I don’t know why it took this long for me to make the connection. Let’s start with the biggest difference first: Fruits Basket is about some downtrodden girl who, by fate, puts on her iyashikei powers on a supernatural family of hurts. Inu x Boku SS is the opposite, where the story begins with someone in said supernatural family of hurts, is hurting, and somehow becomes healed.
This change in perspective aside, it feels very much like the two are really the same. I suppose Furuba puts on hardcore girl-pandering when it comes to some of those 12-Chinese-zodiac things, where as Inu x Boku is more about the male audience crossover. I suppose that is the difference of the source material being serialized in a shoujo manga mag versus a shounen manga mag. These days though I’m not sure if that distinction means fewer girls are buying either types of magazines. Well, I don’t know what Inu Boku manga is like, so I can’t really say much about that.
I think when it comes to making late-night anime adaptations of manga that are otaku-aware, it’s the ultimate challenge–create something that can appeal to a growing number of more hardcore subgenre fans. Or at least, so it seems. I’m not too sure how well Inu x Boku does this schtik, but it does try. I guess the question is then are there any girls watching it?
I think it is an ultimate challenge sort of thing because it takes a big risk–it’s the classic tale of going after two birds and getting none. But even in the era of one bird-in-hand beating two-birds-in-bush where anime production committees tend to play it safe, I think it’s natural that you want to position franchises and promote ideas that sells to more people. Invariably this issue comes up.
I guess I’m just curious: Does anyone who likes Furuba like this show?
February 20th, 2012 at 6:57 pm
I quite like Furuba and very much am enjoying InuBoku. I don’t know if I entirely buy the comparison, but I can sorta see what you are getting at.
InuBoku notably lacks a Toru equivalent, which is what hurts the comparison a lot.
On a sidenote, I’ve been meaning to rewatch Furuba, I’ve never actually watched the entire thing in Japanese, and back when I did watch some of the Japanese dub, I was still in my “don’t like Horie Yui” phase. Hmm…
February 20th, 2012 at 7:34 pm
I like Furuba and am enjoying InuBoku, however I would never have made the comparison at all – they have vastly different appeal. For one thing, Toru was a completely normal girl (aside from basically being the nicest person ever), and there’s no major characters like that in InuBoku at all. The themes are pretty different too. I just can’t see the comparison.
February 20th, 2012 at 10:15 pm
I am not sure how the themes are so different. They seem almost the same to me in a lot of ways.
February 21st, 2012 at 5:06 am
Like I said, the lack of a Toru character is going to be a deal breaker for this comparison for a lot of people, but on the base thematic level, yeah, I see it.
February 21st, 2012 at 9:10 am
Also, I just noticed what Karuta is sitting on.
GET AWAY FROM THE MACAROONS, KARUTA!
And watch out for Wheels!
February 21st, 2012 at 9:28 am
It’s okay, Karuta can eat all the dirty-colored macaroons.
February 21st, 2012 at 1:49 pm
I’m pretty sure Karuta would insist on eating all the Macaroons, and then we’d have Giant Skeleton Karuta vs. Chariot, which would, come to think of it, probably be a pretty awesome fight.
February 21st, 2012 at 4:53 pm
While I enjoy entertaining the thought of Karuta vs. Chariot, I am sure Karuta is polite enough to not eat other people’s macaroons.