Fruits Basket is about a high school girl named Tohru Honda, an orphan who finds herself living with a very strange, but otherwise quite friendly family, the Sohmas, who have an unusual curse: whenever someone of the opposite gender hugs them, they turn into one of the animals of the Chinese Zodiac.
A fascinating premise, to be sure. But that's not what sold it for me. What got me hooked was the characters, all their incredibly unique personalities and the way they bounce off each other in often very funny ways. You can't help falling in love with every one of them. Like Tohru, who is one of the very sweetest and nicest people you will ever meet! There's quiet and pleasant Yuki, the rat, and hot-tempered Kyo, the cat, who both can't stand each other (Obviously, being cat and mouse.)
Move aside, Bella, Edward and Jacob. These 3 main characters are a love triangle done right! Both guys harbor secret crushes for Tohru, but she doesn't play favorites with either of them. She's pretty oblivious about their feelings, actually, but she plainly loves the pair of them. I wish she would pick one of them, but I find myself torn with who I want to root for sometimes. They both have such great qualities! That's how it should be, I think. Make the readers as unable to choose as the main character is.
The other characters are funny and very interesting as well. The adventures they have together are really awesome, with Tohru always learning more about the members of the Sohma zodiac along the way. I've seen the entire anime show, which was wonderful and full of heart, and have currently finished 12 volumes of the manga series. There's plenty still to go, though. Hopefully I'll let you know my thoughts when I finish up the manga up.
I can't recommend this series highly enough. It's got everything. Humor, romance, adventure, romance, mystery, valuable life lessons... Just trust me. If you're a fan of either anime OR manga, there will be something in it for you.
Bye for now!
Bettina
