Fruits Basket Season 2 was confirmed to be in production immediately following the airing of Fruits Basket 2019 Episode 25. The second season of the Fruits Basket remake was expected since the 2019 reboot literally calls itself Fruits Basket: 1st Season.
The announcement said that the Fruits Basket Season 2 release date will be scheduled for spring 2020. Some of the new cast members for the second season includes Takuya Eguchi as Kakeru Manabe and Ai Kakuma as Machi Kuraki.
Fruits Basket Season 2 has anime fans excited since they’ll finally be able to watch the ending of Tohru Honda’s story. When the initial announcement for the new 2019 Fruits Basket reboot was made it included the word “zenpen,” which means the “whole story.” Funimation also confirmed that the Furuba anime remake is “covering the ENTIRE story of the original manga.”
In addition, the total number of episodes for the entire Fruits Basket reboot may have been inadvertently leaked by English dub voice actor Eric Vale. Besides hinting at Fruits Basket: 2nd Season, it seems like the anime will finish off the Furuba manga’s story with Fruits Basket Season 3.
Here’s what we do know.
During a May 2019 interview that Vale gave during Anime Central 2019, the voice of Yuki Soma spoke about a variety of topics. The American voice actor has voiced characters such as Trunks in Dragon Ball Z, Sanji in One Piece, Kymblee in Fullmetal Alchemist, America and Canada in Hetalia, and Nishiki in Tokyo Ghoul.
As such, Vale talked about funny family stories including how his son wasn’t too impressed by his father voicing Trunks. Vale also claimed that voicing the DBZ announcer was actually more strenuous than Trunk’s screaming
At the 5:13 mark, Vale is heard saying that the Fruits Basket 2019 anime will be “telling the story from beginning to end, 63 episodes in total.”
“That’s why I’m here this weekend is for Fruits Basket because the show was a one season anime, I mean, 17 years ago or something like that. And everyone was always unhappy with that because it didn’t wrap up the story. So, the fandom over the years, I guess, begged and pleaded and they found a way to do it so now they have redone the show in full, telling the story from beginning to end, 63 episodes in total. And they brought the original cast back to do everything [Note: Just the English cast, not the Japanese cast]. Most of us are here this weekend to promote that [Fruits Basket].”
While that statement sounded very certain, when the news went viral about a month later Vale retracted what he said about Fruit Basket 2019’s number of episodes in a Twitter post made on June 11, 2019.
“So I said in an interview what I ‘knew’ the episode count of the new Fruits Basket to be. See when you do back to back interviews, your brain scrambles and you start to ‘talk out of your butt’ sometimes. Well, my butt is huge. And I spoke from there that day,” Vale wrote on Twitter. “Sorry for anyone who thought that this actor had ‘confirmed’ something. Turns out I really only confirmed my own dumbness. Don’t believe everything you read (or hear) in the internet kids!”
Unfortunately, Vale did not elaborate on whether he was completely wrong about the 63 episodes or if the Fruits Basket 2019 episode count was his own personal guesstimate that he came up with on the spot based on insider knowledge.
The first season received 25 episodes, or two cours. A “cour” is a three-month TV broadcasting unit based on the physical seasons and anime seasons usually have between 10 to 13 episodes per cour.
The first season will be released on Blu-Ray/DVD as six volumes. Since the first several volumes have four episodes each, Volume 5 should include 5 episodes and end with Fruits Basket Episode 25.
The first season is also not a split-cour anime, which is when a single anime season takes a broadcasting break for several months before resuming the second cour (this is why Attack On Titan Season 3 Part 2 is not labeled Attack On Titan Season 4). Fruits Basket 2019 Episode 14 aired in Japan on July 6, 2019.
Since the opening season of Fruits Basket 2019 is a standard, two-cour season, that meant Episode 25 aired its ending on September 20, 2019. However, due to production scheduling, the same may not be true for Fruits Basket Season 2 and 3.
Even if we assume 63 episodes are in the ballpark for being accurate, we still don’t know how those hypothetical 63 episodes will be released over time. Fruits Basket Season 2 or 3 could even be a split-cour anime season. All in all, there will be at least five cours in total, with some cours likely having 13 episodes and others 12 episodes.
Since the first season is 25 episodes, Fruits Basket Season 2 could be 25 or 26 episodes. That would leave 12 or 13 episodes for a single-cour Fruits Basket Season 3. Anime fans will just have to wait and see how the reboot is handled by the new animation studio.
The Fruits Basket Season 2 opening (OP) theme song music is “Prism” as performed by AmPm, while the ending (ED) is “ad meliora” as performed by The Charm Park.
FUNimation’s Fruits Basket Season 2 English dub will be streaming as originally planned. However, the coronavirus pandemic has caused FUNimation to cancel their plans to premiere the first three episodes in U.S. theaters.
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Updated March 30, 2020: Added Fruits Basket Season 2 OP and ED info. English dub info.
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Updated March 18, 2020: Added new Fruits Basket Season 2 trailer.
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Updated March 4, 2020: Added exact Fruits Basket Season 2 release date.
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Updated January 17, 2020: Added new trailer and time frame for the Fruits Basket Season 2 release date.
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Updated October 21, 2019: Added Fruits Basket Season 2 trailer.
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Updated September 20, 2019: Fruits Basket Season 2 confirmed! Revised anime/manga comparison and added spoilers.
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Updated September 17, 2019: Revised manga comparison and analysis ahead of the Episode 25 finale.
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Updated July 16, 2019: Added official confirmation of 1st Season’s episode count and revised related analysis.
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Updated June 26, 2019: Modified article to focus on the actual Fruits Basket Season 2 and added related analysis.
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Updated January 17, 2019: Added time frame for the release date of the first season.
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Updated December 6, 2018: Added the new trailer video by Funimation.
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Updated December 3, 2018: Added more details about the Fruits Basket Another manga.
This article provides everything that is known about Fruits Basket Season 2 (Fruits Basket 2020) and all related news. As such, this article will be updated over time with news, rumors, and analysis. Meanwhile, let’s delve down into what is known for certain.
Fruits Basket 2019 anime studio and staff change
The release of the new Fruits Basket 2019 anime has anime fans thrilled after waiting so many years. Back in 2005, Funimation had anime fans fold 1,000 paper origami cranes in hoping of Fruits Basket Season 2 being greenlit, but their wish was not granted… until now.
The fulfillment of this wish has been a long time coming, but the producers have stated that the new Furuba anime adaptation will be a complete Fruits Basket reboot that starts from the beginning of the story and finish the manga’s ending.
What’s more, the new Fruits Basket cast is entirely different.
- Manaka Iwami (Maquia in Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms) will play the main role of Tohru Honda.
- Nobunaga Shimazaki (Haruka in the Free! anime series) will voice rat boy Yuki Sohma.
- Yuma Uchida (Ein in Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans) will be cat boy Kyo Sohma.
- Yuichi Nakamura (Gray in the Fairy Tail anime series) is playing as dog boy Shigure Sohma.
- Atsumi Tanezaki (Chise in The Ancient Magus Bride) will play Arisa Uotani.
- Satomi Satou (Wendy in Fairy Tail) plays as Saki Hanajima.
- Rie Kugimiya (Taiga in Toradora!) plays as pig girl Kagura Sohma.
- Megumi Han (Gon in Hunter x Hunter and Akko in Little Witch Academia) plays as rabbit boy Momiji Sohma
- Makoto Furukawa (Saitama in One Punch Man) plays as cow man Hasuharu Sohma.
As previously noted, the same can’t be said when it comes to Funimation’s Fruits Basket Basket 2019 English dub. The same voice actors returned to play the roles after all these years.
Check out the official Fruits Basket site by Funimation to see the new character designs.
Tomokazu Seki, who played as Kyo in the 2001 Fruits Basket anime, said on Twitter that he is “looking forward to a cast that I can trust!” He told Nobunaga to “have fun playing Yuki!”
“A Furuba remake has been announced! I’m looking forward to the new Furuba!” Tomokazu tweeted. “This title has continued to receive love over time. I felt its power then and I can feel it now! I put my all into this title back then, and I’m cheering for it now, waiting to see how it will be reborn!”
The 2001 anime was produced by Studio Deen while Fruits Basket 2019 will be animated by TMS Entertainment. Presumably, Fruits Basket Season will also be produced by TMS Entertainment.
Director Yoshihide Ibata of FLCL Progressive and Attack On Titan Junior High fame is helming the new Fruits Basket 2019 anime. Masaru Shindo is designing the characters while Taku Kishimoto provides series composition writing.
But what stands out the most is that the Fruits Basket manga creator Natsuki Takaya will serve as the executive supervisor on the anime staff.
“First of all, I’d like to offer my sincere congratulations to the staff for bringing us to this announcement day,” she said.
“I may be the manga author, but at the same time, I’m only the manga author. So I think this announcement is a long-awaited recognition of the efforts of all of those directly involved in the anime’s production, and that’s a relief to me.”
Fruits Basket manga compared to the anime
The story for the anime is based on the Fruits Basket manga, which ended its serialization way back in November 2006 with 136 chapters collected in 23 volumes. Tokyopop released an English translation of the entire manga series but starting in June 2016 Yen Press re-released the manga in 12 omnibus volumes.
But how closely will the new anime resemble the manga? Takaya says she thought she had closed the curtain on that chapter in her life.
While there were happy and fun times involved in writing the Fruits Basket manga, there were also painful and sad memories involved, as well. She thought she had found closure, but “a new anime means going back to the beginning.”
“What?! I closed the curtain on this and now you want to open it again?!?! (lol)” she wrote.
Because of these feelings, Takaya requested that Fruits Basket 2019 be produced with a “completely new team. Completely new. Every single person.” She wants TMS Entertainment to rebuild the Furuba world from scratch, including giving the anime reboot a new art style.
“Another request was to not make the art look too much like my art,” Takaya explained. “This was partly because my Furuba art is old now, pure and simple, and also largely because I was in poor health back then (you can find more details about that in the afterword to the Collector’s Edition, if you’re curious), so my drawing was awfully shaky. Because of that, I wanted them to rebuild the art as well.”
The creator has given TMS Entertainment the freedom do as they like but she’s also given them “detailed thoughts” on certain topics. She’s been able to attend voice recording sessions and the anime studio has implemented all of her specific requests.
In the end, she desires that they respect the source material while still “creating the kind of work that will newly touch as many people as possible.”
“I’ll be a viewer just like the rest of you when the broadcast begins, and I’m looking forward to it,” she said.
What this means in practice is that the new anime has shuffled around certain plot events and added anime-only scenes to take into account certain plot development changes.
The biggest change is the overall tone of the remake in comparison to the 2001 anime. The reboot heightens the drama from the outset in order to maintain a consistent tone rather than overly focus on slapstick comedy like the 2001 anime version.
Certain additional details like the Kyo and Yuki scenes in Episode 5 contribute to better-executed pacing for the story in comparison to both the original manga and anime.
The 2001 anime diverged from the manga source material so it had certain plot points that are unlikely to be included in the remake.
For example, Akito Sohma had a terminal illness that never took place in the manga. A major plot twist involving Akito was not revealed until manga Chapter 97, so it’s likely the 2019 anime could foreshadow the coming revelation in Fruits Basket Season 2.
The 26 episodes of the 2001 anime adapted only up through manga Volume 6 (which includes up through Chapter 42). Thus far, the pacing of the 2019 anime has adapted only one or two chapters per episode, with Episode 6 adapting a reshuffled version of Chapters 7 and 9. Episode 12 finished off Chapter 20.
When adapting the one year anniversary of Kyoko’s death in Chapters 23 and 24, the 2001 anime creators made the strange choice to swap the ordering of events around. That meant the 2001 anime showed the anniversary then provided Momiji’s backstory. The 2019 anime adapted these events in a straight-forward fashion in Episode 14.
However, 2019 anime did jump ahead in the story for Episodes 16 and 17. The story about Tohru’s new swimsuit and Uotani’s backstory came from Chapters 39 through 41, whereas Episode 15 was way back in Chapter 26. But then the 2019 anime returned to the manga’s order by adapting Chapters 27 and 28 with Episode 18.
The back and forth jumping continued through the second cour, with Episode 22 being a notable example. The previous episode had adapted Chapter 29, the Yuki fan club interview of Hanajima, but then suddenly we’re in Chapter 51.
It could be argued that reordering the sequence of events made sense considering that Chapter 51 provides Hanajima’s backstory. Overall, the way the story is being presented hasn’t felt odd at all, although manga fans who desire a strict panel-by-panel adaptation might be upset.
During the second cour, the pacing maintained its slow and measured progress even though some scenes were added for dramatic effect. By episode 24, the 2019 anime had adapted up through Chapter 33.
Fruits Basket 2019 Episode 25 ended by adapting Chapters 34 and 35 of Volume 6, which resolved Kyo’s mini-arc about his true form. The episode title “Summer Will Be Here Soon” is based on lines where Yuki discussed summer plans (and Tohru’s kidnapping) and the anime’s crab party scene expanded upon the premise of summer coming soon.
However, some events were reordered since the ending of Episode 25 featured Isuzu “Rin” Sohma, the horse of the Chinese zodiac, even though she didn’t debut in the manga until Chapter 48. The ending scene foreshadowed future events from Fruits Basket Season 2 by providing a montage of all the major characters who sense something is about to change.
Manga readers who desire to read ahead of the anime should read Chapters 36 and 42 and then jump to Chapter 43 of Volume 8.
All in all, the 1st season adapted about 44 manga chapters out of 136 chapters. Assuming that Episode 63 is actually the ending, Fruits Basket Season 2 and 3 will need to pick up the pacing a little bit. If the pacing does not accelerate significantly that could mean the remake will actually be around 74 to 76 episodes long, which means that Fruits Basket Season 3 will need to be a two-cour season.
Note: The information about Episode 63 being the ending should be treated as a rumor, so any analysis contained herein is speculative in nature.
The possibility of Episode 63 being the ending also brings up to the issue of story pacing, which might have some fans of the manga slightly alarmed. All in all, the 2001 anime adapted three manga volumes per cour. If Fruits Basket 2019 has five cours to work with in total, the anime will need to accelerate the pacing significantly, averaging about 4.6 manga volumes per season in total.
But manga fans shouldn’t be too alarmed. The Fruits Basket 2019 anime has already rearranged manga events and reviews have found the outcome to be pleasing.
Creator Natsuki Takaya is working directly with animation studio TMS Entertainment in making the reboot, so it’s certain she’ll keep the heart of the story intact.
Fruits Basket Another anime possible?
In late 2018, Natsuki Takaya began releasing a direct manga sequel called Fruits Basket Another as a web series on the HanaLaLa website. Set years after Tohru has graduated from high school, the direct sequel focuses on high school girl Sawa Mitoma and her own encounter with Sohma boys.
Only 12 chapters long, Fruits Basket Another finished with Volume 3, which released in Japan on March 20, 2019. The first two books already released in English in November 2018, with the English Volume 3 scheduled to release on October 29, 2019.
In 2019, Takaya continued the overall story with another one-shot Fruits Basket manga called Fruits Basket: The Three Musketeers Arc. Only three chapters long, the story is focused on Hatori, Shigure, and Ayame who were known as The Three Musketeers in the original manga series.
Yen Press announced that the new manga chapters will be simultaneously published online in English, with the final Chapter 3 scheduled for release on July 5, 2019.
The main protagonist is named Sawa Mitoma and she is struggling with extreme self-confidence issues as she enters high school. Sawa stutters when she speaks and is used to lonely lunches.
All of that begins to change when she meets two Sohma boys, Hajime Sohma and Mutsuki Sohma, the president and vice-president of the high school. But their first meeting isn’t exactly a tiding of great fortune since Sawa accidentally steps on Hajime’s face!
Assuming that Fruits Basket 2019 is successful it wouldn’t be surprising if a Fruits Basket Another anime is eventually produced. The story only briefly hints at what happened in the future to Tohru and her friends in the Sohma family, but it’s a must for big Furuba fans.
Fruits Basket Season 2 release date
TMS Entertainment has officially confirmed the exact Fruits Basket Season 2 release date. The anime sequel Fruits Basket: 2nd Season will be coming out on April 6, 2020, the spring 2020 anime season.
TMS Entertainment, which is known for other anime such as Detective Conan, Lupin III, ReLIFE, Megalo Box (see our article on Megalo Box Season 2), is busy working on a Dr. STONE anime adaptation that began releasing in summer 2019 (although the main staff is different so Dr. STONE shouldn’t delay Furuba).
Baki Season 2 (or Baki Part 3 on Netflix) will likely be coming up next on their production schedule.
Therefore, the release date for Fruits Basket: 2nd Season was similar to the Sword Art Online: Alicization anime, which took a six-month break.
Unless there is an even longer delay between seasons, it’s very likely that Fruits Basket Season 3 could also release in 2021.
Fruits Basket: 2nd Season spoilers (plot summary/synopsis)
Who does Tohru end up with at the end of Fruits Basket? While that’s a common question by anime-only fans, this article is not going to give away everything!
Instead, we’ll be focusing on the overall plot development that will take place in Fruits Basket: 2nd Season.
Note: Spoilers for Fruits Basket 2019 Episode 26 and beyond assume that the second season will pick up with Chapter 36 of Volume 6. Chapters 37 through 41 of Volume 7 will be skipped since the first season already adapted those stories out of order. Ritsu’s introduction and Hanajima’s backstory also originally took place in Chapter 45 and 51, respectively.
The last time we watch Tohru and the Sohma boys they sensed that something was coming on the winds of summer. But, first, it’ll be Yuki time! Yuki’s brother Ayame practically drags the rat boy to his shop for some brotherly bonding time and Tohru gets roped into the trip, as well.
Ayame shocks them by showing up wearing a fancy women’s dress, but it turns out he was trying on custom-made clothing ordered by a customer. Ayame designs handcrafted items based on the specifications from his customers… which often happen to be fetish costumes for maids, nurses, school uniforms and the like, which Yuki finds despicable. Can two brothers with such different personalities come to an understanding?
Yuki time will continue with Motoko Minagawa, President of the Prince Yuki Fan Club, trying to explore her feelings for Yuki. The school club needs to elect a new president soon since Motoko is graduating before summer begins. But what really has them all hot and bothered is whether any girls will be appointed to the student council since Yuki will be the student council president the following year. Motoko must know this girl’s name to put a stop to her Yuki-tempting ways! (Note: This story from Chapter 42 was originally adapted by the 2001 anime in Episode 22.)
Events will quickly take a dramatic turn when Hiro Sohma becomes jealous of Tohru and Kisa’s fast friendship… and then Hiro decides to take out his rage on Tohru! Worse, the normally docile Hatsuharu Sohma just snaps and the enraged Black Haru side of his personality comes out. Will Tohru be able to work her magic and bring back the White Haru?
Relationship issues start to simmer even as summer vacation is on the horizon and Tohru just can’t wait for the school drama to end. Yuki meets a new member of the student council on the way to school. Tohru’s best friend Arisa Uotani is suddenly hanging out with a guy and it seems like she might be crazy in love.
Finally, summer has arrived, and Momiji invites Tohru and the others to a trip to the Sohma family summer cottage. But even as Tohru and Yuki enjoy ocean swimming and other activities they are hit with an ominous premonition.
Needless to say, it’s not just the summer heat that is heating up things for Tohru and friends. Unfortunately, anime fans will have to wait until the Fruits Basket Season 2 release date to watch what happens next. Stay tuned!