Need a dose of quality romance? This one's just perfect.
The original manga Fruits Basket by Takaya Natsuki is rightly considered a modern shojo classic. This work has two anime adaptations.
The first, from the Deen Studio, was released in 2001, when the manga was not yet finished, so the series only covers the early volumes. This is a good adaptation with an amazing soundtrack, although there is information that Takaya was not happy with it.
The second anime was released from 2019 to 2021, and TMS Entertainment worked on it. This version is almost a page-by-page adaptation of the manga: without fillers and with the right atmosphere. For those who want to experience the full story of the characters, this adaptation is highly recommended.
What Is Fruits Basket About?
Tohru loses her father at a young age, and then her mother dies. Her only close relative is her elderly grandfather, whom she does not want to burden. Tohru finds an unusual way out of the situation: she decides to pitch a tent in a forest.
Of course, the idea is doomed to failure: it is dangerous for a girl to live on the street, and besides, she has settled on the private property of the Sohma family. The tent is discovered by the brothers Shigure and Yuki, who live in a big house nearby. Luckily for Tohru, Yuki is her classmate.
The brothers allow her to stay with them. The house belongs to Shigure, a famous writer, and Yuki and Kyo are his younger cousins. They take Tohru in just in time: that same evening, a landslide destroys the girl's shelter.
The very next morning, Tohru learns about Sohma's terrible secret. When she meets Kyo for the first time, the girl accidentally falls on him and hugs, and he turns into a cat.
It turns out that the Sohma family is under an ancient curse: if a person of the opposite sex, not related to them by blood, hugs one of them, they turn into an animal from the Chinese horoscope.
Fruits Basket Goes From Rom-Com to Deep and Serious Drama
Fruits Basket starts out as a funny comedy with transformations and teenage romance, but quickly turns into a serious drama about people and their relationships. Goodness is not always good: it can also make things worse, and love and support can be powerless against physical and psychological violence.
Will Toru find the strength to accept the family's curse? Or will she refuse to have anything to do with Sohma? She will have to meet various representatives of the cursed family, as well as a terrifying manipulator – the head of the Akito family, the keeper of terrible personal secrets.
The girl's path and her friendship with Sohma will not be easy: not only will many aspects of human relationships be revealed, but also her own demons will be awakened.
Where to Watch Fruits Basket?
Fruits Basket is available to stream on Crunchyroll.