Takaya Natsuki - Fruits Basket, ch. 109-126

[oyceter]

Honking big spoilers!

OMG I cried through the entire thing, or so it feels. Mostly just through chapters 120 and on, or basically, when Kyo starts confessing to Tohru and everything that happens after that. And... a lot of stuff before that as well. And, oh, it could have been so sappy and so over the top, but it's not because it took twenty volumes to get here and Takaya is so good at showing how everyone has been changing and how they feel.

If you couldn't already tell, this is going to be completely incoherent with a million exclamation points.

- I love Kyo! Adore! To pieces! That scene, with Tohru, after her visiting Kyoko's grave, and the hug through the sheets, and him finally comforting her, and her finally showing hurt and pain and letting him through the mask, just like all the 12shi have done with her. And then the entire chapter with him talking about Kyoko, about valuing himself over a life, and how scared he was and hurt.

- And Tohru! AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

- I have to admit, I got a wee bit bored with Akito's box and Ren, though I really liked being able to see Akira. All I have to say is, dude, the Sohma family is so incredibly, incredibly messed up. Also, Ren is crazy. Akito is also crazy. All the servants are crazy. It is an entire house of crazy!

- Ayame's chapter made me like him a little more, but he still annoys me. Also, I nitpick but the curse seems to be a little random, given that Kyo can hug Tohru through laundry and Ayame can kiss Mine.

- And oh, oh, Momiji! He's all grown up! I miss small Momiji, but he still has the sweetness that I love, not to mention the rabbit backpack. I loved the scene with him and his mother, and his reaction when he feels the bond break. OMG love for Momiji knows no bounds (he may actually be my favorite of the 12shi, and not just because of this chapter). I love that the curse breaking isn't as simple and as easy as it sounds; it's a lifetime of habit that has to change, and it's frightening because it's unknown. And he knows that he's losing things, but he also knows that he has to go forward, and he does.

And I wanted to hug him when he first visited Akito because he was kind and he didn't try to hurt the person who had hurt him so much, but he was still firm. Of course, he's right, he can't live his entire life bound to someone, and I completely and totally adore this series for saying that, for making the last few chapters about that.

- It's funny, despite Hiro's grumpiness, he seems to have a pretty nice family. I totally awwwwwww-ed when he found out he could hold Hinata, and I wanted to hug his mom for saying that it must be difficult learning to live without the curse as well.

- I really, really hope that Kyo and Yuki get along a little better later, and I adored Yuki for his speech to Kyo on the little things, and that Kyo was the one with the ability to make Tohru smile. I loved how surprised he was when he found out Kyo had wanted to be him all this time.

- I liked that Kyo's father reacts a lot like Kyo did to pain: both of them try to blame someone else so that they can go on with their lives. Good for Kyo for not doing this anymore.

- And good for Akito for deciding to tear down the Cat's house.

- You know, Tohru falling off the cliff could have been entirely too much, but I was ok with it because it was coming after so much and because it's a catalyst for so much change.

- I love that the story of the stupid traveller comes back again! I can totally hear Momiji's voice actor from the anime saying the lines, "Arigatou! Arigatou!" And I just like the emphasis that maybe an act will look stupid to someone but that it isn't.

- A small note that I like that Kyoko's name is from the kanji for "today" and "child," which really just seems to fit her.

- Eeeee, I still love Machi and Yuki and Machi's expression when she gets Mogeta and Yuki being so happy that someone cares about him.

- Randomly, it was interesting reading these chapters because I read the summaries first, and then the raws, and even though I knew what was going to happen, having the text paced out and the page layout and the graphics there made so much more of an emotional impact.

- Also, I thought it was nifty how in the very last few chapters, Takaya was starting to use a lot of katakana to emphasize phrases or words or pain.

- And. Did I mention I just kept tearing up? These chapters keep covering things like moving forward, growing, changing, and Takaya is so sympathetic to her characters even as they're trying to figure these things out, that it just makes me want to go out and hug everyone.

It's neat that here, a lot of the pain and damage caused by the curse comes from people who want things to stay static, to be frozen. Ren wants Akira back and wants to keep being the only important person to Akira, and so passes on her anger to Akito. Akito of course wants the bond to remain, for everyone to stay with her, for things to never change.

And from that, from those expectations, everyone in the Sohma family has been frozen into this shape, even if they don't fit it. Even the servants, judging by the maid's reaction to Akito tearing down the Cat's house.

And I love that Tohru brings in not just kindness, but also change. People get brave enough to start pushing back against things like the exile of the cat. I love that the point is that things don't have to stand still, that they can't possibly stand still, because the world doesn't work like that. And the narrative is kind enough to know that a world with change is a world with no guarantees and no promises and no bonds; it's a world without forever, and that's what makes it good, but that's also what makes it scary.

All the Sohmas seem to be poised, on the brink of making a step out into that world. Momiji's taken it, and so has Kyo by going to see his father and by breaking his old patterns of blame. Yuki has started to reach out. Everyone is starting to look outside of themselves, to move on from the past. Even Tohru! I love what Tohru says about her mother, how even though it is a happy memory, she still has to go forward and go on without her mother, sort of like how Momiji and Hiro have to go on without the familiar bond to Akito.

I just... gaaaaah. It's so good! All those bits in the manga on learning to care, especially Yuki's thoughts that he couldn't have done this without everyone else, and that having them there made him so happy! And it just hits on all the things that make me sappy, especially the thought that these very damaged people can still heal and still move on, that they can take those awful years and make them into something worthwhile. It doesn't make the pain easier, and the hurt is by no means excusable, but it breaks my heart in the best way seeing them live again. Even Akito. I think it's telling that one of the final things she says to the maid is "Boku wa mou iku" ("I'm already moving"), even she is finally loosening that harsh hold on the 12shi.

Waaaaaaaah!!! So good!

Comments

[rilina.livejournal.com]

You're much more coherent than I managed to be.

I liked young Momoji, but I love grown up Momoji. His chapter was where I began to tear up, and then Hiro made me cry. The moment with Hiro holding his sister? It had been set up so well, I could see it coming, but that didn't make it any less powerful.

I totally agree that the Tohru falling off the cliff thing could have been so stupid, but yet wasn't.

It's funny: I adore Kyo, and I adore Kyo with Tohru, but the fact that Kyo and Yuki finally really talked to each other ended up having so much more of an impact on me than that kiss and the shippy stuff. I'd been waiting for that conversation ever since Kyo and Yuki fessed up to Tohru that they wanted to be each other way back when.

And chapter 126: well, I was so pleased. For Kyo, of course, but also for Akito.

Now you know why this completely ate my brain!

[umadoshi.livejournal.com]

The whole confrontation with Kyo and Yuki was SO good. It was what brought my fondness for Yuki screaming back into focus, after being rather 'meh' about him for a long time (I'm not fond of the student council parts, despite liking Kakeru--too much focus away from the Sohmas as a whole).

[oyceter]

Totally ate my brain! I think I hit Kyo's confession and I just barrelled through the whole thing last night, which took a considerable amount of energy because it was all in Japanese and I couldn't make out the furigana.

But... eeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

I mean, I love love love the Tohru/Kyo romance, but yes. One of my absolute favorite parts was Yuki going up there to yell at Kyo. Well, that and Momiji being released from the curse. I want to hug Momiji so much!

Wah!!!

[umadoshi.livejournal.com]

You know, Tohru falling off the cliff could have been entirely too much, but I was ok with it because it was coming after so much and because it's a catalyst for so much change.

The best part is that it's foreshadowed from the FIRST CHAPTER--well, 'foreshadowed' is a bit strong, but way back when, there's the landslide that buries Tohru's tent, and Shigure says that the cliff is unstable and prone to collapsing. I love that Takaya could even do something like that and have it be consistent.

Also, I nitpick but the curse seems to be a little random, given that Kyo can hug Tohru through laundry and Ayame can kiss Mine.

The kissing is fine, since it's really torso-to-torso contact that triggers the curse. As for the sheets, well . . . it didn't work. *laughs* Within the chapter, the image of Kyo hugging Tohru is the last picture in the scene, IIRC, and vol. 19 shows us the next moment (http://pics.livejournal.com/selphies/pic/00083703) as a between-chapters pic. (But this is my favorite bonus image from that volume (http://pics.livejournal.com/selphies/pic/0008ag62). ^_^)

Momiji is just amazing. One of the things I really love about this series is that I definitely have my favorites, who I adore beyond reason, but that it's possible to love everyone in it. I find that with a lot of series, the characters tend to make people respond to only some of them, even if they're believable enough that different characters resonate for different people. I love that in Furuba so many readers really connect deeply with so many of the main cast, if not all of them. I think Ritsu is the only one of the 12shi I don't feel much for, and even so I have a soft spot.

[oyceter]

Gaaah, yes! Though I think I have a higher tolerance for the Student Council bits, probably because I absolutely adore Yuki and Machi. And just Machi being awkard and cute.

And I loved seeing Machi buying something for Tohru, just because it seems to crystallize Tohru as a catalyst for all the Sohmas. Also... awwwwwww!

[umadoshi.livejournal.com]

I keep finding that I'm not so bad with the student council chapters when I'm reading them in whole volumes, and I do see their purpose--Yuki definitely needed to develop away from the family, not within it. But Takaya has this habit of abruptly having one or two chapters with them when we're on pins and needles over the main story, and it's insanely frustrating to have them on a chapter-by-chapter basis. (If any of the remaining five chapters center on them, there'll be shrieking. Or something.)

The chapter with Yuki and Machi was awfully cute, though. *^^*

[greenapple2004.livejournal.com]

Man, I've been keeping up in the magazines, and each new chapter either makes me cry (in the middle of the office), or it gives me the chills. The curses breaking sends shivers down my spine. The woman is amaaaazing. She even managed to redeem the stupid student council volumes in the end, which impresses me greatly.

(*squeee!!* Tohru/Kyo! And grown-up!Momiji!)

[rilina.livejournal.com]

The best part is that it's foreshadowed from the FIRST CHAPTER--well, 'foreshadowed' is a bit strong, but way back when, there's the landslide that buries Tohru's tent, and Shigure says that the cliff is unstable and prone to collapsing.

The sheer amount of narrative payoff in these last few chapters has been impressive. As I think I've mentioned elsewhere, I find rereading the earlier volumes almost unbearably poignant now, from the first mentions of Hiro's mother being pregnant to Yuki's decision to become student council president.

[umadoshi.livejournal.com]

I keep telling people that I'm so in love with the series for the characters, but that Takaya's one of my favorite writers because she makes things hang together so beautifully. It's so skillfully handled on pretty much every level (and it's nice to feel optimistic about a manga's ending for once--not in terms of the events, but in terms of assuming that she'll be able to deliver).

It does mean that making more anime would be difficult to do well (have you seen the anime?). People tend to focus on the big things that were changed, like Shigure's personality, and the "explanation" for Akito, and Yuki's role in the ending. But there're so many tiny references that got cut for space--there's no mention of the boy with the red hat, and the first reference to Rin got cut--not that it'd be impossible to work around, but . . . yeah. It'd almost definitely be missing that sense of continuity and depth if they ever continue. (And thus, I always feel a little guilty for wanting so badly to see Rin animated despite all that.)

[rilina.livejournal.com]

I watched part of the anime--the first four or five episodes, and then the last few. I bounced off the manga the first time I looked at it, and the anime reinforced or heightened the things that caused that (the sweetness, the pastels, the fact that a character has purple eyes). So I just watched the last three episodes because I knew they ended with that particular arc, which I love. (I wanted to see Kazuma animated too.) I think I missed or ignored the alternate explanation for Akito though.

[umadoshi.livejournal.com]

*laughs* Yuki's glowing purple eyes entertain me (esp. because they're gray in the manga) every time I see the first episode. ^^

Kazuma was great, but I think they'd really have had to go out of their way to screw up someone that fabulous. The thing with Akito (which still plagues the fandom, because people still believe it and try to apply it to the manga) is that Shigure tells Tohru that the reason they all obey Akito is "because he's dying until the full weight of the curse, and it's the least we can do". And there's the part where Akito shows up to torment Tohru in the woods. And the confrontation at the main house at the very end. And the suggestion that Kazuma removed Kyo's beads under Akito's orders. It's *really* bad.

All the Kyo material was handled well, though, and even now I don't much mind Yuki's presence--esp. because bits of the recent chapters have the same feel. ^^ I love it when the three of them are all together.

[oyceter]

Mmm, I can see how that'd be annoying, especially after waiting for a month for a chapter!

How often do they come out, btw? I'm dying for the next ones@

[oyceter]

Eeeee! I totally didn't think about the cliff thing! I really need to reread the series now, once I figure out where I stuck my TokyoPop ones...

[oyceter]

Ohhhh, I'm so jealous you have the magazines! I adore the curse breaking and how Takaya decided to have it just sort of dissolve instead of having the drama of people breaking it. It puts the focus more on the aftereffects and on the capricious nature of the curse.

And eeeeeeee for Momiji!

[umadoshi.livejournal.com]

*combines commments*

I can't get over how much reread value the series has, esp. when something big happens, like when we found out about Akito. I love that things seem to come out of nowhere, and then make perfect sense when you look back. *^^* (Akito? *Such* a girl. And then the Japanese-speakers did a close reading and discovered that no one EVER refers to her with male terms, except that she uses "boku" for herself. Ah, linguistic differences that make such things possible . . . )

How often do they come out, btw? I'm dying for the next ones

It varies quite a lot--Hana to Yume is every two weeks or so, although it doesn't seem to always come out on the same day of the week. Furuba is generally in most issues, but sometimes it's only once a month, and occasionally it's been six weeks between chapters. (Getting a student council chapter after *that* is incredibly frustrating, I assure you. ^^)

The next chapter is due May 20, which means we should start hearing things in about a week. ^_^

[greenapple2004.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the drama in this series is so understated. The comedy tends to make up for it by being totally over the top, but having a horrible, century-long curse be broken seemingly spontaneously and with no fanfare? Wow.

(I still want an explanation of the when/why/how of the curse, but perhaps that would ruin the magic)

Love for Shigure, too. A particularly layered character in a giant cast of layered characters. And a fellow dog, to boot! :-D

[oyceter]

Wheee!!!!! New chapter!

[oyceter]

Oh, Shigure is awesome. I'm really looking forward to some sort of confrontation/reconciliation/who knows what between him and Akito, but who knows!

i love fruits basket!!

[(Anonymous)]

my fav character is kagura and tohru

[(Anonymous)]

does anyone know where to read scanlations for ch 135 and ch 136?