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U.S. Fruits Basket Screenings Slated for March 26-27, More Dub Cast Revealed
posted on by Karen Ressler
Funimation Films revealed the dates for its United States screenings of the first two episodes of the new television anime of Natsuki Takaya's Fruits Basket manga on Friday. The English dub will screen on Tuesday, March 26 and the subtitled version will screen on Wednesday, March 27. Pre-sale tickets are available now.
The theatrical screening website confirmed two more English dub cast members: Elizabeth Maxwell as Arisa Uotani and Jad Saxton as Saki Hanajima. Both are new to the cast, replacing Parisa Fakhri and Daphne Gere, respectively.
Screenings will offer a 16-oz stadium cup, lanyard, and three pin badges as commemorative gifts. The screenings will also be accompanied by interviews with both the English and Japanese voice casts.
The new anime will have an entirely new Japanese cast and staff, as per Takaya's request. The new anime will cover the entire manga's story. The previously announced new cast includes:
- Manaka Iwami as Tohru Honda
- Nobunaga Shimazaki as Yuki Sohma
- Yūma Uchida as Kyo Sohma
- Yūichi Nakamura as Shigure Sohma
- Atsumi Tanezaki as Arisa Uotani
- Satomi Satou as Saki Hanajima
- Rie Kugimiya as Kagura Sohma
- Megumi Han as Momiji Sohma
- Makoto Furukawa as Hatsuharu Sohma
- Kazuyuki Okitsu as Hatori Sohma
- Takahiro Sakurai as Ayame Sohma
- Maaya Sakamoto as Akito Sohma
The anime's previously announced English dub cast includes: (* denotes a returning cast member)
- Laura Bailey* as Tohru
- Eric Vale* as Yuki
- Jerry Jewell* as Kyo
- John Burgmeier* as Shigure
- Tia Ballard as Kagura
- Mikaela Krantz as Momiji
- Justin Cook* as Hatsuharu
The anime will premiere in Japan on TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, and other stations in April, and Funimation will stream the anime on FunimationNow. Funimation has also licensed the home video rights.
Yoshihide Ibata (Pikaia!!, FLCL Progressive) is directing the anime at TMS Entertainment. Taku Kishimoto (Silver Spoon, Haikyu!!, 91 Days, Hanebad!) is in charge of series composition. Masaru Shindou (Macross Delta, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU) is drawing the character designs. Takaya herself is serving as executive supervisor.
Takaya serialized the original Fruits Basket manga in Hakusensha's Hana to Yume magazine from 1998-2006. Tokyopop released the manga in English from 2004 to 2009, and Yen Press re-released the manga in 12 updated omnibus volumes beginning in June 2016. Yen Press describes the story:
After a family tragedy turns her life upside down, plucky high schooler Tohru Honda takes matters into her own hands and moves out...into a tent! Unfortunately for her, she pitches her new home on private land belonging to the mysterious Sohma clan, and it isn't long before the owners discover her secret. But, as Tohru quickly finds out when the family offers to take her in, the Sohmas have a secret of their own--when touched by the opposite sex, they turn into the animals of the Chinese Zodiac!
The original manga inspired a television anime adaptation in 2001.
