Manga Review: Fruits Basket, Volume 16

Okay, I’ll be the first to confess; “Hi, I’m a guy and I like to read Fruits Basket.” There, I said it. It’s a very compelling story. Don’t believe me? Fine, I’ll prove it to you:

Tohru Honda is a high school student determined to do well academically. Recently, her mother passed away, forcing Tohru to live in a tent in a remote forest. By chance, she encounters a classmate of hers, Yuki Sohma, in the woods. As it turns out, Tohru had been camping near the Sohma household, where Yuki and his cousin Shigure are living. Yuki, concerned for Tohru’s health, offers her a place to stay at his house. Though reluctant at first, Tohru accepts Yuki’s offer and starts living with him.

Just as Tohru was settling into her new room, an angry Kyo Sohma makes a hole in the roof. Kyo has vowed to defeat Yuki in battle. Tohru tries to stop the two from fighting but instead trips and collapses on Yuki, Shigure, and Kyo, who transform into a mouse, a cat, and a dog.

It turns out the entire Sohma clan is cursed by the 12 spirits of the Chinese zodiac (and one cat). Whenever any of the 12 cursed Sohma family is embraced by a person of the opposite sex, they turn into their respective zodiac animal (except that the dragon turns into a sea horse because in Japan a sea horse is called a sea dragon, which makes me feel a little cheated). Normally they would brainwash into forgetting anyone who discovered the Sohma family curse. However, they have decided to keep Tohru’s memories in tact.

How will this affect the Sohmas who have lived in secret for so long? Is Tohru ready for this big secret to be kept in her care? What are the other Sohmas thinking? These and more are answered in each volume so check it out.

In this particular volume we learn a lot more about Tohru’s mom and dad, as well as how they fell in love. Also, we see Yuki performing the boldest act in his life. Although I have said very little about this act, it is actually one of the most pivotal points of the series.

Together, the story consists of exaggerated moments, emotionally compelling character development, and lately, a lot of flash backs. It’s been a really good story thus far, but lately, the quality has declined, mostly due to the flash backs. Even though I can see the necessity of the flash backs in understanding the characters, I think it’s more important to focus on progress. This story should progress forward rather than devote most of the chapters of each volume to the past.

The characters are very emotional almost to the point of exaggeration. Each person closes in their feelings. Some characters express their emotions more strongly than others but they’re just so depressing. Although I want to cry and weep when I read the manga, it’s not because I understand the characters’ pain; it’s because of how pathetic they make themselves out to be. It’s for this reason that my favorite character is Ayame the snake. He’s the guy who’s actually living his life and is trying to cheer people up. My advice to the Sohma family is this: get a myspace account to tell the people on the internet that your life is miserable and take some freakin’ Prozac.

Although that might have been mean to say, I actually love the story. The compelling emotional conflict between the characters sucks you in stronger than a tornado. The comedy is over the top and so hilarious, you’ll cry a waterfall of tears.

Illustration is not Natsuki Takaya’s forté. Her style is heavy on the anime influence but it’s not as well detailed as the anime style. That’s not to say that it isn’t good. In fact, the way she approaches the illustrations seems as if she’s gotten rid rid of all the unnecessary details in order to concentrate on expressive details for each character. Where she emphasizes expressions is in her uncanny eye for the perfect tone of color to place in or around the characters.

Likes

• The characters
• Ayame Sohma
• Interaction between characters

Dislikes

• Overly emotional characters
• Akito (but then again no one likes him)
• Kyo fangirls who like him for no reasonable explanation

Fruits Basket is a good series and I completely understand why it is the number one shoujo manga in America. Honestly, I love the story so much, I even have the card game. So if any one wants to challenge me to a round of Fruits Basket ( I hope that didn’t sound as fruity as I think it did) bring it on!

We’d like to thank Tokyopop for letting us review Fruits Basket Volume 16!