Hearts will melt this summer when the emotional story of Tohru Honda officially concludes in Fruits Basket -prelude-. Distributed by Crunchyroll, the special event film will arrive in select movie theaters in the United States and Canada on June 25, 28, and 29, subtitled and dubbed in English, with tickets on sale Friday, June 3. The film will also debut in the United Kingdom, dubbed only, on July 20 with tickets going on sale June 24.
Debuting for the first time outside of Japan, the prequel film to the award-winning 2019 anime series Fruits Basket is a standalone story that will take fans back before Tohru became involved with the Soma family – who can turn into animals of the Zodiac when hugged by the opposite sex – diving into the life of her parents, Kyoto and Katsuya Honda, before they tragically died.
Based on the award-winning shoujo manga Fruits Basket, written and illustrated by Natsuki Takaya (Phantom Dream; Twinkle Stars; Fruits Basket Another) and published by Hakusensha from 1998 to 2006, Fruits Basket -prelude- is directed by Yoshihide Ibata (Fruits Basket; Attack on Titan: Junior High). Studio animation is provided by TMS Entertainment and 8PAN, who together are known for producing 2019’s Fruits Basket, Dr. STONE, Bakuon!!, and more.
Crunchyroll describes the film as follows:
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.
Crunchyroll also announced a portion of the voice cast for both Japanese and English!
- Kyoko Honda – Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese voice) and Lydia Mackay (English voice)
- Katsuya Honda – Yoshimasa Hosoya (Japanese voice) and J. Michael Tatum (English voice)
- Tohru Honda – Manaka Iwami (Japanese voice) and Laura Bailey (English voice)
- Kyo Soma – Yūma Uchida (Japanese voice) and Jerry Jewell (English voice)
Fruits Basket -prelude- includes a screenplay by Taku Kishimoto (Fruits Basket; Haikyu!!; 91 Days; Erased), character design by Masaru Shindō (Fruits Basket; My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU), art direction by Tamako Kamiyama, and music composed by Masaru Yokoyama (Fruits Basket; Horimiya; Your Lie in April). The movie’s theme song, “Niji to Kite” (“Rainbow and Kite”), was performed by Ohashi Trio. Total running time is 88 minutes.
The 2019 anime series, Fruits Basket, is currently available to stream on Crunchyroll.
Two trailers have been released… one for the English dub and the other with the original Japanese audio. You can check out both below:
Japanese Audio
English Dub
Source: Press Release
