Tohru Honda is an orphan living with her grandfather. When he needs to renovate his house, he asks her to move in with a friend for a little while. Not wanting to inconvenience anyone, Tohru camps out in the woods.

She discovers that she is on the property of the Sohma family, who take her in as a live-in housekeeper. She soon discovers their dark secret--the family is under a curse. Certain members of the family transform into the animals of the zodiac (plus the ostracized Cat) when hugged by a member of the opposite sex, or under other extreme stress.

The series swings between comedy and tragedy. It never becomes a Ranma 1/2-style slapstick where accidental transformation is the focal point of the comedy. (Well, yes it does, but just for one episode!) Whenever things are getting too happy and warm-n-fuzzy, the dark side of the curse raises its ugly head. There are several tear-jerker episodes, and a few moments of horror. All the zodiac members have their own burden of angst, guilt, shame and terror. And they are ruled over by Akito, the vicious and manipulative head of the family.

Throughout their struggles, the Zodiac members find their lives uplifted by Tohru's persistant optimism and cheerfulness. She is, in effect, a Pollyana who can find the bright side to the darkest troubles. Unselfish, kind, loving and a bit ditzy, Tohru is an entirely loveable and unique heroine (unless you hate that kind of character.) Surrounded by bishy men, of course, but all the characters are interesting individuals. Tohru also has some strange and entertaining female friends. This is probably the most character-rich anime I've seen.

Also one of the funniest!

What makes it even more fun is that the TV series only covers a small section of the manga release--if you are a fan, you can go on to read what happens to everyone next. (The series' big final confrontation was made up for the TV series climax.)

Down sides--

If you are into action in your animes, this one may fall flat with you. It's heavy on conversation, and while a few of the characters do a little fighting amongst themselves, this is not an action series at all.

It's also a sad truth that way too many animes lately have felt the need to delve into the angsty, tragic backgrounds of their characters. If you've seen too many like this, the relevations of Fruits Basket may seem a bit deja vu...

And once you've watched it too many times, you get to recognize the chords of the 'Memory' theme which announce that Tohru (or possibly Momiji) is about to lay some tender words of wisdom on the world.

But the strengths of the anime far outweigh any flaws. If life has you beaten down, wrap up in a fuzzy blanket and laugh and cry your way through Fruits Basket: after about five years of watching anime, still the very, VERY best I've ever seen.

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Final note on offensive content: You could safely watch this series with kids or grandparents, EXCEPT for use of the B words and the A word by Kyo and Uo, and vague intimations of sexual perversion aimed at Shigure.