More Fruits Basket

I reread all of Fruits Basket. In order. I thought after reading it that it's not a pure happy ending, and that is why it's so great. I loved Tohru picking up Kyo's beads- the past was painful,yes, but it was a part of him- an important part. And Tohru notes that there is a lot of pain, that will take years to get through. And throughout, it's noted that the attitudes in the main house might take years to change. No, will take years to change. That everyone is not all lined up, smiling happily- but that's OK. It reminds me of the Full Metal Alchemist 1st anime ending. My favorite part of that was the quote that the world is imperfect. And that's OK. Maybe everyone's wishes didn't come true, maybe in that struggle, they lost a lot, almost as much as they gained.

There's no guarantee that everyone will be happy. That's why happiness is valuable. I think those endings are life affirming in that you can't strip everything sad out of life, and have it still be life.