When I was a kid, shojo dominated. Cardcaptor Sakura, Sailor Moon, etc., were cultural phenomena. This really fuelled my passion for the genre/demographic tremendously. While other people my age preferred the action packed episodes of YYH and DBZ, I enjoyed the slower and more down to earth Kodomo no Omocha. In many ways, Furuba is a blast from the past, a relic of a bygone era of storytelling. The core themes and issues addressed in Furuba are so applicable to daily life, it almost hurts. Love, grief, letting go of the past and becoming your own person, etc. The overarching narrative spanning 60+ episodes of breaking familial bonds and moving on from trauma was so beautifully done that here at the end of that journey, I’m left in tears. For me, the mark of a true masterpiece is something that teaches me valuable life lessons. I lost my father to cancer at 15. I turned to animanga and light novels and have found many important things since then. The one thing that I still struggle with is letting go of the past. This remake arrived at the perfect time for me, and I could not be happier with the story-telling, character depth and educational aspects of this series.
It wouldn’t be a Furuba review if we didn’t talk about love. Love is at the core of Furuba’s story. Familial, platanoic and romantic. Over 3 amazing seasons, we are introduced to a variety of characters who are in one way or another dealing with some complications of love. Whether it’s an ex, parent who can’t remember their kid, abusive parents, etc. The story does an amazing job of building nuanced and realistic relationships between characters. This applies to both the romantic sort and non romantic sort. Obviously, there are some exaggerations and anime-y logic going on with some of the relationship building, but for the most part, the relationships in Furuba feel organic and realistic. The romantic ships are built up over the course of over 60 episodes and are done in such a way where you can’t have been oblivious to them forming, but they’re also not too in your face, at least until the second half of this season. In this season, it felt like everything was turned up to the max. The tension, stakes and action were amazing in Furuba Final. I would say that if you found S1 and S2 good, you’ll be blown away by the jump in quality we got this time around. Fruits Basket has always felt a little soapy, but this season felt like a straight up Mexican Telenovela. And I loved every minute of it.
There’s so many rich and well written characters in Furuba, it’s almost cheating. There’s legitimately 15-20 characters that could have “stans” They all receive their own mini arcs and grow over the course of the series, and we see the fruits(pun intended) of that development in the final season. You know you’ve done something right as an author when people have side characters as their favourite characters. Looking back on where everyone started in episode 1 back in 2019, and where they’ve ended up here in the final season is truly beautiful. It’s a great opportunity to reflect on how we, as an audience, have grown along with this cast we love so much.
Fruits Basket as a series, and by extension Fruits Basket Final, can be enjoyed by both hardcore shojo romance fans, as well as casual anime watchers. It has everything you’d look for in a conclusion to a series. A gripping climax, satisfying development and resolution for all parties, and ships sailing. Fruits Basket Final is essential viewing for any romance fan and will stand the test of time as one of the best stories the medium has ever produced.
Fruits Basket Final gets 10 out of 10.
