Fruits Basket -prelude- will debut in select theaters across the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom on June 25, 28, and 29 (tickets went on sale Friday, June 3). Distributed by Crunchyroll, the special film event is a prequel to one of Japan’s 100 favorite animated series. This is the first time Fruits Basket -prelude- will play outside of Japan.
© NATSUKI TAKAYA.HAKUSENSHA/FRUITS BASKET PROJECT
Based on the popular manga series Fruits Basket (named after the game played in Japanese elementary schools) written and illustrated by Natsuki Takaya (Phantom Dream; Twinkle Stars; Fruits Basket Another), which was serialized in the semi-monthly shōjo magazine Hana to Yume from 1998 to 2006. Fruits Basket tells the emotional story of Tohru Honda, an orphan girl who meets a shape-shifting family with emotional scars: each of the 13 members of the Soma family becomes possessed by the animals of the Chinese zodiac whenever they are weak, stressed, or embraced by someone of different gender (Turning Red fans, please stand up).
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Fruits Basket was first adapted into a 26-episode anime in 2001 and revived in 2019 by TMS Entertainment, Funimation, and Crunchyroll. The series revival lasted for three seasons, ending in June 2021, but is currently available to stream on Crunchyroll.
Fruits Basket -prelude- Is a Prequel to 2019’s Fruits Basket
Fruits Basket -prelude- is a prequel to the award-winning 2019 anime series. Premiering for the first time outside of Japan, the prequel film is “a standalone story that will take fans back before Tohru became involved with the Soma family” that will dive into the life of Tohru’s parents, Kyoto and Katsuya Honda, before they tragically died. The official synopsis from the Crunchyroll press release reads:
The voice cast for Fruits Basket -prelude- includes Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese voice) and Lydia Mackay (English voice) as Kyoko Honda, Yoshimasa Hosoya (Japanese voice) and J. Michael Tatum (English voice) as Katsuya Honda, Manaka Iwami (Japanese voice) and Laura Bailey (English voice) as Tohru Honda, and Yūma Uchida (Japanese voice) and Jerry Jewell (English voice) as Kyo Soma. The film is from a screenplay by Taku Kishimoto (Fruits Basket; Haikyu!!; 91 Days; Erased) and directed by Yoshihide Ibata (Fruits Basket; Attack on Titan: Junior High), with studio animation provided by TMS Entertainment and 8PAN.
Before there was Tohru and Kyo – there was Katsuya and Kyoko. Discover the turbulent beginning of Tohru’s mom’s dark past, and the man who breathed new hope into her. Watch the evolution of their love story and the birth of the Honda family, as this chapter completes the full adaptation of the heartwarming Fruits Basket story.
Distributed by Crunchyroll, the special event film will arrive in select movie theaters in the United States and Canada on June 25, 28, and 29, subtitled and dubbed in English, with tickets on sale Friday, June 3. The film will also debut in the United Kingdom, dubbed only, on July 20, with tickets going on sale on June 24.
