I really feel like I relate so much to Nakano from Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san. In a way, it’s kind of fun to watch Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san because it’s my way of destressing, while it’s also an anime about Nakano destressing from the everyday life of a salaryman. Ironic, isn’t it? Then Nakano said this week that he has this pile of games that he had purchased that just piled up because he got too busy. I completely relate to this and it’s soooooo sad. I had to laugh out loud about it. I have like 4 games piled up that I haven’t gotten a chance to play because, like Nakano, I get busy with life and when I finally have some free time, I do things like lie around in bed exhausted from life. What a conundrum!
Watching Nakano with Senko and Shiro is fun since they truly seem like a family, something Nakano stated in this episode. Senko and Shiro are a combination of pet cats and wife/daughter to Nakano, so they have different healing effects. I’m in that same boat where I can now see how adults feel some sort of healing effect watching their kids behave like kids and marvel, but I also look at my dog and think how wonderful it is that these actions of mine can result in so much of his happiness. It’s funny how we grow up and want nothing more than to have the time and resources to do these things we love as kids/young adults, but as we get older, we find joy in other things instead.

It comes as no surprise that Fumino Furuhashi and Nariyuki Yuiga have something going on... although it's not what you or Fumino's classmates are thinking. If you ask them, their relationship is purely that of a tutor and his fellow student, but in this episode, we have even more misunderstandings to make them look like a potential couple.

The best part of it is that Fumino is always trying not to make it look like they have feelings for each other, or that Nariyuki is interested in any of the girls at all... including their teacher, Ms. Kirisu. In fact, that's why she asks him not to tell the other girls about his visit to Ms. Kisiru's house, with such bad luck that they end up in a sticky situation in the most romantic spot in the whole school. After casually witnessing that, Fumino's classmates start spreading the word of a new romance blooming around them.

Nobody believes they just study together, so Fumino's female friends go full FBI and start spying on them at the library! OK, this scene could have been way better if they wanted to, but just seeing how protective Fumino's friends can be and what they're willing to do just to protect her and dismiss a non-worthy candidate is hilarious. From Fumino and Nariyuki's perspective though, that's just weird and creepy as hell! In the end, the spy team finally understood their assumptions were all wrong and left them alone, at least for now. If you ask me, there will obviously be plenty more situations involving these two, the spy team should be attentive. Oh, did you think your students were the only ones taking tests, Yuiga-kun?

Naofumi and the other heroes have now learned the truth of the Three Heroes Church and its dangerous weapon, one which contains all the powers of the four Cardinal Hero weapons. After discovering Ren and Itsuki are actually alive, the four heroes finally unite in order to defeat the zealous Pope, though not before Naofumi delivers an honest chastising to his fellow heroes for their actions thus far.

This anime continues to surprise me, mostly whenever it comes to Naofumi’s decisions! Ren, Itsuki and Motoyasu easily band together and seem to conveniently forget all of their hatred for the Shield Hero, but instead of outright forgiving them and joining in, Naofumi turns to the people he trusts instead. Watching him tell the other heroes off first before finally joining them was so satisfying, since he hasn’t really been able to say much of anything about their actions until this point - at least, not anything that they’ve actually listened to. Ren, Itsuki and Motoyasu are acting as heroes in the way that they imagine them from their own world, but Naofumi is looking at how his actions and influence as a hero affect the people he is surrounded by, which explains why the people he has helped are so fond of him. Of course, maybe arguing about all this in front of a deadly enemy like the Poe wasn’t the best idea… In any case, I’m excited to finally witness the epic battle in store, now that all four heroes are united and the scene is set for next week!

This anime has been mostly lighthearted so far – characters struggle with real issues, but with the power of love and friendship, everything has worked out pretty well up until now. But with the introduction of Hatori Sohma and his heartbreaking past, we start to uncover what horrors hide within the Sohma clan.

Hatori fell in love with a girl named Kana, who was an outsider to the Zodiac secret just like Tohru. She accepted him wholeheartedly and the two grew so close that, one day, they asked Akito for permission to get married. But the head of the family flew into a jealous rage, throwing a ceramic pot at Hatori’s face and screaming at Kana that it’s her fault if her beloved goes blind. Kana was so devastated by the outburst that she begged Hatori to erase her memories of their relationship, and now Hatori has to watch from the sidelines as she finds happiness without him.

This pivotal plot point comes to life beautifully with this adaptation’s new art style, and I also liked how Akito’s cameo at the end of the episode was altered to include another character who appears much later in the story. It goes to show that the production team behind Fruits Basket 2019 truly cares about the source material, which makes long-time fans like me happy beyond our wildest dreams!