I want to love Fruits Basket Prelude because of how good Kyoko’s story is. Her story taps into everything I love about the series, but to get to it only after a 30-minute recap of the series feels completely disjointed from the meat of the film…

Despite the fact that the prologue will be confusing to viewers who have not seen the original series, the main segment here definitely compensates, offering entertainment and closing of loose ends in the most elaborate fashion.

Fruits Basket: Prelude has some amazing emotional depth. You applaud the amazing looking animation and environmental design of the world built. Each character you feel has deep history, but if you haven't seen the series you may come up a bit lost.

The film is sad... But it was also a story of love and rediscovering a love for those who are important to us.