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A few years ago, the Shoujo genre of the anime world was gifted with the surprise ofFruits Basket,a prominent anime series that was adapted from Natsuki Takaya’s manga series of the same name. The series gained a lot of praise and appreciation for combining romance, slice-of-life, and supernatural themes together and creating an enticing story.
The series ran for three seasons and ended with a bang, becoming one of the greatest Shoujo anime series of all time. However, after the conclusion of the series, it got a compilation film titledFruits Basket: Prelude,which got mixed up in controversy. The film follows the story of Tohru Honda’s (the protagonist of the original series) parents and how they came together.
The reason behind the controversy was that fans assumed it to be a feel-good romantic story that would add substance to the characters from the originalFruits Basket.But the compilation film introduced some uncomfortable hardships of life that were unexpected. This portrayal was necessary to explain the original narrative of theFruit Basketseries.
The troubled story ofFruits Basket: Prelude
Fruits Basket: Preludewas a special movie forFruits Basketfans and Shoujo fans in general because it focused on the love story between Kyoko and Katsuya Honda, the parents of Tohru Honda. Their love story was an intriguing elementin the original series, and it was finally getting a portrayal throughFruits Basket: Prelude.
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However, the narrative that the film portrayed was unlike anything that the fans expected and thus led to disappointment. Instead of shedding light on their relationship, the movie added more questions, making it even more confusing for fans. The element that made the fans uncomfortable was the age gap between Kyoko and Katsuya.
During the movie, fans discover that Katsuya is 8 years older than Kyoko, and despite that, the two develop feelings for each other. This was quite uncomfortable and complex, thus making theFruits Basketstory contentious in the eyes of the audience, who just wanted to find out about Tohru Honda’s parents and their journey through life.
Fruits Basket: Preludewas never about comfort
AlthoughFruits Basket: Preludeportrays a messy relationship that is troubled and uncomfortable, fans need to understand that it is a reality check through fiction. If the story is studied from the beginning, it displays the lives of two different characters filled with complexities and how they deal with them together.
And while it may be exaggerated a bit because of the age gap, it still gives an idea about how to deal with these complexities.
The story portrayed inFruits Basket: Preludeis, in a way, a reflection of real-life hardships that people experience every single day. However, the element of fiction adds a connection between the two characters to understand those hardships.
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The main focus ofFruits Basket: Preludewas never tomake a feel-good romantic movie.It was to explain how two completely different characters came together despite worldly problems and created someone as kind and passionate as Tohru Honda.
Fruits Basketis available to watch on Crunchyroll.
Tarun Kohli
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2959
Tarun Kohli is the Senior Anime Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,900 published articles. He currently specializes in critiquing One Piece and other Shonen anime. A passionate fan of the genre, his love for thoughtful analysis reflects his genuine appreciation for the art of anime. His deep understanding of anime culture has earned recognition from industry figures such as Adi Shankar and the creators of Blood of Zeus.
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Fruits Basket
