Reviews

Fruits Basket: The Complete Collection by Natsuki Takaya

Only show reviews with written explanations

margeryb's review

4.0

I haven't read a lot of manga, but I have read and own the entirety of this series and have read it more than once. It's a magical realism fantasy dramady romance that at points gets really angst-heavy. Only upon rereading was I able to appreciate the amount of forethought and foreshadowing this series had, as it was originally written and drawn as a serial over 7 years. It has a large cast of characters that is strongly developed. While there is this mystical element that plays a large role in the story, the story is intensely interpersonal and character lead. It subverts, many times, your expectations, especially when it comes to the "villain" of the piece. If you dabble in reading manga and haven't read this, read this.

ladyofthelake68's review

Go to review page

5.0

Fruits Basket is one of those series that become close to your heart. When I finished the series I was left in a state of shock. Happy shock to be sure but shock that I would never get to spend time and grow with these characters in the same way ever again. Throughout my experience with these books I have grown to cherish all the characters in a special way. I am deeply saddened that I will no longer be able to watch them grow up. At the same time I am glad I was able to spend these few years with them and I will always look back on them with fondness.
The premise of Fruits Basket is completely different from the books I normally read. It is a story about high school kids growing up, falling in love, and learning things about themselves; a book I would normally stay far away from. Perhaps it was the fact that it was a manga drew me to it. Or perhaps it was the fact that I received the first 12 books as a gift. I probably would not have read them otherwise.
Anyway, the illustrations told volumes about the characters and made them seem very much alive. Watching the characters react to situations much the same as I would helped me to connect with them an appreciate them all the more.
I also felt a very close connection with the author through the notes she wrote and the comments she gave at the end. I feel as if she and I are close friends and we have traveled with these characters together. Thank you so much for writing these books Natsuki Takaya!

I would put this book on the same level as Harry Potter. They don't have the same amount of action in them but they do take you on an emotional roller-coaster and you find yourself rooting for your favorite characters and despising the villains. Although in the end, there were no villains, just people struggling to get by as best they can. There are lessons in that.

Okay, so the point of all of this is READ THESE BOOKS! You will learn from them. You will fall in love with them. You will grow with them.

anna_sun's review

Go to review page

4.0

On a whim I decided to reread Fruits Basket, a manga I had enjoyed as a teenager. I was pleased to find it held up well; like many YA series that follow their characters as they grow, the early books were fairly juvenile (appropriate for 12+ readers) while the later volumes were a bit more complex and sometimes even dark. After reading the series (at 30 years old it took less than a week) I watched the 2019 series and found it remained very true to the source material. It made my inner teenager very happy to watch a faithful adaptation after rereading the series!

allie_thebooktraveler's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional funny sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

arissande's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I love this series so so so so much it’s such a beautiful tale of redemption and sacrifice 😭

littlelarks's review

Go to review page

5.0

The ONLY manga I've read cover to cover. The pinnacle of the Shoujo genre, one of the most most pure and adorable series I'll probably ever experience. Such a formative part of my middle-school experience.

baudleaires's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

beneatthetrees's review

Go to review page

5.0

*Compressing all of the volumes into one read*

mugsandpugs's review

Go to review page

5.0

I read this series as a young teenager and it completely changed my world. I reread it as a young adult, and it still held up in almost every way.

As a kid I had so much FUN swooning over the DREAMY guys (I WAS going to marry Hatori Sohma!!!), GASPING over the shocking plot twists, getting excited every month when a new translated volume was released at Borders (yeah, I'm old; Borders was still a Thing), reading/writing fanfiction of the series, crying over the angsty AMVs... And seeing myself and some of my own family struggles reflected in the Sohmas.

The story is incredible. The art is SOMETIMES gorgeous, sometimes average. (The fact that the creator broke her drawing hand early on in the series and had to switch plays a factor in this.) It evolves/gets better as the series goes on!

(Looking back, a few things made me feel uncomfortable:

Spoiler

Mainly-- I hate that someone as abusive and manipulative as Shigure ended up with Akito, and the fact that Katsuya fell for Kyoko while he was her MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER is pretty messed up

, but some of that can be excused as cultural difference, I suppose. I also think that

Spoiler

Uotani's romance with Kureno felt really rushed and could have been fleshed out more, and the Hana/Shishou thing didn't need to happen at all,

but that's just nitpicking a long, phenomenal story that I mostly only have praises for.)

My favorite character is Isuzu Sohma. Her journey resonated with me the most, but really it's hard to pick a favorite from this cast of colorful and memorable characters I still find myself thinking about all the time.

A rundown of all the volumes:

[bc:Fruits Basket, Vol. 3|836607|Fruits Basket, Vol. 3|Natsuki Takaya|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1438768062s/836607.jpg|2267602] 3: Laugh-out-loud funny at points, heartwarming at others-- a perfect example of what Furuba as a series can do/be.

[bc:Fruits Basket, Vol. 4|836611|Fruits Basket, Vol. 4|Natsuki Takaya|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1480179107s/836611.jpg|349431] 4: The Plot is in full swing, and in steps our long-speculated antagonist. Also one of the threads of reconnecting damaged family ties.

[bc:Fruits Basket, Vol. 6|1120825|Fruits Basket, Vol. 6|Natsuki Takaya|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1393736251s/1120825.jpg|237200] 6: ONE OF THE BIG ONES. Some real s*** goes down, and tests our protagonist Tohru's mettle. (Side note: I LOVE Tohru. She's so GOOD. She's not perfect, as some naysayers might complain. She is NOT a Mary Sue. She is flawed and STRONG. I could write entire essays about this girl. Often in a story with MANY characters, the protag feels kind of flat and bland to serve as an audience avatar, but NOT THIS GIRL.)

[bc:Fruits Basket, Vol. 7|877752|Fruits Basket, Vol. 7|Natsuki Takaya|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442962522s/877752.jpg|2267601] 7: Mrgh. Not a favorite. We needed a cooldown after vol6, but a lot of people have complaints about the character this volume featured. I don't HATE him, because 1. He's a traumatized child 2. Furuba is about how different people respond to the same abuse, and just because his coping mechanisms aren't fun to read about does not mean they're unrealistic. (Also it had a B-plot about Uotani's backstory, and Uo is FREAKING awesome.)

[bc:Fruits Basket, Vol. 8|856937|Fruits Basket, Vol. 8|Natsuki Takaya|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1393736327s/856937.jpg|237197] 8: I like this one because it introduces Isuzu, and ISUZU IS THE CHILD OF MY HEART, okay? And I love the whole summer arc that spans 8-11. So many EMOTIONS. So much angst.

[bc:Fruits Basket, Vol. 9|836609|Fruits Basket, Vol. 9|Natsuki Takaya|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1393736354s/836609.jpg|2275353] 9: Another of the less-memorable ones. It was necessary to advance the plot, as it introduced a Yuki-related thread, and it was kiiinda cool to have a Hanajima backstory (I used to roleplay as Hana), but meh.

[bc:Fruits Basket, Vol. 11|836608|Fruits Basket, Vol. 11|Natsuki Takaya|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1393736775s/836608.jpg|2201585] 11: Drama! Dun dun dunnn... Our hero and antagonist butt heads, and it isn't pretty. It demonstrates how useless (sometimes deliberately so) the adults are at protecting the kids in their family. Also, end of summer!

[bc:Fruits Basket, Vol. 12|244813|Fruits Basket, Vol. 12|Natsuki Takaya|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442881735s/244813.jpg|2201581] 12: I'm not a huge fan of the Yuki/student council stuff, though I understand how essential it is to HIS healing and growth, but it makes volumes like this tedious. Also I HATE Shigure with a FIERY BURNING PASSION, so I growl whenever the plot takes a detour down his memory lane. But! More Rin stuff.

[bc:Fruits Basket, Vol. 13|46911|Fruits Basket, Vol. 13|Natsuki Takaya|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1441488945s/46911.jpg|262960] 13: My babygirl is on the cover! (It would have made more sense to have her on 14, but okay.) OH the parent-teacher conference stuff HURTS. MY. HEART. This is the point where I started to love Ayame. AHHHHH MY HEART.

[bc:Fruits Basket, Vol. 14|46908|Fruits Basket, Vol. 14|Natsuki Takaya|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1393736589s/46908.jpg|45979] 14: Possibly my FAVORITE volume of the series. Also, the volume that made me CRY A RIVER. Isuzu backstory. The bare beginnings of her healing process. AND some Yuki trauma! Good stuff.

[bc:Fruits Basket, Vol. 15|46906|Fruits Basket, Vol. 15|Natsuki Takaya|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1441381006s/46906.jpg|45977] 15: MORE LONG-AWAITED YUKI TRAUMA, OH BOY. He is arguably the MOST woobie character of this series, and that's saying a LOT. Also, the wrecking of a ship for some readers, but it was never MY ship, so I didn't mind.

[bc:Fruits Basket, Vol. 16|244812|Fruits Basket, Vol. 16|Natsuki Takaya|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1393736767s/244812.jpg|237192] 16: It's at this point that EVERYTHING HAPPENS A LOT. Do you know how hard it was to wait for new volumes to be released, waiting months between installments? DO YOU? Tohru's been living with the Sohmas for over a year at this point and all the ugliness of their family/curse is becoming apparent to her. Rather than run away screaming, she holds on tight for the ride. THIS one is mostly a Tohru story. Her backstory, her MOTHER... Ugh. Bring tissues, you're gonna cry.

[bc:Fruits Basket, Vol. 23|2261583|Fruits Basket, Vol. 23|Natsuki Takaya|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327264093s/2261583.jpg|2267567] 23: The epilogue we all needed. The creator giving us chicken soup for the soul after repeatedly kicking us in the kidneys/heart/spleen/other organs. After binge-reading you'll need to lay facedown on the floor and contemplate existence for a few ~~hours~~ days, so plan your schedules accordingly.

This deceptively cutesy little series, really about the pitfalls of abuse and isolation and familial codependency, as well as healing through kindness, forgiveness (or choosing not to forgive!) really makes your heart ache at certain points. I'm so happy it exists. It's a classic to remember forever.

bartlebies's review

Go to review page

4.0

BOY THERE SURE ARE A LOT OF PEDOPHILE JOKES IN THIS, HUH?

i hope the anime does a good job with this story.

More...