Fruits Basket is one of the first truly successful shojo anime in the west. Adapted from the extremely popular manga of the same name by Natsuki Takaya, Fruits Basket has finally been brought to the UK in a 26-episode complete collection from MVM. Although not technically a new release, Fruits Basket can be seen as something of a classic.
Tohru Honda is an orphan of circumstance and with her independence comes some extreme situations. She has to work to live with her granddad and as this falls through is forced to set up camp in the woods. It’s only when she meets the Sohmas family that things start to turn really around.
Each family member is possessed by the spirit of a Chinese zodiac character and when touched by a member of the opposite sex, they revert to these animals, stripped of all their clothing. Tohru is given a home living amongst them – so long as she keeps the house tidy! While each member lives a normal life, going to high school and maintaining their daily lives – their life at home is entirely out of the ordinary.
With the hype, Fruits Basket promises to be a light-hearted shojo anime romcom with dated yet colourful animation and this is exactly what it delivers. Depending on your tastes, if you’re not a fan of shojo style anime then steer well, well away. The plot consists of comedic antics and spiralling romance – something which repeats over and over.
Tohru herself is your typical anime girl but with a slight difference. Given she was one of the first of our leading shojo ladies, she is clumsy, independent and ever so slightly clueless about the outside world. The only thing that sets her apart from other characters is her ability to change her reaction in every different situation.
Unlike many other anime of the same type, this borders on the reverse harem but doesn’t have all the panty shots and suggestive humour to go with it. The only humour of this kind is when each family member turns animal and loses all their clothing. This is quickly swept under foot but is still given recognition. After all, upon seeing this, only an inhuman girl would not react!
The revelation of each character’s zodiac form is entertaining in itself. Episodes have been spent guessing and re-guessing due to specific character traits. All this is done with skill, representing each character with animal characteristics – although these are not all obvious ones. For example, yes the cat character can land on all fours when he jumps out of a window but he has a temper and struggles to control it.
Fruits Basket can take a while to get going, numerous episodes are spent dealing with the four main characters and generally nothing really happens. This is a matter of persistence and once it gets going the result can be a very rewarding experience. The anime cannot be compared to the manga in terms of quality and the animation may seem dated – but that’s just because it is.
Fans of the shojo genre will enjoy Fruits Basket, others may not, but it’s still a classic and one well worth watching.
Label: MVM
Release date: 13th February 2012
Release type: DVD, Blu-ray
Certificate: PG
Price: £29.99
