Fruits Basket (Anime)

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Name: Fruits Basket       
Type: Anime

Director: Natsuki Takaya

Official Rating: TV-PG

Seasons: 1 
Genre: Romantic comedy, drama, harem
Age Rating: 12+

Review: 
A beautiful story with wonderful characters and an engrossing story. Appeals to all audiences, but probably more particularly to girls. This series follows the story of the lovable Tohru Honda during high school. The Sohma family--Shigure, Yuki, and Kyo--finds her living in a tent after the death of her mother, and offers to shelter her in their home. But is there more to this family than meets the eye?

Filled with themes of friendship, humor, tragedy, and hauntingly real characters this series is absolutely breathtaking. A lot of what gives this story depth are the important messages and thought-provoking such as "My happiness comes from the kindness of others." This is a great rendition of the manga series. It follows the plot well; the only difference being in the dialogue. For example, Shigure is referred to as a "weirdo" instead of a "pervert." This makes it more family friendly.

Other than mild sexual references and fleeting nudity, I'd say it's appropriate from ages middle-school and up. Another thing I appreciated was the clothes and the way the girls were drawn. There were no unrealistically large breasts, and there weren't very many swear words. There were times when two or more characters were physically fighting with one another, but it was always exaggerated in a way that usually made it funny. Sometimes the music would get louder than the talking, but the episodes are a nice length.

My only disappointment is that there is only one season! It doesn't even cover half the series, and the ending was different than what I was expecting. It ended well, but because it had to end in a different spot, it did change things, like the lack of romance. I didn't give it 4 stars for these reasons. Still, the voices went well with the characters, and I enjoyed watching it with my younger brother. While both boys and girls can find enjoyment in this anime, it is more aimed towards girls.

For more on Fruits Basket, click here.

Mature Content: 

• Mild Profanity- "Damn" is used sporadically, especially by Kyo in reference to Yuki 
• Violence- Akito is abusive to the other characters
• Nudity- The Sohma's are naked after transforming back into human form from their zodiac animal form, but nothing is ever shown
• Homosexuality- Momiji cross-dresses, but isn't homosexual
• Magic- The Sohma family is under a magical zodiac curse

Personal Note: 

Not gonna lie: Momiji's song is super catchy.