Fruits Basket is one of the most beloved shoujo manga. Fans were overjoyed when they first heard that a sequel called Fruits Basket: Another would be released. However, despite the overwhelming outpouring of love for the first series, Fruits Basket: Another didn’t receive quite the same degree of passion both in Japan and America. Let’s take a look at this overlooked sequel.

Character and tone parallels

characters from fruits basket another

Fruits Basket: Another (also known as Furuba Another) is about a shy girl named Sawa Mitoma who deals with low self-esteem and social anxiety. After she gets roped into joining the student council by Mutsuki Sohma, she meets the rest of the Sohma family. Slowly, through the interactions that she has with them, she regains confidence.

Given that the main characters are the children of the Sohma family, similarities between child and parent would be understandable, but some of the characters hit a little too close to home. Hajime, the eldest son of Tohru and Kyo, is the spitting image of his father, with a temperament to match. Just like Kyo, Hajime often talks too brashly, but in actuality is a big softie underneath. However, Hajime is much softer around the edges and doesn’t take as long to warm up to others as Kyo.

On the other hand, Mutsuki, who is Yuki’s son, is almost the polar opposite of his father. Even though Mutsuki looks exactly like Yuki, where Yuki is aloof, elegant, and at times, awkward, Mutsuki is charismatic but eccentric.

Sawa is in a similar position as Tohru: they’re both ‘adopted’ into the Sohma family and they both have met a member of the Sohma family when they were children without ever having realized it. But the key difference is in their personality: Tohru is like an open book with her emotions and thoughts always apparent in her expressions, but because of the various issues that Sawa deals with, she finds it difficult to open up to others.

RELATED: Fruits Basket Completes the Zodiac with Rin and Kureno

The past never is in the past

Fruits Basket Zodiac Circle

The sequel doesn’t shy away from the fact that the impact of the family curse stretches beyond just the Sohma characters. Just as how Kana Sohma, who is an outside member of the Sohma family, was traumatized and had to leave because of Akito’s abuse in the original series, Shiki Sohma has the bear the brunt of being Akito’s son. Haunted by the shadow of the Sohma family curse, Shiki is ostracized and treated cruelly because of who his mother is. Despite Akito attempting to make amends with the rest of the Sohmas, her past actions continue to follow Shiki.

Although the manga doesn't contain proper cameos of the original cast, there are glimpses of them: readers get to see the back of Yuki’s head or shots of his interlocked fingers in Mutsuki’s memory of a conversation he had with his father.

RELATED: Boruto: Jigen's Heartbreaking Origin Story Has a Tragic Ant-Man Twist

A Big ‘What-If?’

The sequel bears so many similarities to the original that Furuba Another reads as an alternate universe of Fruits Basket. Have you ever wondered what might have happened to Tohru if she didn’t have the upbringing that she did? Or maybe you wondered how things might have been different if Yuki and Kyo hadn’t been sworn enemies?

Sawa and Tohru give off similar vibes, due to both girls being raised by single mothers and having to take care of themselves from an early age. But Tohru was always surrounded by a home filled with her mother’s love, whereas Sawa’s mother abuses and neglects her to the point where she drives all her friends away.

While Mutsuki and Hajime being the sons of Yuki and Kyo, their relationship is a far cry from the relationship between their fathers. Since their families are close, Mutsuki and Hajime have spent most of their childhoods playing together and became close friends. Even though eventually Kyo and Yuki become friends, it makes you mourn all the time that was lost because the two couldn’t see that they were both victims of the family curse earlier.

Furuba Another doesn’t really feel like a fully fleshed-out sequel. It can’t stand on its own; much of the story revolves around the aftermath of the original instead of creating a new storyline. Instead of categorizing the manga as a sequel, it can be seen as a continuation or an extension of the original. Furuba Another feels more like the Natsuki Takaya’s way of thanking the fans for all of the support that the original series received, and acts as a nostalgic return to a beloved series.

KEEP READING: The Jujutsu Kaisen Anime May Be Releasing WAY Too Soon