Fruits Basket 2nd Season

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]

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Adaptation:	Fruits Basket
Prequel:	Fruits Basket 1st Season
Sequel:	Fruits Basket: The Final
Side story:	Fruits Basket: Prelude
Summary:	Fruits Basket: Prelude

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Characters & Voice Actors

Souma, Kyou

Main

Uchida, Yuuma
Japanese

Honda, Tooru

Main

Iwami, Manaka
Japanese

Souma, Yuki

Main

Shimazaki, Nobunaga
Japanese

Souma, Hatsuharu

Supporting

Furukawa, Makoto
Japanese

Souma, Momiji

Supporting

Han, Megumi
Japanese

Souma, Shigure

Supporting

Nakamura, Yuuichi
Japanese

Souma, Ayame

Supporting

Sakurai, Takahiro
Japanese

Souma, Hatori

Supporting

Okitsu, Kazuyuki
Japanese

Hanajima, Saki

Supporting

Satou, Satomi
Japanese

Souma, Isuzu

Supporting

Toyosaki, Aki
Japanese

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Staff

Shimada, Akira

Producer

Ibata, Yoshihide

Director

Aketagawa, Jin

Sound Director

Kawakoshi, Takahiro

Episode Director

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Opening Theme

	1: "Prism" by AmPm ft. Miyuna (eps 1-13)
	2: "HOME" by Asako Toki (土岐麻子) (eps 14-25)

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Ending Theme

	1: "ad meliora" by THE CHARM PARK (eps 1-6, 8-13)
	2: "Haseru Mirai (馳せる未来)" by Uta Arii (ウタ・アリィ) (eps 7)
	3: "Eden" by MONKEY MAJIK (eps 14-25)

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Sep 21, 2020

Stark700

Recommended

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 are ... once 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.

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Sep 21, 2020

Danielle

Recommended

[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—Fruits ...

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Sep 21, 2020

KANLen09

Recommended

"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 of ... the 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.

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Fruits Basket 2nd Season

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Fruits Basket 2nd Season

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Streaming Platforms

Synopsis

Background

Episode Videos

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Characters & Voice Actors

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Reviews

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