Hey guys, sorry for the delay. Long day yesterday, so I'm only a day late. Anyway, since it seems like everyone has been reading ahead and the discussions are lagging a bit, perhaps as a result, I've decided, if there are no objections, to push the discussion ahead several volumes at once, and if necessary give people a little time to get through all of them beyond the usual week. I was thinking going through volume 15 this time, and you can discuss individual volumes or the whole shebang at your own pace. I'll give a brief summary of what we'll see, with no spoilers, and then we can bring up discussion starting with 9 and 10 and add on as we go. Also, feel free to update the character listing as we go if anyone has any relevant comments for any of the characters, or wishes to add new ones as we meet them.
So, 9 and 10: Yuki is starting to move out of the protection of Tohru and the little family as he accepts his new responsibilities in the student council and starts to meet the student council members. A lot of challenge, but also great opportunities for growth. We also learn more of friendship as Hana contributes her past to the plot, and Uo dreams of the man she met at the convenience store. Meanwhile, Tohru and Kyo are visiting Shishou, who discusses some distressing news with Kyo's real father. On a trip to the summer home, emotions are high for everyone, between happy summer recreation activities, Akito's presence bringing tension to all, and Yuki being able to voice some things that have been on his mind for a very long time. A lot of mixed emotions, and some more family conflict to deal with. How is the treatment of the cat related to the feelings of the rest of the Juunishi so far, and why do you think they would tolerate such behavior?
11 and 12: We're still at the summer home with the Sohmas, and things are still a strange mixture of tension and relaxation as Akito continues to torment the Juunishi and goads Kyo into a distressing revelation. Meanwhile, we get to meet another member of the zodiac, the Horse. Akito reveals his connection to the Juunishi and the relevance of the old folk tale, while Kyo continues to muse on his newly realized feelings. Then it's back to school, and Yuki continues to struggle on with his new challenges in the student council and the mishmash of personalities. Tohru has learned of the eventual fate of Yuki and Kyo, and is determined to do something about it. Since the majority of the action revolves around the Cat, I'd love to discuss his unique situation and how he might relate to the rest of the Juunishi through the folk tale. So he missed the banquet, how does that make him the outcast, and why does he have his grotesque other form? How do Yuki's feelings for Tohru change, and how do the changes affect him in his interactions with others? And what of the looming parent-teacher conferences?
13, 14, and 15: Tension mounts as Tohru continues to investigate the inner workings of the Sohma family, as well as trying to help her friend and learn more about the mysterious Kureno. Parent-teacher conferences are upon the students too, and Yuki needs to deal with his mother and stand up for himself. Tohru gets to meet the precious Momo, Momiji's little sister, and feels the pain of the curse as the most optimistic of the Sohma clan feels it, being separated from the person he loves most. Rin, meanwhile, is trying to learn more about the curse and how to break it, and she's certain Shigure knows something about it. But her illness impedes her search, and she reluctantly meets Tohru, who of course feels nothing but sympathy for this girl who is in so much pain. Yuki continues to puzzle over the eccentricities of the student council members, and to try to deal with his own past fears. Selfishness is a good topic here...so many people acting on their own interests at the expense of others, from Momiji's father isolating his son from the rest of the family to save his wife to Yuki's mother using her son's place in the zodiac to furnish her own comfort at his expense. Many of the truly selfish in this series are the adults, and the children are the victims of those selfish whims. The class play and casting is a lovely bit of comic relief, with the kids being able to be themselves regardless of their roles, with a heavy peek into Yuki's past, and the emotional abuse he suffered due to Akito. And yet, he found a tiny spark of light, and an early connection with Tohru, that kept him from succumbing completely to the darkness. The play proceeds with some script changes, and everyone lives happily ever after, in their own way.
Hope this isn't too much at once, but proceed at your own pace and add anything you wish as you go along. Let me know if anyone is interested in the next posting...we could finish the series or break it into two more sections as people decide.
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9 comments:
Thank you Angela! I was planning on doing the discussion for 9 and 10, but was having difficulty finding the time to write, and I came on to write up that I would try to post a discussion for tomorrow, but your idea is FABULOUS. Sorry I was late, everyone!
I've only read to 10, and don't have the other's yet (maybe tomorrow though). Either way I like this plan.
Thanks again!
I have read through 12 and am on 13. Since I took a break a couple of weeks ago, I need to glance through 9/10 again and then I'll get some comments up. I like the idea of this progressive discussion with these 6 volumes.
In the meantime, I am fine with a final discussion after this one. I think that once you hit volume 16, it's a slippery downhill slope and you can't stop reading. That said, we need enough time to read. Two or three weeks would work for me. I can do less, too, if others are ready to discuss. So...maybe the weekend of August 27? Is that too soon, too late? I kind of like that timing so that we can be ready to start a new selection for September...but, I'm flexible with what works best for everyone.
I only just finished 9 and 10. I'm on break so I have more time than usual to read but I need to rewrite my curriculum and have been trying to clear out my work email.
I was excited that I would finally catch up next week but if we are going to add through 15 I probably won't catch up. I'm enjoying reading the series again but may not be contributing to the discussions because I'll be way behind.
Shigure continues to be an enigma. I can't decide whether he's trying to be a matchmaker or is just a nosy busybody. It was very interesting that he knew Mayu had a thing for Hatori. It was surprising though that his relationship with Mayu seemed to be more friendship than romantic, especially given his typical comments and the books he writes.
Shigure's relationship with Akito is both formal and somehow relaxed. He shows Akito the respect that Akito requires but otherwise seems to be very sure of himself and not so fearful as the others are. Kureno is another mystery. It seems that Akito has sort of been hiding him from the others.
Akito is insufferably pompous. It seems that he has very little regard for the other juunishi, even though he's so jealous of their relationships with him.
I think I wanted to write more but I'm exhausted. I'm supposed to be using a c-pap at night now but the stupid thing keeps me awake instead of helping me fall asleep. I'll go ahead and start on 11 and 12 tomorrow.
I'm glad you commented, Debra.
There has been so little discussion lately, and I haven't known how to take it. Does it mean everyone is behind, is everyone just bored with the story, or what does it mean?
My thought in my last comment was maybe people were bored with the series and ready to move on to the next book selection. That is why I suggested that date. But, you're still reading along, and you're the one who has been consistently commenting lately, so I think we should keep it with your pace. I always enjoy your insight, and I'm not in a rush to finish the story. I'm only a couple of volumes ahead of you in the reading as it is. I just tend to worry and I didn't want to see the blog stall out again and I've been feeling like it has...until you commented. So, thanks!
I'll have my comments up on 9/10 tomorrow. I've been sick, baby's been sick, and life has been a little busy getting ready for school to start, but I have my volumes pulled and ready to look through to comment tomorrow. Not tonight, though, as Brian and I are going to continue our marathon of Clannad. :)
Ok, well I finished 11 and 12 so I think I'll try to pull together some ideas.
Akito is quite the sweetheart. It seems quite impossible to love him but the Juunishi can't escape from him. I wonder if his personality is set by his place as the master of the zodiac. We also now have the mysterious Kureno who Akito has apparently been hiding even from the Juunishi. How and why did Kureno go out to a convenience store to smite Uo's heart?
It was interesting to hear about the beads on Kyo's bracelet. It sounds rather gruesome. I still don't understand why the cat has this other form or why there had to be blood sacrifices to make the beads that contain him. Is the master in the original folktale really so shortsighted as to blame the cat instead of the rat for the missed banquet?
Kyo's interview with Akito was a disaster, except that he realized that he had to lie to protect Tohru. He had to say that he didn't love Tohru and couldn't possibility love anyone. He seems to becoming resigned to his upcoming confinement. Akito's reaction afterwords, that he needed to wash because he felt so dirty is just sad.
It seems that both Kyo and Yuki love Tohru. Kyo assumes that he won't have much longer with her and he loves her so deeply that he's willing to stand back and let her love whomever she will. That's such a hard thing to do. Most of us are too selfish. Kyo seems to be mellowing significantly. How much of all of this is Shigure's doing? Has he deliberately been trying to get people together? What sort of love is Yuki's? We don't really know much yet.
Poor Kagura. Growing up is hard to do and Kyo has never been reluctant to be blunt about his feelings, or lack thereof. Her deeper understanding about herself was good to see though and she'll still have a void to fill.
Parent teacher conferences were hilarious.
I wrote a lot, so here is Part 1:
I really enjoy the summer home arc chapters. We learn a lot more about the juunishi and Akito. It's been pretty apparent that both Yuki and Kyo have developed feelings for Tohru, but in these chapters, I think they both started to really recognize the feelings they have for her. At the same time, we also see that while Tohru is an incredible light among the juunishi, giving them unconditional love, she also has some secret worry inside her heart that's presented a little more subtly. Her character has a lot more depth than appears on the surface, and that depth makes her words and her love even that more powerful.
I really don't understand why Kyo is treated the way he is. It is so frustrating to me that the juunishi are unable to stand up to Akito, unable to rebel against the current way things are done, and that includes the treatment of the cat. It seems that the cat is the scapegoat for all the problems and pain that the rest of the juunishi feel, but we all know that throwing our misery onto someone else really doesn't make us feel better. I think Tohru has shown a better way - of accepting, helping each other. Kureno, in volume 12, tries to explain the nature of the juunishi's bond with Akito. The folk tale starts out so happy and willingly, so you really do wonder if that is the true origin of the Sohma curse or what went wrong that the connection between them became a burden.
Kagura's history with Kyo is unfolded, and the pathetic-ness of Kyo's childhood made me cry. Having a little boy just about the age Kyo was when he was scribbling scrambled eggs in the sand...that just made me want to cry. No child should be so isolated. I'm glad Kagura was there for him, and I think she's too hard on herself for running away when she first saw his true form. She came back to him, and actually become very smothering in trying to make up for running away and make up for feelings that weren't very kind. But, I think her initial reaction is understandable. Even as a more mature and older individual, Tohru found the transformation very confusing and scary.
Here is Part 2:
Debra mentioned that Kyo has mellowed out, and I agree. He really is a different person from when we met him. My SIL hasn't commented since the initial volumes, but I'll just share here what she told me when we were discussing the story (she finished the series and really enjoyed it, but I don't know if she has enough time right now to come back and comment, although I hope she does). I had told her that Kyo was one of my favorite characters in this series, and when she first started reading Fruits Basket, she really didn't understand why I would feel that way. He came off as very one-dimensional, a typical fly-off-the-handle angry punk kid. But, as this story develops, his character develops. He's at the heart of the story, I think, and by the time my SIL and I were chatting about how she felt about the story, she had come to understand why I love his character so much. He carries an incredible burden, and he's isolated with a dark fate in store for him. These are reasons enough to understand why he is so angry when we first meet him, but despite this understandable situation, he's choosing to rise above it. Angela mentioned selfishness on the part of the juunishi's parents. Kyo is the most despised of the cursed Sohmas to the point of not even being a part of the zodiac. And yet, he is becoming incredibly selfless, especially in regard to Tohru. Incident after incident, he is watching over her. I think it is true that when we get outside of ourselves and help others, we forget our own problems. And maybe Tohru is helping him to do that just a little bit, to forget the darkness that's in his life.
Okay, I'm a sucker for romance, so the last chapter in volume 13 is of course a favorite of mine. Tohru is starting to understand her feelings for Kyo. Makes me squee every time I see something cute between them. I love Yuki - I really do, even more than the first time I read the series - but he always comes off as a little stalkerish when he tries to do anything romantic with Tohru. It just comes off as forced to me, and even creepy. Which is why I was relieved at the end of volume 14 and into volume 15 that we finally learned exactly how Yuki loves Tohru. I think he was confused and tried to act out his feelings in a romantic way, which is why they came off as just...weird (sorry, Yuki, I love you, I really do!), but as he realized that his love for her is because she symbolizes the affection he never got from his own mother but has needed all this time, that made more sense to me. I think he'll make a better fit with someone else. :P
Well, I wrote a ton. I had meant to write earlier than this, but I wanted to give others time to post their thoughts. I'm glad you posted, and hopefully others will, too, in time.
Oh, one last thing - what are people's thoughts on the reading schedule?
On the original schedule, the discussion for volumes 15/16 was slated for today. I wonder if 2 volumes a week is all we really can digest and discuss. Any thoughts on this? I can put together a post for next weekend that includes a discussion for volumes 16, 17, and 18 (Sept 3) if that works for everyone. I think that for me, it's easier to stay on track if I check in at least once a week. I know, Angela, I told you I wasn't going to post any more discussion posts, but since it's just three of us right now, I'm going to say what I want to say afterall and stop worrying so much about whether I'm being too bossy. :D It doesn't seem to matter anyway.
So many of the adults and their treatment of their children is something that has really bothered me. It seems that neglectful, if not downright abusive parents seem to far outnumber the caring, loving parents. It just hurts my heart as we learn more about the hurt their children go through, and the emotional damage they are dealing with.
One thing that amazes me is how the author manages to get the teenagers to mature in their appearance. How does she do it?
I thought is was so interesting how Yuki's feelings for Tohru unfolded. I thought for sure they were more romantic, and we're led to believe so when it seems like he kissed her on the lips. So did he really only kiss her on the cheek? I guess there was a little foreshadowing though, even at the beginning of the book, that Tohru would be more attracted to Kyo. In the story about the zodiac that her mother told her, she wanted to be a cat. I love seeing Yuki blossom.
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