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10 Anime Like Fruits Basket You Should Start Watching


Credit: TMS Entertainment

When Fruits Basket Season 3 wraps up, it will definitely leave a gap. Few shows are as comforting, wholesome, tragic, and fun at the same time. For those who crave more content, there's a manga and a spin-off, but what if you've already read it? Below, we've gathered 10 anime with similar vibes, characters, or themes that we recommend you should start watching if Fruits Basket leaves you with an anime hangover.

1.Kamisama Hajimemashita (2012)

10 Anime Like Fruits Basket You Should Start Watching
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Credit: TMS Entertainment

If you enjoyed some of the spiritual and fantastic elements of Fruits Basket, Kamisama Kiss might be just the anime you need – and it's even by TMS Entertainment, the same studio as Fruits Basket.

The 2012 show tells the story of Nanami a high-school girl who, like Tohru, is left homeless, and ends up staying in the house of someone she doesn't know all too well and learning his supernatural secrets. After helping a man who turns out to be a shrine god, she's allowed to leave in his house. Little does she know that said house is a shrine, and Mikage, the man she helped, intended for her to serve as a replacement deity. Embracing her new life, Nanami tries to keep the shrine in order and becomes romantically involved with a hot-headed fox familiar.

While Kamisama Kiss is less tragic than Fruits Basket, it features a kind-hearted, homeless main character and supernatural romance, with many fans claiming that it gives off a vibe similar to Fruits Basket's light-hearted moments.

2. Ouran High School Host Club (2006)

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Credit: Bones

Fruits Basket managed to avoid some of the worst tropes of the harem genre, but it's still about a girl who meets a lot of male characters who could potentially be romantic interests. In that, it's similar to Ouran High School Host Club.

The Studio Bones show follows Haruhi, a scholarship student in an elite school who, unlike her popular classmates, has no social status. When she accidentally finds herself in the spaces of an all-male elite club and accidentally breaks a precious artifact, she finds herself in serious debt. To pay the boys back, she starts serving as a host alongside them, which becomes possible due to her masculine appearance.

While Tohru and Haruhi are very different protagonists, one happily adhering to a traditional feminine self-presentation, the other preferring male uniforms and more masculine presentation, both shows are based on beloved shojo manga and feature school shenanigans and plenty of comedy.

3. Orange (2016)

One of the most interesting things about Fruits Basket is the show's subtle life lessons. Orange is a 2016 show by Telecom Animation Film following Naho Takamiya, who receives a letter from her future self, urging her to make life decisions to avoid regrets. The letter particularly advises her to keep an eye on Kakeru, a new transfer student.

Not unlike Fruits Basket, the show is character-driven and blends slice of life and fantasy elements. Tohru and her friends might not have any letter from their future selves, but each character has their own regrets, and the show is about them realizing that they must move on despite them. Both anime deal with existential concerns and family-related trauma, but they have their peaceful, lighter moments as well.

4. Kaguya-sama Love Is War (2019)

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Credit: A-1 Pictures

Fruits Basket is known not only for the great characterization and exploration of trauma and healing but also for its school moments and slow-burn romance. Those who enjoyed the latter two elements might also love Kaguya-Sama Love Is War.

The A-1 Pictures show is based on a manga of the same name and follows two genius students, Kaguya and Miyuki, The two lead characters are in love and everyone around them believes they would make a great couple – including the protagonists themselves. However, both are too proud to confess, so each engages in elaborate plans to make the other confess instead.

One of the reasons Fruits Basket is so successful is that it's rarely explicit when it comes to love. The characters grow together for a long time, and it takes a lot for them to talk openly about their feelings. But when it does happen, it's all the more satisfying.

5. Wonder Egg Priority (2021)

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Credit: CloverWorks

Wonder Egg Priority is different from other entries in this list, but fans of Fruits Basket might enjoy it for several reasons. The supernatural horror anime follows a group of schoolgirls, each with her own traumatic past. At night, the girls travel to a dream world, where they have to save young people who committed suicide from their worst fears and help them move on.

The CloverWorks so has been commented for its art and the sensitive ways in which it handles taboo topics. At times it's darker and more surreal than Fruits Basket but it similarly uses fantasy to start important discussions about mental health, trauma, and, eventually, moving on.

6. The Quintessential Quintuplets (2019)

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Credit: Tezuka Productions

The Quintessential Quintuplets might not be exactly similar to Fruits Baskets but fans of both have noted several similarities. The Tezuka Productions anime follows a male, rather than a female lead, who is tasked with tutoring a classmate without realizing she's a quintuplet – and therefore that he has to tutor her four sisters as well.

This is a good anime for those who enjoyed the school, comedy, and harem aspects of Fruits Basket. Beyond that, each of the five sisters has a distinct, memorable personality, adhering to different tropes and at times subverting the – not unlike the young men of the Sohma family. Like Tohru, Uesugi finds himself in unfamiliar territory but resolves to help the sisters as he gets to know them better.

7.3-gatsu no Lion (2016)

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Credit: Shaft

If you enjoyed the more dramatic and social aspects of Fruits Basket, 3-gatsu no Lion by studio Shaft might be an anime for you. Like Fruits Basket, the slice of life show features a main character who starts living alone and initially does a horrible job at it.

Rei, an elite shogi player moves out of his family house but hardly knows how to take care of himself. Perhaps not as bad as Tohru and her tent, but you get the idea. Soon, Rei befriends three sisters who are dealing with their own past traumas and offer the familial relationship he has always lacked. Like Tohru with the Sohmas, Rei learns a lot about life through his interactions with his new friends and ultimately better understands his wants and feelings.

8. The Flower We Saw That Day (2011)

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Credit: A-1 Pictures

Compared to other shows discussed here, The Flower We Saw that Day by studio A-1 Pictures might not immediately strike you as similar to Fruits Basket. However, they both combine light-hearted and serious, dramatic moments, feature traumatized teenage characters, and discuss the possibility of healing, often using fantasy to do so.

The show follows Jinta, a recluse who is still not over the death of his childhood friend, Menma. When he starts seeing her ghost, who asks him to fulfill her wish, Jinta must find a way to come together with his estranged friend group, each of whom dealt with Menma's death differently.

The Flower We Saw that Day has fantastic elements, but as is the case with Fruits Basket these are very subtle. The focus is primarily on characters, emotions, and healing.

9. Kobato. (2009)

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Credit: Madhouse

One of the best things about Fruits Basket is arguably the backstories of Tohru, her friends, and the Sohmas, and particularly the ways these characters help each other move on and do better. The Studio Madhouse anime features a girl with a dream. To fulfill it, she has to help others first. Like Tohru, Kobato has to mend many a broken heart. For each one, she gets a candy-like fragment and gets closer to her dream.

Both anime use fantastic elements in subtle and creative ways while being first and foremost about human relationships and the importance of little things that might not solve our problems entirely but still make our lives better.

10. Hyouka (2012)

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Credit: Kyoto Animation

Some of the most comical Fruits Basket episodes are those unfolding in Tohru's high school. But sometimes, these episodes end up bringing you immense peace inside. Hyouka is a slice-of-life school anime by Kyoto animation which might also leave you feeling peaceful and wholesome.

The 2012 anime follows Hotaro Oreki, a high-school student, and the friends he reluctantly makes. The mellow, slice-of-life school vibes make it a good show for Fruits Basket fans. The characters are also very sweet and have interesting stories which make you care about them.

Meanwhile, if you're interested in Fruits Basket, a prelude movie is coming out very soon.

Related:Who Does Tohru End Up Within Fruits Basket? Yuki or Kyo Relationship Explained

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