Fruits Basket

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Fruits Basket was one of the first manga I ever read, and it drew me in pretty quickly because I have always been interested in the zodiac, including Chinese. I stayed for the drama and the romance. Tohru Honda, the main character, reminded me of myself in that she's a people pleasure, hates conflict and is almost completely incapable of being rude to others. But at the same time, she's also very determined when it comes to what she wants, though it's never for herself. Though I find her bashfulness and inability to stand up for herself annoying at times, she's a very endearing character. ... I like most of the characters, but I didn't really like that dirty pervert Shigure or that sadist Akito. But I think most people think that. The art is beautiful as well. In general, I recommend it for fans of shoujo with a dose of psychological.

2022 edit: the opinions expressed in this review are currently outdated, take with a grain of salt.

Young adult/teen characters in a abusive and closed-off family environment with a variety of resurfacing childhood traumas, and how a girl whose greatest strength is her kindness manages to awaken new changes in dealing with that trauma.

Fruits Basket was one of my first manga series ever. I started reading when I was about 12 years old. I didn't know what I was getting myself into- going from enjoying the animal transformations and the cute edgy orange haired teen boy, to seeing the series to the end ... even though I couldn't make sense of the themes and volatile relationships. Now, about ten years later, with much more perspective on un/healthy relationships and family dynamics, and better taste in people I date, I wanted to see if any of my nostalgia needed debunking and if I could clear my past confusion.

The short answer is that the good parts are better than I remembered, and the bad parts are as bad as I remembered. The main characters are still likable (except for Shigure and Akito), whoever your 2008 Sohma crush was they're still dreamy, the character interactions are engaging, and even when they're put in simple scenarios like The Hot Sprints Chapter, The Beach Chapter, The School Festival Chapter, ect, there's still great story and personality development. Before rereading this month, I thought Tohru was probably actually really bland and didn't do anything but I was wrong. You'd be surprised how many of the Sohmas have never had just a single straight up polite semi-nice person interact with them. She's not just a magical cure all fix for problems either, she has her doubts and moments where she has to learn something new, just like any other person, thus she is interesting. Tohru's best friends are often understated on why others like this series. Hanajima and Uotani are not only unique but lovable. I feel that I am vicariously living through them when they confront bullies in high school.
It wasn't just the silly handsome ratboy being eye candy, it was seeing my own personal desire to care for people an try to "fix" their problems and the cascades of twisted relationships found underneath. We've all had to deal with emotional issues between ourselves, friends, and family at some point, so you might see a scenario between these characters mirror something that happened to you. And even if that's not the case, you'll probably feel empathy and the desire for change towards these characters.
Like this, there are a lot of great moments in Fruits Basket, but no need for me to spoil the whole show.

This isn't Natsuki Takaya's first manga, but the art definitely improves from the first chapters onwards. For my tastes, peak Takaya artwork happens between about chapters 35 through 77. I know that post chapter 77 Takaya has some sort of permanent hand injury and the only way she could continue to draw was by changing her style, however on a level of my personal preference, I dislike the new style. I feel it's much less expressive and less detailed than before and I feel it literally shows on the character's faces, and there's more lack of variety in other things like screentones and patterns. I have to give her props though, for not giving up and pushing through a lot of pain.

Now...for the bad unfortunately. Most of the main and side characters are part of a family community. This means that everyone is related to someone in some way. There are cousins who love their cousins in this story and it's put in a positive light, which really puts me off, especially when one of the central themes of this series is learning to find a better way in life with people who aren't connected to you in unhealthy ways. Incest is a pretty big moral taboo, and a lot more bad has come out of it compared to any good.
There is also a very large age gap between Tohru's mother and father. It seems she was about 14-15 years old when they got married and he's about 8-9 years older than her, putting him around 23 years old. They joke once that he's a pedophile, while all the chapters previous explained what a nice guy he was. Most if not all relationships with this kind of age gap where one side is 15 years old are abusive. Chapter 90 portrays the father in too positive of a light, and that's where I ended my reread this year because I was ready to make my full judgments.
I don't consider these to be spoilers though I know others might disagree. But it's a big part of my hangups about the series and I feel I couldn't complete this review without the above information.

Closing statement:
If you've never read this, you're curious, and can push past the incest and the one age gap, I say go for it. It's got a great mix of fun and seriousness, the characters are gems.
If you already read this and your nostalgia is creeping up on you, I say revive those old memories, and just hit the pause button after chapter 77. In addition to my warnings above, I feel that the story pacing after 77 becomes slower and starts to suffer.
If you read this and don't like it by the end of volume 2 or 3, drop it.

Thanks.

Art was dreadful. Series would be ended within one chapter by this era's current standards.

Characters were unrealistic. Where in the world would you find such 15/16 yo who understand and express themselves clearly? Tohru can be summarized in one word: Perfect. She's so blessedly perfect her flaws are also made into pitiable things that make her 'endearing'. You can just skip over every interaction she has with the 12 zodiacs. They can be summarized in one sentence: Tohru charms them over to her side. Also, the villain is impossible to sympathize with. Childhood trauma does not justify the things they did, and the author certainly ... did well chucking everything up to that last minute, after making us hate them intensely. Major plot twist? DUN DUN DUN. I don't care about it at that point. Just end it already.

In the end, the only salvageable beings are Yuki, whose diligence justifies his self-awareness, and Tohru's electromagnetic waves friend. However, even them are trampled over in the author's chase for 'Everyone finds their significant other. Let's give them all a happy ending!' which resulted in frankly creepy relationships.

The rooster pressed chest to chest with Tohru to apologize for not meeting up with his crush (ie. her best friend)? How romantic! An interning teacher 20+ yo touching the hair of a 14 yo student and kissing her on the forehead upon first meeting? It must be love at first sight! A woman having sex freely with one of her companions and then getting together with her crush thereafter without having a proper adult conversation about this?

Urgh.

The question to ask is: What did Fruits Basket do correct in its treatment of its characters? Why bulldoze everyone's character in order to tailor to the taste of the audience (who are evidently middle school girls swooning at every kiss and hug even though it'd only be sexual harassment in reality)? Where did Fruits Basket go wrong with such potential at the beginning?

In the end, all I can say is this:

This was unmistakably the biggest waste of my time, and the most uncomfortable manga I have ever picked up. Go read a novel on human nature instead. It might be more fruitful for you.