A review by belle_fiction
Fruits Basket Collector's Edition, Vol. 8 by Natsuki Takaya

5.0

A heart-wrenching read to start the new year!

Volume 8 certainly explores the darker side of the Sohma curse and especially how Akito has manipulated them over the years. In particular we learn a lot more about Yuki's backstory (which is incredibly sad) and we discover that he has already met Tohru Honda before (Actually that flashback made me cry so much I had to put the book down!) No-one (especially no child) should have to be subjected to the cruelty experienced by pretty much all of the Sohmas. I know Momiji and Kyo also had incredibly sad childhoods, as well as Isuzu and Hatori. :(

Another sad story we learn concerns Kyoko (Tohru's mother) and her husband, Katsuya, and how the latter is taken far too soon from both of them when he dies from pneumonia. I couldn't help but notice the similarities between Katsuya and Kyo which is making me think 'are Tohru and Kyo going to get together?' Hmmmm.

Amidst all this sadness, we do get to experience quite a bit of humour thanks to the Cinderella-ish play put on by some of the younger Sohmas and these scenes made me chuckle quite a lot. I especially loved Kyo's objections to everything! He is quickly becoming one of my favourite Sohmas although I still adore Momiji and Kisa is soooooooooo cute!

The artwork in this eighth volume has really grown since the beginning couple of volumes and I love the characters dearly - I feel like they are extended members of my family <3. Thank goodness then that their journey isn't over yet - I still have another 4 volumes to read! :D Happy days!