Fruits Basket began as a popular manga that was quickly picked up and became an anime, which was then translated globally due to its popularity. The popularity of the series is due to its remarkable ability to capture emotion and the layers of culture that are woven into the story.
The title itself is reflective of the culture, as it’s the name of a popular Japanese children’s game that is actually explained in the show in a very poetic and narratively important moment. It also possesses the lore of some other countries, such as the main concept, which is centered around the Chinese zodiac.
Fruits Basket follows the experiences of Tohru Honda, a teen girl enduring several unfair hardships in life, whose entire world changes when she stumbles upon the home of a classmate, Yuki. She is invited by his guardian, Shigure, to live with them. When she accepts, she inevitably begins learning the family’s secrets and meeting new members of the Sohma family. The first one she meets is Kyo, whom she falls into, transforming him into a cat and forcing the family to share their biggest secret with her. The Sohmas explain to her that there are 13 members of their family that make up all the members of the zodiac. When any one of them is injured, stressed, or embraced by a member of the opposite sex, they will transform into their animal forms.
In her time living with them, Tohru gets to know every member of the Sohma family and impacts each of their lives in a significant way, learning more about herself during the process, including who she loves. The series uses the story of the creation of the members of the Chinese zodiac to weave a web in which to examine broader concepts and deep emotions. Tthe greater story is a well-structured, familiar foundation, used to keep the deeper details connected to each other and entertaining.
Fruits Basket’s unique but familiar storyline quickly generated popularity as a manga and an anime, receiving consistently good reviews from viewers and critics. The success led to Takaya, the writer, creating a follow up manga series and a spin-off series. There was also a Fruits Basket anime movie released this year, as well as a play production of the tale that was performed this year.
While the anime was received very well, the already existing adaptations of the story have proven that its structure does well being adapted. Considering certain parts of the manga and anime are arguably drawn out in order to capture certain character perspectives, there is plenty of room to condense the story for shorter formats without hurting the overall narrative. All these things considered, the storyline of Fruits Basket would make the perfect anime series to adapt to a live-action film.
The important story beats from the anime already work perfectly for a movie format. What's more, not much of the story would need to be changed to achieve the film timeline while also pleasing committed fans. The few things that would have to be altered would be when and where Tohru meets the other zodiacs (which would probably have to happen all at once), and how much of Tohru’s life viewers see before she meets the Sohma family (we would need to get to know who she was before them). The love triangle between Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki might also need to be played up. However, none of these changes would take away from the essential parts of the story or characters, making it a safe bet to adapt.
Not only would Fruits Basket be a great anime to adapt to a live-action film, now is the perfect time to do it. With the translated versions of the anime having concluded in the last couple of years, and the even more recent success of the anime film and play, people are ready for more Fruits Basket content. With the message of feminine power displayed through Tohru, and the advancements in CGI that would make creating the animal transition visuals much easier, the story would make an appropriate movie for today’s audience.
More importantly, what would make Fruits Basket the perfect story for a live-action film in a time with growing violence, bigotry, and hate crimes, is its message. The theme of this story is focused on the power of kindness and understanding. The protagonist is kind to everyone and takes the time to get to know people without judging them, finding the good in everyone. In doing so, her life slowly gets better and better and ultimately evolves into a happy ending. In a time with so much hate, a movie with such a strong message of not underestimating the power of those with kind and caring hearts is almost essential. If the tale were to be adapted, it would not only likely find success, but would also likely inspire the audience to contribute just a little more kindness to the world.
Source: Wikipedia - Fruits Basket