end of the day entertainment should exist to bring desirable feelings of fulfillment. If it doesn’t do this to you anymore, walk away & look after your feelings. I’ll be missing you valuable input as you were one of my early furuba friends<3. Hope to see your comments about other things or future manga posts.

I think it is important to acknowledge the feelings of disappointment as much as you acknowledge the feelings of joy & excitement. Both feelings are valid. ppl look for different things in media. For example, sometimes ppl appreciate changes from the original stories & see their worth, sometimes the changes miss all the important points from your perspective & look like a watered down version of the original’s theme. I’m thankful that you decided to express your thoughts & move on.

Personally, As an anime-only, I can see some issues with the pacing & quick characters arcs with some missing points here & there even if I don’t know the manga, but also the writing itself is strong! This part of the plot is what I’ve been waiting for since se01 ! I don’t care much for story/lesson of the day in se01 or the coming of age theme in se02. I’m craving complex, complicated & more mature themes. This part of the plot has all of this in its core writing. I can forgive the pacing & the bullet speed rushing thorough tohru’s background story if it proves it worth in the climax & its aftermath. Show me why furuba is still talked abt after 20 years! show me why a shojo story stuck with an entire generation! Show me why it is STILL remembered.

This core plot has the condensed character arcs of tohru, akito, kyo, shigure, momiji, Isuzu, Haru & the curse itself (trauma). It has the core themes of adulthood & maturity:

forgiving one’s self & self-implemented guilt.

 moving on from loved ones & painful memories. letting go of pain.

fate vs self agency, future vs past. new beginnings vs being held down.

extreme self loath & low self worth.

personal need for change!

It is packed! se01 & se02 don’t compare in their writing! which brings the forever confusing question of why they would favor the shallower seasons over the core heart of the story, but I’ll let go of understanding weird artistic decisions & focus on the canon anime story.  As long as these themes mentioned above are addressed properly & the character arcs of the remaining characters (kyo, akito, tohru) are presented without cheap drama or over the top animation, then, I’ll be satisfied.

While I enjoy the story so much, yeah, the directing is questionable at times. It seems that the director’s vision is a mix of intense dramatic scenes mixed with happy episode closure. However, the the dramatic scenes is not dramatized by the plot or dialogue but rather the character animation itself & the necessity of happy upbeat episode closure contradicts with continuous flowing plot & bending unsolved issues.

The reason all Haru/Rin scenes together are attached to upbeat music is becuz they’re at the end of an episode which MUST end happily no matter what. There are a handful of eps where the ep closes with the right feeling that connects it to the next ep, but then again, the next episode itself is always another plot thread that relates to another character & another issue. Nothing is wrong with plot moving somewhere, but the sudden jumps weird me out. That’s the director’s vision & perhaps the writer, too? I duno how much she’s involved. but Furuba is forever an episodic anime to me (including se02 & what have we seen from se03 now). Most of the times, things are dropped suddenly or introduced suddenly. I just go with the flow even in se02 & the late season so far, which character will get focus today? which issue will be dealt with? whose emotions will be visit today? that’s why I stopped reading/hearing the end ep cards, it tells me who the character is & I want to maintain the little suspense I have.

This does not mean the plot is never connected, it Is connected. However, it is so far in between. For example, tohru. When was the last time we visited her issues? I mean HER issues. Not her attempts to save all characters traumas & their love lives too. She had issues, you guys. but that was hinted with few seconds scenes at at se02 wayyyyyyy back at ep, 8 (short panic attach), 14 (quick flashback) 15 (very short box symbolism), ep 19 (nightmare).  Now, se03, 4 eps in &~ nothing much from her perspective abt herself. The only thing that is solidly & clearly shown is her romantic love for kyo. Still, I have faith in the writer. Tohru will turn out to be the best character ever! If not in the show, then I’ll go look for her in the manga! XD. But I bet the writer will insist that her lead female character gets respect in the anime, so, I’ll wait it out.

This criticism doesn’t mean I hate the show or the directing. I adore the show! & respect the director’s artistic choices but If I can gush abt the things I like, I’ll talk the things that bother me. As long as I don’t disrespect anybody. But regardless of all criticism, I still enjoy the characters writing! it is SO  deep, profound, thorough & realistic. This is furuba’s greatest strength. Even the characters’ wrong choices & hurtful deeds come from a realistic but faulty perspective & I love that! Even the three toxic duo (shigure-akito-kureno) are well-written so far! XD

Although I don’t read the novels of the shows I watch, I’ll make sure to visit certain scenes in furuba’s manga once the anime is over. I’m so curious to see how the writer interpret the dramatic scenes & give the right atmosphere without music or voice acting. What is her artistic vision? Mangas & anime are two different mediums but since mangas have visuals, it means that the mangakas? are a semi-director themselves. The readers rely on the visual panels while the written bubbles must not be bigger. How the facial expressions are depicted without the help of the excellent voice acting!

I’ll rely on you guys to assign chapters for me to read! since I won’t read the whole thing! I’d love to have these discussions that focus on Takaya’s artistic depiction without much comparing it to the director. This way, the discussions will be unbiased, thrilling & fun!

Thank you! I fixed my typo.

I read the chapter & wrote the post in one go & published it without revision. Usually, I leave the post unpublished overnight to rethink my thoughts, add more depth & review my typos.

Also, my computer just broke down so I installed tumber on my phone & I hate it already 😒.

As for kyo's mom, that's an interesting aspect of looking at the panel! Yeah, kyo did say in his confrontation scene with his dad that he wished she fought for her life & didn't give up. So, this panel of her in his talk with momiji is a nice foreshadow! It helps to establish future character depth so it doesn't seem surprising & coming out of nowhere. ( sth the anime fails to do).

hmmm.. So, it is options (2) & (3) of my speculations of why they chose such ED & OP in my previous post. if it is indeed 13 eps & so much is still to be addressed then, it might be true that the OP & ED are a continuation of an open ending of sorts, of what will be left & NOT covered. The the ED & OP are the story’s ending shown, so you make your peace with the chunks of the story that will be left out. Kinda like, “hey, I know a lot is missing, but look they’re happy, buy the manga to know the details! $$$”

Looking at it, the past two seasons only few issues were explored or resolved. se01 is mainly characters introduction. Nothing more. Se02 is mainly yuki’s arc with minor exploration of ( 1 ep per character to) : kyo, Isuzu, akito, shigure & kureno. As for Aya, Hatori, Ritsu, Haru, Hiro & kisa they seem overly done & fine. Momiji, nothing is explored much as he seems at peace with his own issues & it depends on where they wanna take his character. Tohru has the least amount of exploration. I think they’ll give her more attention in se03.

So, se03 is where the meat at. Where the story will dive into lion’s den! End the curse, resolve tohru’s , akito, kyo, shigure, & whoever needs resolving & set the romantic couples. it is the most important part of furuba. 13 eps could be fine if the remaining manga content can be skipped without watering the story, or leaving unanswered plot holes, but I think the production team are aware they cant do that, so they’re compensating with sweet lovey dovey images that blatantly tells you how the ending will be, so you quickly accept the content that are covered & forgive the ones that aren’t, or go to the manga to read more if you wanna.

Also, it explains the huge dramatized & over exaggerating characters like tohru & akito. They don’t have much time to build up their trauma, so they think they can accelerate things by overly dramatic facial expressions & flying?. Quickly viewer-san understand they’re in pain. feel! feeeeeel! lol. sad, cuz they can really make us feel tohru & akito’s pain with just the right music & the right facial expressions. Afterall, kyo’s pain was so beautifully conveyed in one ep, se02, ep9. But I get the rush. The director is not confident with what he is left with, I suppose. oh well~again, it is what it is.

 They can make 13 eps work amazingly tho. It all depends on what they chose to skip. What character they chose to focus on. Now, they can’t afford to give extra time to yuki’s fan club, or Arisa/ Hana depth, or more lovey kisa/ hiro or Aya/ Mine. As much as I love them, They need to focus on the story now. Just take the meat  of the story & properly & calmly show it. Leave the spices to a more relaxed adaptation. I can’t say I trust the flying enthusiastic director, but perhaps it is not his call. The production board is where things at.

My guess, this entire anime is not a stand alone mediaum. It is a promotion of the manga, so they’ll take one flower from each field. Se03 will quickly visit each character lightly, as the ED showed. Leaving the meat for the manga. So all individual characters fans will be happy. The story is in the manga. If this turns out to be true then wow! it sucks for me! XD. but I’m not gona waste time worrying, I’ll join the anime’s ride as long as I can & as long as I find it appealing! so far, it is appealing even with the exposed ending. There’s still kyoko’s words ( thank God they didn’t spoil that, otherwise I’d dropped the show!!), tohru’s grief & childhood trauma with her mom closing the door!!! kyo’s guilt & confession he knew kyoko!! Akito’s trauma. so yeah~there are things not spoiled yet! =D

thank you for the ask~I really enjoy having such conversations that look at art, books, anime, shows with love & adoration yet is able to respectfully express disappointment or dissatisfaction. It is okay as nothing is perfect~

I love this topic! you were right abt the current trend that insist that female characters should be utterly powerful, perfect & extremely independent which doesn’t allow room for them to err/sin & deal with the consequences of their decisions. This trend is the opposite of an older trend that painted them completely powerless, innocent, pure & angelic. Both trends are a bit extreme. This doesnt mean there are no examples of well-written female characters that can embody complex tropes such as “fallen hero: who succumbs to her darkness & repeats the vicious circle she was living in” or “ villain with an amazing redemption arc that allows her to face her demons, fix some of her sins yet doesn’t transform her into a sinless angel” or “ a character that lacks dreams, ambition & struggles to face herself rather than the society”. I’m sure there are female characters that can fill in such roles but they’re rare.

“ I wish we watched/played similar stories besides Furuba as I love talking to you about the craft of narratives!” Me too! I couldn’t get your insight abt Star Wars & The Last of Us as I never watched the former nor played the later. Like I feel we are in the same wave length but keep missing each other cuz can’t discuss shared examples. I used to be disappointed by my professor as he gave us advice abt crafting stories & creating characters. What can be sold to the audience & what gets you no where. His advice was to always “ride the current trend”. I disagreed with him plenty. Trends make money: yes. But not necessarily make epic stories. Trends are created by loud speakers but stories are thoroughly read by the quiet ones. Discussing stories/characters is as fascinating as reading them & writing them. These three aspects create enjoyable journeys & help ppl connect intellectually.

OMG! XDDDDD

That's so funny! & so unexpected! XD

Yuki's romantic growth could've been handled well even with se03 being 13 eps if it was started in se02 while reducing his " Mom tohru" stage a bit, or replacing motoko's one-sided love agony that expanded for 3 different eps with machi/yuki getting to "notice" each other on a romantic level. Not necessarily falling in love & pining. That's the missing piece: Yuki noticing his romantic love. I'm 100% sure, we'll see a number of scenes of yuki in love with his official girlfriend in the 3 remaining eps, but that would've established how underdeveloped yuki/machi as a ship even more. Oh well~ moving on.

I'm so glad you guys told me yuki never sulked or was broken after his fight with yuki! This info changes a lot. I'm not gonna lie, writing yuki as a sulky boy right after a powerful moment of growth is a huge disservice to him & such a bad-writing choice. It took away from the powerful moment itself. Especially when you compare it with how powerful kyo's next move is: meeting his dad. Yuki's growth started way earlier than kyo's & he doesnt have anything to prove to himself after the fight, so writing him as relived & happy would've celebrated 2 seasons of growth! instead the anime opted for a broken visual of him that is so similar to his visuals in akito's room. =/

I'm thinking of the anime's choice of writing yuki sulking & sad & if it was just to bring focus on how important machi is to his life, then it is shallow. I guess the anime wanted yuki to go with kyo's words " I love her, I just love her" , so yuki just love machi & she makes him " alive", & " out of the darkness" to bring parallel to kyo/tohru. but since, by this stage, yuki doesn't have darkness as he just let go of the last bit of darkness " hating kyo", the parallel doesn't work. Even kyo himself wasn't saved by tohru's love & he didnt just leave the darkness for only tohru, he wants to " try living". Facing bigger issues than just love. Facing the past, the true monster: his dad & 17 years of trauma, guilt & witnessing death. He wants to try even while doubting if tohru would accept him. That's what living is. Tohru is the drive & reward. But not the solution, neither is machi. While she wasn't yuki's drive to improve, she is the reward & the final stage. The scene of yuki's eyes light up & him running to her could've worked even better if yuki wasn't sulking or sad or trapped with his head down on an empty dark hallway. He can be relived doing sth in his room when receiving her call. Granted, it would've been less dramatic, lol, but oh well~

It sucks for yuki to be handled this way after his biggest moment, but oh well~ next ep he'll be cool again, happy & getting his reward!

I'm kinda wondering if both confessions will be happening same time. Yuki scene, cut to kyo, then yuki, then kyo, then yuki! it fits the dramatic drive of the anime & their obsession with parallel. I hope not! I wanna focus on one boy at a time. XDDD. Also, I wanna hear the two girls talk!