Fruits Basket is one of my favourite anime series, based on this manga
by the talented Ms Takaya. I had high hopes for the manga, and was
curious to see how much influence the anime really took from its source.
The answer is a lot.
The anime follows the books almost to the letter, and its amazing
to see that even camera angles and costumes are faithful to this source
material. However, there are subtle differences and even some surprises
to be found, which make the experience much richer.
The fun is in all the minor details the anime skips over -for example,
here we discover that Momiji is actually half German, which explains
the blonde hair! He also talks in German when he's excited, and it
makes him all the more endearing. There are similar subtle shifts
for the other characters, such as Shigure's slightly more sinister
nature, which fleshes out his character somewhat. I'm dying to see
the next volume just to discover some more secrets about the rest
of the cast - its like playing a video game the second time around
just to find all the hidden items ^_^
The artwork is delicate and the panels flow well (once you remember
to read it backwards as is the nrom for these 100% manga titles).
The touch up for the translation is well handled, and even the authors
notes get translated, even if they don't make a huge amount of sense
since she's a games nut who talks a lot about games we don't get over
here! They don't add anything to the story, but its nice that Tokyopop
took the time to translate everything.
If you're looking for something new in the Fruits Basket manga, you
won't find anything wildly different from the anime in the first 3
volumes, but the few gems that are here really do make it worth seeing
the story again - coupled with the fact that the manga carries on
past the animated series abrupt ending, and the fact that there are
a few more characters in this version, and you get a richer experience
that leaves the door open for something new later in the series run
- fans of Furuba really shouldn't miss it ^_-
9 /10 – Contains everything that made the anime such a treat
to watch, and fleshes out characters and events to an extent that
make it a must read for fans of the series..
Back to Menu
|
