IN PRAISE OF: Fruits Basket Radio Drama

Alongside my film passions, expressed on WhatCulture! and on my own blog, my other big creative passion is radio. I€™ve been involved in radio in one form or another since 2007, and currently broadcast three times a fortnight on Exeter€™s Phonic FM. But rather than sit here blowing my own trumpet, I€™d like to take a few minutes of your time to promote the passion project of one of my favourite online reviewers €“ anime critic Hope Chapman, a.k.a. JesuOtaku (JO for short). If you€™re into anime you probably watch her reviews on That Guy With The Glasses, but what you may not know about is her on-going magnum opus €“ the Fruits Basket Radio Drama. Fruits Basket Radio Drama is an adaptation of the manga series Fruits Basket, written and illustrated by Natsuki Takaya. It tells the story of young orphan Tohru Honda, who moves in with three members of the Sohma family soon after losing her mother. But soon Tohru discovers that the Sohmas carry a terrible curse: they are possessed by the spirits of the Chinese zodiac (rat, snake, dragon etc.), and can transform into their given animal simply through contact with other people. Tohru swears to keep their secret, and grows to know the many different members of the Sohma clan through all manner of interesting encounters€ From reading this plot summary, you might think that you have to be an anime fan to €˜get€™ Fruits Basket and to appreciate the drama. In fact, one of the big triumphs of JO€™s adaptation is that anyone can get involved in the story and understand the dynamics of this unique world. I came to the series having no familiarity with anime or manga other than her reviews and the handful of Studio Ghibli films I€™d seen as a teenager. Within two episodes I was hooked, drawn in by the well-drawn characters and total lack of alienating in-jokes. While Fruits Basket is nominally a fantasy romance, the radio drama covers a wide range of emotions. Some episodes are hysterically funny €“ such as the two-parter involving a character called Ayame, who behaves quite outlandishly and sounds exactly like Tim Curry. Some of them are touching and sweet, as we see the development of Tohru€™s relationships with warring brothers Yuki and Kyo. Some are deeply intimidating, such as the segment €˜Winter€™s End€™ involving the terrifying antagonist Lord Akito. And some are utterly heartbreaking, such as the most recent episode (which I won€™t spoil here). But whether it€™s making you laugh €˜til you cry or just plain cry, Fruits Basket Radio Drama is a work of great intelligence and subtlety. It€™s very faithful to the source material (as far as I can gather) but carves out its own identity and translates its themes and ideas successfully to a different medium. It€™s very nuanced in its exploration of love €“ not just the romance between the characters but the extent and different forms of platonic love. And while it is a melodrama, in that it makes big emotions out of seemingly small events, there is no filler or slack even in the slower episodes.

The drama is also a technical triumph. Had I gone in completely blind and listened to any random episode, I would have sworn that this was a professional production by a first-rate production company. The sound mixing and quality is excellent, the foley effects are fitting and well-integrated, and the whole thing is lifted by its beautiful, tender soundtrack, composed especially for the drama by Ken Clayton. But what appeals to me most of all about the Fruits Basket Radio Drama is the undeniable passion that goes into it. JO has been working on the project on and off since 2011, and her cast contribute their great voices entirely for free. It feels like a project made by people devoted to the source, who love working together and truly believe in the story they are telling. We€™re living at a time where our culture is increasingly homogenous, with radio stations having syndication and playlisting forced on them in a bid to save money. This radio drama is a brilliant example of just how powerful radio can be when it€™s driven by people who want the best for the material and their audience €“ people who care about more than just shareholders and RAJAR figures.

You can find all the current episodes of Fruits Basket Radio Drama online here. Every new episode is posted up on JesuOtaku€™s Blip channel, with a free mp3 download being made available shortly afterwards. You can find all JO€™s other great content on That Guy With The Glasses or at JesuOtaku.com. I hope you take time to explore this brilliant radio drama, and get us much enjoyment out of it as I continue to receive.