Fruits Basket (フルーツバスケット Furūtsu Basuketto), sometimes abbreviated Furuba (フルバ), is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Natsuki Takaya. It was serialized in the semi-monthly Japanese magazine Hana to Yume, published by Hakusensha, from 1999 to 2006. The series was also adapted into a 26-episode anime series, directed by Akitaro Daichi. The series tells the story of Tohru Honda, an orphan girl who, after meeting Yuki,Kyo, and Shigure Sohma, learns that thirteen members of the Sohma family are possessed by the animals of the Chinese zodiac (十二支 Jūnishi) and are cursed to turn into their animal forms when they are weak or when they are embraced by anyone of the opposite sex that is not possessed by a zodiacal spirit. In the anime it is possible to transform through torso contact.
The word "Fruits" in the title is always plural; the spelling originates from the transcription of the English word "fruit" into Japanese, where because there is no "tu" sound, "tsu" is used instead. The title comes from the name of a popular game played in Japanese elementary schools, which is alluded to in the series.
PLOT
When high school student Tohru Honda's mother died in a car accident, Tohru begins living in a tent and supporting
herself. That is, until she finds a home in the least likely of places, inhabited by her classmate Yuki Sohma and his cousins Shigure and Kyo. The Sohmas however, live with a curse. Thirteen members of the family are possessed by spirits of the Chinese zodiac and turn into their zodiac animal when hugged by the opposite gender, are weak, or when under stress. When Tohru discovers the Sohmas' secret, she promises not to tell and is allowed to keep living with them. The Sohma's curse, however, is deeper and darker than Tohru realized, but her presence soon becomes a large, positive influence on those possessed by the zodiac. She sets out to break the curse, and on the way, meets and discovers each of the Sohma's vengeful zodiac spirits. Each has a different personality, just like the animals in the Chinese Zodiac. Tohru's existence changes the Sohma clan's lives forever...
The 136 chapters of Fruits Basket were originally serialized in Japan by Hakusensha in Hana to Yume from January 1999 to November 2006. These were collected in 23 tankōbon volumes, with the final volume published in Japan on March 19, 2007.[44]
The series is licensed in English in North America and the United Kingdom by Tokyopop[45] and in Singapore by Chuang Yi.[46] The Singapore edition is licensed to be imported to Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment.[47] All 23 English-language volumes have been released in North America and Singapore. In addition, Tokyopop released a box set containing the first four volumes in October 2007, and started re-releasing earlier volumes in "Ultimate Editions" combining two sequential volumes in a single larger hard-cover volume with new cover art. The first Ultimate Edition release met with mixed reviews, however, because they exactly reproduce the first two volumes without correcting changed page numbers or prior errors.[48] As of June 2008, six Ultimate Editions have been released, covering the first twelve volumes of the series.
Chuang Yi also publishes in Singapore a Simplified Chinese edition as well as English. In Europe, Fruits Basket is licensed in French by Delcourt, in Spanish by Norma Editorial, in Italian by Dynit, inDutch by Glénat, in German and Swedish by Carlsen Comics, in Finnish by Sangatsu Manga, and in Polish by Japonica Polonica Fantastica. In Latin America, Editorial Vid has released the complete series in Mexico in Spanish, and Editora JBC began releasing a Portuguese translation in Brazil in April 2005.
ANIME
Directed by Akitaro Daichi, the twenty-six episode Fruits Basket anime series was animated and produced by Studio
DEEN. It premiered on TV Tokyo on July 5, 2001, with the final episode airing on December 27, 2001. The series aired in France on France 4, in Spain on Buzz Channel, and in Vietnam on HTV3. FUNimation aired the series, in dubbed English, on their anime television channel as well as on Colours TV.
The series was released in Japan in nine individual DVD volumes by King Records, with each volume containing three episodes except for the first volume, which contained two.[49] The first volume was released on September 29, 2001, with subsequent volumes released on a monthly basis until the final volume was released on May 22, 2002. A series box set was released on April 25, 2007, containing all twenty-six episodes, as well a message card from Natsuki Takaya, a 60-page deluxe booklet, and a bonus Fruits Basket CD soundtrack.[50]
The series is licensed for Region 1 DVD release by FUNimation Entertainment, which released it in the form of four individual volumes containing 6-7 episodes and a complete series box set. On November 20, 2007, FUNimation re-released the series as part of their lower priced Viridian line, with the new release containing the complete series in a thin-packed box set.[51] In the United Kingdom, FUNimation originally distributed the series through MVM Entertainment, but then changed distributors in November 2006 to Revelation Films.[52] Revelation re-released the four individual volumes under their label. They also released the series box set on January 22, 2007.[53] In Region 4, the series was released as a complete series box set by Madman Entertainment on October 15, 2003.[54]
Source: WIKIPEDIA and GOOGLE.
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