I must confess I’ve been a bit bored with Furuba the past two episodes. That’s obviously not a great sign, but it’s mitigated by the fact that I know there’s much more compelling material to come. Still, I don’t recall being bored too often the first time around and while I don’t doubt my hundreds-fold increase in anime viewing time since then is a big factor, I also think the added flair (and brilliant cast) of the 2001 series really made a difference during these lulls in the story.
The (unofficial) tidbit this week that this version of Fruits Basket will consist of three 24-episode seasons was obviously welcome news on some level. But it’s a splash of cold water too, because it makes me step back and consider how much dead weight there is in this story. A lot, in fact, to carry for six cours of anime. The problem is twofold – one, this is a big cast and the quality of the various Sohmas and their arcs varies hugely. And two, as I noted last week Furuba has a tendency towards self-indulgence. And I worry that will be a growing problem as we progress, that there might be an overall tolerance level that each successive episode like last week’s will chip away at.
One thing’s for sure – this series is generally better when something of consequence is happening, even if it’s emotional consequence, than when it has to fill time with the trivial. It’s not terribly good at comedy, which should be clear by now, and Takaya’s writing style is too restless for the show to be comfortable in slice-of-life mode. We did have a fairly important new character introduction (though we briefly met him last week) – Sohma Hatsuharu (Furukawa Makoto). But it didn’t pack much narrative punch for me.
Hatsuharu is the Ox, another member of the zodiac who has a mythological grudge against the Rat. He’s no Kagura, don’t get me wrong – Haru doesn’t drag the series into near-unwatchability just with his presence. But he’s kind of a bore, really. Did we really need yet another character to get into regular fights with Kyou? The hook with Hatsuharu is that he has a “light” and “dark” mode – the latter usually set off by Kyou – but neither one of them are especially engaging for me. He has better stuff to come later in the story – there are moments there to be sure. But he’s not one of the standout elements of the series for me.
The rest of this episode is pretty much standard trope material – the marathon, which Kyou naturally turns into a challenge with Yuki. The anime cold with all it’s absurd overdramatics. Lots of embarrassed squeeing from Honda-san. Indeed, probably the most important development here is Honda finally calling Yuki by his given name – which also makes it Haru’s main contribution, since he put her up to it. The impact is sufficient to force Yuki to transform, and it’s worth noting that Honda has been calling Kyou by his given name almost from the start. So in some sense this puts the two of them on a level playing field, which superficially seems to be a big win for Yuki, but the implications are much subtler than that (and cut both ways).
DP
June 1, 2019 at 6:49 pmWhile it’s not flat-out awful, I find this remake to be…inert…unimaginative…and pretty much pointless. It’s a great idea to finally tell the whole Fruits Basket story in anime form, but the best thing I can say about this production team is that it’s competent, a backhanded compliment if ever there was one!
leongsh
June 1, 2019 at 11:24 pmIs the word you’re looking for.. dreary? Flat?
This episode has only one real progression happening and that is Tohru called Yuki “Yuki-kun”. Letting herself get closer instead of keeping Yuki at an arms-length “Soma-kun”. Everything else in this episode is a yawn-fest.
Debbie
June 3, 2019 at 3:22 amDaaaang, y’all are a harsh crowd. Nothing wrong with being critical but it makes me…cringe. Forgive me for feeling the need to defend this remake AND Natsuki Takuya’s story-telling, but I do feel that you guys are depriving yourselves from enjoying this series, period.
The original story is intact, it just has a new crew bringing it to life with their own flavor. If your issue is with the story and characters, this series simply ain’t your cup of tea.
This series can be overly dramatic and unrealistic, especially later on, but that’s how it is. If you don’t enjoy that, that’s totally fine. If your issue is with it’s low production values, that’s fine too.
But don’t act as though you’re giving this show -this remake – a fair chance because you aren’t. And if you claim to be a fan of the manga series, you are missing out on all the small details of characterization and foreshadowing that this production is putting out there.
I’m curious to see how your views will change as it goes on, and I respect that your opinions are true to yourself; that’s why I continue to read your content on this show. But this review and it’s comments struck a nerve and I couldn’t stay silent about it. I’ve said my peace, and don’t intend to speak up again, but I want to thank you for reviewing this series regardless of your feelings towards it. I hope you can endure it to the end. God bless you.
aggies11
June 27, 2019 at 12:10 amI think that’s a fair point. It really is hard to compete with Nostalgia.
When I originally watched the Fruba 2001 anime, I wasn’t actually a big anime fan. Perhaps a reluctant fan with only Evangellion behind my belt. But it was a favorite of a partner of mine, and so I watched it with them. It was a gut-wrenching emotional experience, which was eye opening for me as I never thought I would be emotionally invested in anime to tear up and full blown ugly cry. Having only recently re-watched the original series for the 2nd time, and now seeing this re-release, I think it does help crystalize what I personally enjoyed about the show. (As an aside: it was always a joke with my partner and I that we could never rewatch FruBa again, as our hearts couldn’t handle it anymore).
The originally anime really well balanced the telling of the story, with necessary parts of levity. You weren’t just there to be touched by the characters, you had to laugh with them and then cry with them. This really does soften the heavy handedness of the emotional ploys of the show.
Seeing the remake, the story, plot and characters are all there. But without that balance, it just doesn’t seem to land nearly as well. The emotional impact isn’t there. The only times I personally feel connected to the characters, is when I remember the original series scene. My personal take away is it really shows you how delicately balanced the original series was. As if you take away any part of it, it just doesn’t quite hold up.
That may be fair that this series, in terms of story, characters, and plot, is not “your cup of tea”, but then I think it just illustrates that how the original anime must have done something special, by elevating this series and making it enjoyably to that audience. It’s presentation was such that it made something that was on it’s face not so palatable, and transformed it into something enchanting.
This is then less a criticism of the remake and more just a better appreciate for what some people enjoyed about the original series. I always wished we got more FruBa upon reaching the end of the first anime. With the remake, I realize now that it was less the story, and really the entire package that I appreciated so much.