Fruits Basket (Anime Cartoon)

Daichi, A, & Miyazaki, N. (Directors). (2001). Fruits Basket [DVD]. Tokyo, Japan: FUNImation Entertainment.

Takaya, N. (1999). Fruits basket. Los Angeles, CA: Tokyopop. Vol. 1 ISBN: 9781591826033

Interest Level: 10 to 18
Subjects/Themes: Shojo Manga, Anime, Friendship, Orphans, Fantasy, Romance
Running Time: 26 episodes; 21 minutes each
Rating: Unrated

Plot: After her mother's death, Tohru Honda begins living in a tent in the woods in order to stay in school while her grandfather's house is being remodeled.  She also works part-time cleaning office buildings in order to pay for her tuition.  She had promised her mother that she would finish school no matter what.  Yuki Sohma, the most popular guy in her high school, discovers Yuki's living conditions and invites her to live with him and his cousins.  In return for room and board, Tohru cooks and cleans the house.  Unfortunately, the Sohma family is cursed.  As a result of the curse they turn into the animals of the Chinese Zodiac when under extreme stress or when hugged by the opposite sex as Tohru quickly finds out.  Tohru promises to keep their secret.  If Tohru fails in some way, then the head of the Sohma family will demand that her memory and therefore her firendship with the Sohma family be permently erased.      

Personal Thoughts: This anime is extremely uplifting as well as being sweetly sad.  The characters are dealing with inner turmoil and trying to make the best of life.  Tohru is an extremely uplifting personality, without being stupidly naive or fake.  She's mourning her mother's death, struggling to find her identity, and despite everything trying to do what's right.  Throughout the series different themes about self-identity, bullying, standing up for yourself, speaking your mind, and friendship are explored.  The boys in the series are strong academic as well as martial art students.  The Sohma family is full of dark secrets, most of which are only hinted at during the story.

Notes: This review is based mostly on the anime series and not the manga series.  The anime is closely based on the first eight volumes of the manga series.  The manga series has 23 volumes total.

Awards (for Manga version):
Kodansha Manga Award in the shōjo manga category (2001)
American Anime Awards "Best Manga" (2007)
Animage Anime Grand Prix Award (2001)

Similar Materials: Sailor Moon cartoon series; Tokyo Mew Mew manga series;