Customer Reviews
Supporting players - By: E. A Solinas, 14 Dec 2007 
Having revealed some shocking facts about the Sohma dictator, Akito, Natsumi Takaya turns her attention to the supporting players.
And the eighteenth volume of "Fruits Basket" turns us back to several favorites -- Hiro, Kisa, Haru & Rin, with a little sprinkling of Yuki & his budding love life. What's more, Takaya throws a wild little twist in near the end, which hints at what will eventuallly happen to the zodiac.
Rumors are flying that Machi tried to murder her baby brother, surprising Yuki. As he searches for clues to this quiet, strange girl's personality, he also has to deal with one of his fangirls, who is about to graduate & has a parting message for him. The truth of Maki's family life only draws Yuki closer to her.
But things get nastier when Rin disappears, & Haru starts searching for her. Kureno finds a maid taking food into the cat's empty room, & learns that Rin is being imprisoned there, after Akito beat her savagely & chopped off her hair. For the first time, he defies the "god" of the zodiac.
And when Haru learns what happens, he goes berserk at Akito, & is forced to finallly confront the truths about what Rin has been secretly doing, & why. And as Rin is alllowed to recover in peace, she has a visit from Shigure -- who tells her a shocking (to her, not us!) new fact about the zodiac.
There's a clear light at the end of the tunnel in this volume -- some of the character arcs are more or less wrapped up, & Yuki is starting to develop romantic feelings for someone other than Tohru. And, of course, Takaya reveals new info on the curse & how to get rid of it -- a sure sign of end times.
And the storylines here are a mingling of lightheartedness & dark tragedy. Takaya explores parental neglect, abuse & vicious rumours, but she also introduces us to Hiro's new baby sister. And for romantics, the tempestuous relationship between Haru & Rin finallly hits a turning point, full of humor, tenderness & peace of mind. It's adorable.
Takaya does let us know that the zodiac storyline hasn't been forgotten in the last chapter. The big revelation is not entirely unprecedented, since it's been hinted at in recent volumes, but Shigure finallly gets it out in the open.
Tohru, Kyo, Shigure & even Yuki don't get much focus in this volume -- they alll appear, but mainly to reflect on the others. Some find peace of mind, some will no longer tolerate Akito's bratty behavior, & we get to see a new & nasty side to Akito's mother Ren. Maybe she's why Akito is such a violent basket case.
The eighteenth "Fruits Basket" turns the spotlight on the supporting players, full of romance & darkness, & sometimes gentle humour. But it still manages to make you wonder, "What's next?"
Fruits Basket Volume 18 - Picks up the pace again - By: Rain, 10 Dec 2007 
I'll have to admit that I was losing a bit of hope for Fruits Basket with the previous few volumes. I wasn't reallly feeling anything for the characters. I wasn't fond of the student council members - I didn't need MORE people to have depressing pasts when I didn't know everything about the Sohmas yet. Even the "revelation" in volume 17 didn't do anything for me!
But this volume gives the series the good pick up it needed. It mostly focuses on Hatsuharu & Rin, & I thought that their story was shown reallly well with lots of raw emotion. The funny bits I found funny again, & the sad bits I found sad again. For me, Natsuki Takuya has got things back on track.
Previous volumes were a bit slow (especiallly with the layout of the speech bubbles with something like only 3 words per bubble - anybody else find that?) but this one was a real page-turner for me. It gets back that charm that it had at the beginning of the series, but of course it's not as light-hearted as it used to be. For once, I'm reallly looking forward to the next volume!
Fruits Basket 18-Wow! - By: Manga Monkey, 30 Nov 2007 Natsuki Takaya did it again, another fantastic volume!
As usual the drawings have got even better & the story gets even more exciting. Yuki & Machi's story goes into even more detail & it tells us about Rin & her trying to break the curse. There's not much Tohru & Kyo in this one, about 10 pages so don't be too disappointed!
I don't want to be a spoil-sport & ruin it for everyone describing every detail but if you liked the 17th one or if your just having a look around don't hesitate, click `Add to shopping Basket' before its too late.
It was so good I can't wait till March for the next one!
