This is one of my favorite animes, but I will try not to be biased and judge it fairly.
Anime: Fruits Basket
Genre: Comedy and Drama
General Setup: Tohru Honda is a high-school student who is living in a tent because her mother recently died. She was supposed to live with her Grandfather, but his house is having repairs done, so Tohru is making due. One day she is discovered - she has been trespassing on private land, owned by the Soma family. However, Tohru is offered a place to stay in exchange for doing the cooking and housework. The Somas have a closely-guarded secret that Tohru accidentally discovers - they temporarily transform into members of the Chinese zodiac whenever they are hugged by a member of the opposite sex. Tohru is allowed to stay, but she must swear not to tell anyone of this secret. She eagerly looks forward to meeting all the members of the zodiac.
An Explanation of the Chinese Zodiac: The Chinese Zodiac is a twelve year cycle where an animal and certain attributes are set to each year. Many origin stories exist for this cycle. One version is where God calls all of the animals to a banquet that night. The rat, who likes to play tricks on his neighbor the cat, tells him that the banquet is the next night. The cat slept happily that night and dreamed of going to the banquet. The rat arrived first at the banquet and was given the first place in the Zodiac calendar. When Tohru hears this story as a child she feels sorry for the cat. In Fruits Basket there are twelve people that are possessed by the zodiac spirits, along with a 13th member: the cat. The cat is ostracized and looked down upon even though he is a part of the Soma family.
Characters: Thoru is a bit of an airhead, but she is extremely compassionate and hardworking. She lives in the same house with Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure. Yuki (the rat) is Tohru and Kyo’s age. He is viewed as a prince at their school. Yuki and Kyo (the cat) have an intense rivalry, kind of like the cat and rat in the legend. They hate each other. Kyo’s temper is easily riled and does nothing to help the situation, but they have both gotten better since Tohru started living with them. Shigure is like the crazy uncle. He is a novelist and is probably the least mature member of the household. The characters in this anime have all gone through hard trials and they grow as they learn to deal with their past.
Plot: This anime is pretty laid-back. It is a slice-of-life show that is mostly about Tohru meeting all the members of the Chinese zodiac. However, the possibility is posed about whether or not Thoru has the ability to lift the curse.
Ending: The anime was created in order to promote the manga, so it only covers a portion of the actual story line. Some resolution is provided in the anime, but to get the rest of the story you need to read the manga.
Things to Watch Out For: This is one of the cleanest animes I have ever seen. The only thing to watch out for is that when the characters transform from zodiac animals to humans they are naked. However, this is not an issue because there are always convenient colored clouds that cover them up.
Humor: Because this anime is so light-hearted there is a lot of humor. A lot of different kinds are used; everything from dry humor to slapstick to puns to awkward situations. No matter what tickles your funny bone you are guaranteed to laugh.
Moral Lessons: Just be yourself. To accept yourself, someone must first accept you. Instead of running away from painful memories you should accept your past and move on.
Sights and Sounds: The soundtrack for Fruits Basket has a happy and relaxed feel, but some songs have hints of tension so it balances out. The anime came out in the early 2000’s, so while the animation isn’t amazing for today’s standards it gets the job done.
Other media: The manga ran from 1998 to 2006. It was written and illustrated by Natsuki Takaya. There is also a short sequel manga that came out this September called Fruits Basket Another.
Fillers: There are no fillers in the anime.
Length: There are 26 episodes in the anime.
Where to Watch: You can watch Fruits Basket for free on Hulu and on FUNimation’s homepage.
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