Fruits Basket: The Complete Collection (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
There are 23 books in this series and I can honestly say that I enjoyed and loved all of them! This was simply an amazing series and I had a hard time putting the books down, which meant I read all of them in a just few days.The story follows Tohru who has recently lost her mother, and since her father died when she was small she had to go live with her grandfather. When her grandfather announces that he wants to renovate the house, Tohru has to find another place to live for a while. Not wanting to bother anybody, she ends up living in a tent in the woods. She soon meets to members of the Sohma family and when her tent is ruined in a landslide, they offer her a home in exchange for her being sort of a housekeeper for them. But all is not what it seems with the Sohmas and she soon learns that there's an ancient curse on the family and she might be their only hope.It sounds like a story we've all read before, but I really think it wasn't. Takaya has created an impressive and magical story that had an unexpected depth to it, and with characters so rich and lively. The first five or so books are very lighthearted, but later on it turns much darker and get a more serious feel to it. But even in the midst of this, there always seems to be a little to smile or laugh at.I really was surprised by the depth of it, and how relatable the story was. Sometimes I just had to stop and think about the thinks spoken and the truth behind the words. Like how we shouldn't constantly agonize about the unknown future, but just take a step at a time, and eventually everything is solved by itself. I loved, loved all the characters in the series. There's a huge cast of characters, but I was never once confused by who was who, and what their story was or anything the like. I was wondering who was my favorite when I realized that I simply just love them all equally. They all have their own stories and struggles and we get to see them all, so that we can truly understand every one of them. They made me laugh and cry, made me happy and worry, and generally just wanting to hug them all. The main character Tohru has to be one of the most loveable main characters in any story. I know some people think she is a bit of a Mary Sue, and maybe she is, but I loved her and her ability to always smile and always be there for other people. She never, ever complains, although she has had a really tough time in life and has to face a lot with the Sohmas. Bottom line, this is one of the best series I've ever had the pleasure of reading and I sense a lot of re-reads in the future. I highly recommend this series, as well as the anime based on it. It has everything you could want in a story and much more. Our orphaned teenaged heroine, Tohru, is living in a tent when the people whose land she's living on discover it and insist on having her stay in the house. While there, she learns they are under a curse: if they are hugged or hug a member of the opposite sex, they turn into an animal. Thirteen members of the family are thus accursed -- one for each member of the Chinese Zodiac, and the cat. (It tells the legends for why.) And at this particular house, the Dog, the Rat, and the Cat all live. Although they can erase memories, they let her stay and remember.Which leads to a great many plots. Their lives and all the lively subplots that going to school can yield. The somewhat -- interesting family dynamics. Enlivened by the curse in the Sohma family, but then, Tohru's family is somewhat interesting all by itself. And then there's learning about the curse and who has it and what its effects are.Tohru is bright, cheerful, generous, always thinking of others. Overwhelmingly. In part this is a reaction of the traumas of her life, a way to cope. It does seriously enliven the lives of those around her, because if you actually want to help her, you have to figure out how to help her out without input from her. Indeed, her two best friends corner the Sohmas to tell them that they are thoroughly ashamed that they didn't figure out that Tohru was living in a tent (she had told her grandfather she could stay with friends while the house was renovated, but she didn't want to impose), and they want the Sohmas to treat her well. And one character deliberately doesn't tell her something because otherwise she would fuss.And all the other characters, in the families, in the school, are lively and a broad palette of types.The art is something else. It's amazing how many emotions you can convey with stylized drawings. Some of them, if you are not familiar with manga, you have to pick up through repetition, because they are icongraphical, but some of it just explains itself.I am particularly fond of the play of Cinderella they put on. The characters are woefully miscast -- Tohru as the wicked stepsister? she reads her own lines and starts crying! -- so they rewrite the play and give us Sorta Cinderella with all the characters having roles that they can play.
What do You think about Fruits Basket: The Complete Collection (2009)?
A spectacularly cute, funny, adorable series. Quite the "feels trip", as people say. I loved it!
—loulibros
Havn't finished all of them but read alot!!!!
—CFB
