I'm a huge fan of Fruits Basket. I read the whole series in '22 and have watched the associated animes several times. I even have a pair of Fruits Basket PJ pants. Ryan is a great one for noticing when I am enthusiastic about something and researching out anything related. Apparently, Takaya wrote a short 4 volume follow up series when they produced the new anime. All four English language volumes came out in 2022. Ryan scooped them all up for me and I just finished volume 4.
Fruits Basket Another is basically a short narrative following the next generation of Somas. The curse is over, so there is no crazy turning into animals when hugged by a member of the opposite gender but a lot of the coloring markers remain. Yuki's son has grey hair, for example. The Somas are still unnaturally beautiful and popular as well.
In this generation, our hapless heroine is a girl named Ayha Mitoma. Unlike Toru from the main series, Mitoma has a horrible borderline abusive home situation that has caused her to be withdrawn and insecure. The main group of Somas pretty much adopt her at school and force her to join the student council.
Her interaction with the student council members sets Mitoma on a path that builds her confidence. Eventually, she meets Akito's son who is still in Middle School. He is just as withdrawn as she is and their budding friendship helps them both heal.
It's a great character drama that echoes the themes of the original series. The fourth volume really only has the last chapter of the story. The rest of the volume looks like vignette's that were created as promotional material for various releases of the collected volumes and anime seasons. They are interesting but a little lacking in context.
If you are a fan of the original series, I recommend Fruits Basket Another. However, there are a lot of references to events in the original series, so if you haven't read it yet, don't try to start with Fruits Basket Another. It'll lose something by lack of context.
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