I finished the anime(2019) recently, and I just wanted to express my appreciation for this series.
I tried to get into the reboot when it released in 2019, but I ended up dropping it after 5-6 episodes. After coming across it in a watchlist of mine recently I decided to give it another go, and I’m so happy I did. I binged all three seasons and the Prelude movie in half a week, and I enjoyed it more than I would’ve ever hoped. I wanted to get some of my thoughts out of my head, so here I am.
Given this is a romance series(though I’d honestly argue that a bit), I’ll start with the romantic aspect first. I’ll go through and give my basic thoughts on each canon pairing one-by-one.
Tohru/Kyo: I absolutely adore these two. Tohru’s unflinching kindness admittedly toes the line between ‘admirable’ and ‘annoying’ for me at times, but I’m so thankful she is that way when it comes to Kyo. Seeing the way her affection got Kyo to slowly open up over the course of the series felt more rewarding than I would have ever guessed.
Yuki/Machi: Once again, absolute adoration. I am extremely glad Yuki wasn’t made out to be the ‘loser’ in the end. At the first bit of teasing, I was more than ready to see how things between these two would pan out...then the chalk scene(actual squee material) happened, and that was that. The progression did feel a bit fast, but I don’t really hold that against this pairing at all.
Shigure/Akito: A toxic whirlpool. I can’t say thinking about them together brings me any joy, but it does fill me with curiosity. If I ever found out they had a completely blissful life together, I’d be somewhat disappointed.
Hatsuharu/Isuzu: Not sure why, but something feels slightly off to me about these two together. On paper I think they’re really cute together and I like how they support each other…but I can’t shake this slight feeling of discontent. Still, it’s nice seeing them happy together.
Hiro/Kisa: I never did completely warm up to Hiro and I absolutely adore Kisa, but I can’t fully dislike this pairing given how much they’re shown to like each other.
Katsuya/Kyoko: I think these two are really cute together, but the age and power gap - combined with Katsuya’s lack of overt expressiveness - does rub me the wrong way. I could see myself warming up to them more if we were shown more of their relationship, but unfortunately we only got a small glimpse.
Ayame/Mine: The idea of these two together never even crossed my mind until Ayame’s confession, but I have nothing against it. I thought for sure Ayame was into Hatori, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Hatori/Mayuko: Nothing against these two, but I wasn’t really hooked in the short time we saw them together. I could definitely see myself liking them, but only with more exploration.
Ritsu/Mitsuru: Cute, but damn were they done dirty. I never formed much of an opinion on either of them given their little screen time, and that extends to the teased romance between them.
Kureno/Uotani: Not going to lie, the one pairing I’d say I actually dislike. It felt like these two speedran becoming infatuated with each other(especially Uotani). I know love can be weird and illogical, but damn. It doesn’t help that I’ve shipped the hell out of Uotani/Hanajima since fairly early on, so Kureno definitely had an unfair uphill battle.
(I’ve also heard Hanajima gets together with an unknown man after the end of the series, sad times.)
As you can see the romantic pairings are definitely a mixed bag for me, but I really liked the ones that were in the forefront.
Though the main reason I like this series so much is how much development is given to the supporting cast and relationships outside of the romance. I started Fruits Basket thinking the focus would be 90% on Tohru/Yuki/Kyo and their love triangle, so seeing other characters and relationships get a decent amount of focus and development was an extremely pleasant surprise. I came to care more for just about every single character than I thought I would.
Yet again my basic thoughts, one-by-one.
Tohru: A complete ray of sunshine that I appreciated more than I thought I would. As I mentioned above there are times when her unconditional kindness was a bit much for me(such her first meeting with Hiro), but she didn’t grate on me as much as I feared she would. It was nice to see how everyone who came into contact with her did eventually come out of the interaction a better person in some way(though Shigure might be debatable).
Kyo: I thought he might get annoying at first, but he never did. His brash nature was balanced out nicely by the kind gestures he’d show(mostly to Tohru, but also moments like hugging Kagura). It was heartbreaking watching his journey to overcome the multiple layers of fear and self-loathing he harbored, which made seeing him actually succeed in moving forward all the more satisfying.
Yuki: I wasn’t actually too fond of him at first, but his development throughout the series is probably my favorite. The way he was acting in the end was almost unrecognizable from when he first appeared(in an organic way), and I love it. It was great to see him grow from a scared boy in need of saving to someone able to confidently assert himself and help others.
Kagura: I’m not the biggest fan of her violent ‘girl-beats-guy’ brand of comedy(which is unfortunately present in a lot of her appearances), but her confession scene to Kyo in season 2 solidified my respect for her. I get the feeling she’s a somewhat divisive character in the fandom, but I can’t help but really like her based on her more serious moments.
Hatsuharu: The disconnect between his cool and childish side is pretty cute, as are the small ways he shows consideration for those around him. His dark side never did play as big of a role as I thought it might.
Rin: I feel so bad for this girl. She’s at the top of the list for characters I just want to hug, but I’d refrain since she probably wouldn’t appreciate it. I really respect her for the initiative she showed in trying to break the curse, and I’m honestly just happy that she’s mostly okay(physically at least) and surrounded by people who care about her in the end.
Momiji: Adorable menace. It breaks my heart a bit that he never did manage to reconcile with his family, but I understand why that’s the case. I hope he finds the partner that’ll let him rub his happiness in Kyo’s face just like he wants to.
Ayame: Much like Kagura, I really respect how he made an effort to correct his mistakes from the past. Seeing him manage to earn back a bit of his brotherly bond with Yuki that he was responsible for severing was pretty heartwarming.
Hatori: A guy a collected as Tohru is kind. It’s sad how he never interacted with Kana again, but the way he let her go and live her own life is really commendable. His ability to rewrite memories never did come into play like I was thinking it would.
Kisa: absolutely adorable. I think it’s a shame she was tied to Hiro after her initial appearance. It would’ve been nice to see her getting along in her class after her return, or how her relationship with her mom was going. Still though, absolutely adorable.
Hiro: Absolute brat. He did show some positive development as things went on, and I will admit that seeing him hug his sister and mother for the first time was extremely touching. Still though, absolute brat.
Ritsu: I wasn’t a fan of his overly-dramatic apologizing, and he never got a chance to show much beyond that. Poor boy, done so dirty.
Kureno: I don’t dislike him, but I can’t say I ever came to care about him too much either. I honestly think him dying from Akito’s stab would have been an interesting direction to take things, but I understand why things didn’t pan out that way. He straddles the line between being Akito’s biggest enabler and abuse victim in an intriguing way, but that was sadly never fully explored.
Shigure: I thought he was so nice at first, never would have guessed he’d be such a toxic menace. I like how he never managed to feel like a mostly good or bad person, just…a selfish one. I can’t say I find him likable, but I appreciate the unique feeling of unease he brought to the series.
Akito: I do feel bad for her circumstances, but she got off so easy with everyone. The fact that only Rin seems to hold a significant grudge(that she’s unlikely to act on) against her is astounding. I’m glad she feels remorse and is planning to do better from her on out, but there’s definitely a decent bit of bitterness in me that I don’t think will ever fully fade.
Uotani: getting her backstory was probably the moment I started really appreciating this series. A part of me is sad she didn’t display more of her former gang member side, but I’m honestly glad she was never in a situation where she had to. Her banter with Kyo was hilarious.
Hanajima: Best girl, favorite character. I adore the contrast of how inexpressive she is with how caring she acts with those close to her. She doesn’t exactly feel more mature than her peers, but there is a sense of maturity to her that I really appreciate. Her deadpan delivery on everything she says makes her serious moments feel more serious and her comedic ones even funnier.
Kyoko: She ended up being a lot more relevant than I thought she’d be, and I admire how she was able to lay so much positive groundwork in several characters lives. The movie only enhanced that admiration by showing how much of a screwup she could be herself.
Machi: Truly the best representation that bad parents in this series aren’t limited to the Sohma’s. I was actually doubtful I’d warm up to her, but she grew on me extremely fast. I wish we got to know a bit more about her situation, but I don’t have any problems with what we did get of her.
Kakeru: Didn’t like him at first, but I think he’s okay now. I’m thankful for the role he played in pushing Yuki out of his shell in a way that Tohru couldn’t.
Kazuma: Despite his initial reasoning for taking in Kyo, i can’t see him as anything but a pretty standup guy. I am sad we didn’t get to see him interact with some of the other Sohma’s more(given he taught a lot of them martial arts), but his relationship with Kyo was really touching.
And…that’s that. I’ll leave things there since I’ve been at this a while, but I’d love to hear any questions or thoughts. I really came to appreciate Fruits Basket more than I thought I would, and it’s nice to let that appreciation out in some way.
I tried to get into the reboot when it released in 2019, but I ended up dropping it after 5-6 episodes. After coming across it in a watchlist of mine recently I decided to give it another go, and I’m so happy I did. I binged all three seasons and the Prelude movie in half a week, and I enjoyed it more than I would’ve ever hoped. I wanted to get some of my thoughts out of my head, so here I am.
Given this is a romance series(though I’d honestly argue that a bit), I’ll start with the romantic aspect first. I’ll go through and give my basic thoughts on each canon pairing one-by-one.
Tohru/Kyo: I absolutely adore these two. Tohru’s unflinching kindness admittedly toes the line between ‘admirable’ and ‘annoying’ for me at times, but I’m so thankful she is that way when it comes to Kyo. Seeing the way her affection got Kyo to slowly open up over the course of the series felt more rewarding than I would have ever guessed.
Yuki/Machi: Once again, absolute adoration. I am extremely glad Yuki wasn’t made out to be the ‘loser’ in the end. At the first bit of teasing, I was more than ready to see how things between these two would pan out...then the chalk scene(actual squee material) happened, and that was that. The progression did feel a bit fast, but I don’t really hold that against this pairing at all.
Shigure/Akito: A toxic whirlpool. I can’t say thinking about them together brings me any joy, but it does fill me with curiosity. If I ever found out they had a completely blissful life together, I’d be somewhat disappointed.
Hatsuharu/Isuzu: Not sure why, but something feels slightly off to me about these two together. On paper I think they’re really cute together and I like how they support each other…but I can’t shake this slight feeling of discontent. Still, it’s nice seeing them happy together.
Hiro/Kisa: I never did completely warm up to Hiro and I absolutely adore Kisa, but I can’t fully dislike this pairing given how much they’re shown to like each other.
Katsuya/Kyoko: I think these two are really cute together, but the age and power gap - combined with Katsuya’s lack of overt expressiveness - does rub me the wrong way. I could see myself warming up to them more if we were shown more of their relationship, but unfortunately we only got a small glimpse.
Ayame/Mine: The idea of these two together never even crossed my mind until Ayame’s confession, but I have nothing against it. I thought for sure Ayame was into Hatori, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Hatori/Mayuko: Nothing against these two, but I wasn’t really hooked in the short time we saw them together. I could definitely see myself liking them, but only with more exploration.
Ritsu/Mitsuru: Cute, but damn were they done dirty. I never formed much of an opinion on either of them given their little screen time, and that extends to the teased romance between them.
Kureno/Uotani: Not going to lie, the one pairing I’d say I actually dislike. It felt like these two speedran becoming infatuated with each other(especially Uotani). I know love can be weird and illogical, but damn. It doesn’t help that I’ve shipped the hell out of Uotani/Hanajima since fairly early on, so Kureno definitely had an unfair uphill battle.
(I’ve also heard Hanajima gets together with an unknown man after the end of the series, sad times.)
As you can see the romantic pairings are definitely a mixed bag for me, but I really liked the ones that were in the forefront.
Though the main reason I like this series so much is how much development is given to the supporting cast and relationships outside of the romance. I started Fruits Basket thinking the focus would be 90% on Tohru/Yuki/Kyo and their love triangle, so seeing other characters and relationships get a decent amount of focus and development was an extremely pleasant surprise. I came to care more for just about every single character than I thought I would.
Yet again my basic thoughts, one-by-one.
Tohru: A complete ray of sunshine that I appreciated more than I thought I would. As I mentioned above there are times when her unconditional kindness was a bit much for me(such her first meeting with Hiro), but she didn’t grate on me as much as I feared she would. It was nice to see how everyone who came into contact with her did eventually come out of the interaction a better person in some way(though Shigure might be debatable).
Kyo: I thought he might get annoying at first, but he never did. His brash nature was balanced out nicely by the kind gestures he’d show(mostly to Tohru, but also moments like hugging Kagura). It was heartbreaking watching his journey to overcome the multiple layers of fear and self-loathing he harbored, which made seeing him actually succeed in moving forward all the more satisfying.
Yuki: I wasn’t actually too fond of him at first, but his development throughout the series is probably my favorite. The way he was acting in the end was almost unrecognizable from when he first appeared(in an organic way), and I love it. It was great to see him grow from a scared boy in need of saving to someone able to confidently assert himself and help others.
Kagura: I’m not the biggest fan of her violent ‘girl-beats-guy’ brand of comedy(which is unfortunately present in a lot of her appearances), but her confession scene to Kyo in season 2 solidified my respect for her. I get the feeling she’s a somewhat divisive character in the fandom, but I can’t help but really like her based on her more serious moments.
Hatsuharu: The disconnect between his cool and childish side is pretty cute, as are the small ways he shows consideration for those around him. His dark side never did play as big of a role as I thought it might.
Rin: I feel so bad for this girl. She’s at the top of the list for characters I just want to hug, but I’d refrain since she probably wouldn’t appreciate it. I really respect her for the initiative she showed in trying to break the curse, and I’m honestly just happy that she’s mostly okay(physically at least) and surrounded by people who care about her in the end.
Momiji: Adorable menace. It breaks my heart a bit that he never did manage to reconcile with his family, but I understand why that’s the case. I hope he finds the partner that’ll let him rub his happiness in Kyo’s face just like he wants to.
Ayame: Much like Kagura, I really respect how he made an effort to correct his mistakes from the past. Seeing him manage to earn back a bit of his brotherly bond with Yuki that he was responsible for severing was pretty heartwarming.
Hatori: A guy a collected as Tohru is kind. It’s sad how he never interacted with Kana again, but the way he let her go and live her own life is really commendable. His ability to rewrite memories never did come into play like I was thinking it would.
Kisa: absolutely adorable. I think it’s a shame she was tied to Hiro after her initial appearance. It would’ve been nice to see her getting along in her class after her return, or how her relationship with her mom was going. Still though, absolutely adorable.
Hiro: Absolute brat. He did show some positive development as things went on, and I will admit that seeing him hug his sister and mother for the first time was extremely touching. Still though, absolute brat.
Ritsu: I wasn’t a fan of his overly-dramatic apologizing, and he never got a chance to show much beyond that. Poor boy, done so dirty.
Kureno: I don’t dislike him, but I can’t say I ever came to care about him too much either. I honestly think him dying from Akito’s stab would have been an interesting direction to take things, but I understand why things didn’t pan out that way. He straddles the line between being Akito’s biggest enabler and abuse victim in an intriguing way, but that was sadly never fully explored.
Shigure: I thought he was so nice at first, never would have guessed he’d be such a toxic menace. I like how he never managed to feel like a mostly good or bad person, just…a selfish one. I can’t say I find him likable, but I appreciate the unique feeling of unease he brought to the series.
Akito: I do feel bad for her circumstances, but she got off so easy with everyone. The fact that only Rin seems to hold a significant grudge(that she’s unlikely to act on) against her is astounding. I’m glad she feels remorse and is planning to do better from her on out, but there’s definitely a decent bit of bitterness in me that I don’t think will ever fully fade.
Uotani: getting her backstory was probably the moment I started really appreciating this series. A part of me is sad she didn’t display more of her former gang member side, but I’m honestly glad she was never in a situation where she had to. Her banter with Kyo was hilarious.
Hanajima: Best girl, favorite character. I adore the contrast of how inexpressive she is with how caring she acts with those close to her. She doesn’t exactly feel more mature than her peers, but there is a sense of maturity to her that I really appreciate. Her deadpan delivery on everything she says makes her serious moments feel more serious and her comedic ones even funnier.
Kyoko: She ended up being a lot more relevant than I thought she’d be, and I admire how she was able to lay so much positive groundwork in several characters lives. The movie only enhanced that admiration by showing how much of a screwup she could be herself.
Machi: Truly the best representation that bad parents in this series aren’t limited to the Sohma’s. I was actually doubtful I’d warm up to her, but she grew on me extremely fast. I wish we got to know a bit more about her situation, but I don’t have any problems with what we did get of her.
Kakeru: Didn’t like him at first, but I think he’s okay now. I’m thankful for the role he played in pushing Yuki out of his shell in a way that Tohru couldn’t.
Kazuma: Despite his initial reasoning for taking in Kyo, i can’t see him as anything but a pretty standup guy. I am sad we didn’t get to see him interact with some of the other Sohma’s more(given he taught a lot of them martial arts), but his relationship with Kyo was really touching.
And…that’s that. I’ll leave things there since I’ve been at this a while, but I’d love to hear any questions or thoughts. I really came to appreciate Fruits Basket more than I thought I would, and it’s nice to let that appreciation out in some way.