The Horse reveals herself.
Creative Staff:
Story/Art: Natsuki Takaya
Translation: Sheldon Drzka
Lettering: Lys Blakeslee and Katie Blakeslee
What They Say:
The parent-teacher conferences are drawing to a close, with just one student left—Yuki. Who knows best, mother or child? Can Yuki’s newfound, hard-won independence stand up to his mother’s controlling personality, or will her presence take him right back to that dark time when he couldn’t even speak…? Once the conferences are over, it’s time for the gang to head to Kyoto for the class trip! As Shigure would say, class trips are the prime time for ROMANCE—will any juicy developments emerge? Everyone’s thinking of the future and what it will take to stay together. Finding happiness is not as easy as it sounds, but when you’ve got friends by your side, it’s just that little bit closer!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Fruits Basket digs into several characters in this volume, first of which is Yuki with special preference given to his relationship with his mother, now estranged after he moved to Shigure’s home. After Ayame, she’s wanted a more perfect son. Someone who she could be proud to name her son, the son of the Sohma family. Which is ridiculous, of course, Ayame is a successful business owner (even if the business is a little sketch) and, besides some personality quirks, is an upstanding adult. Yuki is the prototypical though. Good grades, good looks, composed, and a consummate gentleman. But Yuki has shunned the life his mother is trying to provide to him. He doesn’t want to be reminded of the psychological torture Akito put him through. He doesn’t want to be a Sohma or the Rat of the Zodiac. He wants to be Yuki, high school kid and student council president.
The second is back to Momiji, a callback to the second volume of Yen Press’s books. Recall that Momiji’s mother couldn’t deal with being his mother anymore; the curse of the Zodiac was too much for her. But she’s had a daughter since then who knows nothing of Momiji, besides his uncanny likeness to her mother. She looks up to Momiji as a brother, the brother she never had. The brother she can never have because of their mother. The brother she can never have because their father just wants their happy life back together. But because of Tohru, Momiji knows of Momo’s desire. Even if just a little, Momiji can be connected to the little sister he can never have.
Between it all, Arisa is trying to untangle her feelings for who-turns-out-to-be Kureno Sohma, the Rooster of the Zodiac. Her heart yearns for him, even though they met just that one time. Tohru goes out of her way—sneaking into the Sohma complex with the assist from Momo and meeting Momiji along the way—to try and get Arisa’s feelings to Kureno, even if it’s in vain.
That was the first half of the book. The second half of the book largely deals with Rin, or Isuzu Sohma, the Horse of the Zodiac.
Rin, just like Tohru, is trying to break the curse of the Zodiac. And, just like Tohru, she’s been abandoned by her parents, though by very, VERY different means. Tohru’s father passed away from a disease and her mother after a car accident. Rin’s parents maintained a happy demeanor for a long time, but eventually broken down. They couldn’t keep up their façade anymore, and took it out on Rin. They left her at Kagura’s, her soul broken apart by the illusion of a happy family shattering before her eyes. Tohru’s own experiences have left her with a broken heart, and dreams sometimes of the yearning she still has for family, but her personality and cheerful demeanor keep her up. Rin has no such defense mechanisms, and can barely function without help. It’s a very good look at depression, which Rin obviously is. She’s sunken into a place with little, if any, reprieve. And she only has trying to break the curse to keep her mind off her own thoughts.
In Summary:
Fruits Basket’s best qualities are these kinds of deep dives into their own characters’ psyche. Momiji, as much heartbreak as he’s been through, is still trying to see the bright side of things, like that his sister still wants to see him. Tohru, even with the Sohma curse (almost) always on her mind, still goes out of her way to help her friends. And Rin…Rin is just heartbreaking on her own. All these Zodiacs have such sad stories.
Content Grade: A
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: November 26, 2016
MSRP: $20.00
