Fruits Basket

If you like the Chinese zodiac, you'll love this show. From the one and only Natsuki Takaya,Fruits Basket is definitely one of a kind.

Before I start talking about this show, I think I should tell you all the story of the zodiac. As you probably know, the Chinese zodiac consists of animals; rat, dog, sheep, bull, rooster, horse, monkey, dragon, snake, tiger,

boar, rabbit and the cat. Well, one day, all the animals of the zodiac were invited to a banquet the next day. They were all so excited. But, the rat decided to go to the cat and tell him that the banquet was the day after next. The cat was excited to be invited, and went to sleep dreaming of a banquet he would never attend. The next day came, and the rat rode off to the banquet, riding on the bull, followed by the other animals...except the cat. From that day, the cat and the rat were enemies, and the cat was banned from the zodiac and shunned by everyone for not attending, all because of the rat

This show is about a girl named Tohru Honda who's mother dies and she has to live with her grandfather. The thing is, he decides to get his house re-modeled, and Tohru has to find somewhere to stay. Determined not to burden anyone around her, she starts living in a tent, unaware that she's on the property belonging to the infamous Sohma family. One day, the "prince" of her high school, Yuki Sohma, and the man he lives with, Shigure Sohma find her and invite her to stay at there house for a while. Tohru's tent gets destroyed by a landslide, so Yuki and Shigure offer their home to her, so long as she cleans and cooks for them (typical men). Soon, she meets another Sohma who soon starts living in the same house, Kyou. Instead of going back with her grandfather, Tohru decides to permanently live with the Sohma's. But, there's one huge secret among their family. The Sohma family is cursed by the Chinese zodiac. Certain members of this family will turn into an animal from the zodiac when they're under great stress or hugged by a person of the opposite sex. The head of the Sohma family, Akito, allows Tohru to continue living with these people, though she would soon regret it. She'll soon find out, that the three people she lives with, are also tormented with this curse. Shigure is the dog, and Yuki and Kyou? The rat and the cat of course. Kyou hates being the rejected cat, and hates even more living with the rat that betrayed him. But Tohru tries her hardest to help him and the others. But, will Akito allow it? Of course not.

Now, this show is a very pleasant blend of humor and sadness. For the most part, it's a funny show filled to the brim with over-the-top characters and over-dramatic animation. However, it does have it's fair share of moments where it plunges you into the hearts and souls of characters and how their lives are so negatively impacted by this curse. The humor, of course, is always very quick to return and wipe away

those tears threatening to emerge, but it leaves a lasting impressing and gives you a new view on certain characters and their back stories. That's something I personally find amazing about this show. These characters, from the most important to ones who don't show up very often, all of them have in-depth stories. It's something that many character developers tend to avoid, leaving characters pasts up to the viewers imagination. Fruits Basket doesn't do that and covers even the smallest details, which makes watching the show much more enjoyable. On the negative side however, there are a lot of characters to remember. For some people this isn't a problem, but for others I know it can become quite the task. The anime does cut a few from the manga, such as Rin, the horse, but there are still many more to deal with. But overall it's an excellent story with amazing character development and one of my personal favorites.