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The Spring 2019 Anime Preview Guide


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Raebo101



Joined: 17 Mar 2010
Posts: 792
PostPosted: Fri Apr 05, 2019 5:49 pm Reply with quote
RenRen94 wrote:
Does anyone know if the English dub of Fruits Basket will be put on Crunchyroll or Hulu, or is it just a Funimation exclusive? I don't want to pay for another streaming service just for one show Confused


...Sorry. The English dub might end up on Hulu later, but as of now, it's only on FUNimation.

But hey, FUNimation just announced more shows for this season, so there's that. Smile
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Ggultra2764
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Joined: 21 Jan 2004
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 05, 2019 6:36 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
For me, the biggest difference in a negative sense is the emotional resonance – or, rather, the decrease in it. The 2001 version of the first episode achieved this wonderfully well, to the point that it got me to buy into the whole series. This version makes a good stab at it, and isn't bad as a general evaluation, but equivalent scenes come across a little stiff and dry compared to the earlier version.


I won't spoil too much from the manga since it seems you haven't read it. But the mood of it is actually a bit more nuanced, with a smidge of melancholy, compared to the 2001 anime that made things a bit more lighter in mood in comparison. Yes, it has its fair share of comical moments like the 2001 anime. But it doesn't go over-the-top with its humor as that adaptation did. This episode, like the 2001 anime, is a full-on adaptation of the manga's first chapter, with a few additional scenes that the 2001 anime lacked and going for the more nuanced mood (not so surprising as Natsuki Takaya has more influence on the creative choices for this adaptation compared to her spars with Akitaro Daichi for the 2001 anime).

Quote:
...with the only significant difference being the addition of one brief flashback involving child-Tohru getting a hat from a faceless boy, which I assume will have significance in the longer story.


It will. This was one of several major hints of foreshadowing of things to come in later Fruits Basket manga volumes that the 2001 anime removed. All I'll say for now.
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RenRen94



Joined: 08 Jul 2018
Posts: 221
PostPosted: Fri Apr 05, 2019 6:59 pm Reply with quote
Raebo101 wrote:
RenRen94 wrote:
Does anyone know if the English dub of Fruits Basket will be put on Crunchyroll or Hulu, or is it just a Funimation exclusive? I don't want to pay for another streaming service just for one show Confused


...Sorry. The English dub might end up on Hulu later, but as of now, it's only on FUNimation.

But hey, FUNimation just announced more shows for this season, so there's that. Smile


Depending on the number of shows that Funimation gets over Hulu and Crunchyroll, I might have to make an investment in their services. If it wasn't for the pure nostalgia I have for the English dub, and the fact that Funimation actively got a good chunk of the original cast back after 18 years, most importantly Laura Bailey, the heart and soul of Fruits Basket IMO, I would have just watched it in Japanese on Crunchyroll.
Thanks for the info, Raebo101.
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Crisha
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Joined: 21 Apr 2010
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 05, 2019 7:32 pm Reply with quote
Haha, my sister and I just watched the new Fruits Basket episode in both Japanese and English, and the old anime series' first episode in English as well.

There are things to love about both the new and the old.

The new has much better animation. It looks really, really good. Most times it's a plus, but sometimes it's an awkward detriment. The older series played with lots of creative animation shortcuts that despite having more limited animation created better flow through some scenes. Such as when Tohru tries to dig through the dirt to get to the picture of her mother. In the older series, the scenes skip through time, making it more dramatic by focusing on those key moments. The new series just animates everything. It meanders more, which can help in some instances better set the mood (like when Tohru looks out on the city near the beginning), but can also take away some of the impact of more dramatic moments.

The new series does more "show, not tell" in regards to Tohru's situation. We spend a lot of time in Tohru's head in the old series to the point where her history is mostly told in exposition with a few freeze frame clips. The sound and creative animation choices helped sell those scenes, but it's mostly told through Tohru's thoughts. We're still in her head in the new anime, but the show goes through the effort to animate more of those scenes, such as home life with her mom, her grandfather talking with her, her mother walking out the door, and the new manga-specific scene with the boy and the hat.

Speaking of the creative animation choices, the old anime played around with a lot of techniques. Quick zoom-ins, frame changes, different art styles, different filters (i.e. fuzzy ones often used for scenes from the past), exaggerated or super-deformed facial expressions. The new anime can feel bland in comparison, but it also may feel less annoying. Depends on your preferences. It's like comparing an AMV with lots of effects to one with minimal effects. To some, the former may seem really gaudy or distracting, and to others it may be really impactful. I sit in the middle - I thought some scenes worked better in the old series (Tohru digging through the mud, Yuki's fan club harassing Tohru and Uo/Hana's rescue, Tohru being offered to live with Shigure and Yuki, Kyo smashing through the ceiling, Shigure snickering about Tohru's situation) and some scenes worked better in the new series (the opening scenes, Tohru and Yuki leaving the school together and walking down the street, every flashback scene especially the car crash scene only showing blood emptying into the street drain (very disturbing), the scene where Yuki leaves the house with the rats ending when the sliding door slams shut).

The older anime is way funnier though. The comedic timing is better, the exaggerated facial expressions and body poses are funny and silly, Shigure's lines are more goofy, and the creative animation choices sell the scenes better. For example, the entire scene when Tohru is confronted by the Yuki fan club. It had been years since I saw the original anime and I had just watched the first episode of the new anime twice. I still burst out laughing throughout the entire scene in the older series, especially when Hana said that she was going to "[bleep] the girls with her waves." It's amazing. I also like how goofy Shigure was in the old series, though I'm unsurprised with the changes in the new anime after seeing how he was characterized in the manga. The flashing arrow in the scene where Shigure is snickering while Yuki is questioning Tohru about the tent is a small detail that I think is really effective as well. I personally appreciate the over-the-top humor, and I miss its presence in the more toned-down new anime.

The new anime is effective at selling the mood in the more serious scenes, but so was the old anime despite how much more upbeat in tone it was in general. The old anime accomplished this with effective BGM and cutting down on all of the over-the-top effects. It slowed down the serious scenes. I'd say the new anime is arguably better than the old anime with the serious scenes, but the lack of the over-the-top humor makes most of the other scenes feel a bit bland in comparison. I enjoyed that humor, but it may not be in everyone's tastes.

Not only are the humor and animation effects toned down in the new anime, but so is the background music and sounds. I think the BGM is still well done for some of the more foreboding / mysterious / creepy scenes (such as when Yuki and Tohru are walking together and they talk about the cat in the zodiac), but I otherwise don't notice it. Which could be a positive or negative depending on your view. All of the noises and music in the old series might be distracting for some. For me, the BGM in the new series in unmemorable and unremarkable at this point. It's nowhere near bad or being a detractor. But I think the older series is better and more effective with its BGM.

I think Yuki comes across as a lot less of an asshole in the new series. His talk with Tohru about the cat is more about the cat being an idiot for wanting to be accepted into the Sohma family, when the cat would be better off without them. In the older series, he says the cat is an idiot simply for wanting to be accepted by others, and that the cat will never be accepted. That's a really dick thing to say and turned me off from Yuki initially. I like this change; while small, it makes a big difference in how Yuki first comes across, and fits in with his history.

Overall, there are things to love about the new anime, and there are things to love about the old series. Some changes are for the better, and some are weaker. I love both, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the new anime is handled.
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Key
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 05, 2019 8:19 pm Reply with quote
Crisha wrote:
I think Yuki comes across as a lot less of an asshole in the new series. His talk with Tohru about the cat is more about the cat being an idiot for wanting to be accepted into the Sohma family, when the cat would be better off without them. In the older series, he says the cat is an idiot simply for wanting to be accepted by others, and that the cat will never be accepted. That's a really dick thing to say and turned me off from Yuki initially. I like this change; while small, it makes a big difference in how Yuki first comes across, and fits in with his history.

Interesting, because I actually thought Yuki came across as more of an asshole in this version. (Of course, I never really saw him as an asshole in the first version. I gave him more leeway than most probably did since he had to deal with Kyo.)

Thanks for the detailed comparison, though! I had wanted to do it that way but just didn't have the time.

Ggultra2764 wrote:
Yes, it has its fair share of comical moments like the 2001 anime. But it doesn't go over-the-top with its humor as that adaptation did. This episode, like the 2001 anime, is a full-on adaptation of the manga's first chapter, with a few additional scenes that the 2001 anime lacked and going for the more nuanced mood (not so surprising as Natsuki Takaya has more influence on the creative choices for this adaptation compared to her spars with Akitaro Daichi for the 2001 anime).

The introduction of the Yuki Fan Club is the only place where I felt the first version was more over-the-top than this version; otherwise I found this version to treat things more flippantly. Now, if that was an intentional part of the mood-setting. . .

As for the "more nuanced" aspect, I'm not seeing that based only on the first episode. But we'll see how things develop.
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kotomikun



Joined: 06 May 2013
Posts: 1205
PostPosted: Fri Apr 05, 2019 11:04 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
The series is streaming on Crunchyroll and FunimationNow on Fridays at 6:53 a.m. EDT.

Is it just me, or are these overly-exact release times getting a bit silly? That's not even a multiple of 5. The encoding/subtitling process can't be that precisely scheduled... just round it up to the next hour and give the crew an extra 7 minutes.
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Yttrbio
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Joined: 09 Jun 2011
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 05, 2019 11:20 pm Reply with quote
The times are typically a certain amount of time after the Japanese broadcast starts (e.g. 1 hour later), and that's determined by the licensing agreement. It's not CR or Funi making these calls, it's the Japanese broadcaster (or the production committee). As for why they have times like this, they just aren't as interested in round numbers for start times as American ones are.
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Sailor Sedna





PostPosted: Sat Apr 06, 2019 12:43 am Reply with quote
Nothing that interests me so far. Sad
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Chazer



Joined: 04 Apr 2019
Posts: 19
PostPosted: Sat Apr 06, 2019 12:46 am Reply with quote
I think people forget that the 2001 version of Fruits Basket lacked one advantage that the 2019 version has: the manga has now been completed.

Just to put things in perspective, when the original anime came about, the manga was not even at the half point of its run, so people who in hindsight think it was not as nuanced or didn't present the foreshadowing scene need to understand the director had not full understanding where the story would lead and needed to cut any elements that wouldn't fit the narrative to that point in time.

I find the fact that the manga creator has too tight a control over the new version (she was not fond of the old one) to be a disadvantage, to be honest. Anime and manga have different tools to narrate a story, and I did find the 2019 version of the anime to be a bit slower paced than the original and the comedic timing is lacking so far. I hope this doesn't end up being an issue. While it may be more to the liking of the creator, it may not be what it is best for the benefit of the medium in which the story is told. It makes me think back to how Kare Kano was just as great as an anime as the manga counterpart even though it was not as faithful to the original story. Or in cinematic terms, how the movie The Shining was a great work of art even though Stephen King preferred the made for TV version in the 1990s since he had more control over narration.

One final note... as far as character designs go, the new version seems more generic. While the 2001 version was not as visually appealing as the 2019 version is so far, it had a very distinctive style in how the characters were presented.
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kotomikun



Joined: 06 May 2013
Posts: 1205
PostPosted: Sat Apr 06, 2019 1:48 am Reply with quote
Yttrbio wrote:
The times are typically a certain amount of time after the Japanese broadcast starts (e.g. 1 hour later), and that's determined by the licensing agreement.


Yeah, but surely that's just a "no earlier than this time" requirement, right? It's an on-demand stream, after all, so most people will be watching it at a later time than the exact second it releases anyway. Uploading it at the absolute earliest possible second seems unnecessary, but maybe I'm underestimating people's eagerness to watch anime...

Anyway, on the topic of the show itself, i.e. Fruits Basket: Haven't seen the original, all I knew beforehand was the plot device of spoiler[people who turn into animals when hugged by the opposite sex. Or just bumped into, apparently. And presumably this is temporary given what happened at the end of the first episode]. I'm kinda unsure about this so far. The general style feels a bit dated, as did a few lines like Yuki and his "cousin" saying they need a woman around the house to do womanly housekeeping stuff. Tohru's backstory is so depressing and yet laid out so matter-of-factly that I wasn't sure what to make of it (seemed like a bit of unreliable-narrator there, too, with her gushing about her mom working really hard while the flashback shows Tohru seemingly doing everything herself). And then the ending animation came along to remind us that this is, among other things, a PG-rated reverse harem; which is fine, but not really what I'm into. There must be some reason why this is so popular, but I'm not seeing it yet. Will probably give it a few more episodes.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Sat Apr 06, 2019 3:34 am Reply with quote
I've never been a huge fan of Fruits Basket, and one of the reasons may be that I never liked Laura Bailey's super-genki take on Tohru (blasphemy, I know). I rewatched the first episode of the 2001 series and it's more grating to my ears than ever. So listening to this in Japanese was a welcome change. I also prefer the updated character designs (Yuki actually looks cute to me now instead of creepy). At any rate, I'm pleased with what I've seen so far, not having any particular emotional investment in it either way.

Hitoribocchi was ok. If my dance card doesn't overflow, I might stick with it just for Nako, who is really cute and a personality type that's very appealing to me. Otherwise, I think Bocchi will make me a nervous wreck to watch fall all over herself.

I wasn't going to watch Midara na Ao-chan, but gave it a try because a) it's short at 12 min and b) I couldn't make heads or tails of the descriptions I found to even be certain what it was about. After watching it, I can kinda see why that's so. It looks like it wants to be a sweet rom com as much as it wants to be an ecchi com, and can't quite reconcile the two. The former face is kind of interesting, and her love interest seems like a good guy, but the ecchi doesn't mesh at all. Like I don't know why her pervy ero-author father is a white-haired jiji who is about a foot tall. His chibi form is his normal form. Again, not sure whether I want to give this the immediate boot or wait a bit to kick it to the curb.
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ultimatehaki



Joined: 27 Oct 2012
Posts: 1090
PostPosted: Sat Apr 06, 2019 8:41 am Reply with quote
My opinions on fruits baskets is pretty much the same as Martins. I'm still intensely looking forward to this show for the season.
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Chazer



Joined: 04 Apr 2019
Posts: 19
PostPosted: Sat Apr 06, 2019 8:51 am Reply with quote
ultimatehaki wrote:
My opinions on fruits baskets is pretty much the same as Martins. I'm still intensely looking forward to this show for the season.


I agree. The question is not whether one is good and the other is crap, but rather your taste on how the story is presented. Both approaches are extremely competent so far. Hopefully we will say the same 10 episodes in.
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Sat Apr 06, 2019 10:57 am Reply with quote
Hitoribocchi was fun, but it's probably going to go the usual way of "every introvert secretly wish they had more friend and weren't introvert" which is pretty boring.
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Super_M



Joined: 08 May 2018
Posts: 201
PostPosted: Sat Apr 06, 2019 12:22 pm Reply with quote
Kimetsu have good first episode and great animation. Manga Kimetsu is ongoing so I wonder if studio choose original ending.
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