Though Fruits Basket might seem like a supernatural comedy at first with its reverse harem premise and some occasional cuteness/man service to boot, it quickly turns into something much darker and deeper as it dives into the story of the Sohma family (specifically, the 12 members of the Chinese Zodiac, plus the cat) and their history of abuse/neglect and emotional hardship. At the forefront of all this is our plucky heroine, Tohru Honda who by the start of the series is an orphan. While many people like to criticise Tohru's characterisation as being "too perfect," I'd like to take the time to say that it's not entirely true.
Yes, Tohru is certainly kinder than most people and embodies certain characteristics that one might find rather stereotypical/idealistic. However, it should be noted that Tohru is not infallible. She actually is a flawed individual and is capable of making mistakes. Her cheerful demeanour simply masks the strife that she's endured. In fact, being TOO and cheerful and upbeat is her coping mechanism for all the shit she's gone through. Her behaviour doesn't go unnoticed. People do call her out on being "too happy" all the time, and what's more is that we get to see the child crying out for her lost mommy and daddy as the manga progresses. Each instance we see the part of her personality that her bubbly exterior masks is brief, but it's more than enough to remind us that she isn't perfect.
Another purpose that Tohru's cheerful demeanour serves is to lighten the mood of the overall story. This is a manga which deals with VERY heavy subjects such as parental/psychological abuse, neglect, and emotional codependency. Tohru and virtually every member of Zodiac is a seriously damaged individual with a history of great strife. Without something to lighten the overall tone of the story (if only a little), Fruits Basket would immediately become a work thoroughly entrenched in the melodramatic. Despite what most people who suffer from depression like to say, their lives aren't all bad. There's always going to be a light spot, some jovial mood every now and then, etc. In that sense, Tohru is even more of a necessity and not a hindrance to the storytelling.
When it comes down to lightening the mood, Natsuki Takaya did an excellent job with Fruits Basket. In fact, this is what I love about it so much. Far too often in anime and manga, we tend to get what seems like a light-hearted narrative that quickly devolves into a melodrama which tries too hard to evoke an emotional response out of the viewer/reader and Fruits Basket manages to avoid these very pitfalls by carefully blending the comedy with the drama/romance without creating some sort of dichotomy between these elements. With the right blend of comedy, drama, and romance along with some very well-written characters who play off of each other very well, she was effectively able to throw something depressing at you while reminding you that it's not all bad and that things will eventually get better for the characters.
When it comes down to characters, virtually everyone in the cast is properly fleshed out and play off of each other really well. Characters of particular note are Yuki, Kyo, Hatori, and Rin. We know exactly who each member of the cast is, we know their back-stories, and we see them grow and change as individuals. Tohru's friends, Saki and Arisa are also given their own time to shine in the sun and prove to be invaluable to Tohru's character growth. However, if there had to be a character that stood out to me more than anyone else, it would have to be Tohru's mother, Kyoko Honda. Surprisingly, even a deceased character is given time in the spotlight via flashback to show just how much of an influence that she's had on Tohru and vice-versa and for that, I applaud Natsuki Takaya.
Unfortunately, I can't really say the same about Takaya's artwork. It's going to be hard enough for people who are unfamiliar with the shoujo aesthetic to get used to the artwork in Fruits Basket, and her artwork certainly isn't bad by any means. What's more is that her artwork does go through quite a bit of refinement as the series progresses. However, the biggest fault that the manga has when it comes down to artwork is the relative lack of detail put into everything along with the fact that it seems like character faces/hairstyles sometimes end up recycled for side/supporting characters. I had a hard time trying to figure out whether or not Kyo was in the panel, or if it was one of the student council members, just as an example. Regardless, Takaya certainly did an adequate job of the artwork and it works for what it does.
So final thoughts: Fruits Basket is definitely one of the best mangas I've ever had the pleasure of reading. People often think of the shoujo demographic as being rife with big eyes, man service, reverse harems, debauchery, idiot girls fawning over guys who are complete dicks to them, etc. That's not entirely the case. Yes, that is certainly true for anime/manga on the lower end of the spectrum. However, if you're really looking for a shoujo series to read that's in the top of its class, I cannot recommend this manga enough. Now, there is an anime adaptation currently available from Funimation that was produced by Studio DEEN back in 2001. However, it only covers the first 38 chapters or so of the manga which is relatively early in its run. It's still worth watching, don't get me wrong but you might find it a bit too jovial compared to the rest of the manga.
Currently, Fruits Basket is out-of-print. TOKYOPOP used to publish the series and it was one of their all-time bestsellers (with sales only being topped by Naruto, believe it or not). Unfortunately, TOKYOPOP went out of business in 2011 and as such, all their titles have gone out-of-print and Viz Manga/Yen Press/Dark Horse/Kodansha Comics have not yet picked it up for publishing. Fortunately, there are plenty of volumes in circulation for you to read at a fair enough price so you should be able to pick up the entire series on Amazon or possibly Right Stuf if you're lucky.
With all of that said, I'm done with this review. Feedback is greatly appreciated as always. This is also my first manga review so please be gentle, senpai >////
