Fruits Basket, Volume 8

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!

Haru Sohma's personality suddenly goes black in school and he begins tearing up the classroom for no obvious reason. Yuki attempts to get the reason for these actions only to learn of some dealings with Akito that Haru has had to suffer from lately. Ritsu Sohma shows up, dressed all in a pretty kimono, this Sohma member dazzles Tohru with her good looks, and horrifies her with her inherent anxiety attacks. But the truth of Ritsu lies under the surface, and Tohru is surprised to learn it. Besides that, Ritsu is also a zodiac member, the monkey, born in 1980 I estimate. Ritsu and Tohru bond after Ritsu confesses some personality flaws to Tohru. Yuki also checks up on Haru, to see how he is doing after turning black at school. School parent/teacher conferences are coming up, and the Sohma house is all in a panic over it. Kyo and Yuki don't know who to ask to attend, and much time is spent agonizing over what their future plans are. Tohru also breaks down a bit under the stress of all of this. A reoccurring dream of Yuki's past puts him into a foul mood, as does a surprise visit from his brother Ayami. In an attempt to heal their broken past Ayami offers to attend the school conferences in place of Yuki and his parents. Summer vacation begins with a trip to the haunted mansion for everyone. For Tohru this is a disturbing experience, as she is terrified of haunted houses. Haru helps her through it with some creative thinking, much to Yuki and Kyo's annoyance. More Haru...sigh... there simply isn't enough Haru in this series I'm afraid. But fans of him will get just enough of a peek into his life to be satisfied. Ritsu is a bit annoying, but you need that to balance out the strength of all the other characters... Still in love with this series though, who isn't by this point?

Haru's black, and really black. He's tearing up the class. Oh no....this is bad... Kyo and Yuki tried to calm Haru down and it doesn't work! Kyo and Tohru share a moment of love... Anyhoo, we meet Ritsu Sohma, the monkey. Ritsu is kind of scary when he apoligizes. Tohru and him feel like that can be friends and talk a lot together. We find out a little about Yuki's past. So sad... Then the gang goes to a haunted house! It's scary until Haru (Not Black) helps Tohru fight her fears.

i reads lots of manga, Instant Teen, Ranma 1/2, VAn Dread, and much more, but so far, i adore Fruits Basket the most! so many twists and turns the book will keep u reading and keep u buying them! it is fill with some realizations about Highschool, as well about life (like trust, friendships, school, family). but it also holds hidden surprises thats drags u away from the real world. i luv this book and wouldnt change a thing about it! buy this manga, you'll enjoy it to the very end ( i know cuz ive read all of the ones that came out so far) :)

In a word: fantastic. Once again, Takaya-sensei delivers us a heart-wrenching yet funny volume of everyone's favorite shoujo series. And don't worry, there's still much more to come! (Trust me, I've read up to book 15, and it just keeps getting better!)