“Homeless Tooru discovers the Souma family's secret: they transform into Chinese zodiac animals when hugged by the opposite sex.”
Fruits Basket 1st Season
フルーツバスケット
Would You Love or Hate This?
AI-powered analysis tailored to your taste
Based on your preference for character-driven stories with layered emotional arcs, this title's exploration of identity and belonging would deeply resonate. The pacing mirrors series you've rated highly, and its thematic depth aligns with your appreciation for nuanced storytelling...
However, the slow initial episodes might test your patience given your history of dropping shows that don't hook you early. The art style shift in the middle arc could also be a concern...
Synopsis
Homeless Tooru discovers the Souma family's secret: they transform into Chinese zodiac animals when hugged by the opposite sex.
Tooru Honda has always been fascinated by the story of the Chinese zodiac that her beloved mother told her as a child. However, a sudden family tragedy changes her life, and subsequent circumstances leave her all alone. Tooru is now forced to live in a tent, but little does she know that her temporary home resides on the private property of the esteemed Souma family. Stumbling upon their home one day, she encounters Shigure, an older Souma cousin, and Yuki, the "prince" of her school. Tooru explains that she lives nearby, but the Soumas eventually discover her well-kept secret of being homeless when they see her walking back to her tent one night. Things start to look up for Tooru as they kindly offer to take her in after hearing about her situation. But soon after, she is caught up in a fight between Yuki and his hot-tempered cousin, Kyou. While trying to stop them, she learns that the Souma family has a well-kept secret of their own: whenever they are hugged by a member of the opposite sex, they transform into the animals of the Chinese zodiac. With this new revelation, Tooru will find that living with the Soumas is an unexpected adventure filled with laughter and romance.
What people say
Community consensus
Derived from 133 sampled reviews
What 133 viewers settled on.
Polarized
σ 2.06 · split reception
5.6 pts
Recommenders 9.1 · others 3.5
↓ 0.86
Running avg · Sep 2019 → Aug 2025
- 10 “I was a little bit late to the party but to cut to the chase, this anime scores a perfect 10 from me. It is probably THE best anime I watched this year. It's got the perfect balance of...”
- 8 “This shojo series delivers unexpectedly powerful emotional impact with quality tear-jerking moments and well-crafted wholesomeness that transcends genre expectations. The beautiful story and...”
- 10 “I absolutely loved this remake of Fruits Basket, especially how it centers on zodiac signs, which perfectly aligns with my passion for astrology. The animation quality is a huge step up from the...”
Watch Order & Related
Explore the Fruits Basket 1st Season universe
Cast
See all →Trailers & videos
See all →Gallery
See all →If you stay for this, you'll stay for these
See all →The community pairs this with
See all →Made by
See all credits →Production slate
- Format 25 × 23′ eps × min
- Total runtime 9h 35m all episodes
- Aired Apr 2019 – Sep 2019 Spring 2019
- Source Tv media type
- Rated PG 13 - Teens 13 or older
- Ref. BS-14616 catalog
Produced by
- TV Tokyo Producer
- TV Osaka Producer
- Nihon Ad Systems Producer
- Hakusensha Producer
- Avex Pictures Producer
- TMS Music Producer
- 8PAN Producer
Licensed by
- Funimation Licensor