Fruits Basket - complete review

[Gypsy]

Fruits Basket

Released by: FUNimation

Number of Episodes: 26 (4 dvds)

Distributor’s Rating: 13+

Synopsis:
This anime breaks away from mechas, secret global destruction plans, and magical girls. It’s the heartwarming tale of Tohru Honda and her encounter with the mysterious Sohma family. After the recent death of her mother, Tohru is determined to make her own way in life and graduate from high school just like her mother wanted to. Tohru soon finds herself with no where to live except a tent in the woods. Through circumstances, she moves in with Yuki Sohma, a fellow classmate, and his older cousin, Shigure Sohma. They offer her lodging in exchange for housekeeping for them. Hotheaded Kyo Sohma appears and turns Sohma house upside down. This is when Tohru discovers the Sohma secret. When hugged by a member of the opposite gender, the Sohma’s transform into animals from the Chinese zodiac. Tohru’s adventures continue as she meets more members of the Sohma family and changes each of their lives forever.

Violence:
No gore or anything, but Kyo and Yuki often get into fights. There’s some exaggerated, cartoonish style violence (but only when Kagura shows up…). There is blood from various cuts and scrapes. One character gets slashed with a broken bottle. A few of the Sohmas have memories from childhood of being physically abused.

Language:
There is a good deal of language, especially from Kyo. 90% of it is him referring to Yuki as “that d--- rat.â€

[BrianC]

So you basically gave it a lower rating becuase it has gay (actually someone told me the the characters are not gay) characters despite how they were portrayed? I'm against homosexuality and bisexuality, but the gay content in most anime is usually not explicit. I also think it's stupid to avoid an anime just becuase it has one or two gay characters in it.

I really want to see Fruits Basket, though. I heard alot of good things about it and it sounds like a great anime.

[Gypsy]

Well, unless Shigure and Ayame were just kidding the whole time, yes, there are gay characters. And I gave it a lower rating because of language and other mild sexual inuendos. And it is never stupid to avoid watching certain things if you are uncomfortable about them for any reason. For instance, if I had a buddy that just got out of a homosexual relationship, I would rather die than say "Hey! Let's sit down and watch Fruits Basket!" Just in case I didn't make it clear enough, I love this anime and I recommend it to most people over 14. Just to clear it up so everyone knows where I'm coming from, I didn't just skip around the internet, getting bits of info to make this review. I own all 4 Fruits Basket dvds. I've watched every second of all 26 episodes. And I would love to discuss Fruits Basket with someone else who has seen the series.

[ShiroiHikari]

Good job Gypsy! Yer review's put together well ^_^

Anyway, if I can find it I'd like to see this show. Do you know if there's a manga version of it?

Like I've said many times before, violence and language aren't that big a deal to me ^^; But the homosexual stuff...hmm. It's beginning to become more prominent in American entertainment too. Which is a sad thing since most of us Americans know better.

But as far as running away from content...I think if God is telling you not to see something, then don't. After all it's only a TV show, and there's other entertainment out there ne? And also, the Holy Spirit convicts people in different ways, because everyone is different. So if another Christian is not easily dragged down by certain content, don't judge that person.

Well....I guess that's enough blathering outta me...for now.

[Gypsy]

Why thank you. And yes, there is a manga, but not in English. Cool thing is, I believe the manga is still being made - meaning the Fruits Basket story is not over. So, hopefully one of both of two cool things could happen. #1 all the manga gets translated to English, and #2 they made a second Fruits Basket series.

[BrianC]

I'm sorry about my last comment, but I read some comments at the old boards on the issue of gay characters and I felt that some of the comments towards the shows were unfair. I do agree that people who have a problem with it shouldn't see it, but I learned that the portrayal of the content is more important than the actual content.

Violence can be used for a purpose and not just for the sake of violence. God also taught me that I should like people even if I don't like what they are doing. It's one thing not to like something that is a blatant promotion for gay rights, but it's quite another thing not to like something just becuase it has some gay characters in it. I mean it's wrong to accept people being gay as right, but it's also wrong to hate people because they are gay. Then again, if just seeing a gay character on screen leads you to sin, you shouldn't see the show, but if you can enjoy the show without being led the wrong way and God says it's ok, go for it.

I shouldn't have been so careless. That was a very good review and I will definatly check Fruits Basket out.

I heard about the Fruits Basket manga too. I'm interested in checking it out, but I want to know more about the content (not spoilers) in it first. Hopefully, it will get published in the US.

[Ashley]

Brian,
That has ALWAYS been our attitude--love the sinner, hate the sin-- towards homosexuality. Is it wrong? Absolutely. But does it mean we should go in a corner and never come out if we see some homosexual issues arise in anime? Of course not; even if you could shy away from all of it in the anime world, you'd have to deal with it eventually in the real world. Nor does it mean there should be a CAA sponsored gay slaughter. It just means be careful what you watch and be aware that *insert series title here* has some homosexual references; whether you watch it or not is up to you. The reviews here are not meant to be a "what Christians should watch" but more of a "here's what this series has, here's what's good, here's what's not" and leave the rest up to you.

[Gypsy]

I agree that the portrayal of the content is more of an issue than the content itself. That's why I made it a point to show that the characters in Fruits Basket "loved the sinner, hated the sin" so to speak. So, Brian, what perked your curiosity about Fruits Basket to begin with? I know that lately the anime magazines have been pushing it a lot, but you mentioned one of your friends knew something about it. And I agree with you about wanting to know more about the content of the manga first. The manga tells the stories of each zodiac member, while in the anime, you only met a few. I'm also curious to see where the anime left off and the manga kept going ...

[BrianC]

I heard that Fruits Basket a fairly clean and very entertaining series. I love Princess Nine and Fruits Basket sounds like something I might like.

[Aibou]

There's a lot of talk about certain bad aspects.. I see you like it from the end of your message.. but I'm missing something in your review.. Maybe it's just that I don't like reviews full of warnings.

[inkhana]

I haven't seen Fruits Basket either, but to me it looked fairly much like Gypsy told it like it was. If that includes warnings, that just means she cares about guarding the eyes of our younger viewers (and even some of the not-so-young viewers!)...we do have a lot of young people among us.

[Stephen]

"There's a lot of talk about certain bad aspects.. I see you like it from the end of your message.. but I'm missing something in your review.. Maybe it's just that I don't like reviews full of warnings."


I think she stated what was bad or could be considerd bad in her review...gave it an age bracket....yet liked it...I see nothing missing. As far as reviews full of warnings....I would prefer that on anime considering many many anime are full of garbage. Like Ink said...we like giving plenty of warning for the younger members...also hince her age bracket.

[Gypsy]

Brian, I'm a big Princess Nine fan also. Actually, that and Chance Pop Session are my next review targets. But if you liked Princess Nine, I'm sure you'll like Fruits Basket.
Aibou, what sort of review would you like to see?

[blue elf]

I haven't actually seen the anime series, but there used to be a website that did manga scanlations. Last time I went there though the site wasn't working. I read some of the manga. As for the manga content that I saw I can say that it does contain some homosexual references and Shigure and Ayame do joke about it quite a bit if I remember correctly. It's been a while since I've read it though. Kyo and Yuki fight a lot too, but I always thought most of their fights were pretty funny. The manga develops all of the characters more, but I've heard that the anime follows the first few volumes of the manga reasonably well and then sort of goes off on its own at the very end. I do think that the manga is still going, but I haven't read it in about a year so I'm sure I've missed a lot. The manga does go into a lot more detail about the characters' pasts and personalities feelings and such. I don't remember them showing any of the characters in an actual homosexual relationship or anything like that though. I do remember Haru commenting on how Yuki was his first love or something like that, but they show a flashback of when he first started liking Yuji or whatever and they were both like 6 or 7ish looking so I'm not sure if he's actually gay or not. I did like the Fruits Basket manga though. I agree with Gypsy about the portrayal of homosexuality, at least in the parts I remember reading I don't think it was really glorified. It's just something that is present in a lot of shojo manga and anime. I thought the story was touching and I thought most of the characters were easy to like. Tohru has to be one of the most genuinely naive and caring main characters I've seen in a while. She likes everyone and generally wants to help her friends and make them happy. I don't remember them showing any graphic nudity in the manga, mostly the same type of stuff that was mentioned in the anime and I don't remember any types of sex scenes or anything. Also the artwork in the manga was excellent, in my opinion. Anyways if anyone has any more information about the manga feel free to post it since my memory may be a little rusty. Anyway I liked the general story of the manga from what I read, but haven't seen any of the manga. Don't suppose you'd like to share your dvds huh Gypsy?:sweat: Didn't think so. Oh well, like all the other commenters said it's all a matter of what you feel comfortable watching. I hope this was at least a little bit helpful. Maybe I'll try to find another translation site for the manga later.
Oh and a question- Is Hatori in the anime? He turned into a seahorse I think. Him and Yuki were my favorite characters in the manga.
-Lisa^^

[Gypsy]

Oh yeah, Hatori was in the anime quite a lot actually. And .. he made me so sad, but I always got a huge kick out of how he could keep both Shigure and Ayame under his thumb. Thanks for all the info on the manga! Much appreciated!

[Aibou]

ah thanks all, I forgot the purpose of it a bit...
I still feel like something is missing... but just forget about, I cannot describe it all!

[Psycho Ann]

Furuba (Fruits Basket) is definitely one of those feel good anime packed with humor and good points. I also watched every single anime episode (albeit a while back and subbed) and found it very entertaining.

The brief mentions of homosexuality also lowers some points in my scale but the overall plot and values overweighs them.

As for the manga... I don't really remember what the last manga volume I read was.... but I recall it having either Ayame or Haru as the cover.

My only complaint for the manga is the few instances that the characters are unintentionally mis-proportioned--trifle detail, can be overlooked.

And I'll add a warning that the manga is starting to take on a weird twist. For what I last read, there might be a hint of attempted suicide and possibly "wrong" love. No, not homosexuality, but between two certain members of the Souma family where the female has never come out in the anime.

Not really that they're related that bugs me, but the age difference and a hint that one might have cheated on yet another Souma family member.

I'm not sure about this though, and unless you find some offical info backing my words, I advise you not to take too much thought in what I said.

[Gypsy]

(Considers whining about never reading the manga.)

[valdrianth]

I do know that Hatsuharu and Rin were once an object of each other's affection which was ruined by Akito.

I know the fact that the Souhma's going out with each other may seem a little disgusting to us, but in Japan it's common for each other to marry their 3rd or 4th cousin. Bloodline and heritage is a big deal to them. It's actually a disgrace to adopt. Most children will never admit if they were adopted in Japan.

As for Shigure and Ayame. I think they talk like that on purpose to make the people around them feel uncomforatable. Hatsuharu....I think when he said that Yuki was "his first love" I think he was implying to fighting...cause he didn't have anything against Kyou, Yuki is just special to him".

They also tend to take friendships a little more deeper in Japan than here, and it isn't considered homosexuality.

I have a Japanese friend...lol. I get informed about this.

[Mithrandir]

The reviews here are not meant to be a "what Christians should watch" but more of a "here's what this series has, here's what's good, here's what's not" and leave the rest up to you.

Whew. I was wondering if that was going to come up. I'm glad this is CAAs official stance. (Or at least I'm assuming it is, since Ash posted it;) ). It's nice to see a healthy expression of 'education' once in a while. :sad: I see to many of these kinds of threads go the other direction entirely. (Not on this board, btw). Kudos!

[Ashley]

Yes that is the official stance on it. My personal opinion here, but when you get into the logistics of "what EVERY Christian shouldn't watch" not only do you become rather haughty, but you are highly at risk of becoming a hypocrite. Better altogether to unashamedly point out the negative faults with the good, and let God guide everyone's consciences individually.

There are a few exceptions...but even then, those get the extremely negative view and the (key word here) suggestion or urges not to see titles. But we're not gonna condemn anyone for going with their own sense of what's right to see.

[Spiritsword]

I haven't seen the whole thing yet, but I'm REALLY enjoying Fruits Basket. In fact, I've actually purchased the second two DVD's, and am planning on buying the fourth (I rented the first). It's a very heartwarming series so far, and many of the characters are easy to identify with on one level or another, plus with 6-7 episodes per DVD, you get a lot for your $! I'd definitely recommend at least trying it out to see if you like it. I've never read the manga, however--I'll lament that with you, Gypsy...

Spiritsword

[MyrrhLynn]

I thought the Gypsy's review as well done. In fact it too well done! Now I want to buy it! AHHHHH! I am already broke! Guess it is one more thing to add to the list.

[Azier the Swordsman]

I don't personally believe that a show should be compltely avoided because of a few bad things... it all depends on you believe is acceptable for you as a Christian to watch. For instance: Fruits Basket is one anime I may check out one day, however, I would NEVER EVER touch something like FAKE with a ten foot pole.

[Izumi San]

Personally, I like Fruits Basket so far, though I only have the first 2 dvds. The language IS a little heavy when it comes to Kyo, though. As long as you know your limit as far as cussing goes, it's a great series :3

[lexicalunit]

As for homosexuality, this is where Fruits Basket slips down a few notches. Some of the characters are implied to be bisexual. The first time this appears is in episode 10, when Haru says in passing that he used to have a crush on Yuki. In episode 16, Ayame comes to visit and he and Shigure share some suggestive banter. A memory from Ayame’s past also drops a big hint about his alternative sexual preference. One of the male members of the Sohma family is a cross-dresser, but believe it or not – there is actually a non-homosexual reason for this.

1. Haru isn't bisexual; it was just simple hero worship. He loves Yuki as one might love a brother.

2. I'm pretty sure Ayame is not gay, he's just eccentric, and he knows that makes Yuki uncomfortable, and he just likes to tease Yuki by accenting his eccentric nature.

3. "Believe it or not" most transvestites are not gay. What you wear and who you are attracted to seem to be totally different things statistically speaking.

4. Just because the story line contains homosexual themes isn't a reason to lower the score. If they detracted from the story, characters, or themes of the show then I'd say lower the score all you want, but in this case the homosexual undertones actually make the anime more comical and dramatic. I can’t imagine Fruits Basket without Ayame being the way he is.

As far as I’m concerned this is one of the best animes ever right up there with FLCL and Azumanga Daioh considering it is the only anime ever to have almost made me cry (anything with that much emotion has to be good). Oh and just so you know, this thread officially “slips down a few notchesâ€

[Ashley]

Just because the story line contains homosexual themes isn't a reason to lower the score. If they detracted from the story, characters, or themes of the show then I'd say lower the score all you want

To most Christians, having homosexual themes in there IS a distraction from the story, characters and themes. And on this board, we're not going to pull any punches when it comes to reviews; we're not asking you to agree with our rating, and nor are we seeking anyone but God's approval. So the reviewer is free to give the show what they would deem a fair score, and having seen Fruits Basket, I completely agree with the one given. We have high standards here, and if you don't like them, no one's going to hold your arm behind your back here and make you follow the reviews; everyone here is quite capable of making up your own mind about what shows to watch or not watch. The reviews are simply here to tell you what is in a show that most companies or magazines gloss over.

[HondaTooru]

I love this anime! I think that the main character (see avatar) is the nicest, most polite, gentle, and forgiving anime character I have ever seen! She goes through the horrible tragedy of losing her only parental figure, whom she was extremely close to, and does not let it make her bitter or hateful. Furthermore, Tohru never resents anybody, even the schoolgirls who are jealous of her relationship with "the prince" and try to take it out on her. For some reason, that really got to me. I've been working in coffee shops for almost 3 years and I get so angry when customers are unneccesarily rude to me. It's hard for me to not take it personally and find it in my heart to forgive them... I do eventually, but it's a struggle. Anyhow, Tohru is a character that really inspires me to be a better person.

[shooraijin]

But the best part is, she's not perfect either, which would totally ruin the role -- like everyone else in the anime, she herself is still growing. That makes her not only more believeable, but more accessible.

I've rather gotten into it, actually. That last UY box set is still gathering dust thanks to the next two DVDs.

[Gypsy]

Heh heh. Told ya it was awesome.