The 2019 anime reboot of Natsuki Takaya’s “Fruits Basket” shoujo manga series has announced that its third and final season will be releasing in 2021. The final episode of the second season aired on 21st September on the streaming platforms Funimation and Crunchyroll, two hours after which this announcement was made. Funimation also produces and streams the English dub of the show, and it’s English simulDub for “Fruits Basket” had to be halted due to the COVID-19 virus.
“Fruits Basket” features Tohru Honda, an orphaned teenager, who meets three members of the mysterious Soma clan—Kyo, Yuki, and Shigure Soma, and later finds herself living with them. Later, she discovers that their clan is afflicted by a strange curse: they get turned into animals of the Chinese zodiac when hugged by members of the opposite sex.
Throughout the series, Tohru also has a journey of self-love and learns a lot about herself. The original manga series had 23 paperbacks—running from 1998 to 2006. It was so wildly popular that there was actually a previous anime adaptation in the early 2000s, with 26 episodes.
However, a lot of fan-favourite characters from the manga were noticeably absent from this adaptation. This also meant that a lot of older fans were apprehensive about a new reboot, but worries were cast aside as the 2019 reboot received mostly positive feedback.
So far, there are 50 episodes between the two seasons, with the season two finale ending around volume 16. These means that there are still seven volumes left to be covered, which is enough for one season. This adaptation is meant to be covering the entire story of the original manga.
The first two seasons are available on streaming services right now, so be sure to catch up on them before the final season airs!
