Fruits Basket tells the story of Tohru Honda, an orphan girl who, after meeting Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure Sohma, learns that 13 members of the Sohma family are possessed by the animals of the Chinese zodiac and are cursed to turn into their animal forms when they are weak, stressed, or when they are embraced by anyone of the opposite gender who is not possessed by a spirit of the zodiac.
As the series progresses, Tohru learns of the hardships and pain faced by the afflicted members of the Sohma family, and through her own generous and loving nature, helps heal their emotional wounds.
Takaya began a sequel titled Fruits Basket Another in September 2015, and the spin-off series The Three Musketeers Arc in April 2019.
The original manga was first adapted into a 26-episode anime television series in 2001, produced by Studio Deen and directed by Akitaro Daichi.
While exploring one day, Tohru discovers a nearby home where her popular classmate Yuki Sohma lives with his cousin Shigure.
Tohru tries to stop him, and—accidentally falling into him—causes him to transform into a cat in front of her, discovering the Sohma family curse; that twelve members of the family, excluding Kyo, are possessed by the spirits of the Chinese zodiac (十二支, Jūnishi), and turn into their zodiac animal when they are weak, under stress, embarrassed, or when hugged by someone of the opposite gender.
Although the Sohma curse stretches far deeper and darker than Tohru initially thinks, her presence and her acceptance of them soon become a large, positive influence on those possessed by the zodiac.
In volume 1 of the manga, after Yuki and Kyo bring Tohru home from her grandfather's house, she begins to feel like she belongs with the Sohma family; after this, she imagines herself as a child hearing "onigiri" called in the game, symbolizing that she has finally found her place.
[10] The 136 chapters of Fruits Basket were originally serialized in Japan by Hakusensha in Hana to Yume from July 1998 to November 2006.
[13][14] On 4 September 2015, the first two volumes of Fruits Basket: Collector's Edition (愛蔵版 フルーツバスケット, Aizōban Furūtsu Basuketto) were released in Japan under the Hana to Yume Comics Special imprint.
[17] The series is licensed in English in North America and the United Kingdom by Tokyopop[18] and in Singapore by Chuang Yi.
The first Ultimate Edition release met with mixed reviews, however, because they exactly reproduce the first two volumes without correcting changed page numbers or prior errors.
[23] On 4 September 2015, a new series, Fruits Basket Another (フルーツバスケットanother, Furūtsu Basuketto Anazā), began serialization in HanaLaLaOnline.
[34] A 3-chapter series, titled Fruits Basket: Three Musketeers Arc (フルーツバスケット：マブダチ特別編, Furūtsu Basuketto Mabudachi Tokubetsu-hen) was published in Hana to Yume on 20 April 5 June and 5 July 2019.
The opening theme is "For Fruits Basket" (For フルーツバスケット, For Furūtsu Basuketto) (performed by Meredith McCoy in the English dub version).
A series box set was released on 25 April 2007, containing all twenty-six episodes, as well a message card from Natsuki Takaya, a 60-page deluxe booklet, and a bonus Fruits Basket CD soundtrack.
In the United Kingdom, Funimation originally distributed the series through MVM Entertainment, but then changed distributors in November 2006 to Revelation Films.
[75] Episodes 9 and 10 were temporarily delayed internationally due to the French Open tennis tournament coverage in Japan.
[76] In March 2020, Funimation announced that the SimulDub production would be delayed internationally due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, starting with episode 4 of season 2.
[79] The 2019 series received a compilation film titled Fruits Basket: Prelude, which premiered theatrically in Japan on 18 February 2022.
[90] On 5 July 2022, during Anime Expo 2022, Crunchyroll announced that the series would get a collaboration with the famous Hello Kitty franchise, which debuted in August 2022[91][92] In 2008, the all-male theatrical troupe Gekidan Studio Life announced it would be producing a theatrical adaptation of Fruits Basket, using only performers who would be making their stage debuts.
[111] Critics have praised the overall story in Fruits Basket as being intellectual, with even the relatively light-hearted first volume giving hints at something darker in the background that makes the reader "question everything that happens.
As one reviewer noted: "in the world of Fruits Basket, good parents are as common as penguins in the Sahara—every single one is either neglectful, smothering, unfeeling, abusive, misguided, or dead.
There are few titles that can do all that well, Fruits Basket puts all of these aspects together and makes a tasty treat ...Takaya's artwork in particular has been praised by critics, with Takaya's skills in detailed art, shadowing, and shading lauded as able to convey the character's moods and emotions without the character having any dialogue at all.
[113] The real strength of Natsuki Takaya's artwork isn't that that it looks good—though it definitely does, from its beautiful characters to the intricately rendered textures of their clothing—but how well it communicates mood and emotions.
Not content to rely on facial expressions, though she does them well, Takaya is particularly apt at using shading and shadows to indicate character's mental states ...
Julie Davis found the characters to be "superficially pretty" and "so-clean-they-look-almost-like-paper-cutouts" with "really, really gigantic eyes", though she notes that the animal alter forms of the zodiac members were "cute and cuddly".
Fellow reviewer Urian Brown disagreed, stating that "the characters are designed in a sleek stylish manner that is classy" and felt the animation was "refined".
"[122] In April 2005, Funimation Entertainment started a project calling for convention attendees to help them fold 1,000 origami paper cranes.
[124] Fans successfully folded the required 1,000 cranes by the end of the 2005 convention season,[125] starting at least a 13-year gap that culminated in the announcement of the new Fruits Basket anime in 2018.