Much like when I was prompted to pick my favorite male anime character, there is no way that I am picking a singular favorite, so I’ll just start listing again. Some quotes that I like are moving or profound. Others are simply bad@$$ or cute, etc. Some I connect with more than others, and so many of my favorite quotes come from Fruits Baskets.
Some lines speak for themselves, and with others I will include a brief explanation.
I can’t guarantee I’ll get to them all, but I will be able to hit a few. In no particular order, here we go!
1.
“If I am to choose a rose in this garden of romance, maybe we can take this chance; maybe you’re my love.”
– Op. of Ouran High School Host Club, song: Sakura Kiss
There is something special about this line because a) Ouran sparked my journey into anime and will always hold a special place for me, and b) come one, it’s a rose in a garden of romance. The composition is so fitting. I love that!
2.
“The name fury that belongs to those fakes is no match for your life and the way you’ve chosen to live it. You have transcended, and you are already a devil. And, as such, you deserve a devil’s name. You are… Hakuouki.”
– Kazama, Hakuouki: Warrior Spirit of the Blue Sky
This is the line from which the title of the franchise is derived. The scene in which it’s found compounds all of Hijikata’s struggles and trials. This is his moment of ultimate recognition, the validation of his tribulation. He has truly transcended.
3.
“But you know, there’s something I believe. I want to try and live my life carrying all my memories with me. And even if those memories are painful, even if they do nothing but hurt me, I want to keep them, even those memories I sometimes wish I could forget. As long as I carry them with me, as long as I can keep holding on, then someday, someday I’ll be strong enough that those memories don’t hurt me anymore, and I’ll be glad that I have them. That’s what I believe, with all my heart.”
– Momiji, Fruits Basket, ep. 15
4.
“Next door are the screams of my naked heart. Next door: where does it lead? (to the next paradise)”
– Otoya and Eiichi, Uta no Prince Sama Maji Love Legend Star, song: Next Door
This line seems more simple at first glance than truly it is. Otoya has finally confronted some painful memories and allusions. This line implies something much darker than is usually touched upon in a show such as UtaPri. It reflects a tortured state of being. Without getting into too many spoilers, Otoya blames himself. He believes he will ultimately loose everyone he loves. “Next door” is the placement of his pain. It’s a place specifically “other,” a place close but not within; Otoya has pushed the agony from himself for so long, and yet it lingers. He cannot escape it once the floodgates have been opened. He asks himself what will happen now that he feels that pain, exposes the hurt that Eiichi has pulled from his very core. Where will it lead? Consider the dark implications of the “next paradise.” Without risking a potentially audience-alienating change in genre, I don’t see how the implication could be made any clearer. Otoya is struggling.
5.
“As we sit and wait on our throne, we only acknowledge those who come to us.”
– Quartet Night, Uta no Prince Sama Maji Love Legend Star, song: God’s Star
There is such confidence in this line. Quartet Night are Starish and Heavens’ senpais in the music business; they’ve been around the block a few times, have finely honed their skills, and they set the standard to which others thrive. Hoping to be legendary? Pppfftt. Quartet Night is aiming for god status, and this song is a celebration of them. My favorite band in the series, these young adults are MEN, not boys, and they’re going to show you up. Bow, peasants. ❤
6.
“My point is that it takes just as much training to get along with people, although training by yourself in the mountains won’t do you any good. You need to surround yourself with others. If you get to know them of course you take the chance that you’ll end up hurting them, or they’ll end up hurting you, and those things might very well happen. That’s the only way we learn… about others… and about ourselves.”
-Shigure, Fruits Basket, ep. 3
7.
“No one really starts out kind. All we know how to do at first is want: we want food, we want attention. It’s just natural survival instinct, I guess. But kindness is something we all have to learn as we go. It’s something that grows and develops slowly over time, the same way our bodies do, so kindness can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.”
-Tohru, Fruits Basket, ep. 3
8.
“True kindness isn’t something we’re born with. It’s something we have to work at. We have to mold it and shape it for ourselves. Not everyone has it, but I think everyone has the potential. Sometimes you just have to look really close before you can tell it’s there.”
-Kyoko, Fruits Basket, ep. 3
What is your favorite quote from an anime character?
-Shoujothoughts
Shoujo Thoughts: ☆ ～('▽^人) Otaku Ramblings 
I actually really love that quote from Momiji in Fruits Basket because so often people say they want to forget but I always felt like forgetting would be like losing part of me.
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It is true that the compilation of even our painful experiences helps shape us, and I thought that the sentiment coming from the mouth of one so young who had suffered so greatly was profound.
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