Customer Reviews

Fruits Basket, Volume 4: The Clearing Sky (Episodes 20-26)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The final disc of Fruits Basket starts out with a few stories almost unconnected to the main plot. Yuki decides to try to get to know his brother better and makes a surreal visit to Ayame's store...Tohru meets Hiro Sohma, Kisa's ill-tempered little friend....we get to have a peek into the head of Yuki's fanclub president, a reminder of teenage passion which is as touching as it is funny and psychotic....and we briefly meet Ritsu Sohma, who definitely takes getting used to. The final three episodes are grim, dark, suspenseful and emotionally powerful, as once again, Tohru must confront the fact that parts of the Sohma curse--and family--are not at all adorable. And this time, rising to the occasion to offer comfort and encouragement might even be beyond the abilities of Tohru. Kyo's horrific darkest secret is revealed, and Akito finally finishes playing with Tohru, and makes his move to destroy her spirit utterly, and plunge his family back into the condition of unresisting despair which is their true curse.

People who love this series should be aware that, although it feels complete and resolved, the anime only covers the first 6 books of a manga series which is just about to be released in English. I hear that there are 13 books completed in Japanese at this point. ...

If you can get past the weird name of this series (refers to a Japanese kid's game similar to duck-duck-goose) and the girly-girly packaging, it's a surprisingly deep and poignant character study.

The premise: an orphaned & homeless high-school girl is taken in as a housekeeper by one of her classmates, a very shy but very popular boy named Yuki. He's living with his novelist-cousin Shigure in a rather isolated house in the woods, having run away from the main Sohma compound. But the guys have a big secret--they're shapeshifters, two members of a cursed family.

Our heroine soon makes a place in their hearts with her relentless optimism and unconditional love & gratitude, and soon other disaffected members of the cursed family start to gather at Shigure's house. Chief among the arrivals is a violent-tempered but good-hearted young man known as Kyo, who bears the most difficult curse of all, and who's an outcast even within the Sohma family.

The head of the family, cursed himself, is intensely and malevolently possessive of "his" family, and he starts to plot his revenge...but at the same time, he hopes Tohru can save the family from the worst effects of the curse.

Very interesting mixture of genuine pathos and wild slapstick, and a great job portraying the gradual change in characters of not only the two boys, Yuki and Kyo, over a period of 18 months, but also the maturation of the heroine, as she develops courage and strength to match her innate compassion. She goes from being essentially a sweetly-smiling doormat to someone brave enough to stand up for herself and the people she loves--without getting mean about it.

I have to admit I started watching this series with some skepticism, thinking it'd be hopelessly silly, but ended up loving it. A definite keeper!

If you have followed Fruits Basket THIS far, definitely finish it off. The series meanders as it tells the stories of a bizarre family in modern day japan with the odd curse that makes them turn into Zodiac animals when hugged by the opposite sex. Tohru becomes the loving (but flightly) bolt of remedy and healing for this tortured house throughout the series, and in form, she caps the series by finally opening up all the old wounds and letting everyone heal through her forgiveness and love.

While these stories on this DVD do tend to be a bit more harsh and slightly darker, the task is obviously no feat for the girl who cherishes her new, odd family. Slightly puzzling is Kyo's dark secret, which is revealed towards the end of the series. Why is he hampered with an even DARKER past, and what is that thing? In a series that, although ambling with a staggered gait through a central plot, everything makes fiarly reasonable sense did they toss in this decidedly bizarre tangent? It didn't really harm the series, and helps bring a great sense of resolution but it seems contrived at the same time.

A very, very pleasant anime. For what it is, the direction and art and writing is all excellent without being too showy, inappropriate or bizarre. And the sexual side of the relationships are never delved into with the letchery of reckless abandon seen in most anime. Fruits basket is a nice series for almost any age, and is a great family series for adults and children that like a good anime without sex, blood, gore, robots, guns, or lazer beams.

For everyone out there looking for something funny, sweet, and uplifting, Fruits Basket is for you. The story of Tohru Honda and her interaction with the cursed Sohma family makes for an interesting and oftentimes hilarious romp through an anime which has both comedic and dramatic elements. Although the anime is 20+ episodes, the end leaves you with a sweet but unfulfilled feeling. I won't spoil the ending for you but let's just say that a certain "choice" doesn't occur. I've heard that the anime is only about halfway through what the original manga covers. (For those of you lucky enough to start your anime/manga obesession with Furuba, "manga" is a Japanese animation book which sometimes gets converted into an "anime" or animated work.) What that means is that we all have to wait and hope that the gods above (or the writers in Japan) decide to grace us with a season 2 or movie to end out the series.

The last disc of the first season of Fruits Basket starts off with a visit to Ayami's shop by Yuki and Tohru. Little does Yuki know that when Ayami says he sells "Male romantic Fantasies" what he means is that he sells ladies lingerie he designs and hand makes himself. This throws Yuki off, but he decides to try to continue bonding with his older brother anyways, and while he's at it he gets the added bonus of seeing Tohru sample some of Ayami's handiwork.

Another member of the zodiac crosses paths with Tohru; this time it's Hiro Sohma, born the year of the ram. Hiro is roughly Kisa Sohma's age, and it is because of Kisa that he decides to approach Tohru, a woman he finds obnoxious. But he must do it, especially if it is for Kisa. After that yet another member shows up, this time it's Ritsu Sohma, the monkey, a man who is not what he seems at first glance, and has severe anxiety problems.

The height of this disc comes in the last three episodes, all more or less a continuation of each other up into the climax of the series. When Kyo's master shows up the house goes into an uproar. Apparently along with training Kyo, Kagura, and Yuki, Master Kazuma acted as a surrogate father to Kyo, raising him in his own home since he was a young child after the unfortunate death of his Mother. At first Kyo is reluctant to show his happiness at Kazuma's arrival in front of Yuki, but he is nothing short of ecstatic to have his former master about, and he begs him to remove him from that house. Kazuma decides to push Kyo further and forcibly convinces him to reveal his true self to Tohru. This requires that Kyo remove his beaded bracelet, then his original self emerges in all of it's horrifying glory...What will Tohru say when she sees him like this? How will she react? Will he lose her if she sees him as he truly is?

I can't give everything away, nor would I want to. The climax to this series is so moving, I was crying by the end of this three part episode. There were parts that were altered from the manga...or at the very least switched about, I have not read the last four volumes of the manga yet so it is hard for me to say how accurate it is, but there are many tender moments that have been added to create more character depth and dynamics in the plot. Yuki and Kyo have a bonding moment in the end of the "Revelation of Kyo's true self" episode, and it's almost obvious where the two of them stand with Tohru as far as romantic love goes. Even Shigure, who is normally there for comic relief, has a few serious moments that turn out to be nothing short of heartwarming. Arisa and Hana show up as well, to show just how much they care about Tohru. Even Akito turns up in the ending of the series, and there are some nail biting screen moments between him and Tohru, but they are resolved well enough to lead into a second season....if there will ever be one.

I guess that could be my only real complaint about the way this series turned out... that the rest of it has not been animated yet. Personally, I can't wait to see where the members of the zodiac go from here. Everything was left at such a cliff hanger as far as character development goes that it would be an utter shame if the studio that produced it failed to get another season off the ground. Do I have any predictions for the future? Of course I do, but mine come from the knowledge I have gleaned from reading further into the manga series than has been animated up until this point, so I am going to keep those thoughts to myself, for the moment. All I can say is...wow... I hope more gets made soon... I'm going to go into withdrawal until it does.

This may spoil it for you, and if it does, i'm terribly sorrie! ><
A beautiful but in some ways an incomplete ending. Yet... i'm thankful that it's 'incomplete'. Fruits Basket is a lot more meaningful than one may expect. Sure it's goofy, and silly, but there are those moments where some of life's greatest lessons, and the better sides of humanity shine through. Ofcourse, where there's a display of positive human qualities, there is also a display of the not so pretty ones...
I got a lot more out of Fruits Baskets than I would have expected. Tohru is definitely one of the most self-less characters ever created, I don't believe there's been one more noble than her. It's beautiful how her existence means so much to so many people, and all the positive influence she has over the people around her. I truly look up to Tohru and I promise I'll try to see the fruit on my back more :).
For those who are interested, I do believe the manga is 11 volumes long? or was it 13... you can always check Tokyopop out :). I'm pretty pleased with the conclusion though... had they made Tohru choose... it would have upsetted me. Through the series I've grown attached to both Yuki and Kyo, to have Tohru choose one over the other would make me sad either way :). Still... it's one of the greatest things I've ever seen and I treasure all the things it's taught me.

The series finally ends here! This is the most dramatic out of the 4 Fruits Basket DVDs. During these episodes, you learn a lot more about Ayame, Matoko, Kyo, Akito and another new character, Kyo's martial arts teacher. Also, you get to meet the last two members of the zodiac, Hiro the ram and Ritsu the monkey. The whole happy-go-lucky story changes to a heart-stopping drama when the last four episodes reveal why Kyo always wears the black and white beads around his wrist. And also, why Akito is so dang evil. I personally think this has to be the best of the whole Fruits Basket series.

I myself have all of the fruits basket dvd's and I think that they are the best. The animation of the dvd is great and I reccomend this to all people who enjoy anime. The story is intresting and all of the characters are so cute especially in their zodiac form!!!! I enjoyed it sooo much and I know you will too.

If you have made it so far into looking at the various Furuba titles, then I needn't go into the technical aspects of the discs...nor do I need to go on about the first three...
It has been stated, by some, that this DVD ( the 4th in the series) is to be the final installment...however, I believe this to be incongrous with the story progression. While this disc, like the first three, has a wonderful storyline, outrageous humor, and heart-rending drama, it does not end with a note of finality. I think that we, the Fruits Basket viewers, can expect more of the ever developing story of Tohru, and the Sohma clan. At least, I do sorely hope so, since I would dearly love to see the series continue...

During the first three episodes Tohru Honda visits a friendly , yet sightly perverted, Ayame Sohma and his womens cothing store, meets the enveyous Hiro Sohma and understands why he lashes out at Tohru's friendship with Kisa Sohma, and then meets the EXTREEMLY insane yet kind and thoughtful Ristu Sohma.
That is not as convinsingly moving as my review title eh?
Well you didnt let me go on to the last three episodes.
Tohru Honda is an optimistic warm hearted young girl who lives with a new family since the untimely death of her mother. One of the three young men she lives with, Kyo Sohma , is one of the many Sohmas cursed with an evil animal spirit. Kyo, however lives with the worst of all of the curses. When the beaded bracelet he wares comes off his wrist , his true cursed form comes forth; a freakishly hiddious beast. Kyo's martial arts master involves the removal of Kyo's braclet one day...This isnt the worst of it, it happens before Tohru and she is given the greatest burden she edured since the realization of her mothers death, faceing and accepting the grotesque beast that is the zodiac Sohma curse. What is worse, Akito Shoma stops hideing HIS evil side and attempts to crush Tohru's soul with what is the darkest cloud of hate he can put in to her. At the same time Akito virtually begs her to calm Kyo's relentless spirit. Ok, I idmit that I am not the best at discribing a tear jerking sequence but hear me out, the last three episodes will with out a doubt, make you flood your shirt with tears.
Sorry if I bored you-Colleen Krizak- :)