Fruits Basket - Anyone Else Love This Series?
 

My wife and I are huge fans of the Hayao Miyazaki films ("Spirited Away", "Nausicaa", "Howl's Moving Castle", etc, etc..)...so Amazon flagged "Fruits Basket" as something we would like...at first glance, I was skeptical, but I ordered the first DVD. Popped it in the player...and fell in love. Ordered the next 3 DVDs pronto (could have saved $10 if I had just ordered the set in the first place but meh).

Has anyone else ever heard of this series and what do you think of it? It is based on a manga that went over huge in Japan, and the Anime is now on it's second english release, but I was wondering if any other TFP-ers have seen it.

It is definitely not for someone who only likes the traditional fight-laden anime (which I actually like but the wife hates), but I find it at turns humorous, serious, touching, depressing, and all around wonderful as regarding the story that unfolds. Plus it has some of the best supporting characters ever, rivalling any live-action TV or movie title I've seen in a while.

Anyone else seen this gem? Love it? Hate it?

[edit] - after the disappointing "Golden Compass" it might be time to change my avatar to something from this series :)

I remember watching this awhile back and enjoying it. Unfortunately, like alot of anime, it is based on a manga and the anime only gets to a certain point. To continue the story you will need to read the manga.
Poor Honda, life sure was not kind to her but you just can't help but love her for her optimism.

Yep, finished the DVDs over the weekend, and then researched and found that the anime only covers the first 6 volumes of the Manga...of which there are 23 total. There is an english translation of the Manga (currently up to volume 18)...so guess what I just ordered for the wife as an extra Christmas present :)

I think this is one of the things that made us love the series - her personality is pure fiction in that no one could possibly always be that upbeat, but it is an ideal to strive for. Although it is fantasy, I also find it has a lot of lessons about dealing with life and people that I believe are worth re-examining by both young and old. The caveat is that I probably wouldn't have noticed this series in my 20s, but now that I'm nearing 40 it resonates.

Not gonna lie... GF proved I liked it when I started watching it without complaining.

Oh yeah, and I love Miyazaki!