Fruits Basket 1st Season

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]

Souma, Kyou Main

Uchida, Yuuma Japanese

Honda, Tooru Main

Iwami, Manaka Japanese

Souma, Yuki Main

Shimazaki, Nobunaga Japanese

Souma, Hatsuharu Supporting

Furukawa, Makoto Japanese

Souma, Momiji Supporting

Han, Megumi Japanese

Souma, Shigure Supporting

Nakamura, Yuuichi Japanese

Souma, Ayame Supporting

Sakurai, Takahiro Japanese

Souma, Hatori Supporting

Okitsu, Kazuyuki Japanese

Hanajima, Saki Supporting

Satou, Satomi Japanese

Souma, Isuzu Supporting

Toyosaki, Aki Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Yamauchi, Mirai Producer

Takemura, Ippei Producer

Yazaki, Fumi Producer

Reviews

Jul 3, 2024

lavendertulip

Recommended

╱|、
(˚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.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by lavendertulip (1)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Mar 21, 2025

starcarver

Mixed Feelings

Disclaimer: This following review is based on my personal experience and analysis of the series for the whole ride. I know this series holds deep meaning for many. I understand that it has a large and passionate fanbase, and if you one of them, know that I respect you genuinely. Everyone experiences stories differently, and my goal here is not to diminish its impact or to undermine anyone’s enjoyment, but to share an honest reflection on its strengths and weaknesses and how my perception of it.

Fruits Basket is a well-crafted anime that blends romance, drama, and slice-of-life elements, focusing on themes of healing, self-discovery, and ... emotional growth. While I can see why it's highly praised, my personal experience with the series was mixed. It excels in character depth and emotional storytelling, but certain aspects such as its pacing, repetition, and execution of key themes held it back from being truly impactful for me.

One of the anime’s strongest aspects is its character-driven narrative. The story revolves around Tohru Honda, a kind-hearted girl who becomes entangled with the Souma family, a group cursed to transform into zodiac animals when hugged by the opposite sex. Each member of the Souma family carries deep emotional scars, and their gradual development is one of the anime’s highlights. Characters like Kyo and Yuki undergo meaningful growth, showing how trauma shapes people differently and how personal connections can lead to healing. However, while I appreciate the depth given to their struggles, I felt that the execution of emotional moments often became repetitive, making certain arcs feel dragged out rather than impactful.

In terms of genre execution, Fruits Basket is primarily a mix of shoujo, romance, and drama, but the romance is not the central focus for most of the series. Instead, it leans heavily into its themes of healing and self-acceptance, which is admirable but also contributes to its slow pacing. Some dramatic moments felt overly drawn out, making the emotional weight lose its impact over time. While I can respect a slow-burn approach, I personally found that the anime relied on repeating similar conflicts, which made some arcs predictable rather than emotionally engaging.

The worldbuilding in Fruits Basket is simple but effective. The story is grounded in real-world settings, and the zodiac curse serves more as a metaphor for generational trauma and emotional isolation rather than a complex supernatural element. However, while this approach works thematically, I found that the lack of deeper exploration into the curse’s origins and resolution left some narrative gaps. The curse is built up as this deep-rooted affliction that binds the Souma family together, but its resolution happens fairly quickly, which made it feel somewhat anticlimactic.

The soundtrack plays a key role in shaping the anime’s emotional tone. The opening and ending themes, such as Again by Beverly and ad meliora capture, the nostalgic and bittersweet feel of the series. The background music complements the emotional beats well, though it doesn’t stand out as particularly unique. While the soundtrack serves its purpose, it didn’t leave a lasting impression on me beyond a few key tracks.

The moral message of Fruits Basket is one of its strongest aspects. It emphasizes the importance of empathy, self-worth, and breaking free from toxic cycles. It portrays how trauma doesn’t define a person and that healing is possible through meaningful connections. However, one issue I had was that the story sometimes simplifies emotional healing, making certain resolutions feel too clean and convenient. While the message is powerful, I personally prefer narratives that show a more gradual, nuanced recovery rather than dramatic turning points that resolve deep-seated issues too quickly.

The ending provides a satisfying emotional closure for the characters. The curse is broken, and each member of the Souma family is finally free to pursue their own paths. Tohru and Kyo’s relationship reaches a heartfelt resolution, and the story wraps up on a hopeful note. However, some aspects of the conclusion felt a bit rushed, particularly Akito’s sudden transformation. While the idea that “love and understanding can break the cycle of pain” is a beautiful theme, the execution felt somewhat idealized, making the resolution feel more neat than natural.

In summary, Fruits Basket is a heartfelt anime with strong themes and emotional storytelling. It excels in character depth and moral messaging, but its slow pacing, repetition, and somewhat idealized resolution kept it from fully resonating with me. While I can understand why it's beloved, I personally prefer narratives that balance emotional depth with tighter pacing and more natural resolutions.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by starcarver (55)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Feb 27, 2025

Supersonic_Pain

Not Recommended

Tbh everyone's lives seem miserable in this show and it does not make it an enjoyable watch

I actually enjoyed some of the random Zodiac side Sohmas but the problem is the main 3 are some of my least favorite

Let's talk about Tohru first though.

Tohru is one of the wimpiest, spineless...iest, doormats I've ever met. It feels like 90% of her lines are her trying to make someone else's life better at the cost of her own or trying to please someone or some other "nice uwu" thing. I've heard her described as a green flag character and no, no, absolutely not. You meet this character, ... run the fuck away from her in the other direction. Not only that but if this weren't a shoujo from her perspective and she were in, like, Rent-a-Girlfriend as one of the haremettes, I feel like she'd be considered a male fantasy waifu because she's basically just Jesus Christ

She comes in, makes people's lives better because she's so heckin' nice and aw shucks! It actually started to grate on me how nice and doormatty she was, it was laid on that thick.

As for her friends (who surprisingly get their own episodes)... whatever. I don't really have much to say for Delinquent-chan, her episodes were nice enough, I liked her dynamic with Cat. Psychic-chan, however, why the fuck do you just have an actual psychic in the show? I guess the show already has a supernatural aspect so it's not out of the question but she just... has a superpower and she's just used as fodder to protect Tohru and prove that Tohru is just the heckin' nicest gal you'll ever meet!

Back to the Sohmas! If you don't know, there are 13 Zodiac people, we properly meet 11 of them so I won't comment on Horse or Rooster.

Cat (Kyo): A fucking jackass. I don't really care for tsunderes as a genre even when they are women so he was losing an uphill battle here but he was so unpleasant, he ruined Rat by extension because of how often Rat interacted with Cat. I mean, I get why he's come to be so unpleasant and maybe in the process of his growth, he'll be more pleasant in future seasons but I can only judge what I'm watching and what I'm watching is not good.

Rat (Yuki): On his own, he is Fine. I don't really have an issue with him (although I also don't really care much for him in a positive manner either) until he interacts with Cat and he just becomes an unpleasant douche because he has to be combative with Cat.

Dog: For the most part, he sure is The Landlord guy. He does his part well, I really like his dynamic with his editor, shoutout to Editor-chan, probably my favorite non-Sohma in the cast. However, he (and one other Sohma) has a tendency to flirt with either Tohru or other high school aged girls and, like, aren't you guys in your late 20s? Not to kinkshame shoujos but it left a sour taste in my mouth.

Dragon: He sure is

Snake: I thought he was kinda funny with Rat but he's the other creep, not to mention he and Dog make sexual jokes about wanting to fuck each other no matter who is around them

Boar/Pig: BASED. My favorite member of the cast. Every time she was on screen, absolute cinema. My only problem is, like... that's technically incest? I guess the Sohma family is fucked up enough but there are multiple, multiple counts of incest in this show and like maybe they are branch families and stuff but if this were JJK and I was drawing Megumi x Maki... you know?

Sheep: One of my other favorites. I know I just called Cat a jackass and, like, Sheep is too, but he's funny about it, you know? It's not just "grrr, Grug angry. Grug smash things and yell. Grug storm out.", Sheep is super smart (for a sixth grader) and tries to verbally poke and prod at you. I mention Tohru being a doormat and Sheep FLAMES Tohru over this, so points for that.

Tiger: She sure is

Monkey: It would have been funnier if we didn't meet his mother first. I enjoyed his episode but the moral of the day really spelled out one of my biggest issues with the show which I'll get to once I finish the Sohmas.

Rabbit: Bro's one gimmick is he can speak German. It's annoying because he's like "oh, this is my MUTTI, she has blonde HAAR and loves to go for walks in the STADT".

Ox: I liked him but he was the last of the 11 that came to mind so take that for what you will

" I enjoyed his episode but the moral of the day really spelled out one of my biggest issues with the show which I'll get to once I finish the Sohmas."

What did I mean by this?

Well, occasionally, they hit you over the head with basically "codependency is based!"

Tohru gets sick (in a different episode) and says "Wanting to get better not for your sake but for someone else's, I'm lucky I can feel that way". She also says in the Monkey episode that "I hope I find the reason for living within someone else".

It's not just her either, Rat says "Only when someone says they love you can you start loving yourself"

What if I don't believe the person saying they love me, Rat, huh? What then?

Wanting to have friends and a partner and being able to rely on other people is awesome, that's not what I'm disputing. But if you find your reason to live in someone else, that is a crutch. If you don't want to recover from your illness for YOUR sake but you're trying to get better because, of all things, you don't want to fail a test and let your friend down, that is a crutch. You should have social connections that you don't want to break off, friends you don't want to disappoint, perchance even a lover you want to see smile if that's your jam but you should also be able to find self-motivation.

There's a space between "fuck you, I'm a badass, I'm gonna do everything by myself, DTA, don't trust anyone, fuck the world" and "uwu I'm a coughing baby, save me from the hydrogen bomb, BF-kun!", you know

Speaking of which, this is just a miserable show.

They'll just shove big, thick, warm and mushy spoonfuls of crunchy peanut butter in your mouth, no water, of straight up trauma. Oh no, one of the dudes looks like a fucked up Digimon! Oh no, one of the kids' moms is a dick and got her memories wiped! Oh no, some guy's incest boo had to get HER memories wiped! Oh no, *checks notes* some guy got called stupid!

This whole season is a conveyor belt of people too so it just never stops, even at the end. Since it's always introducing people, it has new trauma to exploit. It even goes out of its way to give Tohru's FRIENDS sad backstories. I'm surprised it had the restraint to not give Rat's fangirls tragic backstories.

I can't say it's the worst show I've ever seen, some of the side Sohmas are cool and funny but, like, they're the side characters. One of them completely vanishes after being introduced. Cat and Tohru in particular are insufferable. Watching Natsuki Takaya punch me in various places trying to aim for my nose for 25 episodes was not a fun experience and I did not enjoy this show.

Maybe it's better in the next couple seasons once they have everyone introduced and settled is better but the juice, as they say, is not worth the squeeze.

Fruit pun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qlCC1GOwFw

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Supersonic_Pain (44)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Compelling Romances in Anime

by PumpkinSpicePie

49 Entries · 3 Restacks

Bisexual Characters in Anime

by Keizakomu

50 Entries · 41 Restacks

Certified Fresh™ (Series)

by JBrual

27 Entries · 11 Restacks

'Fruit Basket: Prelude' Compilation Movie Announced for February 2022

The official website of the Fruit Basket television anime announced a compilation film subtitled Prelude on Friday, revealing a key visual (pictured). The film will ...read more

Oct 30, 2021 1:00 AM by Vindstot | Discuss (23 comments)

'Fruits Basket' Side Story 'Kyouko to Katsuya no Monogatari' Announced for 2022

The 13th and final episode of Fruits Basket: The Final, the third and final season of the anime series, announced a new anime titled Kyouko to Katsuya no Monogatari...read more

Jun 28, 2021 6:34 PM by Vindstot | Discuss (29 comments)

	Poll: Fruits Basket (2019) Episode 22 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Aug 30, 2019	144 replies	by Cielord »» Yesterday, 7:37 PM
	Poll: Fruits Basket (2019) Episode 25 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Stark700 - Sep 20, 2019	197 replies	by Niveen_Sleem »» Mar 24, 4:49 PM
	Poll: Fruits Basket (2019) Episode 17 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Jul 26, 2019	126 replies	by Niveen_Sleem »» Mar 21, 3:38 PM
	Poll: Fruits Basket (2019) Episode 13 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Jun 28, 2019	123 replies	by Niveen_Sleem »» Mar 19, 6:12 PM
	Poll: Fruits Basket (2019) Episode 11 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) -Akirion- - Jun 14, 2019	125 replies	by Niveen_Sleem »» Mar 19, 3:18 PM

In Numbers: The Best Anime of the Decade

What's the #1 anime of the 2010s? Which year was the best? What studio had the most hits? We have the answers to all these questions and more!

by Shymander

656,181 views

MAL Staff Picks: Anime of the Year 2019

Hidden gems, blockbuster sequels, extraordinary debuts, and more are all on the list for our favorite anime of 2019!

by MAL_Articles

60,707 views

Spoiler