Fruits Basket
synopsis by Jareth David

26 episode shoujo anime series which ran on TV Tokyo from June 5 - December 27, 2001.
Character Designs by Akemi Hayashi (Kakumei Shoujo Utena)
Directed by Akitaro Daichi (Kodomo no Omocha).

OP: "For Fruits Basket" sung by Ritsuko Okazaki
ED: "Chisana Inori" sung by Ritsuko Okazaki

Story:
Combine Ranma 1/2 cup and Tom & Jerry 1/2 cup, add 3 cups of shoujo themes (unsifted) and 3 Tbsp of Chinese astrology. Throw into a blender and continually alternate between 'whip' and 'liquefy' settings.

Toru Honda is an orphan with nowhere to go. Her mother just became a statistic in the recent series of anime traffic accidents involving mothers lately. Her grandfather moved in with relatives that don't want her company and she promised her mother she'd attend school in Tokyo. This leaves her as a babe in the woods...literally. She won't tell her 2 best friends that she's living in a tent because she doesn't want them to know and doesn't want to be a burden on them. What's a poor girl to do? Move in the the most popular (read: worshipped) boy in class. That may not be a good idea for several reasons.

Yuki Souma is the prince of their high school even to the extent of having a psychotically devoted underground fan club. Those self-deluding girls would lose their minds if they knew SHE was living under the same roof as the Prince, they don't even like her TALKING to him! The evil witch has apparently put him under some spell. It's hard for them to interfere since the witch is protected by her gang member friend's dreaded 'wave power'. I'd be curious to see the fan club's astonished little faces if they could witness the truth of the Prince's family curse.

While living in the Souma house, it takes only 1 day for Tohru to (literally) stumble onto the heavily guarded secret. Some members of the Souma clan are cursed by the Jyuunishi (animals of the Chinese Zodiac) and turn into said animals upon being 'huggled' by a member of the opposite sex or at times when their body and spirit are worn down.

This series has been licensed in the U.S. by Funimation.