Fruits Basket Vol 20
Aug. 30th, 2008 08:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
WARNING!!! This post influenced by my tendency to get irritated when angst takes precedence over all else in shoujo.
No, really, Takaya, what’s going on? I’ve always praised you for being able to slip seamlessly between incredible angst and great humor, sometimes in the same panel. Now we’re just doing the non-stop angst bit, with a few 2-second breaks for humor. Really, I don’t do well with this much unadulterated angst if there isn’t serious crack and/or swords at the same time.
This volume focused a lot on Akito and Ren, and while their background and relationship is important to the story, I find it difficult to care about or be interested in either one (and Shigure’s role in all this is…affecting my opinion of him) even though I know I’m supposed to at least feel sympathy for them at this point. I’m sorry, but when you devote yourself that much to hurting others because of your own issues, I can’t feel sympathy for you.
And then there’s the curse being broken for some. Hiro finally getting to hold his sister made me sniffle, and I was well on my way to doing the same with Momiji…until that was suddenly all about how Momiji loved Tohru too, and was losing her to Kyo. Uhm, what? What happened to that lovely BFF friendship Tohru and Momiji have always had? Why must Momiji’s feelings be romantic? We already half way went through that with Yuki! I know Takaya is borderline obsessed with pairing people off, and normally I don’t mind, but really, there’s a limit.
I did like Kagura finally moving on from Kyo (even if it did mean destroying a wall…) and that Rin has no problems wearing clothes that show her scars, and Kyo and Kyoko’s relationship was fun (and cute) but why add the complication of Kyo blaming himself for Kyoko’s death? (I’m pretty sure we already knew he was there.) We already know Tohru will forgive him. It isn’t really an issue beyond…more angst for Kyo and Tohru. And they already have more than most can handle.
But it’s still one of my favorites.
Meanwhile, I know it’s been around for a while that Tokyopop has licensed Takaya’s Tsubasa wo Motsu Mono, but did I miss that they’d also licensed Phantom Dream?
No, really, Takaya, what’s going on? I’ve always praised you for being able to slip seamlessly between incredible angst and great humor, sometimes in the same panel. Now we’re just doing the non-stop angst bit, with a few 2-second breaks for humor. Really, I don’t do well with this much unadulterated angst if there isn’t serious crack and/or swords at the same time.
This volume focused a lot on Akito and Ren, and while their background and relationship is important to the story, I find it difficult to care about or be interested in either one (and Shigure’s role in all this is…affecting my opinion of him) even though I know I’m supposed to at least feel sympathy for them at this point. I’m sorry, but when you devote yourself that much to hurting others because of your own issues, I can’t feel sympathy for you.
And then there’s the curse being broken for some. Hiro finally getting to hold his sister made me sniffle, and I was well on my way to doing the same with Momiji…until that was suddenly all about how Momiji loved Tohru too, and was losing her to Kyo. Uhm, what? What happened to that lovely BFF friendship Tohru and Momiji have always had? Why must Momiji’s feelings be romantic? We already half way went through that with Yuki! I know Takaya is borderline obsessed with pairing people off, and normally I don’t mind, but really, there’s a limit.
I did like Kagura finally moving on from Kyo (even if it did mean destroying a wall…) and that Rin has no problems wearing clothes that show her scars, and Kyo and Kyoko’s relationship was fun (and cute) but why add the complication of Kyo blaming himself for Kyoko’s death? (I’m pretty sure we already knew he was there.) We already know Tohru will forgive him. It isn’t really an issue beyond…more angst for Kyo and Tohru. And they already have more than most can handle.
But it’s still one of my favorites.
Meanwhile, I know it’s been around for a while that Tokyopop has licensed Takaya’s Tsubasa wo Motsu Mono, but did I miss that they’d also licensed Phantom Dream?
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Date: 2008-08-31 02:12 am (UTC)I find myself dropping in attention from a lot of manga when they go on for a long stretch like Furuba did. I think I actually like the Akita and Ren related things (probably for Shigure related reason :)) but the thing about Momiji, oy!
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Date: 2008-08-31 02:20 am (UTC)My problem isn't the length (I prefer manga to just get to the point and tell the story, but, well, I am a shounen fan...) but with the fact that it tends to turn into a neverending angstfest towards the end.
The Momiji thing...I mean, what's with that? There were "hello, serious angst looming!" hints in the last volume, but come on! They acted more like siblings before this. Kids in a playground. Mutual platonic adoration society. Did Takaya just realize she broke the shoujo rule that at least one other male must be in love with the heroine so there can be a confrontation? (Why I hate love triangles: They send the message that, for a couple to be happy, someone else must be unhappy. Also why I dislike fanon-created love triangles.)
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Date: 2008-08-31 02:27 am (UTC)Heh, I've almost entirely given up on shounen apart from FMA and TRC (not sure if that one counts), they just got me too annoyed.
I tend to eat angst as if it was nutella, but I agree the mix of comedy with angst works better (in general and in Furuba both), especially because it makes the angst too real. Have too much angst and it becomes melodramatic, so we become disconnect from the characters and don't particularly care apart from a "angst, lol" way. Which was a very lengthy way for me to say that too much angst is wangsty.
It's not even there long enough to be a love triangle! I don't know what it is ;_;
I like some love triangles and hate others, it really depends of the handling.
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Date: 2008-08-31 02:32 am (UTC)When the angst is deserved (and 95% in FB is)
or there for total crackI'm a total angstbunny. but when it's there just to have angst, I have no tolerance for it.TRC is supposed to be shounen, but I think that it was just a ploy and it has long since given up any pretenses of being anything other than gothic shoujo crack.
Shigure has gotten away with a lot of things that would normally make me swear off a character.
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Date: 2008-08-31 02:38 am (UTC)IN SPACEIN DISGUISE! which makes it awesome. Well crackful at least :)Oh boy, Shigure doesn't even come close. I think lately I've found myself loving so many horrendously immoral characters that I've given up on any pretence of morality about. I think Cnaiur was the tipping point.
Angst for angst's sake, yeah, good point.
I think what I like in love triangles is when it's set up well enough and you've got a feeling of a three way relationship. Not three way love, necessarily, but of the way each character's relationship with the second character colour their relationship with the third. If that makes any sense.
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Date: 2008-08-31 02:56 am (UTC)Clamp's love triangles work for me for exactly the reason's you lay out. If the point is romance, they usually (at least in my admittedly limited reading) lay it out. If the point is the relationship, it tends to go all ways.
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Date: 2008-08-31 03:11 am (UTC)Good point about Clamp, they really usually do it well.
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Date: 2008-08-31 03:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-31 02:20 am (UTC)I was pretty annoyed with the Kyo-blaming-himself thing too. The whole Shigure thing, I had long ago filed under "people are weird, and Shigure is weirder than most."
I don't think I took the whole Momiji thing very seriously, actually. Maybe I need to look at again. I do remember coming away with a distinct feeling of "jeez, I hope he finds someone nice."
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Date: 2008-08-31 02:26 am (UTC)Momiji was in fullblown "this is my love but she loves yyyoooooouuuuuu!!" mode in the scene with Kyo. Which wouldn't have been as bad if it hadn't come out of nowhere.
But really, this whole thing is why I have so many problems with shoujo. In the longer running ones, it seems the mangaka are required to turn them into fullblown angstfests towards the end, or shift the focus to "all these males are in love with the girl and angsting over how it affects their friendship." There are a few exceptions, and FB isn't quite to that point, but...
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Date: 2008-08-31 02:40 am (UTC)I am indifferent to the Momiji/Tohru development; it feels like so much of an afterthought, plot-wise, that I can't get excited about it one way or the other.
Kyo's guilt over Kyoko, however, isn't new. That twist was foreshadowed WAY back, from the first time they all visited Kyoko's grave. I have been waiting on this revelation for FIVE YEARS. And, you know, it's not about whether she'll forgive him (this is Tohru we're talking about), it's whether he'll be able to forgive himself.
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Date: 2008-08-31 02:54 am (UTC)The Momiji/Tohru thing just irritates me because there seems to be no point to it.
Yeah, Kyo's involvement is something we've known about for so long that I kind of forget we know, if you know what I mean. It's been around so long that we just accept it as a given. I think it's just the "oh yeah, more angst!" aspect in how it was presented after nothing but angst in this volume that bothered me.
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Date: 2008-08-31 10:26 am (UTC)And ugh, yes, Momiji. And he gets worse in the last volume, because suddenly his final resolution was all about Kyou/Tohru. What happened with the joie de vivre and his dreams of becoming a violinist for Momo? Did he lose them as soon as hormones finally hit him? Bah.
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Date: 2008-08-31 02:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-31 02:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-31 02:34 pm (UTC)Some Furuba characters don't get a lot of resolution. Momiji is one, which is too bad.
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Date: 2008-08-31 02:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-01 12:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-02 09:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-02 10:08 pm (UTC)The thing about the angst is that it's pretty clearly being piled on for the ending, and the series has plenty of justified angst as it is. And angst to have angst makes it difficult for me to not throw things.
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Date: 2008-09-03 02:24 pm (UTC)Meanwhile, I know it’s been around for a while that Tokyopop has licensed Takaya’s Tsubasa wo Motsu Mono, but did I miss that they’d also licensed Phantom Dream?
Phantom Dream got announced months before Those With Wings (last December at NYAF), and for some reason almost nobody noticed (including most of the industry bloggers who were at that con) until Tokyopop mentioned it again when they announced TWW. It was a little strange. TWW seems to be getting more of a push from Tokyopop now, but that doesn't explain the initial lack of attention.
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Date: 2008-09-03 03:31 pm (UTC)I think TWW is getting a bigger push because they're putting it out in the omnibus-style edition that they seem to be switching to.
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Date: 2008-09-03 04:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-03 04:46 pm (UTC)I wonder if Fruits Basket just isn't as much of a hot topic anymore? It's still obviously pretty popular, but the manga is finished in Japan, it's been licensed of years, and the anime has been out for years. I think that, even if they still follow it, people tend to just start moving on after a bit. (I think the main reason these shounen series stay "big" for so long is that their anime series go on forever, so it's right there all the time.)
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Date: 2008-09-03 09:10 pm (UTC)I don't have a real feeling of how FB's popularity is with the general manga crowd; most people I know who're into it were following the Japanese release, so there is a sense of moving on even though most/all of them are still buying the English release. I assume that the fact it's still selling so well is a good sign for Takaya's other work, but I'm hoping Tokyopop does more cross-promotion. (I think I've heard that they're planning some with FB and TWW, at least.)
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Date: 2008-09-03 09:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-24 05:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-24 05:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-24 05:55 am (UTC)