Fruits Basket 2nd Season フルーツバスケット 2nd season

2020 spring | Episodes: 25 | Score: 8.5 (279447)

Updated every Tuesdays at 01:30 | Status: Finished Airing

Type: TV

Streaming: Crunchyroll | Netflix

Synopsis

A year has passed since Tooru Honda began living in the Souma residence, and she has since created stronger relationships with its inhabitants Shigure, Kyou, and Yuki. She has also grown closer to the rest of the Souma family and has become familiar with their ancestral secret, having helped them with many of their personal issues. The closer Tooru gets, however, the more she begins to realize that their secret holds a darker truth than she first presumed. Summer is approaching and Tooru is invited to spend her days with the Soumas, mainly Kyou and Yuki. Tooru wishes for an easy-going vacation, but her close relationships with the two boys and the rest of the Soumas may prove to cause trouble. As they grow more intimate, their carefree time together is hindered by older hardships and feelings from the past that begin to resurface. The Eternal Banquet also dawns on the members of the zodiac, and they must tend to their duties alongside the unnerving head of the family, Akito Souma. With the banquet approaching and a plethora of feelings to be solved, will Tooru's life with the Soumas remain peaceful, or will she find herself in a situation from which she cannot escape? [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Voice Actors

Iwami, Manaka

Uchida, Yuuma

Tomari, Asuna

Shimazaki, Nobunaga

Shimabukuro, Miyuri

News

Reviews

_Shara_
02/20/2024, 05:14 PM
Note: I only write reviews after watching the whole season, to share complete thoughts. "Fruits Basket" Season 2 has been a wonderful surprise, making me even more a fan than before. I'm happy to give it a big thumbs up with a 9/10 rating! This season brings more of the touching story of Tohru and the Soma family, with even more laughs, tears, and heart-warming moments. What's New and Great: This season picks up right where the first one left off, diving deeper into the characters' lives. It brings out more about their past and what makes them tick, especially focusing on how they all grow and change.It's like watching friends become their best selves, which is really satisfying. The story feels smoother this time around, making it easier to get swept up in all the emotions and adventures. For those who, like me, wished for more focus on Tohru and her connections with the Soma family, Season 2 delivers that in a big way, making the relationships and the magic of the story shine even brighter. Characters Shine Brighter: Everyone gets a chance to shine this season. Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki, especially, go through a lot of growth, showing us more about who they are and how they overcome challenges. It's inspiring and makes you root for them even more. The show introduces some new faces too, adding fun and depth to the story without making it feel crowded. About the Music and Art: The beautiful animation continues to bring the world of "Fruits Basket" to life with bright colors and expressive characters. My thoughts on the music haven't changed much from last season – it's there, but it doesn't always stand out. However, the overall feel of the show is so strong that this is just a small thing. IN CONCLUSION: Season 2 of "Fruits Basket" steps up in every way, making it a must-watch whether you're new to the series or have been a fan. It's a story filled with love, growth, and the kind of magic that comes from understanding and caring for others. No matter your age or where you're from, there's something in this season for you. I can't wait to see where the journey takes us next.
Resting_Bonfire
08/07/2022, 04:02 AM
Fruits Basket - Season 2 A story that I initially thought was a simple tearjerker with no grounding proves to be a quality tearjerker that knows exactly what it's going for. Despite its appearance, Fruit Basket is a series for a slightly older audience, since it appeals to a lot of adults and has more somber themes. And also revolves greatly around the sex lives of some of the characters. Anyway, the second season picks up where the first left off. There are new everyday episodes, and new small events and you see more and more interference from Akito. What impresses me the most here againare the character's backgrounds and their problems. Very rarely does an anime/manga manage to address these stories properly without making it seem like melodramatic theater, and yet they've done it here. In fact, I'm almost thrilled with the backgrounds and characters. Of course, this anime does have its serious drawbacks. For example, the pacing is mediocre, there are often unnecessary flashbacks that fortunately don't last long. Many scenes lack creativity and variety. And especially disappointing are the dialogues. I so often get the feeling that the author doesn't know exactly what he's letting the characters say, as soon as there's no topic about Akito or their backgrounds. They stand around, always looking at each other in shock, acting like goofballs. The comedy moments make up for this to some extent, but when a normal non-story dialogue takes place, you know it's going to be torture. If you don't know what the characters are supposed to say, it's better to replace it completely with another scene. These awkward silences and copy-paste interactions don't help at all. [Story 4] The story contributes practically nothing new, except that you see more of the character's backgrounds. Also light information regarding Akito and the Soma family. [Characters 6] Many characters are just blunt stereotypes, but this is balanced relatively well by their various complexes, traumas, and backgrounds. This results in the characters seeming understandable and the viewer actually cares about them. Especially since there is a healthy mix between happy and unhappy characters and not everyone is traumatized by something. And as said, the backgrounds of the characters are relatively realistic and not exaggerated in any way. Many people react to problems differently and especially here, there are a lot of broken parents who think it's okay to ruin their children's lives. And this doesn't just happen out of thin air. Predominantly, the parents themselves are just overstressed people who blame their children for their failures. But there are also some parents who simply should never have become parents. [Music 5 / Animations 6] The intros in the anime really make me rethink my whole life. Especially when I'm lying in bed and can't skip this bullshit. Mediocre vocals with montages of characters walking and looking in directions. It's not a disaster, but an intro should be appealing or at least reflect something. The outros are shockingly actually good and enjoyable. The osts are average and nothing worth mentioning. Regarding the animations, the budget has increased slightly as you can see, and the backgrounds have also gotten better. But nothing to talk about. [Conclusion 6] The second season of Fruit Basket has been more convincing than the first, also making up for some shortcomings and building more momentum. If the third season keeps this quality or even gets better, I will be more than satisfied. [Enjoyment 7]
jaamun100
08/03/2022, 07:44 AM
I'll preface by saying I've seen all 4 seasons of Fruits Basket from 2001 to 2019. Fruits Basket is the greatest shoujo anime show ever made. Season 2 specifically may be the perfect balance between light-hearted comedy, emotional growth, and high-stakes drama. The revelations mid-way through the season when the cast is on a summer vacation are phenomenal, and one of the high points of the entire show. This show balances comedy, seriousness, and heartmelting drama in a way like no other. Anime fans and non-anime fans alike should give the entirety of Fruits Basket a watch. It caps high-stakes drama, and captures such a widearray of human emotion so perfectly. Fruits Basket starts out slow, with a massive ensemble cast that takes about a season to fully introduce, but after that, the show gets progressively more intricate and becomes a true masterpiece. Childish characters grow into truly profound individuals, in part thanks to a girl named Tohru Honda, who while subject to a running joke as a plain girl a "dummy," is the most pure and emotionally intelligent character of them all. You may not like romance in general, but I can promise you Fruits Basket isn't typical romance shoujo fare. It covers magical bonds/curses, the purity of the human heart, the selfishness of the human heart, child abuse, inner conflict, friendship, parental love, sibling love, domestic abuse/violence, and how the fear of the unknown can shackle you and prevent you from moving forward, and so much more. You leave the show reflecting on so many aspect of life, and yearning for more.
Klabautermann
04/21/2022, 02:07 AM
Fruits Basket Season Two can brag itself to be one of the worst anime I have ever seen, which is not a small thing. In direct comparison, the first season, which I thought comfortably average, seems almost like a masterpiece - there is an actual plot, and actual characters, and actual investment you get from watching the first season play out. Alas; Season Two decided to take a step away from all that ‘actual plot that makes me want to watch more’ and instead takes us on a metaphorical twenty-something-episode school trip through absolutely unnecessary points of… of something I can’t quite call plot, because itultimately added so little to the overall Fruits Basket experience, that I couldn't help feeling tricked. Mind you, I watched every episode of it, and I, generally speaking, remember it all. But you know how anime have those episodes where a class goes to a trip? Or the protagonists go to the beach, and it’s an entire 'thing'? I’m not kidding when I tell you nearly the entire season had felt like that. The constant, *constant* melodrama, the both pessimistic and optimistic musing of main characters, the countless inner monologues, narration after narration after narration of one’s feelings and memories and very insubstantial flashbacks - it sounds like a good way to delve into a character… but not so much when that's literally all there is. Like I said, I wouldn’t find this so bad if there was some, some payoff by the end of the episodes or at least the season. But there is quite literally none, and you know why? Because inner monologues always stay inner monologues. No matter what inner revelations, fears, concerns or breakthroughs develop in the hearts and minds of the character the episode is focused on, hardly any of it matters because the characters refuse, for the drama’s sake, to trust each other with more than a bare minimum of their true being. I know this vulnerability is part of the plot but everything has its limits, and so does my patience. Again, ultimately, it feels as if quite literally nothing had happened. If I'm looking for a single word to describe it, it’s boring. It is simply boring. … The saving grace of this painful experience is that the season decided to pick up the actual plot about four episodes before it ends, and it is, almost literally, the only part worth watching, and the only reason why this isn’t rated with a ‘1’. The last few episodes reveal a lot of interesting information and propels the plot into motion - and it makes the entire experience incredibly frustrating, because if I knew that’s how it was going to be, I would simply skip the entirety of the rest of the season easily. Which would bring is to season three and its, uh… humble way it ended things.
Startled-Normie
02/20/2022, 05:02 PM
Haiku review: First season is good Second, superfluous pad Third, a masterpiece This review covers the entire “Fruits Basket” remake. As most of us know, there was an excellent and widely loved “Fruits Basket” series that appeared in 2001. Its lone real shortcoming was that it appeared before the manga was complete, so it couldn’t reveal how everything turns out.The story was the kind of shojo that appeals to a much wider audience. The characters were compelling, the plot moved forward at the right speed, and even though it was incomplete it led to a satisfactory ending. The original series did not, apparently, find favor with Takaya Natsuki, author of the original manga, who was in some measure involved in the three-season remake that’s the subject of this review. The chief production connection to the original is the presence of much of the original voice cast in the English dub, which is nice. My initial thought upon viewing the remake was how the changes were pretty much limited to style – the characters are more moe, the “leeks” had become “chives” for no apparent reason, and the little androgynous blond character had acquired a German accent and a few German words. The places that could have benefited from the advances in anime making were largely unchanged. Kyo’s transformation, for instance, was little better in this series than in the original. I have not read the manga, and if this remake represents the manga better than the original did, I’m glad of that. Because in the remake a good and interesting story in which we care about the characters is diluted by padding, a kind of flailing in which there’s an attempt to make this into a high school romantic comedy with zodiac animals and such. It’s as if the story was approached as something that could be hammered into a kind of anime version of a “Twilight”-ish drama. That might be good for the producers’ bank accounts, but it’s crap storytelling. The thing runs a total of 63 episodes, which is at least 11 episodes too long. And it was dissonant, like the first year I watched anime and alternated between “Elfin Lied” and “UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie.” It would have been better to have made a second season, picking up from the first, once the manga finished in 2006 – it’s not as if five years awaiting a sequel is unheard of in anime. That failing, the producers might better have remade the original series, changing it only to the extent that improvements in technology allowed it to be better on that basis and that basis alone, and added a second season to complete the story. Then, if they wanted, they could have done “Fruits Basket Fumoffu” or something, where the zodiacs are always getting hugged and there could have been aerial views of the brightly colored explosions and ho ho ho for those who are into it, without messing up the drama of the show. There were cute parts – the scenes with the editor and the school play – that were genuinely funny, but this isn’t a funny show. (And if they’d collected a dollar for every anime trope and cliché used in the otherwise unremarkable OPs and EDs, they would have been able to finance that sidebar series, with enough left over to improve the production values in the main show.) To say nothing of the endless, repetitive back stories. We got it first time around: It sucked to be a kid in this family; apparently, it sucked to be a kid in Japan, period. No need to devote a half dozen episodes to how it sucked to be this kid, and this one, and this one. It’s less fun than the Endless Eight was. Then there was the soapy soliloquy at the beginning of second season, ep. 22, when Shinji, oops, Yucky, was going on about how Tohru was like a mommy to him (to which his friend said what sounded like, “Even though she’s Irish?” but on third listening I guess it was, “even though she’s our age?”) and how he wanted something more. I half expected him to burst forward in a chorus of “I gotta be me.” This kind of thing happens when they’ve lost control of the story and try to get it back by taking it way too seriously. Truth is, they could lost most of the second season with no loss to the narrative. “Fruits Basket” is one of the enduring classics in anime. As such, it shouldn’t be messed with lightly, any more than “Neon Genesis Evangelion” should be redone as a rom-com. If it were to be remade, it should have been done with that near-sacred status in mind, with the goal of the heights to which it could further soar, instead of how many high school could be crammed into it, how much it could be homogenized with all the 5/10 shows that come and go without leaving a ripple. THEN CAME SEASON THREE, “FRUITS BASKET: THE FINAL” And oh, my God. Perhaps as a reward for enduring the aimless second season, the third season is one of the finest series of anime I have ever seen or can imagine. It is gripping, moving, tense, heart-wrenching, uplifting, terrifying – pick your superlative and there’s something in this short season that fits it. Talk about a roller coaster! (It also demonstrates that, with a very small exception, all that high school stuff had no bearing or effect on the outcome. It was as out of place as it seemed.) That third season also does something very well that anime usually does poorly if at all: Usually, if there’s an ending it takes place about 10 frames before the end of the show, leaving the viewer thinking, “and then what?” They hold hands and there’s fireworks, the end. (“Toradora,” I’m looking at you.) Not here. “Fruits Basket: The Final” devotes several episodes – more than necessary, really – to letting us know what happened then. It might be an apology for all the pointless high school stuff, but those producing the show seem to have realized that the audience has come to care about the characters and would like to know that they’re safe, if in fact they’re safe. We get to find out how it turned out writ large, not just at one point in time. It acknowledges that the “Fruits Basket” story is special, that it has a revered place in anime’s enormous body of work. That’s good, though even the ending may be just a little bit stretched out, as if everyone involved didn’t want to go home yet, didn’t want to leave these remarkable characters behind. And who can blame them? We don’t want to be done with them, either. We want them to come over for a cup of coffee. We want to do what we can to help them along to happiness. Not many anime (or stories in other media) bring us to that place. After watching a series that’s become important to us we often express a wish: for a different outcome, for a plot hole (or many plot holes) to get filled, most often, for a second season. I’ll do that now. I fervently wish (with no reason to think it will ever happen) that they go back and recut the whole show. That they take the vast majority of the high school stuff, the parts that have nothing to do with the story, and make them into a sidebar series. At least that they remove them from the main story, which loses its pace and just wallows around because of them. The pacing of parts of the series is just right, but in the second season it and much else goes terribly wrong. If they were to do that, the remake of “Fruits Basket” would be just right, a perfect successor to and completion of the 2001 masterpiece.
haziq9
10/21/2021, 06:19 AM
I have so many feeelings for thisseries after finished watching 2 seasons. But shortly i am dissapointed and didnt like this series. I hate tohru bc obviously i shipped her w yuki and i freakingly hate kyo bc kyo always thought that he was the saddest person and the most unfortunate within the zodiac family. But he has master as a father, he got to be friend with haru, rin and kagura in his childhood. He got kagura to loves her and reach her when he was younger. But yuki on the other side, he had nothing. His parent sold him to akito. Hisbrother doesn't care about him. Haru and kyo hate him, he doesn't have childhood friend. Even tohru had a lot of screentime w kyo rather than w yuki even it was yuki who invited tohru to his house. So why i hate tohru simply because she is a nice girl. And to explain this its better to look at Hikigaya Hachiman interpretation of nice girl. Shortly, nice girl treat everyone the same, thus making everyone like/love her, thus give everyone fake hope bc obviously tohru can't be in love w everyone. I really feel bad for yuki tho..
mythical_k
06/18/2021, 08:32 AM
Now, this is where things get to become a bit darker, while the romance between many characters is beginning to be more noticeable. While retaining its charm from the first season, the second season of Fruits Basket is where many parts of the story are finally being revealed. The last of the main characters are introduced, and many characters that appeared in this season start to go through the character development they deserved. The story, same as usual; however, the concept of the Sohma zodiac has been expanded on, revealing a bit of darkness that could easily be seen in many scenes throughout this season, settingthe tone for what's will happen next while starting to reach its peak for the story. A recurring theme for most of the cast is that they didn't have good relationships with their parents. Once they meet Tohru, they realize that she has the qualities of what it didn't have, and they begin to accept her for being a positive outcome to their lives and treating them with love. Many developments have been seen in terms of characters, such as Yuki Sohma becoming more confident in himself by hearing his tone of voice. Going from really quiet to becoming a bit more casual as he understands how much of an impact Tohru had him. In addition, Kyo continues to warm up to Tohru, as seen in many scenes in season 2. For the rest of the Sohmas, their backstories expand on how the villain and their parents hated them because of the curse. As for Tohru herself, she slowly begins to go through her character arc when she realizes that she also has her flaws, yet is still seen as a pure and kind-hearted figure to the rest of the characters. As the season goes on, she eventually gains a goal of helping the Sohma family be free from their curse. While doing so, the love between Tohru and Kyo is becoming even more noticeable, especially on Tohru's side with the many hints the show has given us. The openings and ending seem to have a slight change in melody to match the series's change. From a calm and upbeat tune to match the first cour's peacefulness while gaining a bit of a sadder tone, matching how much darker the story has been transitioning into throughout many events. Another fact to notice is that the vocals heard can portray the plot as well, slightly expanding more on the story of the Sohmas. Overall, Fruits Basket's second season changed the way we initially saw things from the first season. The development that each of the characters goes through is worth the time to watch—at the same time, getting to learn more about the Sohma family and a bit of backstory behind Akito, the main antagonist of Fruits Basket. Towards the end, it will contain a slight cliffhanger, but it will eventually help the story reach its peak and begin to end this remade masterpiece. Get ready for the end of the third season because this series is truly a masterpiece of romance anime.
Belleamenicole
04/08/2021, 05:09 PM
I really loved the first season of Fruits Basket, so of course I was excited for this. But I was so dissapointed! Here are some reasons why I was dissapointed. There was no overall plot of the story, it was all so random and didn't really focus on Tohru. Yuki’s backstory was all over the place and when they did focus on him it was mostly of him doing things with the student council. There was just way too much filler.The incest and pedophilia was very off putting and thrown in our face more. They barely focused on Tohru or Kyo. Rin was unnecessarily thrown into the story, but I did enoy her overall. I couldn't understand why Kureno was still with Akito even though their bond was broken. It was also infuriating that he was okay with her terribly manipulative and abusive behavior. Shigure was way worse this season. He’s disgusting. I felt it dragged.... I was also disappointed with the last episode, like that’s it?? Really? After all the dragging and irrelevant story lines and characters, that was it. I’m not saying I hated it, but after such a great first season, it was disappointing. I’m really hoping for a better third season.
Jvdln123
03/31/2021, 12:15 AM
I am giving this show a 10, this review is supposedly just the second season but I want to speak on the show entirely. I first saw this show pop up on Crunchyroll when it was first released on Crunchyroll, however i thought it was dumb, because I was never into Slice of life/romantic shows back than. But when I decided to give this a try because I had nothing else to do, I did not regret it one bit. It is the type of show where there is not so much conflict as such on a bigger scale, instead it affects the immediate/branch Somafamilies, between Akito, and the Zodiacs. But Tohru the main Character, was so well done. I like the whole idea behind the amount of suffering she herself goes through, maybe not as much as Kyo or Yuki, but she is the type of character who does not want to put a burden on people shes close to, or she is able to find happiness in the smallest things, her character is the type of Character I admire. The soundtrack Fruits Basket gives is outstanding in its own right, its not something that is suppose to be epic or intense because the mood of the show is vastly different in a good way and the soundtrack is so fitting. As enjoyment, it is my favourite anime because of how much emotions it throws out at you, some moments the show could make you angry, other moments it could make you sad, and other moments it could make you happy.
samrork
12/29/2020, 12:35 PM
This show is way too highly rated. The first season was honestly very good, it brought up a good story and developed an interesting main cast. But the second season fell apart in my opinion. From my understanding the manga came before the first release of the anime at the turn of the century, but that doesn't help the fact that the cast of characters in S2 is just too big. There is no reason a show so driven on emotional attachment to the characters should try to stretch itself so thin. When I watched S1, I fell in love with all the main cast,and the team did such a good job of attaching us to them. But as you enter S2 and every main and side character has episodes solely for flashback and setup just to see Tohru cry... that is not emotional attachment. That is just using our beloved main to try to trick us into caring about these side Soumas that honestly we have no reason to care about. Furthermore, I think that the development of the main cast was... well, close to nonexistent. S1 brought us heart-wrenching episodes about the mains and their interactions, but S2 didn't develop much of anything for them.... Bringing the lens further in, I think the finale is super underwhelming... a good reveal, but I want to see what that does for us, not just an empty promise of living. TL;DR: The show tries too hard to get you deeply attached to too many characters, and I miss the smaller main cast (and development of said cast) from S1.
Blue_Maroon
09/24/2020, 03:52 PM
It really surpirsed how this season was able to put out great episodes week-in and week-out. The art is still some of the best that TV anime has to offer and looks consistently beautiful. The music is still great too. It has a nice, laid-back feel during the conversation scenes and crescendos during the emotional scenes to really drive those feelings home. But the highlight of this season is definitely the characters and the plot progression that accompanies their development. You watch these characters face some real, horrible issues that led them to becoming the broken characters they are and then see how they begin toovercome this trauma. None of it feels too abrubt or forced and it is all protrayed with as much sincerity as it should be. People this broken don’t just magically get better by someone telling them they love them. It is something that they must work on consistently, with their own effort, to accept and overcome. While other anime may occasionally drift into that territory, it is rare to see an anime portray these issues as realistically as this. That being said, it isn’t all saddness, as there is a lot of good humor and fun character interactions to give a bit of a breather from the heavy topics. The only real issue that I have with this season is that there are occasionally some episodes that don’t really flow with how the previous episode ended. Sometimes there will be an episode with some separate characters that had no real continuous connection to the previous or next episode. That isn’t to say these episodes are not necessary or do not give important character information. I would have just preferred if the content of these episodes were introduced more organically into the narrative than just placed into a somewhat disconnected episode. It isn’t that big of a deal, I just talked about it in depth because there really is not much else to criticize this anime for. I also felt that the season started out a little slow, but once it got over halfway it was really cooking. All in all, it was a very nice surprise and I can’t wait for the final season. It is very close to being a 9.
RyanTheReptile
09/24/2020, 10:40 AM
Tohru Honda literally changed me as a person. I mean it when I say it. I think everyone should aspire to be like Tohru Honda. She shows complete compassion to her peers and people around her at all times. I've watched Shojos before and haven't really liked them all that much. I was kind of hesitant when my friend told me about it but damn. This is a HUGE eye opener for me. The story follows directly after the 1st season (not surprisingly) which is about the zodiacs and the crazy shenaniganians that go on in their family!... i should phrase that a little less implyingthat it's a fun adventure when in reality it's a pretty deep plot involving a psycho maniac head of the house and his crazy obsessiveness over the over family members and how Tohru interacts with them. It is something you need to see to believe. The art style is pretty good. It isn't attack on titan but you can definitely appreciate the animators and you can tell which character is which. But that shouldn't be a problem since if you're reading this you should be able to tell anyway. :P The music in my opinion just doesn't live up to the 1st season. It's not bad but I find that it is kind of stock. The OP's literally just have the characters walking. That's it. After seeing what they did with the OP's and ED's in the 1st season I seriously felt that the ones this season were lacking. Every single character in the show feels like a real person. They are so unique and they have pro's and con's for each one of them.... ...except for Honda as she is perfect in every way. That was a joke. Tohru, while she may seem perfect to some people, she definitely DOES have some irredeemable qualities. She is a very submissive person in the whole series up to now and I am interested in seeing how she changes in the final series. I would hope so at least. I didn't read the manga. I loved this show and you will too. If you watched the first season and are on the fence on whether you should watch the second or not. Don't think. Just do it. You will NOT regret it... Overall 9/10
Valinis
09/24/2020, 04:44 AM
What a disappointing second season to this anime. Following on from the first season nothing really changes with the story or the characters. There's very little character development apart from Yuki who grows a decent amount. We're introduced to the remaining Zodiac animals throughout the season with a few short arcs that don't really matter. By far the worst part of this season is Akito. Akito is such an unlikeable character in every single way and is just frustrating to watch. Well-written villains can be a joy to watch, but in Akito's case there is absolutely nothing redeemable. Akito treats everyone like crap, and noone seems to care. Akito attempts to murder one of the Zodiacs, and no one seems to care. The "curse of the Zodiac" is never explained. All of the Zodiacs are supposedly bound to Akito's side, but it's never explained why, or what happens if they leave. The viewer is left wondering why for the entire season and it just feels like weak plot armour. Overall it's fine. It's not bad and it's not good, and it's a shame the story didn't progress at all from the first season.
cameronrb24
09/22/2020, 12:37 AM
Quick Thoughts: There was quite a bit of focus on character development/backstory this season. The balance between these stories and more lighthearted, SoL content was heavily skewed. It ended up feeling like a 20+ episode pity party. Story: The first several episodes establish what I think will be the central conflict the rest of the anime. The rest of season is non-stop slew of backstories for several characters, which help explain why these characters are so emotionally invested in this conflict. These got kind of repetitve/redundant after a while; I feel like the point could've been made in less than 20 episodes. Characters: One benefit of the largeamount of exposition this season is that the side characters are more fleshed out than usual. Several characters are introduced this season, and we're given a good look at their interests and motives. It makes it easier to understand any actions they take that would normally be questionable. There's also a pretty complex web of relationships that's much easier to follow after this season. Enjoyment: This season a bit of a downer, but I did get some enjoyment out of it. I'm still a fan of the art style, the 2nd OP was really good, and I did enjoy how the main cast (Yuki and Kyou specifically) developed.
PyraXadon
09/21/2020, 07:41 PM
What does it mean to change? What is the name of that feeling of fear that comes with the thought of wanting to stretch out your hand and go beyond of the bubble that you’ve trapped yourself in? And truly, what does it mean to be happy and form genuine bonds in this twisted game we call Life? Story: Phasing away a majority of its late 90’s early 2000’s shoujo tropes in favor of character storytelling, the second season of the timeless Fruits Basket remake continues the story by diving headfirst into the individual character stories of the cursed members of the Sohma family. More specifically, thefocus shifts towards the few remaining members that weren’t introduced in the first season, (namely the Horse and the Rooster), as well as giving substantial time to both Kyo and Yuki as their respective paths for the futures they want start coming to light. And because the ebb and flow of Fruits Basket is revolved around its characters, there isn’t really much ‘story’, per say, as everything that happens revolves around a handful of establishing events or setting changes in order to jumpstart the story. Either the characters get moved to X location and everyone is given free reign to move and react how they see fit, or a chance encounter between two individuals gives way to a spiraling avenue that the characters will follow along and react to as they see fit. This isn’t a bad thing at all; it’s just that by all intents and purposes, this is the area where the story really starts getting into the meat and potatoes of everything since we finally get the full scope of what all of the cursed Sohma are like and their individual flaws and problems that hold them back as people. And the story IS the people involved in these events less so than the events themselves, as typical with slice of life. My favorite aspect of this story and this kind of storytelling overall is its tone and how much the series goes from serious to kind of jokey, to disheartening and relieving all at the same time. The comedic tone of the series from its earlier areas (and from my memories of watching the original adaptation) has pretty much faded away by this point, replaced by serious overtones of abuse and human vulnerability in conjunction with stubbornness and fear over the idea of the status quo being challenged and the fragile peace in a person’s life being shattered if they decide to ever take one step forward. While there are several points in the season where some of this is less impactful or handled less well than others (mostly due to some pacing issues), as a whole, the presentation of Fruits Basket in its subject matter is treated with such a respectful tone that I can’t…really say anything bad about it? Indeed the show does drag its feet a little bit in getting its gears going since everyone in this show is always so reluctant to do anything, but I don’t think that happens as often as it seems to. Especially since the show does a lot to pick up the pace in its latter half when it’s clear that there’re significant difference between characters from their original selves in the first season. And bigger and more important events and decisions start happening in these characters’ lives. Characters: Tohru always struck me as the dough-eyed cutie pie that, by proxy of the beginning events of the story, manages to get involved with some of the best looking guys in the school in a reverse harem/rom-com scenario that if written today would probably not get that many people excited. And while she does retain many, many of those characteristics due to her innate airheaded character, the things she does as a protagonist to move the story along for the benefit of others show a much stronger and selfless person that earns her spot as a worthwhile protagonist. Normally a perfect little angel like this would be a point of scrutiny due to the sheer impact she has among some of the Zodiac’s younger members, but the hidden traumas that’re sprinkled in throughout her character make way for something interesting. If only they showed it. I find it a shame that about 50 episodes in, we know less about Tohru’s past than we do everyone else. That’ll probably be in the final season when it comes around to it, but for now, it’s kind of a chain to pull the audience along. Which sucks, because her losing her mother in that fashion feels like only the tip of the iceberg to what’s really going on underneath the surface. The twelve (or thirteen because Kyo) Zodiac members instead of just getting introduction arcs and episodes, this time instead get full on story involvement, as well as interactions that pry into the affairs and others. Most of them (especially the younger members) get some kind of significant change to illustrate their growth as people, while others like the Horse and Rooster get some extensive introduction arcs to explain their circumstances and involvement towards the endgoal of the series. While I very much love what’s been illustrated here with the Sohma family, the treatment is not equal, as several members feel like they either have cheaper arcs than they should’ve gotten, or just don’t show up at all because the story doesn’t really have any use for them in whatever situation is being displayed. It’s a shame because since everyone shares the same curse, I feel like there should be involvement from every member due to how the Zodiac curse actually works with its whole ‘bonds’ thing. Akito is the one character I feel is worth sectioning off only because of their role in the series as the ‘God’ that watches over the Zodiac. Their antagonistic aura featuring copious amounts of both physical and mental abuse paints a more than morbid picture over the entire narrative of Fruits Basket on top of the different circumstances and family situations that the Zodiac members deal with. Their unhinged, almost brat-like nature combined with Maaya Sakamoto’s performance as a manipulative authority figure creates a fascinating character that, while we at this point we don’t know the full story, is certainly an interesting antagonistic figure that’s easy to hate, but will be intriguing to explore when their story eventually comes to light. The rest of the cast like Uotani and Saki alongside the rest of the Student Council that Yuki gets involved with add various levels of spice to both the characters of the Sohmas and Tohru. Their primary usage is really to direct these characters outside of the bubble that they’ve trapped themselves in, which again, adds to the kinds of character change that occurs over the course of the season. This is by no means of dismissing them as just ‘side characters’, since their involvement with the overall scope of the series is essential to the kind of broadening horizons that’s being shown here with the way of how ‘things change’. Aesthetics: Honestly, I don’t have much to say about the artstyle than I’ve already said before in my review of the first season. TMS’s quality and consistency in updating and modernizing the look of Fruits Basket to meet with the standards of today’s anime makes the overall look of the series look stunning and beautiful in ways that I could’ve never imagined it, especially since the source material looks really dated in that early 2000’s shoujo style. I will say that the artists definitely took some…liberties with the few comedic moments that they had to work with amidst all of the sadness, depression, and abuse that the Sohmas have been through. A couple of them especially in the first half of the season are basically just stick figures acting out a funny looking scene. Which sure, you can see who’s doing what, but also, man that’s unexpected. On the scope of the tracks that we get from Fruits Basket this time around, personally…I prefer the duo that we got in season 1 still. AmPm’s “Prism” is probably my favorite of the two between it and Asako Tori’s “Home“, which is probably due to the fact that Prism strikes a softer and more peaceful tone that I associate with Fruits Basket due to the normally grounded nature that this series has for me. As for ED’s, Monkey Majik’s “EDEN” is the one that hits it for me. Probably because of that whole ‘Sayonara’ thing that happens at the start of it, but I digress. It’s a soft rock song that’s a little bit too high energy for my taste in a Fruits Basket song, but I think it still fits, if only because of the beautiful stills of the zodiac members that come with the song once it starts playing. Which is really something worth noting because I don’t typically sit through EDs, and just seeing these amazing stills with this song was worth the effort if you ask me. Final Thoughts: I firmly stand by the belief that some of the absolute best stories come from when a story portrays something that’s fundamentally human and appeals to the pathos of a person in ways that very few other things are able to replicate. The vulnerability and aversion of facing one’s problems, hiding away that part of oneself in order to never face the consequences, and being absolutely terrified of change or losing who you are, are such terrifying things to come into contact with that one can’t help but lose themselves when they’re faced with a mirror of their own reality. I fucking lost myself while watching this. Very few anime have the ability to hit something so close to myself as to make my body burst into tears on instinct, and the series’s acts of compassion and willingness to face the hardships of personal strife were multiple nails in the coffin to make me buckle down and continue this rollercoaster of a series. The fundamentally human aspect of this show is what I believe to be the thing that makes this a timeless story, as the relationships of a broken family, remembering the little acts of kindness others have given towards you, and struggling to change under the crumbling weight of a fragile status quo are common themes that will persist as long as people exist. Quite honestly, there are very, very few shows in the sea of anime that touch this kind of nerve like Fruits Basket does. As its final season comes ahead in 2021, there really isn’t much for me to say but recommend this show as a watch. Indeed I have a LOT of bias towards this series, as I do have a bit of a nostalgic bone towards Fruits Basket. But beyond that, I believe that it’s just a really good series that’s deserving to watch, and its enduring popularity as a fantastic story worth experiencing with the positive impact it’s had towards the audience that’s experienced it speaks volumes to the kind of quality storytelling that Fruits Basket has. And that as long as there’s someone out there willing to stretch their hand out to you, you’re never alone.
BabyGirl06301
09/21/2020, 11:42 AM
You know, I remember coming out of the last season of this and thinking I had no idea what the overarching story was. Thankfully, this season finally told me. I more or less only want to talk about story in this review as I feel like most of my thoughts about this season come from that, so here it goes. Starting with the negatives and why this season didn't get a ten from me, there were a small amount of episodes this season that didn't interest me at all. Some of the episodes that didn't heavily feature Tohru were still good for building up other charactersthat provide good elements to the story, but a few of the episodes were uninteresting to watch since it just felt like background story for characters that don't play much of a role. Branching off of that, I've noticed this season that certain plotlines will be elaborated on while others only get revealed without any expansive content. These things are tiny issues, and they only affected my enjoyment a small bit, but it's worth mentioning. That's all the negatives I have about this season, though, because this season did so much to progress the plot on both the story and romance sides. There were still some areas of discussion about the story and romance that were vague in the terms it used and didn't provide any solid understanding of what was going on, but this season also took strides in that area by clarifying some, if not all, elements of the story and romance. It was nice to have an explanation of, for example, the zodiac curse. It was nice to see characters putting their feelings into actual, straightforward words rather than hinting at it. On top of that, some of the episodes this season were just plain awesome to watch, either because the story was told really well or the characters were developed markedly. Last season, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Fruits Basket, but it didn't blow me away. This season did. The tone shifted into something more serious and dire than before, and it really added weight to everything that happened this season and last season. I couldn't have asked for a better sequel, and I'm definitely excited to see what comes next.
jay
09/21/2020, 11:28 AM
Sksks, this is my first review so apologies if its wordy and stupid sounding lol! *CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS FROM THE MANGA* Fruits Basket S2 is a perfect continuation of the first season, even though they're removing some of the scenes every fan has been waiting for, at least we got a sequel so we should feel thankful imo. Story: 9/10 The story is probably the best thing about it, the constant wanting to know who Tohru likes, while also bearing with the hilarious comedy and characters. Even though the series might dodge a few important matters (tohru's parents, etc), it doesn't mean we wont get itin the next adaption- if they do decide to make it. Even though some may say the story line is very predictable, but I reassure you it isn't. The reason why I didn't give it a 10 is because the storyline of fruits basket constantly switches back and forth between characters and scenes which can be annoying if you've seen a specific scene multiple/countless amounts of times. The ending was definitely promising, im disappointed we didn't get any word on season 3 but hopefully we'll be getting one next year. Art: 8/10 The artwork is pretty good, doesn't seem to have many issues. Even though there aren't many issues, I have noticed some of the artwork in some of the scenes looks really weird, like they're animated wrong. I don't know if i'm noticing minor details but it bugs me sometimes. Might not be much of a issue for others though. In my opinion, I think the animation has definitely improved for the better in season two. Sound: 8/10 Okay, the sound is just perfect for Fruits Basket. The nostalgic OST's, Openings, and Endings are what keeps me hooked onto the shows melody. The voice acting is also very good, as well as the loudness of the background music/ost's. No real issues here, except sometimes the voice acting is very low which makes it hard to hear the voice acting. Characters: 8/10 Some might say the characters are very generic but they all have important plot. Although having a good plot isn't always good. I do find in the storyline, the characters seem like copies of each other just so that another has a match. Take Momiji for example, his past is very emotional and sad, his mother went crazy after having Momiji and Hatori eventually wipes her memories, which leaves him with no real mother. His past is very unique, but when it comes to some of the other characters pasts, it seems to be copies of other pasts except they're changed in little ways that are still noticeable. I loved the episodes with Machi, even though they skipped the mother and fathers past, it was still an enjoyable sequel. & Even so, the characters development is what runs fruits basket, the anime did a very great job at animating from the manga. Enjoyment: 8/10 Despite Furubasa's flaws, its a very great show, and the enjoyment makes it so much more fun to watch. Especially the Cinderella Play and the tad bits of comedy that are thrown here and there. The faces are also something that shouldn't be sneered at! would definitely recommend if you like pretty much pointless comedy here and there. Overall: 9/10 Looking forward for the third (and final?) furubasa season! <3
Danielle
09/21/2020, 10:11 AM
[This review assumes you’ve seen S1. This review is spoiler free for S2, but not S1.] [TL;DR at bottom] When discussing the Fruits Basket anime, I almost like to regard season one as a prologue. This is not because the story and themes shift heavily from where they begin, but rather due to a dramatic tone shift that occurs roughly a quarter into Fruits Basket S2. While S1 had its flashes of more sobering, dark moments, for the most part, the series maintained a comedic and lighthearted tone. S2, after a brief set of episodes designed to set up events for later episodes, essentially reverses this—FruitsBasket becomes a character drama, with flashes of comedy to relieve tension. If you enjoyed S1 for cute zodiac antics and are uninterested and uncomfortable with themes of domestic abuse and a whole lot of trauma, you probably don’t want to continue with Fruits Basket. With that said, however, the tone shift does not come out of nowhere. As Fruits Basket is a character drama, it develops along with the characters, and strengthens the themes established in S1. It dives deeper into its complex and quite frankly beautiful characters. Excellent characters are complicated people who feel real and motivated—their goals are clear, and what they need to grow and change is evident to the viewer as they witness their arcs. Season 2 expands on these characters’ wants and needs as it begins to answer the series’ questions of family and the future. Tooru is perhaps the best example this. In Season 1, what Tooru wanted was to find a place where she is needed and to care for the ones she loves. Now that Tooru integrated into Shigure’s makeshift home, her motivations expand to wanting to hold onto that, in spite of everything that comes her way. This is also how we, the viewer, learn more about the inner workings of the Souma family and the motivations behind the cursed characters and their own familial ties. In this way, Tooru’s motivations contrasts the cursed Soumas—in them, she found solace and family, and yet, for the zodiac members themselves, such a curse ties them to their family and restricts their futures. This contrast is what creates the true conflict in Fruits Basket… Tooru working to maintain the life she loves against the familial ties that work to ruin it. While Tooru’s arc continues, the cursed characters get a lot of expansion on their own characters as they approach their future as a cursed zodiac. Among the supporting cast, certain Soumas, like the briefly introduced Isuzu, get more of a focus than others, though all tie neatly together in a beautiful, complex patchwork that is the Souma family. In terms of the main cast, the show quickly gets to addressing Kyou’s own feelings directly after the True Form Arc that wrapped up season one, discussing how he contrasts his own role as the exiled cat with someone like Tooru caring for him. This results in some beautiful episodes and moments that were, for me, some of the highlights in an incredibly strong season. In particular, though, most of the latter half of season two gives some much-needed development to Yuki. While Yuki was never a simple character, season one focused more on Tooru and Kyou than Yuki. Season two gets very deep into Yuki’s own perceptions of himself and his role as the “strongest” zodiac member. Yuki’s arc is excellent and filled with some incredible turns throughout. They really inform his character and even recontextualize his actions in season one. This arc introduces Yuki’s student council duties, as well as the four colorful characters who make up his staff, including the ever lovable Kakeru. Kakeru is a great new foil to Yuki, and seeing their relationship grow into one of the most likable and interesting dynamics in Fruits Basket was an excellent experience. In particular, though, what I really love about Yuki’s arc is the way that Fruits Basket addresses the age-old romance trope of the “flawless prince” character. It goes deep into how and why Yuki would present as such a person, and what it does to his own ideas of self-worth. One thing I love about all of these arcs is Fruits Basket’s approach to link them all. Instead of covering one character’s growth before switching to the next, Fruits Basket opts to show bits of arcs between others, making one, connected interpersonal story. While this might bother those who prefer faster pacing or feel character moments must have instant gratification to be meaningful, Fruits Basket shows how strongly such characterization can work to expand the complexity of a story. In fact, I’d consider certain moments from this season to be a masterclass in setup and payoff—every important moment from the start of the season (and even things from season one!) return to inform the story and reinforce its themes. This makes the series feel incredibly gratifying. In terms of visuals, Fruits Basket remains gorgeous. While its animation is nothing too complicated (there’s not many action scenes here to show off), the visual design is detailed and consistently great. Characters are expressive, and the show compliments its dialogue with great, subtle indications of emotion. The backgrounds remain stunning as well, and the show’s lighting and color design have some standout moments, like the numerous beach scenes in the first half of the season. Music also remains well-utilized in the series, as it often serves as a means to cue and foreshadow upcoming events. The first opening as well is a great song, and one I highly suggest listening to all the way through! The seiyuu work is equally strong as last season’s, with Nobunaga Shimazaki’s Yuki and Takuya Eguchi’s Kakeru being particular standouts. The series also has a dub, and, as someone who tends to be quite lukewarm on dubs, I’m happy to say this dub is excellent. I was incredibly impressed with the quality as I watched it alongside the sub, and even prefer some dub performances to their sub counterparts. Laura Bailey’s Tooru comes to mind in this regard. One unfortunate note I have add is that the main translation floating around, Crunchyroll’s subs, have a number of awful mistranslations that vary from removing character vocal quirks to blatantly rewriting lines. This changes their meaning and harms the characterization of the speaker. As dialogue matters so much to this series, this is incredibly upsetting. To emphasize how bad certain translations got, Natsuki Takaya, author of the original manga, found out about one particular mistranslation and commented on it. The dub, somehow (I’m assuming they work from a different, better translation?) managed to actually fix most of these issues, putting character quirks back in and fixing mistranslations. So, if you’re the kind of person who can stomach dubs, I would suggest it on translation alone as the more accurate version of the series. If you do opt for the sub, I would make note that if a character said something wildly out of character, it’s probably a mistranslation. Overall, though, Fruits Basket’s ability to expand on its sweet, episodic first season into a complex character exploration is something you rarely see executed this well. The show’s combination of fully realized characters growing and changing over the course of their arcs set the stage for an upcoming bombshell of a third season that will (hopefully) live up to what’s established in season two. If you can handle the darker themes, I cannot suggest this series enough. [TL;DR] + Excellent, fully realized characters who grow more complex as their arcs continue. + Strongly paced arcs that weave together naturally. + Great visuals, with good character expression and stunningly detailed backgrounds. + Well-utilized music with good OP and ED themes. + Excellent voice cast who add to their characters and a solid dub. - Crunchyroll’s subtitles are horribly mistranslated at certain parts, harming characterization for a number of important characters. Dub translation corrects these. - Transition from comedy-leaning to drama-leaning results in some much darker themes that might upset certain viewers who prefer their anime lighthearted. Recommended? Yes 9/10
Stark700
09/21/2020, 10:08 AM
I’m not the first to say it and certainly not the last. 2020 has been one of the worst years in modern history with natural disasters, the global pandemic, and social issues. Even the anime industry was hit hard by the various delays and production issues. But if there’s one anime that gave hope for a chance to rise up, a chance to be something special, something that connects to the audience, it’s Fruits Basket. The modern remake has already graced us with a wonderful span of 25 episodes since its previous run. With the news that the anime would be a full adaptation, we areonce again given the chance to explore the Fruits Basket universe at its full potential. Being another 2-cour show, Fruits Basket touches upon important elements such as dealing with character identity, emotional connections, and realizing one’s own mistakes. It’s a heavy show with emotional drama but exemplifies the best for what a shoujo can offer. This is why the Fruits Basket is still celebrated as a successful franchise to this day. Back to the characters, it shouldn’t take long for the audience to get comfortable with the main cast again. Of course, we’re talking about Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki. As the core cast, these characters contrasts greatly between each other yet all can be identifiable by their vulnerabilities. No character in this show is perfect and some greatly suffers from events in the past that emotionally impacts their present lives. One of the most prominent example outside of the core cast is Rin, the horse Zodiac. When she first made her appearance in season 1, we are shown an emotional withdrawn character who isn’t keen on making friends with anyone. But in season 2, we also learn exactly why she behaves such way. The second season explores sensitive topics such as parent abuse that shapes the character that Rin becomes in the present. She is emotionally distant and in her past, only one character was kind enough to offer a helping hand. That would be Haru, the Ox Zodiac whom she falls in love with. However, love and relationships comes at price as viewers will find out with their connection to Akito. That being said, she represents a darker side of Fruits Basket and a character who had been mentally broken. Even on the human side, there exists individuals such as school council treasurer Machi Kuragi. As one of the recurring characters, she is emotionally distant as influenced by events of her past and mother. It would seem Fruits Basket balances the way parents treat their children and how much impact they have on their lives. On one side, we have the loving mother of Tohru and on the other, the overbearing guardian of Machi. Speaking of Tohru, she has grown to be more and more confident this season. She’s still a compassionate girl who cares deeply about those who are close to her such as Yuki and Kyo. Even during their troubled times, Tohru remains optimistic and offers to help others with her selfless nature. Yet, in this season, she’s able to speak up for herself more. With every progressing episode, Tohru becomes less naïve and more of herself. It’s one of the strengths of her character, being able to speak her mind towards others without bias. Even during times of distress, she’s able to be honest about her feelings. Meanwhile, Yuki and Kyo still continuously deals with their own personal demons and the Zodiac curse. As one of the most prominent plot elements of the show, this curse plays a central role through family generations. It’s as if the Sohma family is trapped by destiny, which one cannot escape from. The story explores more details through the consequences of the curse and how it affects the Sohma family. Watching Fruits Basket Season 2 also reminds me how relatable characters are. From the main cast alone, you can draw similarities to real life characteristics such as the selfless nature of Tohru or Kyo’s charisma. Like real people, the cast undergo changes. Kyo is one of the most prominent examples as he evolves from a brash individual to a calmer and more mature person thanks to Tohru’s influence. Rin’s change to becoming more accepting others is also due to Tohru’s kindness and showing that there is a light in the dark tunnel. This list goes on so you’ll see for yourself how the cast evolves. Fruits Basket’s ability to make us understand these characters is one of the most important draws of the show. The ever expansive story of Fruits Basket continues to be more mysterious with the biggest culprit being Akito. Menacing and always seemingly being the root of trouble in the story, we continue to learn more about Akito’s relationship with others such as Yuki, Kyo, Rin, and other members of the Sohma family. Furthermore, Tohru’s encounter with Akito shows how much the two characters contrast between each other. As Tohru treats her friends with love, Akito treats those close with contempt, hate, and intimidation. It draws a line between how characters raised under different circumstances can be so different. Unfortunately, this season alone doesn’t conclude Akito’s full story so be prepared for a lot more thrown into our way. Even as a show with so much emotional drama, Fruits Basket does know its lighter side with its innocence and charm. Remember Yuki’s fan club from the first season? Well guess what, they return full fold with their leader Makoto still fawning for their prince. Other main supporting characters such as Arisa and Saki makes their return as well. We are also introduced with new faces such as student council members Naohito and Kimi. The latter brings in a large amount of comic relief moments with her childish personality. Furthermore, let’s not forget that the show loves to often poke fun at its character interactions whenever it gets the chance. With Kimi antagonizing Prince Yuki’s club as her hobby, you can see plenty of comedy this season. I’m not going to lie, watching this season’s animation quality feels like a cinematic experience. In particular, this season’s second theme song is among one of the most realistic I’ve seen, almost like a painting that came to life, like a poetry in motion. Character expressions carries a great deal of realism to make their emotions feel real, such as Rin, Machi, and Kagura. Ultimately, I believe this season’s animation quality not only improved but also able to show how exactly modern remakes should be made. If you made it to the final episode of Fruit Basket Season 2, then congratulations. You just followed an emotional journey crafted from the brilliant mind of the author, Natsuki Takaya. Series director Yoshihide Ibata is also able to show us how the world of Fruits Basket can be so elegant with what it has to offer. But seriously, after 50 episodes of this modern remake, it’s a matter of time before we get to experience perhaps even the best of what’s ahead.
KANLen09
09/21/2020, 10:01 AM
"It's okay to feel weak sometimes. It's okay to be afraid. The important thing is that we face our fears. That's...that's what makes us strong." - Yuki Soma It shouldn't come as a surprise that the re-adaptation of Fruits Basket under mangaka Natsuki Takaya's supervision aims to go far and beyond her own work, and now into Season 2, we're two-thirds of the way through of the complete manga adaptation, with the imminent finale of the soon-to-be Season 3, which will conclude the remainder as a whole. As is what is known in Season 1, it was mostly a set-up between Tohru and the eventual reveals ofthe Soma family members according to their zodiacs. And if you'd think that Season 1 was already very emotionally mixed in happiness and some solemn moments, wait till Season 2 here blows the predecessor out of proportion, and definitely out of whatever we're thinking of how crude can Tohru's relationship with the Somas be manifested in such a way that the Soma Curse is pretty much a leading cause of enigma, and the fight for change is set in stone. Without further ado, let's dissect on what Season 2 here continues where Season 1 left off. The Soma Family Holiday: If you'd know the head god of the family Akito by now, she is more than just the figure of lashing hurts and defciencies, and there's a reason why even as a big family together, just her presence alone makes the family members shudder at their feet (except Hatori and Shigure). Furthermore, Tohru's first meeting with the zodiacs that we haven't seen and yet revealed in Season 1 only drives the exacerbation of the problem that is Akito. ANYTHING and everything is connected to her, and each member has severe consequences for disobeying the traditions of the family. And need I say that Tohru is NO exception to the rule? Inter-Family Romance: Anyone who've watched Fruits Basket by now should know that the romance/relationship part is pretty much taboo in the Soma Family, and that at least we saw the many scars that drive the intention of a god that wants to "command and conquer" the family, and let no one control it from the outside. One example this season showed is the complex relationship between Hatsuharu and Isuzu "Rin", and if you'd thought that what Akito conflicted and wrestled control of Hatori concerning his failed-and-broken relationship in Season 1, you ain't seen nothing just yet. The only way to best experience the sheer horror of Akito is to watch it yourself, because that's how we can relate with the travesty of a control freak that's desiring to have more control over the family until what's left of them are empty husks of emotionless hearts. That is easily a summed up personalition of character development for everyone concerned. The centre Trio: Kyo, Tohru and Yuki Fruits Basket, for its entirety, focuses mainly on the centre trio that we've come to expect from the beginning, but what is shown in Season 2 here, really can't be drawn in comparison to how Season 1 has very uniquely set-up a give-or-take function between the two chads and one girl. Think with me on this: a family to love, and a family to care about. While Tohru has been with the both of them every step of the way, this season expands upon their character development and directs them to a new path of light, wherever they chose to shine, like it or not. The biggest revelation is how both chads see Tohru each in their individual light, and that is easily one of the game-changers of the entire Fruits Basket manga. What do I really mean from all of these, you'd have to watch to find out, because this is a very spoiler-heavy section that I won't divulge! School Life - Student Council: Without a doubt the singularity of the season itself, Tohru, Kyo and Yuki brace through school, but in a totally different mindset. Kyo is the same as always, but Yuki being the popular figure in school and landing himself into the Student Council, things start to change amidst the drab atmosphere. Nothing is full of bed and roses for similar characters, and there'll be outcasts in the process (just like how we've seen Arisa Uotani and Saki Hanajima fuse together with Tohru, becoming BFFs in Season 1). One such character is the mysterious Machi Kuragi, and this is where Yuki, in a nutshell, manages to find his solace within her for being similar in their parental upbringings. All I can say is, there is truth in wine, and for the valiant efforts to reach out and save someone from despair, Yuki is one character that has outpaced his character growth and begun to change his life from the inside out. That's all for pretty much what Season 2 had in content, and Season 1's set-up was magnificently done for a wonderful follow-up for the issues and situations left in store to build up to the finale season that's coming very soon. In other aspects of the show, Fruits Basket sure knows how to have good songs that are approporiate for the measures that this re-adaptation run has dealt with. Great double set of OP/EDs for this seasonal run, though I'd much prefer the mellow EDs more in contrast to the OP pairings. The art style has basically been the same for the most part with TMS Entertainment and subsidiary 8Pan's bright and lush environment that is still gorgeous to look at, no shit Sherlock here. If I have to commend anything about Season 2, is it character development truly takes up a notch as compared to when Tohru and Co. first started out being strangers-turned-friends. The amount of vibrancy of each and every one of the characters has improved, and hopefully they can be reconciled by the end of Season 3. An exemplary follow-up to Season 1, and I honestly can't wait for Season 3 to drop soon in the future to wrap up the entire series to close the entire Fruits Basket conjecture for satisfaction.

Fruits Basket 2nd Season フルーツバスケット 2nd season

2020 spring | Episodes: 25 | Score: 8.5 (279447)

Updated every Tuesdays at 01:30 | Status: Finished Airing

Type: TV

Streaming: Crunchyroll | Netflix

Synopsis

Voice Actors

Iwami, Manaka

Uchida, Yuuma

Tomari, Asuna

Shimazaki, Nobunaga

Shimabukuro, Miyuri

News

Reviews

_Shara_
02/20/2024, 05:14 PM
Note: I only write reviews after watching the whole season, to share complete thoughts. "Fruits Basket" Season 2 has been a wonderful surprise, making me even more a fan than before. I'm happy to give it a big thumbs up with a 9/10 rating! This season brings more of the touching story of Tohru and the Soma family, with even more laughs, tears, and heart-warming moments. What's New and Great: This season picks up right where the first one left off, diving deeper into the characters' lives. It brings out more about their past and what makes them tick, especially focusing on how they all grow and change.It's like watching friends become their best selves, which is really satisfying. The story feels smoother this time around, making it easier to get swept up in all the emotions and adventures. For those who, like me, wished for more focus on Tohru and her connections with the Soma family, Season 2 delivers that in a big way, making the relationships and the magic of the story shine even brighter. Characters Shine Brighter: Everyone gets a chance to shine this season. Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki, especially, go through a lot of growth, showing us more about who they are and how they overcome challenges. It's inspiring and makes you root for them even more. The show introduces some new faces too, adding fun and depth to the story without making it feel crowded. About the Music and Art: The beautiful animation continues to bring the world of "Fruits Basket" to life with bright colors and expressive characters. My thoughts on the music haven't changed much from last season – it's there, but it doesn't always stand out. However, the overall feel of the show is so strong that this is just a small thing. IN CONCLUSION: Season 2 of "Fruits Basket" steps up in every way, making it a must-watch whether you're new to the series or have been a fan. It's a story filled with love, growth, and the kind of magic that comes from understanding and caring for others. No matter your age or where you're from, there's something in this season for you. I can't wait to see where the journey takes us next.
Resting_Bonfire
08/07/2022, 04:02 AM
Fruits Basket - Season 2 A story that I initially thought was a simple tearjerker with no grounding proves to be a quality tearjerker that knows exactly what it's going for. Despite its appearance, Fruit Basket is a series for a slightly older audience, since it appeals to a lot of adults and has more somber themes. And also revolves greatly around the sex lives of some of the characters. Anyway, the second season picks up where the first left off. There are new everyday episodes, and new small events and you see more and more interference from Akito. What impresses me the most here againare the character's backgrounds and their problems. Very rarely does an anime/manga manage to address these stories properly without making it seem like melodramatic theater, and yet they've done it here. In fact, I'm almost thrilled with the backgrounds and characters. Of course, this anime does have its serious drawbacks. For example, the pacing is mediocre, there are often unnecessary flashbacks that fortunately don't last long. Many scenes lack creativity and variety. And especially disappointing are the dialogues. I so often get the feeling that the author doesn't know exactly what he's letting the characters say, as soon as there's no topic about Akito or their backgrounds. They stand around, always looking at each other in shock, acting like goofballs. The comedy moments make up for this to some extent, but when a normal non-story dialogue takes place, you know it's going to be torture. If you don't know what the characters are supposed to say, it's better to replace it completely with another scene. These awkward silences and copy-paste interactions don't help at all. [Story 4] The story contributes practically nothing new, except that you see more of the character's backgrounds. Also light information regarding Akito and the Soma family. [Characters 6] Many characters are just blunt stereotypes, but this is balanced relatively well by their various complexes, traumas, and backgrounds. This results in the characters seeming understandable and the viewer actually cares about them. Especially since there is a healthy mix between happy and unhappy characters and not everyone is traumatized by something. And as said, the backgrounds of the characters are relatively realistic and not exaggerated in any way. Many people react to problems differently and especially here, there are a lot of broken parents who think it's okay to ruin their children's lives. And this doesn't just happen out of thin air. Predominantly, the parents themselves are just overstressed people who blame their children for their failures. But there are also some parents who simply should never have become parents. [Music 5 / Animations 6] The intros in the anime really make me rethink my whole life. Especially when I'm lying in bed and can't skip this bullshit. Mediocre vocals with montages of characters walking and looking in directions. It's not a disaster, but an intro should be appealing or at least reflect something. The outros are shockingly actually good and enjoyable. The osts are average and nothing worth mentioning. Regarding the animations, the budget has increased slightly as you can see, and the backgrounds have also gotten better. But nothing to talk about. [Conclusion 6] The second season of Fruit Basket has been more convincing than the first, also making up for some shortcomings and building more momentum. If the third season keeps this quality or even gets better, I will be more than satisfied. [Enjoyment 7]
jaamun100
08/03/2022, 07:44 AM
I'll preface by saying I've seen all 4 seasons of Fruits Basket from 2001 to 2019. Fruits Basket is the greatest shoujo anime show ever made. Season 2 specifically may be the perfect balance between light-hearted comedy, emotional growth, and high-stakes drama. The revelations mid-way through the season when the cast is on a summer vacation are phenomenal, and one of the high points of the entire show. This show balances comedy, seriousness, and heartmelting drama in a way like no other. Anime fans and non-anime fans alike should give the entirety of Fruits Basket a watch. It caps high-stakes drama, and captures such a widearray of human emotion so perfectly. Fruits Basket starts out slow, with a massive ensemble cast that takes about a season to fully introduce, but after that, the show gets progressively more intricate and becomes a true masterpiece. Childish characters grow into truly profound individuals, in part thanks to a girl named Tohru Honda, who while subject to a running joke as a plain girl a "dummy," is the most pure and emotionally intelligent character of them all. You may not like romance in general, but I can promise you Fruits Basket isn't typical romance shoujo fare. It covers magical bonds/curses, the purity of the human heart, the selfishness of the human heart, child abuse, inner conflict, friendship, parental love, sibling love, domestic abuse/violence, and how the fear of the unknown can shackle you and prevent you from moving forward, and so much more. You leave the show reflecting on so many aspect of life, and yearning for more.
Klabautermann
04/21/2022, 02:07 AM
Fruits Basket Season Two can brag itself to be one of the worst anime I have ever seen, which is not a small thing. In direct comparison, the first season, which I thought comfortably average, seems almost like a masterpiece - there is an actual plot, and actual characters, and actual investment you get from watching the first season play out. Alas; Season Two decided to take a step away from all that ‘actual plot that makes me want to watch more’ and instead takes us on a metaphorical twenty-something-episode school trip through absolutely unnecessary points of… of something I can’t quite call plot, because itultimately added so little to the overall Fruits Basket experience, that I couldn't help feeling tricked. Mind you, I watched every episode of it, and I, generally speaking, remember it all. But you know how anime have those episodes where a class goes to a trip? Or the protagonists go to the beach, and it’s an entire 'thing'? I’m not kidding when I tell you nearly the entire season had felt like that. The constant, *constant* melodrama, the both pessimistic and optimistic musing of main characters, the countless inner monologues, narration after narration after narration of one’s feelings and memories and very insubstantial flashbacks - it sounds like a good way to delve into a character… but not so much when that's literally all there is. Like I said, I wouldn’t find this so bad if there was some, some payoff by the end of the episodes or at least the season. But there is quite literally none, and you know why? Because inner monologues always stay inner monologues. No matter what inner revelations, fears, concerns or breakthroughs develop in the hearts and minds of the character the episode is focused on, hardly any of it matters because the characters refuse, for the drama’s sake, to trust each other with more than a bare minimum of their true being. I know this vulnerability is part of the plot but everything has its limits, and so does my patience. Again, ultimately, it feels as if quite literally nothing had happened. If I'm looking for a single word to describe it, it’s boring. It is simply boring. … The saving grace of this painful experience is that the season decided to pick up the actual plot about four episodes before it ends, and it is, almost literally, the only part worth watching, and the only reason why this isn’t rated with a ‘1’. The last few episodes reveal a lot of interesting information and propels the plot into motion - and it makes the entire experience incredibly frustrating, because if I knew that’s how it was going to be, I would simply skip the entirety of the rest of the season easily. Which would bring is to season three and its, uh… humble way it ended things.
Startled-Normie
02/20/2022, 05:02 PM
Haiku review: First season is good Second, superfluous pad Third, a masterpiece This review covers the entire “Fruits Basket” remake. As most of us know, there was an excellent and widely loved “Fruits Basket” series that appeared in 2001. Its lone real shortcoming was that it appeared before the manga was complete, so it couldn’t reveal how everything turns out.The story was the kind of shojo that appeals to a much wider audience. The characters were compelling, the plot moved forward at the right speed, and even though it was incomplete it led to a satisfactory ending. The original series did not, apparently, find favor with Takaya Natsuki, author of the original manga, who was in some measure involved in the three-season remake that’s the subject of this review. The chief production connection to the original is the presence of much of the original voice cast in the English dub, which is nice. My initial thought upon viewing the remake was how the changes were pretty much limited to style – the characters are more moe, the “leeks” had become “chives” for no apparent reason, and the little androgynous blond character had acquired a German accent and a few German words. The places that could have benefited from the advances in anime making were largely unchanged. Kyo’s transformation, for instance, was little better in this series than in the original. I have not read the manga, and if this remake represents the manga better than the original did, I’m glad of that. Because in the remake a good and interesting story in which we care about the characters is diluted by padding, a kind of flailing in which there’s an attempt to make this into a high school romantic comedy with zodiac animals and such. It’s as if the story was approached as something that could be hammered into a kind of anime version of a “Twilight”-ish drama. That might be good for the producers’ bank accounts, but it’s crap storytelling. The thing runs a total of 63 episodes, which is at least 11 episodes too long. And it was dissonant, like the first year I watched anime and alternated between “Elfin Lied” and “UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie.” It would have been better to have made a second season, picking up from the first, once the manga finished in 2006 – it’s not as if five years awaiting a sequel is unheard of in anime. That failing, the producers might better have remade the original series, changing it only to the extent that improvements in technology allowed it to be better on that basis and that basis alone, and added a second season to complete the story. Then, if they wanted, they could have done “Fruits Basket Fumoffu” or something, where the zodiacs are always getting hugged and there could have been aerial views of the brightly colored explosions and ho ho ho for those who are into it, without messing up the drama of the show. There were cute parts – the scenes with the editor and the school play – that were genuinely funny, but this isn’t a funny show. (And if they’d collected a dollar for every anime trope and cliché used in the otherwise unremarkable OPs and EDs, they would have been able to finance that sidebar series, with enough left over to improve the production values in the main show.) To say nothing of the endless, repetitive back stories. We got it first time around: It sucked to be a kid in this family; apparently, it sucked to be a kid in Japan, period. No need to devote a half dozen episodes to how it sucked to be this kid, and this one, and this one. It’s less fun than the Endless Eight was. Then there was the soapy soliloquy at the beginning of second season, ep. 22, when Shinji, oops, Yucky, was going on about how Tohru was like a mommy to him (to which his friend said what sounded like, “Even though she’s Irish?” but on third listening I guess it was, “even though she’s our age?”) and how he wanted something more. I half expected him to burst forward in a chorus of “I gotta be me.” This kind of thing happens when they’ve lost control of the story and try to get it back by taking it way too seriously. Truth is, they could lost most of the second season with no loss to the narrative. “Fruits Basket” is one of the enduring classics in anime. As such, it shouldn’t be messed with lightly, any more than “Neon Genesis Evangelion” should be redone as a rom-com. If it were to be remade, it should have been done with that near-sacred status in mind, with the goal of the heights to which it could further soar, instead of how many high school could be crammed into it, how much it could be homogenized with all the 5/10 shows that come and go without leaving a ripple. THEN CAME SEASON THREE, “FRUITS BASKET: THE FINAL” And oh, my God. Perhaps as a reward for enduring the aimless second season, the third season is one of the finest series of anime I have ever seen or can imagine. It is gripping, moving, tense, heart-wrenching, uplifting, terrifying – pick your superlative and there’s something in this short season that fits it. Talk about a roller coaster! (It also demonstrates that, with a very small exception, all that high school stuff had no bearing or effect on the outcome. It was as out of place as it seemed.) That third season also does something very well that anime usually does poorly if at all: Usually, if there’s an ending it takes place about 10 frames before the end of the show, leaving the viewer thinking, “and then what?” They hold hands and there’s fireworks, the end. (“Toradora,” I’m looking at you.) Not here. “Fruits Basket: The Final” devotes several episodes – more than necessary, really – to letting us know what happened then. It might be an apology for all the pointless high school stuff, but those producing the show seem to have realized that the audience has come to care about the characters and would like to know that they’re safe, if in fact they’re safe. We get to find out how it turned out writ large, not just at one point in time. It acknowledges that the “Fruits Basket” story is special, that it has a revered place in anime’s enormous body of work. That’s good, though even the ending may be just a little bit stretched out, as if everyone involved didn’t want to go home yet, didn’t want to leave these remarkable characters behind. And who can blame them? We don’t want to be done with them, either. We want them to come over for a cup of coffee. We want to do what we can to help them along to happiness. Not many anime (or stories in other media) bring us to that place. After watching a series that’s become important to us we often express a wish: for a different outcome, for a plot hole (or many plot holes) to get filled, most often, for a second season. I’ll do that now. I fervently wish (with no reason to think it will ever happen) that they go back and recut the whole show. That they take the vast majority of the high school stuff, the parts that have nothing to do with the story, and make them into a sidebar series. At least that they remove them from the main story, which loses its pace and just wallows around because of them. The pacing of parts of the series is just right, but in the second season it and much else goes terribly wrong. If they were to do that, the remake of “Fruits Basket” would be just right, a perfect successor to and completion of the 2001 masterpiece.
haziq9
10/21/2021, 06:19 AM
I have so many feeelings for thisseries after finished watching 2 seasons. But shortly i am dissapointed and didnt like this series. I hate tohru bc obviously i shipped her w yuki and i freakingly hate kyo bc kyo always thought that he was the saddest person and the most unfortunate within the zodiac family. But he has master as a father, he got to be friend with haru, rin and kagura in his childhood. He got kagura to loves her and reach her when he was younger. But yuki on the other side, he had nothing. His parent sold him to akito. Hisbrother doesn't care about him. Haru and kyo hate him, he doesn't have childhood friend. Even tohru had a lot of screentime w kyo rather than w yuki even it was yuki who invited tohru to his house. So why i hate tohru simply because she is a nice girl. And to explain this its better to look at Hikigaya Hachiman interpretation of nice girl. Shortly, nice girl treat everyone the same, thus making everyone like/love her, thus give everyone fake hope bc obviously tohru can't be in love w everyone. I really feel bad for yuki tho..
mythical_k
06/18/2021, 08:32 AM
Now, this is where things get to become a bit darker, while the romance between many characters is beginning to be more noticeable. While retaining its charm from the first season, the second season of Fruits Basket is where many parts of the story are finally being revealed. The last of the main characters are introduced, and many characters that appeared in this season start to go through the character development they deserved. The story, same as usual; however, the concept of the Sohma zodiac has been expanded on, revealing a bit of darkness that could easily be seen in many scenes throughout this season, settingthe tone for what's will happen next while starting to reach its peak for the story. A recurring theme for most of the cast is that they didn't have good relationships with their parents. Once they meet Tohru, they realize that she has the qualities of what it didn't have, and they begin to accept her for being a positive outcome to their lives and treating them with love. Many developments have been seen in terms of characters, such as Yuki Sohma becoming more confident in himself by hearing his tone of voice. Going from really quiet to becoming a bit more casual as he understands how much of an impact Tohru had him. In addition, Kyo continues to warm up to Tohru, as seen in many scenes in season 2. For the rest of the Sohmas, their backstories expand on how the villain and their parents hated them because of the curse. As for Tohru herself, she slowly begins to go through her character arc when she realizes that she also has her flaws, yet is still seen as a pure and kind-hearted figure to the rest of the characters. As the season goes on, she eventually gains a goal of helping the Sohma family be free from their curse. While doing so, the love between Tohru and Kyo is becoming even more noticeable, especially on Tohru's side with the many hints the show has given us. The openings and ending seem to have a slight change in melody to match the series's change. From a calm and upbeat tune to match the first cour's peacefulness while gaining a bit of a sadder tone, matching how much darker the story has been transitioning into throughout many events. Another fact to notice is that the vocals heard can portray the plot as well, slightly expanding more on the story of the Sohmas. Overall, Fruits Basket's second season changed the way we initially saw things from the first season. The development that each of the characters goes through is worth the time to watch—at the same time, getting to learn more about the Sohma family and a bit of backstory behind Akito, the main antagonist of Fruits Basket. Towards the end, it will contain a slight cliffhanger, but it will eventually help the story reach its peak and begin to end this remade masterpiece. Get ready for the end of the third season because this series is truly a masterpiece of romance anime.
Belleamenicole
04/08/2021, 05:09 PM
I really loved the first season of Fruits Basket, so of course I was excited for this. But I was so dissapointed! Here are some reasons why I was dissapointed. There was no overall plot of the story, it was all so random and didn't really focus on Tohru. Yuki’s backstory was all over the place and when they did focus on him it was mostly of him doing things with the student council. There was just way too much filler.The incest and pedophilia was very off putting and thrown in our face more. They barely focused on Tohru or Kyo. Rin was unnecessarily thrown into the story, but I did enoy her overall. I couldn't understand why Kureno was still with Akito even though their bond was broken. It was also infuriating that he was okay with her terribly manipulative and abusive behavior. Shigure was way worse this season. He’s disgusting. I felt it dragged.... I was also disappointed with the last episode, like that’s it?? Really? After all the dragging and irrelevant story lines and characters, that was it. I’m not saying I hated it, but after such a great first season, it was disappointing. I’m really hoping for a better third season.
Jvdln123
03/31/2021, 12:15 AM
I am giving this show a 10, this review is supposedly just the second season but I want to speak on the show entirely. I first saw this show pop up on Crunchyroll when it was first released on Crunchyroll, however i thought it was dumb, because I was never into Slice of life/romantic shows back than. But when I decided to give this a try because I had nothing else to do, I did not regret it one bit. It is the type of show where there is not so much conflict as such on a bigger scale, instead it affects the immediate/branch Somafamilies, between Akito, and the Zodiacs. But Tohru the main Character, was so well done. I like the whole idea behind the amount of suffering she herself goes through, maybe not as much as Kyo or Yuki, but she is the type of character who does not want to put a burden on people shes close to, or she is able to find happiness in the smallest things, her character is the type of Character I admire. The soundtrack Fruits Basket gives is outstanding in its own right, its not something that is suppose to be epic or intense because the mood of the show is vastly different in a good way and the soundtrack is so fitting. As enjoyment, it is my favourite anime because of how much emotions it throws out at you, some moments the show could make you angry, other moments it could make you sad, and other moments it could make you happy.
samrork
12/29/2020, 12:35 PM
This show is way too highly rated. The first season was honestly very good, it brought up a good story and developed an interesting main cast. But the second season fell apart in my opinion. From my understanding the manga came before the first release of the anime at the turn of the century, but that doesn't help the fact that the cast of characters in S2 is just too big. There is no reason a show so driven on emotional attachment to the characters should try to stretch itself so thin. When I watched S1, I fell in love with all the main cast,and the team did such a good job of attaching us to them. But as you enter S2 and every main and side character has episodes solely for flashback and setup just to see Tohru cry... that is not emotional attachment. That is just using our beloved main to try to trick us into caring about these side Soumas that honestly we have no reason to care about. Furthermore, I think that the development of the main cast was... well, close to nonexistent. S1 brought us heart-wrenching episodes about the mains and their interactions, but S2 didn't develop much of anything for them.... Bringing the lens further in, I think the finale is super underwhelming... a good reveal, but I want to see what that does for us, not just an empty promise of living. TL;DR: The show tries too hard to get you deeply attached to too many characters, and I miss the smaller main cast (and development of said cast) from S1.
Blue_Maroon
09/24/2020, 03:52 PM
It really surpirsed how this season was able to put out great episodes week-in and week-out. The art is still some of the best that TV anime has to offer and looks consistently beautiful. The music is still great too. It has a nice, laid-back feel during the conversation scenes and crescendos during the emotional scenes to really drive those feelings home. But the highlight of this season is definitely the characters and the plot progression that accompanies their development. You watch these characters face some real, horrible issues that led them to becoming the broken characters they are and then see how they begin toovercome this trauma. None of it feels too abrubt or forced and it is all protrayed with as much sincerity as it should be. People this broken don’t just magically get better by someone telling them they love them. It is something that they must work on consistently, with their own effort, to accept and overcome. While other anime may occasionally drift into that territory, it is rare to see an anime portray these issues as realistically as this. That being said, it isn’t all saddness, as there is a lot of good humor and fun character interactions to give a bit of a breather from the heavy topics. The only real issue that I have with this season is that there are occasionally some episodes that don’t really flow with how the previous episode ended. Sometimes there will be an episode with some separate characters that had no real continuous connection to the previous or next episode. That isn’t to say these episodes are not necessary or do not give important character information. I would have just preferred if the content of these episodes were introduced more organically into the narrative than just placed into a somewhat disconnected episode. It isn’t that big of a deal, I just talked about it in depth because there really is not much else to criticize this anime for. I also felt that the season started out a little slow, but once it got over halfway it was really cooking. All in all, it was a very nice surprise and I can’t wait for the final season. It is very close to being a 9.
RyanTheReptile
09/24/2020, 10:40 AM
Tohru Honda literally changed me as a person. I mean it when I say it. I think everyone should aspire to be like Tohru Honda. She shows complete compassion to her peers and people around her at all times. I've watched Shojos before and haven't really liked them all that much. I was kind of hesitant when my friend told me about it but damn. This is a HUGE eye opener for me. The story follows directly after the 1st season (not surprisingly) which is about the zodiacs and the crazy shenaniganians that go on in their family!... i should phrase that a little less implyingthat it's a fun adventure when in reality it's a pretty deep plot involving a psycho maniac head of the house and his crazy obsessiveness over the over family members and how Tohru interacts with them. It is something you need to see to believe. The art style is pretty good. It isn't attack on titan but you can definitely appreciate the animators and you can tell which character is which. But that shouldn't be a problem since if you're reading this you should be able to tell anyway. :P The music in my opinion just doesn't live up to the 1st season. It's not bad but I find that it is kind of stock. The OP's literally just have the characters walking. That's it. After seeing what they did with the OP's and ED's in the 1st season I seriously felt that the ones this season were lacking. Every single character in the show feels like a real person. They are so unique and they have pro's and con's for each one of them.... ...except for Honda as she is perfect in every way. That was a joke. Tohru, while she may seem perfect to some people, she definitely DOES have some irredeemable qualities. She is a very submissive person in the whole series up to now and I am interested in seeing how she changes in the final series. I would hope so at least. I didn't read the manga. I loved this show and you will too. If you watched the first season and are on the fence on whether you should watch the second or not. Don't think. Just do it. You will NOT regret it... Overall 9/10
Valinis
09/24/2020, 04:44 AM
What a disappointing second season to this anime. Following on from the first season nothing really changes with the story or the characters. There's very little character development apart from Yuki who grows a decent amount. We're introduced to the remaining Zodiac animals throughout the season with a few short arcs that don't really matter. By far the worst part of this season is Akito. Akito is such an unlikeable character in every single way and is just frustrating to watch. Well-written villains can be a joy to watch, but in Akito's case there is absolutely nothing redeemable. Akito treats everyone like crap, and noone seems to care. Akito attempts to murder one of the Zodiacs, and no one seems to care. The "curse of the Zodiac" is never explained. All of the Zodiacs are supposedly bound to Akito's side, but it's never explained why, or what happens if they leave. The viewer is left wondering why for the entire season and it just feels like weak plot armour. Overall it's fine. It's not bad and it's not good, and it's a shame the story didn't progress at all from the first season.
cameronrb24
09/22/2020, 12:37 AM
Quick Thoughts: There was quite a bit of focus on character development/backstory this season. The balance between these stories and more lighthearted, SoL content was heavily skewed. It ended up feeling like a 20+ episode pity party. Story: The first several episodes establish what I think will be the central conflict the rest of the anime. The rest of season is non-stop slew of backstories for several characters, which help explain why these characters are so emotionally invested in this conflict. These got kind of repetitve/redundant after a while; I feel like the point could've been made in less than 20 episodes. Characters: One benefit of the largeamount of exposition this season is that the side characters are more fleshed out than usual. Several characters are introduced this season, and we're given a good look at their interests and motives. It makes it easier to understand any actions they take that would normally be questionable. There's also a pretty complex web of relationships that's much easier to follow after this season. Enjoyment: This season a bit of a downer, but I did get some enjoyment out of it. I'm still a fan of the art style, the 2nd OP was really good, and I did enjoy how the main cast (Yuki and Kyou specifically) developed.
PyraXadon
09/21/2020, 07:41 PM
What does it mean to change? What is the name of that feeling of fear that comes with the thought of wanting to stretch out your hand and go beyond of the bubble that you’ve trapped yourself in? And truly, what does it mean to be happy and form genuine bonds in this twisted game we call Life? Story: Phasing away a majority of its late 90’s early 2000’s shoujo tropes in favor of character storytelling, the second season of the timeless Fruits Basket remake continues the story by diving headfirst into the individual character stories of the cursed members of the Sohma family. More specifically, thefocus shifts towards the few remaining members that weren’t introduced in the first season, (namely the Horse and the Rooster), as well as giving substantial time to both Kyo and Yuki as their respective paths for the futures they want start coming to light. And because the ebb and flow of Fruits Basket is revolved around its characters, there isn’t really much ‘story’, per say, as everything that happens revolves around a handful of establishing events or setting changes in order to jumpstart the story. Either the characters get moved to X location and everyone is given free reign to move and react how they see fit, or a chance encounter between two individuals gives way to a spiraling avenue that the characters will follow along and react to as they see fit. This isn’t a bad thing at all; it’s just that by all intents and purposes, this is the area where the story really starts getting into the meat and potatoes of everything since we finally get the full scope of what all of the cursed Sohma are like and their individual flaws and problems that hold them back as people. And the story IS the people involved in these events less so than the events themselves, as typical with slice of life. My favorite aspect of this story and this kind of storytelling overall is its tone and how much the series goes from serious to kind of jokey, to disheartening and relieving all at the same time. The comedic tone of the series from its earlier areas (and from my memories of watching the original adaptation) has pretty much faded away by this point, replaced by serious overtones of abuse and human vulnerability in conjunction with stubbornness and fear over the idea of the status quo being challenged and the fragile peace in a person’s life being shattered if they decide to ever take one step forward. While there are several points in the season where some of this is less impactful or handled less well than others (mostly due to some pacing issues), as a whole, the presentation of Fruits Basket in its subject matter is treated with such a respectful tone that I can’t…really say anything bad about it? Indeed the show does drag its feet a little bit in getting its gears going since everyone in this show is always so reluctant to do anything, but I don’t think that happens as often as it seems to. Especially since the show does a lot to pick up the pace in its latter half when it’s clear that there’re significant difference between characters from their original selves in the first season. And bigger and more important events and decisions start happening in these characters’ lives. Characters: Tohru always struck me as the dough-eyed cutie pie that, by proxy of the beginning events of the story, manages to get involved with some of the best looking guys in the school in a reverse harem/rom-com scenario that if written today would probably not get that many people excited. And while she does retain many, many of those characteristics due to her innate airheaded character, the things she does as a protagonist to move the story along for the benefit of others show a much stronger and selfless person that earns her spot as a worthwhile protagonist. Normally a perfect little angel like this would be a point of scrutiny due to the sheer impact she has among some of the Zodiac’s younger members, but the hidden traumas that’re sprinkled in throughout her character make way for something interesting. If only they showed it. I find it a shame that about 50 episodes in, we know less about Tohru’s past than we do everyone else. That’ll probably be in the final season when it comes around to it, but for now, it’s kind of a chain to pull the audience along. Which sucks, because her losing her mother in that fashion feels like only the tip of the iceberg to what’s really going on underneath the surface. The twelve (or thirteen because Kyo) Zodiac members instead of just getting introduction arcs and episodes, this time instead get full on story involvement, as well as interactions that pry into the affairs and others. Most of them (especially the younger members) get some kind of significant change to illustrate their growth as people, while others like the Horse and Rooster get some extensive introduction arcs to explain their circumstances and involvement towards the endgoal of the series. While I very much love what’s been illustrated here with the Sohma family, the treatment is not equal, as several members feel like they either have cheaper arcs than they should’ve gotten, or just don’t show up at all because the story doesn’t really have any use for them in whatever situation is being displayed. It’s a shame because since everyone shares the same curse, I feel like there should be involvement from every member due to how the Zodiac curse actually works with its whole ‘bonds’ thing. Akito is the one character I feel is worth sectioning off only because of their role in the series as the ‘God’ that watches over the Zodiac. Their antagonistic aura featuring copious amounts of both physical and mental abuse paints a more than morbid picture over the entire narrative of Fruits Basket on top of the different circumstances and family situations that the Zodiac members deal with. Their unhinged, almost brat-like nature combined with Maaya Sakamoto’s performance as a manipulative authority figure creates a fascinating character that, while we at this point we don’t know the full story, is certainly an interesting antagonistic figure that’s easy to hate, but will be intriguing to explore when their story eventually comes to light. The rest of the cast like Uotani and Saki alongside the rest of the Student Council that Yuki gets involved with add various levels of spice to both the characters of the Sohmas and Tohru. Their primary usage is really to direct these characters outside of the bubble that they’ve trapped themselves in, which again, adds to the kinds of character change that occurs over the course of the season. This is by no means of dismissing them as just ‘side characters’, since their involvement with the overall scope of the series is essential to the kind of broadening horizons that’s being shown here with the way of how ‘things change’. Aesthetics: Honestly, I don’t have much to say about the artstyle than I’ve already said before in my review of the first season. TMS’s quality and consistency in updating and modernizing the look of Fruits Basket to meet with the standards of today’s anime makes the overall look of the series look stunning and beautiful in ways that I could’ve never imagined it, especially since the source material looks really dated in that early 2000’s shoujo style. I will say that the artists definitely took some…liberties with the few comedic moments that they had to work with amidst all of the sadness, depression, and abuse that the Sohmas have been through. A couple of them especially in the first half of the season are basically just stick figures acting out a funny looking scene. Which sure, you can see who’s doing what, but also, man that’s unexpected. On the scope of the tracks that we get from Fruits Basket this time around, personally…I prefer the duo that we got in season 1 still. AmPm’s “Prism” is probably my favorite of the two between it and Asako Tori’s “Home“, which is probably due to the fact that Prism strikes a softer and more peaceful tone that I associate with Fruits Basket due to the normally grounded nature that this series has for me. As for ED’s, Monkey Majik’s “EDEN” is the one that hits it for me. Probably because of that whole ‘Sayonara’ thing that happens at the start of it, but I digress. It’s a soft rock song that’s a little bit too high energy for my taste in a Fruits Basket song, but I think it still fits, if only because of the beautiful stills of the zodiac members that come with the song once it starts playing. Which is really something worth noting because I don’t typically sit through EDs, and just seeing these amazing stills with this song was worth the effort if you ask me. Final Thoughts: I firmly stand by the belief that some of the absolute best stories come from when a story portrays something that’s fundamentally human and appeals to the pathos of a person in ways that very few other things are able to replicate. The vulnerability and aversion of facing one’s problems, hiding away that part of oneself in order to never face the consequences, and being absolutely terrified of change or losing who you are, are such terrifying things to come into contact with that one can’t help but lose themselves when they’re faced with a mirror of their own reality. I fucking lost myself while watching this. Very few anime have the ability to hit something so close to myself as to make my body burst into tears on instinct, and the series’s acts of compassion and willingness to face the hardships of personal strife were multiple nails in the coffin to make me buckle down and continue this rollercoaster of a series. The fundamentally human aspect of this show is what I believe to be the thing that makes this a timeless story, as the relationships of a broken family, remembering the little acts of kindness others have given towards you, and struggling to change under the crumbling weight of a fragile status quo are common themes that will persist as long as people exist. Quite honestly, there are very, very few shows in the sea of anime that touch this kind of nerve like Fruits Basket does. As its final season comes ahead in 2021, there really isn’t much for me to say but recommend this show as a watch. Indeed I have a LOT of bias towards this series, as I do have a bit of a nostalgic bone towards Fruits Basket. But beyond that, I believe that it’s just a really good series that’s deserving to watch, and its enduring popularity as a fantastic story worth experiencing with the positive impact it’s had towards the audience that’s experienced it speaks volumes to the kind of quality storytelling that Fruits Basket has. And that as long as there’s someone out there willing to stretch their hand out to you, you’re never alone.
BabyGirl06301
09/21/2020, 11:42 AM
You know, I remember coming out of the last season of this and thinking I had no idea what the overarching story was. Thankfully, this season finally told me. I more or less only want to talk about story in this review as I feel like most of my thoughts about this season come from that, so here it goes. Starting with the negatives and why this season didn't get a ten from me, there were a small amount of episodes this season that didn't interest me at all. Some of the episodes that didn't heavily feature Tohru were still good for building up other charactersthat provide good elements to the story, but a few of the episodes were uninteresting to watch since it just felt like background story for characters that don't play much of a role. Branching off of that, I've noticed this season that certain plotlines will be elaborated on while others only get revealed without any expansive content. These things are tiny issues, and they only affected my enjoyment a small bit, but it's worth mentioning. That's all the negatives I have about this season, though, because this season did so much to progress the plot on both the story and romance sides. There were still some areas of discussion about the story and romance that were vague in the terms it used and didn't provide any solid understanding of what was going on, but this season also took strides in that area by clarifying some, if not all, elements of the story and romance. It was nice to have an explanation of, for example, the zodiac curse. It was nice to see characters putting their feelings into actual, straightforward words rather than hinting at it. On top of that, some of the episodes this season were just plain awesome to watch, either because the story was told really well or the characters were developed markedly. Last season, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Fruits Basket, but it didn't blow me away. This season did. The tone shifted into something more serious and dire than before, and it really added weight to everything that happened this season and last season. I couldn't have asked for a better sequel, and I'm definitely excited to see what comes next.
jay
09/21/2020, 11:28 AM
Sksks, this is my first review so apologies if its wordy and stupid sounding lol! *CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS FROM THE MANGA* Fruits Basket S2 is a perfect continuation of the first season, even though they're removing some of the scenes every fan has been waiting for, at least we got a sequel so we should feel thankful imo. Story: 9/10 The story is probably the best thing about it, the constant wanting to know who Tohru likes, while also bearing with the hilarious comedy and characters. Even though the series might dodge a few important matters (tohru's parents, etc), it doesn't mean we wont get itin the next adaption- if they do decide to make it. Even though some may say the story line is very predictable, but I reassure you it isn't. The reason why I didn't give it a 10 is because the storyline of fruits basket constantly switches back and forth between characters and scenes which can be annoying if you've seen a specific scene multiple/countless amounts of times. The ending was definitely promising, im disappointed we didn't get any word on season 3 but hopefully we'll be getting one next year. Art: 8/10 The artwork is pretty good, doesn't seem to have many issues. Even though there aren't many issues, I have noticed some of the artwork in some of the scenes looks really weird, like they're animated wrong. I don't know if i'm noticing minor details but it bugs me sometimes. Might not be much of a issue for others though. In my opinion, I think the animation has definitely improved for the better in season two. Sound: 8/10 Okay, the sound is just perfect for Fruits Basket. The nostalgic OST's, Openings, and Endings are what keeps me hooked onto the shows melody. The voice acting is also very good, as well as the loudness of the background music/ost's. No real issues here, except sometimes the voice acting is very low which makes it hard to hear the voice acting. Characters: 8/10 Some might say the characters are very generic but they all have important plot. Although having a good plot isn't always good. I do find in the storyline, the characters seem like copies of each other just so that another has a match. Take Momiji for example, his past is very emotional and sad, his mother went crazy after having Momiji and Hatori eventually wipes her memories, which leaves him with no real mother. His past is very unique, but when it comes to some of the other characters pasts, it seems to be copies of other pasts except they're changed in little ways that are still noticeable. I loved the episodes with Machi, even though they skipped the mother and fathers past, it was still an enjoyable sequel. & Even so, the characters development is what runs fruits basket, the anime did a very great job at animating from the manga. Enjoyment: 8/10 Despite Furubasa's flaws, its a very great show, and the enjoyment makes it so much more fun to watch. Especially the Cinderella Play and the tad bits of comedy that are thrown here and there. The faces are also something that shouldn't be sneered at! would definitely recommend if you like pretty much pointless comedy here and there. Overall: 9/10 Looking forward for the third (and final?) furubasa season! <3
Danielle
09/21/2020, 10:11 AM
[This review assumes you’ve seen S1. This review is spoiler free for S2, but not S1.] [TL;DR at bottom] When discussing the Fruits Basket anime, I almost like to regard season one as a prologue. This is not because the story and themes shift heavily from where they begin, but rather due to a dramatic tone shift that occurs roughly a quarter into Fruits Basket S2. While S1 had its flashes of more sobering, dark moments, for the most part, the series maintained a comedic and lighthearted tone. S2, after a brief set of episodes designed to set up events for later episodes, essentially reverses this—FruitsBasket becomes a character drama, with flashes of comedy to relieve tension. If you enjoyed S1 for cute zodiac antics and are uninterested and uncomfortable with themes of domestic abuse and a whole lot of trauma, you probably don’t want to continue with Fruits Basket. With that said, however, the tone shift does not come out of nowhere. As Fruits Basket is a character drama, it develops along with the characters, and strengthens the themes established in S1. It dives deeper into its complex and quite frankly beautiful characters. Excellent characters are complicated people who feel real and motivated—their goals are clear, and what they need to grow and change is evident to the viewer as they witness their arcs. Season 2 expands on these characters’ wants and needs as it begins to answer the series’ questions of family and the future. Tooru is perhaps the best example this. In Season 1, what Tooru wanted was to find a place where she is needed and to care for the ones she loves. Now that Tooru integrated into Shigure’s makeshift home, her motivations expand to wanting to hold onto that, in spite of everything that comes her way. This is also how we, the viewer, learn more about the inner workings of the Souma family and the motivations behind the cursed characters and their own familial ties. In this way, Tooru’s motivations contrasts the cursed Soumas—in them, she found solace and family, and yet, for the zodiac members themselves, such a curse ties them to their family and restricts their futures. This contrast is what creates the true conflict in Fruits Basket… Tooru working to maintain the life she loves against the familial ties that work to ruin it. While Tooru’s arc continues, the cursed characters get a lot of expansion on their own characters as they approach their future as a cursed zodiac. Among the supporting cast, certain Soumas, like the briefly introduced Isuzu, get more of a focus than others, though all tie neatly together in a beautiful, complex patchwork that is the Souma family. In terms of the main cast, the show quickly gets to addressing Kyou’s own feelings directly after the True Form Arc that wrapped up season one, discussing how he contrasts his own role as the exiled cat with someone like Tooru caring for him. This results in some beautiful episodes and moments that were, for me, some of the highlights in an incredibly strong season. In particular, though, most of the latter half of season two gives some much-needed development to Yuki. While Yuki was never a simple character, season one focused more on Tooru and Kyou than Yuki. Season two gets very deep into Yuki’s own perceptions of himself and his role as the “strongest” zodiac member. Yuki’s arc is excellent and filled with some incredible turns throughout. They really inform his character and even recontextualize his actions in season one. This arc introduces Yuki’s student council duties, as well as the four colorful characters who make up his staff, including the ever lovable Kakeru. Kakeru is a great new foil to Yuki, and seeing their relationship grow into one of the most likable and interesting dynamics in Fruits Basket was an excellent experience. In particular, though, what I really love about Yuki’s arc is the way that Fruits Basket addresses the age-old romance trope of the “flawless prince” character. It goes deep into how and why Yuki would present as such a person, and what it does to his own ideas of self-worth. One thing I love about all of these arcs is Fruits Basket’s approach to link them all. Instead of covering one character’s growth before switching to the next, Fruits Basket opts to show bits of arcs between others, making one, connected interpersonal story. While this might bother those who prefer faster pacing or feel character moments must have instant gratification to be meaningful, Fruits Basket shows how strongly such characterization can work to expand the complexity of a story. In fact, I’d consider certain moments from this season to be a masterclass in setup and payoff—every important moment from the start of the season (and even things from season one!) return to inform the story and reinforce its themes. This makes the series feel incredibly gratifying. In terms of visuals, Fruits Basket remains gorgeous. While its animation is nothing too complicated (there’s not many action scenes here to show off), the visual design is detailed and consistently great. Characters are expressive, and the show compliments its dialogue with great, subtle indications of emotion. The backgrounds remain stunning as well, and the show’s lighting and color design have some standout moments, like the numerous beach scenes in the first half of the season. Music also remains well-utilized in the series, as it often serves as a means to cue and foreshadow upcoming events. The first opening as well is a great song, and one I highly suggest listening to all the way through! The seiyuu work is equally strong as last season’s, with Nobunaga Shimazaki’s Yuki and Takuya Eguchi’s Kakeru being particular standouts. The series also has a dub, and, as someone who tends to be quite lukewarm on dubs, I’m happy to say this dub is excellent. I was incredibly impressed with the quality as I watched it alongside the sub, and even prefer some dub performances to their sub counterparts. Laura Bailey’s Tooru comes to mind in this regard. One unfortunate note I have add is that the main translation floating around, Crunchyroll’s subs, have a number of awful mistranslations that vary from removing character vocal quirks to blatantly rewriting lines. This changes their meaning and harms the characterization of the speaker. As dialogue matters so much to this series, this is incredibly upsetting. To emphasize how bad certain translations got, Natsuki Takaya, author of the original manga, found out about one particular mistranslation and commented on it. The dub, somehow (I’m assuming they work from a different, better translation?) managed to actually fix most of these issues, putting character quirks back in and fixing mistranslations. So, if you’re the kind of person who can stomach dubs, I would suggest it on translation alone as the more accurate version of the series. If you do opt for the sub, I would make note that if a character said something wildly out of character, it’s probably a mistranslation. Overall, though, Fruits Basket’s ability to expand on its sweet, episodic first season into a complex character exploration is something you rarely see executed this well. The show’s combination of fully realized characters growing and changing over the course of their arcs set the stage for an upcoming bombshell of a third season that will (hopefully) live up to what’s established in season two. If you can handle the darker themes, I cannot suggest this series enough. [TL;DR] + Excellent, fully realized characters who grow more complex as their arcs continue. + Strongly paced arcs that weave together naturally. + Great visuals, with good character expression and stunningly detailed backgrounds. + Well-utilized music with good OP and ED themes. + Excellent voice cast who add to their characters and a solid dub. - Crunchyroll’s subtitles are horribly mistranslated at certain parts, harming characterization for a number of important characters. Dub translation corrects these. - Transition from comedy-leaning to drama-leaning results in some much darker themes that might upset certain viewers who prefer their anime lighthearted. Recommended? Yes 9/10
Stark700
09/21/2020, 10:08 AM
I’m not the first to say it and certainly not the last. 2020 has been one of the worst years in modern history with natural disasters, the global pandemic, and social issues. Even the anime industry was hit hard by the various delays and production issues. But if there’s one anime that gave hope for a chance to rise up, a chance to be something special, something that connects to the audience, it’s Fruits Basket. The modern remake has already graced us with a wonderful span of 25 episodes since its previous run. With the news that the anime would be a full adaptation, we areonce again given the chance to explore the Fruits Basket universe at its full potential. Being another 2-cour show, Fruits Basket touches upon important elements such as dealing with character identity, emotional connections, and realizing one’s own mistakes. It’s a heavy show with emotional drama but exemplifies the best for what a shoujo can offer. This is why the Fruits Basket is still celebrated as a successful franchise to this day. Back to the characters, it shouldn’t take long for the audience to get comfortable with the main cast again. Of course, we’re talking about Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki. As the core cast, these characters contrasts greatly between each other yet all can be identifiable by their vulnerabilities. No character in this show is perfect and some greatly suffers from events in the past that emotionally impacts their present lives. One of the most prominent example outside of the core cast is Rin, the horse Zodiac. When she first made her appearance in season 1, we are shown an emotional withdrawn character who isn’t keen on making friends with anyone. But in season 2, we also learn exactly why she behaves such way. The second season explores sensitive topics such as parent abuse that shapes the character that Rin becomes in the present. She is emotionally distant and in her past, only one character was kind enough to offer a helping hand. That would be Haru, the Ox Zodiac whom she falls in love with. However, love and relationships comes at price as viewers will find out with their connection to Akito. That being said, she represents a darker side of Fruits Basket and a character who had been mentally broken. Even on the human side, there exists individuals such as school council treasurer Machi Kuragi. As one of the recurring characters, she is emotionally distant as influenced by events of her past and mother. It would seem Fruits Basket balances the way parents treat their children and how much impact they have on their lives. On one side, we have the loving mother of Tohru and on the other, the overbearing guardian of Machi. Speaking of Tohru, she has grown to be more and more confident this season. She’s still a compassionate girl who cares deeply about those who are close to her such as Yuki and Kyo. Even during their troubled times, Tohru remains optimistic and offers to help others with her selfless nature. Yet, in this season, she’s able to speak up for herself more. With every progressing episode, Tohru becomes less naïve and more of herself. It’s one of the strengths of her character, being able to speak her mind towards others without bias. Even during times of distress, she’s able to be honest about her feelings. Meanwhile, Yuki and Kyo still continuously deals with their own personal demons and the Zodiac curse. As one of the most prominent plot elements of the show, this curse plays a central role through family generations. It’s as if the Sohma family is trapped by destiny, which one cannot escape from. The story explores more details through the consequences of the curse and how it affects the Sohma family. Watching Fruits Basket Season 2 also reminds me how relatable characters are. From the main cast alone, you can draw similarities to real life characteristics such as the selfless nature of Tohru or Kyo’s charisma. Like real people, the cast undergo changes. Kyo is one of the most prominent examples as he evolves from a brash individual to a calmer and more mature person thanks to Tohru’s influence. Rin’s change to becoming more accepting others is also due to Tohru’s kindness and showing that there is a light in the dark tunnel. This list goes on so you’ll see for yourself how the cast evolves. Fruits Basket’s ability to make us understand these characters is one of the most important draws of the show. The ever expansive story of Fruits Basket continues to be more mysterious with the biggest culprit being Akito. Menacing and always seemingly being the root of trouble in the story, we continue to learn more about Akito’s relationship with others such as Yuki, Kyo, Rin, and other members of the Sohma family. Furthermore, Tohru’s encounter with Akito shows how much the two characters contrast between each other. As Tohru treats her friends with love, Akito treats those close with contempt, hate, and intimidation. It draws a line between how characters raised under different circumstances can be so different. Unfortunately, this season alone doesn’t conclude Akito’s full story so be prepared for a lot more thrown into our way. Even as a show with so much emotional drama, Fruits Basket does know its lighter side with its innocence and charm. Remember Yuki’s fan club from the first season? Well guess what, they return full fold with their leader Makoto still fawning for their prince. Other main supporting characters such as Arisa and Saki makes their return as well. We are also introduced with new faces such as student council members Naohito and Kimi. The latter brings in a large amount of comic relief moments with her childish personality. Furthermore, let’s not forget that the show loves to often poke fun at its character interactions whenever it gets the chance. With Kimi antagonizing Prince Yuki’s club as her hobby, you can see plenty of comedy this season. I’m not going to lie, watching this season’s animation quality feels like a cinematic experience. In particular, this season’s second theme song is among one of the most realistic I’ve seen, almost like a painting that came to life, like a poetry in motion. Character expressions carries a great deal of realism to make their emotions feel real, such as Rin, Machi, and Kagura. Ultimately, I believe this season’s animation quality not only improved but also able to show how exactly modern remakes should be made. If you made it to the final episode of Fruit Basket Season 2, then congratulations. You just followed an emotional journey crafted from the brilliant mind of the author, Natsuki Takaya. Series director Yoshihide Ibata is also able to show us how the world of Fruits Basket can be so elegant with what it has to offer. But seriously, after 50 episodes of this modern remake, it’s a matter of time before we get to experience perhaps even the best of what’s ahead.
KANLen09
09/21/2020, 10:01 AM
"It's okay to feel weak sometimes. It's okay to be afraid. The important thing is that we face our fears. That's...that's what makes us strong." - Yuki Soma It shouldn't come as a surprise that the re-adaptation of Fruits Basket under mangaka Natsuki Takaya's supervision aims to go far and beyond her own work, and now into Season 2, we're two-thirds of the way through of the complete manga adaptation, with the imminent finale of the soon-to-be Season 3, which will conclude the remainder as a whole. As is what is known in Season 1, it was mostly a set-up between Tohru and the eventual reveals ofthe Soma family members according to their zodiacs. And if you'd think that Season 1 was already very emotionally mixed in happiness and some solemn moments, wait till Season 2 here blows the predecessor out of proportion, and definitely out of whatever we're thinking of how crude can Tohru's relationship with the Somas be manifested in such a way that the Soma Curse is pretty much a leading cause of enigma, and the fight for change is set in stone. Without further ado, let's dissect on what Season 2 here continues where Season 1 left off. The Soma Family Holiday: If you'd know the head god of the family Akito by now, she is more than just the figure of lashing hurts and defciencies, and there's a reason why even as a big family together, just her presence alone makes the family members shudder at their feet (except Hatori and Shigure). Furthermore, Tohru's first meeting with the zodiacs that we haven't seen and yet revealed in Season 1 only drives the exacerbation of the problem that is Akito. ANYTHING and everything is connected to her, and each member has severe consequences for disobeying the traditions of the family. And need I say that Tohru is NO exception to the rule? Inter-Family Romance: Anyone who've watched Fruits Basket by now should know that the romance/relationship part is pretty much taboo in the Soma Family, and that at least we saw the many scars that drive the intention of a god that wants to "command and conquer" the family, and let no one control it from the outside. One example this season showed is the complex relationship between Hatsuharu and Isuzu "Rin", and if you'd thought that what Akito conflicted and wrestled control of Hatori concerning his failed-and-broken relationship in Season 1, you ain't seen nothing just yet. The only way to best experience the sheer horror of Akito is to watch it yourself, because that's how we can relate with the travesty of a control freak that's desiring to have more control over the family until what's left of them are empty husks of emotionless hearts. That is easily a summed up personalition of character development for everyone concerned. The centre Trio: Kyo, Tohru and Yuki Fruits Basket, for its entirety, focuses mainly on the centre trio that we've come to expect from the beginning, but what is shown in Season 2 here, really can't be drawn in comparison to how Season 1 has very uniquely set-up a give-or-take function between the two chads and one girl. Think with me on this: a family to love, and a family to care about. While Tohru has been with the both of them every step of the way, this season expands upon their character development and directs them to a new path of light, wherever they chose to shine, like it or not. The biggest revelation is how both chads see Tohru each in their individual light, and that is easily one of the game-changers of the entire Fruits Basket manga. What do I really mean from all of these, you'd have to watch to find out, because this is a very spoiler-heavy section that I won't divulge! School Life - Student Council: Without a doubt the singularity of the season itself, Tohru, Kyo and Yuki brace through school, but in a totally different mindset. Kyo is the same as always, but Yuki being the popular figure in school and landing himself into the Student Council, things start to change amidst the drab atmosphere. Nothing is full of bed and roses for similar characters, and there'll be outcasts in the process (just like how we've seen Arisa Uotani and Saki Hanajima fuse together with Tohru, becoming BFFs in Season 1). One such character is the mysterious Machi Kuragi, and this is where Yuki, in a nutshell, manages to find his solace within her for being similar in their parental upbringings. All I can say is, there is truth in wine, and for the valiant efforts to reach out and save someone from despair, Yuki is one character that has outpaced his character growth and begun to change his life from the inside out. That's all for pretty much what Season 2 had in content, and Season 1's set-up was magnificently done for a wonderful follow-up for the issues and situations left in store to build up to the finale season that's coming very soon. In other aspects of the show, Fruits Basket sure knows how to have good songs that are approporiate for the measures that this re-adaptation run has dealt with. Great double set of OP/EDs for this seasonal run, though I'd much prefer the mellow EDs more in contrast to the OP pairings. The art style has basically been the same for the most part with TMS Entertainment and subsidiary 8Pan's bright and lush environment that is still gorgeous to look at, no shit Sherlock here. If I have to commend anything about Season 2, is it character development truly takes up a notch as compared to when Tohru and Co. first started out being strangers-turned-friends. The amount of vibrancy of each and every one of the characters has improved, and hopefully they can be reconciled by the end of Season 3. An exemplary follow-up to Season 1, and I honestly can't wait for Season 3 to drop soon in the future to wrap up the entire series to close the entire Fruits Basket conjecture for satisfaction.

Fruits Basket 2nd Season フルーツバスケット 2nd season

'Fruit Basket: Prelude' Compilation Movie Announced for February 2022

North American Anime & Manga Releases for March

North American Anime & Manga Releases for January

Final 'Fruits Basket' Anime Season Airs in 2021

Spring 2020 Simulcast List [Update 4/28]

PV Collection for Mar 16 - 22

Spring 2020 Preview

PV Collection for Jan 13 - 19

PV Collection for Oct 14 - 20

Second Season of 'Fruits Basket' Premieres in 2020

Fruits Basket 2nd Season フルーツバスケット 2nd season

'Fruit Basket: Prelude' Compilation Movie Announced for February 2022

North American Anime & Manga Releases for March

North American Anime & Manga Releases for January

Final 'Fruits Basket' Anime Season Airs in 2021

Spring 2020 Simulcast List [Update 4/28]

PV Collection for Mar 16 - 22

Spring 2020 Preview

PV Collection for Jan 13 - 19

PV Collection for Oct 14 - 20

Second Season of 'Fruits Basket' Premieres in 2020