Manga Recommendation: Fruits Basket
Fruits Basket. What a weird experience it was, reading 23 volumes of this manga. Even with all the androgyny, cross-dressing, ho yay and les yay that went on occasionally, it was surprisingly…heterosexual by the end. I don't know why I was surprised -- I mean, it's one of the more mainstream mangas isn't it?
For me, this manga was primarily about emotions and relationships. (I guess damn near all the ones geared toward a shoujo readership are, but wow.) The whole Chinese zodiac motif was really just a plot device to give the story some kind of framework. In reality, it was all about making the reader feel this mix of warm, fuzzy emotion mixed with melancholy…you know, tearjerker material that makes you feel good, somehow.
There were lots of interesting characters, and plenty of time to explore them in depth and watch them grow up. I especially liked Tohru and Momiji (yeah, more people who hide their tragic pasts behind sunny smiles, I know, I can't get enough of those types). Kakeru was interesting for me, too, because despite being a bit bizarre and unpredictable, he also struck me as genuine and sympathetic.
I would recommend it to those who enjoy wallowing in an emotion-based story and assessing the different ways that people cope with their difficulties and explore their feelings for each other.