Fruits Basket Volume 3

I own this series in Japanese, and it is a wonderful read! It has all the important elements of a good shoujo manga: it is romantic, twisted, with a shoujo (in the traditional meaning of the word) involved in finding a new family and love triangles galore. It is just a very fun read, no matter the language!

I purchased this book and two others in the series for my 12 year-old daughter after she received the first volume as a Christmas present. She absolutely loves them all.

An endurance run prompts the Sohma's into a new battle against one another. During this time Tohru meets Hatsuharu Sohma, an enigmatic young man with white and black hair and one violent temper...well, at times. When she first meets him he is actually quite gentle. His fight with Kyo is cut short when Yuki reveals how sick he is and Haru decides to change to his zodiac sign, the ox, so that he can carry him home. It becomes obvious to Tohru that Haru and Yuki have a special bond with one another. Valentines comes around and with it a multitude of chocolates for everyone. Later Momitchi decides to thank Tohru's kindness by springing for a trip to some hot springs where they meet a very strange hostess, and mother to a member of the zodiac, the one possessed by the monkey. Yuki also has a gift for Tohru to thank her for her chocolates, and a bit of tenderness is exchanged between the two. As more and more characters become known the series just keeps getting better. I really loved Haru, but then again I have always liked duality, being a Gemini. Something about him and Yuki's relationship intrigues me as well, just how close are the two of them? I am, without shame, hopelessly addicted to this manga. I recommend it to everyone.

In this book, the gang deals with Valentine's Day (a dangerous time for the members of the Sohma family, who are cursed to turn into animals from the Chinese Zodiac whenever they become weak or are hugged by a member of the opposite sex). A new member of the Sohma family comes visiting, there's a visit to some hot springs, and Tohru still approaches everything with her usual "glass half full" attitude. This series is really adorable and good natured, and I love the artwork. I've only just started with it - I've read volume 2, but none of the others. Based on what I've seen so far, though, I would recommend this series and this volume to anyone who likes romantic manga.

I was depressed for several days, then I went to Border's and bought some manga, one of them Fruits Basket #3. I swear, I felt so... happy afterwards! I'm serious, every time I read Fruits Basket, it just puts me in such a good mood... it's full of hope and compassion without seeming forced or sappy. Natsuki Takaya really has a talent for this! In this volume, after Momiji was talking about "The Most Foolish Traveler in the World" story in the "funny" stories book, and how he related it to Tohru, I actually cried, and I rarely cry over manga! XD Most of my favorite mangas are the more serious or sinister kind for older audiences, such as Confidential Confessions, Petshop of Horrors, Uzumaki, etc. and I'd never thought I'd enjoy a series like this. But I love it and it's one of my favorites... even though it sounds a little rediculous in its description (turning into animals when hugging the opposite sex ^^;) when you actually read it, it's really enjoyable, touching, and funny, and the characters all have deep personalities. I highly reccommend Fruits Basket!!