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A review by margeryb
Fruits Basket, Vol. 23 by Natsuki Takaya
4.0
"Repeat the good and the bad. Do it all... and pile on the years."
Four stars for the volume, but overall Fruits Basket is a five star series for me.
After nonstop building tension and climaxes in the last several volumes, Volume 23 is the falling action and resolution of the story. Personally, I love a good long resolution that catches up on the state of all the characters after the stress of the climax (for example, I have no problem with the length of Return of the Kings endings). However, it is especially appropriate for Fruits Basket because of how long the series it, because of its immense ensemble characters with its spidersweb of interconnections and relationships, and because of it's themes of endings and beginnings, dealing with change, and personal growth. We need to see how these characters are moving on after the curse that bond them together was broken. We need to see how these characters are moving on after all the emotional growth of the series were they allow themselves to open and vulnerable with the important people in their lives. There were also a few loose ends to be tied up.
Being a resolution, this isn't the most exciting volume of the series, but it definitely emotionally satisfying with enough emotional punches left to throw. The one that hit me the hardest was Yuki calling Tohru "Tohru" the first time instead of the formal Honda-san. This friendship!
It is hard to pin down the ephemeral stuff that makes Fruits Basket five star great. It's the world building, foreshadowing, character development, and themes, and - of course - how all of them are executed so well. Takaya-sensei created and grew characters that readers passionately care about who want to become better people for themselves as well as for their friends and family in a series that so full of heart and hope even when it gets to its darkness.
I love this series both for the stories it tells and how it tells it.
Four stars for the volume, but overall Fruits Basket is a five star series for me.
After nonstop building tension and climaxes in the last several volumes, Volume 23 is the falling action and resolution of the story. Personally, I love a good long resolution that catches up on the state of all the characters after the stress of the climax (for example, I have no problem with the length of Return of the Kings endings). However, it is especially appropriate for Fruits Basket because of how long the series it, because of its immense ensemble characters with its spidersweb of interconnections and relationships, and because of it's themes of endings and beginnings, dealing with change, and personal growth. We need to see how these characters are moving on after the curse that bond them together was broken. We need to see how these characters are moving on after all the emotional growth of the series were they allow themselves to open and vulnerable with the important people in their lives. There were also a few loose ends to be tied up.
Being a resolution, this isn't the most exciting volume of the series, but it definitely emotionally satisfying with enough emotional punches left to throw. The one that hit me the hardest was Yuki calling Tohru "Tohru" the first time instead of the formal Honda-san. This friendship!
It is hard to pin down the ephemeral stuff that makes Fruits Basket five star great. It's the world building, foreshadowing, character development, and themes, and - of course - how all of them are executed so well. Takaya-sensei created and grew characters that readers passionately care about who want to become better people for themselves as well as for their friends and family in a series that so full of heart and hope even when it gets to its darkness.
I love this series both for the stories it tells and how it tells it.