Well, it's over! I know this is repetitive, but thanks so much for all who have read and reviewed, especially:
Zelda42, Optical Disillusion, Lycoris AI, Ashley, Malachite Iris, Astria, Ferngully, Numbah Wierdo, Merilee, Lady Ven'n, DigiChar, Porpoise-chan, LittleTora, RedCrow1120, Hmm, Miyuki, doo7749, GirlWaterShaman, windchaser90, hey, Kai Sohma, Kanna, Holding on to Heart, Gia Kohana, Jaimee, kenni, mollykat, amberblood, EEevee, Fullma8712, Vi, Primeval Eidolon Scar, IluvsBakura, Lalaith Yamainu, and RhiannonLove
Again, I've really enjoyed writing this story and am sad to see it come to an end. So now what? I figured it was only fair that I took some time to explain some of themes of this story for all of those who kindly took the time to read an review!
Some Thoughts on Family Therapy…
To begin, I think the character of Kazuki (who is, as the narrator the springboard for many of the story's themes) can be understood in a number of ways. One way, as some of you implied, is to view him as a bit of an instrument for exploring and critiquing the rest of the Sohma Clan. With his allegiance to logic and reason, Kazuki can see, in a rather humorous way, just how nonsensical some of the other characters are. He also brings up important moral questions, especially in regards to prejudice. By doing so, Kazuki sheds a different light on his relatives actions, especially in regards to their baseless treatment of Kyou. Like in many cases of prejudice, the person or persons who are discriminated are dehumanized (in this incidence, Kyou is labeled "the cat"), and those who carry such a prejudice can simply not separate the individual from the stereotype he's been indoctrinated with (as shown in Yuki's repetitive reply of "because he's the cat"). As a result, Kazuki becomes the kind of character that the reader can relate to - a voice of reason and morality admist a sea of chaos and discrimination.
However, as others picked up on, Kazuki can be both "silly" and even "elitist." On the one hand, he is simply good-intentioned but misguided; at the other extreme, he is quite a bit of an elitist, particularly a western elitist, who thinks he knows better than everyone that he is unable to really ever see anything except from his point of view. Shigure would probably prescribe to the former, while Hatori and Yuki would argue the latter. As is such, this story can be seen as a critique on elistism in general. However, more specifically, it can also be seen as a critique of how the West, throughout history, simply believe that they are more "logical" and "reasonable" than those in the East, and, therefore, should attempt to change the East to fit into their ideals and images of what it means to be civilized (Kazuki experiencing almost his own form of "White man's burden" in this story). It is no coincident that Kazuki, although raised in Japan, is half American (or English/Australian) and has spent 8 years of his life studying in the quintessential "Western" nations of American and Britain (at Harvard and Oxford, respectively, which, admittedly, is also a personal shout out to one of my favorite shows, Frasier, with Frasier Crane having attended both institutes on his way to become a psychiatrist, as well) before returning to "save" his family. In addition, often, in his narrative, he expresses longing for the west over his life in the east. In this way, Kazuki represents a Western mentality (almost of an imperialistic nature), and it prevents him from being able to truly empathize with the other members of his family.
Granted, at the same time, we'd be hard pressed to say that everything Kazuki thinks, does, and says is wrong; surely, some of his theories make sense and are even applicable to the cursed Sohma clan. Moreover, as abovementioned, he can take on the role of moral compass when his other relatives are faltering due to their prejudices (although, due to his elitism, it can be said that he harbors his own prejudices toward his family). Yet, it's the way he's goes about approaching his family's troubles and his internal reasoning that might be what's problematic. Consequently, it can be said that, in the end, it becomes unclear whether Kazuki wants to "help" his family or "fix" his family, two very different concepts. What's more, he begrudges those who challenge him intellectually (Hatori, Yuki, Shigure, and even Akito), while favoring those who accept his academic superiority (Ayame, Kyou, Momiji). Ultimately, Kazuki thinks himself fundamentally as right and cannot understand how anyone else could possibly think differently.
Moreover, while Kazuki throughout the story undeniably and perhaps not incorrectly relates to Kyou, projecting himself and his experiences onto him, it can be argued that Kazuki is more similar to Akito in several ways; Shigure alludes to this in his final session. If Akito sees himself as the Old Testament God, as the end of the story concludes, then Kazuki unknowingly sees himself as Christ, the savior, from the New Testament, seeking, in a way, to "replace" the Old Testament God as Christ does. In both cases, the two are deluded, unable to see how their flaws prevent them from reaching anything beyond self-indulgence. However, despite this, each clings to these images of themselves because they want one thing: to be loved and accepted. Akito is desperate for love, but she thinks the only way she can ever get it is through being the uncompromising god of her cursed family, forcing those around her into submission for fear of being alone; hence, she admires Lum from Urusei Yatsura, for Lum is known to constantly electrocute her lecherous fiancée, Ataru, whenever he is unfaithful. Furthermore, she writes off Jesus as "stupid," because she simply can't understand how He is able to give those the free will to love Him and actually expect to receive it.
Meanwhile, Kazuki also is in search of love, or at least acceptance. As aforementioned, he relates to Kyou because he, too, feels that he has been ostracized by his family for something he had no control over (namely, being conceived and born out of wedlock). At the same time, although he never acknowledges it, Kazuki's case is not as bad as Kyou's; while Kyou is destined to be imprisoned from the age of 17 on, Kazuki, at that age, had more freedoms than many of his peers, traveling and studying on his own in American and Europe. More obviously, Kazuki does not turn into either a cat when hugged nor into a monster when not wearing a bracelet around his wrist. What's more, while perhaps some of his relatives look down at the circumstances of his birth, it is evident that he is able to socialize with his family with relative ease, especially when compared to Kyou, and that he has always been loved by his mother, Tomiko, something that Kyou never had. In the end, therefore, it can be argued that much of the supposed family disdain Kazuki perceives stems from his own contempt for his origin to the point of unconscious obsession at eradicating it because he fears everyone looks down on him. As a result, ever since a child, he was constantly trying to prove himself through scholarly achievement, and his mother's prophecy only served as a way for him to further work toward erasing his illegitimacy. Therefore, just like Akito, who can't understand how people can love or accept her unless she is an unmerciful god, Kazuki can't understand how people can love or accept him unless he saves the Sohma family from their curse. Hence, the two have established for themselves unattainable, inflated goals in order to compensate for their own personal insecurities that stem from childhood.
Additionally, from this, one can deduce that Kazuki is then just motivated by his selfish interests. He certainly sees things in an egocentric way; for instance, on a basic level, he is merely using Kyou as an instrument to really fight for himself. This is hinted from the very first session; in suggesting that Kyou goes and study abroad, he is merely pushing his own solution to his feelings of being outcasted onto Kyou without considering Kyou's personal situation (he is almost completed with high school at this point and has established relationships in Japan; it is quite presumption, therefore, to think that Kyou can simply turn his life upside down and relocate halfway across the world). Kyou thinks at first this is running away; Kazuki does not perceive it this way. In a way, though, Kyou's initial interpretation can be seen as the correct one; further separating one from one's family does not help rectify being ostracized nor bring about their acceptance. As the story progresses, Kazuki's defense for Kyou becomes more clearly a defense for himself. His hostility for Yuki shows this; while Yuki has many of his own troubling issues, Kazuki often loses sight of this and takes a more unprofessional approach, arguing on Kyou's behalf during their sessions. He does the same thing to Kagura.
In the end, though, Kazuki becomes so self-absorbed that he is ultimately unable to look at anything objectively, nor is he able to empathize with his patients; he is simply unable to truly identify with his relatives to the point where he needs to be prompted to even acknowledge their animal transformations (as it's easier to ignore this minor inconvenience while holding steadfast to notions of logic and reason). Hence, his practice was really about fixing his family for his benefit, not helping his family for their benefit. If the latter had been the case, he would, arguably, feel more sympathy for their plight and be sad that he was unable to help them improve their lives. However, his narrative offers little in ways of this, but supports the former point instead; every time one of his session fails to produce his desired results, he feels sorry for himself and not for his patient, growing more cynical about them since they are not helping him reach his goal of saving them. For example, in the last interlude, Akito finally confesses that all she ever really wanted was to be loved, but Kazuki is too drunk due to his self-pity at this point that he simply scornfully laughs away the breakthrough. Consequently, Akito, after making herself momentarily vulnerable only to be rejected, resorts back to her comfort zone and takes on the persona of god once more. This ironic and tragic twist proves that Kazuki is incapable of breaking the curse. Too tangled up in his own mixed motivations, unmoving beliefs, and insecurities, Kazuki is missing the special kind of insight he needs to fully understand he deals with.
This paves the way for Tohru to ultimately be the catalyst that breaks the curse, as is the case by the end of the manga series; she teaches the Sohma family how to love, which, as Kazuki alluded to in the last Interlude, albeit sarcastically, was what the curse was really all about. Interestingly, when Kazuki meets Tohru he is originally disappointed. Yet it is the simplicity of Tohru that Kazuki looks down on that is part of the reason why she is so effective. Tohru is innately compelled to help people simply for the sake of helping them; often, she is not clouded by ulterior motives. Furthermore, Tohru, by not over thinking everything, is able to empathize with the other Sohmas, trying her best to understand their experiences. Additionally, Tohru is not so self-important to see herself as a "savior," unlike Kazuki, and it is not her actions alone that break the curse, although she does initiate the break in many ways; rather, she helps the Sohma family learn to help themselves (remember, although Tohru confesses her love first, it is Kyou at last accepting and reciprocating this love that ultimately breaks the curse). Lastly, while Kazuki and Akito seem to have emotionally closed themselves off from their family, unable to trust if they ever really love or accept them (including Kazuki in regards to his mother by the end), Tohru overcomes any doubts or insecurities she has and confesses her love for Kyou, who eventually, after some time, is able to do the same.
In the end, therefore, Tohru cares about the others, while Kazuki and Akito don't know how to care about their family. Even in regards to Kyou, Kazuki, as abovementioned, sees him more as a means to his own ends, even if this might be unintentional. In addition, Tohru's genuine affection also affects Akito in the manga to the point where she realizes that by living a life of kindness and principle (like, interestingly, Jesus), she will at last find the true love she's been seeking; Kazuki cannot offer Akito such an example, as he never shows or expresses any sort of love or affection for any of his family members, save his mother, and his kindness, as she suspects, is motivated by ulterior motives. Yet, even in the case of his mother, he says he "cares" about her, not "loves" her. Perhaps the difference between Kazuki and Tohru can best be understood as follows; Kazuki judges everyone around him, despite his arguments to the contrary, and Tohru simply does not. In other words, Tohru accepts people with their flaws, whereas Kazuki needs to change these flaws, including the ones he perceives in himself, before he can accept them. As a result, Kazuki is so critical that he cannot just accept people for who they are, including, subconsciously, himself. This makes it impossible for him, like Akito (who is too insecure and afraid of being abandon to make herself vulnerable through sincere affection), to develop any real relationships.
Furthermore, due to her simplicity perhaps, Tohru can more readily accept the curse. She even accepts Kyou's true form. Arguably, Kazuki accepts Kyou's true form too, but only because he sees it as a representation of his own hidden illegitimacy, as illustrated in his dream. Kazuki, for the most part, is obsessed with logic and reason being able to prevail. The question then becomes how useful reason really is. In some ways, reason is useful at breaking down the problems of the Sohma family, but as a psychiatrist, it is ironic that Kazuki cannot deal with any of the emotional components in any way that doesn't involve some sort of distanced rationalization. For instance, he reproaches Hatori for how he handled the incident with Kana, but fails to recognize the complex emotions Hatori must have experienced, feeling loyalty and love to two conflicting parties. In Kazuki's eyes, Hatori simply was being illogical, brainwashed into worshipping Akito; never once does he consider that Kazuki was facing an impossible choice between his devotion to Akito and his new found affection for Kana. What's more, his inability to really deal with the pressing issue of animal transformation shows that Kazuki is so dedicated to his belief in reason that he simply cannot accept what he cannot understand. Even when forced by Shigure to address how he'd break the physical zodiac curse, Kazuki approaches it as a logical and solvable mathematical equation instead of looking at why the Sohma family was cursed based on the tale to begin with. In addition, to him, the curse is generally understood as nothing more than an excuse his relatives use for their problems instead of taking responsibility themselves or dealing with the actual issues at hand. However, to digress, for a moment, Kazuki is ultimately no better than they are; he ends up blaming his family, particularly Akito, for all his woes, symbolically referring to Akito as "the curse." To return to the initial point, though, Tohru, unlike Kazuki, can accept what she cannot logically understand and takes it in to understand on an emotionally level. Therefore, it can be said that while reason does have its place, one must also learn to acknowledge that which they cannot explain as well as the role of emotions in human situations.
Lastly, Akito and Kazuki's final session alludes to another important theme. In this session, they discuss the snow, which represents the own masks in which all the Sohmas carry. Kazuki, for instance, is constantly using his academic know how, western experiences, and his hope to save the Sohma family as all ways to cover his illegitimate origin. Kyou, too, is covering up his true form via his bracelet and his pain through aggression, while Yuki covers his insecurities through his happy façade. Shigure conceals his own intentions through a bubbly persona, Hatori remains stoic to mask any regrets he might have, and Kagura hides her true feelings of inadequacy by using her relationship with Kyou. And all of the jyuunishi must constantly hide from the rest of the world that they transform into animals for fear of rejection and disapproval. Yet, while Akito says she hates the snow, implying that it is because she finds disgust in the likes of Kazuki and Kyou, there is more to this hatred than just that; Akito hates it because she knows she herself is also hiding and that the image she created for herself isn't real although she wishes it were. Akito masks her gender and her insecurities by pretending to be a male god, but even she knows this is fleeting and is constantly afraid that when it fails her it will reveal a pathetic, lonely child. Hence, she remains frozen to true affection, making sure the snow that covers her never melts. Consequently, by presenting fronts to one another, the Sohmas never have the honesty they need to learn to overcome the misery and hatred of their curse; since they can't accept themselves, they can't accept one another.
Then what of Kazuki's hope? Often times, throughout the narrative, he gives this as his explanation for why he sticks around. Yet, this hope is that he might one day redeem himself more so than anything else; he clings to this hope throughout the story, because he cannot accept himself as he truly is. Similarly, Akito clings to the notion that she is a god, because she cannot accept herself as she truly is, either. In addition, Kazuki's hope also enforces the idea that he simply cannot accept that his western principles will fail, despite evidence to the contrary.
Despite my critique, I do not think Kazuki is a bad person – just flawed and complex. More often, at times throughout the narrative, Kazuki recognizes that he and his practice might be fundamentally flawed, although he never fully comes to terms to this, resorting to denial or feeling sorry for himself to avoid accepting this. In like fashion, I don't think Akito is a bad person, either, although I think she is guilty of many sins (I wasn't particularly pleased to do such a drastic 180 by the end of the Fruits Basket manga, but I think, overall, it makes sense, and I'm glad she has a happy ending where she comes to term with herself). This holds true for the rest of the Sohmas, as well. All the characters are very complex. And while this story might end on a depressing note, if you read or at least know how the manga ends, you'll realize that it's not as sad it looks on the surface. Plainly put, Kazuki perceives the results of his practice as sad because he doesn't know any better and is too involved to look at things objectively. To be honest, if Kazuki had broken the curse, it probably would be worse, because as Shigure said, it was not really the answer he was looking for. What Kazuki needs is to learn to accept himself for who he is, accept others for who they are (i.e. overcome his prejudices and elitism), and forget about trying to hide behind fancy degrees or to erase his flaws by being some kind of savior. As I said earlier, he's really a lot more like Akito than he realizes.
And with that, I at last move this story from "In progress" to "Complete." ( - :