First and foremost this is a serial about transformation; not only involving the Sohoma family, but Tohru herself. In the pilot episode, she comes across as immature, perhaps tied too closely to her mother's apron-strings, but once she is cast out into the wilderness she had to acquire maturity rapidly. The woods themselves symbolize the unknown; through her various adventures therein, Tohru transforms herself from an adolescent into a self-possessed young woman. She comes of age, so to speak.

Fruits Basket uses the fairytale format to make some sharp observations on gender. Tohru has been brought up to be a pliant person, willingly agreeing to conform to what her world expects from her. However her experiences with the Sohoma family teach her a lot about looking after herself, and resisting the boys' attempts to dominate her. They might possess the kind of transformative capacities that are beyond her; but this does not give them licence to treat her as a plaything. They have to learn that she shares their capacity for self-determination.

Structured as a series of episodes lasting twenty or so minutes each, Fruits Basket is a compelling drama, ably performed by a predominantly youthful cast. Ably adapted from the Japanese shojo manga series by Jesu Otaku (who also directed), I recommend the drama as being well worth a listen.