FRUITS BASKET
Genre: Reverse Harem, Romantic Comedy
Hi Guys, and welcome to another anime review.
And Now, I am reviewing one little gem, whose premise has been with me with decades, despite the fact I barely seen the first version of this story.
From TMS/SPAN, here it comes…
FRUITS BASKET
But before I continue with my review, I must ask you the question, especially on times of this terrible coronavirus outbreak.
Are you guys ok? Washing your hands? Maintaining social distancing?
If the answer is yes, then I am happy, especially because I am also keeping social distancing and not touching anyone. And remember…
DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE CORONAVIRUS
Having said that, let’s continue with Fruits Basket
PREMISE
Based on the manga written and illustrated by Natsuki Tanaya, Fruits Basket tells the story of high schooler, Tohru Honda, whose mother recently passed away, and since her grandfather’s estate proved not good for her to live in, she decides to move into a tent and survive all by herself, that is until she finds that her «residence» is next to the house in which Yuki Sohma, the most popular kid in this school, lives.
Yuki offers Tohru to live with him and his family, especially after she discovers the curse that the Sohma family has been suffering for a long time. That curse is that, every time a Sohma is, embarrassed, stressed, or hugged by someone of the opposite sex, he, or she, transforms into a particular animal from the Chinese zodiac.
And from that day, Tohru starts discovering the secrets of the curse and the Sohma family, while changing their lives forever.
Wow!!! That wasn’t that hard. Like I said, I was aware of the first anime of Fruits Basket, released by Studio Deen, in 2001, and I got invested, but I really never got the time for watching the episodes. Nevertheless, there was something from Fruits Basket 2001 that stack with me for years
And that is… The Opening song.
LET’S STAY TOGETHER… ITSUMO.
Forgive me guys… But every time I heard that song, I feel that it is so 2000s, especially when you relate it to the art. As a matter of fact, Ouran Highschool Host Club and Fruits Basket were the kings (or queens), of the Reverse Harem genre during the 2000s. And if there is any ignorance from my part, please forgive me, but that is the impression that I got from these two gems.
HAIL TO THE KINGS (OR QUEENS)
Anyway. How is the story?
STORY
When I saw the first two episodes of Fruits Basket 2019 (Yeah, that’s how I am called it now), I was hooked. And I have to be honest, I kind of have a soft stop for reverse harem anime, I think because it offers something different from what we usually see, especially from Love Hina, Sekirei, Date a Live, Saber Marionette, etc. And if the story involves a naive heroine that becomes independent, wiser and capable of be a positive influence to others, through difficult trials and inner turmoil, that makes for a really interesting, fun story.
Case in point… Akatsuki no Yona, from Studio Pierrot.
I think this is a really good anime, Yona was so delightful, her chemistry with Son Hak, and…
Sorry. I am going of the topic.
Back to Fruits Basket, I think that they have a good start; for those who are unfamiliar with the story, the very first frame of the first episode made me wonder…, how this is going to unfold. And then… we see Tohru, and… Boy!! She is better animated that before, and her design makes her look both cute and strong (From me, I think that sounds weird). Sure, her 2001 design was nice…
But sometimes, I think it has not aged well. But forgive me, I am disgressing once more. Shortly, we get to see every single member of the Sohma family, particularly Shigure, Yuki and Ryo, who I believe really made a great first impression from the beginning, for two reasons; the first one is that we get to see their identities; by the time we finished the first two episodes, we are able to recognise Ryo, Shigure and Yuki, rooting to see more, because they are so defined, and that’s another pro with Akatsuki no Yona, each of the males are identifiable, and they keep their personalities consistent through the rest of the anime.
Is that one of the advantages of the reverse harem? Perhaps it is.
The second reason is because of their role into the story. In other words that, instead of telling us what is the Sohma curse straight away, the story, through Yuki, Ryo, Tohru and Shigure, unfolds itself, first giving us small hints of what is going on, while we know about more about our protagonists and their respective motivations…. In two episodes.
And we gonna see more in the rest of this first season… And in the upcoming season. so… there are many good chances.
CHARACTERS
Like I said, the characters got a pretty decent impression, and since the cast of Fruits Basket manga is pretty delightful, we got Tohru, Yuki, Ryo, Kagura, Momiji, Hatoru, Hatsuharu, and of course… Akito.
I am not going to say anything about Akito, but, for those fans of Fruits Basket, both anime and manga, you will understand why Akito left a big impression on me… For the reasons that you guys think.
Finally, I want to make a honourable mention to Arisa and Saki.
Both are really wonderful friends of Tohru, the way they relate to her, look after her, the way both are is so cool. I really like them.
With these characters, now I understand why Fruits Basket has been so beloved. Oh!! And did I mention that Tohru Honda was nominated as the Best Girl on this year Crunchyroll Awards?
CONCLUSION
Now that I watched it, I can say that Fruits Basket 2019 is a lovely history that has a lot of potential. For those who want to see something special, of simply for those fans from the original Fruits Basket, and the manga.
And overall, it has a very good aura, Tohru is a wonderful, beautiful girl, and the members of the Sohma family are so interesting.
I guess what I am trying to say is…
LET’S STAY TOGETHER, ITSUMO.
Jainituos Presents 