FRUITS BASKET (VOLUME 1)
June 26th 2009 23:04
Category: Graphic Novels/Comics
Publisher; Chuang Yi Publishing Pte Ltd
Story & Art by: Natsuki Takaya
English Translation: Shiroi T Omo
Cover Design: We Swee Pheng
Layout/Lettering: Nicole Ng
Cost: AU$14.95
Wandering around amidst the stacks of my local library I came across this particular work, in fact there is a substantial chunk of this series stored on the shelves, around 28 volumes I believe but rather than starting in the middle I decided to being looking at the start of the story with this initial volume. Now apparently Fruits Basket is all the rave, being an extremely popular manga series both in Japan and the US, although strangely this particular issue is made specifically for the Australian and New Zealand market. Usually Fruits Basket is published by Tokyopop, the same people who do Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Astray R, Tokyo Babylon and .Hack//XXXX etc. Anyhow regardless of the vagaries of the publishing world and the Australian/NZ market I borrowed this particular slim volume and wandered on home to give it a read. That didn’t occur until the next day, due to other commitments and the fact that I believe at the time I was finishing off reviews of various other items. Eventually though I was able to get around to sitting back, having a cup of steaming hot coffee and giving this work my undivided attention.
As with many manga the story is set in Japan, which considering that the bulk of manga is produced in that country should come as no surprise. Although I wonder why a there is a focus on Tokyo in the case of manga set in a contemporary setting, is it because the main manga publishers are located in Tokyo or just the fact that the city is the national capital? It’s not really relevant to this story, but an interesting fact to consider – kind of like how a lot of Marvel comics often have New York as their focus, this was originally due to the fact that Stan Lee was himself from New York and Marvel itself was based in the Big Apple. So returning to Fruits Basket, the tale is set in the land of the rising sun and its primary protagonist is high school girl Tohru Honda.
Looking at this manga it would be easy to plop it straight in the shojo (girl) manga basket with it fitting in nicely to the high school comedy-romance genre. It would be so easy to pigeon hole this particular work this way, although there is something that makes me feel it might be better classified as a magical realism work than just romantic comedy. Why do I say that? Ah well it has a lot to do with the nature of the other characters who play an important part of the story as well as elements of Asian astrology that I suspect are going to play a very significant part of the unfolding saga.
So back to our heroine, Tohru Honda, teenage high school girl who is undergoing something of a rough patch in her life after the demise of her mother in a tragic car accident. Left to live with her aging grandfather, who for some reason keeps calling her Kyoko, unfortunately he has to move to his other daughter’s house whilst his own place undergoes renovations leaving Tohru at a loose end. Rather than becoming a burden to someone Tohru opts to literally camp out, living in a tent in a piece of countryside near where she attends school. When she isn’t attending school she has a job and earns her keep in order to pay for tuition fees and various other expenses, she is slowly forging her way in the world and making ends meet as best she can. Although she might not look it Tohru is certainly a very strong character.
Of course her life takes a turn for the bizarre when whilst walking to school one day she comes across a house in the forest area where she has pitched her tent. As she walks past she notices inside the house a series of round stones painted with the symbols of Chinese Astrology; the dog, dragon, boar, bull etc. Now if you’re not up on your Chinese astrology or perhaps Asian astrology might be more specific their zodiac has twelve symbols each of them relating to a specific animal; dog, boar, tiger, horse, dragon, rat, ox, monkey, rabbit, snake, sheep and rooster. Now it is said that when the Lord Buddha was about to pass from his mortal existence into the transcendent state of enlightenment these were the twelve animals that came to pay him their respects, for this Buddha is said to have made each animal a symbol of the Zodiac. Within the framework of this particular tale though Buddha is not mentioned, only god and the animals are all invited to a party, and god commands them not to be late. The rat though plays a trick on the cat who does arrive late and it’s due to this very fact that the cat is not a symbol in the zodiac; he is something of an outcast.
Anyway the house where these stones are situated happens to be owned by the Sohma family and Yuki Sohma who dwells in this abode with his cousin Shigure happens to be a fellow student at the same school as Tohru. In fact they are the same year and class, although Tohru living rough in the ‘wilderness’ had no idea that her fellow classmate lived nearby. Naturally though in this manga the Sohma family are not just your ordinary run of the mill, well to do Japanese family living in a traditional style expansive house, of course not, as a family they have a dark secret that it is forbidden for outsiders to know – unfortunately with Tohru around that secret is swiftly revealed, although it is due to the inadvertent actions of the young girl who causes the literal cat to be let out of the bag.
It seems that every generation within the Sohma family thirteen members are possessed by the animal spirits of the zodiac and the one that was left out, thus there is a dragon, snake, rooster, ox, boar, monkey, rabbit, sheep, tiger, horse, dog, rat and cat amongst the family members. When a family member is hugged by a member of the opposite sex they revert to their animal spirit form, this curse does not convey any special abilities other than being able to communicate with animals of their particular species, thus the dog can communicate with other canines, the rat with other rodents etc. Such a curse naturally makes things more than problematic, especially for someone like Yuki who goes to a co-ed high school and is the constant centre of female attention.
Fruits Basket is an interesting story, one that hints that there is a lot more to be revealed as the saga unfolds and no doubt the history of the Sohma family is likely to be revealed over time as well. I wondered why the family was ‘cursed’ in such a manner, there must be something behind it which would no doubt be included in the overall scheme things – no doubt I’d find out if I read more volumes. Regardless of my curiosity this is an engaging, well crafted and entertaining tale, one that I heartily recommend picking up and reading over a lazy afternoon or an early morning, enjoy it with some coffee and fresh croissants or a cream donut. Bon apetit…
Story & Art by: Natsuki Takaya
English Translation: Shiroi T Omo
Cover Design: We Swee Pheng
Layout/Lettering: Nicole Ng
Cost: AU$14.95
Wandering around amidst the stacks of my local library I came across this particular work, in fact there is a substantial chunk of this series stored on the shelves, around 28 volumes I believe but rather than starting in the middle I decided to being looking at the start of the story with this initial volume. Now apparently Fruits Basket is all the rave, being an extremely popular manga series both in Japan and the US, although strangely this particular issue is made specifically for the Australian and New Zealand market. Usually Fruits Basket is published by Tokyopop, the same people who do Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Astray R, Tokyo Babylon and .Hack//XXXX etc. Anyhow regardless of the vagaries of the publishing world and the Australian/NZ market I borrowed this particular slim volume and wandered on home to give it a read. That didn’t occur until the next day, due to other commitments and the fact that I believe at the time I was finishing off reviews of various other items. Eventually though I was able to get around to sitting back, having a cup of steaming hot coffee and giving this work my undivided attention.
So back to our heroine, Tohru Honda, teenage high school girl who is undergoing something of a rough patch in her life after the demise of her mother in a tragic car accident. Left to live with her aging grandfather, who for some reason keeps calling her Kyoko, unfortunately he has to move to his other daughter’s house whilst his own place undergoes renovations leaving Tohru at a loose end. Rather than becoming a burden to someone Tohru opts to literally camp out, living in a tent in a piece of countryside near where she attends school. When she isn’t attending school she has a job and earns her keep in order to pay for tuition fees and various other expenses, she is slowly forging her way in the world and making ends meet as best she can. Although she might not look it Tohru is certainly a very strong character.
Of course her life takes a turn for the bizarre when whilst walking to school one day she comes across a house in the forest area where she has pitched her tent. As she walks past she notices inside the house a series of round stones painted with the symbols of Chinese Astrology; the dog, dragon, boar, bull etc. Now if you’re not up on your Chinese astrology or perhaps Asian astrology might be more specific their zodiac has twelve symbols each of them relating to a specific animal; dog, boar, tiger, horse, dragon, rat, ox, monkey, rabbit, snake, sheep and rooster. Now it is said that when the Lord Buddha was about to pass from his mortal existence into the transcendent state of enlightenment these were the twelve animals that came to pay him their respects, for this Buddha is said to have made each animal a symbol of the Zodiac. Within the framework of this particular tale though Buddha is not mentioned, only god and the animals are all invited to a party, and god commands them not to be late. The rat though plays a trick on the cat who does arrive late and it’s due to this very fact that the cat is not a symbol in the zodiac; he is something of an outcast.
Anyway the house where these stones are situated happens to be owned by the Sohma family and Yuki Sohma who dwells in this abode with his cousin Shigure happens to be a fellow student at the same school as Tohru. In fact they are the same year and class, although Tohru living rough in the ‘wilderness’ had no idea that her fellow classmate lived nearby. Naturally though in this manga the Sohma family are not just your ordinary run of the mill, well to do Japanese family living in a traditional style expansive house, of course not, as a family they have a dark secret that it is forbidden for outsiders to know – unfortunately with Tohru around that secret is swiftly revealed, although it is due to the inadvertent actions of the young girl who causes the literal cat to be let out of the bag.
It seems that every generation within the Sohma family thirteen members are possessed by the animal spirits of the zodiac and the one that was left out, thus there is a dragon, snake, rooster, ox, boar, monkey, rabbit, sheep, tiger, horse, dog, rat and cat amongst the family members. When a family member is hugged by a member of the opposite sex they revert to their animal spirit form, this curse does not convey any special abilities other than being able to communicate with animals of their particular species, thus the dog can communicate with other canines, the rat with other rodents etc. Such a curse naturally makes things more than problematic, especially for someone like Yuki who goes to a co-ed high school and is the constant centre of female attention.
Fruits Basket is an interesting story, one that hints that there is a lot more to be revealed as the saga unfolds and no doubt the history of the Sohma family is likely to be revealed over time as well. I wondered why the family was ‘cursed’ in such a manner, there must be something behind it which would no doubt be included in the overall scheme things – no doubt I’d find out if I read more volumes. Regardless of my curiosity this is an engaging, well crafted and entertaining tale, one that I heartily recommend picking up and reading over a lazy afternoon or an early morning, enjoy it with some coffee and fresh croissants or a cream donut. Bon apetit…
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