Just the fact that I'm still enjoying it by this time means something. The fifth volume of Fruits Basket is still good, with characters who are still enjoyable and subplots that continue to be new and interesting. ( )

I really enjoyed reading the chapters at the Sohma holiday home, and especially enjoyed the storyline about Kisa Sohma, however I felt the manga trailed off towards the end, with the chapter about Tohru being ill not fitting in anywhere with the tone or mood of where the story was going. ( )

In this book we are introduced to Kisa Sohma, who is the tiger. She enters the story when Tohru and Yuki are walking home and come across a drenched Haru carrying something in a blanket. The bundle turns out to be a baby tiger, Kisa in animal form, and Tohru squeals “What a cute kitty!” in delight. The “cute kitty” shows her how much she wants to be around people by chomping down on Tohru’s hand. As it turns out, Kisa has run away from the Sohma house because she’s being made fun of at school. She refuses to talk, and bites Tohru every time she tries to comfort her. But Tohru’s persistance and kindness brings the girl around, and her explosive, “I LOVE YOU!!” accompanied by a warm, long hug turns her into a big sister in Kisa’s eyes. Tohru’s past healing affection for Yuki, Kyo and Haru move them to compassion for Kisa and help her come out of her shell.

Other things in Fruits Basket, Volume 5 - Ayame… oh, Ayame! makes a visit, much to the consternation of both Kyo and Yuki, the latter telling his older brother he’d rather see him sink to the bottom of the lake than “bond” with him, to which Aaya replies, “I See! We’ll ALWAYS be together as brothers then!” LOL.. poor Yuki!

We meet Megumi, Hanajima’s little brother, when the Prince Yuki Fan Club girls visit “wave girl’s” house in an attempt to find Hanajima’s weakness so they can get her out of the way of their destroying Tohru. Megumi, like his sister, also has a power. He can use a person’s name to curse them. The girls run screaming from the strange siblings house in fear. It’s also revealed in this scene that Hana has been a bit jealous of the Sohmas for taking Tohru away but, unlike the Fan Club girls, she understands if you love someone, you have to be willing to let them have their own life and other friends and not try to possess them.

Click for full review: http://thekoolaidmom.wordpress.com/2010/01/11/fruits-basket-volume-5-by-natsuki-... ( )

This Fruits Basket, Volume 5, is my first Manga/Japanese graphic novel. It took me some time to get used to the mechanics of reading it. I discovered I had to read it from the right to the left, and from the top down. Then I had to get used to the black and white drawings and reading the talking bubbles at the same time as associating their belonging to a character's personality and japanese name.

The story line deals with teenage issues/events and involves Tohru Honda, a teenage girl who is orphaned, but is taken in by the Sohma family. She discovers this family is cursed with a spirit of a Chinese zodiac animal so that if any one of them is weak or hugged by a member of the opposite sex, they turn into their zodiac animal. The volume 5 I read takes Tohru Honda through a chapter of mediating between two friends who dislike/disagree with each other, another chapter coping with heartbreak,and later chapters dealing with teasing and self-esteem, boy infactuations and jealousy, and getting bad grades.

Overall, an interesting read because of the technical mechanics in the reading . The stories deal with issues and events that many people can relate to but has that mystical twist with the zodiac animal coming into play. ( )

http://quettandil.blogspot.com/2007/10/fruits-basket-volume-5.html ( )