fruits basket, volume eight (reread)

[wingblossom]

Welcome to another edition of the Unofficial Fruits Basket Reread! Before you start reading, grab a snack, sit down, and relax. ♥

For those who aren't familiar with this project, bell and I are rereading the Furuba manga with clearer eyes -- writing down our impressions as we go through each volume again and scrutinize its content, talking about new things we may have noticed this time around. We alternate posts between each volume, and reply back to keep the discussion going. If anyone has any thoughts they'd like to add, feel free to weigh in at any time!

In this post, I'll be talking about volume eight. However, do beware of spoilers for the whole series below the cut.


General reactions:

Good, interesting volume on the whole! The first half focuses mainly on Ritsu -- and then he's (almost) never seen again, poor guy -- while the second half is a lot more twisty and complex, showing that something is truly amiss in the Sohma family. Other notable things in this volume include Haru wreaking bloody havoc in a classroom, Tohru, Yuki, and Kyou preparing for summer break while realizing their lives are at a crossroads, sibling bonding between Ayame and Yuki, and our INTRODUCTION TO RIN. She's only there for a few panels, but it counts! There's also foreshadowing for Kureno's introduction as one of the Jyunishi, something I forgot about the first time I read this volume.

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These chapters fly by. After a rather rough effort last time, Takaya's writing here is much more on the mark. There are a number of different plot threads, but they're integrated well, instead of in scattershot fashion like volume seven. I also like her art here. To be honest, whenever I think about Furuba's art, I'm of the opinion that it's only somewhat above average. But there's something immersive about Takaya's clean lines and panel progression; it manages to pull the reader in, which is amazing even with the less complex visual design.

Also, the second half of volume eight is way more entertaining than the first. I have to admit, Ritsu is my least favorite of the Jyunishi. The chapters that focus on him are vaguely amusing, but grow dull quick. Yes, sometimes I feel bad for disliking him -- I mean, the dude has absolutely no self-confidence whatsoever. But his hysterics do get on my nerves, more than I think Takaya intended. There's no shortage of characters in Furuba with poor self-esteem, but Ritsu is the only one who makes me want to tear my hair out with his shrinking violet fits of apologizing. (Side note: Shigure, stop being a jerk and spurring Ritsu on to even more fits of apoplexy.)

That said, I think his feelings of being useless at sports/academics/etcetera are basically psychosomatic. He's not stupid or uncoordinated or anything, but he's convinced himself that's the case. And since this is constantly reinforced by his parents' behavior, he acts this way in public, which continues the vicious cycle. It's a trend we see with all the Sohma, really, and the effect of Tohru-as-catalyst is to see if any of them can break out of these long-held patterns, self-imposed or otherwise. Lastly, I often forget that Ritsu is introduced after Kyou's true form is revealed. When it comes to the early portions of the story, the anime chronology takes precedence in my mind sometimes.

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I am excited to see Rin on the scene! RIIIIIIN. Such an engaging character! And with her long hair intact for now, which is a minor blessing in disguise. I like how this volume foreshadows her role later on in the series, all the while providing hints for the reader to take however it suits them. In fact, I was amused to see Tohru jump to the conclusion that both the Horse and the Rooster were male, since she had just met Ricchan and assumed he was one of the three female Jyunishi. XD

I'm pretty fond of Rin and Haru's dynamic in general: their relationship is only beginning to surface here (I'm sure a lot of people went, "huh!?" when Haru mentioned he had a girlfriend), so one of the few things we know about Rin right now is that she...seemingly dumped Haru for no reason. (Again, I'm sure a lot of people were quick to judge Rin because of this.) Of course, that's not actually the case, and so she remains the lone mysterious and enigmatic figure at the moment. Or not lone at all, perhaps, considering that Kureno hasn't been introduced yet and Shigure just gets creepier by the minute.

Haru gets some well-deserved attention in this volume, and this is where he starts to become truly interesting. I always liked him, but his insecurities and placid strength here -- as seen in the classroom scenes and his conversations with Yuki, which sort of bookend the chapters -- are what really catch my attention. That is, along with his deadpan sense of humor. It's interesting to see the emphasis on Haru and Yuki's friendship here as well. Haru's constantly encouraging Yuki to be a bit more expressive about his feelings regarding Tohru, which Yuki does not respond well to at all. (In contrast, Haru has no compulsions when it comes to talking about Rin.) Again we see the repeated "lid" on Yuki's feelings, and his conviction that he's utterly selfish.

As for Yuki, I love how his angsty backstory memories are interrupted by Ayame's exuberance. XD If exuberance is the right word, ahem. It's just so much fun to see them interact -- Ayame wants an ~Interesting Story~ out of everything, and Yuki wants him to get to the point quickly. And then amidst all the arguing, there are smaller details to remind the reader that Ayame really is making an effort to get along with Yuki better. Like the fact that he brought peaches and crabs to Shigure's because Yuki liked them as a child, or the fact that he wanted to be capable of making something with his own hands, which ended up being sewing instead of cooking or gardening. It's very sweet. And then you find out that Ayame stitched "older brother's property" on the back of Yuki's shirt and facepalm at that.

Lastly, there's some good-natured humor with the horror house and start of summer break, along with certain signs of uneasiness and anxiety regarding the future. With Tohru, it has to do with Kyoko's death, and with Kyou, it has to do with, well, everything concerning his cursed state as the cat. But the last few pages are certainly ominous, hinting at signs of yet more plot developments to come.

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Stuff I enjoyed:

*Seeing Ritsu borrow his first dress from Kagura. It's also a good reminder that Kagura's much older than she looks!

*Kazuma's haircut, and his explanation that he only kept his hair long in the past to improve Kyou's luck.

*Realizing that Yuki fails at bandaging people's arms.

*Shigure actually offering helpful advice! Not the advice he gives to Ritsu (although bizarrely, he is sort of right about that too, it just comes across as rather mean-spirited), but in terms of dealing with a lot of burdens and starting "with the laundry right at your feet." Really, it IS sensible advice, and offsets much of the other dialogue we're used to hearing from Shigure.

*This exchange. Haru's thought processes are so "???" inducing sometimes. XD

*I also loved these panels when I first saw them in tankouban format.


Stuff I wasn't too fond of:

Like I've explained, Ritsu tends to grate on my nerves. I admit to skimming through his sections a bit, but since Ritsu isn't a major player in the storyline, I don't feel terribly guilty about this.


Silly fanart idea:

AHAHA, AAYA EATS EVEN HIS SOBA WITH CONFIDENCE. I think I may have to sketch a 4koma for that, with Ayame explaining how to eat soba ~the right way~. As a king would, when facing his subjects!


Overall:

Enjoyable volume, and I know that even better chapters are yet to come! I'm looking forward to them. I know that summer break is a turning point for all the characters, so in a way, this is very much the calm before the storm.


Links to previous volumes:

Volume One
Volume Two
Volume Three
Volume Four
Volume Five
Volume Six
Volume Seven

Comments

[bell]

Hellloooooooooooo <3

First off, you did a pretty good recap here! :3 I can't disagree with it-- a lot of focus on Ritsu (who'll barely appear after this lolololol) with the rest laying the groundwork for us to discover just how extra-creepy the Sohma family *really* is. Like you, Ritsu doesn't interest me much-- the hysteria gets overdone, and it's a pity that the cross-dressing character gets a quick ~~fix-it~~ through the power of HETEROSEXUAL LOOOOVE-- so I'll focus on the rest. (Side-note: one of the series tropes is focusing on one of the character's dramas for a few chapters and while it was very effective at first, it... just gets overdone, adlkfjadlkfj. Hiro's and Ritsu's don't work very well for me. And by the time we get to Rin's, I was cringing, WE HAVE HAD ENOOOUGH. I'm sure it was intentional, but in many ways I wish Takaya-sensei hadn't overused that storytelling technique, as I think she's more effective when she's weaving multiple plotlines, like she did in the last three chapters of this volume.)

There are several moments in this volume that makes me pause, going, "what's behind this?" Haru's destruction of the classroom; Haru breaking up with his girlfriend; Yuki's sinister melancholy at the mention of his parents/future; Kyou's despondency at his own post-school prospects; and those last few pages with Rin, Shigure, and Akito. I remember they confused me at the time, too, and reading them now I'm all OOHHHHHHH FORESHADOWIIIIIING. I forgot that Tohru didn't know about Kyou's fate of going to prison! Which makes sense, since that becomes a major motivational point for her.

Rin makes *such* a splash here. Like you mention, Takaya-sensei may not have gorgeous art, but she is effective. Her strength lays in layout/composition, perhaps, and expressing emotions... but damn that first page we see with Rin, staring out angry and determined and sick from her long strands of hair. No one needed to tell me, "this girl is determined, and this girl is angry, and this girl is carrying a weight with her." I *saw* it. You mention what readers must've thought at the time-- I think I was intrigued! And I didn't want her with Haru (I was disappointed that another maybe-gay character was straight, I'll admit ;___;), and I thought she must've been in love with Shigure, from her words about how it could be no one but him. I think Rin ends up being one of the most interesting characters of the series...! But, so, yeah, like you, I loved-- and still love-- those panels. DAMN, TAKAYA-SENSEI. <333

One thing I'm wondering about is the significance of some of the stories in the series. The one I don't quite get is the one Haru tells in the ghost house. Why is it there in the series, why did Haru tell it? Was he thinking of himself, how much he wanted to be with Rin, and how any cost (even ripping off your own head) would be worth it to be with them again? I don't think Takaya-sensei would've stuck such a long story just for the hell of it, so-- oh. It might not just be Haru. It might be the whole Sohma clan, and the curse. They wanted so badly to stay together that they caused great hurt to themselves....!

The other story I wonder about is the one Shigure told to Tohru, about washing one piece of laundry at a time. It's a sweet story (if in kind of disturbing gendered dynamics, women -> washing laundry, etc), and the advice was good. BUT SHIGURE HAS ULTERIOR MOTIVES LOL. I guess he didn't want Tohru to become discouraged from the task he wants her to accomplish. :D? He knows she has a long way to go, and wanted to give her advice on how to not lose courage?

Yuki, too... felt so dark and distant in this volume. At least, to Tohru. There were some panels were they were talking, and there was a guuulf between them-- Yuki closing himself off, it felt like-- and the art emphasized that, using black backgrounds. Awww. ;__; Meanwhile, Tohru and Kyou are having heart-to-hearts. And Yuki is opening up to at least Haru. Which was nice. I do like their friendship. ♥ You mention how Haru starts to become interesting-- I think he was, before, but here he acquires a third dimension? Because we learn about his own drama, his own problems, rather than just being pretty eye-candy support for the other characters.

I think the BIG THINGS AHEAD foreshadowing about the summer was a bit heavy-handed, but there *are* big things ahead, and I feel like she at least delivers on just how epic it's gonna be, so....?

The humor, like you mention, is pretty good in this chapter. :3 One moment I think you don't mention is Tohru going "The peaches are tasty, aren't they!" and Yuki goes, "I guess :D???" and Tohru beams. They sooo aren't getting each other by that point. *laughs*

This is one of my favorite moments of the whole series. I love it even more in Japanese. <333

[songoftheeast]

That last scene of Shigure in this volume was just downright creepy, but also incredibly beautiful. It captures his burning, dark obsession with Akito perfectly, and I always thought how downright amazing it was that Takaya-sensei was able to convey such huge messages just from her drawings alone, not even needing any extraneous dialogue. It really shows her power as an artist and her attention to detail is one of the reasons I got so hooked on Furuba in the first place.

I also love how the end scene of this volume is basically foreshadowing the future events that'll play out, Takaya is definitely a master at this, and having finished the series and re-reading the earlier volumes its jaw-dropping how there were so many hints sprinkled here and there, but yet I couldn't even notice it!

For example this one panel with Shigure, when first reading the manga I had thought him nothing but a comic-relief kind-hearted man but now looking back, oh how wrong I was! And I feel so utterly foolish that I didn't notice these hints scattered throughout ha-ha.

Its sad though that out of all the Furuba characters, Shigure remains the one who's backround is entirely shrouded in mystery and I wonder if there were any reasons Takaya-sensei did that? Was this deliberate, or did she just not have enough time?

Like it especially always confused me just why Shigure fell so hard in love with Akito in the first place, re-reading the earlier volumes its revealed its because of that dream he and the other 3 had of God's conception but then it makes you wonder why it affected him so strongly like that but not the others? Also, if it was all because of that dream does he even truly love Akito for herself? Some food for thought.