50 Fun Facts About Fruits Basket

Who wrote and illustrated the Fruits Basket manga?

She decided to become a manga artist in first grade and had never worked as an assistant before her debut.

In which shōjo magazine was Fruits Basket serialised from 1998 to 2006?

The semi-monthly magazine is published by Hakusensha, which collected the series into 23 volumes.

The series' title comes from what?

Players are each named after a fruit and scramble for seats when theirs is called.

What were Tohru's kindergarten classmates calling her in the game, instead of a fruit?

She thought rice balls were delicious and did not realise she was being left out until the game ended.

How does Tohru's mother die shortly before the story begins?

Kyo is present at the accident but cannot save her without revealing his curse.

Where is Tohru living when she first discovers the Sohma house?

She did not want to impose on her friends while her grandfather's house was remodelled.

What destroys Tohru's tent, leading the Sohmas to take her in?

Yuki and Shigure invite her to move in, and she does the housekeeping in return.

How does Kyo make his entrance into the Sohma house in the first chapter?

He immediately challenges Yuki to a fight, and Tohru's attempt to stop him reveals the curse.

What triggers a cursed Sohma's transformation into their zodiac animal?

Weakness, stress and embarrassment also do it; only cursed family members can embrace them safely.

Which animal is Kyo possessed by?

Legend says the cat would have been in the zodiac had the rat not tricked it into missing the banquet.

Which zodiac animal is Yuki?

As the rat, he is the object of Kyo's lifelong hatred, even though the two secretly envy each other.

Which zodiac animal is Shigure, the owner of the house?

He writes literary novels under his own name and erotic romances under the pen name Noa Kiritani.

What role in the zodiac legend does Akito occupy?

Akito both holds the family together and chains them to their spirits.

What is revealed in chapter 97 of the manga but never in the 2001 anime?

Her mother Ren raised her as a boy; only Kureno, Shigure, Hatori and Ayame knew.

What bet does Kyo make with Akito shortly ahead of the series' start?

Despite months of training, he never lands a decent blow on Yuki.

What happens when Kyo's bead bracelet is removed?

Tohru follows him in that form and begs him to stay, which strengthens their bond.

Who took Kyo in and raised him after his mother's death?

The karate master is addressed as Shishō and is so bad at cooking he cannot make tea.

Why did Kazuma feel compelled to raise the family's cat?

As a boy he refused his grandfather's sweet, calling it cursed, and the memory haunted him.

Which animal is Hatori, the family doctor, and what form does he actually take?

Shigure says the tiny 8 cm form is a sign the curse is weakening.

What special ability does Hatori use on outsiders who learn the family secret?

The hypnosis is handed down in his line; he used it on Yuki's childhood playmates and on Momiji's mother.

How did Hatori become nearly blind in his left eye?

Akito then blamed Kana, and Hatori ended up erasing his fiancée's memories of him.

Which animal is Momiji, and which European country is his mother from?

His mother was so repulsed by the curse that she asked Hatori to erase her memory of him.

What do the Sohmas call Hatsuharu's calm and enraged personalities?

He is the ox, with white hair and black roots, and as a child blamed Yuki for his reputation for stupidity.

What does Ayame, the snake and Yuki's older brother, sell in his shop?

Frilly dresses and maid outfits are made with the help of his seamstress Mine Kuramae.

Which zodiac animal is the shy Kisa, who stops speaking after being bullied?

Her tawny hair and golden eyes are effects of the curse; she calls Tohru "onee-chan".

Which zodiac animal is the anxious, constantly apologising Ritsu?

He dresses in women's clothing because he feels less social pressure that way, and is training to run the family onsen.

Kagura, the boar, insists she is engaged to which character?

She forced him to propose when they were children, using a knife in the manga and a boulder in the 2001 anime.

What is unusual about the rooster's curse when the series begins?

Akito keeps him close to hide it; he is 26 before he first visits a convenience store.

Which bird did the family's former rooster actually turn into?

Takaya says he disliked others seeing his animal form.

Why did Takaya make Rin's hair long after first designing her with short hair?

Fans dubbed the horse of the zodiac "the character in charge of sexiness".

What was Tohru's mother Kyoko before she married?

The gang's name came from how motorcycle tail-lights look like a red butterfly at night.

What were Kyoko's last words actually meant to say, as revealed in chapter 135?

Kyo heard only "I'll never forgive you" and carried the guilt for years.

What special ability does Tohru's friend Saki Hanajima have?

She uses her reputation for "poison waves" to shield Tohru from Yuki's fan club.

Which Sohma does Tohru's brash friend Arisa Uotani fall for at a convenience store?

She worries about their nine-year age gap, and in the final chapter prepares to move in with him.

How did Takaya name most of the cursed Sohmas?

Kureno and Momiji were swapped by mistake, and Kyo and Yuki do not follow the scheme.

Why did Takaya give Tohru a name normally used for men?

Other characters also call her "Tohru-kun", an honorific usually used for boys.

Which company produced the 2001 anime adaptation?

Akitaro Daichi directed its 26 episodes, which covered roughly the first six volumes.

Which studio produced the 2019–2021 anime, made with a new cast at Takaya's request?

Yoshihide Ibata directed three seasons, the last titled Fruits Basket: The Final.

Who sang the opening and ending themes of the 2001 anime?

The opening is "For Fruits Basket", sung by Meredith McCoy in the English dub.

What is the first opening theme of the 2019 anime?

"Chime" took over from episode 14; the final season used "Pleasure" by Warps Up.

Which English voice actress plays Tohru in both the 2001 and 2019 dubs?

She also sang the first ending theme, "Chiisana Inori", in the 2001 dub.

Who voices Kyo in English in both anime series?

Eric Vale voices Yuki and John Burgmeier voices Shigure in both versions too.

Who voiced Tohru in Japanese in the 2019 anime?

Yui Horie had voiced her in 2001; Maaya Sakamoto took on Akito in the reboot.

Which award did the 2019 anime win at the 5th Crunchyroll Anime Awards?

The manga had earlier won the 2001 Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo.

Roughly how many copies of the manga were in circulation by December 2018?

More than 18 million of those were sold in Japan, and it was Tokyopop's best-selling series.

Which English publisher re-licensed the manga after Tokyopop stopped publishing?

It issued twelve omnibus Collector's Editions starting in June 2016.

What is the title of the sequel manga Takaya began in 2015?

Tohru and Kyo's eldest son Hajime is its male protagonist.

What does the 2022 film Fruits Basket: Prelude add to its recap of the series?

Kyoko to Katsuya no Monogatari tells how a student teacher fell for a gang leader.

Which franchise did Fruits Basket collaborate with in August 2022?

Crunchyroll announced the crossover at Anime Expo 2022.

What do the final pages of the manga show about Tohru and Kyo?

They leave Shigure's house so Kyo can train at another dojo before inheriting Kazuma's.