Fruits Basket last volume thoughts

[heavenly_pearl]

Fruits Basket is over! *sniffles* I've known how it ended ever since the final chapter came out in Japan, thanks to spoiling myself silly, but it's so wonderful to finally be able to read it for myself.

I actually didn't cry as much as I thought I would, but the last volume wasn't really all that sad. In fact, I pretty much smiled the whole time while reading it. It's just so wonderful to see these characters, who have been through so much, get the chance of a "new beginning" of sorts. There were parts that made me tear up some, of course, but overall, it was quite an uplifting ending, in my opinion.

I noticed at the very end, though, that when they show Grandma Tohru and Grandpa Kyo, neither of them are wearing wedding rings, which I thought was a bit unusual. It makes me wonder if they actually did get married, or just lived together. I mean, Kyo didn't propose when he (kinda) asked Tohru to move with him to the faraway dojo to train.

Normally, when a celebrity or someone says they don't feel the need to legally get married because they "already feel married in their hearts" or something along those lines, I roll my eyes and think, "Yeah, right. You're just afraid you might one day get a divorce, so you'd rather not get married and not have to deal with the legal hassles if the marriage doesn't work out. Nothing wrong with that, but just admit it instead of sprouting that 'married in your heart' nonsense, because if you really felt the relationship was going to last until 'death do you part', you wouldn't mind getting that little piece of paper that legally says so, even if it's not that important to you." But in Tohru and Kyo's case, I can kinda see why they might not want to get legally married. Considering that the "curse" of the Zodiac was the unwanted bond between the Zodiac and their god, and a major theme of the series was how things change and nothing can remain the same forever, Kyo and Tohru might not have liked the idea of being legally bound to each other for the rest of their lives, instead prefering just to be together because they wanted to be.

Then again, thinking back, I don't think Kyoko and Katsuya wore wedding rings either. The one time Katsuya mentions getting her a ring during the flashback of their early married life, Kyoko's like, "Eh, I'll probably just lose it anyway. I'd rather get a blender (or whatever practical appliance she wanted; I forget what it was)." I can see Tohru being the same way, not wanting to waste money on a piece of jewelry, I don't think she ever even wears jewelry in canon.

Anyway, some highlights:

- Momiji and Kagura setting things up so that Momiji takes a picture of Kagura hugging Kyo and they tease him about cheating on Tohru. (It's funnier than it sounds, really. In fact, I'm kinda shipping them together based on that one scene. Yeah, I know, it's a "Pair the Spares" kind of thing since they're the only two unattached members of the Zodiac, but still, the scene -- it is cute. And I think their personalities kind go well together since they both like cute things.)
- Kyo and Tohru's first date to a petting zoo, chaperoned by Hana and Uo, of course, and Hana saying she'll forgive Kyo for taking Tohru away if he'll call her "Mommy" (since she has a huge crush on his adopted father).
- Yuki giving Machi the key to his new apartment and almost throwing it out the window when she originally says she doesn't need it because she trusts him not to cheat on her. (As he says when she changes her mind, "Honesty is the best policy.")
- Hatori asking Mayu on a summer trip to Okinawa. *squee* I just love those two together.
- Yuki confessing to Tohru that she was like a mother to him, thanking her for everything she had done for him and the other Zodiac members, and finally, finally calling her by her first name. (Honestly, they lived in the same house for almost three years!)
- And of course the very end when their granddaughter is looking for Tohru and Kyo, who are walking hand-in-hand, having "lovey-dovey" time.

My one disappointment? Shigure, of course, ended up with Akito. Knew it was going to happen, and Akito did get redeemed a little bit at the end, but I'm like Rin -- I can't really fully forgive Akito for all the things she's done, and I still don't like her, so the fact that she ends up with my favorite character... Well, as long as Shigure's happy, I guess I can try to be happy for him, or something like that.

Despite that last thing, Fruits Basket is definitely now at the top of my all-time favorite manga list, and I honestly doubt anything will ever take it's place. It's just that good. ^_^

(Well, maybe, maybe NANA, which I'm loving more and more with every volume I read, but it'll be a difficult goal to reach.)
 

Comments

[catalina-bella.livejournal.com]

*shuts eyes and scrolls down*
I completely forgot it was coming out, I turned down an invite to the bookstore last weekend too! I'll have to go sneak off and read it, glad you like the ending though^^

[heavenly-pearl.livejournal.com]

It's been out for a few weeks now, actually. I was going a bit crazy waiting for the chance to go to the bookstore and pick it up. *laughs*

- Yumeko -

[sea_thoughts]

I KNOW! *bawls* I can't believe it's ooooooover! ;_;

But how amazing was it? Uo and Kureno! <3 HATORI AND MAYU! <33 Machi and Yuki, who are sweeeeeeeeeeet! I love that Machi is so trusting of him and he's like "Just take the key".

I was kinda weirded out a bit by the Shigure/Akito pairing (it actually felt better to me when Akito was still 'male') but since Shigure had been working towards having her all to himself for SO LONG (talk about your ten-year plan) I was okay with it. Besides... Shigure's always been grey around the edges. >D

YUKI SAID TOHRU'S FIRST NAME! *faints* Amazing moment. I love that he was the one to thank her for everything, it's still in keeping with his polite manners.

[heavenly-pearl.livejournal.com]

I'm not so sure Machi does trust him completely. The way the scene came off to me was her trying to pretend it didn't bother her that he was moving so far away, with plenty of opportunity to date other girls without her finding out, but with her true colors coming out as he pretends to throw out the key when she says "I'm lying!" I guess you could interpret the "lying" referring to her not wanting the key, but it seems to me it was referring to her saying she wouldn't think he was cheating on her. It's still a cute scene, though, because they can be so honest with each other, and Yuki knows her so well. ^_^

- Yumeko -

[sea_thoughts]

Haha, good point. Her trying to be the trusting and mature girlfriend and Yuki saying "Yeah? Prove it." It was so wonderful to watch their relationship develop because Yuki always thought of himself as so weak but with Machi, he begins to see that he is stronger than some people and he can be a protector too. :)

[heavenly-pearl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they've definitely become one of my favorite couples in the series. His relationships with Machi and Kakeru both turned Yuki into a much more interesting and likeable character in the end. Yuki's now positively adorable thanks to them. ^_^

- Yumeko -

[sea_thoughts]

Well, before Machi and Kakeru, he hadn't really interacted with anybody outside the family except Tohru, because of what happened with that game of chase when he was little. (I still think Akito deliberately invited all those kids because he/she knew that would happen and it would give him/her an even better opportunity to have Yuki all to him/herself.) Being voted the class captain was a really good thing for him because it forced him out of his shell. *nod nod*

[samuraiter.livejournal.com]

*skips spoilers, since I am still stuck at Volume 21*

Volume 23 came into my store wrapped in plastic! :-( No way to Book Loan ™ it, so I am going to have to wait until the library gets it before I can finish the saga.

[heavenly-pearl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it comes with a manga sampler, thus the plastic. That sucks, but it should be worth the wait. ^_^

- Yumeko -