The relationships between the many characters of Fruits Basket are some of the reasons why the series has remained relevant more than twenty years since its first release in Hana to Yume in 1998. Fruits Basket's popularity led to a 2001 anime series and a more recent 2019 revival that's currently going strong with its third and final season.
True to its message about the healing bonds created by love and friendship, the show is filled with both platonic and romantic ships that have captured the devotion of all kinds of anime fans. Each has its own charm and storyline, making them all the more appealing to a community that loves pairing up characters by chemistry.
10 Second Chances For Hatori & Mayu
Hatori's tragic love story with Kana left him too wounded —literally and emotionally— to form another romantic relationship with anyone else. This changes, however, when years later he reunites with Kana's friend, Mayu. Now a teacher at Tohru and the other Sohmas' school, Mayu initially refuses to give in to the feelings she's been harboring for Hatori for years.
It takes a few friendly dates and long talks about books with Hatori for her to realize that maybe it's not too bad to let herself fall in love with him again. Hatori seems much happier once they get together, finally starting to heal after a long time.
9 Ayame & Mine Make A Fashionable Pair
Despite his tendency to flirt with his best friends and Tohru, Ayame is solely devoted to his assistant and fellow cosplay enthusiast: Mine. The two met at Ayame's store, and have been working together for a while before the start of the series.
Mine supports Ayame in his creative endeavors and comforts him whenever he and Yuki butt heads, even if it's Ayame's fault most of the time. They're a good pair with lots of things in common, and with her patience and his penchant for overdramatization, Mina brings Ayame back down to Earth as much as she lets him fly.
8 Hiro & Kisa Depend On Each Other
Initially, Hiro's love for Kisa is of the possessive, jealous kind and interferes with their friendship. He's deliberately mean to Tohru for spending time with Kisa and often ends up hurting Kisa in the process.
He soon realizes that if he wants to help Kisa feel better, he should learn to be more patient and kind to others, especially Tohru, whom Kisa adores like a big sister. After his change of heart, Hiro and Kisa grow even closer and frequently appear together throughout the rest of the series.
7 Kakeru & His Meat-Loving Girlfriend Komaki
When Kakeru makes his debut in the story, he's the loud, annoyingly cheerful member of the student council that never hesitates to rile Yuki up. In typical Fruits Basket fashion, however, he gets a more complex background and is connected to the incident that started the entire story: the death of Tohru's mother.
As fans learn more about his personality, it's also revealed that he has a girlfriend named Komaki, whom he adores and brags about to anyone who will listen. Komaki is merely a secondary character within the story, but her supportive relationship with Kakeru is one of the best in the series. It also helps that they have amazing chemistry and they're hilarious together.
6 Yuki & Machi Are Learning To Move Forward Together
Just when readers were expecting Yuki to end up alone, Machi came in and turned that perception —and Yuki himself— upside down. Machi's introduction to the series gives Yuki hope for the future and allows him to be more open and caring with others.
What makes Yuki and Machi such a good couple is that they are constantly making each other better, pushing the other's boundaries in a positive way towards change and happiness. They clash during their first encounters, not sure how to best communicate their feelings without falling into misunderstandings, but they eventually reach the tipping point and can be more honest to themselves and each other.
5 Momiji & Tohru's Refreshing Friendship
Momiji has arguably one of the saddest backstories out of the entire character roster, which makes his usually upbeat personality even more endearing as he tries so hard to not fall into a justifiable depression. Tohru helps him let out some of his pain early on, and they've been an inseparable, cute duo ever since.
Things change a little when Momiji hits a growth spurt and realizes his feelings for Tohru might go beyond simple friendship. Nothing romantic ever develops between them, but they stay great supportive friends until the end of the series.
4 Yuki & Tohru's Pure Admiration For Each Other
Yuki and Tohru's relationship goes through big changes as the story develops. At first, they appear to be the main romantic couple of Fruits Basket, framing Yuki as the misunderstood prince character and Tohru as the soft-hearted girl ready to provide comfort, and though there's some truth to this initial setting, their characters develop far beyond that stereotype.
Tohru does indeed comfort Yuki multiple times during the series, but she does it with no romantic intention behind her actions, with Yuki even admitting that her love is akin to that of a mother figure. Rather than souring this ship, this new dynamic brought a new layer to their relationship, and it's why many fans love them even more.
3 Rin & Haru's Love Perseveres
A fan-favorite match, Rin and Haru are one of the most popular couples in Fruits Basket. Though their gothic character designs play a huge factor in what makes them so attractive to fans, it's their dynamic that makes sparks fly on the screen whenever they share a scene.
During most of the story, Rin and Haru have a push-and-pull kind of relationship, and despite Rin's many attempts to disillusion Haru with harsh words, he sees right past them and never gives up on her. As the secrets of the Sohmas come to light, Haru is there to support and help Rin deal with her feelings during the aftermath.
2 Kyo & Tohru: A Healing Romance
Kyo and Tohru go through tremendous growth together. They start as awkward housemates, with Tohru reaching a gentle hand and Kyo rejecting it guiltily, and slowly make their way into friendly territory and, ultimately, love. Their romance takes its time and is all the better for it, allowing them to fall in love as the other changes positively and opens up, finally starting to heal. Their relationship is also one of the more relatable out of the bunch once the magical zodiac aspects are removed, their fears stemming from their own insecurities and trauma.
But not everything is about grief for these two, they also have great comedic moments together, usually at the expense of each other's naiveté. Kyo and Tohru also make each other smile the most and never fail to deliver some of the sweetest scenes throughout the manga and anime. They complement each other quite well and have a compelling relationship, which makes them a great main couple for their plot-heavy story.
1 Uo-chan, Hana-chan & Tohru's Bond Is Above Everything Else
Hands down the best relationship in the series, the friendship between Tohru and her two best friends is one of the best things in Fruits Basket. A group of misfits that have pushed together past the prejudice that surrounds them, Uotani and Hanajima never hesitate to be there for Tohru and vice-versa.
Their unconditional dedication to each other is not only heartwarming but also inspiring, proving once again that friendship stands above everything else for them. Uotani and Hanajima even intervene when Kyo is trying to make amends with Tohru, as they're worried he might say the wrong thing and hurt Tohru again. They're each other's found family, and that's what Fruits Basket is about in the end.