Fruits Basket, Vol. 1 (1999)

The story is, at times, hard to follow. Right when I'm getting into the characters and their lives, something happens that doesn't seem like it belongs in the story. ( )

Girl cooks and cleans for interesting men, one of whom is emotionally abusive to her, but hey, he's awkward and interesting so it's okay! ( )

Yeah, this was one of those Manga titles where the flow just does my head in. I picked it up because I know a few people who read the title, and the concept is clever but the presentation just isn't for me.

This is a general review for the Fruits Basket series, but I may add specific reviews to certain volumes.

This manga series will always hold a special place in my favorite books collection, possibly because it was the first one I ever read. But also because it rivals "text" books in terms of character, plot, and sheer emotion.

It starts off misleadingly simple. Tohru Honda, a young orphan who recently lost her beloved mother, is living in the woods to avoid being taken to her unsavory relatives. By chance, she wanders past the home of three charismatic young men one day; Shigure, Yuki, and Kyo Sohma. Sympathetic to her situation, they offer her a temporary place in their household. But it doesn't take long for Tohru to realize they are hiding an astonishing secret. The three of them, as well as the other thirteen members of the Sohma clan, are cursed by the spirits of the thirteen animals of the Chinese zodiac. Each time they are too closely touched by a member of the opposite sex, they transform into their spirit animal.

And as the story goes on, you are drawn inexorably into its very heart. The way that Tohru meets each Sohma, each with painful memories, angry scars, burdens of sorrow; each grappling desperately with the pain of being alone, unable to truly become close to another. The way Tohru's kind heart and pure spirit slowly begin to work their simple magic on the Sohma family. And the way each character comes to terms with love, life, the past, family, and their own identity. And of course, as with every story, there is the romance; the warring cousins Kyo and Yuki, both of them falling in very different ways for Tohru.

I laughed. I cried. I clutched the book with anger and fear and suspense and hope. I tried to pick favorites from the immense cast of characters, and came up with about fifteen. This manga was not just a passing "fun" series that was good for a laugh. I truly became deeply attached to it. ( )

This book was Ok, I didn't hate it but I didn't feel compelled to read on in the series. ( )