Fruits Basket (2001 Anime)

Fruits Basket (フルーツバスケット), is a Japanese anime series created, written and illustrated by Natsuki Takaya. The series was adapted into 26-episodes, directed by Akitaro Daichi. The series tells the story of Honda Tohru, a 16 year old orphan girl who, after meeting Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure Sohma, learns that twelve members of the Sohma family are possessed by the animals of the Chinese zodiac (十二支) and are cursed to turn into their animal forms when they are weak, stressed, or when they are embraced by anyone of the opposite sex that is not possessed by a zodiacal spirit. In the anime it is possible to transform through torso contact. The word "Fruits" in the title is always plural; the spelling originates from the transcription of the English word "fruit" into Japanese, where because there is no "tu" sound, "tsu" is used instead. The title comes from the name of a popular game played in Japanese elementary schools, which is alluded to in the series.

Background
When high school student Tohru Honda's mother dies in a car crash on her way to work in the parking lot, she decides to live with her grandfather. Renovations on the house and unsupportive and unkind family members cause her to move out of her grandfather's house temporarily and, since she has nowhere else to go, Tohru begins living in a tent and supporting herself. That is, until she finds a home in the least likely of places, inhabited by her popular classmate Yuki Sohma and his cousins Shigure and Kyo.

The Sohmas live with a curse. Twelve members of the family (not including Kyo, who is the cat) are possessed by spirits of the Chinese zodiac and turn into their zodiac animal when they are weak, under stress, or when hugged by someone of the opposite gender.

When Tohru discovers the Sohmas' secret, she promises not to tell and is allowed to keep living with them. Although the Sohmas' curse is deeper and darker than Tohru realized, her presence and her acceptance of them soon becomes a large, positive influence on those possessed by the zodiac. She sets out to break the curse and, on the way, meets and discovers the Sohma's vengeful zodiac spirits. Each has a different personality, just like the animals in the Chinese zodiac. Tohru's existence changes the Sohma clan's lives forever.

Difference from Anime to Manga
The anime is based on the original manga by Natsuki Takaya. As the manga was ongoing during the anime's production, the animated series makes some changes to the story. Several events are combined; some events, such as Tohru's first meeting with Momiji and all references to Tohru's baseball cap, never happen. The anime makes no mention that Yuki and Kyo have met Tohru's mother or that Kyo blames himself for her death. Many of the events surrounding the revealing of Kyo's true form are greatly changed in the anime, including adding an extended chase sequence and Tohru meeting Akito in the woods, none of which happen in the manga.

While the anime faithfully adapts most of the characters from the manga series, it does make some changes. In the manga, Momiji is half-German and half-Japanese and regularly speaks German, particularly when he first meets Tohru. In the anime no German is spoken. Shigure's darker side is toned down in the anime; many remarks he makes in the manga that hint at a hidden agenda are left out, along with most of his early scenes with Akito. In the anime, Akito is biologically male and will die at a young age because of the curse, while in the manga, Akito is biologically female but brought up as male and is not dying. This served as a shocking plot twist in the manga, since almost everybody thought that Akito was male. Additionally, Sohma "Rin" Isuzu, the Horse, and Sohma Kureno, the Rooster, are never mentioned or shown in the anime. Finally, the curse is not lifted in the anime because it only covers the first half of the manga, at the most, and the happy ending does not occur until the series is finished.

On a less important note, Tohru's eye color is changed to blue in the anime, as her eye color in the manga is brown.

Episodes

 * 26

Theme Songs

 * Opening


 * Closing
 * Closing



Voice Cast

 * Japanese

Englis al information on the Fruits Basket (Anime) came from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruits_Basket