Fruits Basket 2019 Season 1
TV Show Review
Fruits Basket was one of those stories I absolutely adored as middle schooler, in the days when shoujo anime and manga were my life. Flash forward to 2020, in the midst of Covid-19 lockdowns and finding myself with a lot of time in front of my computer, I’m regressing back into my childhood instincts. It’s like trying to unearth the feelings that used to make me so happy as a child, but not with a 100% success rate. Because inevitably, life keeps moving forward and I can’t let myself just cling to the things that made me happy in the past. These were some of the thoughts that ran through my head as I was watching this 2019 reboot of the beloved classic story, Fruits Basket. But on to the review!
Fruits Basket is a slice-of-life, romance anime, adapted from a wildly successful manga. The main protagonist, Honda Tohru, is an optimistic high school girl with a tragic past (is it really anime if there isn’t a tragic past?) who lights up the lives of the people around her with her spirit for life and capacity to love. The major driving theme in Fruits Basket is Chinese animal zodiacs. The Sohma family (a huge and rich group of people) has been living with a curse for generations, where certain individuals in the bloodline will inherit spirit of one of the 12 zodiac animals (i.e. rat, pig, ox, etc.). Every time they are hugged by a person of the opposite sex (who is not in the Sohma family), they will turn into their zodiac animal. The plot then goes on to explore each person/animal affected by the curse, leading to the overarching storyline of trying to break the curse.
In the 2019 reboot, the animation looks so crisp and beautiful! The character designs are all slightly upgraded so that everyone looks even better/cuter/handsomer. It makes me wonder if in another 10 years, this 2019 version is going to look outdated…time and change sure are scary things. The new music is also really good, but I do think the original opening song from the 2001 version cannot be topped. It’s probably another nostalgia factor for me.
Overall, this show is really heartwarming. Each episode delves deep into a certain theme or character, and it's usually some inspirational story about overcoming hardship(s) in life. I feel like the slice-of-life genre is essentially a collection of “filler episodes” or short stories combined into one collection. I especially felt this way about this first season of Fruits Basket, because there really is no driving plot or goal that ties everything together - almost like a sitcom! I don’t think this show was as addicting to me as Chihayafuru or March Comes In Like a Lion, because those shows gave the main character more goals and character development. Meanwhile, Fruits Basket is more about relationship-building and high school life and chummy moments. I think it’s great that they’re remaking the show since the manga has officially concluded, because now they can really finalize the ending as the author intended. Season 2 is currently airing, and I’m going to continue watching to see how it ends!