Confused about Fruits Basket

[foxinthestars]

So, I've owned the first four volumes of Fruits Basket for years; hadn't read them in awhile, but am now revisiting them because I think I can get the rest at the library, and well, something about it confuses me. Not within the story, but my reaction.

See, there are things about this that are really messed up and I know they're really messed up. Even after just reading vol. 1 again, Tohru has this messed-up passivity, and Kagura is a walking exercise in "Dude, not funny," pretty much like I remembered, and in neither case is this taken seriously as a bad thing. Like, Tohru expresses admiration for Kagura's love toward the guy she violently batters (and apparently extracted an "engagement" from when they were children by threatening him with a knife; I wanna see Kyo beat her up, I really do---seriously, some things just shouldn't be played for humor). A little later I recall an incident where Tohru just stubbornly refused to express her needs, even when it was clear to anyone with half a brain that she would have been doing the others a favor if she did, but it turns out okay because they're psychic or something and prioritize her needs without being asked---like I said, messed up.

But somehow, it has a charm to it that still draws me in, and however messed up it is, I just can't seem to not like it. That's the part I'm confused about. Mind there's still plenty of time...

(And I'm posting too late for anything more coherent than that...)

Comments

[branchandroot]

*wry* Personally I think that's the /most/ evil thing about FB. It manages to have enough charm in the little character interactions (not the big, obvious, Making A Characterization Point stuff, but the little stuff) to make you want to keep reading /anyway/. Even though you really want to have Kagura hauled off as a stalker and hustle Tohru into therapy stat and get Kyou some anger management training and get Akito some serious drugs until he's fit to be let out of the soft room and have /someone/ give Shigure some comeuppance. And it only gets worse. But the animals are awfully cute. *sighs* I think part of it is that the tone of the story keeps promising a happy ending if you just keep going. Which it... does not entirely come through on, at least if you were hoping for any kind of accountability.

[foxinthestars]

Yes, that was what I wasn't coherent enough to say; it's the little-things-level texture of the character interactions... I have to think the really evil part would be for a reader who got the charm and wasn't as prepared to recognize, in particular, just how much Tohru needs therapy despite the story beatifying her.

As dicey as it is to judge this, I'm already not holding much hope for accountability because it seems like the author doesn't see anything wrong with this crap (in this context), or wouldn't want to punish her characters anyway.

So, worth reading the whole thing, assuming no money is on the line?

[branchandroot]

*considers* Assuming no money on the line, and assuming you're already psychologically buffered against the continuing Not Funny stuff... I'd say it might be worth reading. The main triangle gets resolved in a way that was never satisfying to me at all, but the little moments do continue to be charming. You're definitely right that the author is all about "oh, no one was at fault because they were /all/ suffering!", which makes me howl a lot, but if you're prepared for that, go for it.