Over the years people have told me that there are two series that are
"must see" that involve people transforming into animals via some
unusual means: Ranma 1/2 and Fruits Basket. I first got into the former
title years ago, had the opportunity to read the entire run of the
manga, and even wrote several fanfics that inspired original characters
who I still use today. Fruits Basket didn't come until this past year
when I bought vol. 1 of the manga from a friend and got the anime
series for Christmas (which didn't get watched until this past week).
In all honesty, I had thought that there were a lot more than 26
episodes. For that number, here's how everything breaks down:
STORY
Honda
Tohru is a first-year high school student who lost her father to an
illness at a young age and her mother to a car accident a mere four
months before the start of the series. Due to some unusual
circumstances, she ends up living in a tent in the middle of some land
owned by her classmate, Sohma Yuki's, family. She stumbles onto the
house where Yuki and his cousin Shigure live while on her way to
school. After Tohru passes out from exhaustion from the cumulative
effects of all the stress on her life, Shigure invites her to live at
the Sohma's house in return for taking care of the housework (as the
two men are completely inept at doing so). Immediately afterwards
another member of the Sohma family comes crashing in (literally) and
challenges Yuki to a fight. Tohru attempts to stop the newcomer, Sohma
Kyo, by grabbing him from behind, only to get caught in a puff of smoke
and find a cat in Kyo's place! In her panic, Tohru falls against Yuki
and Shigure, turning them into a rat and dog, respectively. The Sohmas
quickly explain to Tohru that their family is cursed in a manner such
that when certain members are hugged by someone of the opposite sex,
they turn into one of the animals of the zodiac.
Despite
stumbling onto the family secret, Tohru is allowed to live with the
Sohmas under the condition that she never reveal the curse to anyone,
not even her two best friends after they learn of her current
circumstances. With that foundation in place, the story progresses as
time passes to allow Tohru to meet more and more members of the Sohma
family, both cursed and uncursed, develop a strong bond of friendship
between the family members, and also do her part to moderate rifts in
the family while overcoming her own painful past. Despite all the good
she does, however, there are people who want nothing more than to make
her life miserable, including the head of the Sohma clan himself.
With
a strong foundation that slowly incorporates more members of the Sohma
family in a well-timed manner that also allows development to take
place amongst the main characters, the story moves quite well and none
of the episodes felt like "filler." Sadly, near the end, when some more
cursed members first appear, they're only given one episode each before
they disappear entirely from the rest of the series and three of the
zodiac members (the pig, horse, and rooster) never show up at all. This
is due to the fact that the anime series only covers up through Volume
8 (of 23) of the manga and would have needed more seasons to continue.
The final three episodes that lead into the series climax are
especially well done as, despite having a lot of action, it offers some
of the most in-depth looks into each of the main character's fears and
doubts while providing the path for them to find their answers. I felt
that the series would have ended on a much stronger note had it ended
after the first half of the final episode. The second half, while
allowing some resolution with Akito, didn't feel nearly as strong and
lost the drive that had been building up to that point.
CHARACTERS
The
cast is where the series truly shines as the series is driven by the
characters more than anything else. Tohru herself is a strong optimist
and very modest, but her tendency to worry about other people often
causes her to shoulder burdens that sometimes takes her close to a
breaking point. She relies heavily on the advice given by her late
mother to carry her through day-to-day circumstances and problems, but
remains very unmindful of her own needs, which can lead her to be
manipulated by people with ill intent. Despite being a bit of an
airhead, she is an excellent worker, is always happy to see others
happy, and always knows exactly what to say in order to comfort those
around her.
Out of the Sohma family, the ones who hold the
status of "main character" are definitely Yuki and Kyo. Yuki is known
as the "Prince" in school and even has a fan club devoted to him, but
of course he's afraid of getting close to any of the girls as being
hugged by one would reveal his curse of being the rat. Despite this he
remains very popular because of that "mysterious" side, because the
girls are attracted to his looks, and because he is very nice to the
people around him despite fears of trying to get close. Kyo is a polar
opposite in that he is quick-tempered and readily picks fights with
people, but he's also able to fit in with group activities more easily
when he's not blinded with his grudge against Yuki. Kyo fully believes
that defeating Yuki in battle would allow him to become a full member
of the Sohma family since the zodiac legend portrays the rat as having
tricked the cat out of becoming a full member of the zodiac.
For
the rest of the Sohmas who are part of the zodiac, Shigure is seen the
majority of the time. He is a writer who leaves to be playful and tease
people sometimes and, as mentioned above, is cursed by the dog. Kagura,
the boar, is a very cute and sweet young woman (most of the time) who
is in love with Kyo and makes it fully known by charging him with the
strength of a juggernaut. Hatori, the dragon (seahorse), is the family
doctor and perhaps the most level-headed member of the family, but it's
also his responsibility to erase the memories of outsiders who learn
about the curse or family members who want to disassociate themselves
with the curse. Ayame, who is the snake and Yuki's estranged older
brother, is every bit as mysterious as the animal he portrays while
remaining a shameless flirt and definitely the most bizarre in the
family. Momiji, the rabbit, looks much younger than he is for his age
and has every ounce of energy as one would think a happy rabbit houses.
Hatsuharu, the ox (really a cow), has a split personality between a
"white" and "black" side in which the white side is caring and
collected while the black is openly hostile and very tempermental.
Kisa, the tiger, who is actually a very shy and timid little girl who
even loses her ability to speak for a while and grows very fond of
Tohru. Hiro, the sheep, who is Kisa's exact opposite when it comes to
personality and how his animal persona behaves. Ritsu, the monkey, who
takes after his mother and tends to be incredibly hard on himself,
leading him to overly apologize for every little thing. Finally there
is Akito, the head of the Sohma house and the one who houses the "core"
of the Sohma curse. Pretty much nothing can take place in the family
without his approval and he's shown to have somewhat of a sadistic side
while suffering from manic mood swings.
The rest of the
supporting cast comes in the form of Tohru's two best (and very
protective) friends: Arisa and Saki. Arisa is a former gang member who
looked up very much to Tohru's mother and has since taken on a fatherly
figure for Tohru between her and Saki. Saki, a girl who has the ability
to sense a person's aura and who couldn't fully control her powers
until Tohru accepted her, of course is the motherly figure. These two
are the only ones outside of the Sohma family and Tohru's own that
knows about her housing situation and they regularly visit Tohru at the
Sohma house, but never learn about the curse over the course of the
series.
No two members of the cast can be confused with each
other. Every single one stands out in a truly unique way and are
definitely the best part of the series. One aspect of each member of
the zodiac that I wish was used more often was their ability to loosly
communicate with their respective animals. This is seen very early on
when Shigure learns of a landslide that buries Tohru's tent from a
howling dog while Yuki is able to dig the tent out with the help of a
legion of rats. Sadly, such abilites were barely glossed over for the
rest of the series.
ART/ANIMATION
The
character designs for the cast remain true to their initial manga
designs and all of the characters' appearances fit their personalities
very well. One unusual aspect of the zodiac members is their tendency
to "spout" either ears and/or a tail corresponding to their respective
animal. This adds a nice touch of humor at times while in other cases,
notably Kisa, it complements their design and appearance. While the
zodiac members have initial appearances that basically correspond with
their respective animals, especially in hair colors, they aren't alone
in being able to see what types of people they are by looking at them.
Tohru's large eyes and wide smile depict her optimism, Arisa's tall and
strong build reveal her tough character, and Saki's dark eyes and
gothic outfits highlight her mysterious but awe-inspiring persona. My
one beef with the character designs is the fact that many of the men
look so effeminite that they look more natural wearing women's clothing.
The
animation in the series is very well done and overall very smooth, with
various moments done in higher quality than others, but overall very
pleasing to watch. There are times when characters are suddenly thrown
into awkward situations and the animation style will change to reflect
that, such as Tohru's hair standing completely up on end, the
characters suddenly becoming depicted as white or stick figures, and
the framerate changing to show how time is slowing down during a
catastophe for the involved characters. Another clever use about the
animation is, rather than characters turning chibi or super-deformed
during comedic moments, they're often turned into their respective
zodiac animal or item that they're portrayed as (Tohru as a rice ball,
Saki as a carniverous flower, etc.)
VOICE ACTING
The
actors in the series are able to convey their characters through speech
just as well as the artists were able to convey them through sight. The
acting for everyone can only be described as lifelike, definitely
sounding like how that person would sound if one was to be talking to
that person in real life. Emotions are portrayed beautifully, even when
characters aren't entirely being themselves or when they're undergoing
a personal transformation (such as Hatsuharu going from White to Black)
or turning uncharacteristally serious (as Momiji does when telling
Tohru the story of his mother). Negative emotions are portrayed just as
well, especially when Akito is speaking as the guy just exudes an aura
of creepiness while his actor only enhances that effect.
As I didn't watch the English dub, I have no comment for its actors' performances.
MUSIC
Both
of the opening and ending themes do a wonderful job of conveying a
peaceful, tranquil message of a family wanting to live happily
together. While they don't exactly get stuck in one's head, they are
very recognizable when hearing again later. Most of the incidental
music consists of very few different melodies for the duration of the
series, but that isn't a problem as the scenes are driven by the
characters and proper use of sound effects. In later episodes, when
most of the episodes take place during a heavy rainstorm, the rain is
more than enough to set the mood for the inner conflicts that the main
characters face at that time. And while the ending theme is enjoyable
to listen to, the piano interlude that replaces it at the end of
episode 25 is even better and worth listening to several times.
SUMMARY
I
very much enjoyed Fruits Basket. Despite the issues I had with some of
the character designs and the ending, it was definitely worth watching.
The excellent mix of comedy with day-to-day situations that helped all
of the characters to develop one step at a time even have some
real-life issues that people may be having. I don't expect to watch the
entire series again, but there are several indivdual episodes worth
repeated viewings.This and other reviews can also be read at my blog: http://gunarmdyne.blogspot.com