Fruits Basket!
Sep. 6th, 2006 02:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
demeter918
And here is the full, no-holds barred reaction to Chapter 132.
When I opened hanatoyume, I nearly had a spasm beause the very first page was of Shigure with his arms wrapped around a bedsheet-clad Akito. It was way sexy and it made a blood vessel pop because GEEZ, I've waited about FIFTEEN MILLION YEARS FOR THIS. Okay, so maybe not fifteen million years but it has felt like a very long time. It felt like a full circle, because the reader's reminded of that fateful Chapter 101 where we see the flashback of Akito asking Shigure if he liked her. The next page, we're returned to the present and Akito is sitting seiza and my heart tightened at how proper and quiet she was, how she looked at the present that Shigure had given her.
And I turn the page and, yep, this was the chapter I was looking forward to, because this was the chapter where the Zodiac finally discover the truth about Akito. They're all gathered there, even Rin, though Kureno is still in the hospital. I can only imagine what was going on through their heads as they waited for Akito's appearance. It seems like they'd been waiting all morning and it made me bleed a little thinking of Akito sitting in her room and staring at the kimono. You have to wonder, what went through her head while she contemplated those robes? Did she think about her parents? Did she think about all the previous events (remember, this is V.22/23 of a very long shoujo series!) that led her to this point? Did she regret any of it? Does Akito realize that this was the moment where everything in her life might possibly become undone? She's lost the bet, she's apparently lost Shigure, and she's lost Kureno. She's sitting alone in that room staring at a kimono she was never supposed to wear.
We roll back to the Zodiac and they're acting like their usual selves, though they're all probably quite nervous over the reason why Akito would summon them like this. (The question is also posed; why in the world did they answer when there's no longer an obligation to? This directed mostly at Rin and Haru, two of whom have not truly resolved their differences with Akito.) Ritsu, Ayame, Kagura, Hiro, Kisa, Yuki, Kyo, Haru, Rin, Hatori, they're all there, though I would think that Ayame and Hatori are the only ones with the barest inkling of what's going on.
And then, oh, on a wonderful note, we see Kagura and Kyo on the same page since V.13. Here's the thing about Kyo and Kagura; Kyo is always, always, always going to love Kagura in a way that he won't love Tohru. This does not mean he doesn't love Tohru; it's that Kagura was a part of his life that no one can be. She love him as a child and loved him all the while he was growing up; granted, her love was a bit over-the-top and violent, but I think to Kyo, it made something for him. Someone other than Kazuma had loved him absolutely and I always felt that it created the possibility of Tohru and Kyo in the first place. If that little boy, who liked to draw omelets in the sand, hadn't met Kagura, hadn't been loved and played with at one point in his life... you have to wonder whether Kazuma would have made a difference.
This is why I think Kazuma looked so sad when Kagura turned to him with that tearful look in the chapter she hit Tohru. While Kagura might have had selfish reasons in the beginning, no one can deny that it developed into a devoted love that rivaled many others. And it was unrequited, which for those who know me, is one of the ultimate heartbreakers that'll make me cry at a drop of a hat. And to Kazuma, who cared for Kyo above everyone else, I think he knew that and I think he loved Kagura for providing Kyo with some knowledge that not everyone from the family hated him. Even if it was violent, catpack-carrying, energetic Kagura.
And of course, the scene where Momiji snaps a picture and comments, rather deadpan, on the state of Kagura being wrapped around Kyo and how he must be cheating on Tohru? Holy shit, Momiji, you've grown balls. Or were they there the whole time anyways? =)
Haru petting Rin on the head to comfort her was so cute and it really made the tension stand out. The whole room was waiting for Akito to appear, you could feel it cutting like a knife.
AND THEN THE MAID SHOWS UP. And did anyone notice how relaxed her expression was? Holy shit. If I'm not wrong, that's the same maid that was going half-mad with the secret of Rin plaguing her and look at her now! She looks almost relieved, happy to be presenting "Akito-san" and all that might follow.
AND THEN WE SEE THE FACES OF THE YOUNGER ZODIAC.
DOUBLE HOLY SHIT. Because they now know the Terrible Secret that was essentially the source of all the problems whether because it was a direct cause of it (Akito's hatred of women as a reflection of her hatred for her femaleself) or that it was root and beginning (Yuki's early imprisonment) of all that was festering.
And oh, my heart broke at the next page because Akito was so fucking beautiful and her eyes were smoothed out and maybe she was wearing a little makeup? She looked so lovely and ethereal and yes, I would like to use the word serene here. Even though a battle may be roaring in her the moment she stepped through that shoji door, but I think she looks peaceful here, almost resigned. It's just... AUGH. I can't put into words just how absolutely lovely that picture is. I wish I could immortalize it in some fashion. I wish it had been a COLOR DRAWING!!!!!
*snicker* And when Ritus wonders in horror whether Akito had the same 'interests' as him and then Akito says in this rather exasperated tone, "Chigau." I loved it, loved it, loved it, because I think that was the very first time I ever saw Akito and Ritsu talk to each other. (Now, all I have to do is wait for the Ayame/Akito interaction and I'll die of happiness.) But wait! There's more! We flashback to Akito and Shigure and post!gift scene and Shigure's being his oh so lovely self (I could almost stab him, the sadistic bastard) and Akito weeping about how he's going to leave her and how she hates him? the idea of him leaving? And then the scene rotating back to Akito and the Zodiac and how she's stuttering over her words and holy hell and writ, her struggling to say things that will both make sense and have them see why everything had happened the way it happened, it really hurt.
"It stops this moment, it stops this moment..." and we get a flashback of many of the most crucial Akito-Zodiac interactions. I really think something broke in her, because what had been painful for them had been the only 'proof' she had that they cared for her. And she kept repeating "imamade" which means, "it ends now" and was she trying to convince herself or trying to convince them that the curse was over and that she could truly let them go?
Or perhaps not? She got out, "go..." before her lips started trembling and she couldn't go on. I think she was going to say, "Gomen" but geez louise, give her some time! Akito has basically been thrown into a whirlwind from chapter 95 onward.
... anyhoo, ignoring that outburst, we flash back and haha, Shigure finally tells Akito that he was the one who was machinating the whole thing. The look on her face. And I think that what he was saying in the end was that it was for the fact that he didn't want anyone else to touch Akito, absolutely no one but him and the next page is of Shigure reaching for Akito and Akito jerking away. To be honest, I don't think Akito was rejecting Shigure as much as just being a bit frightened by the whole thing.
Frankly, Akito's still, for all intents and purposes, a twenty-some year old girl who was never actually a girl. While we know she's had sexual relations with Shigure and Kureno, who knows what she really understands about all-consuming love? Who knows whether she understands the fact that Shigure has essentially wanted her since she was born? That's a good twenty-year wait for him. (I'll grudgingly grant that he's very, very patient, even if his actions have caused no small amount of grief) And I think that intensity frightens her more than anything else.
But it also means he is exactly what she's always wanted; someone who would never leave her, even if she wasn't their goddess and even if the curse wasn't tying them to her. He stays because he wants to stay. He stays because he loves her. And that's what Akito always needed.
BECAUSE SOMEBODY GIVE ME CPR STAT.
Akito sits next to him as an equal and in the way she looks at him, without blushing or hatred or any of those things. She just looks at him, a blank gaze on her face, a serene darkness in her eyes, and still yet, she still stutters a bit in speaking, unsure of what she's sometimes saying, unsure of whether she'll get the right words, but knowing, I'm sure of it, that in some way, she'd already won half the battle simply but putting that damn kimono on and facing the music. And then, then, then, that third to last page as Shigure smiles (it's so beautiful! And he's saying "osokattane" (you were late, hm?) WITH that lazy smile!)
AND THEN.
I can almost see this working out in anime in my head. Shigure whispering that Akito was 'beautiful' and him reaching out to gently cradle Akito's face in his hands.
And Akito feeling goosebumps from Shigure's touch.
THAT PICTURE OF AKITO WAS TOO BEAUTIFUL. Somebody! Anybody! Make an icon!
... and we have full circle. Shigure says 'suki', he tells Akito he loves her, he likes her, and that's more than he's ever said since that faraway afternoon when Akito first asks Shigure whether or not he loves her. And...
They kiss.
But OH. This is not the end.
Who said this was the end? There's still more chapters because the description of this chapter had been that this was finally near the end? Next chapter maybe? Or maybe it's the beginning of the last few chapters? I don't know.
Either way.
I'm happy.
Because I'm looking at what I've wanted since volume 4.
When I opened hanatoyume, I nearly had a spasm beause the very first page was of Shigure with his arms wrapped around a bedsheet-clad Akito. It was way sexy and it made a blood vessel pop because GEEZ, I've waited about FIFTEEN MILLION YEARS FOR THIS. Okay, so maybe not fifteen million years but it has felt like a very long time. It felt like a full circle, because the reader's reminded of that fateful Chapter 101 where we see the flashback of Akito asking Shigure if he liked her. The next page, we're returned to the present and Akito is sitting seiza and my heart tightened at how proper and quiet she was, how she looked at the present that Shigure had given her.
And I turn the page and, yep, this was the chapter I was looking forward to, because this was the chapter where the Zodiac finally discover the truth about Akito. They're all gathered there, even Rin, though Kureno is still in the hospital. I can only imagine what was going on through their heads as they waited for Akito's appearance. It seems like they'd been waiting all morning and it made me bleed a little thinking of Akito sitting in her room and staring at the kimono. You have to wonder, what went through her head while she contemplated those robes? Did she think about her parents? Did she think about all the previous events (remember, this is V.22/23 of a very long shoujo series!) that led her to this point? Did she regret any of it? Does Akito realize that this was the moment where everything in her life might possibly become undone? She's lost the bet, she's apparently lost Shigure, and she's lost Kureno. She's sitting alone in that room staring at a kimono she was never supposed to wear.
We roll back to the Zodiac and they're acting like their usual selves, though they're all probably quite nervous over the reason why Akito would summon them like this. (The question is also posed; why in the world did they answer when there's no longer an obligation to? This directed mostly at Rin and Haru, two of whom have not truly resolved their differences with Akito.) Ritsu, Ayame, Kagura, Hiro, Kisa, Yuki, Kyo, Haru, Rin, Hatori, they're all there, though I would think that Ayame and Hatori are the only ones with the barest inkling of what's going on.
And then, oh, on a wonderful note, we see Kagura and Kyo on the same page since V.13. Here's the thing about Kyo and Kagura; Kyo is always, always, always going to love Kagura in a way that he won't love Tohru. This does not mean he doesn't love Tohru; it's that Kagura was a part of his life that no one can be. She love him as a child and loved him all the while he was growing up; granted, her love was a bit over-the-top and violent, but I think to Kyo, it made something for him. Someone other than Kazuma had loved him absolutely and I always felt that it created the possibility of Tohru and Kyo in the first place. If that little boy, who liked to draw omelets in the sand, hadn't met Kagura, hadn't been loved and played with at one point in his life... you have to wonder whether Kazuma would have made a difference.
This is why I think Kazuma looked so sad when Kagura turned to him with that tearful look in the chapter she hit Tohru. While Kagura might have had selfish reasons in the beginning, no one can deny that it developed into a devoted love that rivaled many others. And it was unrequited, which for those who know me, is one of the ultimate heartbreakers that'll make me cry at a drop of a hat. And to Kazuma, who cared for Kyo above everyone else, I think he knew that and I think he loved Kagura for providing Kyo with some knowledge that not everyone from the family hated him. Even if it was violent, catpack-carrying, energetic Kagura.
And of course, the scene where Momiji snaps a picture and comments, rather deadpan, on the state of Kagura being wrapped around Kyo and how he must be cheating on Tohru? Holy shit, Momiji, you've grown balls. Or were they there the whole time anyways? =)
Haru petting Rin on the head to comfort her was so cute and it really made the tension stand out. The whole room was waiting for Akito to appear, you could feel it cutting like a knife.
AND THEN THE MAID SHOWS UP. And did anyone notice how relaxed her expression was? Holy shit. If I'm not wrong, that's the same maid that was going half-mad with the secret of Rin plaguing her and look at her now! She looks almost relieved, happy to be presenting "Akito-san" and all that might follow.
AND THEN WE SEE THE FACES OF THE YOUNGER ZODIAC.
DOUBLE HOLY SHIT. Because they now know the Terrible Secret that was essentially the source of all the problems whether because it was a direct cause of it (Akito's hatred of women as a reflection of her hatred for her femaleself) or that it was root and beginning (Yuki's early imprisonment) of all that was festering.
And oh, my heart broke at the next page because Akito was so fucking beautiful and her eyes were smoothed out and maybe she was wearing a little makeup? She looked so lovely and ethereal and yes, I would like to use the word serene here. Even though a battle may be roaring in her the moment she stepped through that shoji door, but I think she looks peaceful here, almost resigned. It's just... AUGH. I can't put into words just how absolutely lovely that picture is. I wish I could immortalize it in some fashion. I wish it had been a COLOR DRAWING!!!!!
*snicker* And when Ritus wonders in horror whether Akito had the same 'interests' as him and then Akito says in this rather exasperated tone, "Chigau." I loved it, loved it, loved it, because I think that was the very first time I ever saw Akito and Ritsu talk to each other. (Now, all I have to do is wait for the Ayame/Akito interaction and I'll die of happiness.) But wait! There's more! We flashback to Akito and Shigure and post!gift scene and Shigure's being his oh so lovely self (I could almost stab him, the sadistic bastard) and Akito weeping about how he's going to leave her and how she hates him? the idea of him leaving? And then the scene rotating back to Akito and the Zodiac and how she's stuttering over her words and holy hell and writ, her struggling to say things that will both make sense and have them see why everything had happened the way it happened, it really hurt.
"It stops this moment, it stops this moment..." and we get a flashback of many of the most crucial Akito-Zodiac interactions. I really think something broke in her, because what had been painful for them had been the only 'proof' she had that they cared for her. And she kept repeating "imamade" which means, "it ends now" and was she trying to convince herself or trying to convince them that the curse was over and that she could truly let them go?
Or perhaps not? She got out, "go..." before her lips started trembling and she couldn't go on. I think she was going to say, "Gomen" but geez louise, give her some time! Akito has basically been thrown into a whirlwind from chapter 95 onward.
... anyhoo, ignoring that outburst, we flash back and haha, Shigure finally tells Akito that he was the one who was machinating the whole thing. The look on her face. And I think that what he was saying in the end was that it was for the fact that he didn't want anyone else to touch Akito, absolutely no one but him and the next page is of Shigure reaching for Akito and Akito jerking away. To be honest, I don't think Akito was rejecting Shigure as much as just being a bit frightened by the whole thing.
Frankly, Akito's still, for all intents and purposes, a twenty-some year old girl who was never actually a girl. While we know she's had sexual relations with Shigure and Kureno, who knows what she really understands about all-consuming love? Who knows whether she understands the fact that Shigure has essentially wanted her since she was born? That's a good twenty-year wait for him. (I'll grudgingly grant that he's very, very patient, even if his actions have caused no small amount of grief) And I think that intensity frightens her more than anything else.
But it also means he is exactly what she's always wanted; someone who would never leave her, even if she wasn't their goddess and even if the curse wasn't tying them to her. He stays because he wants to stay. He stays because he loves her. And that's what Akito always needed.
BECAUSE SOMEBODY GIVE ME CPR STAT.
Akito sits next to him as an equal and in the way she looks at him, without blushing or hatred or any of those things. She just looks at him, a blank gaze on her face, a serene darkness in her eyes, and still yet, she still stutters a bit in speaking, unsure of what she's sometimes saying, unsure of whether she'll get the right words, but knowing, I'm sure of it, that in some way, she'd already won half the battle simply but putting that damn kimono on and facing the music. And then, then, then, that third to last page as Shigure smiles (it's so beautiful! And he's saying "osokattane" (you were late, hm?) WITH that lazy smile!)
AND THEN.
I can almost see this working out in anime in my head. Shigure whispering that Akito was 'beautiful' and him reaching out to gently cradle Akito's face in his hands.
And Akito feeling goosebumps from Shigure's touch.
THAT PICTURE OF AKITO WAS TOO BEAUTIFUL. Somebody! Anybody! Make an icon!
... and we have full circle. Shigure says 'suki', he tells Akito he loves her, he likes her, and that's more than he's ever said since that faraway afternoon when Akito first asks Shigure whether or not he loves her. And...
They kiss.
But OH. This is not the end.
Who said this was the end? There's still more chapters because the description of this chapter had been that this was finally near the end? Next chapter maybe? Or maybe it's the beginning of the last few chapters? I don't know.
Either way.
I'm happy.
Because I'm looking at what I've wanted since volume 4.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 11:03 am (UTC)I'm so glad that i stumbled across your journal. now I know that this chapter is going to live up to all of my expectaions. yay for akkigure. can't wait to get my hands on the scans.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-07 01:19 am (UTC)This chapter exceeded my expectations in a lot of ways. For one thing, Fruits Basket originally was a story centered around Tohru, and to a lesser extent, Kyo and Yuki. And then around V.11, it started running off to belong to Akito. Around V.15 or so, when we first get Ch.95, that's when the shit truly hits the fan because we start getting flashback sequences of Akito's past and related mysteries. I'm wondering, a bit, whether Takaya planned this from the beginning. For one thing, while Tohru is the onigiri in the fruit basket, on the opposite spectrum, so is Akito. Among all the Zodiac, she was never an actual Zodiac. Even Kyo had something more common with the rest than she did.
Both Tohru and Akito were outsiders, the onigiri (ball of rice) in a basket of fruits. XD It started with one girl and ended with another; I LOVE that.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-07 05:59 am (UTC)I'm really glad that shigure and akito got to clear the air some in this chapter. It was much needed.
I would like to see some akito-ren interaction (where akito tells ren to piss of)in the last chapter but it probably won't happen. I wonder what 133 is going to be about but my fingers are crossed for just a little more akkigureness. And I would love to see what all the others is is going to say about akito being a she all this time.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 12:39 pm (UTC)So much makes sense after this chapter, but I love that we get so much of Akito's thoughts about Shigure... how his not caring if he was alone always caught her attention (because she feared loneliness so), how she was most afraid that he would be the one to leave her, how she feared him, and hated him, because she loved him! (it sounds weird, I know). It was all too beautiful. I feel like I need to ponder and ponder about the contents--there is so much information to be gleaned from this chapter, and I'm still a-squee about it.
I've made a little something for you. Please, don't feel obligated to use it or anything, but I thought you might enjoy it :-)
Thanks for your comments and for such a thought-provoking, interesting post :-)
no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 01:04 pm (UTC)And yes, Demeter-san, if i didn't have class in 30 minutes, I'd be writing a lengthy dialogue about how your ch. reactions are truly as wonderful as reading the chapters themselves (as F_ireworks said ^^) I love your comments about Akito, about her feelings and inner thoughts and everything, so clearly brought to us by Takaya and interpreted so emotion-filled by yourself. ^^
Thanks for this!
no subject
Date: 2006-09-07 01:15 am (UTC)Takaya just brings so much emotion into her work and she utilizes the flashback technique brilliantly. I've never seen anyone quite as adept at using it as she is...
I'm holding out for a Juunishi/Akito scene where someone makes a funny remark and she starts laughing or even, god forbid, giggling, because it was natural at that moment. I think there might be simultaneous heart attacks. XD
What I really want to do is write fic for this particular scene, especially about Haru and Ayame. XD
no subject
Date: 2006-09-15 05:17 pm (UTC)Feel free to use it! (you made gorgeous icons of those shots as well. Thank you!!)
no subject
Date: 2006-09-07 01:12 am (UTC)I think that was what was so ultimately wonderful about Akito and Shigure's relationship. Granted, I'm not entirely sure what Shigure was feeling when she was born. It's just a teeny bit creepy to say that he wanted her since she was a baby, but I think he did love her and that the lust part came after she grew up. So for Shigure, he's waited twenty-some years for this moment, but so has Akito. Akito's basically been unhappy since her childhood; I wonder whether she really had a childhood with parents like that. And her biggest desire was to find someone who would love her and her alone.
The interesting thing was that Akito never really had to look in the first place! Shigure would have taken that spot without any second thoughts and if Ren hadn't been like that and Akira hadn't been the way he was... I don't think any of this would have happened.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 04:04 pm (UTC)You pretty much said everything I was thinking. And your views on Shigure/Akito made me really think about their relationship. I'll spare your lj, I'll rant about it in mine later.
Btw, what does "chigau" mean? I'm pretty sure it's something along the lines of "no" or "stop", I've heard it before, I just can't place it now.
adsfjalsdjfalskdjflakjsdfla I am so content right now, you have no idea *holding back a Gure/Akito rant* X///
no subject
Date: 2006-09-07 01:06 am (UTC)This was an absolutely wonderful chapter; Akito and Shigure is just such a painful and complex relationship. I think that's why I'm so attracted to it. It's was unusual in the beginning, but as the series continued, it developed into one of most original and unique relationships ever written and drawn in shoujo. It even ranks above the Glass no Kamen relationship of Maya and Masafumi for me and they were once my diehard favorite pairing. XD
"Chigau" means no, but in a harsher way. If you were going to say that someone was absolutely wrong, you'd use "chigau" in a loud and angry voice. It's much stronger than 'iee' which is just 'no'.
POST YOUR SHIGURE/AKITO THOUGHTS.