Fruits Basket: Vol. 18 (of 23)

[timepiececlock]

I just finished reading Vol. 18 (chapter 107), which brings me to nearly where I left off the scans. I am still confused about some chronology stuff-- when in the timeline Rin was pushed out the window, and when she was locked up. And when, in between those two (or before?) she was sent by Ren to find Akito's "treasure". Although I love this series to death (it's one of the few, few manga I regularly read and the only one I dump money into), I think the anime handled chronology of events a lot better, for its part. Usually I know what's going on emotionally (PAIN!), and emotional themes are what really count for FB, but I can't always track events linearly. Which makes me feel like I'm missing subtleties in conversation.

Chapter 107 made so much more sense now that I'm reading the official version. So much more! I love it when Shigure and Rin are talking about Ren, and Shigure says she was lying and using Rin, and he says (typing quote directly):

"You don't have to believe me. But I do know Ren-san better than you do. We're good friends. Really good friends. ...Really good friends."

Shigure does "the jerk" so well. And I like how they're handling him in the translation, inasmuch as I can tell. I've rapidly fallen in fan-love with the idea of Akito/Shigure as the never ending cycle of miserable love. It's my BadLoveOTP. I almost want them to be happy, but I don't see how they possibly could be without all of them being free from the curse including Akito, and at this point I think Akito will die before being set free. And they can't even be happy now, because Akito is crazy and additionally she'll never truly forgive Shigure for sleeping with Ren and Shigure will never forgive Akito for choosing Kureno over him...and then keeping Kureno around for the next couple years and throwing it in Shigure's face. Which of course makes Shigure want to be nasty back. ::claps excitedly:: It's so terrible! I love it. I remember back in the golden early volumes of FB when I was wondering who I could ship Shigure with. Then the manga gifted us with this twisted little incestuous clusterfuck of hearts and loyalties, which is way better than trying to imagine shipping Shigure with his editor.

I am hopeful that the final volumes of FB won't take too terribly long. At this rate they should be out by the end of the year. Which seems a criminally long time, but at least its happening. Onto volume 19, which has FIVE whole new chapters I've never even seen the scans for. Huzzah!

Comments

[umadoshi.livejournal.com]

(May as well comment here instead of on the other post. ^^)

Some of the chronology you're wondering about is a "take your best guess!" kinda thing, but here's my extrapolation (bearing in mind that Rin gets about 90% of my fannish analysis of this series ^^):

--Rin was pushed out the window early in vol. 7 (possibly late vol. 6, depending on when Haru found out about it), going by the assumption that Haru would not have been so casual in vol. 6 if all that had been going on behind the scenes. Shigure and Hatori are talking about it by mid-vol. 7, and then by vol. 8 she'd broken up with Haru, which happened at least a little while after she was hospitalized. YMMV on how much long she spent thinking about it; different translations give slightly different impressions.

--slightly fuzzier is when she was locked up. I believe it was shortly after New Year's, because Kureno doesn't seem the type to put off watching something like the DVD of the Cinderella play, and he calls Tohru after seeing it. Rin doesn't run into Ren immediately after seeing their conversation, because she's wearing different clothes, but the fact that she's still steaming mad about Kureno making Tohru cry when Ren finds her makes me think it was very soon after that. So, probably sometime in early January. She doesn't stop to think about what Ren tells her, immediately goes to look for the box, and is caught and locked up.

--She's locked up until at least late March, and possibly early April, because she graduates high school in absentia (and her hair is cut off at that point, so fairly late in her imprisonment). The new school year has started by the time Haru goes after Akito, unless Rin's school and Kaibara have slightly different schedules.

I can't quite go for the idea of the anime handling the chronology better, exactly (not when they broke the timeline threads so seriously at the end by taking several storylines completely out of context), but Tohru's explanatory comments on the time of year etc. certainly do help.

Other than that, Shigure and Akito's relationship is definitely an interesting one. ^^

And unfortunately, Tokyopop's site doesn't have release dates past vol. 20 yet, so it wouldn't surprise me if the series carries slightly into next year. :/ I suspect the whole series is translated by now, and possibly even adapted, but there's usually quite a gap between adaptation and publication.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the breakdown! It supports my impression that all this happened within the last several months.

I can't quite go for the idea of the anime handling the chronology better, exactly (not when they broke the timeline threads so seriously at the end by taking several storylines completely out of context),

In comparison to the manga it is broken apart in order of events so by that definition it can't actually be better because it is inherently wrong. What I meant, more, was that within itself it showed the progression of time and events better than the manga shows with its own timeline. (I hope that was clearer?) I never had difficulty following what was going on when in the anime, probably because it went into more detail about things than the manga does, and has more transitions. The manga seems to gloss over time gaps, especially varying between characters/pairings, so the overall picture is a little like a cracked mirror.

I thought the anime handled the yuki/tohru/kyo relationship and the yuki/kyo relationship in a more sensitive, developmental way than the early manga volumes did. The anime showed a definite growth and gradual understanding between Kyo and Yuki that took much longer to happen in the manga. This makes sense, though, because the anime had a limited number of episodes and the manga didn't have to resolve its character arcs like the anime did, not for a long time.

[umadoshi.livejournal.com]

What I meant, more, was that within itself it showed the progression of time and events better than the manga shows with its own timeline. (I hope that was clearer?)

Ah, yes, that makes good sense. The manga relies so heavily on cues that are probably instantly obvious to Japanese readers that it can get pretty frustrating.

The Yuki-Tohru-Kyo dynamic is my favorite part of the anime. ^_^ I adore it, and I do love the way the manga eventually starts to have a similar feel. (Yuki reacting to Kyo and Tohru in vol. 19 is priceless. I don't have anything to add to your vol. 19 post, other than "yay!" and "eek, Shigure". Shigure fascinates me, but I have deep anger issues with him because of Rin, largely on account of the way I interpret him in conjunction with vol. 18. Which almost no one else agrees with. ^^)

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

The Yuki-Tohru-Kyo dynamic is my favorite part of the anime.

I felt, by the rain/monster scene at the end of the anime, that Yuki and Kyon had finally reached a kind of friendship, and that Yuki was chasing Kyo not just because Tohru was there, but because he cared about and valued Kyo as well, and he also was there to witness Kyo's form and to essentially say "I don't judge you for this. I accept you as you are," in sentiment. It was a huge moment for Yuki as well as for Kyo/Tohru. The manga never really achieved that feeling in a particular dramatic scene of catharsis like the anime does, but Kyo and Yuki definitely have progressed and you can see that both of them reflect back on their rivalry in a somewhat different light. Kyo is still angry/frustrated whereas Yuki seems to have let most of his anger/sadness go, but both are much more mature than before and much less likely to fight in front of or over Tohru.

Shigure fascinates me, but I have deep anger issues with him because of Rin, largely on account of the way I interpret him in conjunction with vol. 18. Which almost no one else agrees with.

I'm intrigued! Which part, or which scene? He's not very sensitive when he's telling her about the curse breaking at the end, but his message overall is a positive one of "It will get better," and he's certainly not done the kind of things to Rin that many of the other Sohmas have.

(replying to both comments)

[umadoshi.livejournal.com]

If it weren't for all the ways they pushed Akito into the anime ending (poorly), and the entire second half of the last episode, I'd be very happy with the way the anime closed. I know what you mean about that scene, and while I also really like the way it played out in the manga (slightly bitter that Kyo didn't claw her in the anime, since it upped the pathos a fair bit), I adored Yuki in it in the show. *happy shivers*

My issue with Shigure (and I don't mind at all if you completely fail to agree with me, esp. since my best friend is a Shigure redemptionist ^^) is that I believe a) that he really does love Rin in his own twisted-as-hell way, and b) knew that something was Very Wrong during her imprisonment, even if he didn't know the specifics, and did nothing to help her. I don't know how much I think he could have done, given how little information we're given, but I believe he did nothing. He said all along he'd sacrifice anyone to get what he wanted, and I'm far more upset about it because I believe he cares and sacrificed her anyway. Akito hates her and her parents never loved her even at their best, but the idea that someone could love her at all and still let her be hurt even more makes me ill. And I can't shake that belief.

*g* I know you don't read my journal, so you wouldn't know, but my adoration of her is both unreasonable and the single thing I'm best known for. ^_- I can go on about her for far too long.

Okay, other comment! Chapter 105 is my absolute favorite in the entire series (with vol. 18 being my favorite book). It makes me cry every time, and is directly responsible for two of the longest fics I've ever written, and...it's just brilliant. The dynamic between Haru and Akito fascinates me (along with the ones between Rin and Shigure and Rin and Yuki) to no end. I love that it's the chapter that shows just how horribly weak and completely human he was in the way he loved Rin, and that Akito understands that without understanding them at all, and that Haru is completely broken by it and still manages to pull himself back together enough to do what he has to without taking too much time to wallow in it.

Pure love, but again, I could go on forever, so I'll stop there. ^^ (Except that oh, poor Hiro. Hiro is on my list of characters who amaze me by how much I eventually came to love them.)

[And I will stop editing now. Oops.]

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Since you mentioned you loved Rin, I have to say I adored the Haru/Akito/Kureno drama when Haru found out Rin was being kept somewhere. I guess Hiro apologizing over it (how is he responsible? he was just a witness and a child) must have sent Haru over the edge, as well as finding out that she wasn't just avoiding him but was in fact missing. The way he blew up at Akito was awesome.