By PAULINE WONG The five essential vitamins to complete your Fruits Basket indulgence.
HONDA Tohru is an orphan living with her paternal grandfather, and has more than her share of tragedy. Yet she is perpetually sunny and optimistic despite her parents’ deaths and the fact that she has to bunk out in a tent while her grandfather’s house is being renovated.
Friends forever? Sohma Kyo (far left) and Sohma Yuki have something more interesting to think about besides their rivalry after Honda Tohru enters their lives.One fine day, when she stumbles upon the Sohma house and meets the charming Sohma Yuki and goofy Sohma Shigure, her life changes. And when a landslide demolishes her makeshift home, she finds herself living with the two Sohmas instead. But there is more to the Sohma clan than meets the eye ? 12 members of this clan – three of them girls – live under a dark curse. You see, they are possessed by the spirits of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals, and when hugged by the opposite sex, they transform into creatures of their respective zodiac signs. (Interestingly, the animals they change into have nothing to do with their actual birth years.)
By the way, there’s a 13th “unofficial” member of the clan: Sohma Kyo, who transforms into a cat, which of course isn’t on the Chinese zodiac.
Tohru soon discovers the clan members’ dreaded secret and their painful past. But her naive, determined and lovable ways begin to show them that hearts can heal and old wounds can close.
Then there is the problem of Sohma Akito, the head of the family, who resents Tohru and is determined to make her suffer?.
1. Vitamin A for Angst
The completely obvious highlight of this sweet, touching and emotionally-charged anime (based on the hit shojo manga of the same name by Takaya Natsuki) is the angst involved.
There are dark pasts here, ladies and gentlemen, and a whole serving of emotions, ranging from grief, rancour, hatred and regret to happiness, love and a deep understanding. Tohru’s bright and cheerful disposition proves to the cursed members that happiness is not out of reach, and that one only has to keep looking for it and never gives up.
2. Vitamin B for Brains vs Brawn
One of the best parts of this anime is the way Yuki and Kyo have a go at each other. While Yuki is all cool and wit, Kyo is hot-tempered and quick-fisted. There is a good share of rib-tickling, side-splitting humour here. Although Kyo tries very hard, he never wins.
3. Vitamin C for Cheerfulness
Tohru is the nicest, most likeable and endearing character I have come across. While there are many other female leads in other anime who strive to copy Tohru’s cheerfulness and optimism, they tend to fall short and become annoying (I shall not mention names). In spite of her grief, Tohru pulls herself together and continues to smile, dispensing silly but useful advice to everyone whose heart she touches (check out the one about rice balls).
4. Vitamin D for Differences
Of course, there will come a time to compare the manga and the anime. The most pertinent difference is ? the pictures move – with colour. (Just pulling your legs, dear readers. Please allow me a few lame jokes.)
The biggest difference lies in the fact that the manga is a lot more angst-ridden and dark while the anime is lighter and funnier.
In the manga, the Sohmas’ past is told in vivid detail, with a lot of pain and suffering to boot. Offering only a few chuckles, it concentrates instead on the lives of the Sohmas and Akito’s influence.
The anime, on the other hand, has more humour and a lot less anger and conflict. Oh, don’t get me wrong. The angst is still there – it’s just more touching and strangely uplifting as opposed to just plain depressing (like in the manga).
Also, in the anime, the cursed Sohma members share an affinity with animals of their sign. (For example, Shigure, who transforms into a dog, has a bond with canines.)
The anime is, nevertheless, largely faithful to the manga, but just a little condensed. The story in the anime probably goes up to Vol.12 or so of the manga, and has an open ending (grr, I hate open endings). Since the manga is still ongoing but the anime goes up to Episode 26, it is safe to say the ending of the anime is different from the manga.
Notably, two of the characters that appear later in the manga, Sohma Kureno (the Rooster) and Sohma Rin (the Horse), are absent in the anime.
5. Vitamin E for Easy on the Eye
The animation is well above average, featuring the usual ethereal backgrounds and starry eyes. It is well done, very pleasant to watch and easy to discern. There are no messy details and fast-moving pictures to confuse anyone.
I loved every minute of this anime, and, truth be told, I preferred the anime to the manga. The anime, which is much more upbeat than the manga, is easier to digest and love. It has to be said that the best part of the manga is in the anime: the fact that there is good in all of us and whether we see it or not, we can all be happy if we will just be ourselves; and once we see ourselves for who we are and accept it, then acceptance will come from others too.
Ever since Pauline Wong found that manga were more than robots from the future, she has not stopped devouring them.
Due to overwhelming response, Ntv7 will be re-running ‘Fruits Basket’ on April 29, 1pm. It will be aired with the original Japanese audio with Bahasa Malaysia subtitles. The show was screened last year.
Share your love (or hate) of ‘Fruits Basket’ with us! Who is your favourite character? What do you love about ‘Fruits Basket’? Hey, why not send us pictures of your favourite ‘Fruits Basket’ item?
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