87 replies to this topic

[Cosmorific]

I am in love with this show and want to have its little Zodiac-animal-transforming babies. Hana-chan and Uo-chan are the best best friends in the world, Ayame cracks me up, Momiji and Kisa are adorable, and Kyo... I relate to Kyo so much it hurts, especially during the last two episodes, which make me cry like a baby every time.

Akito freaks me out, though. *shudder* I mean, I know he's supposed to, but still, *shudder*. He's what Colin in The Secret Garden would have turned into if Mary hadn't beaten some sense into him.

It really surprised me to hear that people thought of Tohru as a Mary Sue. I mean, yeah, she is pathologically nice (how can someone NEVER get mad?) and all the Jyuunichi have their lives changed for the better by meeting her, but she's far from perfect. That's another thing I love about the show: everyone's only human. (Even the animals. Hee.)

[cinaea]

I love this show! Major thanks to the TWoPper who turned me on to it in the old Anime thread. The first few eps hooked me, and I raced through the series...only to find that it trails off at the end. There's an awful lot of filler in the last 10 episodes. I heard the manga artist had an injury, so they had to shorten the series and slap a resolution on it--and I do like the resolution, but it's nothing like what the beginning of the series seemed to promise.

Tohru drives me nuts, but what other character could ever be accepted so entirely into that family? She has to be beyond reproach. And a punching bag. Poor thing.

And oh! Kyou! [i]<sigh> He's totally my FB boyfriend (Well, Kyou or Haru--yummy!)! Such a sweet, firey red-head with abandonment issues and then that whole transformation thing...aww. <teasing voice>Who's a scrapper? Who's a scrapper?</tv>

The implications of the history between Yuki and Akito are really disturbing. Akito is one menacing son of a bitch--particularly thanks to his voice actor. So. Fucking. Creepy.

Edited by cinaea, Jun 29, 2004 @ 12:02 PM.

[Cosmorific]

Ooh, I forgot about Haru! He is indeed a sex god, especially in Black mode. (Speaking of which, I loved the scene in which Haru proved to the student body president beyond a shadow of a doubt that his hair really is that color. And then Tohru didn't get it. Hee.)

Yeah, I worry about the Akito/Yuki thing too. Akito must have done more than just corner Yuki in a room and beat him with a switch for him to have been so traumatized. Poor widdle nezumi. *cuddles him*

Tohru's excessive politeness amuses me to no end. I particularly loved it when she referred to Ri-chan as "Ri-chan-san."

[mischief]

This show is one of my favorite animes. I was thrilled when the manga started coming out. I can't wait til it shows more of the calculating Shigure, my favorite character.

Akito freaks me out too. I really want to know exactly what the hell his problem is.

RE: voice actors. I have to say I was really impressed with the dub. The only voice I prefer as the original is Momiji's. The english VA does a good job but I think the Japanese VA does has bettere emotional inflections, I guess you'd say.

[Cosmorific]

I really want to know exactly what the hell his problem is.

The end of the series kind of gets into what Akito's problem is. In my opinion, his biggest problem is that he's a spoiled brat with a martyr complex who gets tiptoed around far too much for his own good. Then again, I'm not as nice a person as Tohru. ;)

The dub is quite good, but I had beef with the pronunciation of some of the characters' names. ("ey-YAH-mey?" WTF?) I also thought the guy who played Ayame (oops, sorry, I meant "ey-YAH-mey") femmed it up too much. Aya isn't swishy, he's just... extravagant. My $0.03.

[mischief]

I have an AMV focusing on Ayame set to the William Tell Overture. It fits nicely, very over the top. :)

[cinaea]

(Akito)'s a spoiled brat with a martyr complex who gets tiptoed around far too much for his own good.

That's shockingly concise and accurate, Cos! Well said. Though I think his cruel streak and fears of abandonment deserve honorable mention. That's how Tohru finally gets through to him in the end--by saying she is happy to have known him. It makes him realize that if he wipes her memory, the only person who'll remember him happily will be gone. If he has such fears of being left along with his martyrdom and a complex about being forgotten when he's gone, maybe he should try being a nice person that people will actually miss. But then, if he was a nice person, he couldn't mess with Yuki.

And I have a sneaking suspicion that he messed with Hatsuharu. Look at that whole split-personality thing; Haru didn't get that messed up just from being teased.

ETA:

*waves*

That's right! It was you, Leanan. Hurray!

Edited by cinaea, Jun 29, 2004 @ 1:11 PM.

[Leanan]

Ah! My absolute favorite anime ever. Never has a series made me laugh and cry so much. I love all of the characters (Except for that bastard Akito). If I had to choose my number one character, it would be Haru. Not only because I was born in the year of the ox myself, but because 1) he's hot as hell and 2) I just loved his personality. "I'm going to do a little bit of this. And a little of that. And you can be sure I'll do THAT." Plus the aforementioned scene with the class president. XD I'll always have a space in my heart for Hari, too. Lord, his story had me crying the most. I was bawling at the end of manga volume two.

I love Kyou, too. If Tohru had to end up with either Kyou or Yuki, I would be rooting for Kyou (Though I think he makes a better pair with Kagura). My sister has me beat in the Kyou Lurve department, though. She's bought the plushie, and is anxiously waiting for the Furuba hats to come out so she can get the Kyou hat.

As for Tohru, I was surprised when I ended up liking her. I don't usually like characters like her. Belldandy was all right, but eh. With Tohru, I never really got annoyed with her.

Oooh, if y'all want to see an excellent Furuba video, track down Furuba Music Television by FGF Studios.

I love this show! Major thanks to the TWoPper who turned me on to it in the old Anime thread.

*waves* I'm glad you liked it so much! I've actually converted many a non-anime fan with this series.

[Cosmorific]

It makes him realize that if he wipes her memory, the only person who'll remember him happily will be gone.

Good point, I didn't think of that! The other Sohmas obey Akito because of the sacrifice he's supposedly going to make for them, but the nicest they get in talking to or about him is a kind of stilted tolerance. I was particularly moved when Tohru talked about how hard it must have been for him to be born knowing his untimely fate. She's right, of course, but I had been too busy being alternately scared of and pissed at him to notice.

[Smeg]

Are the spoiler tags really necessary?

I love this series, and I was so glad that Funimation released the DVDs in a cost-efficient manner. Good extras, too. I was very happy with the dub, except for the pronunciation of "Ayame" and "Aya." I ended up liking Tohru a little more through her dub voice, and that was very weird. Shigure is my favorite character.

[cinaea]

I didn't think of that!

In all honesty, I must credit a traumatic fanfic I read for pointing out that particular Issue. Rewatching the show, I noticed that the writer had been right about that. (Of course, making Akito more understandable was the only good thing the story did. Most of the other Sohmas were turned into rapists, and Akito ended up living happily ever after with a mind-wiped Tohru. <shudder> It was a long time before I could look affectionately at Shigure again. I was traumatized!)

In other news, Hatori is a pretty package I'd like to unwrap on Christmas morning. <leer> Maybe Black!Haru would help me do the honors. ;)

Edited by cinaea, Jun 29, 2004 @ 1:40 PM.

[teleute12]

Cosmo can attest to how much I love Furuba, since I keep babbling to her about it. *waves*

I thought I would find Tohru annoying when I first started watching the show, but as people have said, she's a very human charichter, and is as full of faults as anyone else. It's adorable how much all the Jyuunichi come to care for her - she gets a cold, and half the family fusses over her. I love how protective Uo and Hana are, and I cried my eyes out during the scene at Tohru's mother's grave in the second-to-last episode, with the rain and the music and how much it hurts Hana and Uo to not be able to to comfort Tohru, to have to let her walk away from them. Wah, the angst.

[Leanan]

I don't reckon we have to use spoiler tags. The mods said we didn't have to in the Evangelion thread, so I imagine that it applies here as well.

The last couple of episodes really solidified my like for Tohru. She wasn't immediately okay with Kyou's true form. She ran, she was disgusted, she was scared. That showed how human she was. Watching her slumped over her mother's grave tore me apart. It got even worse when Hana wouldn't let Uo comfort Tohru. I'm getting teary-eyed thinking about it right now.

Think happy thoughts! Like Shi-chan and his lurve for high school girls. Or just Shigure in general. I <3 him.

[keksimonsteri]

I found Fruits Basket through TWoP, too. I love it, as do all my friends who have watched it. Kyou is adorable, but Hatori stole my heart.

I haven't seen the last DVD of the series yet, so I appreciate the spoiler tags.

[Cosmorific]

Telly! Good to see you here! *waves* Believe me, I share your love for FB. Muchly.

I loved it when Tohru admitted to being frightened of monster!Kyo, instead of being like his mom and pretending nothing was wrong. I appreciated her honesty, and Kyo did too.

Like Shi-chan and his lurve for high school girls.

*sing-song voice* Shi-chan no su-ke-be...

Never have I loved a manipulative, immature little bastard as much as I love Shigure. I especially love his ongoing flirtation with Ayame. "Yosh!"

[Leanan]

Hee, my sister and I do the "Yosh!" thing all the time. I wish we could've seen more of the Amazing Handsome Blossom Trio (Not the Three Musketeers, FUNi). Hari, Aya and Shigure were comedy gold together. ...and hot. *g*

[Uzumaki]

Heh. I was going to start a Furuba thread and make the header "Babababa baba ba ba: Fruits Basket," but your's makes more sense Cosmorific and still has the song lyrics in it.

This is one of the few anime I watch where I like all of the characters. I thought I would hate Kagura (unfortunate, because I am a Boar), but since she didn't become a rival of Tohru's, I like her. Akito is my favorite character, only because of his voice. That's the only role for that particular seiyuu. Damn.

I guess we should only put stuff in the manga in spoiler tags, since it's not on TV.

[Cosmorific]

Sad but true: the singer/songwriter for the opening and closing theme songs died recently.

I wish we could've seen more of the Amazing Handsome Blossom Trio (Not the Three Musketeers, FUNi).

*shrug* I didn't mind that one so much. They stayed pretty close to the original in the subtitle translation, but I think with the dub, they were trying to find an English equivalent that was a bit more idiomatic.

ETA:

She's bought the plushie, and is anxiously waiting for the Furuba hats to come out so she can get the Kyou hat.

Me too! The FUNi rep at the dealer's booth at Anime Boston was wearing a Kyo hat, and I was all, "OMIGOD I WANT ONE ME ME ME!!!" Naturally, I already have my own bakaneko plushie at home on the mantelpiece, looking suitably P.O.ed. :)

Edited by Cosmorific, Jun 29, 2004 @ 4:55 PM.

[Phishtar]

Hari, Aya and Shigure were comedy gold together. ...and hot.

My heavens, yes. Though you could replace Aya with Haru, too, and I'd be okay with that. Hubby and I had to stop the tape during the scene with the student council president, we were laughing so hard.

It took me a long time to warm up to Yuki-- I never disliked him, but I just felt for Kyou so much more quickly and immediately. And I, too, like all the voice actors, English and Japanese. Shigure most of all. MmmmShigure. I want to be just like him when I grow up, except I'll ogle girls and eat chocolate instead of smoke.

[SafetyGirl]

Mmm, Shigure. but he's so much more sneaky and dark in the manga, but I love him in the anime as a possibly sneaky but a total perv. And John Burgmeier (he also does Kurama's voice in the Yu Yu Hakusho dub) did a lovely job on this voice. It's nice to have an imaginary anime boyfriend that's not, like, 17...

But I raced through it in two weekends and have spent the time since then making my friends watch it, and getting them hooked. And then nodding knowingly when they call up crying after the Momiji episode and the last two. I remember watching the last two, and crying and yelling at the TV, "go to him!"

I love Tohru, though, and I'm a sad little Tohru/Kyou shipper. I want to like Yuki, but it's only in the past few volumes of the Japanese manga that I'm warming up to him. I have my hopes for him with Machi.

Must get some Fruba merchandise. I have some pretty neat little items from getting Hana to Yume, but a grumpy Kyou plushie would be the *best*.

[Cosmorific]

Hubby and I had to stop the tape during the scene with the student council president, we were laughing so hard.

I was even more amused by that scene when I found out that the words Ayame used for "offense" and "defense" were the same as are used in yaoi for "pitcher" and "catcher," respectively. Because I'm mature like that.

It took me a long time to warm up to Yuki-- I never disliked him, but I just felt for Kyou so much more quickly and immediately.

Same here. I think it's because Kyo wears his heart on his sleeve, so it's easier to see what he's about. Yuki can be so distant and polite sometimes that it's easy to think his problems aren't as dire, which is completely untrue.

I have some pretty neat little items from getting Hana to Yume.

Do you have the drama CD? It's all kinds of funny.

[SafetyGirl]

Yuki can be so distant and polite sometimes that it's easy to think his problems aren't as dire, which is completely untrue.

I really think that he didn't get as much attention as Kyou in the anime, later chapters in the manga have allowed Yuki to show some growth - he's had to deal with his mother's meddling in his business but Ayame(!) came to diffuse the situation, and his current involvement with the Student Council members that have allowed him to step down from his "Prince Yuki" role. Plus he's just adorable in mouse form...

Do you have the drama CD? It's all kinds of funny.

No, and I must find it, I've heard wonderful things about it. That ran before my time in getting it on a regular basis.

[Phishtar]

I was even more amused by that scene when I found out that the words Ayame used for "offense" and "defense" were the same as are used in yaoi for "pitcher" and "catcher," respectively. Because I'm mature like that.

Oh, dear heaven. Can't. Stop. Laughing. I think I suspected something like that at the time but...*snort*

Mmm, Shigure. but he's so much more sneaky and dark in the manga...

I've noticed that even though I'm only up to what they've offically translated. He better not turn out to be too dark, 'cuz I will cry buckets. Buckets, I tell you.

[SKJAM]

Fruits Basket clicked for me when I realized it was a Gothic romance story.

Orphan girl, treated cruelly by her relatives, finds employment with a wealthy family that has a large estate and many dark secrets. Will she find true love with the handsome but cool heir apparent, or with the ne'er-do-well cousin?

[anna_w]

Fruits Basket is one of my favourite anime/manga. I will gladl recommend this title to anyone and so far everyone seems to agree that this is one hell of a good series. I really like Tohru a lot. For some reason her personality really endears to me and the last two episode where she pukes her guts out strangely made her even more likeable to me. I like the fact that although she is normally a happy person, she does have her limit.

[Cosmorific]

Orphan girl, treated cruelly by her relatives, finds employment with a wealthy family that has a large estate and many dark secrets.

I'm telling you, it's The Secret Garden with a much nicer version of Mary.

He better not turn out to be too dark, 'cuz I will cry buckets. Buckets, I tell you.

Same here. I need to like Shigure. I don't know why, but I do.

The drama CD is gold. There are a few casting differences, since it was made before the anime, but the only problem with that is that Tohru and Momiji sound so much alike it's hard to tell them apart. (Also, Koyasu Takehito as Ayame? High. Larious. Seriously, that man needs to do more comedy.)

[teleute12]

the words Ayame used for "offense" and "defense" were the same as are used in yaoi for "pitcher" and "catcher," respectively.

HAH! Really? Wow, and here I thought the slash was just subtext; finding out it's intentional subtext has made my day. *giggles*

I've been wondering what they were doing in that red light district in the first place. Looking for porn? Looking for a shag? Looking for handcuffs and more flavored lube?

Edited by teleute12, Jul 1, 2004 @ 11:21 AM.

[Leanan]

I've been wondering what they were doing in that red light district in the first place. Looking for porn? Looking for a shag? Looking for handcuffs and more flavored lube?

Probably all of the above, and then some. No, wait, that was just a fanfic that I read.

Cos, about the drama CD. Is there a site that has the translated script for it? What am I saying, I'd buy it even if I had no idea what they were saying. It didn't make the second Inuyasha movie omake CD any less funny.

[Cosmorific]

Actually, there is an online translation at this site. I have no idea how accurate it is, but it gave me the gist anyway.

[Leanan]

Awesome. Thanks for the link!