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A review by semperlunaris
Fruits Basket, Vol. 1 by Natsuki Takaya
4.0
This review is for the ENTIRE series (Vol 1-23)
My first Shojou manga series (first manga full stop!) I used to beg my dad to get them off Amazon when they got published and kept a list of publication dates in my calendar: I was hooked on this series! I loved the zodiac theme and the protagonist Tohoru was someone I sympathised with and wanted to be like. One of the most memorable things in the whole series for me was the Cinderella production for the school Fete - it was just a crackfest from inception to curtain-call, and I certainly coveted Hanajima's ball costume.
Yeah sure there's a lot of cliches and tropes; a lot of characters are one/two note or forgettable, the kind of 'pairing off' of everyone is irritating (now rather than back when I read it for the first time) and all the 'wow what a coincidence you all knew each other in some way back then and now your paths have crossed again wooooowwww' might be a jumping shark too far for some; but this is a sweet series with a message of empathy and kindness at its heart - I grew with this series and it has played an important part in my life. I'd say give it at least 3 volumes before you decide to tap out, as volume 1 is doing all the scene setting with the core cast.
My first Shojou manga series (first manga full stop!) I used to beg my dad to get them off Amazon when they got published and kept a list of publication dates in my calendar: I was hooked on this series! I loved the zodiac theme and the protagonist Tohoru was someone I sympathised with and wanted to be like. One of the most memorable things in the whole series for me was the Cinderella production for the school Fete - it was just a crackfest from inception to curtain-call, and I certainly coveted Hanajima's ball costume.
Yeah sure there's a lot of cliches and tropes; a lot of characters are one/two note or forgettable, the kind of 'pairing off' of everyone is irritating (now rather than back when I read it for the first time) and all the 'wow what a coincidence you all knew each other in some way back then and now your paths have crossed again wooooowwww' might be a jumping shark too far for some; but this is a sweet series with a message of empathy and kindness at its heart - I grew with this series and it has played an important part in my life. I'd say give it at least 3 volumes before you decide to tap out, as volume 1 is doing all the scene setting with the core cast.