WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Fruits Basket: The Final Season Episode 5, "I Mean ... You Know, Right?" now streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation.
It's finally happened. After being teased in the opening and ending sequences of Fruits Basket: The Final Season, Momiji Sohma has finally had his growth spurt. School vacation was kind to the bunny boy, who finally looks his age rather than around five years younger. His voice has deepened, he's now wearing the boys' school uniform (with in-character cute accessories) and everyone is shocked that the former pipsqueak has become, well, hot.
There's a lot going on in Fruits Basket: The Final Season Episode 5, "I Mean ... You Know, Right?" The episode's opening scenes check in on the pairings of Akane and Mine, Hatori and Mayu, and Yuki and Machi. Shigure also continues to bother Akito and butts heads with Kureno and Hattori, while Kisa overcomes her anxiety around Kyo and remains a fountain of love for her "big sister" Tohru. However, it's Momiji who experiences the most dramatic plot developments in this episode -- and it's not just about his changed appearance.
Before the episode's big reveal, though, Momiji takes some time to use his good looks for... good. Momiji has always been among the most mature and helpful members of the Sohma family, and now he can encourage Kyo to confess his bottled-up feelings for Tohru -- by threatening to ask Tohru out himself if Kyo doesn't. While Momiji doesn't actually have a chance with Tohru, who sees him as just a friend even though his feelings for her run deeper, the fact he can pass himself off as a potential romantic rival now is the sort of push Kyo needs to get over self-loathing and find genuine romantic love.
Momiji goes on to confront Akito and drop a major bombshell: his curse is broken. This happens a lot quicker here than it did in the manga, possibly due to a shortened final season, but it still plays naturally in anime form. Though there hasn't been any formal explanation of what exactly breaks the curse, it's been made increasingly clear that breaking away from the Sohma family's tight-knit bonds, particularly in regards to Akito, is a primary factor. It makes sense that the free-spirited Momiji would be among the first to break out of it.
Like Kureno, the previous family member to break the curse, Momiji acknowledges it feels weird to no longer be connected to the zodiac. Unlike Kureno, however, Momiji feels no desire to stay with Akito. He sees her for the abusive person she is and is more than willing to cut her from his life as he moves forward.
In Episode 5's emotional final moments, Momiji goes to visit his mother. Even with the curse gone, their relationship can never be truly repaired; her wiped memory can never be recovered and she'll never know the nice young man who visits her occasionally is her son. Yet even with all the unrepairable pain of the past, Momiji has the strength to walk happily into the future.
New episodes of Fruits Basket: The Final Season premiere Mondays, subbed on Crunchyroll and dubbed on Funimation.
