#Furuba Dub

[mrsmarymorstan]

Went to MCM on Friday and managed to get my Art Book signed by a bunch of the English Dub Cast 🥰

[majokkoradio]

"For Fruits Basket" - Fruits Basket - English Dub Opening

Requested by Anon

[aparticularbandit]

Yes, I did go back to the cosplay cafe episode. Just for the cosplay cafe scene. Just to hear the character voice switching from Konata to Haruhi and back again.

Like that's seriously impressive and voice actors are amazing and Lucky Star is a treasure.

[choco-mooooose]

HELP WHAT IS THAT NOISE HE MAKES

the fact that he and saiki share the same va just kills me

[the-stray-liger]

Man the fact that I can still hear the dialogue in french

[kittyoverlord]

Oh cool! These people turn into animals! There's even a cat boy! Cute!

.... oh god this family is so dysfunctional and the trauma of being systematically excluded or put on a pedestal has severely damaged every one of the cute animal people and the only one who can fix it is a well meaning school girl with the spirit of a rice ball (positive).

Fruits Basket hooks you in with this fun supernatural premise then sits you down and says “maybe the real curse was the dehumanising emotional abuse we inflicted upon our children along the way”

[whoslaurapalmer]

there's some great anime dubs and then. and then. some just really fucking bad dubs. some incomprehensibly bad dubs. oh goddamn

[i-am-grell]

Poll But It's *Your Fault* for Making Me Watch a GOOD ANIME

I will be done Beastars well before this time tomorrow because why is it this good?? Anyway, here's the pinned post (linked this time (real)). You choose anime to watch so I don't have to.

As always, propaganda* (*I like to yap on the internets) below the poll. You're allowed to reblog if you also wanna annoy your followers with anime. You don't have to know me, follow me, like me, or like/know/have ever watched any of these shows to vote.

Propaganda:

Zombie Land Saga - I love you, unhinged dub of unhinged anime. And, yes, I did just type everything out and then go back and hold down "A".

Fruits Basket 2019 - Yeah, idk what to put here. It's been in polls before. It'll get finished one day. I know there's a dedicated Furuba community that pops up to vote for it now and then. Godspeed, amigos.

Sailor Moon - We resume post-time reset. This option will count for the second season of Sailor Moon (Sailor Moon R).

Kuroko's Basketball - I know, I know. Bat. Hornet's nest. Reblog this post and yell at me in the tags about it. Anyway, I've only ever seen literally one singular character from this that I know of and it's the green-haired glasses guy who looks like he will become my fave so.

Your Lie in April - I think this is your very first chance where I dare you to hurt me. Hurt me. Make me feel pain. The only things I know about this anime are "violin" and "sadness." I could not tell you a singular plot point so I'm going in very blind. Again, godspeed weebs.

Nichijou - My Ordinary Life - I've seen some gifs and images on the dash but never gave this a watch. It seems beautifully animated and a little absurd in a fun way. Also don't answer the question above, just cast a vote.

[triptychgrip]

I had a dream last night that one of my favorite anime characters (Viktor Nikiforov, from Yuri!!! on Ice) met another one of my favorite anime/manga characters (Sohma Ayame from Fruits Basket) and now I very well may have to write a crossover fanfic.

For one thing, the two of them seem to share some fundamental personality traits (easily excitable, very practiced in masking insecurities), but secondly, I think their meeting and sizing each other up would be so fun to write about. Like, I can totally see a situation where Sohma Yuki and Yuri Plisetsky bond over how extremely irritating they find the collective energy of Ayame and Viktor, together. And Mine and Yuuri would just watch their significant others with fond/exasperated expressions. Plus, I think it'd be hilarious to write about Viktor and Ayame being envious/admiring of the other’s hair care regimen and flair for the dramatic.

But that’s actually not what I intended this post to be about.

This dream got me thinking about the parallels between both shows, so I decided I'd make a 3 point pitch to fans of each to go check out the other, if it’s not already on your radar. I talk about both shows pretty broadly, so I don't believe I'm spoiling anything with this post.

Both pieces of media (I say ‘media’, because I prefer the Fruits Basket manga, even though both the original anime/remake are excellent) get me so in my feels, so I’ll try not to go on forever and ever. That being said, please do read to the end for my two disclaimers.

Reason 1: I think fans of both would agree that a big theme of their canon work is the transformational power of vulnerability. This feeds into the sub-themes of found family, and how the “practice” of letting love into one’s life (because it truly does take practice, despite society making us think it’s easy-breezy) can deeply shift us as people.

At its core, each implements huge characters arcs for their MC's that demonstrate this.

For Yuri!!! on Ice, this applies to Katsuki Yuuri and Viktor Nikiforov -- two professional male figure skaters, the former known as "Japan's Ace" skater, and the latter dubbed a "Living Legend" -- and for Fruits Basket, this applies to higher schoolers Sohma Yuki, Honda Tohru, and Sohma Kyo (though, truly, it could apply to all of the Sohmas). Right off the bat, I'll say that a big difference between yoi and furuba revolves around age. Yuuri and Viktor are adults, while Yuki, Tohru, and Kyo start off as (what seems to be) high school juniors. Yuri!!! on Ice fans, don't let that dissuade you from checking out Fruits Basket, however; its themes are very complex, and will challenge you.

Both media start off with their main characters at low points.

Katsuki Yuuri has just come in last place at his first Grand Prix Final competition: the competition it seems he's been working towards his entire career, and the one where he'd hoped to gain Viktor's attention (as he's looked up to the "Living Legend" since he was just twelve years old).

Similarly, we see that Tohru Honda has recently lost her mother (her father is also dead), and is practically homeless. She is living in a flimsy tent on Sohma Shigure's property. While Yuuri decides to leave the United States to move back home to Japan, and is contemplating retiring from figure skating altogether, Tohru is taken in by Shigure and Yuki in exchange for helping out with chores around their house.

In yoi, the plot moves along when we see Viktor -- who has just won his 5th World Championship title -- decide to drop everything and move to Japan to be Yuuri's coach, after seeing a viral video of him skating to one of his routines. And in furuba, the plot moves along as we watch Tohru meet more of the Sohmas, and learn about the big secret plaguing their family.

Canon shows us that while Katsuki Yuuri has a lot of love/support in his life prior to Viktor’s arrival in his hometown (his parents, his ballet teacher, etc), his own anxiety/insecurities makes it so that he struggles to realize the love around him. He has a hard time seeking out comfort or opening up to people when navigating hardships. But this fundamentally shifts with Viktor’s role in becoming his figure skating coach (and, eventually, romantic partner).

I would be remiss if I didn't make a content warning, here. Generational trauma and neglect are big themes in Fruits Basket.

In Fruits Basket, the zodiac "curse" -- a generational Sohma family trait that makes physical contact between its members and those of the opposite sex challenging, as touching leads each Sohma member to turn into its zodiac animal (i.e. Yuki turns into the rat, Kyo turns into the cat, etc.) -- as well as Sohma Akito's cruelty has made it so that Yuki and Kyo have been brainwashed into believing they are burdens...that they are unlovable, with no redeeming value, even in the eyes of their own family members.

But the presence of Tohru in their lives (and her ripple effect of positivity that completely upends the curse dynamic) causes Yuki and Kyo to unlearn these entrenched beliefs, and to realize that they have always, inherently, been worthy of love *brb sobbing*

While the idea of cute zodiac animals might lead one to think the manga/show is this cotton-candy fluff ride, there is a lot of heaviness that I personally found super compelling, and a reason that ppl who don't typically like content featuring high schoolers might make an exception for it.

Now, of course, Yuri!!! on Ice has its own heavy themes: navigating anxiety as well as feelings of apathy/depression, and while it's not canon, the lack of detail on Viktor's backstory has led many in the fandom to develop headcanons around possible strained family relationships/trauma history. Because it's something I actually have been wondering about, I thought I'd make a poll.

Reason 2: Both are very funny, with compelling romantic development.

Regarding the former, I found myself laughing out loud while reading/watching. I think a huge part of the reason has to do with the 'tsundere' archetype that Yuri Plisetsky (another figure skater) embodies in yoi, and that Sohma Kyo embodies in Fruits Basket. These grouchy characters are hilarious and lovable, and the audience enjoys seeing their energy play off of contrasting personality types.

Reason 3: It's more obvious off-the-bat in Yuri!!! on Ice, but the element of surprise is used to great effect in both. While there are tons of examples I could give, I'll say that each contains a fundamental "twist" that really makes you reconceptualize your entire understanding of the storyline/character relationships. I know that's not a lot to go off of, but each major surprise really shifted my perception of the pre-conceived power dynamics that we are led to believe exist in each.

It's no secret that Yuri Plisetsky is actually a big fan of Katsuki Yuuri, but his teenage pride won't allow him to admit this. Seeing Yuri adamantly insist that he thinks Yuuri is a loser, and just generally being aggravated by Viktor's extraness is pretty comical. Similarly, Kyo is quite prickly, and it's clear that Tohru Honda's diametrically opposed nature (i.e. she is warm and caring, to a fault) throws him for a loop. Seeing him flustered by it is hilarious.

I won't say any more about the romance development b/c I don't want to spoil anything in Fruits Basket, but suffice it to say that both media have plenty of "awww" moments that will have you swooning as characters open up to one another.

Disclaimers:

1) I think it's unfair to compare these pieces of media solely based on the amount of canon content around them.

Yuri!!! on Ice is an original anime, and (thus far) only has 1 season of 12 episodes (whyyyyy MAPPA?! I like Attack on Titan as much as the next person but please, I beg, give us season 2!). On the other hand, Fruits Basket has an original anime, plus a remake, and was a manga that went on for years. Thus, you will likely think the characterization/plot development is much richer. But, one thing I absolutely adore about the yoi fandom is how much fan-created content exists. Like, years after the show came out (in late 2016), there are still ppl actively writing fic (like me! I discovered it in 2020 but only started writing last year), making fanart, etc.

2) Another note about comparison that is pretty important:

Because of the overtness of certain elements in Fruits Basket (i.e. two very clear kisses happen, and we also see follow-up content that was released that shows a marriage take place in the future, etc.), fans might watch Yuri!!! on Ice and be disappointment with what they might characterize as understated romance between Yuuri and Viktor. But I think it's important to note how revolutionary the show was for portraying a queer romance between its main characters, especially in a show that was never marketed as a yaoi (boys' love) series. Despite several obvious indicators of the romantic nature of Yuuri and Viktor's relationship, there are still ppl that will argue that these two were merely coach/skater, and nothing more, and I just...don't even know where to begin in addressing that without dropping spoilers. If you're that curious, go to my AMA feature and drop me a question and I will happily write you a novel of a response.

Alright, that's mostly it...if you've gotten this far, thank you so much for reading! If you do end up checking out one or other, I hope you'll let me know what you think.

The very last thing I'll say is that I've only written fanfic for Yuri!!! on Ice (all post-canon, I've linked my Ao3 Dashboard), but I've been ideating around some Fruits Basket ideas, so may give it a whirl in the coming weeks. With every fiber of my being, I wish that I had artistic ability so that I could make fanart of Ayame and Viktor meeting...one can dream lol

[omishu]

Yep!

behold the single greatest production of cinderella to ever be staged

[master-kazuma]

anyways laura bailey >>>>

[mrsmarymorstan]

Fucking love that, following the release of the DnD Movie, "Sexy Paladin" was trending in Japan and that his JP Dub Actor is the same guy as does Gojo (JJK), Shigure (Furuba), Hawks (MHA), Mamoswine (PKMN), Greed (FMAB), and Shirogane (TMMN).

Fucking Iconic.

Otaku are not immune to the double sexy whammy of Regé-Jean Page and Yuichi Nakamura.

Amazing.

[ashesandhackles]

Also for dub, Colleen Clinkenbeard is going all out with her Akito, isn't she? She is just adding so many nuances to her line readings. It might be my favourite dub performance of the episode.

When she says, "Father...Father, please" and I am like ugh how do you get Akito so well

[aparticularbandit]

me: I recognize Katsuya's dub voice. Who is he.

me: OH he's Kyoya-senpai! From Ouran!

me: ...wait what do you mean he's jin fucking kirigiri

me: ....

me: HEY KYOKO YOU AND TOHRU ARE SISTERS NOW I DON'T MAKE THE RULES

[fruitsbasketdubpodcast]

[lesbian-kyoru]

i missed the dub so so much. 🥺 hearing that scene with kyo and tohru in their dub voices just really made it that much sweeter!! soooooo soft. and all the yuki content 🥺🥺

although I thought it was interesting they went with the line “I don’t know what I would do without you” instead of “you’re so very dear to me.” i guess it has the same general vibe (and it’s good that they didn’t revert back to straight up “I love you” which seems to be more romantic than the intended meaning of the line), but idk i like the ring of the original just a bit more than what they changed it to.