Anime fans! July is a fantastic month. We’ve got some incredibly exciting releases coming out this month. We’ve had the beautiful edition of Belle, we’ve got Masashi Ando’s The Deer King coming out at the end of the month, and now we can add Fruits Basket: Prelude to the list. That’s right, the Fruits Basket movie will be coming to UK cinemas from July 20th- Just one week away.
Before there was Tohru and Kyo – there was Katsuya and Kyoko. Discover the turbulent beginning of Tohru’s mom’s dark past, and the man who breathed new hope into her. Watch the evolution of their love story and the birth of the Honda family, as this chapter completes the full adaptation of the heartwarming Fruits Basket story.
Fruits Basket: Prelude will be shown in dub in most locations. Now, if you’ve watched and loved the series then these brilliant voice actors will need no introduction. However, for those who may be new to the Fruits Basket family (welcome!), let’s meet the characters and the talented cast who have brought these lovable characters to life.
Once again, Laura Bailey is back as the adorable and clumsy Tohru Honda. Bailey’s career is pretty much legendary at this point. She embodied Tohru in the original dub almost 20 years ago now, has slayed countless monsters as Vex’ahlia in The Legend of Vox Machina, and has survived a zombie apocalypse in The Last of Us: Part II. Hearing Bailey as Tohru again is amazing, she is such an incredibly kind, fun, and sweet character. We all need a Tohru in our lives.
Joining Bailey is Lydia Mackay as Tohru’s tough yet troubled mother Kyoko Honda. Being able to see more from Kyoko will be an absolute treat. She’s an incredibly charming character that is at war with a lot of her own inner demons, but regardless of those she still shows immense strength and thoughtfulness. Lydia has always been able to capture that balance between strength and vulnerability perfectly. A lot of Fruits Basket fans are going to love this younger and more brash version of Kyoko in the Prelude. She is simply wonderful.
Of course, where would Tohru be without Kyo Soma. The brilliant Jerry Jewell is back as the troubled member of the Soma family. However, things are quite different this time. Much like Bailey, Jerry has had a brilliant career in the anime world. If you haven’t watched it, we highly recommend checking out The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. It is a hysterical series about a psychic who loves coffee jelly. What more do you want?
Finally, we have J. Michael Tatum as Katsuya Honda, Tohru’s dashing father. We don’t see much of Katsuya in the rebooted series, so Fruits Baskets: Prelude will be a great first for people unfamiliar with Kyoto’s mysterious lover. Keen eared listeners may recognise Tatum as Tenya Ida (Ingenium) from My Hero Academia.
Distributed by Crunchyroll, this special event film will arrive in select movie theaters in the United Kingdom on Wednesday, July 20, dubbed in English. So, what are you waiting for? More Fruits Basket goodness awaits.
Check out the trailer below:
Need a refresher? Fruits Basket is available to stream on Crunchyroll right now in its entirety! For more anime news, click here.
