Fruits Basket Season 2

Fruits Basket is one of the best-loved shojo manga ever made. Shojo means manga written mainly for teen girls, often focused on feelings and relationships. Natsuki Takaya's series ran in Hakusensha's Hana to Yume magazine from 1998 to 2006 and has sold more than 30 million copies around the world. It was first made into an anime in 2001, but that version only told part of the story. In 2019, at the author's request, the studio TMS Entertainment began a brand new version with a new cast and staff, directed by Yoshihide Ibata. This second season of that remake has 25 episodes and aired in Japan from April 7 to September 22, 2020.

The basic idea of the story is simple and strange at the same time. Tohru Honda is a kind, hardworking high school girl who lost her mother. She ends up living with members of the wealthy Sohma family: the writer Shigure and two boys from her school, the calm Yuki and the hot-tempered Kyo. Soon she learns their secret. Twelve members of the family are tied to the animals of the Chinese zodiac. When they are hugged by someone of the other gender, or when they are weak or stressed, they turn into those animals. The head of the family, Akito, holds power over all of them and keeps them bound to this curse.

In the first season, Tohru met many of the cursed Sohmas and helped some of them with their pain. This season goes much deeper. It covers a big part of the manga, from volume 6 to the start of volume 17. As Tohru gets closer to the family, she starts to see that the curse is more than an odd trick. It shapes how the Sohmas see themselves and how they are allowed to live. The cold and frightening Akito becomes a much bigger part of the story, and Tohru begins to wonder if she can do more than just be kind.

The season also opens up Yuki's world. He joins the student council at school, where he meets new people with problems of their own. These include the loud and playful vice president, Kakeru Manabe, and the quiet treasurer, Machi. These scenes give Yuki a chance to grow outside his family. Other Sohmas, like Rin and Kureno, step into the light, and each brings new hints about the family's history.

The show is gentle and often funny, but it is also honest about hard things. It talks about loneliness, parents who hurt their children, and how hard it is to accept love. Its message is that people can heal, but healing takes time and help from others. The 2019 remake as a whole won Best Drama at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards, and reviewers liked it more than the older version. This season is a key bridge in the story, leading straight into the Final Season, and fans often name it as the point where the series becomes truly moving.