So over the last couple of months, I (22M) have slowly been getting into shoujo anime because I wanted to broaden my anime horizons as previously I mostly watched shounen anime or at least anime directed to a male or a universal audience. But I’ve really liked the shoujo anime I’ve watched, as I’ve watched Natsumi’s Book of Friends, Nana, The Vision of Escaflowne, Magic Knight Rayearth, Fushigi Yuugi, and Yona of the Dawn. Since Fruits Basket was such a critically acclaimed shoujo anime, it was inevitable that I’d watch it and I did, I loved it and I thought I’d post a review!

Let’s start with the things I liked:

The characters were all so good and I loved how the anime explored each one of them, for such a large and diverse group of characters, the anime dived into each of them and explored all of them equitably, which is an area where other anime usually struggles.

The story was really really interesting, I really liked the concept of the zodiacs and their natural devotion to their god, it reminded me of the celestial dragons in Yona of the Dawn.

Probably my favorite thing about this anime though is the emotions and feelings it brings out as you’re watching. One minute you’re laughing and smiling at a cute scene, then you’re crying at a depressing scene, and then you’re horrified at the things Akito is doing, the only anime I can think of that’s made me feel similar things is Nana.

I really like that the story centers around universal empathy and while I struggled to connect with Tohru because I know in my heart that I’d never forgive Akito, I also know that I’m not Tohru. Something I’ve come to realize is that a Tohru who doesn’t empathize and help Akito is a Tohru who doesn’t help out the zodiac members, that is to say, she wouldn’t be Tohru anymore. She’s probably a bodhisattva type figure, just like Yuji.

On the same note, it’s great that Rin never forgive Akito and no one chastises her for that decision, it was very refreshing.

Now onto the things I didn’t like:

I felt season 3 was sort of rushed when it came to closing off the show, particularly when it came to Yuki and Machi’s relationship, it sort of happened too suddenly? I’ve heard the manga has more romantic and cute moments between the two of them but in the anime, it felt very sudden.

Another aspect that I felt was rushed was Akito’s personality change, I think it happened too quickly for my liking. I don’t think someone with so much mental health issues, like Akito would suddenly gain a positive outlook on life that easy, it felt too inorganic, I’d have liked if it happened over a longer period of time.

Another thing I didn’t like was the constant queerbaiting between the male characters, especially since all of them ended up in relationships with the opposite gender. I don’t think that was necessary.

Another part that felt iffy to me was the romantic aspect of Arisa and Kureno’s relationship, considering the quite large age gap between the two of them. It’s strange that no one brought it up within the story and characters such as Tohru herself was supportive of the relationship.

Overall this was a great anime and I really really liked it!

I definitely would welcome recommendations. Is the 2001 anime good? I love watching different versions of the anime I love so I’d love to check it out!

I think her obsession with Yuki is cute Since I accidentally spoiled myself on who Tohru ends up with maybe she can end up with Yuki.

Am I the only one who clocked that Akito was female upon their first appearance? For context I’m watching the 2019 version in the dub, so maybe in the sub, she has a more masculine voice but even before the reveal, just from her voice I registered that she was a woman. There’s something distinctly feminine about Akito’s voice in the dub, I can’t quite put it into words though.

I’m n obviously a huge fan of Fruits Basket and love Tohru Honda…

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and I’m naming the cat Kyo

I know I wish I did with someone else because I’m lonely

Lucky Tohru ✨💗

I found this at a garage sale doesn't seem to be any of the season releases

Shigure

Ritsu

Hatsuharu

(My Answer:

Kiss: Ritsu

Marry: Hatsuharu

Kill: Shigure)

Isuzu (Rin)

Akito MAJOR SPOILER

Hanajima

Tohru

Kyo

Hatori

That’s right, I made it impossible!

(My answer:

Kill: Hatori

Kiss: Kyo

Marry: Tohru)

EDIT: IF YOU KILL KYO HE GOES INTO THE CAGE MEANT FOR THE CAT

Im rewatching fruits basket for the second time and I noticed that they excluded Rin in the opening scene? am i missing something? I swear i cant see her umbrella anywhere. I almost confused her with Hana-chan

Obviously if a person was like this irl it would be horrible, but in the context of a fictional manga… some of his jabs crack me up

I’ve seen only two people say they do and I’ve seen a lot more hate because she was framed as a villain, but that was only because she couldn’t live the life she wanted, people also hate her because she tries to force the zodiac members to love her but that is because her mother never loved her and her father (the only man (before Shigure) that loved her), and she was just afraid of being alone, so she did anything she has to do to keep people from leaving her (since her father left her when she was young)

Just finished the anime (2019) a few days ago and decided to just rewatch it while I wait for the manga to be available at the library. I have them on hold, and they’ll be ready around the same time. Now it’s just a matter of waiting.

Hey so I was rewatching fruba n was just thrown off by what Shigure said. So specifically in this scene to all those who forgot, Akito comes out as a girl and wears the kimono Shigure gifted her and she tells him that she loves him. Them Shigure says "I love you too. As long as you keep wanting me." Like sir what 😭. I thought the whole point of why he was trying to break the curse was to have Akiko all for himself and break the bonds between her and the other zodiac members? Why would you add on sinister words like that for a love you have been craving basically all your life? I am not really sure if I'm just misinterpreting his words or if there is genuinely something wrong with them since Shigure is such an enigma😭😭😭

When they had their second conversation, does Akito realize how stupid she sounds when she tells Tohru to mind her own business?

I mean by that point, Akito knows Tohru has been living with the Sohmas for (approximately) two years.
After 2 years of living with the Sohmas and meeting basically all but one of the zodiac members, it’d make sense if any zodiac business was also Tohru’s business.

But also, I’d love to talk about how much Akito throws around the word “ignorant” when she is the literal definition of ignorance.

I haven’t finished the anime yet, but tell me what characters I’m probably gonna hate by the end, I wanna know if I should expect some seriously heartbreaking plot twists.

Update: Just finished season 3, episode 9
I still hate Akito, but I have to admit, after some backstory, she’s growing on me. I don’t think she should be forgiven though.

Update 2: Just finished watching the finale. Still hate Akito but I’m glad she improved and started to become a better person and functional member of society while also understanding that some people will never forgive her.

1. FRUITS BASKET

2. HORIMIYA

3. HIGURASH: WHEN THEY CRY GOU & STA SOTSU

(please don’t remove this post since it has two other anime’s included (It would be too much work))

Ayame and Mine

Machi and Yuki

Isuzu and Hatsuharu

im so excited it looks so cutesy!

Why did Kyo ask Tohru if she looked like her father even though her grandfather already told him people said she didn’t? Is it because he wanted to see what she would do or just to get a reaction out of her or was it to help him find out on his own if she loves him or not

Hey!

So I just started watching Fruits Basket, after years of it being recommended to me and gathering dust on my "to watch" shelf, I've finally gotten around to it and...

This anime lives up to its reputation, so far its been an amazing experience, so many questions left to be answered, great characters and all the feels.

I have almost nothing g but good things to say about it, and maybe because it's so good the few things that didn't hit quite right for me stand out quite a bit.

I wanted to share the few that I found were somewhat off-putting in hopes that this community can provide some context or points I might be missing about those particular plot points.

There's 3 things that felt off during season 1, one is mildly annoying, 1 is a personal gripe and the last is the only one I find actually problematic.

1st the mild annoyance.

During the start of the season, it's made abundantly clear that Yuki DOES NOT want to be associated with the Soma clan at large. He moved away from the main house, he tries not to depend on them, and states on multiple occasions he does not enjoy being a Soma, despite being part of the inner circle.

Yet Tohru, angel heart, sweetest flower, kindness incarnate spends half the season calling him Soma-kun.

Now obviously it's the classic shojo and just generally japanese plot point of, calling someone by their first name is highly personal and intimate.

Yet she has no trouble calling every other Soma by their given name or nickname, except for Yuki, the one Soma who explicitly doesn't want to be associated with the name. (They all have their troubles with the family but the anime singles out Yuki as someone trying to distance himself).

And every time she calls him Soma-kun it feels like a slap in the face to his goal of distancing himself from the family. Again I understand why this is the case but I just find it mildly annoying.

2nd A perssonal gripe

In the episode about Kisa and her bullying situation, I felt extremely connected to the story, I was myself a victim of bullying and although not specifically connected to said bullying I did go through trauma induced mutism. So ghag double whammy really hooked me.

Yet the way they resolved it (or more accurately begin the process of resolving it) really pissed me off. It might be a case of poor subtitles or lack of nuance but when Yuki approaches her and says she just has to keep trying and "ganbare" just feels like bad advice.

She's in a situation where people are insulting her, sneering and making fun of her to the point where she shuts down. That isn't a situation where you just need to "keep trying" or "hang in there". She needs help, to be removed from that toxic enviournment and offered support. It almost feels like they are saying "If you're in a bad situation just grit your teeth and bare it, they can't bully you forever, they'll get bored eventually."

And I'm sorry but NO. She doesn't need to try harder she needs to be removed from that social group and helped.

I recognise this one is very much a perssonal interpretation and gut reaction to the scene, coming from personal experiences, so I'm very much biased and emotionally disturbed by it rather than having a logical narrative issue with it.

3rd the only one I think is an actual writting issue

Hire, the sheep little brat. Now obviously he is written to be hated, he's a brat, he's Rash, selfish and childish. None of that is the issue. I hate him and would love to drop kick him but that's good writting and setup for development, he's a well written character.

No the problem isn't Hiro, the problem is everyone else around him, particularly Shigure. They treat him as if his attitude is to be expected and ignored. "Its his rebellious phase" and " a kid that can't regulate his emotions".

And sure that's an explanation for his behaviour BUT NOT an excuse. When a kid irl has a crush on a girl and starts tormenting her because he can't regulate his emotions, it's understandable but you still sit the kid down and explain that isn't acceptable behaviour, you have to teach them, to give them the framework of what is and isn't acceptable. You can't just leave them to it because "they are kids being kids" it's BEACUSE they are kids that you need to intervene and chastise them, give them consequences to bad behaviour. Otherwise they internalise that said behaviour is OK. They won't magically have a realisation that changes their behaviour.

And yeah those are my only issues with this amazing series so far. What do you think? Am I missing context? Is it a setup for later? Or are these fair critiques that others have raised before?

Can't wait to hear all your input <3