This review is just me spontaneously deciding to review one of my favorite mangas ever. Its currently my second favorite beat out only by Yona of the Dawn though the anime is probably my favorite of all time. And while Yona is my favorite Fruits Basket is the series that has had the most profound impact on me. This series is just ridiculously important to me and I hold such a deepseated love and appreciation for it. This is the story of Tohru Honda a recently orphaned girl who is currently living in a tent. Little did she know her temporary living quarters was on land owned by the Sohma family. When her classmate Yuki Sohma and his older cousin Shigure discover her they decide to take her in as a housekeeper in exchange for offering her room and board. Little does she know the Sohmas are actually cursed to turn into animals of the Chinese zodiac whenever they are hugged by members of the opposite sex. Beginning with Yuki and family outcast Kyo Tohru finds herself becoming more and more entangled with this mysterious family. Fruits Basket begins as a super sweet and fluffy series filled with comedic moments and animal transformation gimmicks. I have a strong attachment to this part of the series and this is what attached me to it in the first place. However the more you learn about the Sohma family and the curse the less it seems like a wholesome romcom. Fruits Basket is first and foremost a family drama with an emphasis on domestic abuse. To be honest I think Fruits Basket alongside Yona of the Dawn and Sailor Moon really influenced my taste in anime and manga. I dont think I would be as big of a shoujo fan as I am now if not for these series. I think the family drama in this series deeply stuck with me and influenced my own writing as I cared more to write about toxic family dynamics and breaking away from them than romances. The thing is being a member of the zodiac isnt all fun and games. As an ordinary member they experience isolation from all regular people. Their companionship is all they have. As the cat they are isolated from everyone. Even the other zodiacs are trained to look down on the cat. The companionship they share is a wicked one bound by abuse from their family manipulated into thinking that their god is all they have to depend on. And that god is but a child grasping at straws. This is all about a cycle of abuse and intergenerational trauma and how the characters break away from it. Really everyone in Fruits Basket is broken in some way. Many of them are tied down by their own regrets and traumatic events that shaped them. However one of the core themes is change and growth. One criticism I see is about the main antagonist being redeemed but I see it as not about whether or not the character deserves redemption but whether or not that character has the ability to change. Its difficult for me to talk about the story without talking about the characters. The characters are what make Fruits Basket such a fantastic series. There are few authors who can make good use of massive casts and Natsuki Tayaka is one of them. Every character has at least a semblance of an arc and while many of them seem stereotypical at first Fruits Basket shows you why they became that way. You get to see what makes them tick. Tohru Honda herself is the heart of Fruits Basket. She is one of the kindest and most loving characters I have ever encountered in media. She is the light in so many characters lives. Her pure and unconditional love and empathy for all people really brings out the best in others and inspires them to love themselves and the people around them. Tohru is the type of person who always makes you want to change for the better. However she isnt perfect. Shes a pushover who cant say no to people. She feels like she can only give and never take an ultimately unhealthy mindset. Tohru doesnt want to ever burden others and feels like she has to be always there and always present to help others. Tohru is so kind and yet so human. She was a character I could easily see myself in. Her arc is all about pursuing what she wants instead of constantly being there for others which I think is super important. While her role in everyones lives is very important Tohru gets the chance to live for herself. Yuki and Kyo are Tohrus classmates who are part of the Sohma family. Yuki the rat is popular at school yet distant as well as a beloved member of the Sohma family. Kyo on the other hand is treated as an outcast due to being the cat of the zodiac the animal who never made it to the banquet. Yuki was trapped by the Sohmas suffocated and abused. Kyo on the other hand was neglected and shunned not accepted by anyone in the family unable to join the other zodiac members. They both change and grow in both similar and different ways. Kyos arc is all about being able to accept himself. Hes filled with self loathing both from various traumatic events throughout his childhood that he didnt stop and the years of being treated as a monster. He doesnt feel like he deserves anything and he has to learn that people will love him despite his worst parts as well as move past blaming others for his misfortune. Yukis arc is also about selfacceptance in a different way. He grows a lot stronger recognizing his emotions and his own self hatred. Much like Tohru his arc is about being able to live for himself. He never got to choose what he did with his life and his fate was always decided by adults and those with power over him. So much about his journey of growth and maturity is finding the strength and courage to break away from his past his trauma and those who abused and neglected him. Every character is very complex. We have Shigure the manipulator who is such an interesting character as well as a terrible person with dubious motivations. We have Momiji an optimistic character who can keep on smiling despite his parents heartbreaking decisions that only hurt him. Theres Isuzu who willingly isolates and sacrifices herself in order to protect the only person in her life who she loves. The character who resonated with me the most was Kisa a small child who was severely bullied until she couldnt speak. I had a similar experience when I was a little younger where I had selective mutism. I could speak as in it was physically possible but I just would not and could not make myself do it at school. This was the beginnings of my life with severe social anxiety. I just really fell in love with her character and her story. This was the first series I encountered where there were characters who had similar experiences to me. I actually have gotten emotional talking about it before. Honestly so many of the characters have a lot of anxiety and insecurities it reminded me of myself. I could see myself in so many of the characters from Tohru to Yuki to Machi. I could understand them so well and deeply empathize with them since we had many of the same hurdles to overcome. The romance in the series is usually impeccable. I say usually because there are a few duds that do not detract from my enjoyment of the series in the slightest. I think Fruits Basket is one of the few series Ive read where you legitimately do not know who will win the love triangle the only other one I can think of at the moment is Kitchen Princess. And the person who Tohru ends up with is perfect for her. They both bring out the best in each other and offer the other what they truly need from a relationship. And dont worry. The character who loses the love triangle actively realizes how he feels differs from that of the winners and enters probably my favorite relationship in all of fiction. Seriously this characters endgame has moved me to the point where I could cry. It was also interesting to see the main antagonists endgame which while not healthy it was certainly a very complex relationship to watch. As for the duds I am not a fan of the relationship Tohrus friend Arisa Uotani pursues with Kureno Sohma. This isnt so much about the age gap which is a large one but about the way it negatively impacted Arisas characterization. Arisa is characterized as a reformed delinquent who is very open with her feelings. Shes very independent and strongwilled. However I felt like after meeting Kureno she became consumed by her seemingly unrequited love and that was all she was about. I think I would have appreciated it more if she had been given time to breathe and have character development outside of her relationship such as developing her friendships with Tohru and Saki Hanajima. I also didnt love the student teacher romance between Tohrus parents just because it gave me such strong grooming vibes. Neither issue was enough for me to dock points since I really had so much emotional impact from it. The art wasnt exactly my favorite at the beginning. The characters looked so strange to me but I pushed through since the story was so good and I was already obsessed with the anime. And the art improved drastically from the first chapter. I love Natsuki Tayakas newer style. I own the Collectors Edition in physical and her cover art of the individual characters is gorgeous. I was grateful to watch her improve and create art more in tune with her current style. It definitely makes me want to read her newer series like Twinkle Stars a lot more. I genuinely adore this series so much. I acknowledge that it has flaws and has some dated aspects but I have never been so impacted by a single piece of media. This series will always and forever have a special place in my heart.