User rating of this review - 4.84 out of 5
Story/Plot - 5 out of 5
Characters - 5 out of 5
Drawing Style - 4 out of 5
Enjoyment - 5 out of 5
Overall - 5 out of 5
Plot/Story
Fruits Basket is about Honda Tohru and her relationships with the Sohma family. Tohru was recently living with her mother until one day, her mother died in a car accident. After living with her grandfather for a short while, she has to leave because he has decided to renovate his house. Having no place to go, she decides to live in a tent. However, the place she has chosen is owned by the Sohmas, and when they discover she is living there by herself, they insist that she stay in their house with them. But the Sohmas have a terrible secret. They turn into animals when hugged by a member of the opposite sex!
Characters
The characters in Fruits Basket all have some sort of relationship with the main character, Honda Tohru. Most of the Sohmas have problems with developing relationships because they turn into animals when they come into contact with the opposite sex. Tohru's kindness and ability to accept tham as they are touches all the characters. She looks up to her mother Kyoko a lot, and often quotes her. The characters are well drawn and a new member of the Sohma family is introduced one at a time for the first few volumes. As the story develops, the past of each of the characters is revealed.
Drawing Style
Takaya Natsuki's drawing style is good, and not too shoujo-ish. The lines are clean. It's good, but not outstanding.
Enjoyment
The series is highly enjoyable (as is the anime) and also very emotional (it had me in tears at some points). It's comical at times, sad or happy, and covers a whole range of emotions. The plot thickens as soon as all the characters are introduced and mysterious elements are added to it, making it a compelling read.
Overall
I don't think I've read another series similar to Fruits Basket. The plot is excellent, and it's not too shoujo. The characters are all unique, from the carefree Shigure to the prince like Yuki. It's unique and fresh, and the secrets of the characters make it a must read series!
right i have seen the movie (TV series) it is one of the few thousand i own (literally) but i have yet to read the book in English. fruits basket has the perfect balance of romance high school drama and everything u want to see in a manga show.i always feel soo sorry for kyo and just i am going to read the book even though i have watched the show.just like i did with death note it just made the story better.i think im not alone in thinking there should be a movie i mean like one big movie and i really hoped there was but i couldent find one! 🙁 !
I love Furuba, but the review isn't so great..
You should add more about the characters.
Nice, though..
... Last updated 17 years ago
ther is only one reason that i am giving this reveiw a 4.9/5 and that is the character paragraph.
you have my feelings right, but not completely right.
the thing that i love about fruits basket the most is, by the end of it, you can not hate a single character. Nearly every character in this series is defined, they have a past and they have faults. reveiwing the series in my head i can only find the minor characters such as their class mates, the cleaning ladies and the random people in the background lacking in personlity and depth. Even Mogetta has a character! And her anime rarely shows up in the manga... i mean it's an anime in a manga for pete's sake!
the characters in this manga are amazing
oh yeah.
also about the art work. At the begining it's not the best. however by the end of the series the art work... is very pretty. I love the mangaka's style.
but what is beyond amazing is what she chooses to draw and the way that she arranges her panels .... it is really artisticly done.
personally i give the series a 10/5
This manga is one of the unique and it's not like the typical shoujo manga where the girl loves the guy, the guy doesn't notice...well that happens later but this is more complex. Every character is unique, has it's own characteristics and problems which makes me relate to some of the characters and it makes me feel close to them like a family...just it's not real life. I liked how Takaya san used a orignal storyline and plot which has never been used. I love seeing the conflicts, problems, and humor that they all encounter in each chapter and episode. As it goes on, the humor(it was one of the strongpoints of this story) immensly DROPPED and kicked in the seriousness. I was a bit upset but the real story kicked in, where all is revealed. The humor that entertained me, wasn't as needed because the real story was WAY interesting than the real humor. But, Takaya san managed to somehow, keep the humor, even it's less than before so it's not as serious all the time and that was good to keep the story going heavy and serious but some comedic scenes to not bore and make the reader sick of the heavy plot. And for the artwork, volume 9 and on started to have REALLY beautiful artwork. I was pretty shocked with the change but now the artwork is really beautiful and glimmering. So in conclusion, people should read this if they want to read a shoujo manga that isn't really typical and the first few volumes, any gender could actually enjoy it so it's a great recommend.
This story's character have a detail explanation on their background. Kyouko, tohru's friend and every 12shi, all have background, their relationship to each other, and their very own problem. Its interesting how the mangaka reveal their past little by little, correct timing.
i definitely agree with the review. Fruits Basket is one of my favorite manga/anime simply because it's unique in character and storyline. I hope that maybe they can do a second season or add more. I miss those characters.
If I was the person writng this review, i would denfinitely give a 5/5 for everything. What amazes me most is the plot. The plot is so well laid-out, you just cannot imagine what the mangaka had in mind when the story first started. The story amazes me and the art changes for the better over time. Just wanted to say, the review ROXS~ (the manga too of cuz ^^)
