I remember this anime years ago and hailed it as one of my Top 10 Favorites. Never did I think I'd revisit this, even though I don't recall doing a review of it before, yet.. here we are. Fruits Basket is a series that caught me off guard as an interesting title, despite its softness in theme. The anime started in 2001, but in early 2019, saw a revival in a similar fashion as Sailor Moon and its reboot Sailor Moon Crystal. So in a way, I'll be addressing both versions this time around.
Tohru Honda is as normal a schoolgirl as they come... well, as normal as an orphaned student can be. Having lost her mom prior to the story's beginning, one would never fathom of the mental baggage she carries due to how upbeat she is, jugging living in a tent, school, and working to cover tuition. But her location just happens to place her near the Soma house, home to her classmate and "school prince" Yuki Soma. After meeting Shigure there, and eventually Kyo, but not without bad luck in the for, of a mudslide, she resides as their housekeeper... only to learn that their fascination with the Chinese Zodiac is more of a link.. as the Somas themselves ARE the Zodiac animals. So now Tohru has to juggle housekeeping, school, work, AND preserving their secret from the others. But that doesn't seem to be a deterrent, so long as she can get along with them... or is it as cut and dry as that on the Soma's end?
Initially, the anime capped at 26 episodes, making it an average run, while others cap it as a season. Granted, this was at a time where regardless of how long the manga went on, the anime usually stayed under 30 episodes if it wasn't mainstreamed. For now, the 2019 version has a similar amount, but if their claim was to follow the manga, then we can see another season down the road. like with the original Sailor Moon and Crystal, the two versions of Fruits Basket went through different designs in animation, but unlike the former, didn't see such a big shakeup in voiceovers. The 2001 anime was done by Studio Deen under the direction of Akitaro Daichi, even though he was at odds with the manga creator Natsuki Takaya as far as the direction the anime was going. Under director Yoshihide Ibata, the 2019 adaptation is under TMS Entertainment, a veteran and long standing studio known for works like the Lupin the 3rd series, Sonic X, and the currently airing Dr. Stone. In terms of voices, the change was very minimal, with some key roles reprised between the two. Essentially, this is the case for Tohru (Laura Bailey), and the 3 Soma members Yuki (Eric Vale), Shigure (John Burgmeier), and Kyo (Jerry Jewell). Mainly in dialogue and event sequences here and there, even though the majority of the run is seemingly copy and paste, there are subtle differences between them, ripe for comparisons that may paint differing perspectives of characters between the versions, like with Shigure mocking Kyo early in the anime. It still keeps its degree of silliness, but with much less title card cut-ins. But as it tries to cover the manga, some events and introductions care left in cliffhangers, and lead-up to the following episode.
I loved it back then, and I love it even more now. One can think of this as a HD Remix of sorts, but no matter the version, Fruits Basket still holds an 8 of 10 in my book, remaining in my Top 10 titles... maybe not in the same position, but still there.
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