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Fruits Basket (TV).


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P€|\||§_|\/|ast@



Joined: 14 Feb 2006
Posts: 3498
Location: IN your nightmares
PostPosted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 11:32 pm Reply with quote
I just always seem to be avoiding Fruits Basket without really trying. I watch a few of the first episodes and always miss the chance to see more. I'd like to but I'm more into shounen anyway. Hey Zalis if wanna turn me into another Fruits Basket addict better send your DVDs my way! Wink
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Azathrael



Joined: 12 Sep 2005
Posts: 745
PostPosted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 11:58 pm Reply with quote
I'd definitely put Fruits Baskets in my top 10 overrated anime. I've watched up to episode 19 and I still didn't get into it. The concept was interesting but the development was terrible. I was dragging myself through each episode just waiting for something that was actually interesting, which never occurred. I would say you weren't missing much with this series.
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18168
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 12:08 am Reply with quote
The anime does just fine if evaluated as a stand-alone project. People keep complaining about how "oh, it doesn't match up to the manga, which is a LOT better," but frankly, that smacks of manga elitism to me, the attitude that no other version can ever be as good as the original.

Get a grip, people. The anime does not parrot the manga, nor should it. What works in a manga format won't necessarily work in an animated format, and that means changes have to be made, things might have to be skipped or filled in, and so forth. It's fine to go and say that "the anime doesn't have xxxxx or does yyyyy differently than the manga" but to go out and say it's inherently worse just for that is ridiculous.

I've watched the anime through several times and love it; I'm not normally a big shojo fan, but this title is definitely one of my all-time favorites. Yeah, it can be a bit annoying at times, but overall I found the anime to be very involving and occasionally quite emotional. Its only fault is that it ends with a feeling that there's a lot more story to tell, but that couldn't be helped since the source material wasn't much farther along than the series at that point.

If some of you want to pooh-pooh the anime in favor of the manga, fine, but I'll stand by the anime any day.
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LydiaDianne



Joined: 28 Jan 2006
Posts: 5633
Location: Southern California
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 12:21 am Reply with quote
Key wrote:
If some of you want to pooh-pooh the anime in favor of the manga, fine, but I'll stand by the anime any day.


Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the anime, it's one of my favorites as well. It's just that the manga does take the story farther so that you understand the depths of Hell that the members of the Zodiac actually live in.
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daxomni



Joined: 08 Nov 2005
Posts: 2650
Location: Somewhere else.
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 12:49 am Reply with quote
I really enjoyed this series. Then it just stopped about half-way through where I originally thought the story was going. If we're going to use swearonyms then I'd like to say WTF is the rest of the series? It's not uncommon for me to be somewhat disappointed with anime endings, but this series had a lot going for it and that made it all the more difficult for me to accept that they didn't take the story to a more substantial conclusion. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. As for those who are wondering where the action is, I'm sorry but I can't help you there. This sort of series is right up my alley, but I'm not sure that I'd recommend it to anyone not already into shōjo anime. The manga is apparently breaking all sorts of sales records, but I've yet to read it so I can't really speak to its success.
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fighterholic



Joined: 28 Sep 2005
Posts: 9193
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 1:23 am Reply with quote
Let me make it clear, like LydiaDianne, I do not hate the anime, neither will I say that it is bad. It has received a Very Good rating according to my viewing, and was enjoyable and funny. The only problem I had with it was that certain things seemed to be left out, didn't make sense, or just didn't need to be in there. That's why, as an avid reader of the manga, I say that if you want to get more out of FB, read the manga.
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jaybug39



Joined: 16 Mar 2006
Posts: 552
Location: Oregon, Is it FOOTBALL yet?
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 3:26 am Reply with quote
I enjoyed the manga series more too. The anime just didn't have the comedy working as I think it maybe it was supposed to do. It did have its' moments. But not enough of them.

It was one of the few anime I had to listen to in english as I couldn't read and watch the show as dextrously as needed.

What else can I ssay, I "got" it better than I did NGE.
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Zalis116
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Joined: 31 Mar 2005
Posts: 6867
Location: Kazune City
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 5:29 am Reply with quote
'They' wrote:
There's no accounting for taste.
As gage said, it could be that the elements of Fruits Basket (btw, there's only one "Basket" in that title) just didn't meet your preferences. Lots of people like the Gundam and Ghost in the Shell franchises, but they've never really appealed to me, to cite another example.
Fruits Basket is one of my favorites , but even I'll admit that it's not necessarily for everybody. Why is it good, popular, and worth watching? Like many shoujo anime, the "goodness" rests on the quality of the characters and their interactions. Tohru is very much a love-or-hate character; either you love her for being honest, open, big-hearted, caring, and loyal, or you hate her for being naïve, clueless, overly polite, sermonizing via her dead mother's wisdom...it can go either way. FB also gets credit for having a large and diverse cast of characters, most of which get at least a full episode or two devoted to their development. The Sohma family in particular is full of quirky types, and most people that like the series have 2 or 3 Zodiac members that strongly appeal to them. Of course, many of them qualify as bishounen, with "tough guy" Kyo, soft/charming Yuki, suave/silly Shigure, brooding Hatsuharu, "older man" Hatori, the completely over-the-top Ayame, the ultra-cute Momiji (whose character was pretty much ripped off as Honey in Ouran HS Host Club), and so on. I'm guessing that explains part of FB's popularity in its core demographic of teen girls.

Mileage can vary on the storyline, as well. It's not exactly a straight linear plot, and there's not any main romance or other centralizing element--transformations aside, it's a slice-of-life story about a girl and the people she interacts with, with focus on family, friendship, and concepts of belonging and acceptance. You don't see that quite so often in anime, and that's what I found more innovative and appealing about FB. My theory d'arte on FB is that the animal transformations are a way of exploring various emotional and psychological issues that the Sohmas and non-cursed real-life people go through, like in episode 17 where spoiler[Kisa transforms into a tiger as a part of closing herself off from the world when she can no longer deal with being bullied.]

On the technical side, it's not the best-drawn or fluidly-animated series out there, but the character designs keep things fun and provide a bit of fanservice here and there. Too bad [manga] spoiler[Rin] was never animated, that would've been nice eye candy for me. Voice acting is good on both audio tracks imo--end of episode 25=best English voice-acting evar, to me.

Since I do like powerful dramatic/sad anime and I connected with the characters, certain points were very emotional, and over the rest of the anime, the characters and comedy were of good enough quality for me to justify my rating and ranking of FB in the end. While I will say that the manga was better, I didn't read it until after I saw the anime, and thus it didn't lower my opinions. Things are more fully explained and developed in the manga, even down to the roots of Tohru's over-formal speech patterns.

Although the anime's ending is a bit open, I think they did what they had to do as far as re-arranging manga chronology to make the anime's dramatic curve work correctly. Out of all the anime I've seen that are based on long-running manga, FB's ending isn't all that disappointing, not compared to Love Hina, Berserk, His & Her Circumstances, Sakura Diaries, Ai yori aoshi, and Full Metal Panic! (Season 1 and TSR) in my mind.
Past wrote:
Hey Zalis if wanna turn me into another Fruits Basket addict better send your DVDs my way!
All right, they're coming your way along with those Last Exile discs Wink
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geishageek



Joined: 28 Nov 2005
Posts: 571
Location: Pleasant Valley, NY
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 8:14 am Reply with quote
Quote:
the ultra-cute Momiji (whose character was pretty much ripped off as Honey in Ouran HS Host Club)


They even used the same japanese voice actor. (OT)As much as I loved Momiji, I wanted to take Honey home. haha
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MorwenLaicoriel



Joined: 26 Feb 2006
Posts: 1617
Location: Colorado
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 10:24 am Reply with quote
I prefer the manga to the anime, too--it's not that the anime is BAD, I just like the pace the manga goes at, and the slightly 'darker' feel that the manga gets to after the point the anime drops off.

That being said....Furuba isn't for everyone. I think it works better for more people than most shoujo--the characters are diverse (it seems like, no matter who you are, you should find at least one character you DO like), there is a *little* bit of action, etc etc. But if you really prefer shounen titles, you probably won't get into it so much. There's all sorts of reasons why you wouldn't like it...

But, yeah...Furuba is my favorite manga ever, but I'm not naive enough to think everyone will like it!
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Fui



Joined: 12 Dec 2005
Posts: 339
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 10:28 am Reply with quote
If you aren't enjoying the series, then you're not missing anything at all. Pretty much all of the episodes have the same kind of feel to them. Some are cute and heartwarming while others are sad and heartbreaking, but all are told in the same way. Some people really like the protagonist while others think she's annoying with all of her 'my mommy said' comments. Although Tohru's personality is a little too predictable in my opinion, I thought the storytelling was overall well done, and the direction of the story was straightforward and easy to follow. Even though I think it's overhyped, I still really enjoyed it. I read some of the manga because of the hype but still prefer the anime. There are tons of other anime out there that might suit your tastes, but Fruits Basket is one of those rare ones that is widely appreciated by many audiences.
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KyuuA4



Joined: 28 Sep 2006
Posts: 1361
Location: America, where anime and manga can be made
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 12:13 pm Reply with quote
Viga_of_stars wrote:
Okay i seen fruits baskets and read some manga a bit. It just doesnt appeal to me at all. Am i missing something? Everyone always says "its so dramatic and funny and cool. Get in to it Viga..." i say "ummmm i don't like it much." "what really!"


All I did was watch the anime - and I've been buying the manga for my sister. Yet, I never read it.

In any case, I never found any charm to this series at all.
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Kelly



Joined: 17 Nov 2003
Posts: 868
Location: New York City
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 12:47 pm Reply with quote
I personally love both the anime and manga, and stand behind Key's opinion that the anime was as good as it could be considering it covered only a third of the full story. It shouldn't be punished for not being the manga.

I think it's just a particularly fustrating time for English translation manga readers because there have been some interesting developments and closure lately. The Yuki/Ayame and Kyo/Kagura stories have basically wrapped up. The new revealations about Yuki and Haru's relationship that I saw coming and Kyo and Kagura's that I didn't. And Momiji...wonderful, strong Momiji...what is there to say about what's been happening with him on several different fronts lately?

It's very hard to know that apparently none of this is ever going to be animated - and easy to vent fustrations on what we have been given.
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PantsGoblin
Subscriber
Encyclopedia Editor


Joined: 27 Jun 2005
Posts: 2969
Location: L.A.
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 2:03 pm Reply with quote
Azathrael wrote:
I was dragging myself through each episode just waiting for something that was actually interesting, which never occurred.

Fui wrote:
Pretty much all of the episodes have the same kind of feel to them.


Well, if this really is the case, should I stop watching it now? I'm at episode six (which I've actually been stuck at for over a year) and so far I've only found it to be nothing more than average. I don't know if I should buy the rest of the DVDs... If all of the anime is going to be like this, I know it's going to be torture for me. I suppose I can just borrow it from my friend who absolutely loves the anime if I really want to...
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aya_honda



Joined: 12 Sep 2006
Posts: 920
Location: Around here
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 4:31 pm Reply with quote
I have been gone one day and already interesting things have been discussed. Rolling Eyes Ok, let's see....
I am one of the people that can be called a Fruits Basketholic (me and fighterholic invented it Laughing ) though I am practically interested only in the anime and manga (I am not interested in purchasing the auxiliary products ). I started with the anime and this is actually what made me started to read the manga. I liked the anime and I enjoyed the show but nonetheless, when it was over I really had the feeling that there was something more to this story and so I started to read the manga, which really impressed me and it's one of my all time favourites.
Now, when people are complaining that the anime shouldn't be compared with the manga, I am afraid I must say this: it is the destiny of any creation based on another creation. It's just impossible to avoid this just as people make terrible arguments about the movies based on a book. (Trust me, you don't want to go there; I have seen terrible things being said.). These sorts of comparison can't be avoided. From my real-life experience, people were divided into two categories: the ones that were satisfied with how the things worked out in the anime and weren't interested in finding more about the stories (for example my best friend) and there was a second category which after seeing the anime wanted to know more about the story. Maybe it would have been different if we might have read the manga first and then the anime, but it didn't happened like that so... I am part of the second category.
It was the anime that got me into the whole Fruits Basket thing, but it was the manga that definetly captured me forever. The side stories are just a beautiful experience of humanity and real feelings, the characters have emotions and feelings which seem so real to us. There are questions about life and questions about the choices that one makes in life. There's nothing too philosophical and nothing too deep. Problems with parents, all kinds of love and friendship, destiny...There are just beautiful stories gently said, that moves one. The anime fail in capture some of the characters and Shigure seems to be the character which has suffered the greatest changes of all (the one int he manga is much more complicated and much more interesting - I just couldn't help myself doing this obvservation).
Now, if you don't like it, it's absolutely ok. It may just not be the story that tells you something, it may have too many stories or it simply appears to you to be common and uninteresting. And this is also ok, for this is the role of any creation: to feed different reactions to it. Nobody can react in the same way or be moved at the same scale by something. It would mean that forums like this one wouldn't exist. Wink
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