Fruits Basket Vol 19
May. 27th, 2008 01:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meganbmooreAfter miss_dianposted on the series the other day, I went and looked at the first few volumes again. In some ways, the art has come a very, very long ways(and it started good) but I can't help but notice with this volume that some characters are starting to look alike. Tohru's father, I think, is supposed to look a bit like Kyo, but Momiji in this volume almost looked like a blond Kyo, and when Kagura showed up, I thought she was Kimi at first. I've also been having to do doubletakes for a bit now with Shigure and Hatori, when Shigure is wearing a suit.
That said, Natsuki Takaya is, flatout, one of the best visual storytellers I've encountered. I don't really put the emphasis on art that others seems to. I get (usually) why there is the emphasis, but I'm more about story and characters than art, so when I hear anything along the lines of "I can take a bad story if there's good art" or "I have a hard time getting into a manga/comic if the art isn't my thing" I'm utterly scandalized. (And then I make myself a hypocrite with things like Bride of the Water God, where the plot is so thin but the art so pretty...but both the art and the plot are amazingly...well...mythic.) My main concern is that the art competently tells the story, doesn't hurt my eyes, and is easy to follow. Most artists seem to slap pretty pictures on a page in relative order, and assume you'll follow. Something about Natsuki Takaya's art, however, literally pulls from one place to the other, so that usually, you'd probably have to actually try to read it in the wrong order. Even just the word ballons are arranged to pull your eyes in the right direction, so that you can follow the story easily, even when the words aren't in the conventional order.
But, anyway, on to the actual book.
miss_dianposted on the series the other day, I went and looked at the first few volumes again. In some ways, the art has come a very, very long ways(and it started good) but I can't help but notice with this volume that some characters are starting to look alike. Tohru's father, I think, is supposed to look a bit like Kyo, but Momiji in this volume almost looked like a blond Kyo, and when Kagura showed up, I thought she was Kimi at first. I've also been having to do doubletakes for a bit now with Shigure and Hatori, when Shigure is wearing a suit.That said, Natsuki Takaya is, flatout, one of the best visual storytellers I've encountered. I don't really put the emphasis on art that others seems to. I get (usually) why there is the emphasis, but I'm more about story and characters than art, so when I hear anything along the lines of "I can take a bad story if there's good art" or "I have a hard time getting into a manga/comic if the art isn't my thing" I'm utterly scandalized. (And then I make myself a hypocrite with things like Bride of the Water God, where the plot is so thin but the art so pretty...but both the art and the plot are amazingly...well...mythic.) My main concern is that the art competently tells the story, doesn't hurt my eyes, and is easy to follow. Most artists seem to slap pretty pictures on a page in relative order, and assume you'll follow. Something about Natsuki Takaya's art, however, literally pulls from one place to the other, so that usually, you'd probably have to actually try to read it in the wrong order. Even just the word ballons are arranged to pull your eyes in the right direction, so that you can follow the story easily, even when the words aren't in the conventional order.
But, anyway, on to the actual book.
It seems like a lot happened in this volume, so I'll break it down by chapter.
Ch 108: Despite how much I love Tohru, she can be so naive and childlike at times that I want to shake her. Not hard, but just enough to get her attention so I can explain the world to her a bit. Her fears about forgetting her mother are heartbreaking(and the "mother hit by car" hits a little too close to home for me, and always has) but the fact that the memories will eventually fade, especially as she startes to love others, is a part of life. Shigure's words to her about how the other members of the Zodiac are secretly glad that Kyo will be locked away are, on the surface extremely cruel, they're also true words that need to be put out in the world, and I also tend to think that he was trying to push her into action. And then Takaya has to go and be extra evil and remind us that, unless they fall for another Zodiac member or prefer people of their own sex, the cousins don't really get to touch or comfort the people they love. (Yes, Kyo/Tohru turns me to mush and always has. At least Rin and Haru get to do more than slight touching.)
Ch 109: A fallout from the last chapter, in some ways, as it focuses on the loss of Tohru's parents. Even though he says its to keep Kyoko and Tohru connected to him, I can't help but think Tohru's grandfather is just starting to slip. Even sadder, though, was the talk about how little!Tohru started talking like her father to convince people she really was her daughter. And again with the "oh, look, if you don't fall for another Zodiac member, no touchy-huggy stuff for you."
Ch 110: I'm sorry, my brain is lightly broken from the fact that Ayame and Mine is actually canon. It's like that crack pairing you thought would never happen did. But how do they manage certain things, as they're living together? Never mind, I suspect they're kinky enough to find a way around it.Mine probably likes the snake, too. I suspect that, when I sit down and actually reread the series, I'll be amazed by all of Ayame's character growth through the series, and it was nice to see the beginning of his realizing there are people beyond him who exist in the world. Poor Machi, though. She just isn't built to withstand all that. And did Kyo only just realize he has hormones where Tohru is concerned?
Ch 111: A lot of this chapter felt like an apology for the sheer angst of the earlier chapters, with all the cousins getting together for their barbecue, and checking in with everyone. Momiji, as I mentioned before, is starting to look like a blond Kyo, but he sure doesn't act like Kyo. Hiro is actually learning manners. (Probably worried about his sister picking up the bad manners.) Haru can still be spacey. Kisa's actually figuring out how to talk to people. (Kyo, stop looking so grumpy all the time.) I also like that Momiji is the one who finally told Kyo to do something about Tohru before he lost his chance. (Yes, Kyo, everyone can tell. What is it with males named Kyo [including with syllables following the "Kyo"] in manga having entire casts talk about his romantic feelings, regardless of genre?) I remain unable to have anything resembling positive feelings towards Akito.
Ch 112: This chapter was mostly Yuki/Machi, which is cute, but not overly interesting to me. I (somewhat passively) like Machi, but she's one of the very few female characters where I can agree with the mass fandom's opinion that she seems to be there mostly to be a love interest. (Stop approaching fiction as "male=hero, female=love interest," world.)
Ch 113: And here we finally (properly) meet Kakeru's girlfriend, Komaki, whose father died in the same car crash that killed Kyoko. I have to wonder if anyone was actually surprised that she's basically Tohru, if a little more energetic. I'm glad that Kakeru finaly talked, and apologized, to Tohru. *disapproves of meanness to Tohru*
It seems I continue to be lukewarm to Yuki's storyline. Mostly, it, and the characters involved, still seem to be there to give Yuki something to do that isn't being a third wheel in Kyo/Tohru or connected to the family. I like the little mini-cast he was given, I'm just not overly interested in it.
Ch 108: Despite how much I love Tohru, she can be so naive and childlike at times that I want to shake her. Not hard, but just enough to get her attention so I can explain the world to her a bit. Her fears about forgetting her mother are heartbreaking(and the "mother hit by car" hits a little too close to home for me, and always has) but the fact that the memories will eventually fade, especially as she startes to love others, is a part of life. Shigure's words to her about how the other members of the Zodiac are secretly glad that Kyo will be locked away are, on the surface extremely cruel, they're also true words that need to be put out in the world, and I also tend to think that he was trying to push her into action. And then Takaya has to go and be extra evil and remind us that, unless they fall for another Zodiac member or prefer people of their own sex, the cousins don't really get to touch or comfort the people they love. (Yes, Kyo/Tohru turns me to mush and always has. At least Rin and Haru get to do more than slight touching.)
Ch 109: A fallout from the last chapter, in some ways, as it focuses on the loss of Tohru's parents. Even though he says its to keep Kyoko and Tohru connected to him, I can't help but think Tohru's grandfather is just starting to slip. Even sadder, though, was the talk about how little!Tohru started talking like her father to convince people she really was her daughter. And again with the "oh, look, if you don't fall for another Zodiac member, no touchy-huggy stuff for you."
Ch 110: I'm sorry, my brain is lightly broken from the fact that Ayame and Mine is actually canon. It's like that crack pairing you thought would never happen did. But how do they manage certain things, as they're living together? Never mind, I suspect they're kinky enough to find a way around it.
Ch 111: A lot of this chapter felt like an apology for the sheer angst of the earlier chapters, with all the cousins getting together for their barbecue, and checking in with everyone. Momiji, as I mentioned before, is starting to look like a blond Kyo, but he sure doesn't act like Kyo. Hiro is actually learning manners. (Probably worried about his sister picking up the bad manners.) Haru can still be spacey. Kisa's actually figuring out how to talk to people. (Kyo, stop looking so grumpy all the time.) I also like that Momiji is the one who finally told Kyo to do something about Tohru before he lost his chance. (Yes, Kyo, everyone can tell. What is it with males named Kyo [including with syllables following the "Kyo"] in manga having entire casts talk about his romantic feelings, regardless of genre?) I remain unable to have anything resembling positive feelings towards Akito.
Ch 112: This chapter was mostly Yuki/Machi, which is cute, but not overly interesting to me. I (somewhat passively) like Machi, but she's one of the very few female characters where I can agree with the mass fandom's opinion that she seems to be there mostly to be a love interest. (Stop approaching fiction as "male=hero, female=love interest," world.)
Ch 113: And here we finally (properly) meet Kakeru's girlfriend, Komaki, whose father died in the same car crash that killed Kyoko. I have to wonder if anyone was actually surprised that she's basically Tohru, if a little more energetic. I'm glad that Kakeru finaly talked, and apologized, to Tohru. *disapproves of meanness to Tohru*
It seems I continue to be lukewarm to Yuki's storyline. Mostly, it, and the characters involved, still seem to be there to give Yuki something to do that isn't being a third wheel in Kyo/Tohru or connected to the family. I like the little mini-cast he was given, I'm just not overly interested in it.