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A review by sgp05
Fruits Basket, Vol. 1 by Natsuki Takaya
A supernatural/fantasy contemporary romance...after hearing positive reviews from a YouTuber I like I was hoping I would like it as well, but I didn't really.
The Story
It starts off interestingly with the mystery of why Tohru sleeps in a tent. She meets Shigure and Yuki. From then on, it jumps from scene to scene for the next couple of pages, making it a confusing read. There is also a lot of backstory crammed into a short timeframe (the cat zodiac and why she's homeless), but although it's necessary for the plot, it could have been distanced more by providing more natural transitions in between the choppy scenes. Another bit of backstory that wasn't really important yet was how Tohru's mom died after she didn't wish her safety. That could have waited for a while.
Eventually it is learned that the Sohma family is possessed by the ghosts of the Zodiac, but would possession alone *really* cause your body to morph into an animal when hugged by the opposite sex? (Which, by the way, is kind of dumb--why only the opposite sex? Would gay marriages be immune to the struggle that straight marriages face when they can't hug? Usually kisses hold the magical power, but I guess they couldn't have nonconsensual kisses/kisses so early in the story/Tohru kissing so many people, which I can understand.)
When Tohru eventually leaves to be with her grandpa again, Yuki, Shigure, and Kyo have all these sad flashbacks to things that literally happened just recently in the book. If they had more time together (like if she left next volume or something), it would make it so that the readers feel sad as well was the characters. Instead, it just feels like cheap melodrama. Unless the creator was trying to prove how much Tohru changed their lives in so short a time, which I guess they did, but the effect is lost on the readers.
I'm not including this under individual characters because Yuki, Shigure, and Kyo all do this, but they break into Tohru's home in order to bring her back, completely ignoring any moral and legal boundaries. The door being unlocked does not make it any better, and undermines Tohru's decision to go back since they were going to drag her back all along. Yuki also assumes things about Tohru's homelife, calling the cousin-something-or-other a lowlife. What if he was actually nice, and it was just his mom and sister who were evil? He wouldn't have known that.
This is more word-related than story, but the word Yankee was used multiple times, and I'm not sure what it would mean if not referring to a northern American or Americans in general. There were no translator's notes either, so I'm still unsure what was meant by it, though it was definitely used as an insult.
The Characters
Tohru
She's an okay character. She definitely plays into the more traditional women's roles, but it's not portrayed as a bad or sexist thing. There is some classic miscommunication between her and Kyo, but luckily it's resolved relatively quickly. However, she confesses that she loves him REALLY fast, even when it's not really love for him, but the Cat Zodiac that possesses him. However, she romanticizes Kagura's obsession with Kyo, which isn't okay.
Yuki (the Rat)
I don't understand why he just doesn't let Kyo beat him if he wants to be free from the Sohma family so badly. He does have some good scenes, but he's ruthless towards Kyo. Even when he breaks something, he forces Kyo to fix it. He resorts to striking Kyo at the end after Kyo insults him (he didn't even attack first this time, so Yuki loses all excuses of "he attacked me first"). He also walked into the girls' locker room in order to confront Tohru. He seems to be a habitual boundary breaker.
Kyo (the Cat)
He's definitely a tsundere with anger problems, though it makes sense that he would be so deadset on beating Yuki after we learn the Cat's backstory. It makes it seem like Yuki is an insensitive, greedy asshole. Unrelated note: That scene where he said "Leave me alone!" before jumping out of the window reminded me of the TikTok audio T0T.
Shigure (the Dog)
He made fun of Tohru for being homeless. Then again, I don't think he's meant to be a good character as he is hinted at scheming something up with Akito. I did like the Mario reference he made though.
Kagura (the Boar)
She is very forward about her crush on Kyo, upholding him to a promise that he made when he was a child (under duress by Kagura). She forces her feelings on him even when he clearly says that he does not reciprocate them multiple times. She also beats him up when they meet for the first time in a while, when he rejects her, and when she temporarily views Tohru as a rival (even though it wasn't Kyo's fault that Tohru insinuated feelings for Kyo).
Hana
She has confusing powers. Yes, it's a world with fantasy elements, so I don't know why she feels so out of place, but she just does.
It starts off interestingly with the mystery of why Tohru sleeps in a tent. She meets Shigure and Yuki. From then on, it jumps from scene to scene for the next couple of pages, making it a confusing read. There is also a lot of backstory crammed into a short timeframe (the cat zodiac and why she's homeless), but although it's necessary for the plot, it could have been distanced more by providing more natural transitions in between the choppy scenes. Another bit of backstory that wasn't really important yet was how Tohru's mom died after she didn't wish her safety. That could have waited for a while.
Eventually it is learned that the Sohma family is possessed by the ghosts of the Zodiac, but would possession alone *really* cause your body to morph into an animal when hugged by the opposite sex? (Which, by the way, is kind of dumb--why only the opposite sex? Would gay marriages be immune to the struggle that straight marriages face when they can't hug? Usually kisses hold the magical power, but I guess they couldn't have nonconsensual kisses/kisses so early in the story/Tohru kissing so many people, which I can understand.)
When Tohru eventually leaves to be with her grandpa again, Yuki, Shigure, and Kyo have all these sad flashbacks to things that literally happened just recently in the book. If they had more time together (like if she left next volume or something), it would make it so that the readers feel sad as well was the characters. Instead, it just feels like cheap melodrama. Unless the creator was trying to prove how much Tohru changed their lives in so short a time, which I guess they did, but the effect is lost on the readers.
I'm not including this under individual characters because Yuki, Shigure, and Kyo all do this, but they break into Tohru's home in order to bring her back, completely ignoring any moral and legal boundaries. The door being unlocked does not make it any better, and undermines Tohru's decision to go back since they were going to drag her back all along. Yuki also assumes things about Tohru's homelife, calling the cousin-something-or-other a lowlife. What if he was actually nice, and it was just his mom and sister who were evil? He wouldn't have known that.
This is more word-related than story, but the word Yankee was used multiple times, and I'm not sure what it would mean if not referring to a northern American or Americans in general. There were no translator's notes either, so I'm still unsure what was meant by it, though it was definitely used as an insult.
The Characters
Tohru
She's an okay character. She definitely plays into the more traditional women's roles, but it's not portrayed as a bad or sexist thing. There is some classic miscommunication between her and Kyo, but luckily it's resolved relatively quickly. However, she confesses that she loves him REALLY fast, even when it's not really love for him, but the Cat Zodiac that possesses him. However, she romanticizes Kagura's obsession with Kyo, which isn't okay.
Yuki (the Rat)
I don't understand why he just doesn't let Kyo beat him if he wants to be free from the Sohma family so badly. He does have some good scenes, but he's ruthless towards Kyo. Even when he breaks something, he forces Kyo to fix it. He resorts to striking Kyo at the end after Kyo insults him (he didn't even attack first this time, so Yuki loses all excuses of "he attacked me first"). He also walked into the girls' locker room in order to confront Tohru. He seems to be a habitual boundary breaker.
Kyo (the Cat)
He's definitely a tsundere with anger problems, though it makes sense that he would be so deadset on beating Yuki after we learn the Cat's backstory. It makes it seem like Yuki is an insensitive, greedy asshole. Unrelated note: That scene where he said "Leave me alone!" before jumping out of the window reminded me of the TikTok audio T0T.
Shigure (the Dog)
He made fun of Tohru for being homeless. Then again, I don't think he's meant to be a good character as he is hinted at scheming something up with Akito. I did like the Mario reference he made though.
Kagura (the Boar)
She is very forward about her crush on Kyo, upholding him to a promise that he made when he was a child (under duress by Kagura). She forces her feelings on him even when he clearly says that he does not reciprocate them multiple times. She also beats him up when they meet for the first time in a while, when he rejects her, and when she temporarily views Tohru as a rival (even though it wasn't Kyo's fault that Tohru insinuated feelings for Kyo).
Hana
She has confusing powers. Yes, it's a world with fantasy elements, so I don't know why she feels so out of place, but she just does.