Another day, another Rising Sun. And this is one you probably shouldn’t hug.

Quite a few anime fans are fond of the show Fruits Basket. The series is an adaptation of the first half of a manga by Natsuki Takaya. The show follows a young girl named Tohru Honda, who is invited to stay at the home of her classmate Yuki Sohma after her mother passes away in a accident. Tohru quickly discovers that 13 of the Sohmas are harboring the spirits of the Chinese Zodiac, and transform into their respective animals when hugged by someone of the opposite gender.

It’s a fun series that manages to balance comedy, romance, martial arts and drama. Yuki (the rat) and his cousin Kyo (the cat) hate each other to a passion and whenever they get into a fistfight, Yuki always wins. Hatsuharu (the cow) is a pretty easygoing guy, but if you push him too hard, his “Black” side will make you regret it. Tohru also begins to experience romantic dilemmas (AKA romantic triangles) as the series reaches it’s end, and the family doctor Hatori (the dragon) warns Tohru not to associate with the Sohmas because he has bad experiences with non-Zodiac Sohmas.

The series eventually goes overboard with drama, revealing that most of the characters in Fruits Basket have horrible parents. Among the major cast, the one exeception is Tohru’s late mother Kyoko, who was a former Yankee girl who didn’t get along with her parents. Tohru’s aunt and uncle aren’t exactly nice people either, so it’s pretty unsurprising to hear Yuki call them “lowlifes”.

Even after going overboard with drama, Fruits Basket on Hulu is a fun series that puts a fun twist on the Chinese Zodaic that I can reccomend to astrology fans and shojo manga admireres.