Product Info

Studio

TMS Entertainment

Director

Yoshihide Ibata

Genre

Animation, Drama, Romance

Rated

PG-13

Theatrical Release Date (NA)

Jun 25, 2022

Release Date (NA)

Jun 25, 2022

Release Date (JP)

Feb 18, 2022

Film Length

1h 28m

Purchase From

Fruits Basket: Prelude is a romance, drama film that acts as a precursor to the events of the popular anime series, Fruits Basket. It does a great job telling the story of Tohru’s parents but could use more screen time focusing on that than being a recap of the series.

The Right Pick for the Job

TMS Entertainment, the studio behind the 2019 series, returns to animate the film, bringing with it the same high production quality that was shown there. Having the same studio work on it makes it easier to bring the series’ original look to the film; it’s as if you were still watching the series again. A handful of studios do try to stick with the original studio when movies come around. Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is one such example where the studio, MAPPA, also worked on the main series, Jujutsu Kaisen.

However, some films that are spin-offs from the original anime tend to use a different animation team. For example, Dragon Ball Super: Broly and the upcoming film, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, both use different animation styles compared to the Dragon Ball Super series.

While each of these films work well in their own way, Fruits Basket: Prelude’s continuing to use TMS works well and keeps the style intact in this emotional film.

Last Time on Fruits Basket…

As previously noted, having the same animation studio to work on the film makes it easier to transition from scenes in the series to those in the film. Fruits Basket: Prelude reuses scenes from the popular show, but it feels like too much time is spent on old content. For the first 30 minutes, fans of the series will recognize many of these scenes as the movie recaps the relationship development between Tohru Honda and Kyo Sohma.

The movie starts off with a young Kyo talking to Tohru’s mother, Kyoko Honda, chatting and having already met. Yet two minutes later, the story then goes backwards to when Kyoko and Kyo first meet. It’s weird how the film chooses to go back and forth in the timeline so soon.

Later, Kyo witnesses Kyoko’s death. Feeling guilty and responsible for Tohru’s mother’s death, Kyo pushes Tohru away multiple times, but Tohru doesn’t change her tune that she still loves Kyoko. After an incident that sends Tohru to the hospital, the two do commit to each other’s feelings and begin a journey together. After all this, the film finally dives into its original story about Tohru’s parents and how they met. It’s an excessive recap that could have been shaved considerably. 

Do you need to watch Fruits Basket before watching the film? Not necessarily. Watching the series’ first three episodes is enough to get the basic understanding before jumping into the film. Anything more will simply fill in some of the story gaps not seen in the 30-minute recap.

A Romance to Tell

Fruits Basket: Prelude’s story about Tohru’s parents, of course, takes place years before the events of Fruits Basket. Viewers will watch Kyoko in her teenage years as a delinquent, feeling out of place in society. Not feeling welcome by her own parents or anyone, Kyoto hangs out with a local biker gang as one of their leaders but doesn’t show much interest as a member. The film doesn’t dive into her biker past very much since it focuses on how Kyoko encounters Tohru’s father, Katsuya Honda, at Kyoko’s school as an intern teacher.

Katsuya is a perceptive person who’s intrigued with Kyoko. Able to break Kyoko’s walls, shown by her loud and rude attitude, Katsuya sees the good in her and shows an interest in her. The two hang out despite their age gap. Katsuya soon leaves his internship at Kyoko’s school, but the two continue to hang out. Kyoko, more motivated to change her life around, decides to quit the biker gang. 

Things never seem to go smoothly for Kyoko as she’s beaten to a pulp for leaving the biker gang and kicked out of her parent’s home. However, good things await her with Katsuya as they marry, live together, and she becomes pregnant. When Kyoko finds out she’s with child, she immediately goes off the deep end about whether she would be a good mother. Between the negative history of her own parents and growing up as a delinquent, it makes sense where she’s coming from. Thanks to Katsuya talking to her with positive feedback, she begins to build self-confidence in regards to having a child.

If there’s anything that could have been adjusted, it would have been great to see more scenes of Kyoko and Katsuya together. The few we get, offering a glimpse into how they grow together, are heartwarming and hilarious. For example, in one scene, Kyoko explains to Katsuya how eager she was to buy a mixer to create healthy smoothies for him, but Katsuya’s comical response makes Kyoko annoyed. Their opposite personalities make watching their interactions entertaining.

With Tohru now in the picture, it’s heartwarming to see the small family together. However, those who watched Fruits Basket know that the worst is to come. An illness hits Katsuya while he’s on a business trip, ultimately taking his life. This leaves Kyoko a widow and three-year-old Tohru with no father.

With no help from any family member, except Katsuya’s father (who once a while helps out with Tohru), Kyoko goes into a deep depression. Between the memories of her past and having heavily relied on Katsuya for moral support, it would seem as if Kyoko would eventually try suicide. Thanks to a little girl’s voice calling out for her mother, Kyoko does snap back to reality. Realizing that she has a daughter who needs her, she feels guilty and breaks down into tears. Knowing it’s time to move on from her husband’s death, Kyoko gets back on her feet and focuses on her small family. The film circles back to the memories of her talking to Kyo and shows her point of view of the incident that led to her death. Afterwards, fans see a cheerful Tohru and Kyo meeting up before going to their home on a hot, summer day.

It’s an emotional ride where fans of the original anime series finally experience the traumatic past of Tohru’s parents. Your heart aches for them, especially for Kyoko with her troubled past and her not getting to say goodbye to her husband, Katsuya.

A Gentle Way

Like the 2019 anime series, the film is gorgeously drawn. The world of Fruits Basket: Prelude consists of soft, gentle colors but with vibrant backdrops such as the sun setting across the ocean or during a hot, summer day when plants are blooming under the sun. There are some creatively shot scenes used throughout the film as well. One of them is in the beginning of Kyoko’s delinquent years where the camera looks through the broken glass of a classroom door, the damage caused by Kyoko, as she begins to break down emotionally. Another scenario where Kyoko and Katsuya confirm their marriage shows a dandelion growing through a cement block. It makes for a simple metaphor: even troublesome people, like the weed, can grow and break through a solid wall.

Like the visuals, The soundtrack is filled with soft, gentle scores. There’s nothing too serious, though, as there’s no action-packed scenes or wild animal transformations like in Fruits Basket. The most action you’ll see is Kyoko riding her bike once and throwing a chair towards her teachers. The film’s ending theme, “Niji to Kite” by Ohashi Trio is very gentle and is a great send-off to the tragic events that occured in the film.

The Japanese and English voice actors from the series return to their roles in the film. Similar to having the same animation studio, they already know these characters’ personalities, so it’s like hearing an old friend again. Voices are emphasized in the scenes when emotions escalate for both Japanese and English dubbed versions. However, when there aren’t any emotional scenes, the English dubbed voices tend to feel too soft and drown in the background music. Those used to the show’s dubbed version will likely not notice much of a difference and perhaps be used to the volume.

Coming Full Circle

Fruits Basket: Prelude is guaranteed to pull your heartstrings and provides a proper send-off to Fruits Basket. The story of Tohru’s parents, once the film finally gets to it, provides enjoyment and a whole lot of tears. You’ll want a tissue box rather than a bag of popcorn for this one.

Fruits Basket: Prelude opens in selected theaters for a limited time starting June 25th, tickets on sale. An early screening provided for this review.