fruits basket season 4

Fruits Basket Season 4: Is a Return Possible for Anime?

The Fruits Basket anime, like its original manga, has captivated audiences since its debut in 2019. This beloved series continues to top anime charts worldwide, drawing in fans with its consistent releases year after year. Based on Natsuki Takaya’s manga, serialized since July 18, 1998, the anime has become a global phenomenon. While the first anime adaptation aired in 2001, it was the 2019 remake that truly captured the hearts of fans, with a planned three-season run that kept viewers eagerly anticipating each new episode.

Produced by TMS Entertainment, known for its work on popular series like Dr. Stone and Megalo Box, Fruits Basket maintained top-notch animation quality throughout all seasons. Licensed by Funimation and Crunchyroll, the anime aired weekly in Japan from April 6, 2019, to June 29, 2021, on major networks, before being streamed worldwide in English. With the final season concluded, fans are now left wondering: Could there be a Fruits Basket season 4?

What was Fruits Basket about?

Toru Honda has recently experienced the devastating loss of her mother in a car accident. After the tragedy, she moves in with her grandfather, but when his family comes to stay, Toru leaves to avoid being a burden. Left with no place to stay, she sets up camp in a tent and supports herself by working as a cleaner after school.

Despite the hardships she’s endured, Toru maintains her positive outlook on life. One day, while wandering through the forest, she stumbles upon the Soma family’s house. Here, she meets her aloof yet handsome classmate, Yuki Soma. Yuki lives with his two cousins, Kyo and Shigure, and they soon invite Toru to stay with them in exchange for her help with cleaning and cooking. With her tent destroyed by a landslide the night before, Toru has no choice but to accept their generous offer.

However, Toru quickly learns that the Soma family harbors a mysterious and strange secret. Each member of the family is cursed, carrying the spirit of an animal from the Chinese zodiac. When they are hugged by someone of the opposite sex, they transform into the animal they are cursed with.

Fruits Basket
The picture from @AnimaxAsia / YouTube – Season 1 Trailer

Will there be a fourth season of Fruits Basket?

As of December 30, 2024, Fruits Basket has not been renewed for a fourth season. The third season, which concluded with great emotional depth and satisfaction, was widely regarded as the best of the series. The final season, titled Fruits Basket: The Final, led many fans to believe that this would mark the end of the anime. Given that the story was fully completed and the plotlines resolved, the chances of a Fruits Basket season 4 seemed slim.

The anime closely follows the manga series, written by Natsuki Takaya, which ran from July 18, 1998, to November 20, 2006, and comprises 23 volumes. With the entire manga adapted into the anime, there is little hope for a continuation, as there is no additional source material left for further seasons.

Typically, production companies renew successful anime series for additional seasons if there’s a profitable demand. While Fruits Basket was highly profitable, especially in terms of online streaming success, it did not perform as well in physical disc sales. In the first season, Fruits Basket sold an average of 2,691 discs, with the numbers declining slightly in the following seasons—1,830 discs in season two and 1,817 in season three.

Although it didn’t achieve significant success in disc sales, Fruits Basket garnered widespread popularity, consistently ranking higher in Google searches than Mob Psycho 100 at times.

However, despite the strong fan interest, the lack of remaining source material and the finality of the last season suggest that a Fruits Basket season 4 is highly unlikely. But while there may not be another season, the franchise still has more to offer…

Fruits Basket: Prelude

In 2022, the franchise expanded with the release of a highly anticipated movie, Fruits Basket: Prelude, which focuses on Tohru Honda’s parents, Kyoko and Katsuya. This prequel movie, which provides deeper insight into their backstory, was not covered in the main anime series.

Released on February 18, 2022, Fruits Basket: Prelude received significant attention and was warmly received by fans. The movie tells the story of how Kyoko and Katsuya met and their life together before Tohru’s birth, giving a richer context to Tohru’s character. Directed by Yoshihide Ibata, the movie reunited most of the original anime’s team, including the voice cast and character designers.

The movie was released in Japanese theaters and earned around $1.12 million at the box office. Internationally, the film was streamed on platforms like Crunchyroll, allowing fans worldwide to experience this additional piece of the Fruits Basket universe. While the movie focuses on the past, it also offers a sense of closure for fans who were invested in the story, giving new depth to the characters.

For those looking for more content, the movie serves as a touching epilogue and a wonderful addition to the anime’s legacy.

fruits basket season 4
Fruit Basket
Popularity on Mynanimelist
86
Popularity on Social Media
89
Popularity on Google Searches
86
Success in Disc Sales
67
Reader Rating2 Votes
88
Positives
Above-Average Reviews (7.69 on MA, 8.6 on IMDb)
Good Popularirty
Big Distributors Worldwide
Multi-season continuity
Best-Selling Manga (30m+)
Additional Income with Movie
Negatives
Final Announcement
Manga ended
Insufficient Source Material from Manga
No Success in Disc Sales
5
Renewal Possibility