Thursday, September 22, 2005

Starting the Manga Reading Club!

My new Manga Reading Club is set to start meeting on Monday, November 28th, 2005. For our first foray into the world of Shoujo manga, we'll be reading Fruits Basket #1.

Fruits Basket is about a girl, Tohru Honda, who becomes involved with the Sohma Family. The Sohmas are a large, old-fashioned family with a hidden secret: they are cursed by the animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Cursed how, you ask? Well, when embraced by a member of the opposite sex who isn't a member of their family, they turn into their animal from the zodiac. Tohru stumbles onto their secret, and agrees to keep the secret and also work as a housekeeper for Yuki, Shigure and Kyo.

Wacky Hijinks ensue, of course, and Tohru is torn between liking (and perhaps loving) both Yuki and Kyo. Yuki, being possessed by the spirit of the Rat, and Kyo, who is the Cat, dislike each other intensely, and Kyo continually challenges Yuki to fight mano a mano, and always ends up losing after losing control of his temper. And yet, each envies the other: Kyo envies Yuki his ability to interact with people, and Yuki envies Kyo his ability to live honestly. These are just some of the things we'll explore in the group meetings.

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