Review of Fruits Basket

I avoided watching this because harem shows are hard to make into something not super irritating. I liked ouran host club (a medium amount) in the same way I like Kyo kara maoh but this harem brought enough extra to the table for me to give it a >7 rating. First I'll tell you why the core concept isn't the worst. 1. the not so bright super kind girl has a mom who used to be in a gang and has some great life lessons. She also has 2 super entertaining friends. 2. while 2 harem members seem like they could evolve intoa 3p the rest of the harem like the main character because of her non-judgmental attitude and the fact that she is super willing to cook and clean for the house.
3. while the concept of turning into an animal when hugged by someone of another gender could have been used as plot in an infinite amount of ways it's role is purely fact and slapstick comedy.
Next, I'm going to tell you what I got that I didn't expect.
1. Every central character made me laugh out loud. at least once. I don't have a shoujo manga personality but these guys are each written in a beautiful moment of hilarity that earns them their spot in the anime. and if you reflect on their zodiac animal after those laughs you laugh harder.
2. I cried multiple times during this season. In happiness, sadness, understanding, I cried so many times. I accepted when I turned 18 that I was going to be a grown-up who cries at certain types of things and this show hit every base. and the fact that I cried wasn't upsetting, it was just a gentle cry leading to a content feeling at the end of an episode.
So I don't watch shoujo anime because the voices tend to annoy me but is this what they are like? I happily watched 25 episodes in 3 days and will end up thinking about this show more in the future. (and of course, watch the other seasons) I don't know what type of people would like/dislike Fruits Basket but if you aren't watching it for the reasons I wasn't then you should give the first 3 episodes a try.