Of fruits and rice ball...

Well, I have to admit it.... when a friend recommended me to watch FRUITS BASKET, I was rather sceptical. By the sound of the title alone tells me this is another bishies comedy anime and nothing more. Well, I was right about the bishies and comedy part, but I was dead wrong when I assumed that this anime offers nothing. Furuba has more than meets the eye! The plot is well-developed, the characterisation is outstanding and the themes are well-discussed throughout the series.

Fruits Basket integrates the famous legend - the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, plus the cat. And to my surprised, it is dealt with utmost precision with the original legend. The main characters take after their respective zodiac animals characters according to the legend: Sohma Yuki, the mouse, is quiet and devious - at times. Sohma Kyo, the cat, is naturally at war with Yuki, while Sohma Shigure, the dog, is fun and rather light-hearted.

The most outstanding element of this anime is the way the characters are portrayed. Honda Tohru is a little like the typical anime schoolgirl - sweet, not so brainy, but always bright and breezy. In fact, she is a big help around the house. In this anime, we can see how she gradually changes the lives of those around her, especially the Sohma family. Obviously, the Sohmas are unable to have proper relationships with "outsiders" because of their "dark secret" and as a result become reserved and introvert. Yet, each of them finds solace in Tohru, who is ready to accept them and helps them to change themselves for the better.

One plus point of this anime is the character interactions and personality mixes. Yuki and Kyo are always fighting, however that actually provides 'colour' to this anime and you'd probably end up enjoying it instead. Shigure is like a frivolous kid stuck in a submissive adult body. He is a novelist and also a pervert writer of a 'smut' manga, Summer-Colored Sky. And the other Sohmas - Hatori, Hatsuharu, Momiji, Ayame, Kisa, Kagura - introduced later are far from stereotypical and are equally fun to watch. There are even strong bonds, sometime conflicts, between certain characters and it gets chaotic when they are together.

So, if you are looking for animes with lots of bishies, well, this anime is definitely for you! From the beginning until the end of this anime, there will be so many bishies that you thought you died and gone to heaven! Bishies heaven, that is... It's an explosion of bishies!

Anyway, this anime is one good clean fun. No profanity and definitely no nudity. Hence, making it suitable for all ages. It is highly recommended by me...

[Note]
To those who are probably new to animes, bishies is a short form of bishounen. It means beautiful men or boys.