Customer Reviews

Fruits Basket, Vol. 3

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

Valentine's day is creeping up on the Sohmas, and for a family that turns into animals when they're hugged by the opposite sex, this could be a problem.

Fortunately Natsuki Takaya doesn't resort to the obvious gags, in the third volume of "Fruits Basket." Instead, she introduces some new members of the Chinese zodiac, brings a couple back into the picture, and sheds some light on Shigure's shady motives for keeping Tohru in his house.

While on an endurance run, Tohru sees a white-haired man lying by the roadside, and rushes to help -- only to find that he's Hatsuharu Sohma, a punky teenager. He and Kyo soon get into a martial-arts (and verbal) free-for-all -- until Yuki collapses from an asthma attack. To get him back home, Haru uses Tohru to change into his cursed form.

Things get even more awkward when Valentine's Day rolls around, and Kyo finds himself being violently wooed by Kagura. And while the four teens go off on a double date, Shigure pays an old visit to his pal Hatori, and hints at the lengths he's willing to go to... for the sake of a "dream of love" he once had. When, of course, he's not torturing his suicidal editor.

And a month later, Momiji unveils a surprise for Tohru -- a trip to a hot spring resort, run by a very easily upset "concubine." Tohru and Yuki are given a chance to relax and unwind in the luxurious surroundings -- and Tohru makes a very surprising discovery about Momiji's future.

Having introduced five zodiac members -- plus the cat -- Takaya keeps introducing new characters, and showing us facets of the established ones. And that takes up most of this volume -- it's one of the lighter "Fruits Basket" volumes, with lots of comic relief ("LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE!") usually provided by Momiji, the violently adoring Kagura, and the sickly onsen lady.

Most of the plot is light, frothy character development with a crazy double-date, lots of chocolate, and Haru's story about how Yuki won him over despite his prejudices. But there is some melancholy meditation on how cruel people take advantage of selfless people like Tohru, and some of the secrets that older zodiac members are keeping from our teen heroes.

Of course, this volume also introduces us to Haru, a teen who looks like a raver, but acts like a dignified gentleman. Of course, he has a lecherous, gleefully violent dark side if he's pushed too far. We also get Mitchan, the long-suffering editor who threatens suicide of Shigure doesn't start turning in new books on time ("Then do your job for your own sake! Because if you don't, you're forcing me to make your life as miserable as MINE!").

Shigure himself shows some new facets beyond "lovable pervy troublemaker" -- his intentions are revealed to be almost sinisterly selfish, and though he feels regret he won't change his plans. It's a striking, almost haunting scene, and it shows us a lot about his true personality.

The third volume of "Fruits Basket" is mostly fluffy fun and new characters, but it also shows some of the darker currents that run through the series. Definitely a good read.

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 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.

Yay! In this volume, we get to meet Hatsuharu Sohma, one of my favorite characters. He's so quirky and offbeat- a great guy!
The best thing about this volume is the story Momiji tells Yuki, Tohru, and Kyo: "The most foolish traveler in the world..." This just about sums up the moral of the manga- always look on the bright side of life! But it's also very bittersweet, because it's reminding us that life is harsh, no matter how hard we try to be optimistic...

Tohru Honda is the only outsider who knows about the Sohma family's curse, and now she's a permanent part of Shigure, Kyo, and Yuki Sohma's lives. The only way Tohru thinks life could improve is if Yuki and Kyo got along better. What Tohru doesn't see is that the boys actually are getting along better than they ever have, and that they're also happier as individuals. Other characters point out that Kyo's agressive nature has been softened and Yuki's cool reserve is melting--he actually smiles a few times around Tohru, and even laughs, which if unheard-of for Yuki. An author's note says Yuki and Kyo are gradually being drawn taller, which fits in with their age, since they're about 15, so their art design is morphing as their characters develop.

Hatsuharu or "Haru" Sohma is the main new character introduced in this volume. Haru is a year younger than Yuki and Kyo, but he looks and acts older, with his white hair, gloves, and pimped-out fur-collared coat. He intrudes on a P.E. race where his older cousins are competing by tripping Kyo with a rope. Then, Haru uses his deadpan delivery to break the fourth wall and tell the audience to never try such a stunt at home. Tohru is introduced to Haru and is just commenting on his good manners when he goes berserk and starts a fight with Kyo, displaying a side of his personality that Yuki calls "black Haru". Yuki smiles his icy smile and refuses to get involved in the fight, but when Yuki collapses from exhaustion, Haru willingly transforms into a cow--not even a scary bull, but a black and white moocow--to transport him to safety. Regular Haru is lowkey, partly because Yuki helped him see his own worth when he was a child who saw himself as dumb and slow because he was teased about being the ox.

One of the chapters deals with Valentines Day. In Japan, Valentines Day is apparently more about girls declaring their love for their chosen guys, rather than guys buying presents for their girlfriends. V-Day is not without its share of trouble for the Sohmas. Poor Yuki is so popular, girls break into his locker to leave him chocolate and throw away the chocolate that other girls have already broken in to give him. Kyo is terrified of Valentines' Day, partly because it means Kagura will hunt him down, and Kagura still expresses her love by punching him, like a little kid would.

There are some cute moments, like when Tohru spends all her extra money buying chocolate for her friends and the Sohmas, and Yuki buys her a hair ribboin as a return gift. Also, the funny scenes in this volume are abundant and really transcend the transaltion barrier, like Hanajima's dramatic declaration that she can't run any further when the race hasn't even started, or Kyo and Yuki furiously sprinting their way through a long-distance run, yelling insults all the way, or Shigure's carefree attitude toward deadlines, which reduces his book editor to tears.

New facts learned: Haru has no sense of direction, Kyo hates leeks, Shigure sometimes wears glasses. And it's revealed that Momiji, who looks about nine, is the same age as Haru, fourteen. This seems like a common trope in manga, and lots of stories feature a high-schooler who looks like a kid. Momiji and Haru will be more involved in future stories, because they're about to start school with Tohru.

Most tragic Sohma family member: Haru. He grew up with a complex about his intelligence, and now has a split personality. Shigure might win the sad award for the volume, if he weren't so enigmatic. He's pusuing some unknown goal that involves Tohru's presence in the family,and has some sense that he's morally off-center, but he's not exactly miserable.

Honorific significance/confusion: At Haru's suggestion, Tohru calls Yuki "Yuki-kun" instead of "Sohma-kun,"and he transforms into a rat out of shock. Momiji is sometimes spelled "Momitchi". Hatori's nickname is "Haa-san" while Haru's nickname is "Haa-kun," so it's easy to confuse them.

Since I liked the Fruits Basket anime series and the first two volumes of the manga so much, I decided to continue on with volume three.

Two holidays are the focus of this volume: Valentine's Day and White Day. For Valentine's Day, there's a lot of chocolates going around. A lot of girls at school are trying to get the attention of Yuki Sohma. However, Kagura Sohma (a girl who turns into a boar when she's hugged by a member of the opposite sex) has her sights set on Kyo Sohma (who turns into a cat when he's hugged by a member of the opposite sex). And for White Day, Momiji Sohma (who turns into a rabbit) takes Tohru, Shigure, Kyo, and Yuki to the Sohma family's hot springs. In this volume, we also meet Hatsuharu Sohma (who turns into a cow), and he's ready to pick fights with Kyo.

The volume progresses the story, and new layers begin to be added. And when the anime series is compared to this volume, the anime remains rather faithful to the story. I would definitely recommend this volume if you have already read and enjoyed the first two volumes.

I wrote this review after checking out a copy of this manga volume through the King County Library System.

This is my favorite book in the series (I have read 12). Before I start my review I just want to say that the whole series is fantastic so dont stop reading at this book!
..now...
in this book you get to meet the ever mysterious and poliete hatsuharu, or haru. haru is an amazing character, he is kind and considerate ...BUT... his zodiac sign gives him a split personality, and you REALLY dont want to be around him when he "snaps", read the book to find out why!
another part i love this book for is its VALENTINES DAY! yuki of course gets lots of chocolates, but hanajima claims his chocolate (muh ha ha). now if kyo actually got a calendar he would know that it was valentines day and he wouldnt run into his "girlfriend" aka the ever so fantastic KAGURA! *cheers*.. you get to see how she handles valentines day =P

well if you made it through my review i have one more thing to tell you, BUY IT, BUY IT!!! the pictures are fantastic and you will be able to laugh as much as i did when i read it!

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!!