This thesis examines the various traumas within Takaya Natsuki’s anime series Fruits Basket and how the act of transformation triggers the beginnings of recovery for numerous characters. Fruits Basket bears striking similarities to the French fairy tale Beauty and the Beast (as well as later adaptations) originated by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve. Throughout, I draw parallels between the “Beauty and the Beast”-genre with Fruits Basket and how the anime expands upon shared themes, specifically trauma. Additionally, I analyse the birth of and recovery from traumas (caused by bullying, loss, abuse, and feelings of otherness) for “Beauty and the Beast” archetypes within Fruits Basket, along with others. Takaya’s anime demonstrates an understanding of trauma: the journeys various characters undertake stress the importance of a having strong, supportive social system to initiate the steps for recovery.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis examines the various traumas within Takaya Natsuki’s anime series <em>Fruits Basket </em>and how the act of transformation triggers the beginnings of recovery for numerous characters. <em>Fruits Basket </em>bears striking similarities to the French fairy tale <em>Beauty and the Beast</em> (as well as later adaptations) originated by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve. Throughout, I draw parallels between the “Beauty and the Beast”-genre with <em>Fruits Basket </em>and how the anime expands upon shared themes, specifically trauma. Additionally, I analyse the birth of and recovery from traumas (caused by bullying, loss, abuse, and feelings of otherness) for “Beauty and the Beast” archetypes within <em>Fruits Basket</em>, along with others. Takaya’s anime demonstrates an understanding of trauma: the journeys various characters undertake stress the importance of a having strong, supportive social system to initiate the steps for recovery.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["North, Vesper"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Justine Van Meter","Stephanie Takaragawa","Anna Leahy"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2022-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:24Z","subjects":["anime","trauma","recovery","fairy tales","fruits basket","Japanese Studies","Modern Literature","Other Arts and Humanities","Other English Language and Literature","Other Film and Media Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/english_theses/45","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Justine Van Meter","Stephanie Takaragawa","Anna Leahy"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["North, Vesper"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-05-03T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["anime","trauma","recovery","fairy tales","fruits basket","Japanese Studies","Modern Literature","Other Arts and Humanities","Other English Language and Literature","Other Film and Media Studies"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/english_theses/45"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis examines the various traumas within Takaya Natsuki’s anime series Fruits Basket and how the act of transformation triggers the beginnings of recovery for numerous characters. Fruits Basket bears striking similarities to the French fairy tale Beauty and the Beast (as well as later adaptations) originated by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve. Throughout, I draw parallels between the “Beauty and the Beast”-genre with Fruits Basket and how the anime expands upon shared themes, specifically trauma. Additionally, I analyse the birth of and recovery from traumas (caused by bullying, loss, abuse, and feelings of otherness) for “Beauty and the Beast” archetypes within Fruits Basket, along with others. Takaya’s anime demonstrates an understanding of trauma: the journeys various characters undertake stress the importance of a having strong, supportive social system to initiate the steps for recovery.
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"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/english_theses/45"],"dc:source":["North, Vesper. Traumas and Recovery in Takaya Natsuki's Fruits Basket. 2022. Chapman University, MA Thesis. Chapman University Digital Commons, https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000352"],"dc:subject":["anime","trauma","recovery","fairy tales","fruits basket","Japanese Studies","Modern Literature","Other Arts and Humanities","Other English Language and Literature","Other Film and Media Studies"],"dc:title":["Traumas and Recovery in Takaya Natsuki's Fruits Basket"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:24Z"}