Tooru Honda has always been fascinated by the story of the Chinese zodiac that her beloved mother told her as a child. However, a sudden family tragedy changes her life, and subsequent circumstances leave her all alone. Tooru is now forced to live in a tent, but little does she know that her temporary home resides on the private property of the esteemed Souma family. Stumbling upon their home one day, she encounters Shigure, an older Souma cousin, and Yuki, the "prince" of her school. Tooru explains that she lives nearby, but the Soumas eventually discover her well-kept secret of being homeless when they see her walking back to her tent one night.
Things start to look up for Tooru as they kindly offer to take her in after hearing about her situation. But soon after, she is caught up in a fight between Yuki and his hot-tempered cousin, Kyou. While trying to stop them, she learns that the Souma family has a well-kept secret of their own: whenever they are hugged by a member of the opposite sex, they transform into the animals of the Chinese zodiac.
With this new revelation, Tooru will find that living with the Soumas is an unexpected adventure filled with laughter and romance.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
Nenhum episódio encontrado.
Comentários
Stark700
On November 12, 2018 last year, I woke up to a string of Twitter feeds and news alerts. Fruits Basket got announced for a new anime based on the manga. During that same week, I pinched myself several times and realized it’s not a dream. It’s a reality. Fruits Basket, one of the most celebrated shoujo manga series in North America, is making a comeback after all these years. And to my delight, we also got the announcement that the new Fruits Basket would adapt the entire manga. That’s right, all 23 freaking volumes of them. There’s one thing for certain: Fruits Basket is a best-sellerin the West. Whether you’re a fan of shoujo genre or not, the series has a large fan base that still exists today. As a fan myself, I’ve read the series many years ago and have seen the first anime adaptation. Coming into the new Fruits Basket feels like a trip down memory lane. Only this time, we have enhanced visuals updated to more modern quality and a commitment to bring a full adaptation. For an emotional story and character driven show, Fruits Basket is a classic.
It’s 2019 and bringing a show from the past isn’t that simple. The biggest question on many people’s mind revolves how many episodes will the new season consist. With the actual amount of content from the manga, it’s not enough for just 25 episodes. Hence, it’s labeled as “first season” serving as a remake continuation of the franchise. However, something else came to my mind with its staff and cast. Fruits Basket’s characters are significant and to bring their personalities on the TV screen would need an A+ level of talent. Luckily, there’s no need to worry as the voices in this show are able to step up to the plate. Tohru Honda’s VA has changed for the new adaptation but her personality remains relatively the same. For those new to the franchise, she is the main female protagonist and an incredibly kind high school girl. While her character introduction may cause some heads to turn away (I mean, who would be impressed by an orphan living in a tent?), there’s no doubt she is a selfless person. She is loyal and often optimistic about her life. There’s many times in the show where she treats others with respect and is well known for her kindness. At the same time, Tohru’s weakness shows in her personality with her being too forgiving of others. Her character growth this season is slow but should be respected as the anime wants to flesh out her personality as much as possible. Most importantly, the show establishes her as an iconic shoujo character.
Meanwhile, we shouldn’t forget about the other main cast. Fruits Basket is a shoujo after all and isn’t complete without important male characters. These consist of members the Soma family. Most prominently, there’s Kyo and Yuki. The characters themselves are based off of the Eastern Chinese Zodiac with 12 animals. Strangely enough, Kyo himself is not part of the Zodiac although he is still a member of the family. He is portrayed as a young man with a short temper who often gets into pity arguments with Yuki. Their rivalry is relentless with battle of words, contests, and occasional physical fights. However, their rivalry is more about Kyo trying to prove himself and whether he truly can be accepted as a member of the Soma family. In other words, it’s not really some blood feud with lives at stake. Plus, a princely guy like Yuki isn’t the type that would want to harm others. His gentle and reserved personality at school earned him many fans, including his own personal fan club. Despite this, Yuki is portrayed as a distant man who isn’t easy to make friends with. Throughout the show, he develops a unique bond with Tohru as the two understands each other more. It’s also important to realize the season occasionally shows cryptic parts of his darker past. We don’t see it often but there are windows of moments where he shows insecurity and fear. Any new fans would no doubt be curious to learn more about Yuki. And as the more episodes progresses, the more complicated his character gets.
On the other hand, the more you look at Kyo, the more you can probably realize he’s growing a deeper affections towards Tohru. There are some episodes that shows his curiosity about her and even transforming into a genuine friendship. From a character relationship perspective, their chemistry evolves surely, although slowly. Tohru herself also begins to see his true character, beyond that of a hotblooded youngman. It’s important to know that outside of the Sohma family, she has close friends such as Arisa Uotani and Saki Hanajima. It’s noticeable that the anime dedicates time to focus on all three of them ranging from when they first met to how much they deeply care about each other in the present timeline. Similarly, Tohru has a deep devotion for her deceased mother. Known for its flashbacks, Fruits Basket both shows and tells a story about the importance of family. It’s a tear inducing story once you truly understand how much Tohru’s mother cares about her. At the same time, Tohru inherits characteristics from her mother as being a selfless woman who isn’t afraid to protect her friends.
The more I watched this new version of Fruits Basket, it made me wonder how they can introduce the other characters properly. Remember, there are 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac and outside of the two main guys, there are at least 10 others. Shigure Sohma is introduced early on after taking in Tohru in as a house guest. Being much laid back than others, there’s not much we understand about him although he is a man with a word of wisdom. Unfortunately, this season doesn’t fully explore his character so anime fans will have to wait a bit longer. Others such as Kagura, Momoji, Hatsuharu, Hatori, and Ayame are also introduced in various episodes. While not being prominently featured as the main cast, they do have value in the show despite some portrayed as being very childish. Kagura and Momoji are key examples of this with their behavior. I mean, who can forget about the episode with Kagura practically jumping herself into Kyo’s arms? Indeed, while Fruits Basket often carries a melancholic mood, there’s many comedic moments. There’s even a running gag in the show with the guys losing their clothes after being hugged and transforming into animals. Now that’s a curse to really be careful of. But perhaps one of the most mysterious character is someone named Akito. This character is mentioned many times by the main cast, most prominently by Yuki. Just who is Akito? What’s this character’s purpose? And why does Akito make Yuki react in such fearful ways? If you want answers, you’re going to be in for a long ride.
TMS Entertainment is honestly a studio I have mixed thoughts for. They do have a history of producing shoujo anime such as Kamisama Kiss and even bringing back long running franchises like D Gray Man a few years ago. After seeing the promotional material for the anime, I’m thankful to say there’s no need to worry. The animation quality lives up to modern standards with the vibrant and colorful character designs. They’re faithful to the manga on most parts with updated quality compared to the 2003 version. The setting itself presents a youthful field of decorated visuals full of life. And of course, the ladies will be in for a treat with the guys getting the bishounen makeover.
The fact that I’m even talking about Fruits Basket in 2019 is amazing by itself. Not too many franchises gets the golden treatment of having a complete remakes these days especially for the anime medium. Fruits Basket is a great example of a show that deserves this continuation for the 2003 version didn’t truly live up to its expectations. Here, we have the beginning of a beautiful journey and a reminder of why certain franchises deserves to be revived.
TakaCode
I enjoyed the original Fruit Basket anime. I know that's an unpopular opinion as the author and manga readers despised the original anime for dropping the ball in terms of adapting the manga but I thought it was a pretty good show, despite its flaws. When Fruits Basket 2019 was announced around late 2018 I was very excited as I finally got to experience this tragic tale in complete form. I went into Fruits Basket 2019 with very high exceptions as I expected the series to deliver it's promises and fortunately the series managed to meet and surpass my high exceptions as Fruits Basket 2019 is only thebest anime I have ever encountered but it's easily the best Shoujo anime I have seen from this decade.
Watching Fruits Basket 2019 story unfold was like picking up light hearted fairy tale book only to find out that the fairy tale book that picked has a lot of dark and mystery elements in it. That's Fruits Basket 2019 plot in the nutshell. It's a dark and intriguing story that was disguised as a fluffy and light-hearted story.
One of the things you begin to notice while watching the first couple of episodes was how it simply got straight to the point. The series wastes no time establishing its characters, themes and mystery elements to the viewer. It felt like a proper introduction and the way the show did was astounding.
Naturally this is an anime remake and the whole point of an anime remake is not only to fix the flaws were presented in the original adaptation for that particularly series but to also tell the present the classic story again to newer anime fans. This is Fruits Basket 2019 second biggest strength.
You can clearly tell that the Fruits Basket 2019 director Yoshihide Ibata had passion, respect and ambition towards this remake as he made sure it was accurate to the manga from story elements, themes and characterisation and it shows especially in the second half where the original anime went out of bounds.
Before we talk about Fruits Basket 2019 biggest strength I want to talk about the other aspects that it does well-staring with the well handed tonal shifts. One of my biggest issues I have with modern anime is how they struggle to have a consistent tone and many anime that shall be nameless end up being bad.
Thankfully Fruits Basket 2019 doesn't suffer from this as it knows how to use its tonal shifts and it never feels out of place due to the show understanding pacing.
Speaking of pacing that's an another aspect that Fruits Basket well.
The plot moves at the smooth and consistent pace that never bores the viewers. The smooth pacing also gives characters as its mystery and plot elements enough time to shine. Which leads me to Fruits Basket biggest strength theme exploration.
The series explores the themes of child abuse, family, bullying, memories, pain, love, accepting your true self, guilt child abandonment and discrimination. I loved how the series was able to execute and present its theme to the viewer without feeling forced or hamfisted thanks to great writing and direction. This was in retrospect absent in the original anime.
Obviously a well-written story like this is nothing without strong and likeable characters and fortunately the characters are just as great as the well written plot.
Thoru is one of the best Shoujo protagonists I've ever encountered in a long while. I know you guys are thinking right now. But you called her a great character already in your original Fruits Basket review.
It is true that I called Thoru a great character in my review for the original anime however the reason why she was not one of my favourite Shoujo leads period is that she a bit of a Mary Sue. 2019 Thoru is not a Mary Sue whatsoever she a caring but mentally damaged person.
Throughout the series we see trying her best to break the Shoma family curse by getting to know the Souma family as well not losing her cool in life due to her tragic past that damaged her mentally as a person. She also a nicely developed character as she changes through the plot with each new Shoma counter.
In the original anime Momiji was my character in series however in the remake Kyo is my favourite character. I just low how aggressive and caring he is when interacting with other characters. Kyo is also a well-developed character as he goes from an angry individual who hates everyone especially to a friendlier person who is able to his peers. Kyou strong characterisation is only better with his sad and well-written backstory.
Yuki is an another character that I really liked. I loved he's clam, charming and mysterious personality when he talks to other characters in the series. He also develops through the anime as he goes from an isolated individual who has a hard time communicating to his peers due the Shoma family curse in him to a more spoken individual who is able express his feelings towards others.
The supporting characters are just good and well-written as the main characters.
In the original series Saki and Arisa were mostly comedic relief characters that only embraced the comedy nature of the original series.
They were hardly relevant in the original plot minus a few key scenes notably episode 25. The remake turns Arisa and especially Saki into more serious and relevant characters and it was honestly for the better.
Seeing them properly characterised in this remake put a smile on my face as my wish for the now defunct season 2 of the original anime was granted. They finally became more than just tools of the plot as both Arisa and Saki as just as interesting as the Shoma family.
This is not to say Saki and Arisa aren't funny characters at all they still retain they gags and personality quirks that never fail to make the laugh their asses off.
The other Shoma members are also great. Every Shoma member is unique in terms of personality and seeing them interact with Thoru and the other Shoma members was fascinating due to Fruits Basket 2019 outstanding character chemistry.
The series also manages fantastically characterise every Shoma member to a point where you can sympathise with them including the some of the more loud and bizarre members like Kagura and Hrio.
If there was one word to describe Fruits Basket 2019 it would be gorgeous. Studio TMS did an outstanding job at bring the show to life with the smooth and sharp character designs that were only the enhances by the smooth bright and vibrant colour palette.
The background scenery is bright, well-detailed, and the lighting is spot on. As for actual animation it's pretty good. Character movement is smooth and there's hardly any still frames used.
The series may not be visually stylish as Demon Slayer and March Comes in Like a Lion but it makes up by great direction and shot competition especially towards the final 4 episodes.
Fruits Basket 2019 soundtrack is for the most part very good. The soundtrack features an upbeat, cheerful and melancholic score that perfectly the tone of the anime.
The first opening theme Again by Beverly is a beautifully composed song that perfectly captures the tone of the series.The second opening theme Chime" by Ai Otsuka is an upbeat and sparkling song that captures the more light-hearted elements in the series.
The first ending theme Lucky Ending by Vickeblanka is one of my favourite ending themes of all time due it's calming and beautiful bass. Fun fact the singer who did the ending theme for this also did the famous kickass third opening theme for Black Clover Black Rover.
The second ending One Step Closer by INTERSECTION may not be as great as Lucky Ending but it's still a pretty solid song.
The voice acting is strong in both languages but if I had to pick between the original Japanese audio and the Funimation English Dub I would easily pick the Funimation Dub. Not only the dub was very well-acted, but the audio quality was top notch. Returning voice actors Laura Bailey, Jerry ewell and Eric Vale absolutely blew the Seiyuus counterparts away.
The new voice cast for certain characters is also very good. My favourite newcomer for the dub is Mikaela Krantz who did a great job of portraying the bubbly Monoji especially with that German accent.
Overall its personal preference but I suggests giving the English Dub a shot.
Watching Fruits Basket 2019 reminded me why I love this medium. It is a fantastically written and charming series that screams passion and love.
Compared to FMAB and Hunter x Hunter 2011 where you have the opinion to check the original adaptations for more detailed versions of earlier arcs there's little to no reason to watch the original anime as this remake from head to toe did everything better.
Sure the original series may have nostalgia factor but nostalgia is only as good as it's overall quality and that where Fruits Basket 2001 unfortunately falls flat on that regard.
Fruits Basket 2019 is not only great it's the type of great that makes you laugh, smile, cry and happy.
Studio TMS and Yoshihide Ibata thank you for bringing this classic story to the modern day.
Walpurgies
Disclaimer : I didn’t watch the first fruits basket anime and neither did I read the manga. So this review will be purely on Fruits Basket (2019). Second review ever and French reviewer, sorry if bad english, gambarimasu. I’ll go through each point that made me love this anime that didn’t please me as much in the beginning. Firstly, let me tell you that this anime is perfect for shoujo lovers, BUT I’ll try throughout my review to interest the people who skip this only because it’s categorized as a shoujo. Fruits basket is a simple shoujo story as we could have seen at first sight. Ourmain girl, Tohru Honda helps certain people affected by a curse that makes them transform temporarily into a cute animal of the zodiac when they hug someone of the opposite sex. What is the big deal you would say?
Yeah doesn’t mean much as a problem for me also when I started this anime. The beginning is what you expect from a typical shoujo show. A cute and simple girl flirting with handsome males that makes jealous others random female students at school. And she starts to live with them from the very first episode! In the first episodes, you could find that all is going well without any strong pressure and you will probably think: “Ah, another shoujo/slice of life anime without interest”.
You could’ve never been so wrong.
As the anime and the story advances, you will discover a very dark and mysterious story behind all the characters, and it doesn’t limit at the mains ones! That’s one of the strongest point of Fruits Basket (2019), the characters are really well written. Theirs backstory are roughs, deeps, unpleasant, frightening but also sometimes happy and they made them as they are today. All their interactions with the other members of the cast are coherent and really well thought taking into account their own experiences, traumas, etc… even if the spectator doesn’t know them yet.
From a certain point in the anime, the mysteries about the past lives of some characters start to be revealed. And it’s done in a magnificent way. Trust me when I say you will need more tissues than you usual jerking week routine. More seriously, the way this anime conveys the feeling is incredible and is on par with Violet Evergarden as an example. Those few episodes really hit the spectator because for some characters, all the pressure built during the anime releases suddenly as a flow of beautiful flashbacks, hidden memories and sickening past situations that explain a lot about how they are behaving today. Even for the characters that were not hinted to have a dark past, we do get some breathtaking moments that will stay on your mind for a while after.
I also must highlight that Tohru is one of the strongest characters I’ve seen in this genre of anime. Being able to put on the truest smile you’ve seen and being constantly a flurry ball of cheerfulness for everybody she met while staying reasonably true is something truly admirable if we consider what she has been through.
Enough about the characters, the music/sound in Fruits Baskets (2019) serves perfectly its role. Accentuating the emotional moments when it should and give a relaxing tone when the story goes on. And God I love the endings, they did a really good job, the songs are very emotional and remind us at the end of every episode the feels that went through during the last 24-min (If you saw episode 24, you know how powerful it can be haha). Moreover, they are meaningful both in their lyrics and in their visual.
F-yeah we could do a complete review on the second opening about how Tohru is giving hope and peace for all the characters as we see the cast bring down their umbrellas one by one while the rain stops and the luminous sunrays lightens up their faces.
For a remake, the animation of Fruits Basket (2019) is so worth it. Not much to say about it, it’s just beautiful. The sceneries are great, the movements are fluid and the expressions on the characters faces really feel authentic and is giving a lot to the spectator.
Overall Fruits Basket (2019) is close to a masterpiece of its genre. A story of love, friendship but mainly a story about life itself. The hard times that we all had once at least can be found and reflected in this anime. Thus, the spectator can easily relate to the various tragic event and it’s so well done that even if he didn’t encounter them in his life, they will still get through him. As Tohru brings peace and joy to the people she loves, Fruits Basket (2019) brings us tears of understanding and a very strong feeling of compassion that makes us want to take into our arms every single character of the show (and it’s not because we only want to pet them after!).
If you loves shoujo or you seek anime like Violet Evergarden with strong emotional moments with beautiful music and smooth animations, you should 100% go for it RIGHT NOW.
And if you are not particularly interested by shoujo nor slice of life anime, why not give it a try? You might be surprised by how moving an anime about simple things in life can be!
~ Walpurgies
dotta
Perhaps the difficulty of understanding yourself is equal to the amount you feel alive when doing so. Fruits Basket understands this. Character driven and dramatically told, it is able to embed its most important themes inside of the story and characters. What starts as a girl finding out a secret quickly becomes understanding the reality they shoulder. The Souma zodiac secret, transferring into one of the zodiac members when hugged by the opposite sex, is a means to tell a story. Of course Honda Tohru wouldn’t have forged a relationship with them without discovering it, but more importantly it contains single-handedly the most important theme the showpertains—People are born with burdens. Each and every Souma carries some form of ache. But surprisingly enough, their issues are not foregin to what are real problems that real people have to overcome. Having no place to belong, holding resentment towards others because of one's own uncontrolled circumstances, parental issues, losing loved ones, not being able to get along with others. Each of these complications get conceptually visualized through very unreal means, but at their core are not unreal problems. It is this balance between a larger than life setting, but with a core focus on reality, that gives the show its charm.
Fruits Basket is about many things, however, and probably just as important as having burdens is about how to live and move on from them. This is mostly presented through a character, Honda Tohru. To the Soumas, she is exactly what they needed. Inspired by her late mother, Tohru is driven to be compassionate with a way of words. She learns to understand all of them because she understood her wonderful mother. She's kind, caring, and always seems to know what to say to them. She can inspire them with her words or actions, and manage to crack all of their shells to become friendly with all of them. Is she too perfect to be believable? Well, that is sort of her point, because she is in fact vulnerable and flawed, it just isn’t necessarily clear. Her “perfection” in a way feels its adding another layer to the show. Honda Tohru is extremely romanticized as a person, but that doesn’t mean she has no core issues. We learn she is naive, absent-minded, and often forgetful. But the show doesn’t necessarily present these flaws as a means to simply make her cuter. They are real with real consequences. She wants to believe the best in everybody, she wants the moments she loves to last forever, out of fear of not having a place to belong, again. This is only to a fault, because eventually—like everybody else, she will have to face reality. This is best displayed when she is called back to live with her Grandfather. But more important than any one issue the the show gives her is how she views herself. Even though most of the characters in the show (and probably most viewers) can admit she is doing all the right things, she doesn’t necessarily think she is living up to those expectations herself. This excerpt was one of my favorite moments of the show, an analogy Tohru uses to cheer up Kyo:
“If a person is a rice ball and what’s great about the person is a pickled plum, than maybe your plum is on your back! Maybe everyone is the world has plums on their backs, of all different shapes, colors, and sizes. But since they can’t see their backs, they can’t see the plums they have. They think they don’t have anything—that they’re just plain rice. Even though that is not true at all—even though they really do have a plum there. Maybe the reason we get jealous of others, is because other people’s backs are easy to see.”
It’s almost like this was written to describe how Tohru is projected to others. It's an important lesson, however, that we all have doubts about ourselves, no matter how perfect we may come off to others. This is how dynamics between characters in the show are formed. Through both understandings and misunderstandings about one another. Characters hiding things about them, or not being totally honest to themselves or others. It is surprisingly realistic.
The original Fruits Basket TV anime aired 18 years ago, so this rendition surges greatly in its animation/art/sound quality(though not necessarily the music pieces themselves can be compared, however). I can imagine, however, that there will be some loyal towards the original (just like some people are more loyal towards the original FMA and not Brotherhood) If you are looking to watch the series modern day and haven’t watched either, it is hard to not recommend the 2019 version. It is important to mention that just like the original Furuba, the way its assed will likely be polarized. Of course, like most drama anime, this series isn’t free from melodrama, or black/white conflicts every now and again. Not every character is well put together, and not every episode contains something special. But what I found always consistent about the show is how it remained faithful to its wonderful themes.
Fruits Basket is an impressively layered show. It manages to be both character driven and contain a relevant plot, all while never losing focus on its core themes. The characters, while possessing supernatural phenomena and having issues arise in a rather unusual way, contain familiar troubles that are very real. It's in that way the show tries to tell you no matter how distant a person feels from you—we all have to carry the burdens we get for simply existing.
DarthInvader
*Minimum Spoiler Review* TL;DR: Nostalgic Fans will gush over it. New Viewers will just glance upon it. Fruits Basket: "Brotherhood" isn't that bad. If you usually binge shitty slice of life/shojou crap, you can cleanse your palette with this. [Story: 5/10 , Characters: 5/10, Art: 8/10, Sound: 8/10, Enjoyment: 6/10] Before I start this review, I want to preface this with saying, this will be my first time watching Fruits Basket. I have not read the manga nor have I watched the original. However, I have done ample background research to know & differentiate the changes and improvement for this new adaption. “A conscience grows, just likethe body. It’s bred within your heart. That’s why the shape of people’s kindness is so different.” – Tohru Honda
Fruits Basket S1 (2019) aka Fruits Basket: Brotherhood (/s) was one of the most anticipated anime of this year since it is a readaptation of Fruit Basket that aired 18 years ago. There was so much hype surrounding this new adaptation, that it made me wonder, what was wrong with the old one that it so badly deserved a new adaptation. From my research and understanding, it was the Mangaka, Takaya Natsuki, who specifically requested that this adaptation be done anew; new studio, new anime staff, new voice actors, new everything. Nothing from the previous anime would be brought back. Which begs the question, the old one was beloved by so many fans & rated pretty highly on MAL, why did it need to be readapted? Turns out, beside the toxic relationship she had with the previous studio, she just felt her manga wasn't adapted properly and the characters were not given its due diligence. So 18 years later, TMS studio brings back the shojou classic, Fruits Basket, where they will fully adapt the entire manga over 60+ episodes and not just the first major arc & leave the readers to read the manga like the previous one. Now that we know why it was revived, let's see from the perspective of a first time Fruits Basket anime watcher, putting nostalgia aside, whether this shojou classic will be a hit or a miss in today's anime culture.
“It would be so great if it was possible to go through life without making a single mistake.” – Yuki Souma
Fruits Basket at first glance is a very laid back slice of life style shojou series about a homeless orphan girl named Tohru Honda, who gets taken in by the Souma Family. They have a dark secret that they are people of the Chinese Zodiac and if a human hugs them, they transform into the animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Somehow they just coexist, procreate and live a dysfunctional abnormal life riddled with emotional & love conflicts. However, enter Tohru, this saint of a girl, who grew up hearing stories of the Chinese Zodiac from her now deceased Mother, as she will transform the people's lives around her. The story is very linear however it's riddled with flashbacks of the characters' childhood traumas. Every episode or two, the story focuses on her changing the viewpoint of the people around her as they learn to grow and love the person they are. There is romance, there is drama, there are tears and there is comedy. In the beginning it seems funny since we start to get introduced to different zodiac animals and their unique quirks & upbringing traumas. However in the middle it sort of drags on since it becomes very repetitive but near the end you realize this whole season is just the first arc where they establish the major characters' flaws and growth so they can move onto to next arc. So from a first time viewer's perspective, it's not that great of a story but for nostalgic fans, it's a great treat as they get to revisit their old fav show in new limelight.
“For there to be pain, there has to be kindness. For darkness to stand out, there has to be the sun.” – Kyouko Honda
When you have a series like Fruits Basket that has a multitude of characters, you have to accept that these characters will be nothing more than two dimensional caricature of various character tropes. The main character is Tohru, who is an ubiquitous over the top super innocent saint that only just have love and tears for everyone around her. The major side characters are Kyou Souma (Cat), Yuki Souma (Rat) & Kazuma Souma (Dog). Besides them, you have her polar opposite friends Uo-Chan and Saki-Chan. Each of the character she meets as the show progresses represent different facets of emotional vulnerability that she overcame to become this saint that she is now. So to help them overcome their fears & struggles, she pours her heart out and tears to make them learn to love and accept who they are and carve the future they want for themselves. What's odd is that no characters really stick out to me, despite each of the zodiac characters having their unique character designs, personalities, quirks & traumas. If I have to dig deep, the major complex character is probably Tohru's mother Kyouko Honda, who learned many life lessons from being a troublemaker gangster to a doting calm mother. It's hard to really relate oneself to the main character because she is too perfect for a common human. She's like this Gandhi like figure in this anime and even then you can't even compare her to Gandhi because let's be real, even Gandhi wasn't a saint. As for the zodiac characters and other side characters, they are somewhat relatable but due to them being very two dimensional and rudimentary trope characters, there's not much substance that lies with them.
“Just as no matter how hard you try to keep it away, despair will attack you again and again. In the same manner, hope will return to you. Again and again.” – Kazuma Souma
Now that we know what type of story and characters that makes up Fruit Basket, let's focus on few technicalities of the show that makes this the better anime to watch. From an animation standpoint, TMS Studio, blew it out of the park with their animations. If you compare this with the 2001 (and you should not because technology) it is a vast improvement and the colour palette as approved by the Mangaka, just shows how rich this anime can be. It's vibrant, it's moving, it's emotional and it's constantly breathing. The frames are animated well and the colour seamlessly switches from bold to cool to give the viewers an eyegasmic relaxing treat. Beside the animation, the OST is very soothing. The OP songs are sung very well and the ED songs are nice as well. It's a slice of life style shojou anime and the music composition fits the bill. Great job by the studio. Moreover, the seiyuus did a phenomenal job evoking emotions and excitement with the material they are given. They made the show better than this show can really be. Without these technicalities, this new adaptation, really wouldn't be worthwhile. It just goes to show, how heavily this series dependent upon such.
“If you love someone, they could make you sad. They could even make you feel lonely sometimes. But, that someone can also make you happier than you’ll ever be.” – Kyo Souma
Overall, looking at it holistically, Fruits Basket at its core is about exploring the many universal facets of love; from familial, parental, platonic, romantic, self-sacrificing to even toxic or destructive. Moreover, it looks at the importance and struggle of empathy, forgiveness, personal growth and ultimately self-acceptance. I can see why back in 2001, people really enjoyed a show & manga as such. It is a pivotal show for teenagers learning the world around them and maturing to become a functioning adult with emotional understanding. However, looking at it objectively, this show is very simple with a story that is still scratching the complexity of the human condition. It's neither archetypal of a hero's journey nor is it a show that will transcend the modern shojou or slice of life culture. I can see why nostalgic fans love and revere this show, however, as a first time watcher, I just found it a fine feel good anime. Maybe because I'm not an avid slice of life/shojou anime watcher or maybe because I've passed my teenage emotional rollercoaster years that I'm unable to identify with these characters. Regardless, viewers whether new or nostalgic, should give this show a casual watch and be on the lookout for its sequel; for I'm curious, with how this season has ended, what will be in store for the next. Anyways, thank you for reading this review & feel free to share with me your favourite quote from the anime. Ciao.
P.S. Thank you for reading. I hope you found this short and supaishi review helpful!
rasclieboobear
Ahh, I don't usually write reviews, but this anime is close to my heart since the original run of Fruits Basket was pretty much my introduction to anime. Story: 3/10 Honestly, I was really excited to see how this version of the anime would differ from the original run, and... wow I was so disappointed. It's like a more boring version of the same storyline. The story followed the typical pacing for most anime where the beginning is slower than the ending. The only problem is that the end of this season is still basically the introduction to the show. For god's sake, we are still meetingcharacters by the time the show has picked up the season finale type pacing. I also didn't really enjoy any of the subplots within the show. Learning the problems that all the other Sohma's had because of the curse... I couldn't connect with any of their struggles. It was kind of just annoying hearing them whine about stupid things. I really enjoyed being able to have those few episodes dedicated to Uotani and Hanajima, though. They were kind of just mindless best friends of Tohru's before, but now you can understand why they love her so much and are so protective of her. Plus, you really feel a lot more connected to them in general.
Art: 5/10
Honestly, it was just generic art. Basic. Nothing amazing, but nothing terrible either. There was a lot dating sim vibes to it... It also just felt a little outdated with the backgrounds of some conversations. All of those pinky backgrounds with bubbles floating around? Yeesh, time to update those toners.
Sound: 2/10
I don't usually pay attention to sound in a show, but wow. I could not stand any of the music in this show. All of the terrible instrumental pieces thrown in throughout were just unbalanced and entirely uninteresting. The only things that prevent me from giving this a 1/10 were the intros and outros. And no, they weren't good. They were just not absolutely horrid like the rest of the soundtrack. But I really had no desire to listen to them.
Characters: 3/10
I was honestly going to give this a 4, but Tohru's character pissed me off so much. Maybe I did not pick it up in the original version because I was a child, but I don't think she has a single line in this show that isn't about her mother or being a doormat for others. I used to think her character was inspiring before, and now I just feel like she's actually a big idiot. All the characters around her praise her for being not wishing for anything more than what's in front of her. You know what that is? It's called lacking any form of ambition whatsoever! And it pisses me off. Being a passive complacent girl is not anything to look up to. As for Yuki and Kyo... Generic. And Kagura annoyed me so much! Every time I saw her character show up, I dreaded it. She's annoying and violent, all in the name of... love? What?? The biggest disappointment was the way Hatsuharu's and Hatori's characters were shown. They were two of my favorite characters before, but I felt like their appearances were boring and short. Haru's backstory was bland, and Hatori's felt so rushed that the emotional connection was a lot weaker than I would have liked. Otherwise, I did enjoy the other characters pretty well. Uotani and Hanajima were so lovable! And surprisingly, I really liked Momiji and Shigure's characters way more than before. Momiji has all good the qualities Tohru has, but isn't the dimwitted doormat she is. And Shigure felt like he was pretty rounded, although I still don't understand any of the motives of his character.
Enjoyment: 6/10
I mean, yeah I had a lot to complain about when it comes to reviewing this show. But like, I watch anime not to criticize it but to simply enjoy it. And shoujo anime like this is the perfect kind of mindless entertainment. Was it amazing? Definitely not. But it kept me entertained with how simple it was. Had I not watched the original run and formed an attachment, I might not have enjoyed it so much, but nostalgia does play a huge factor!
Overall: 4/10
I was really excited for this show because it has so much nostalgia for me. But I also was really excited to see how they would update it for 2019.
Answer: It remained outdated, and for the most part, almost the exact same as the 2001 run but with worse pacing and better art. And somehow the characters felt even more one-dimensional than before.
aoikimahri
Have you ever seen a Korean drama where they talk like they are recovering in rehab after a car accident, at a pace of one word per second or slower, cry at the slightest breeze, and there are hundreds of episodes? This is like the anime version of that korean car wreck. Maybe they were listening to a retelling of the Chinese zodiac on the radio and BOOM, traumatic brain injury, significant loss of cognitive function, and this anime was born as a form of rehab or mental exercise. To be fair, I puke at every shoujo anime trailer and haven't seen one in adecade so maybe I've forgotten the formula and this is actually how they were all along, so maybe this is NORMAL for a shoujo anime.
I remember watching parts of the first Fruits Basket anime. I didn't care for the sappy emotional moments, but I wanted to uncover the mysteries of the family tied to the zodiac and how the heroine was going to "break" the curse. So then I thought, there's nothing else to watch, and the final season of the remake is out, so maybe keep an open mind and try a shoujo anime again? After mildly pushing through the first season, half staring at the wall through the second season, and downright skipping through dialogue on the final season, I can honestly say it was NOT worth the trouble and felt like a large waste of time. The only good that might come out of it is if you are a Japanese learner, they enunciate words very clearly and very slowly, the same words over and over again, your yasashi's and sabishi's like a broken record, to the point you can probably start quoting them by the second season and start staring at the ceiling and ignore the subtitles.
The first season honestly isn't too bad. It feels pretty much like the first anime, or at least what I remember. It introduces various characters and builds up a lot of expectation, teases many conflicts and relationships, drums up mysteries. But these are all on the shallowest of terms. There are a whopping 12+1 zodiac members after all, and some side characters, so it's forgiven that they don't delve deep into any of them.
The problem is, the rest of the show doesn't deviate from this pattern. What you knew about the zodiac in the beginning, you know about the same amount near the end after three seasons. Why is that? Because there was never anything of substance to begin with. It's like listening to a stump speech from your local politician. He say's he's going to solve crime, make the streets safer, build trust in the community. Every subsequent time you see him, he repeats the same stump speech, maybe adding that he really likes "cheesy grits" to appeal to the cheesy grits demographic, or sends his campaign surrogates around town to repeat the same talking points. After three anime seasons, you finally ask him, "you've been repeating the same thing over and over again, but HOW are you going to accomplish any of this?" He prevaricates. He never had a single idea. Nor a plan. He brought you in with promises. He drew a picture of a basket full of fruit instead of learning how to grow and harvest them. The whole zodiac mystery is basically a lie, a forced plot device that is pivotal to so many of the relationships and emotional experiences, but is utterly imagined and rendering them all null. It's a bad case of schizophrenia, crying over spilt milk but there never was any milk to begin with.
Like most school-based adolescent anime, Fruits Basket is utterly devoid of adult figures or authoritative personages. They are always running around on their own, living on their own, making their own decisions, getting into mischief on their own, or saving the world on their own. The decay of the family unit and child abandonment has always been a constant sinister subtext in school-based anime, but it gains a nefarious twist here. Almost every parental figure has some twisted, abusive relationship with their children. At first, the anime makes it out to be some sort of "curse" brought upon the parents by children posessed by a zodiac animal spirit. That it's supposed to ruin their lives somehow or make them go mad. But as the show progresses, the whole zodiac thing becomes less and less a passable justification and more a very very weak crutch. There is no actual curse that causes them to act that way. You don't touch a cute bunny rabbit and suddenly want to kill yourself. The writer just wanted to contrive a reason for people to hate the zodiac children, including their parents, without doing the legwork. It actually gets worse, as non-zodiac children from normal families are also shown to be equally mistreated and unloved.
From being shunned by their parents to being ostracized by society, the whole crux of the show hinges on their persecution as zodiac members. But if the zodiac curse literally doesn't do anything, what the hell are they constantly crying about? The short answer is, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. They contrived a societal restraint upon themselves and are living as if it is real. If there actually was an omnipotent force causing them to behave the way they do, a mysterious zdoiac power, maybe it would make a lot more sense. But most of the time, they are all living in their own delusions. Nothing makes the parents hate their zodiac children. Oh you turn into a kitty cat when hugged now? I hate cats. I have cat allergies. DIE! It's accepted as gospel that every parent hates their zodiac child. It's accepted as gospel that every outsider who finds out about the zodiac transformation will automatically hate them. It's the flimsiest premise imaginable to underpin a story about loneliness and salvation. Maybe if they turned into coronavirus superspreaders, it would make more sense.
And boy do they deliver on the melodrama. Endlessly repetitive melodrama. Crying over spilt milk is an understatement. If they accidentally bump into another person in the hallway or say the slightest wrong thing, they will spend the next five minutes reflecting over how selfish their actions are, how lonely or betrayed the other person might be, how they are not being genuine or unwilling to break out of their shell, how dark the world is and how no one will ever love or accept them, how useless they are to society, and every possible feeling of self-doubt imaginable. I'm surprised the whole cast hasn't committed suicide by now. It's like Catholic guilt, but impressed upon them by Japanese society. No matter how many positive steps are made or revelations realized, they keep regressing and repeating the same tired monologues as if the characters suffer from collective alzheimers, because it's a great way to pad the hell out of the runtime. The yasashi and sabishi drinking game is not to be trifled with.
The more appropriate evaluation of the zodiac family is, they are rich, spoiled, highly dysfunctional members of an incestual cult suffering from various mental illnesses. Just like a cult, the supernatural zodiac part is completely imaginary. The head of the cult was sheltered from the rest of society and taught she is the center of the universe and controls the zodiac, thus she acts like a jealous tyrant with violent proclivities towards the zodiac children because she is afraid they might leave her. But this doesn't explain the zodiac children themselves, who attend "normal" schools, have normal parents (as normal as an abusive parent in Fruits Basket gets), have jobs outside the compound..err estate, act like normal school kids otherwise, and can separate right from wrong. They spend a cloying amount of time talking about how yasashiiii everyone is, how kind and altruistic and benevolent and socially well-adjusted and heroic every member of the zodiac is. So why are they suffering? How can such well-adjusted people also be unfit for society? They cry over the most routine anime bullying and blame it on being a "zodiac" member when it has no relevance to their personality or why they were bullied.
Other than all the contrived suffering of being a zodiac member, the most credible reason should have been the master/slave relationship between each zodiac member and the family head, who is supposed to be able to bend them to her will, have them on a short leash, and instill fear within them. But this supernatural power is broken time and time again to the point of becoming meaningless. It's only ever described in the most abstract of terms, and the characters will disobey arbitrarily when the writers feel like it. Their lives, who they love, what their futures hold, is supposed to be dictated by her and her whims, but it seems mostly just psychological conditioning, and not a real power. They all realize it's abnormal, that it's harmful, and yet they mindlessly obey, and revel in their own suffering. Even the older children, who watched the tyrant child grow up and were not subject to the mental torture the younger zodiac children received from her, continue to make excuses to stay shackled with the abomination, be it out of pity or some twisted love.
And twisted is the family. They will let the family head commit violent atrocities on other members without so much as a word, including sexual advances to underage children, or incarcerate outcast members indefinitely. It's every definition of a cult and insular society. Yet poorly supported and leaning heavily on the whole zodiac coercive power that never manifests as real. If there was an actual framework, some bulwark of people and traditions keeping up the charade, it would feel more like a genuine and justified cult. Like I mentioned before, all the zodiac children are well-adjusted, knowing right from wrong, frequently rebellious, and have all the trappings of modern progressive anime characters. All the "adults" basically have either disappeared, exist solely in flashback form, or seem to not concern themselves with the politics of the place or running a tight ship. The estate is basically just the zodiac children and their mindless servants who have no names and consist of nagging old ladies that are completely ignored. Even the people who are supposed to know about the zodiac curse number only in the dozens while the greater estate is kept oblivious.
So who is forcing the cat to be incarcerated? Who is forcing the other animals to stay? Who is forcing anyone to obey the weak, childish brat of a family head who can be easily punched through several walls by multiple members of the zodiac that practice martial arts? Who is keeping them there to suffer when they know there is a large, wonderful world outside? They themselves are keeping up the charade, the finer points they barely understand, creating their own suffering, their own delusions.
And then we have the whole deal with the main protagonist. She is supposed to be the one that "saves" everyone from their loneliness and isolation, to acknowledge and accept them unconditionally, and to be a parent to basically every zodiac child. The problem is, they all already have supporting relationships with each other (they are all ridiculously yasashi after all), and meet many people outside of her that are just as uplifting and supportive. The writer actually gets tired of making her out as some superhero yet dimwitted mom figure that galvanizes change and drops the schtick halfway in the second season, letting the children grow on their own, and instead saves her for a half-assed romance using a repeated plotline.
TLDR: Cult members live in their own deluded world and contrived suffering but is really just a roundabout thesis on the effects of bad parenting, lack of authoritative figures, and child abandonment.
rectified_rascal
Note: This review covers the first season and the first twenty episodes of Fruits Basket (Furuba). Given the target demographic of shoujo manga (teenage girls and young women), most shoujo-mangaka tend to tread a fine line between drama, comedy, romance, and, but not always, tragedy. The reason why Furuba became so popular and found its place in the pantheon of one of the best shoujo manga of all time was that it was able to balance the elements of drama, romance and tragedy with such exceptional panache that the series was appreciated not just by women but by men as well. This long-lasting popularity explainswhy, despite the source material, being over 20 years old was picked up for a complete adaptation. Alas, all that giddy excitement, was for naught.
Due to the large cast of the series, the writers struggle in developing the characters beyond caricatures throughout the series. Given the large cast of characters, this is not too surprising. Most characters get just 10-15 minutes of screentime in each episode. A typical episode runs as follows: a Zodiac is introduced and is usually shown as acting obnoxiously towards Tohru. Her friends (Yuki, Kyo, Arisa, etc.) are shocked but Tohru, being the saintly character, is unfazed. We are then shown a flashback in which the character’s painful past is shown and the character after being awestruck by Tohru’s kindness changes his/her ways.
If this were to happen just once or twice, such a story telling formula could be tolerated. But given that this formula is used more than 15 times, it becomes evident that the writers are using the flashbacks not to flesh out the character getting the screen time but are using them as a plot device to develop Tohru, Yuki and Kyo instead. In other words, the side characters add little to the story other than to give Tohru and her coterie of friends and impetus to develop. However, this in and of itself, is not the anime’s gravest sin.
What makes the adaptation bad is how it squanders these main characters (i.e., Kyo, Yuki, Arisa, etc.) that it painfully develops in the first season in the subsequent season. After episode 7-8 of the second season, the writing quality takes a turn for the worse and all the characters begin acting as if they were cast out of a particularly bad Korean melodrama. They don’t act as real people but instead act like billiard balls, whose trajectories and actions, can be predicted simply by knowing which two characters are on screen. One can easily predict that this is when a character will cry, this is when they will run away, this is where a misunderstanding will occur and so on. In other words, Furuba the anime, does exactly what Furuba the manga, didn’t – it can’t find the balance between the drama, comedy, and romance. In the process, it destroys beloved characters and ends up devolving into a bad melodrama.
By episode 20 of season 2 (i.e., episode 45), I had come to the painful realization that had I continued to watch the anime adaptation my fond memories of the manga version of Tohru/Yuki/Kyo would be replaced by an inferior anime version of Tohru/Yuki/Kyo. That is something that I’d rather not happen and so I dropped this series. I can imagine that viewers who haven’t read truly great shoujo manga series (like Nodame or Mars) may think Furuba the anime is the best series ever. Sadly, it is not.
Not recommended. Season 1 gets a 3.5/5, Season 2 gets a 1.5/5.
Playbahnosh
***This is a review of the ENTIRE Fruits Basket 2019 anime series (all three seasons)*** [TL;DR: Fruits Basket has the hallmarks of an interesting story with great visuals and presentation, which ends up slowly drowning in a swamp of awful writing, bad tropes, too many characters and just mountains of needless melodrama. There are some really interesting bits about the supernatural, the Zodiac curse and the people involved, stories about redemption, reconciliation and a painfully slow buildup to an epic finale...that never comes. The whole franchise is an ultimately unsatisfying dive into a pit of dark melodrama peppered with bad slapstick and a whole lot ofunresolved childhood trauma. Unless you are prepared to wade through this emotionally and literarily confusing mess for three whole seasons, look for something else to watch.]
"Bad Parents: The Anime", which should've been the title of this series, since it has absolutely nothing to do with fruit or baskets (or fruitbaskets) in the slightest, but a lot more with just the worst parents in the history of forever. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
*Some light spoilers ahead. No specific plot points, just overarching theme*
The story revolves around the "Chinese Zodiac animals" and the curse/story connected to them, if they were real people living today. It's a really interesting concept and it's effects and repercussions are introduced very early in the series. Meaning two effects actually. One, the Zodiac people turn into their respective animal forms if they are ever hugged by a female. Yes, it IS Ranma ½ level of cringe, and while it's mostly used for comic relief purposes early on, it's completely forgotten by end of the first season, and later only comes up to serve as a dark reminder of how they are "forbidden to get intimate with anyone" or something. The second repercussion is that all the Zodiac animals are bound by the curse to Akito, their God-analogue, to obey, love and worship her for all eternity. Or not. Or just kinda. Or just some of them. Or...who the hell knows, really. Supposedly the main pillar of the entire story, this "bond", The Curse™ is so vague and badly defined, it's rules are constantly changed and contorted in contradictory ways for plot convenience all throughout the series. It's not only confusing and ruins any buildup but goes to show how the anime can't even adhere to it's own rules, which will be a constant theme in the series going forward.
Okay, let's get this "Bad Parents" thing I mentioned before out of the way first. Except for one important exception, every single parent in the anime is the most horrendous, incompetent, evil, abject human trash the world has ever seen. Every single notable character in the series suffers from the worst possible childhood traumas you can imagine (and some you can't), which scarred them for life in various horrific ways. The vast majority of the drama in the entire series comes from this metric F-tons of unresolved mental and emotional baggage that would give second-hand PTSD to even the most seasoned therapists. All these parents are so unrealistically cruel and vile to their children, it sometimes borders on hilarity. Failing to live up to impossible expectations, being used for monetary gain, parents trying to vicariously live through their children, blame them for their own failings or even the deaths of loved ones, the good old "I wish you were never born" schtick, etc. You get an entire smorgasbord of just the worst mental anguish you can imagine which comes up sooner or later with each and every character and addressed in great detail.
The whole series is basically a bunch of fundamentally broken and borderline crazy people yelling/crying at each other about real or perceived atrocities and their hilariously awful upbringing preventing them from living a normal life or having basic human connections. This doesn't just affect the Zodiac people, but most other side characters as well, each bringing their own special blend of fucked up to the table.
Now, the anime tries to turn this whole mess into one giant redemption story, where our Mary-Sue protagonist Tooru, a simple highschool girl, uses the power of Being Nice™ (and crying, like, a LOT of crying) to magically resolve their respective traumas (which would normally need YEARS of hard therapy) and show them they are all worthy of love and respect, facing their past and yaddy-yadda, boom, you're magically cured. The whole series is swimming in incredibly drawn out melodrama. There is yelling, pain, anguish, anger, fighting and oh, did I mention crying? There's a metric fuckton of crying, like oceans of tears and sobbing set to sad music and rain. Which is sometimes rudely interrupted by some awfully placed comic relief bits, but I digress.
Everything I just said still wouldn't be so bad if the series didn't move at an absolute snail's pace. The pacing of the story is all over the place, sometimes speeding through important parts while spending criminally long stints at forgettable side stuff that never comes up again and lingering on scenes that outstay their welcome really quickly. Not to mention some of the character's incredibly dumb decisions and remarks of "we talk about this later", "this is not time for this", "when right time comes" bullshit, that only serves to drag out the runtime. All that, coupled with the insanely droll and drawn out bits of melodrama just makes watching Fruits Basket a real exercise in frustration. You can skip through entire episodes of crying, shouting and flashbacks and you wouldn't miss anything. The whole series could easily be edited down to half the episode count and you'd still get the complete experience, without all the unnecessary slack (which will hopefully happen in the upcoming Fruits Basket: Prelude movie).
***For those concerned: No, I will not address the rampant insinuations of rape, pedophilia, grooming, physical and psychological abuse and other vile acts that may or may not be in the franchise. It's not my place to do so and there's enough awful shit in this mess without me having to go there, so don't ask. 'Nuff said.
The one saving grace of Fruits Basket could be the art style, which is not incredible by any means, but it's pleasant to look at and has some really nice sceneries, decent animation and real production quality to it. The music and sound are also really good additions and enhance an otherwise pretty lackluster story.
In closing, all I can say is, that Fruits Basket had real potential. A really good premise with nice art style, that ultimately got dragged down to a confusing, plot-hole-ridden black hole of incessant melodrama and bad pacing. I know many people absolutely adore this series (judging by all the 10/10 ratings here alone), and I don't mean to invalidate anyone's enjoyment of the franchise, but some things have to be said out loud when it comes to this anime. If you've enjoyed it, more power to you. If not, it's time to move on to different waters. Thanks for reading!
lavendertulip
╱|、 (˚ˎ 。7 |、˜〵じしˍ,)ノ୧⍤⃝💐
Fruits Basket is always going to hold a warm place in my heart. It was my first manga and because of that I feel biased towards loving all content that comes from this series. When I first learnt they that TMS Entertainment was going to be remaking the show I was so excited.
˖⁺‧₊˚❀˚₊‧⁺˖
I was not ready for how pretty and lovingly drawn this anime is, I recommend it to anyone that loves slice of life dramas and even the supernatural. This is a show of tragedy so be aware of that, but don't let that stop you from embracing it.
In my opinion I didn't have a single episode I didn't enjoy and I was captivated the entire time by the stories and information being handed to me by the complex lives these characters have.
The Manga is something that I recommend all fans of the anime, read. There's plenty more unseen happenings.
makeouthillfan03
This was a super hyped show since its a remake and blah blah blah. Now I hate the show There won't be spoilers, but instead, my rant. I feel like the character's stories are so fucking stupid because it is literally sob story after sob story it is so repetitive and boring. I literally do not feel any empathy for any of the characters because it is so repetitive. The only parts of the show I appreciate are the happy moments, but also the comedy (subjective) is actually super boring. It wasn't enjoyable, and I hated every moment of it. The characters individually are okay. Tohru makes akind and good MC, and the other side characters are the same.
The two main guy characters are like natsu and gray but they actually hate each other, though I don't mind or care, but the presentation of the show is so boring. It is a show trying to make a sob festival, but failing because of its repetitiveness. There isn't enough room or time to know what even happened because after one sob story there is another and another and another, and the first sob story wasn't even interesting in the slightest.
itsmeblia
A fun review (this is my first MAL review yey) Respectfully as a member of a romance genre fan, I have to declare that this is one of the cheesiest series that I ever watched. It did fail me due to the great expectation I had knowing that this has been so many people's favorite shoujo anime. The start wasn't bad at all, I quite like the fast pacing, all though a lot of silly decisions were made for romance scenes, it was still bearable, It has been done before and I'm not complaining yet. But as the series goes on (maybe 5 episodes in) Oh mygod how cringe everything. And Tohru, the so-called angel, the healer, the trauma doctor, everyone's favorite, is not the type of heroine that I expected at all. She reminds me of Sawako from Kimi ni Todoke but without a quirk, she's flawless with a tiny bit of trauma. At first, I thought maybe it was the lack of trauma that made her less interesting, but then I thought of so many other main chara with no trauma at all yet they still made it pretty entertaining.
I was expecting someone calm, strong (yes ik she is strong,, But is it necessary that every time she tries to do something courageous the show gotta make the scene depressing so that everyone starts taking pity) and not cry every time someone fights/or tell her a sad story then moderately giving them wise mommy quotes and sweet smile, and 5 seconds later, all the somas somewhat head over heels fall in love with her. she's y/n yall. Now, this sounds like I'm a Tohru Slander, Yes. She's not radiating empowering persona and it hurts the fact that she's in the center of everything.
Some points that might cause the plot but hear me out.
1. Tohru, our sweet dear Tohru, somehow thought living in a camp in the middle of the forest is safe, taste (ik this is the comedy, but please, the idiocy, I can't.
2. She prefers to live in a house full of MEN! compares to living with her best friend that has offer a stay in their house. Like logically even if the men in the house seem nice, what an idiot gal. They were strangers!
3. second point people be like, "but she doesn't want to bother her bestie's family, their house too small to cramp in." like hello? is the soma not a family that she should've consider also? that she could've also been a burden to them? and start packing and leave like she considers her friends "family"?
4. The fruit basket origin analogy idea. oh, how trauma it is to be called an onigiri and wanting to be a part of the game fruit basket (God it was when she was so young thooo, and yet she remembers that, wow, living in the past I see). My question of the day is, HAS SHE NEVER THEN BEEN A PART OF A FRUIT BASKET? Does she not realize that she is already a part of something before meeting the soma. Are Hanajima and Uo not fruit baskets enough for her? Idk if this is me reaching too far, but come on, just admit that you want to live with the hotties I won't judge gurl, I would too, but don't start pulling the fruit basket shit like it means something lol.
5. Tohru has a family to come home to. THE GRANPA, GURL like istg. It's better to just make tohru straight out homeless and family-less. It would make more sense for her to come back to the soma. Ik she is bullied by her uncle and auntie? but seriously I can't with having everyone defending her both sides. Like why the grandpa gotta be nice too, make him bad, like that make more sense for Tohru wanting to go back with full hottie house.
6. Side character has a far more interesting story, it overshadowed her completely.
That is it. I wish the second season can be more soul-friendly for me since this season had me boiling. I hate that I can never drop an anime as much as I want to, I admit that I'm still curious about Akito's redemption, so I'll give the second season ago.
CrimsonWanderer
Fruits Basket is a special anime, it not only exceeded my expectations but it turned to be one of the best shoujo I've watched in ages. Fun Fact, I actually expected a reverse harem romance anime, but I end up getting something way different instead, Something that would make me grin like an idiot for 24 minutes straight, something that would suddenly change my emotions several times in the spawn of only 24 minutes. Not many anime is able to do that with me, and here is why. The story of this anime is most of the time Episodic as it slowly introduces each member ofthe Sohma Family as they hint us their personalities while doing some slice of life comedy and heartwarming moments. Earlier episodes focuses on Honda Tohru as she finds herself with the Soma Family while she struggles to live since she doesn't have a place to call home. It isn't until a certain character lets Tohru live on his house that she finally has a place to call home after getting back from high school and work despite the many circumstances where she's driven apart of the things she love. Later episodes focuses on each member of the Sohma family and Tohru's best friends as they shows us their backstory, how they struggled through very difficult moments and, in some cases, how they managed to move on from it and live on.
Each story is carefully developed with great pacing while the animation and the soundtrack gets the job done portraying the themes it handles greatly. Wisdom, Knowledge, Happiness, sadness, any kind of theme is handled greatly and even if these stories ranges through 1 or 2 episodes, is more than enough to make the viewer engage with the amount of feelings shown in screen, making each situation these characters go through easy to understand and easy to sympathize with. It does help a lot that each story delivers a powerful impact thanks to the great voice actin, great animation and soundtrack that these stories ends up being really meaningful.
Best part of this anime is Honda Tohru, at first, she may look like your typical airhead who is extremely kind because why not. But in reality, she is a bridge, a bridge that links with each person she meets and how she is able to make them open their eyes and realize all the things they were setting apart, be it a love tragedy, being listened at, being loved, to be understood, being friends with each other no matter their differences and what not, after all, the magic of developing flawed characters is what Fruits Basket does the best. Honda Tohru is just so adorable and pure, its all thanks to the relationship with her deceased mother that everything fell in place perfectly. Honda Tohru is the kind of friend we all need but don't deserve... God Damn it, where is my Tohru? ;_;
Last but not least, Animation is pretty much really consistent. Beautiful scenery is often the key to the masterful execution of each scene, even to comedy gags. The color palette is amazing as it shifts depending on the tone of the scene; a Dark tone for those really sad moments, a cheerful bright tone for those heartwarming moments and the goofy over the top silly faces and over exaggerated physics for the comedy gags. The Soundtrack is amazing and really fits the ambiance and KNOWS when to be silent (I'm looking at you Violet Evergarden), Each OP and ED are beautiful, I'm not a personal fan of the first ones, but the second OP "Chime" by Ai Otsuka is really beautiful and has a very melancholic feeling to it, and the second Ending "One Step Closer" by INTERSECTION is one of the most beautiful endings I've seen this year and probably since forever, its so damn beautiful and boy I can't count the amount of tears I shed each time an episode ended.
I can't recommend this anime enough, If you liked the older version of this anime then you'll probably love this anime twice as much and even if you are unfamiliar with the source or the old anime, if you like slice of life anime with romance, comedy and really heartwarming stories, then this anime is for you.
BFA91
I'm only writing a review because I'm honestly shocked at some of the negative reviews about this beautiful masterpiece! I'm a fan of the anime that aired in 2001, and the manga, so I was so excited when this remake was announced! Everything from the animation, the voice actors, the story pacing...EVERYTHING...has been top notch and even better than what I expected! Tohru was someone I looked up to when I was a kid, with the first anime, and that stays true to today watching the new series as an adult. She is such a strong and compassionate person after going through everything that she has.And each character has so much depth and they all are lovable in their own way.
This show is AMAZING. PLEASE watch it!!!
I am so excited for the second season that will be airing in 2020!
AnimeEnjoyer420
This is a combined review of seasons 1 and 2 since I watched them consecutively and don't remember exactly where one stopped and the other began Writers and other creative types take note, Fruits Basket is a textbook example of how not to write melodrama. This show is misery porn of the worst kind, reveling in abusing its characters and having them brood over their misfortunes. Every single character without exception comes from a broken home. Their parents are either dead, or abusive monsters, or abandoned them. Some of these stories are very compelling individually, but it devolves into self parody quicklyas literally dozens of characters are given tragic, tearjerker backstories. The story loses all its emotional impact by way overusing this sort of thing. There is no subtlety and no "normal" character to highlight the extreme abnormality of these people's lives.
Speaking of characters, they are really not good at all in this show. The central protagonist, Tohru, starts off as a likable and determined girl who's doing her best to stay positive after getting hit with a series of tragedies that leaves her living alone in a tent in the forest. As the series progresses, she gradually sheds almost all of her positive traits and turns into a spacey moron that lacks basic common sense and self-preservation instincts. Kyo, one of the male leads, is thoroughly unlikable from the moment he is introduced to the series and never gets better. He broods and he snaps at people. That is his entire personality. The other male lead, Yuki, is slightly better, but a preposterous outbreak of Mommy Issues hilariously derails his character in season 2. The main antagonist of the series, Akito, is a non-presence much of the time, and a goofy comic book villain who does Bad Things because she's Bad, but never actually feels threatening once she enters the story. There are a few good side characters here and there, but the main cast is painfully unlikable and the villain is not compelling.
Bottom line, this is a disastrously overwritten mess of a show with unlikable characters and ridiculously melodramatic storylines. If you ever needed an example of why less is more when it comes to melodrama and tragedy, this show is the perfect illustration of why "more" doesn't always work.
_Shara_
Note: All my reviews are written after I've completed watching the entire season, never before. "Fruits Basket" Season 1 rejuvenates the beloved story with modern animation and deeper character exploration, yet leaves something to be desired in pacing and romantic development. The season excels in showcasing the emotional depth of the Soma family and Tohru Honda, weaving intricate backstories that highlight themes of acceptance and resilience. Each episode adds layers to the complex tapestry of relationships and personal growth, making it a compelling watch. However, the series' focus on side characters, while enriching the narrative fabric, often sidelines the development of Tohru and her future relationship. Fanslonging for a romantic progression akin to "Kamisama Hajimemashite" may find the slow burn between the main characters a tad frustrating. Despite these moments of yearning for more, the episodes dedicated to characters like Hanajima offer delightful insights into friendship dynamics, standing out as memorable highlights.
Unfortunately, the music didn’t leave a lasting impression on me, blending into the background without significantly enhancing the emotional resonance of key scenes. This lack of memorable musical accompaniment (including the opening and ending themes) represents a missed opportunity in a series so rich in emotional depth.
Character development shines, particularly in episodes revealing Kyo and Yuki's vulnerabilities. Yet, the anticipation for significant romantic scenes frequently finds itself overshadowed by the series' broader focus. The introduction of the Zodiac members adds a mystical layer to the story, though at times, it feels like a double-edged sword, diluting the central narrative thread.
IN CONCLUSION:
Season 1 of "Fruits Basket" 2019 lays a solid foundation for emotional and narrative depth, with its strength lying in character development and thematic richness. However, the longing for more pronounced romantic elements and a tighter focus on the main characters' relationship leaves viewers like myself with mixed feelings. The season sets the stage for potential, promising a continuation that could hopefully address these desires. The blend of heartache and humor, alongside the promise of growth, keeps the series endearing and watchable, but with reserved expectations for the romantic storyline to unfold in future seasons.
LoveKurumi
This anime comes to my long-awaited list of one of the best in my top 10, so let's go to the full REVIEW of this masterpiece. Fruits Basket started in a very subtle way, presenting some simple dramas, and so it went until, little by little, it became a work that I found myself dependent on watching. By the sixth, or seventh episode, things started to settle in a way that made me wonder every week, creating that feeling of satisfaction in having followed the story, in a way that I had been feeling for a while. What impresses me the most, however, is that this was nota passing thing, worthy of just one episode or another, but rather all these other twenty episodes that followed.
There is that variation in quality in impact, of course, but overall the episodes managed to move me in some way, basically, all the time during this first season (25 episodes in all).
The development of the characters within the work is very good, where the cast brings not only good backgrounds, but also learning and reflections on their lives in a way that even the simplest ones give you something.
There are themes such as bullying, overcoming, family contempt, among many other things, that create really touching stories to follow.
Best of all, this is not only done to discuss/expose certain issues, but also as a way of working on relationships within the plot.
It's through these character developments that you can understand why character X thinks what Y thinks, or why someone has so much regard for the other.
The script and direction manage to have a good harmony to deliver these stories, where even the secondary characters manage to have their moments of brilliance and present their pasts well.
Another thing that made me really like the anime's story is the way it traces a very heavy sense of reality, so to speak.
Things aren't so reversible with fictional poses at times. The decisions we make have an effect, and it's not that simple to fix, depending on what happens.
Some of the stories there carry a lot of that weight, where the characters find themselves in situations where all they can do is accept the condition they're in.
This ends up creating that feeling of injustice, but in a positive way in the work, which, instead of making you angry with what is happening, makes you feel moved by the characters and ends up creating empathy for them.
A good example of this is Hatori, who at times made me really want to see a magical solution to fix his life, but things don't work that way, and he just has to accept the consequences for having erased the memory of the woman he loves. .
Taking the opportunity to talk about romance, even if this is one of the anime genres, things don't develop much for that side.
The focus is more on the personal development of each character, so the time for romance ends up being just a few scenes and ships, or things like that, at least when we're talking about the main trio.
As for the secondary ones... There's even something or other, as is the case with Hatori above, which, despite being a sad romance story, still has the said romance, in addition to some other indirections about the feelings that the characters carry.
I particularly prefer it that way, with the personal development of each one coming first, before starting to get into the novel itself, but it's a warning for those who expect a novel work, since until then the focus was greater on the characters.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In conclusion, Fruits Basket was a work that I picked up to see more for the positive comments on top of the manga. The beginning of the anime can even be a little slow, but soon it hits the mark with good character stories, which certainly has a lot to offer.
For those who like works with a greater focus on the characters, it is worth watching, for those who are not such a fan, it is still worth the attempt, as the praise for the manga is not without foundation.
Ethan_07
Fruits Basket is breathtakingly beautiful and painful. Amidst all those pretty faces, perfect body ratio and big dreamy eyes of male characters, are the tales that only some knows. Recently, with the bloom of isekai and fanservices, the company of genre such as action that pumps adrenaline; thriller that sends chill down the spines; harem beyond one can bear, makes them much more attractive than a mundane story that only offers warm characters. However, this one monotonous genre inside has proven even without grand adventure, a bumpy hero journey, just within your comfort zones and in your daily lives, interesting things and lessons could still happen toyou, to everyone and anyone. It depicts the taste of these small experiences we all had, with a grip of moments that we can often resonate with. The cringy romantic moments and comedy that slip its way in to tickle our bones are the fragments that elevate ambience of this genre. It is, out of many life-changing stories out there - a slice of life.
Fruits Basket managed to enhanced this genre. Its main success is in the efficiency in drawing emotional context out of the characters from their stories that makes them 'alive'. It doesn't just let us sympathize the characters, but also to understand why we should empathize them. The sweet storytelling method with flashbacks played a huge role to boost this and these moments of resonation are heighten with the cheerful Tohru that sees the world in a different way.
Because when others are enduring the pain, she is there, crying for them.
She is painfully honest to others, but never to herself. This is why she is the most efficient character in drawing emotional context out of any characters by helping them to embrace the feelings stacked inside. Her kindness, her optimism shine lights on others' darkest state without her realizing it, and these are her genuine personality derived from her background. Her mother instilled wisdom into her when she was young, which made her a stronger person on the inside that wouldn’t cry even if she should, burying her emotions and always thinking of others when she doesn’t need to.
Apart from this element, the light-hearted animation is a bonus to making it more mesmerizing. It colorfully portrayed the silly comedic scenes with touching moments that can seize the heart. The soothing scores are also right on cue, and are unbelievably powerful in evoking emotions. There’s seemingly a bit of happiness blending with loneliness inside, as if hinting to an inevitable changes to come on the joyful life. “ One Step Closer ” by INTERSECTION was a particularly sweet and unforgettable one.
Overall, Fruits Basket being a reboot has introduced me to the junction of a world of shoujo and slice of life that bring the best out of each other. With drapes of realistic and a bit more emotional entanglement, you might find yourself dropping tears and your heart, warmed when you least expected it.
ClitoClasm
This anime was so annoying to watch.I watched it only because I heard that it was good and many people liked it.But when I actually watched it,oof.Disappointment!The jokes are so bad and felt so out of place. Tohru Honda,the main protagonist,is the most annoying anime character I've ever seen.No one talks like that.And even in a bad situation when she starts smiling it pisses me off so bad I felt like smashing my screen. This show was so cringe,that I need to pause between the episodes and think up of a better plot to kill the cringe.The characters are even more cringey as hell. The animation wasnt alsothat good but I guess I can put up with that.
I heard there was a second season going to come out.Definately not gonna watch that.Maybe i'll go read the manga.Maybe its better than the anime and gets more interesting.
Have a good day!
