Forum - View topicFruits Basket (see 2nd post for thread info)
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suna_suna
 Posts: 550 Location: Ohio |
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an addition to those later spoilers:spoiler[maybe Shigure never really got his chance, because Kureno moves fairly far into the countryside. so maybe the only person who knows where he went is Uotani.]
here's an interesting note i made of Takaya's style of writing: she uses a lot of small flashbacks, some taking place just moments after it had happened. that situation happened in volume 13 i think. spoiler[Shigure and Hatori are talking about the curse, and Shigure asks Hatori if he can hear it. Hatori asks "hear what?". the odd thing is that Shigure appears to not respond. but on the very next page, his response is shown as "the sound of breaking".] another flashback is in volume 19.spoiler[and that is the flash to shigure and Kureno's conversation] |
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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That's probably because spoiler[Uotani pretty much went with him.] |
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aya_honda
 Posts: 920 Location: Around here |
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And not just that. I honestly don't believe that a man like Shigure who has fought so much and spoiler[practically manipulated everybody to be with his beloved woman again can actually forgive a man that not only has taken her away from him but also practically encouraged everything that he has fought against. And now that I think of, I don't believe either that moving away from everything was just a casual thing that crossed Kureno's mind: mostly he realized that some things are never going to be right again. And that's just one of them. ] I believe that it was Isuzu who said that [spoiler from future volumes] spoiler[no matter that the curse has been broken and that Akito asked for their forgiveness, there were some wounds that could never be healed in spite of all the kindness that might come after it and some wounds remain unforgiven. I think that this describes best the relation between Kureno and Shigure.] |
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Richard J.
 Posts: 3367 Location: Sic Semper Tyrannis. |
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Yeah I read the new volume last night! (My sister joked that the only reason I asked her to come visit me is so I could read it. I swear, it was just a bonus. Her company is the true reward!)
Anyway, I highly enjoyed it and wow, I did not see the revelation coming that spoiler[Komaki's father was the driver of the car that killed Kyoko Honda!] Holy crap, that was just a big slap in the face. I figured that accident would come back to once more assert a powerful connection in the series present day, but I wasn't expecting that twist or the fact that spoiler[Kakeru was so cruel to Tohru. I understand where he was coming from but wow.] Having lost family myself, I knew exactly the kind of feelings the characters were going through. (I haven't lost a parent, thank God, but losing extended family is not as far removed from losing immediate family if you are a close family to begin with.) I think the scene where spoiler[he apologized to Tohru was a very strong scene and one that proved that he's come a long way. (Hard to believe he was once that sullen angry guy.)] Speaking of family, seeing spoiler[Machi's encounter with Yuki's brother Ayame and Mine left me laughing until my body hurt a little. Her expression was priceless. Traumatic doesn't begin to describe her reaction. (But then, it did give Yuki a chance to buy her a little Mogeta figure. Wow, that was such a sweet scene. And check out bold Yuki! Giving gifts, asking Machi to go somewhere on break with him! The prince has become a man.)] The power of Mogeta I guess. 
spoiler[Kyo and Tohru's hugging scene was hands down the best in this volume. Seeing her struggling with her feelings, wanting to keep her mother first in her heart but undeniably falling in love with Kyo, and both of them trying not to accept it, was amazing. (Plus all the other Sohma's reactions to the whole situation, like Yuki's escape and Momiji's threat to steal Tohru away from Kyo if he doesn't act.)] And dang has Momiji spoiler[turned into a bishonen hunk!] I absolutely love how Natsuki Takaya, creator beyond reproach, can achieve such an intense feeling of reality in this series. Her character designs have subtly grown and evolved as the characters have aged, the plot has become ever more interwoven, and Shigure spoiler[sums up the realities of living with the curse better than any other character ever could. It's the most honest anyone has been about the situation and why everyone is willing to allow Kyo to be locked away.] Yet, because of Tohru bringing everyone together, they've realized that they don't want that now. Then there were the scenes of Ayame's spoiler[past, showing how casually cruel and uncaring he once was, and the equally powerful yet very different scenes of Hana letting Tohru and Kakeru talk rather than intervening. (Not to mention her fun "I sense Kyo has become a perverted old man toward Tohru" thing. That was both cute and funny.)] I'm just continuously blown away by Fruits Basket. I only hope that I can one day get my mom to read it, since I think she'd ultimately find it to be one of the strongest portrayals of love, family, and the power of friendship ever produced. (I mean that too. I can't think of many series that even come close and none that have this many characters and plot threads and interweaving of comedy and drama.) |
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Aylinn
 Posts: 1684 |
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I agree with aya_honda Shigure spoiler[just isn't that type of person that forgive so easily. Look how far he go to take revenge on Akito. ] Besides, in the last chapter spoiler[ Hatsuharu told that Shigure said to Kureno that "he had definitely hit himself" so it seems he visited Kureno with everyone and on his own way said to Kureno that he get what he deserved.]
Really, in my opinion FB is like a fairy tale, most people end up with the first person they fell in love, problems of some people were solved quite easily even if at the beginning it looked like they need a long-term psychotherapy, and what a happy coincidence both of Tohru friends also fell in love with Sohma. |
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murph76
 Posts: 3291 Location: Akron, OH |
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That's one thing that struck me about this volume, too. spoiler[I found it very interesting how a throwaway character like Mogeta can come back and become an important item in Yuki and Machi's growing relationship.] If Takaya-sensei ever runs out of ideas (which I doubt), she can always give us a Mogeta series. 
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like you're saying these aspects took away from your enjoyment of the series. To me, they're another reason I enjoy Furuba. Realism is good in any series. However, I don't want what I read to be so realistic it becomes as boring and mundane as everyday life can be. The fairy tale elements of Fruits Basket add to the series' entertainment, for me at least. -Murph |
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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You could attribute that to being a Takaya thing, it's not exclusive to FB. I think you are trying to look at the reality of what happened, and not in the fictional aspects, it mesmerizes people to see how things turn out at times. But, Yuki spoiler[didn't end up with the first person he fell in "love" with, he ended up with Machi.] |
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Aylinn
Posts: 1684 |
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well, the fact that something has elements of fantasy and is a bit fairy-tale, don't bother me. However Takaya overused motif of people not accepted by parents, it became boring and after some time I was completely indifferent to all these stories and the fact that Junishi's problems were solved by Tohru's speech bugged me, all along. The fact Arisa and Saki fell in love with Sohma was too much for my liking, as well. |
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suna_suna
Posts: 550 Location: Ohio |
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not to denounce your opinion, but i can only think of four times that actual parental rejection has occurred (spoiler[Kyoko, Kyo, Momiji and Rin]), and even then they have been in slightly different situations. to me, that doesn't seem terribly overused. |
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Richard J.
Posts: 3367 Location: Sic Semper Tyrannis. |
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To be fair, how many parents could actually love a child under those circumstances? Given the extreme difficulty the Sohma's have with their curse, which greatly inhibits their ability to trust others and causes most of them to have serious issues, they weren't exactly going to dating around a lot and fall in love with a new person every issue.
Besides, in reality, plenty of people fall in love with one person and stay with them. Lots of people date around forever before settling. The circumstances of the relationships aren't very far-fetched at all, given that all the characters are highly interconnected and even real life is filled with odd coincidences, so Tohru's friends connecting with Sohmas isn't really so odd. (I've seen far stranger things happen.) On the issue of Tohru helping everyone, well, what exactly is she doing that is so different from what many thousands of therapists do all the time to help people solve their life issues? She's a friend who provides mental support and understanding as well as unconditional acceptance. |
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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Well let's look at who was rejected, who was accepted, and who might have been neutral about it all, because there were parents who were neutral. When I say neutral, that means it could have gone either way, in the end they were not ultimately rejected, but the parents might not have cared what happened to their child.
Rejected: spoiler[Kyo, Rin, Momiji, Kyoko, Machi] Accepted: spoiler[Kisa, Tohru, Hiro, Ritsu, Saki, Kagura] Neutral: spoiler[Shigure, Hatori (parents deceased), Ayame, Hatsuharu, Kureno] A special case here would be spoiler[Yuki, who was used by his parents. His parents saw his coming as an opportunity of sorts,] in which I don't think it ultimately could be considered as accepted. |
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murph76
Posts: 3291 Location: Akron, OH |
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Feel free to continue the current line of thought, but I'm going to introduce the next set of characters in our relationships discussion.
This week we move on to Kakeru and Kimi. Until spoiler[Komaki was introduced in the most recent volume, I could have sworn the two were dating. Kakeru seems immune to Kimi's beguiling ways, and they both seem like they've known each other a very long time and are very comfortable around each other.] Sorry if this is short, but it's late here. I'll add more as the discussion gets going. -Murph |
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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It might have been thought that both of them might be dating, but the atmosphere surrounding them kind of made me doubt that they could have been a couple. They were too friendly in that way that makes it seem like they weren't a couple, if you understand what I'm getting at. An interesting topic too.
And, to let you all know, we are caught up on updates!! HERE is the post, and it is updated to page 119! Look over it and tell me what you think of the stats! |
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aya_honda
Posts: 920 Location: Around here |
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Wow, I have a lot to catch up with.
Firstly about Richard's post. Damn, it's always a pleasure to read your thoughts about something.... anything.  I loved what you said about Shigure and it perfectly summarizes what has been disccused so far on account of it. Shigure was the most sincere person spoiler[in admitting the true feelings about Kyo being locked up and not just that: how the other people felt about it as well. ]
Richard J. wrote:
I definetly agree with you here. The one person I want to corrup into reading the manga is the friend that introduced me to this story. She was the one that urchased the anime for me and we watched it together. She told me that it was really nice and I shouldn't missed it. But while she was most satisfied with the answer at the end of the anime, I wanted more therefore I decided to read the manga. May I say I don't regret one bit? Anyways, she didn't seem to be interested in the rest of the story but I wish that sometimes I could convince her of reading the manga. (She's not a very big fan of the manga).
Now coming back to what Aylinn said (because it seemed to me that it opened quite a discussion), I can see the reasons behind it. When she talks about the element of fairytale I honestly agree with her to some extent. The fact that mostly it ends up well isn't quite true;[spoiler form the last volumes] spoiler[Rin is the one that mentions that the wounds never heal and if we think of it not many have a happy ending] and there aren't many people that remain with the person that they love: spoiler[Kagura loves Kyo very much but she isn't with him; Momiji is in the same situation and on top of it he still doesn't have a mother, even now tha the curse has been broken. Plus they part with each other and the zodiacs all of the sudden aren't together anymore because each one wants to live their lives on separate ways, which also tells something about the extent of the damage. ] And sometimes, I trully believe that love doesn't solve everything. There are many situations in life when in spite of loving a person very much and trying the best to help her you can't do much. But when people want to get healed and when they want to progress they can evolve. I believe that this is what happens in Fruits Basket: it's the lucky situation when everybody wants to be more than they were at some point. And Aylinn, maybe Takaya-san presented just this lucky situation when love is enough to change a person. Unfortunately, in real life it doesn't always work. (I know that from my experience  ) that's why I love Fruits Basket so much. Hey, over half of my posts are on this thread. 
And arriving to the topic of this week: really, just like murph I also thought that spoiler[Kakeru and Kimi were together but then I saw that many of the jokes they had were very friendly and therefore I realized tah they are just friends. But anyways, I don't see these two together because if we think how similar they are, it would have been a disaster. ]I'll come back later to develop this. For one post is enough.
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Aylinn
Posts: 1684 |
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So it seems we have just different experience in life.
Shouldn't Akito count, as well.
you see I like when characters have different back stories for example: like it is done in Bokurano. If this motif of people not accepted by parents was used only two or three times okay but it was used six times, three times too much imo. |
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