Fruits Basket

This is an earlier anime and a GIRL show, so this is not for everyone. This show is pretty deep and a bit twisted. The story is a typical high school girl decides to lives in the woods but somehow gets into a situation, which makes her live with her high school classmate. She soon founds out there is a curse on his family, concerning with the 12 Zodiac.

Tohru Honda
She is by far the perfect girl if not the most stereotypical girl in anime. She is a kind person who knows how to cook and other household chores. She places her mom in high regard, usually referring to her wisdom when problem arises. She is also a bit naive and clumsy, as a result, she may often get sweeps into things whether she wants to or not. Overall is represented by the rice ball.

Yuki Sohma
The rat of the zodiac, the "Prince" of the high school, he has looks, grades, and great in sports. He is especially gentle to Tohru, since she is willing to be his friend despite knowing about the curse. He tries to be nice to everyone but gets frustrated with himself. As a result, he feels like he is false and blames the Zodiac curse for being unable to be with people.

Kyo Sohma
The black sheep in the family, the cat of the Zodiac. However, he is a very athletic person who specializes in karate. He is hot tempered and loud person who can be awkward at first but can easily talk to people. Tohru happens to be the first person willing to be his friend as well. In the end, he actually has a dark past with his curse.

Shigure Sohma
The head of the household of the three, he is the dog of the zodiac. Even though he is an adult, he acts immature for most of the time. He usually makes pranks and jokes , providing the main comedy relief. Most of the time he provides frustration that they want to hit him, but he still provide some sort of wisdom.

This is spoilers, but the original story is about the Jade Emperor wanted to hold a banquet of the finest creatures on Earth. He sent his servant to pick twelve of the best creatures he could find and invite them to the banquet.  The servant chose the Cat, Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, and Dog. On the day of the banquet, the animals went toward the destination. The Cat and Rat were friends, who were both clever but unable to swim. They had to cross the river, which was the only way to get to the banquet. Somehow the two tricked the Ox, who was behind them, into letting them ride him. But the Rat wanted to be first, realizing that the Cat was a better creature than him. So the Rat push the Cat off the Ox, leaving him behind. The Ox continue to go toward the destination with the Rat on his back. Once they reached the place, the Rat jumped off to be first and the Ox second. The Tiger was next saying the river strong current was not enough to stall him. The next animal was the Rabbit who jumped from stone to stone but fell. However, a log floated and the Rabbit grab it to get to the shore. The Dragon was next who had to help a village by making rain and as a result, he came later. The Horse also arrive at the banquet with the Snake hidden on his leg. The Horse was frighten by the Snake that the Horse backed off making the Snake the next then the Horse. The Goat, Monkey, and Rooster came next. The three worked together to get to the shore, the Rooster saw a raft and the three got on. The Goat and Monkey help cleared the weeds so they would not get stuck. The Dog was the next one, playing in the river causing him to be after the Rooster. The Jade Emperor was waiting for the Cat but could not wait any longer. He told his servant to pick another creature so that the banquet can start. The servant traveled and picked the first creature he saw, a Pig. The Pig arrived and the banquet started, all the creatures were having fun eating and drinking. The Jade Emperor decided to name a year after the animal. The Cat wanted revenge on the Rat, that is why the animals always fight.

The story is different compare to Fruits Basket and other versions, where the Rat tricks the Cat that the banquet was another day. However, the overall story is similar and shows the creatures are different and special.

The story is pretty deep, even though the plot may sound a bit unusual. However, it is a unique story where the characters are both interesting but they can sometimes be stereotypical. Especially how Tohru is stereotype of a girl in Japanese culture. But in all, this is a interesting story with a variety of personalities. But has some good morals and lessons in each episode.

The animation of the show is overall pretty, the characters are drawn with big eyes and bangs. Also the characters have an overall similar body type, not really straying from the extreme: females that have a voluptuous figure nor males with huge muscles.  However, all the characters mostly look different especially due to their hair color. But there is some goofy drawings to prevent the story from going too dark. There is not really a lot of action scenes, but if there is its adequate. The scenario and background are decent, showing a more traditional Japanese home and watercolorish background.

The music of the show has been well done, but not really fantastic. The opening is more of mellow song, while the ending is a bit happier but still toned down. The music throughout the show really match the scenario and mood of the story. Also stopping when appropriate, instead of continuing or transitioning on music.

The English and Japanese dub are pretty different but there are only a few differences in the translation. The voices are a bit higher with the Japanese dub, especially with Yuki. The English dub has a more toned down voices but the main characters do a good job. However, the language they choose is a bit lame, especially Kyo, when he tries to act like a bad boy. And they do a good job matching the actor's voices and anime's mouth. Personally I like the English dub since the voices seem to match the characters more to me anyway.

The difference between the manga and anime is overall similar but the manga show all 12 of the Zodiac member. Also the manga is a bit darker and a more mature compare to the anime. The main difference was in episode 6 where Torhu's friends visit but the Sohma's get turned into animals during the visit. But in the manga nothing really happens. Also the ending is completely different, where the anime show Torhu not really go with Yuki or Kyo, really its up to the audience. And the manga seem to tie up all the loose ends, especially the zodiac curse. Also the characters grow mentally and physically, especially Momiji.

The show is complicated and a bit dark while the manga is really twisted, from affairs to family drama. The show has a main theme of dark past but they are resolved by love, kindness, and forgiveness. All of the characters seem to have a complicated past but in the end they look towards the future instead of looking back. As a result, the curse is only a curse if we think like that. There are many morals that make the show enjoyable. SO...the show is a fun anime for GIRLS, guys may find this show a bit difficult to watch. But the plot build up and the character's personalities are fun to watch.

Personally I feel that Tohru has a strong presence in the show, especially her way of making other people happy or always being happy. Even though we have bad days and let our frustration on others, we need to have a different perspective. Take everything we have as a blessing instead of a complaint. How many times we complain about our parents or not having something? We should just look at our life and see how much we have. Cause the other person that we may be envious of, may actually have a complicated life that we don't know.