Publishing Information: TOKYOPOP, B&W, hardcover, 410 pages, $14.99 U.S., $18.99
Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-4278-0731-1 (ISBN-13)
I imagine that on different occasions during the last few weeks, manga creator Natsuki Takaya found herself suffering from what seemed like cramps. They were actually the labor pains she felt as she brought another Fruits Basket fan into the world – me.
Fruits Basket was serialized in the Japanese magazine, Hana to Yume, from 1999 to 2006, and was eventually collected in 23 volumes (or tankÅbon). Fruits Basket is the story of high school student Tohru Honda. After her mother dies in a car accident, Tohru begins living in a tent and supporting herself. She eventually finds a home with Yuki Sohma and his cousins Shigure and Kyo.
The Sohmas are not normal because they live with a curse. Thirteen members of the family are possessed by spirits of the Chinese zodiac, and they turn into their respective zodiac animals when hugged by someone of the opposite gender. Tohru promises to keep this fact a secret, but her goal is to break the Sohma curse. Meanwhile, Tohru and the Sohmas have various adventures.
TOKYOPOP, the North American publisher of the series, has been republishing Fruits Basket in “Ultimate Editions,” which reprints two volumes of the series. Fruits Basket Ultimate Edition Volume 4 collects Fruits Basket, Vol. 7 (which contains Chapters 37-42 of the story) and Vol. 8 (Chapters 43-48).
There are several storylines that occur in these 12 chapters. Tohru’s friendship with the shy Kisa Sohma causes her friction with another Sohma, the smart-alek Hiro, who begins to harass and steal from Tohru. In a long flashback, Tohru’s friend Arisa Uotani tells how meeting Tohru and her late mother, Kyoko, changed her life. Also, Tohru meets the troubled Ritsu Sohma, and the arrival of parent-teacher conferences brings up the touchy subject of the Sohmas’ parents.
TOKYOPOP bills Fruits Basket as the “#1 selling shojo manga in America,” and I have seen it on a few manga bestseller lists that I found. I don’t follow message boards and fan groups, so I don’t know why so many other readers like it. I like it because, at least in these stories, Fruits Basket is about friends having a good time, and when they have a bad time, they work through it together as friends. The characters are engaging; they’re the kind you just want to follow around from page to page. Creator Natsuki Takaya makes her characters so playful and so exuberant that even their squabbling has a sparkling, fun quality about it.
Another great thing about Fruits Basket is Takaya’s gorgeous art. It’s a relatively simple style, but there is a sexy and vivacious air about ever line and every brush stroke, which results in pretty figure drawing. As a bit character says about the cast “But such beautiful children. Are they models?” They’re certainly models for good shojo manga.
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