Fruits Basket, Ultimate Edition, v.1-2, by Natsuki Takaya

Natsuki Takaya. Fruits Basket, Ultimate Edition, v. 1-2 (in one volume). Los Angeles: TOKYOPOP, 2007. Unnumbered. ISBN 9781427806895.

While I've read a handful of graphic novels and comics (Maus 1 and 2, Persepolis, Fun Home, The Umbrella Academy, and a few others), I haven't dipped very much into Japanese manga (Barefoot Gen is the only title that I can think of). A few years ago I was given a copy of Fruits Basket, volumes 1 and 2, bound together in its first English translation and published by TOKYOPOP. Immensely popular in Japan, Fruits Basket is an example of what's called shojo manga; that is, manga that's written for young girls between the ages of 10 and 18, and often addressing family dynamics and other relationships.

Fruits Basket tells the story of Tohru Honda, a young girl who has been recently orphaned. She was living with her grandfather, but when he decides to move in with another relative while his home's being renovated, Tohru decides to live on her own in a tent. She attends a good high school, but also takes a job to make ends meet. One day she meets up with the family that owns the land where she's set up her tent. They're three young men, one of whom she knows from school, who live together in a secluded house. They offer to let her live with them during her grandfather's renovation project if she takes care of the house and kitchen.

As Tohru becomes a fixture in their home, she brings order into their chaos, and they become the family that she no longer has. But as she gets to know them she learns that they have a secret: when they're hugged by someone of the opposite sex, they turn into an animal in the Chinese Zodiak. Yuki turns into a rat, while Shigure turns into a dog. Outsider Kyo turns into a cat, and resents that there's no cat in the Zodiac. Will Tohru be able to stay with her new family? Will she keep their secret? This is the plot of the first volume; the second takes readers further into the extended family and we meet other members and their alternate shapes.

I found these first two volumes of Fruits Basket utterly charming. So much so that I'm really curious about how the story develops beyond volume 2, but I'm not sure I want to delve into further volumes, since they go up to volume 23 so far! Either way, this story has a lot to recommend it. The characters are interesting and amusing; the themes are perhaps typical for a YA book, but there's nothing wrong with that since teen issues are perennial. The artwork is really good; I particularly liked her drawings of animal figures. I recommend this to anyone who likes Japanese manga in this genre.