Pam's Book Log

9 September, 2003

The end may be in sight for my reading-Japanese-comics-in-French experiment. Fruits Basket has been licensed by an American publisher; the first installment comes out in February.

When I first saw the anime of this series, and even more so when I started reading the actual comic, I thought that Shigure reminded me of some other character from some other work, but I couldn't put a finger on who. Reading the two most recent volumes right after reading Brust's Paarfi novels, I was able to make the connection: Shigure is just like Pel. They're both scheming and manipulative, they both present the world with a facade of foppish insouciance, but none of this is ill-intentioned. They're decent people, it's just that they have an unconventional approach to life.

Anyway, there's nothing really momentous in Volume 5, although we meet another cursed Sohma (Kisa, the Tiger), and get some decent character development for Yuki and Ayame. There's also a hi-larious chapter about the perpetually-annoying Yuki Sohma Fan Club.

Volume 6, on the other hand, has some major stuff, both in terms of plot and character development:

Kyo's deepest, darkest secret is revealed (to the readers and to Tohru), and it's a doozy! All I've got to say is that it's no longer curious that he's such a messed-up kid; the amazing thing is that he's got any social skills at all, no matter how meager.
We also learn more stuff about Kyo's background. His mom committed suicide, and he has an adoptive father (another Sohma) who loves him dearly, but who Kyo feels he is unworthy of. Oh, and little baby Kyo, seen in flashbacks is cuuuuute!
The Kyo incident provides his would-be girlfriend Kagura with some much-needed character depth. She's definitely more likeable in the manga than she is in the anime, although she's still crazy. Ayame also gets some more three-dimensionality in this volume, building on the serious, caring side we see of him in Vol. 5.
It's tempting to give Tohru a lot of flak for being too nice, too unselfish, simpleminded, etc. But, when push comes to shove, she consistently reveals herself as the toughest, bravest person in the series. Unlike most of the Sohmas, she doesn't avoid or run away from her fears, she faces them head-on. This, I think, is her most admirable trait, rather than her excessive kindness.
Ah, Yuki. First I dislike him, then I like him, then I see a very ugly side of him, and I go back to dislike. It seems like most of the Sohmas have this kind of divided personality, to some degree. Anyway, we get to see what is, IMO, the fundamental reason why Yuki treats Kyo so horribly-- it's a classic bully syndrome. It's well-established that Yuki's got horrible self-esteem, but there is one person to whom even he feels superior: Kyo, the official outcast of the Sohma family. So, Yuki insults and provokes Kyo to make himself feel like he's stronger. To his credit, I think he recognises this tendency in himself, and realizes it as bad.
The character development in this series is very interesting. The author is slowly peeling back layer after layer of the main characters' personalities, revealing who they are, even as they struggle to become better people.