Fruits Basket

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Fandom
Name: Fruits Basket (フルーツバスケット)
Abbreviation(s): Furuba
Creator: Nana Hatake (as Natsuki Takaya) [1]
Date(s): January 1999 – November 2006 (manga), 2001 (anime), 2019–2021 (second anime)
Medium: manga, anime
Country of Origin: Japan
External Links: TV Tokyo site/JP
Fruits Basket Nostalgia by kuro-mai
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Fruits Basket is a popular shoujo manga and anime series. The series tells the story of Tohru Honda, an orphan girl who, after meeting Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure Sohma, learns that thirteen members of the Sohma family are possessed by the animals of the Chinese zodiac (十二支 Jūnishi) and are cursed to turn into their animal forms when they are weakened or when they are embraced by anyone of the opposite sex that is not possessed by a zodiacal spirit. In first the anime it is possible to transform through torso contact.[2]

A second anime adaptation meant to be closer to the manga aired from 2019 to 2021.[3]

The Fandom

Fruits Basket was ruled ineligible for Yuletide for its 2011 exchange, as it was considered too large.[4]

The Akito Controversy

Midway/late in the series, Akito Sohma--believed to be a man until that point--was revealed to be a woman. Some fans had a strong negative reaction to the revelation of Akito's true sex. [5] [6]

Reactions to the end of the series

Some fans were angered by most of the Sohma family members ending up paired up with women. This was considered to be a heteronormative way for the series to conclude, especially given the apparent male/male subtext sprinkled throughout the series. (ref?) Unsurprisingly, the author has been accused of being an homophobe in real life.

Shipping

The first anime left the end-game pairings open, hinting equally at both Kyo/Tohru and Tohru/Yuki. The manga did the same initially, but as the series went on it leaned more towards Kyo/Tohru, until it was apparent that they would be canon. Kyo was Tohru's first kiss, and Yuki eventually admitted he only saw Tohru as a replacement mother figure and quickly moved on to date Machi Kuragi, a school underclassman and his best friend Kakeru Manabe's younger half-sister.

Many Tohru/Yuki shippers were displeased with this method of sinking their ship, especially the ones who felt Kyo/Tohru was being pushed too heavily. To add salt to the wound, the epilogue showed an elderly Kyo and Tohru with a married son and a granddaughter, sinking the hopes of shippers who relied on "they could break up in the future" plot device to make their ships possible.

The second anime is now entering its third season, and since it's more directly based on the manga, it surely will feature the same ending of the manga.

Example Fanworks

Fanfiction

Fanart

Meta

Resources

References