Review: Fruits Basket Collector’s Edition, Vol. 7 | Natsuki Takaya

This review is spoiler free.

“You may have already picked up on this. You may have already noticed my resignation and cowardice, but you, the one who keeps smiling at me quietly. You’re so dear to me, even now.”

Series: Fruits Basket
Published: 2016, by Yen Press.
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
Genre: Sequential Art, Manga, Romance, Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction
Contains: Violence, Anger, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Grief, Trauma, Depression, Anxiety

‘Fruits Basket Collector’s Edition, Vol. 7’ is the next instalment of the Fruits Basket series, following the lives of Tohru, Yuki and Kyo as they venture into the next part of their lives. Yuki confronts his future at a parent-teacher conference, Tohru pays a visit to the Sohma compound in order to confirm if Kureno Sohma is really the same man with whom Uo-Chan is in love with, but love isn’t in the air for Isuzu and Hatsuharu.

This series has had a small place in my heart for a long time now, initially getting interested in the series when I was a young child. This past year I decided to finally reread them, and I’m so glad that I did.

Tohru Honda just keeps getting better and better, her character evolving right before our eyes. She’s becoming more human, her selfish actions shining through and I love that about her. She’s not as afraid as she has been in previous instalments, determined to break the curse and allow herself to reach after what she wants.
Rin is another character we’re introduced to in this volume, and she’s an incredibly strong character. She’s placed in a situation where she has to respond, and not always politely, but her honesty and vulnerability shines through the pages.
Yuki and Kyo are as brilliant as always, developing in their own ways with Yuki’s strength, and Kyo’s compassion building. It’s a truly beautiful series to read, watching these characters grow before you is a sheer delight and I simply cannot get enough of this series.

The volume itself consists of the next eleven chapters, chapters 72-83, and explore the next part in breaking the zodiac curse. The characters are developing quickly now, the pace building as we inch closer to discovering what it’ll take to break the Sohma curse. You’re on the edge of your seat whilst reading, desperately hoping for more characters to reach happiness and yet Natsuki Takaya continues to drip feed you information. There’s still a way to go yet, and I’m excited for every scene.

Overall, I adore this series, it being my all-time favourite manga and I’m so happy that I’m able to reread this series in the collector’s editions. It’s an incredibly nostalgic but fresh experience.

5/5