Reviews for Fruits Basket: Prelude

Saw this film in the cinema a few days ago. Seeing as there's no reviews yet, I would like to leave a quick review. The first half of the film is a recap of major Tohru and Kyo moments throughout the 3 seasons of the anime. While I love these moments, I didn't feel as much emotions due to the rapid fire recap format. Overall, it was okay and I can understand why they felt the need to add it since without it the film would definitely be less than an hour long. The second half of the film is where the real film starts. Tohru's parents'backstory was beautiful and tragic. It was on par with the best flashbacks in the 3 seasons of the anime. Tohru's dad was such a cool dude and I loved seeing how Tohru's mom became a better person and great mother through her experiences with him.

The animation, while nothing groundbreaking, was good like the TV series. The amazing OSTs from the show make a return and brilliantly bring out the emotions of each scene as always.

In conclusion, it was worth watching in the cinema because of the second half of the film. I would strongly advise you to have a box of tissues nearby when watching as there are plenty of tear-jerking moments throughout the film.

Overall, I would give this film an 8.5, which is the same score I gave for Season 1. Season 2 is a 9 while the final season is a 10 for me. Thanks for reading!

Considering the excessive amount of love Furuba as a franchise has been receiving, it would almost make me think most people haven’t watched an actual great piece of fiction and especially not one that handles abuse. Which would be a wrong assumption to make, considering HxH and Sangatsu are also in the Top 100 which make a way better case for themselves. To forefront, my feelings towards the franchise have developed negatively. I think it doesn’t present abuse in any nuanced ways, and even goes out of its way to forgive abuse without an attempt of amends from the abuser’s side. Not just only that,but the many couples in the franchise are cursed with a ridiculous age gap, imbalance of power dynamic, or both at the same time but since all the characters are so 2-dimensional, a normal viewer doesn’t seem to be inherently bothered by these issues.

This movie is not an exception of that. Aside from 1/3rd of the “film” being just recap of Kyo’s and Tohru’s relationship, the rest is about a middle school girl that has been ostracized from her family as she entered a rebellious gangster phase and persuades a romance with a way older man. It cannot be concluded from the film itself if she was ostracized because she became a gangster or she already was and therefore became a gangster and therefore the ostracization intensified. Either way, she meets Katsuya, 21 years old at the time, as her “teacher” – meaning imbalance of power – and then he grooms her into a relationship. The actual romance between Katsuya and Kyoko isn’t showcasing any abuse, it does actually look healthy as far as it is shown. The characters in Furuba aren’t really that deeply written so we stay at a comfortable sea level. However, that doesn’t mean grooming didn’t occur. If you do some basic math, you can determine that they married when Kyoko was around 15 years old and birthed Tohru when she was around 18. I have my reservations about this. Child brides, huge age gap… We love to see those.

It is fairly common in real life for adult men to “rescue” young girls from their toxic households into a “better” life to then later become very controlling abusers themselves. Usually, those men are way older and are making use of their assets like money and housing to keep the relationship in control. And since the original support system of the girl (family) is out of the picture because they are awful people and will not try to reach out and help her, they can do whatever they want. The same pattern occurs here, the difference being Katsuya never becomes a control freak or abuser and is “hot”. This is a very common trope in shoujo unfortunately and showcases the way toxic masculinity is rooted deeply in our society. Adult women will write stories about older men saving way younger girls and gifting them unconditional love. I assume it is the desire for a man that has assets and is accomplished loving you for the way you are, no matter how miserable, completely ignoring the youth, power and innocence aspect he gains from such a kind of relationship. Wish real life was this way, but it isn’t most of the time. It is a really questionable choice for a story, especially considering how often it happened in this franchise.

And that is my main concern with this story. They kinda live together, it is happy go lucky, Kyoko has no other emotional support system besides Katsuya until Tohru is born, more or less. Eventually Katsuya dies from a basic cold (that was odd) and Kyoko has an intense mental breakdown. I have to admit that these scenes were rather enjoyable and got to my most basic emotional vulnerabilities. The voice actress also did a decent job delivering the emotions here. She eventually releases herself from her slump because she has Tohru to take care of, and then the film ends with her death again looping back to Kyo and Tohru being happy again. Kyoko’s wish was for someone to make Tohru happy, so she got this, I guess.

Overall, the film is mostly filler and presents a one-dimensional romance with heavy problematic undertones. It is audiovisually completely unimpressive and the music, just like in the TV show, is way too loud too many times.

Characters were very depthless especially Kyoko’s parent household.

I did enjoy the more emotionally heavy scenes. I didn’t hate my time with it necessarily, but it was disappointing just like the rest of the franchise. And we as a society really need to let go of these toxic aspects that have been ingrained in all our souls since birth.

I have to deduct several points on behalf of whomever shoved 33 minutes of footage from the 3 seasons into a poorly edited and haphazard mess. I feel sorry for everyone who's been baited into buying a movie ticket for this, when in reality it's a decent OVA with a bunch of rehashed footage in the front to make the runtime movie length. Given this is titled "Prelude" I find it very dangerous for people who decided to start this story here. There's massive spoilers to the main story without warning in the recap, and it entirely expects you to know so much context before seeingit.

This is a poor excuse for a cash grab, even by Japanese Marketing standards.

This is a shame too, as the OVA is actually a nice story once you finally get to it.

TLDR; 10/10 movie must watch after the series! I really loved the movie, it was great as expected. This movie's first 25 minutes contained recap which was placed at really good place, it showed how Kyou and tooru slowly got together and also helped me because I watched the final almost almost 9 months ago and didn't remember that much. The next part was about Kyouko and katsuya's story. Kyouko's story was saddening from the beginning, I really loved her character because she was so relatable. Kyouko was introduced as a hot-blooded person but that wasn't everything, when Katsuya was introduced he saw heractual nature when she saw her crying, she just needed people to love her back but she wasn't given that. Katsuya and Kyouko had a relationship which made me very happy. Both supporting each other, Kyouko slowly developing as a normal person as time went and her going through multiple emotions throughout the movie all were so good!

A small part of Kyoru also made me smile and the kiss was also very cute XD.

This movie always stuck to it's theme which i liked very much and the pacing of movie was also very good (except that it was very small)

I also liked how many of the scenes were shown again but in a different time, especially Tooru getting hit by the table and getting a nosebleed.

This movie had multiple stages of showing different kind of emotions at different times, it made me cry, it made me laugh and gave me some emotions that I cannot express.

Small tooru was also very cute, wish I could get more of her! An extra thing I liked that Tooru's name was given by her father Katsuya, "when salt is added to sweet things, it gives it even a better taste, he wanted tooru to grow up a person like that" -Kyouko Honda

Music and art was also great too. I watched this movie raw so maybe I'll watch it again sometime in not so far future.

an 10/10 overall

It was so much review (Like, over half an hour of review of scenes from the anime out of order), very little plot, and then the plot that was there didn't advance the series much at all, and made me dislike characters that were well written before. I wish that I didn't see it actually. I would have had higher praise for the series as a whole if I didn't watch this film. I felt more uncomfortable about the main relationship of the film than I did before. Overall, I think this series had a better ending when it ended with the main series. Thismovie is useless to watch, and I wouldn't reccommend anyone to watch it if they care about the show.

I never expected in my entire life to have an opportunity to get to Japan for the first time in my entire life. I considered myself, one of the luckiest people on the whole, to get a chance to see this film. And in the end, it was worth it. I'll just make a quick review of this film. Fruits Basket ~prelude~ is a new film made by TMS Entertainment, from a new story of Natsuki Takaya, and covered some chapters that didn't include in the final season. The story covered the summary of the three seasons, the story arc of Kyouko and Katsuya, and theaftermath story of Kyo and Tohru after the events of the final season, written by Natsuki Takaya, respectively. We all know that having a recap from a show is entirely useless. But some recaps are bearing to watch and they can find it enjoyable. This is one of those shows, that had some recaps. But do you think it was worth it?

The first act of the film was the recap of all the seasons of the TV series. I think it lasted half an hour or less? Well, watching this recap made me remind the recap version of the entire Clannad series. It was pretty good for a recap, even the pacing was like a rapid-fire. I certainly felt some emotions, but it's not the same feeling as I felt from the TV series. The execution of this recap is better than Orange Mirai movie, in which the recap from that movie was poorly executed. I understand why they had to condense it. Because the movie will be short if they didn't include the recap. Overall, it was a good nostalgia for those who cherished the TV series. Guess who was the narrator for the recap? Just wait and see.

The second act of the film was the arc where the real magic starts. The story of Kyoko and Katsuya. For those who are saying this is a controversial story, may I remind you this was written way back in the 1990s. Well, it's your judgment if you find this pretty bad. So back to the topic, this story is one of the most beautiful, yet very tragic stories I've ever seen. I read this part from the manga but seeing this on the big screen made my heart flutter but at the same time, my heartaches. It's because I knew where this is going. Katsuya is a cool teacher to his students, especially Kyoko, But seeing him make Kyoko turn from a violent and problematic student to a better person and a better mom to Tohru was very heartwarming and touching. You may need a box of tissues for this.

So the final arc is the aftermath of the TV series and it's written by Natsuki Takaya. In the final act, I'd got to see again the main couple of the series, Kyo and Tohru, the epilogue of their arc. I didn't expect what happened in this arc but it was so lovely. Seeing those two being together made me tore a bit, after those many struggles they had faced, as they sought many answers. In the final episode of the final season when the two held hands like an old couple, I got to see it again but from a different angle. Although the final act was not as long as I was expected, It's still pretty solid and worth the wait.

The animation and the sound were still the same from the TV series, but they added a few details, especially the beach scene from Kyouko and Katsuya's story. The art was very stylish and sparkling. The amazing soundtrack from the TV series brought back the rollercoaster ride of emotions in every scene. Just like the emotions that I felt from the TV series.

Overall, I would give this film a grade of 9. While the previous seasons were very amazing, I wished this film could be longer than its initial time run. I hope many people watch this film on the big screen because it was an amazing experience. If you're going to watch this, kindly bring a box of tissues. Because most of the parts were tear-jerking. Thanks for reading and once again, hands down to Fruits Basket and Natsuki Takaya. It's a two thumbs up for me.

TBH. It sucked. Personally, I don't like pedophilia, age gap too big, stop normalizing and romanticizing it. She was 14 going on 15, and he was 22. Could've been more comfortable with maybe an 18 year old and a 22 year old but still the teacher-student love groom trop was weird and I don't fuck with it. After 30 minutes of recap, the movie was maybe 40 minutes long and the same boring trope you see in like every romance. They rapid fired all of the scenes, could have added more intricacy and development into the plot. Very surface level character trope, with Kyoko beingthe brooding, lonely, sad adolescent, and her teacher is the only one who empathizes. Went no deeper, they definitely could of. So much opportunity they did nothing with.

It was supposed to be a prequel, but so much of it was recap and present events that it didn't feel like so. Wasn't worth the time and money, wish I got more of the movie and more plot.

Fruits Basket: Prelude is something I can’t truly call a movie. The runtime is just shy of 85 minutes long. The first 35 minutes is entirely made up of recap of the last arc of Kyo and Tohru’s relationship. There is nothing new being presented here, it is the same (brilliant) material we’ve all seen before, just presented in a far inferior way. A nice trip down memory lane, perhaps, but that’s the nicest thing I could say about it. It’s truly a waste of everyone’s time to have this in front of the “movie”. Hilariously, Fruits Basket: Prelude itself seems toeven acknowledge that because only after those 35 minutes do they show the title card, as if to say “Okay guys, the movie’s starting now!”

Kyoko and Katsuya’s relationship:

Let me be clear: the relationship is unapologetically, textbook grooming (and yes, the movie romanticizes it anyways). Unapologetically becomes abundantly clear as Katsuya says (as close of a paraphrase to the actual quote that I can manage) “I fell for you after that first meeting between us. But you were only in junior high, so I had to wait.” And wait he does, as he uses his position of power as a teacher (sorry, only a “student teacher” as he’s extremely quick to point out) to take advantage of a 14 year old girl who is going through a period of extreme emotional trauma and stress. Just ripe for manipulation! This relationship could have been portrayed far better but this part of the movie was extremely rushed: about 30 minutes of the only 50 minutes of movie

What was done well was Kyoko’s relationship with parenthood and what it meant for her to take care of her child, both before and after Katsuya’s death. The only little bit that I could say grew my appreciation for this series as a major Fruits Basket fan. But that simply isn’t enough.

Finally, insert brand new 2 minute scene between Kyo and Tohru after the series. Roll credits.

This isn’t a “movie” and what’s presented isn’t even done well given that. This is bad.

Recommand watching this after the anime, has it contains spoilers from the original serie. But this is needed to give the movie a round finish/red thread towards the main story of this movie, which is how both mum and dad of Honda met, their back story and how it all went from the moment they met, fell in love and gave birth to Honda, aswell how her life continued after the ending of the serie. It would be kinda awkward to jump straight to the story of the parents without actually knowing whats been shown in the anime. Be aware you will cry. The same amountof tears you will release when you watched the anime. ❤️

I also may comment on some reviews complaining about pedofila consider the father was "adult" and the mom was "kid" /teen/not adult when they first met and started dating. Which I do believe people haven't paid attention to legal age in Japan was 13 years old (recently been increesed to 16), and this anime was a remake of the original anime/manga which was created back in the 90s beginning 2000, so the colture and rules kinda play along with that.. If they weren't following the orginal, the story of the familytree and fights within family wouldn't have made sense and the whole anime would have needed to be rewritten...

If this is something that really bothers you, then don't watch it 😅

Besides, the father was a student too, just older student when they first met so you can imagine the timestamps along with the anime.

Also may add the animation was magic and fantastic!! Love the way they made the ocean!!!

I'm a huge fan of the anime and manga, so I am very disappointed to say this movie was nothing more than a cash grab. I was expecting a fair amount of new material, but was surprised to see that the first third of the movie was just a recap of the show. They chose to showcase only the most emotional moments of the show out of context and one after the other, only serving to cheapen some of my favorite scenes. The recap was then followed by Kyoko's backstory. Aside from the obviously questionable content, it was poorly animated and riddled with distracting CGI.Finally, at the very end, we get the new content we were promised, but it was only a short scene.

This "movie" could have easily been an OVA for Kyoko's backstory. Instead, they chose to waste our time with a lengthy recap to get it to the 88 minute mark so it could be released as a movie. I'm shocked that other fans are praising this movie, as I was expecting better from one of my favorite series.

this is one of the best tv shows i have aver watched and that i will ever watch the artistic talent and creative skill it took to create something so amazing is practically impossible it was a one in a thousand chance that a franchise so constantly good exists. each character is written with a mastery of writing skill making them all entertaining and memorable. the story is the most beautiful heartfelt romance all anime fans are looking for in the sea of shit that is the seasonal releases now beautifully built and crafted so that nothing is given to you and at thesame time everything is given to you which is kept up across 63 episodes 1 films and 23 volumes. in conclusion Fruits basket: Prelude is a masterpiece among masterpieces 10/10.

Fruits basket prelude. The values of modern times may change, but past media doesn’t. The relationship of Kyoko and Katsuya is controversial amongst fans of the series, especially the anime onlies who flooded the fandom as result of the reboot. What is important to remember is that fruits basket is both a series from another culture, and another time. The 90s and early 2000s was a different time. Teens dating slightly older adults wasn't viewed the same way and the further back you go, the more common it was. From The Sound of Music, to Sabrina the Teenage Witch, you see it. Add in the factjapan is a different culture which changes at a different rate and you should get the picture. And for the record, the story is self aware enough where starting drama accomplishes nothing. Kyoko literally makes a Lolita complex joke at Katsuya's expense.

Let's all remember this is a work of fiction as well and enjoy the show. While we may relate to these characters and love them, they aren't real. And fiction is where we explore fantasy. A student teacher romance itself, being a popular romance story trope.

Before we tackle the prelude, let's address the recap and epilogue.

The recap, while unnecessary does provide some nice insight into kyo's point of view. For those of you who were dissatisfied with some creative liberties the final season took regarding kyo "forgetting" his connection to Tohru and Kyoko, despite it being clear through out the earlier seasons and even during the final itself, that he didn't, this clarifies that he simply tried to put it in a box and not think about it. Is it a lazy retcon because TMS got called our for their bs and realized they created plot discrepancies that weren't there? Probably but we'll never know for sure. At best this recap serves the purpose of emotionally prepping the viewer to cry during the movie and reintroduce the context regarding kyo's bond to Kyoko. Something that wouldn't have been necessary if they final season was given the full season order it needed.

At worst, it's just a cheap and pointless time killer eat up runtime while barely spending any money. It's also a minimalistic approach to trying to restore the emotional impact this background story had during the manga and how the later content would play off this tension, both during Kyo and Tohru's character arcs. Not that tms / production committee saw much value in those, despite them being the protagonist and love interest.

Now Takaya sensei hear our pain about the final season rushing though content and not properly delivering the resolution to character arcs and the story. And she took this opportunity to provide a nugget of joy to anime and manga fans alike. That's right, a new brief epilogue from therapist. I mean mangaka.

While the epilogue is brief, it hits all the right notes. It builds on Tohru and Kyo’s graveside conversation and shows a glimpse at their married life. The happy couple is living their best lives, working hard, panning a trip back to the family and being all lovey dovey. Its everything tms cut out of the main series. It's thrilling to see some of the sweet kyoru content we deserved. Thank you sensei. You never fail to deliver when you're needed. Now please pick up that pen and get back to Liselotte. If you're truly done with furuba and furuba another your fans need you elsewhere.

So let's dive in to prelude now. Katsuya Honda is an interning student teacher and the fantastic woman we all know and love, Kyoko, is a middle school senior. Their paths cross at a time where Kyoko is young, rebellious and emotionally volatile. She is the crimson butterfly, the girl gang member feared by her peers, and underneath her tough as nails facade, is just a broken girl from an unhappy home.

This is the story about how this girl became the emotional pillar that helped save Arisa, Kyo and of course Tohru. And the person who saved her? That's right, Katsuya Honda. He saw in Kyoko, the same emotions he hid beneath a mask of his own and when she broke down and cried, he fell in love. It was her raw honesty that reached him. And while their situations may have been different, they were still quite similar.

While she had chosen to put on a tuff girl act and gall in with a bad crows in order to hide her pain, he had chosen to give into the demands of his controlling and judgmental family and put on the act of the dutiful and obedient son. Even his decision to pursue teaching was in order to please those around him, be they family or the expectations of the other teachers. You can see the moments he drops his mask. He removes his glasses (which are fake and part of his facade) and swiftly flips the switch into a dark prince type character. He takes Kyoko pointing out his bad behavior as a compliment every time. Because she sees the real him along with the fake him and enjoys it. Just like how he sees value in both versions of her.

the two of them spent many lunch breaks chatting and growing closer. She never once attended his class. Even after he revealed he would be leaving the school and not pursuing education, she couldn't bring herself to face her peers judgement by entering a classroom. But luckily for her this twisted teacher wanted to keep meeting her.

His belief in her, reach her. It helped guide her to a better path. And helped teach her that she is worthy of love. But this better path and desire to change was held back by her past. Her decision to leave her gang, stole her opportunity to attend high school and got her disowned by her family. But luckily for her, Katsuya provided the home she needed and with the blessing of her father who just wanted her gone, married her.

We spend just enough time witnessing and enjoying their life together to become attached to their bond, their marriage and their parenting before tragedy strikes and Katsuya abruptly passess away. It leaves you wanting more, a feeling painfully shared by Kyoko as she is reduced to an empty shell of the woman she was before. She falls into so much darkness that she essentially forgets about Tohru entirely.

This story is as much a commentary on societal expectations as it is a romance. Both Katsuya and Kyoko were forced to hide behind masks as they came from two very different, but very troubled homes. They were judged by their family, each others families, their peers, but with the support of Katsuya's father who had lightened up after the death of his wife, they were able to move forward, determined to prove everyone who judged their relationship wrong.

"Show them you are happy because you are together"

That’s right people, even within the story their relationship is judged as wrong. After katsuya's death, insults at hurled at Kyoko by both his family and her own father. And while the movie didn't show it, the anime did reveal that they even insulted tohru, choosing to say hurtful things like she probably isn't even Katsuya's son. We spent 40 minutes on a recap but couldn't even have crucial content like that put in cause reasons.

Now I want to take the time to discuss something very important. The poor planning of the series that tore the final season to pieces is not solved through this movie alone. And the poor planning continues here. The time spent on the 40 minute recap, could of easily been spent animating content that directly ties into Kyoko's death. Kakeru's arc and connection to Tohru were repeatedly foreshadowed throughout the second season. Manga spoilers follow, so please only continue if you're OK with that. This would of been the perfect opportunity to fix one of the biggest mistakes of the final season, which was not adapting the content revealing what this connection was. Kakeru's girlfriend, Komaki, who was also mentioned several times, is the daughter of the man who killed Kyoko with his car. He attended Kyoko's funeral and went off on tohru for acting like she was the only person who lost someone in that accident (all before Komaki could nock some sense into him). An act that would play a part in Tohru beginning to hide her grief behind her happy go lucky attitude for most of the series. The final season did Tohru's background and character arc a disservice in many ways, and while this movie at least restores some of it, it does not fully deliver or resolve the issues with the final season.

I'll see you guys when tms and the production committee come back for more ovas, movies or whatever else they decide to do to bleed more money out of us. There's still entire chapters that were left unadapted and plenty of half chapters and skipped scenes, so here's hoping for a director's cut. Otherwise, be sure to check out the manga. You won't regret it. The story deserves the be told infull and that's the only way to experience it as of now.

And for anyone wondering if they'll adapt furuba another, the sequel series, kakeru and komaki's child is a player, so it shouldn't be adapted without a proper adaptation of their story arc.

GUYS WHY IS THIS LIKE RECAP WITH A PINCH OF OVA PLEASE STOP I HAVE WATCHED SEASON 3 LIKE WHY ELSE WOULD I BE HERE. here are my main qualms about this movie : 1. WHERE IS THE MOVIE 2. why am i watching a 15 year old marry a 23 year old TEACHER at HER SCHOOL 3. I MISS EVERYONE (˃̣̣̥ᯅ˂̣̣̥) i wanted more scenes of everyone i.e. yuki, saki, arisa, rin, MOMIJI etc. but instead i got LOLITA BUT JAPANESE ugh anyway though even though i have some serious complaints about this film, i can't say i didn't enjoy it at all. if anything, it was likea parting 'gift' from the series. i had become so attached to fruba and i watched this knowing that this would be the last thing i see from them and it made me want to cherish it so much more. like i know i said i have an issue with hald the prelude being recap but also watching the recap just served as another reminder of how much i loved the series! yes, it was repetitive, but it was the closest thing to re-experiencing those scenes for the first time (´◡`) also, kyo and tohru at the end were soooo cute eheheheh

back to my main problem though...the hebephilia dawg........like we have an older authority figure psychologically (and sexually later i would say) exploiting a teenage girl at her lowest emotional point...and like he jokes about it.....and he said that he can "get away with crossing a few lines" because his father is well known in the department....DAWG no i am afraid that is predatory behaviour and abusing nepotism...like the show really tries to get away with making it seem like it's fine and normal but ermmmm yeah..

I am not an adaptational source reader, and I can understand if coming from that you may have wanted more story and plot for the couple this movie centers on. However in my opinion from an anime-only standpoint I think this movie still fulfills it purpose on what message it was trying to get across - to show what Kyouko went through during her early life and how she overcame the feelings of loneliness when at one point it felt like there was nothing left for her. The first 30 minutes is a quick recap of Kyo and Tohru, and I am actually okay withthat. I think if I ever wanted a quick dose/reminder of Fruits Basket and did not want to consume all three seasons again, watching something more condensed into these 30 minutes is acceptable to me. Yes I am aware we are missing the many other awesome characters that undergo development, but like I said this is a good bit-size refresher of the main couple. I myself cried a couple times during the recap sequence if that means anything.

Onto the actual new content, how I personally want to view it is that it is basically a normal Fruits Basket episode but slightly longer. If Kyouko and Katsuya were to have a background episode like the other characters did in the show, then this would be it. Again, I understand that it could have been way more flushed out, but I almost treated it as an episode of the show and to that thought it was acceptable. If I had one complaint of the show (and I know some people have a problem with age gaps but I personally don't) is that it is all intents and purpose a Cinderella story. Kyouko was at her lowest of the low, and Katsuya was conveniently there to be what she needed then and there. Katsuya was portrayed as the most ideal significant other - so ideal in fact I can't find any complaints with him. While I do hope that everyone out there who suffered from what Kyouko went through finds someone they can trust and share their burden with, this Prelude is the most idealistic of scenarios - hence a Cinderella story.

Kyouko's story taught a lesson that was painfully relatable to me and what it meant to live on even when it feels like the world is against you. Without going into too much detail I too have suffered from hurtful words from parents in the past, and at the moment it made me feel very lonely. On the flipside, Kyouko also said some hurtful words back which if you were the mother would also be hurt. It made me realize that sometimes both sides can hurt even if its not readily apparent, especially when Kyouko herself became a mother.

The most important lesson to be learned is when there are times when you feel alone and that you the world is against you, remember that there people out there who want and need you. Even if they are not readily apparent, know that you can live for others even when it feels like you yourself have lost everything. I thought this was a great lesson, and that despite the lack of abundance in overall plot the movie still manages to get this across in a very heartfelt and emotional way. If you're looking for a quick recap of the core relationship of the original Fruits Basket story paired with a backstory of Kyouko and Katsuya, then this is it. Again, I am sure a more flushed out version of this prelude would have made Fruits Basket fans feeling more content and satisfied, but I can say I am fine living with this as the message was still just as impactful.

Here's a short review of Fruit Basket Prelude:- This story is about Tooru's parents and how they meet and get married If you loved the anime you have already made an attachment with it No doubt you will love it The first 30 minutes are recap of the last season which revives the emotions and then the real story starts. Just like the anime, it's filled with emotions and love. This tells how Tooru's mother's story in her younger days, how she a delinquent who didn't care about anything and turned into a loving mother and loving wife.BUT I think Tooru's father Katsuya's death felt cold it could be made more sacrificial. Overall It's a Great work worth your time. Must watch after completing anime

The prequel movie about the Honda couple was emotional, romantic and leaves a lasting impression along with the flashback scenes of Tohru and Kyoko. The story of Katsuya and Ryoko was heartfelt, and quite romantic. The animation was solid and on par with the prior season’s quality. Fruits Basket – Prelude – did get me to tear up twice. It hit all the emotional notes as the original, and Kyoko’s story in retrospect to nearly all other characters is truly one where you can’t help but root for her. It also made me reflect on my own ways of expressing grief, and when a filmcan get you to do that I think that’s something special.

Overall, the film is an excellent way to preserve the story of Kyoko and Katsuya. For long term fans of Fruits Basket, this is just a cherry on the cake.

My Rating : 10/10

Most of the film was a recap of what had already happened during the 3rd season. We assumed the other half with the information given during the entire Fruits Basket series. Nothing new was really said, except we got visuals for it. Baby Tohru was the cutest though. I will say I'm a little disappointed. We did get more insight on Kyoko's relationship with her parents, same with Tohru's dad. There were some uncomfortable scenes due to the large age gap, it was basically grooming. I mean Kyoko (Tohru's mom) was in junior high when she met Katsuya, while he was an adult. I thinkhe was 21. I did cry through most of it though. This was probably best suited for someone who hasn't seen the anime and wants a general summary of everything that happened. Someone else said this and I agree, I wish I hadn't seen it to be quite honest. Again, it did make me cry but I was disappointed in the relationships and the film. And as another user said, it made me dislike some characters. There was really no point in the film. I'm surprised it has such great ratings. This is coming from someone who LOVES fruits basket. Take it as you wish.

This movie is so beautiful, heartbreaking and wholesome. I cried so many times, but the movie also made me smile like an idiot. The art style is top tier and the storyline is good. Also the soundtrack is really fantastic. Masterpiecewrite more, but i have no idea what to say any more than this tho lol

*This review contains spoilers.* Beautiful movie. Admittedly, I am very likely biased and I hold it in higher regards than I should but I think this movie delivers everything I expected from it. This says a lot, considering I have had my gripes with the main series as some story threads didn't develop into the direction I hoped. I'm not going to talk about the first ~33 minutes here, as they are essentially a short recap of the third season and add nothing of value. The core of the movie, the story Katsuya and Kyouko, starts after that and spans until the end of the movie witha short epilogue about Tohru and Kyo flying in towards the end as well.

Kyouko and Katsuya, despite being basically absent in the main series with little to no appearances, still play a somewhat important role as they are the people who shaped the person who Tohru is in the present. Quite often, she shares material and emotional wisdom that she received from her mother, although in turn she struggles with moving on from her early death. This movie finally shines light on the mystery of her parents and what kind of people they were.

The story starts with Kyouko meeting Katsuya at the end of her middle school years and ends with her early death sometime during Tohru's middle school years. In between, the movie goes through all steps of Kyouko and Katsuya's life: Their fateful meeting, the birth of Tohru, Katsuya's early death and finally Kyouko raising Tohru as a single mother. Knowing that their happiness will last only a few years made watching this movie hard for me as you are essentially watching a story of which you already know won't have a happy ending. But at the same time, there is a certain beauty involved. If you know the end, it makes you treasure the happy moments in between even more. All too often we don't focus on the present and the things we have at hand and you never know how long it will last. Losing someone suddenly is an experience I share with Kyouko I was immediately thrown into my own past in some parts of the movie. Watching Fruits Basket: Prelude has made me absolutely adore Kyouko, even though I had already taking a liking of her during the main series from the very few scenes she appeared in.

It's important to note that this movie is very different from the rest of the series. There is no supernatural shenanigans, no zodiac spirits, no curse, it's just a pure love story that tells about Kyouko's and Katsuya's life. The offset to the main series is what makes it stick out so much but it's also what makes it unique and distinguishable. It's very different but it's part of the reason why I liked it so much.

By detailing the life of Tohru's parents the movie manages to convey a whole range of complex emotions. If you are a fan of Fruits Basket, or even if the main series couldn't fully convince you, you should definitely give this movie a watch.

8 / 10

TLDR: This movie does everything it needs to do as an add-on to the main story of Fruits Basket. The focus is the relationship between Katsuya and Kyoko, a relationship which is extremely well done, as high quality as anything seen in seasons 1-3. The recap that comes before serves to add extra weight to the events and themes in Prelude by making sure the audience is up to date about the content of the main story. Though it pales in comparison to seeing the new content, and it feels disingenuous to call this a movie when 30 minutes is spent solely on recaps. LongVersion:

Fruits Basket: Prelude is a love letter to the main story that every fan will love. It stays consistent with what fans loved about the series while adding extra depth to themes and ideas found in the show.

Before the movie truly begins about 30 minutes of runtime is dedicated to recapping events

seen in the 2nd and 3rd seasons (mostly the last episode). Since Fruits Basket was pretty dense, I feel most fans could find value in a small refresher. The recap serves an important role in the main plot by helping the audience recall crucial character details and themes that are found in the rest of the movie. It shares many similarities and connections to the main story, so keeping the audience up to date on these topics lets them more fully understand the complexities of Prelude. That being said it does drag on just a bit too long, I feel like the recap could have cut out a few scenes that didn’t need to be there. Luckily the majority is relevant to info that the audience actually wants to know.

The central plot of Fruits Basket: Prelude is carried by its main characters, of which there are practically only two. But while the number of characters is low, each one of them works so well to contribute to the story being told. The plot of Prelude is very simple, however, it is effective because the few characters that are present are so well done. The focus of the plot was obviously on Kyoko and Katsuya. With over an hour of content dedicated only to their relationship, I never once found myself even the slightest bit bored. Kyoko’s parents may be simple caricatures of typical abusive parents but they don’t overstay their welcome and even add to Kyoko’s characterization in interesting ways after they leave the story. The final scene of Kyo and Tohru together is honestly a more satisfying ending than the actual one the series gave us. Even the character with the least amount of screentime ( Tohru’s Grandfather) gets character development that makes perfect sense with his actions in the main story. His lessons about not trying to control his children’s lives connect back to his actions in the series when he lets Tohru go off on her own and live with Shigure. That little bit we get of him still connects back to the main story.

The plot itself is limited in the amount of tension and drama it can build since we already know how it's going to end. I’m glad that Prelude never dwells on one plot point for too long. Overall it's very fast-moving, hitting plot points quickly, but keeping the emotional impact that they need to keep the story meaningful. This felt very refreshing when compared to the anime (which from my memory moves a lot slower) it skips to the good parts and leaves behind a lot of the fat that Fruits Basket stories can sometimes have. It’s a great understanding of what the audience was looking for from Prelude: a story focused mainly on the relationship between Katsuya and Kyoko, not their individual struggles, but how they work together as characters, and what happens when that dynamic is taken away.

The art is neither breathtaking nor bad, it's just good enough that I couldn’t spot any quality drops, but nothing truly impressed me. Sound-wise I’d like to spotlight the VA’s because each of them does a terrific job, Kyoko's VA in particular sells the character perfectly.

While I wouldn’t call Fruits Basket: Prelude a masterpiece, I don’t think it was ever going to be one. As a prequel to a finished anime, Prelude can stand among seasons 1-3 of the anime in the quality of its writing and characters, while doing nothing drastic to elevate itself above that mark. A must-watch for Fruits Basket fans, Unremarkable to anyone else.