Fruits Basket???

RedJeanne said:
I'm late to the conversation, but I just finished watching season 1 of the remake, and one thing did bother me...

As a whole, I like Fruits Basket, it's cute, it's funny, it's touching, and I agree with Freshie that the themes of how we deal with abuse or trauma are addressed pretty well. You can even learn a thing or two by watching it.

But the show's treatment of Tohru is where it gets tricky... The way I see her, she's been so traumatised by the loss of her mother that she's willing to do whatever it takes to avoid any tragedy around her or her loved ones ever again, including putting herself in danger or putting herself dead last. She's so obsessed with making others happy that she lost even the most basic self-preservation instincts (I mean, she's so terrified of causing trouble that she goes to live in a tent rather than ask her best friends for help >.>)

And that would make for a really interesting character, that could have a really interesting development arc, except... the show treats all her flaws like they're virtues. Instead of giving us character development and watching her try to overcome her flaws, the show constantly praises her lack of self-respect and shows her as a role model to follow. So on top of giving the audience a pretty messed up message, I think it's a real missed opportunity in a show that's all about growing and bettering yourself.

There, sorry for the rant, but after watching that remake, I needed to vent somewhere xD Again, I actually like that show (I think I still prefer the original anime, but the remake is decent), but I do have a peeve with Tohru's treatment.

YukiCamNewman said:
Hello,
Really late to the conversation but since Fruits Basket is one of my fav manga and then anime as an extension, of all time, I thought about it through a feminist viewpoint. Obvs I might be biased because I love the story and I read the books at a difficult time, and the character of Tohru really warmed my heart.
That being said, she is indeed extremely selfless. In my opinion, it's also a bit of a Japanese social construct, as they do not see individuality as a high ranked quality. I think her selflessness can be problematic as in the end she does not take time to deal with her own trauma enough and maybe being surrounded mostly by male characters she does not build on her own femininity enough. That being said, I don't think the show or the books are that problematic in terms of gender roles.
Fruits Basket is focused on "secrets" and "curses" than can be interpreted in a myriad of ways, especially in family dynamics. In this chaotic environment, Tohru is a beacon of light and for that I would say she can be a feminist character. She is written with typical feminine characteristics than could be viewed as gendered: she cares a lot, she listens, she's soft-spoken but she's also incredibly strong and she fights for what she believes in. For that she can be inspirational in my opinion.
The 2 characters that are more problematic in terms of gender roles for me are Akito and Ren but I will stop here as otherwise I'll spoil massively to the people who have not read the books.
It's only my opinion but yes Tohru is to me a symbol of strong femininity.

YukiCamNewman said:
Hello,
Really late to the conversation but since Fruits Basket is one of my fav manga and then anime as an extension, of all time, I thought about it through a feminist viewpoint. Obvs I might be biased because I love the story and I read the books at a difficult time, and the character of Tohru really warmed my heart.
That being said, she is indeed extremely selfless. In my opinion, it's also a bit of a Japanese social construct, as they do not see individuality as a high ranked quality. I think her selflessness can be problematic as in the end she does not take time to deal with her own trauma enough and maybe being surrounded mostly by male characters she does not build on her own femininity enough. That being said, I don't think the show or the books are that problematic in terms of gender roles.
Fruits Basket is focused on "secrets" and "curses" than can be interpreted in a myriad of ways, especially in family dynamics. In this chaotic environment, Tohru is a beacon of light and for that I would say she can be a feminist character. She is written with typical feminine characteristics than could be viewed as gendered: she cares a lot, she listens, she's soft-spoken but she's also incredibly strong and she fights for what she believes in. For that she can be inspirational in my opinion.
The 2 characters that are more problematic in terms of gender roles for me are Akito and Ren but I will stop here as otherwise I'll spoil massively to the people who have not read the books.
It's only my opinion but yes Tohru is to me a symbol of strong femininity.

holysauron said:

Thank you for your input. I too don't think Fruits Basket is that problematic at all but it's always nice to hear what you have to say. I didn't even consider the Japanese social construct to be a factor, but it all makes sense to me. The "hit the nail that sticks out" saying exists for a reason anyway.

And thank you for not spoiling that part about Akito and Ren because I'm an anime watcher only and Ren hasn't appeared in the series yet. When we're deeper into the series again you might want to explain what you mean though because those kinds of things usually fly right over my head.

xxHxx said:


I'm finally watching the remake, and I'm writing just to say that I agree with everything you said. I also read the manga in a difficult time, so it's pretty nostalgic and dear. Even so, I believe I can distance myself enough to reflect on Tohru, and I came to pretty much the same conclusions.

YukiCamNewman said:


It’s great that the reboot is so good though don’t you think ? The first adaptation will always have a special place in my heart mind you :)
It’s great that Tohru but not only her is a character you can reflect on. Because in Fruits Basket, character development is so well done, you can come back to your initial thoughts and think some more. For instance, the other day I thought about Momiji and the way he embraces his femininity as well as his masculinity. His character was created, I think, to embody a lot of contrasts ... he’s cute and adorable, also seems happy but has terrible back story... also he is a boy but does not stick to gendered stereotypes and would rather be fluid. That’s all very interesting.