Best Couples In Fruits Basket

Summary

• Fruits Basket features various types of romance, including friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, and second chance love – some are genuine, while others are strained.
• Toxic lovers Shigure and Atiko’s relationship is deemed toxic, with Atiko manipulating and hurting others, making her redemption questionable.
• Kyo and Tohru are the most beloved couple in the show, overcoming their past traumas and insecurities to show each other their true selves and find love.

Fruits Basket is one of the best anime of all time. It’s so popular that the original anime got a three-season reboot, bringing back our favorite characters. The story surrounds a family that is attached to the Japanese zodiac. Certain members of the family are born with a strange power – they turn into the animal they are attached to if a member of the opposite sex embraces them.

Throughout the show, there is every type of romance imaginable. Friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, second chance, forbidden love and more. Some of the romances are well-earned, and beautiful to watch, while others are a little strained and less exciting when brought to fruition.

10

Shigure & Atiko

Toxic Lovers

Shigure manipulates people throughout the show to get to his one true love, Atiko. In a lot of ways, this couple is the embodiment of forgiveness. We watch him put her first over and over, no matter what she does (and she does horrible things).

However, this is the last couple on our list because of how toxic they are. Everyone is expected to just forgive Atiko at the end, even after she mauled, tortured, and manipulated every single member of the zodiac. There is a lot of pressure on her, but that doesn’t make her redeemable. We’re happy Shigure is happy, but hopefully Atiko spends her entire life making it up to the rest of them.

9

Katsuya & Kyoko

Love In Death

This couple is tragic. These two lovely people are Tohru’s parents, and their deaths shape Tohru and who she is throughout the show. We learn bits about their relationship, and there is a prelude that focuses on them.

There are some bad moments between them, including their age gap. It’s teased about, but it tarnishes the innocence of the relationship. There is beauty in messy relationships, and we’re all happy that they found happiness, but this relationship dynamic left much to be desired.

8

Hiro & Kisa

Childish Love

Hiro has a large crush on Kisa, but their relationship is just at its beginning in the anime. They’re so young, and much of this relationship shows through Hiro’s feelings. He is jealous of anyone who gets Kisa’s attention, and lashes out at some of the main characters.

They’re adorable, though barely a couple, since they are so new and young. They protect each other, and Kisa is hurt by Akito because of Hiro (though it’s not really his fault). This trauma bonds them together, and he makes it his job to protect her. The show ends with them being each other’s comfort, which is adorable. The reason this one is lower is simply because it’s so young and new compared to other relationships.

7

Kureno & Arisa Uotani

Love At First Sight

This is a sweet couple, but not a fan favorite because we don’t really get to see them grow together. They’re both so into each other, but it’s only after two interactions. As much as we believe both these people deserve love, the relationship feels a little bit unearned. There is also an age gap between the characters that is pretty noticeable.

That being said, individually, these characters are so beautiful. They have so much backstory and growth separately, so by the time they come together, they’re in their healing stage. There is a lot of goodness, and two good people deserve happiness.

6

Ritsu & Mitsuru

Anxious Lovers

These two are such an unlikely couple. Ritsu is a crossdressing character who is coded very much as transgender, though it is never said outright. Many people make fun of Ritsu for this, which is very frustrating. You even meet Ritu’s mother, who is saddened by how everyone treats her child like a joke.

Then Ritsu meets Mitsuru, who also deals with a lot of anxiety, especially around Shigure. Ritsu and Mitsuru accept each other wholeheartedly, which is one of the reasons this couple is beautiful. It’s great to see couples accepting each other for who they are.

5

Yuki & Machi

Friends To Lovers

Many fans were worried that Yuki, Kyo and Tohru were going to become a devastating love triangle. That’s why we were so relieved that Yuki and Machi found each other. Machi is pretty quiet, which pairs well with Yuki. In fact, they have a lot of similarities.

Yuki is often revered at his school as a ‘prince’, but Machi sees him as more than that. He was able to heal and feel loved by Tohru, which set the stage for him to have a healthy relationship with Machi. Seeing Yuki happy makes us happy.

4

Hatori & Mayuko Shiraki

Second Chance Lovers

This relationship is so beautiful. Hatori had been in love with the past, and his ex was forced to forget about him. He was pretty disconnected throughout the show, but we get to see him come back to life with Mayuko.

They make each other better, growing and becoming stronger as a couple throughout the show. Mayuko isn’t afraid to be herself, and she teaches Hatori to embrace himself as well. It’s truly wonderful to see them heal together.

3

Rin & Haru

Eternal Lovers

We only know Rin and Haru as a couple. We meet them in the midst of a break-up, seeing Haru heartbroken. We learn a lot about them and how much they need each other. They’re both trying to protect the other in their own way. When they reconnect, Haru, who isn’t the most gentle, is so kind and gentle to Rin.

This relationship is precious. These two characters are both hot-headed and imperfect, but cool and soft together. It’s impossible not to root for their happiness.

2

Ayame & Mine

Colleagues To Lovers

Ayame and Mine are a sweet couple. Unfortunately, we don’t get to see as much of them as we’d like in the anime, but that doesn’t stop them from being one of the healthier couples in the show. Ayame is troubled and not a lot of people fully understand him and what he’s been through. But Mine adores him.

She loves him for who he is, and their relationship naturally blooms. She admires him, respects him, and even from the little that we see, we can tell that their bond is very strong. A lot of their depth is unseen, but if you play close attention, you can see how much they grow together. And the confession is one of the more romantic ones, where Ayame says, “I was born to love you.”

1

Kyo & Tohru

Friends To Lovers

Kyo and Tohru are the most beloved couple in the show. These two have been through so much. Kyo’s mother committed suicide and he has been isolated and seen as ‘other’ by the zodiacs. Tohru lost both of her parents and ended up homeless. These two needed to be loved, and they found each other.

The beauty of this isn’t that they just fell in love; it’s that they are able to show each other the worst parts of them. They show the ugly sides, and love each other no matter how scared that makes them. The show wouldn’t exist without these two, and their story is so beautifully written. Two people who never win, finally get to win in love.