Post by Death Soldier on Oct 7, 2003 13:01:06 GMT 10
This anime is based on the story of the Chinese zodiac. Although there are a number of variations, they all contain the central basic folklore. Fruits Basket is one of these variations...
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Here is the legend told in the anime about the Juunishi and the cat being left out of the Chinese zodiac:
At the beginning of time, when God is deciding the calendar, he told the animals to show up for a party that will decide their order in the Zodiac years. Deceitful that he is, the mouse tricked the cat, who had slept through the announcement into not attending by telling him that the party was to be held the day after it actually occured. The rat rode to the party on the head of the ox, and ended up being the first animal in the Zodiac, while the cat slept at home, dreaming of the party he thought was the next day. The only one that was left out was the cat who got tricked...
The cat and rat were rivals ever since. As for the show...
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The Story Begins Like this:
Tohru Honda is a cheerful 16 year old girl. She was orphaned when her mother was killed in a car accident. Not wanting to burden anyone, she buys a tent and begins to live in a forest. She is determined to finish school in order to fulfill her mother's last wish.
One day, on her way to school, she finds an unexpected house near the forest and takes an interest in some little Juunishi (the 12 chinese zodiac) figures sitting on the porch. It turns out to belong to a man and a guy about her age. The guy introduces himself as Yuki Sohma and the man as his cousin, Shigure, then offers to walk Tohru to school. Yuki, is the most popular boy at Toru's high school. He is swooned by girls constantly and is even referred to as the "prince" of the school.
Later, the Sohmas invite her to live with them, but because she has decided not to burden anyone, she declines. Even later, however, she discovers that her little tent has been completely destroyed by a landslide, thus giving her no choice but to take residence at the Sohmas' until she can once again move in with her grandfather. She chooses to pay her rent by doing housework (such as cooking and cleaning) for her kind providers.
Tohru knows that her living environment is out of the norm, but things turn out to get stranger.
On her first day there, a boy with fiery orange hair jumps in through the roof and picks an immediate fight with Yuki! In her attempt to prevent any violence, Tohru sort of unintentionally embraces the visitor, which causes him to POOF! into a small orange cat!! Surprised, she stumbles back and falls on both Shigure and Yuki, who then POOF! into a dog and a mouse!!
They explain to her the Sohma family curse, which is as such: twelve members of the Sohma family are "possessed", in a way, by the twelve Juunishi, or animals of the Chinese zodiac. And then, of course, there's Kyou, the guy with the orange hair, or the cat. Whenever someone of the opposite gender and outside of the Juunishi circle hugs one of them, they turn into their respected Juunishi! Supposedly, this also happens when they are feeling particularly weak. After a minute or two, they change back into their human form, with just one problem: no clothing.
You can imagine Tohru's surprise when she witnesses their secret. As the story goes on, Tohru meets more and more members of the Sohma family which are also possessed by the spirits of the Juunishi.
Fruits Basket is a very touching anime series with 26 episodes and at first glance, the plot is a typical fish-out-of-water story that is doused with beautiful males, and a promise of a lot of love triangles to tangle things up. But that’s not it at all. The curse itself seems Ranma-like at the beginning: the hexed family member turns into an animal if hugged by a member of the opposite sex. But this seemingly simple plot, which does provides more than a few great laughs, also contains a hidden meaning.
To explain it simply, the curse itself is a metaphor. The Souma family is "cursed" with the inability to let anyone get close to them and always has to keep others at a distance (in fact, I'd say this is a common situation for many of us). Tohru's character is unique in that she teaches each of them how to be close to other people again and to trust them to show their real selves. This understated theme plays out so well that the end of the show actually feels unresolved. This may lead the viewer to a little bit of confusion and even resentment, but the idea behind the curse is presented so well that you understand everything that they have been through.
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