Book: Fruits Basket, Volume 12 by Natsuki Takaya

Pages: 192 Pages, Paperback

Summary and Review: In Volume 12 of Fruits Basket, Yuki meets the rest of the student council.  Tohru also meets with Kazuma (Kyo’s adoptive father) and asks how to break the curse of the zodiac.  He doesn’t know how to break it, and tells Tohru that it is hard for the members of the zodiac to resist Akito because of the blood bond they have.  Kyo and Kagura have a date, and she takes him to the place where she first saw his true form.  She admits that she clung to him because she felt guilty that she had it easy in comparision to Kyo.  Her love for him was based on pity, but Kyo tells her that he cannot love her.  She gives up on him, even though she still loves him.  We also see some of the parent-teacher conferences- Tohru is going to get a job after graduating, while Kyo is uncertain, because he doesn’t know what wil happen when he graduates. 

It’s getting really good, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!  I mean, I know what happens, but I’ve sorta forgotten, so I’ll be reminded.  The artwork is great, and we learn about the year of the monkey.  Plus, the fan art is really interesting to see, and there’s even a poem included in the fan art section. 

There really isn’t a whole lot to review in this volume, because there really isn’t a lot that happens, but the series is pretty consistent.  There’s a good story and some great illustrations.  It’s really interesting to see the characters grow throughout the series, and the characters are definitely different from when we first met them.  The relationship between Rin and Hatsuharu is interesting, as is the one between Kagura and Kyo.  I always found Kagura’s love of Kyo to be somewhat amusing in previous volumes, but in this one, you get the reasoning behind it, and you feel a little bad for Kagura. 

Rating: 5 out of 5.  I really do love the series, and I’m curious as to how Tohru breaking the curse will work out.