Well, first I finished reading what has been officially released in English this week for Fruits Basket. There are lots of fun, sweet moments, yet the secrets surrounding the Sohma curse are pretty dark. It makes for, I think, a very interesting contrast. This time the official English version of vol. 18 was what was new to me. In that volume, we get the rescue of Rin from Akito’s clutches. I wonder how observant she is of human nature, and not only because of this incident. Granted she was a child at the time, but her parent’s true feelings came as a complete surprise to her then too. This is a volume that makes me not like Akito very much. It is only later that I came to really feel sorry for her. Still, Akito, just how long were you going to keep Rin in the cat’s room? What were you going to do when Kyo graduated and had to go in there? Still, I have to give Rin full credit for determination and courage. I also like the way Mokoto ends her time at High School with Yuki since it is non-traditional. And it is so ironic that this whole time Nao has hated Yuki precisely because he likes Mokoto himself, but she only had eyes for prince charming:) Still, he managed to be graceful with Mokoto in the end as well. As for Machi, her story is as tragic as anything in the Sohma family, which just goes to show you that being free of a curse is not a guarantee of a perfect life. Well, same with Tohoru, but in Machi’s case it was enough to warp her almost as bad as any of the Sohmas. Poor girl. And I really like Kureno now, him saving Rin and dealing with Haru afterwards. Even in the extended family, he is the only one who really stands up to Akito, and I say good for him for doing it. He probably realizes that for everyone to truly be happy, including Akito, the curse needs to be broken. Even though Shigure probably is right in that Kureno should have left when his curse was broken. And the drama continues. Two months until the next volume is released here in the states.
Now for my thoughts on Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles season 2, though I do have one final comment on Xxxholic. I don’t remember if they do this for the manga or not (I really need to reread both Tsubasa and Xxxholic). But in the anime, it is interesting that aside from the four main characters and whoever Watanuki or Yuuko directly acts with, all the characters are only outlined and not colored. Very appropriate as we find out in the manga, though we may not yet know exactly how appropriate.
As for Tsubasa, first the bad. The animation is a bit inconsistant, especially with regards to Fai, and Sakura to a much less extent. And they still do tons of flashbacks and draw things out. It also has far more fillers than season one, though in this case it is a good thing. They are generally fun or interesting, the last arc excepted they are generally short, and they usually have fewer flashbacks. Ones that come to mind include Mokona having to paint the rest out of a story, and Mokona and Kero teaming up to save the day when the others are shrunk to insect size. It is also interesting to revisit worlds our heroes have already gone to (world with the god at the top of the mountain from the end of the first season and Chu’nyan’s world) and see what happened since. Piffle world with Tomoyo was just fun, and Kurogane’s past was just heartbreaking. The Chaos story arch was interesting, but they got the whole thing about the two Syaorans wrong. The whole point of the real Syaoran being captured by Fai Wong long before the story starts is probably precisely because he knows too much and can’t be controlled. Oh, well. I suppose the way they portray the whole thing in the Chaos arc is a way it could have been. From the first time I saw two Syaorans in the manga I know something was very wrong. Story wise, I find Tsubasa more enjoyable, but like I said last time, aside from the fact that Xxxholic is more horror, it is also a little to close to reality too. So it really isn’t it’s fault.
Now I am anxiously awaiting the subs for Tsubasa Tokyo Revelations 2, and can hardly wait. Hopefully, it will be out soon. Now on to the Tsubasa and Xxxholic movies.
One final note: I watched Kyou Kara Maou! R 3 this week, but I’ve decided to wait for the whole release before posting a review.
Until next time,
Tchau!
Hmm, interesting to hear about the Tsubasa story since all I know of it was what was mentioned in XXXHolic. What are Syaorans…?