FRUITS BASKET: PRELUDE

DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ComedyFruits Basket
MANGA DramaFruits Basket: prelude - Special Comics
ANIME ComedyFruits Basket: The Final

REVIEWS

• 

  Alicemagic18

  93/100
  I'm glad that I met you. I'm happy that I have you.

  "Even the world doesn't want us, we live for the people who need us. Atleast, that will be my way of living."

  • Kyoko Honda

  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 the aftermath 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, as well as the other characters. 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.

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• 

  BelugaWhaleFan

  80/100
  Fruits Basket:Prelude is a great prequel to the main series which can stand on its own.

  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 really 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 actually 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 really 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 actually 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.

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