Anime Reviews (2010-2019): Fruits Basket – Season One, Part Two (a Neo-Tokyo 2099 Anime on Blu-ray Disc Review)

If you enjoyed the original “Fruits Basket”, you’ll probably love the newer remake even more. Highly recommended!

TITLE: Fruits Basket – Season One, Part Two

ANIME SERIES RELEASE DATE: 2019

DURATION: Episode 14-25 (300 Minutes)

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (16:9), Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 and English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: Funimation

RATED: TV PG

Release Date: February 11, 2020

Originally Created by Takaya Natsuki

Director: Ibata Yoshihide

Series Composition: Kishimoto Taku

Music by Yokoyama Masaru

Character Design: Kikuta Koichi, Shindo Masaru

Art Director: Kamiyama Tamako

Anime Production: 8PAN, TMS Entertainment

Featuring the following voice talent:

Sakamoto Maaya/Colleen Clinkenbeard as Akito Soma

Shimazaki Nobunaga/Eric Vale as Yuki Soma

Uchida Yuma/Jerry Jewell as Kyo Soma

Nakamura Yuichi/John Burgmeier as Shigure Soma

Iwami Manaka/Laura Bailey as Tohru Honda

Toyosaki Aki/Brina Palencia as Isuzu Soma

Sakurai Takahiro/Christopher R. Sabat as Ayame Soma

Morikawa Toshiyuki/Dameon Clarke as Kazuma Soma

Tanezaki Atsumi/Elizabeth Maxwell as Arisa Uotani

Satou Satomi/Jad Saxton as Saki Hanajima

Furukawa Makoto/Justin Cook as Hatsuharu Soma

Ueda Reina/Kate Bristol as Kisa Soma

Okitsu Kazuyuki/Kent Williams as Hatori Soma

Taichi Yo/Luci Christian as Hiro Soma

Mikaela Krantz as Momiji Soma

Mike McFarland as Ritsu Soma

Tia Ballard as Kagura Soma

Tohru Honda thought her life was headed for misfortune when a family tragedy left her living in a tent. When her small home is discovered by the mysterious Soma clan, she suddenly finds herself living with Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure Soma. But she quickly learns their family has a bizarre secret of their own: when hugged by the opposite sex, they turn into the animals of the Zodiac!

Back in 1998, mangaka Takaya Natsuki would create the series “Fruits Basket”.

The shojo manga series would be featured on the magazine “Hana to Yume” (1998-2006). An anime series was adapted by Studio Deen in 2001 and because the series was still being written, despite the original anime series being beloved by fans, behind-the-scenes, things weren’t as cheerful as director Daichi Akitaro and series creator Takaya Natsuki had creative differences.

Fans have been wanting the series to be completed, since Takaya had completed the manga back in 2006 but it didn’t seem like it was going to happen until it was announced in 2018 that “Fruits Basket” was going to be remade and it will be an adaptation that is much closer to the original manga series.

And now the first season, part one of “Fruits Basket” will be released on Blu-ray courtesy of Funimation. And while the Japanese voice talent were not recast, Funimation decided to bring back many of the original voice actors for the main characters that worked on the English dub for the 2001 anime series.

The anime series introduces us to Honda Tohru, Tohru is a helpful and extremely kind high school girl whose mother had died in a car accident (her father died when she was younger) and is now living with her grandfather. She loves to cook, she works afterschool as an office janitor to pay her tuition fees because she doesn’t want to be a burden.

When her grandfather’s house is undergoing renovation, he asked if she could stay with a friend temporarily and as Tohru doesn’t like to burden anyone, she decides to setup a tend and live in an area which belongs to the Sohma family.

She meets her classmate Sohma Yuki who lives at the house of his cousin, Shigure. As both Yuki and Tohru walk to school, it upsets some of the girls at school (as Yuki has admirers) but fortunately, Tohru has friends, Uotani Arisa and Hanajima Saki watching over her.

As Tohru heads back to her temporary home, a tent in the woods, her tent is nearly hit by a landslide and Yuki and Shigure realize that she has been living in a tent and offer her to live with them.

Meanwhile, Yuki’s cousin Kyo arrives and tries to attack him and challenge him to a fight but Yuki wins. Tohru goes to embrace each of the three at the same time and immediately, Yuki changes to a rat, Kyo changes to a cat and Shigure into a dog.

Tohru then learns that they and 10 other members of the Sohma family will transform into an animal of the Chinese Zodiac whenever they are feeling weak, stressed or embraced by someone from the opposite gender.

Tohru promises to keep their secret and is grateful that the Sohma family has allowed her to live with them and she accepts them for who they are.

VIDEO:

“Fruits Basket” is presented in 1080p High Definition (16:9). Featuring anime production by 8PAN and TMS Entertainment, this newer “Fruits Basket” features solid animation and I enjoy the updated character designs. While the original anime series was much closer to the manga series, I really do like the character designs of the newer series. Anime backgrounds are also well done!

AUDIO:

“Fruits Basket” is presented in Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 and English Dolby TrueHD 5.1. Crystal clear dialogue and music through the front channels. Voice acting is magnificent for both the Japanese and English dub soundtrack, but I absolutely love the fact that Funimation was able to bring back most of the voice talent from the original 2001 anime series English dub for the 2019 remake!

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Fruits Basket – Season One, Part Two” comes with the following special feature:

Episode 18 Commentary
Fruits Basket: Interviews with Cast and Crew
Fruits Basket: Inside the Episode
Textless Opening Song
Textless Closing Song

EXTRAS:

“Fruits Basket – Season One, Part Two” comes with both the Blu-ray and DVD of the series and a Funimation Digital Copy code.

In a way, it’s quite surreal to be reviewing “Fruits Basket” in 2019, as I have reviewed the series back in the early 2000s.

My memory of the series was how popular it was, really enjoying the anime series and at the time, friends talking about characters they wanted to cosplay.

Needless to say, it was one of those series that people enjoyed and loved because of its characters, the humor but also how things progressed with the storyline.

With the 2019 remake of “Fruits Basket”, we now have a series that best matches what the original creator Takaya Natsuki had wanted.

That happens in anime such as “Fullmetal Alchemist”, where an anime adaptation was completed before the manga series and it would eventually receive a remake ala “Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood” in order to keep to what the original manga artist had wanted.

Otherwise, a series could be like “Naruto” or “Bleach” where a ton of filler episodes are created until the mangaka has finished more chapters.

“Fruits Basket” on the otherhand, received an adaptation, was incomplete but because of creative differences from the mangaka and the original director, whether or not a new series would be made, was never known, until 2018. This time, everything is all brand new and this time, a series would be remade to best capture the original intent of creator and what was featured on the manga series.

In Japan, 25-episodes of the new series was made and because the plan is to adapt the entire manga series from beginning to end, one can only hope season three will be released in 2020.

Funimation has released the second part of the first season, featuring episodes 13-25 and the series now focuses on other characters and the storylines are quite emotional.

We learn the story of Momiji and his mother. We learn how Arisa became friends with Tohru thanks to her mother.

We learn about Sohma Kisa (Tiger of the Zodiac) and why she is being bullied and the panicking Sohma Ritsu (Monkey of the Zodiac). And there is Sohma Hiro, the story of Tohru and Arisa’s good friend Saki and the pain she had to grow up with at school, Kyo’s foster father Sohma Kazuma and more!

Granted, this second half felt more of an introduction of the characters in the “Fruits Basket” world and also showing us how different this series which is more manga driven compares to the original series which focused primarily on Tohru, Yuki and Kyo but I felt the dramatic aspects, the emotional storylines, really made this second part of this season entertaining and heartfelt.

I really don’t want to spoil any storylines, but I will say that I really love the animation for this new series and I also like the character dynamics and the emotion that is displayed with each story.

Not to say the first anime production was lighthearted, but compared to the remake, the remake is so much deeper, more mature and I find this newer series to be so entertaining and delightful.

A big difference is the character illustration as the original anime series was much closer to Takaya Natsuki’s manga illustrations.

But there is so much to love with the new series that I’m impressed of how much better it is (considering I enjoyed the original 2001 series).

Overall, if you enjoyed the original “Fruits Basket”, you’ll probably love the remake even more.

Highly recommended!

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