Earlier today, the official Fruits Basket Twitter account announced that the series will receive a theatrical preview event. The first two episodes will be shown in theaters across Japan and North America in March, though a specific date has yet to be announced. The North American screening will also show off commentaries from the English and Japanese voice cast members.
In addition, a new Japanese cast member for the series was revealed on February 14, and Funimation unveiled the first English dub cast member earlier today.
We break the details down below.
Japanese Cast
The series will add the following cast member:
- Akito Soma: Maaya Sakamoto
A visual for the character was also shown off, which you can check out below.
English Cast
The series will star the following:
- Tohru Honda: Laura Bailey
Caitlin Glass will direct the adaptation. Laura Bailey is reprising her role from the 2001 TV series.
Fruits Basket will hit Japanese TV in April.
Fruits Basket will air on Tokyo MX and other networks in Japan, wihle Funimation holds the rights to the series in North America. The publisher will stream the title on FunimationNow in North America, which will be followed by an eventual home video release.
©NATSUKI TAKAYA. HAKUSENSHA/FRUITS BASKET PROJECT
Yoshihide Ibata (FLCL Progressive, Attack on Titan: Junior High) will direct the project at TMS Entertainment, with Masaru Shindo providing character designs. Taku Kishimoto (Bunny Drop, Magi: Adventure of Sinbad) is in charge of series composition for the title.
Fruits Basket author Natsuki Takaya will serve as executive supervisor on the project.
The confirmed Japanese voice cast includes:
- Tohru Honda: Manaka Iwami
- Yuki Soma: Nobunaga Shimazaki
- Kyo Soma: Yuma Uchida
- Shigure Soma: Yuichi Nakamura
- Arisa Uotani: Atsumi Tanezaki
- Saki Hanajima: Satomi Satō
- Momiji: Megumi Han
- Hatsuharu: Makoto Furukawa
- Kagura: Rie Kugimiya
- Hatori Soma: Kazuyuki Okitsu
- Ayame Soma: Takahiro Sakurai
Funimation describes Fruits Basket as:
High school student Tohru Honda begins living alone in a tent after she loses her mother, who was her only remaining family member.
However, it turns out that the land she pitches her tent on is part of the distinguished Sohma family estate!
When Shigure Sohma sees the value of her housekeeping skills, Tohru ends up living with Yuki Sohma, who is essentially the prince of her school, and Kyo Sohma, who regards Yuki as the enemy.
Still, there’s something Tohru doesn’t know yet: the Sohma family has been bound for centuries by a horrible curse…
It’s a new series with an all-new cast and staff!
Natsuki Takaya’s Fruits Basket manga launched in Hana to Yume in July 1998. The series ran through November 2006, spanning 23 compiled volumes.
The title also spawned a 2001 anime adaptation. Akitaro Daichi (Jubei-chan, Now and Then, Here and There) directed the title at Studio DEEN, with Akemi Hayashi (Gunbuster 2: Diebuster, Peacemaker) providing character designs. The team of Aki Itami, Mamiko Ikeda, and Rika Nakase wrote the scripts.
Sources: Twitter (fruitsbasket_en) [1] [2], Twitter (Funimation) [1] [2]
2019 Fruits Basket Anime Gets First English Cast, New Japanese Cast, Theatrical Preview Event – Samantha Ferreira
