Fruits Basket - Reviews

Story 7/10

It was a very enjoyable manga with a great plot if not a little bit repetitive. A good read for some and not so very good for others.

Art 5/10

The reason why I say 5/10 is because the story board was very bland and seemed extremley unfinished. It seemed that the author was in an extreme rush to get it done and did not take the time to give the characters any shading to make them more 3-D. They seemed extremely flat and boring if one was to flip through the pages. I really wished the author put more time and effort into the manga, illistration wise.

Characters 5/10

The characters were bland and some where just boring and really didn't need to be there. The main character anyoyed me with such a naivness for a highschooler and her always easy way to cry. The other characters were either a mix of emotions or just uneeded and unwanted. Certain characters though had a certain flair but not that much.

Overall 6/10

I overall give this a 6/10 mostly because of the plot. I only finished reading it because of the plot. Other than that it was one of the most least enjoyable mangas I have read.

So just a slight warning, there is going to be a bit of bias since I've just started reading mangas.

Well, I LOVE THIS SHOJO MANGA!!!

Now we got out of the way, let's start talking about the Manga. I personally believe it was such an intricate and dense story. It was written beatifully and a well developed plot. I really like the art since it was very adorable! However, there were somethings that bothered me personally, possibly because I'm a bit nitpicky at art at times.

Also, I love all the characters! They each were unique and wholesome, even Akito! I do, however, don't like some of the troupes used on some of the characters, but they don't take away the charm of the characters. It was certainly an eye-catcher for me, and unfortunaly I couldn;t find any good shojos personally after I've read the series. 

It's a very beatiful and complex story that will clearly leave an impact on readers new and old. Especially with the reboot out. I hope that everyone will enjoy this because  I certainly did and I'm still in Middle School/ Junior High.

What can I say about Fruits Basket? "WATCH IT!!!" is the first thing that comes to mind...

But seriously, this is a lovely story from start to finish. It hits all the right notes in all the right places to keep you enthralled from page one. Light hearted comedy, brutal rivalry, love triangles, personal tragedies and more. This manga is an emotinal roller coaster, I can't remember the last time a story made me so cry so much.

If you enjoy a good tear jerker, you'll definately love this story. I don't think there is a single character in here that doesn't have some way to make you cry for them (Momiji gets me everytime... seriously, I'm almost ashamed to admit it). Irrespective of this, it is still a story designed to lift your heart. It's often sweet, usually cute and mostly pretty amusing. Thumbs up.

Loved this series! I have read it 3 times through, and I still haven't had enough of it.

STORY: Not wanting to give too much away; the story in a nutshell is about an orphan girl and her effect on a family cursed by the chinese zodiac. Romantic. Comedy, Drama. Doesn't sound all that great, but the characters and how they interract are what make the story great. The author has a wonderfull way of introducing background stories and other information so that it isn't just a long rant to get you up to speed, and some plot twists that are truly gripping.

ART: The art changes over time, which is expected considering how long it is. At first the art was rough, because it was new and there were a lot of details being put in. I loved this. After the first 6 books you really notice how the art is cleaned up and loses some details. I liked this art as well, but was a little dissapointed with how the art was evolving. (if the changes stopped here I would have been happy and the rating for art would have gone up) By the 15th book, her art changes drastically, it is much cleaner, yet totally different, the characters look bland and homely, and I woud not believe the artist was the same at this point. Many of the characters look so different that If you hadn't been watching the evolution you wouldn't be able to match the characters with the first novel. By the last book, some of the characters are less attractive, which is unfortunate since that was one of their defining characteristics. Being a person who gets irritated by bad art and drops stories when the art is intollerable, the story made up for the shortcommings. that being said, I would have dropped this story early on if the art had been like this at first. (note that I started another of her series done after FRUBA and I dropped it fast)

CHARACTERS: No matter how great or stupid the plot, the characters are what make the story in my opinion. Each character has his/her own unique characteristics, and more than one dimention. There are even some minor characters we find out more about.Character development is done rather well throughout the whole series.

Cyring, shaking, sobbing. The evolution of the characters, the relationships it's all so intricate and well worked; truly a masterpiece of psychological drama. I refuse to be gaslit into thinking the art is """"bad.""" It's so charming and unique and expresses so much sentiment. 

While Fruits Basket is a satisfying read and has a great ending, I cannot stress enough how much you need to turn off feminism brain to read this, especially in the earlier volumes and the last one. Just shut it off or you'll go insane. Genuinely some interesting things being said, hence the very high ratings, but it's alongside severely problematic storylines too. Some TWs: a lot of grooming (like at least 3 underage characters in relationships with adults if not more that I forgot) and the occasional homophobia and transphobia, and pedophilic jokes. But what Furuba has to say about generational trauma, abusive and toxic relationships, and family within abusive systems is so interesting that's it's worth overlooking these things while reading.