At first I was surprised that I was going to be discussing FIVE volumes but it actually takes five volumes to tell the end. It needs to take that long because these people are becoming human. We didn't really think of them as monsters but Shigure points out that they really are. How long does it take a monster to become human? Takaya lingers on the details as she unravels the threads of the story. Yet even as the story unfolds we find knots in some of the threads. There are previously unknown connections. Komaki's father died in the same accident as Kyoko, for instance. And who knew that Kyo knew Kyoko, had a pretty close bond with her in fact? We see parallels in Tohru and Kyo's childhood trauma as stupid adults make stupid assumptions about the abilities of children to understand things said about them. All of these things play out in the background of Kyo and Tohru's stumbling courtship.
It's a reasonable but childish thing to promise that your mother will always be the one you care most about. Tohru is seriously conflicted. She knows that she loves Kyo but does that mean she will lose her closeness with her mother? Yet Tohru knows there's no denying her love for Kyo and so she mourns once again the loss of her mother. She takes the courageous step of telling Kyo only to be crushed by his unthinking response. He in turn doesn't think it's fair to subject her to the life he will have to live. Both Momiji and Yuki (one with gentle, important words and the other with his fists) show Kyo the error of his ways.
One of the things that I was most interested in when reading the series was the curse. I was so surprised when Kureno didn't really know how he had broken it, especially when Rin and Tohru were so desperate to find out how to break it. Momiji was surprised to find himself truly alone and lonely. You could argue that he had always been alone since his family had basically abandoned him but he had always had the members of the Zodiac to lean on. Akito realized it and in her cruel way didn't fail to point it out. Hiro could suddenly hug his little sister but thought that Kisa wouldn't like him anymore. Shigure, having realized that all the Zodiac are alive at the same time, seems to best understand what's happening and assumes that this is the last banquet. However, he doesn't mind being cursed. Each person is surprised at the powerful emotions that sweep through them when finally released and most weep, both in sorrow and for joy. Finally we find out why the cat was ostracized. Tohru was shocked to think that the others, these people that she loved, could accept Kyo's banishment. He was the betrayer and the scapegoat. He was the one that knew that eternity was too long.
And finally we see in print what we already knew in our heads, everyone loved Tohru. They want her to be happy and ultimately are delighted to see her united with the cat. The old views are crumbling and are surprising to some. Kyo, for instance, can't believe it when Kisa gives him her hankie. In the final volume all the threads are untangled and we see each member of the Zodiac taking tentative steps into the world. Ironically Akito, the one who would be god, was the most frail of all, relying heavily on the support of Shigure, who is relieved to finally have her to himself. Of course, the most touching was the eternal love of Tohru and Kyo as evidenced by their closeness even in their old age.
This is essentially a many-layered love story and we loved it all.
