cheoelm's reviews
363 reviews

I totally forgot that Momiji is the same age as Hatsuharu and that they're only a year younger than Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo until I read this volume of the series. I knew that they weren't that much younger than the others, but still. It'll be fun to read about the gang going to the same high school together and seeing all the fun things they get into. I also forgot that Hatsuharu seems like a badass guy, but that's only when he goes Black. While he's White Hatsuharu, he's a total sweetheart and softy and I love the duality of his character. You wouldn't consider that to be a trait for someone that's possessed by the spirit of the ox/cow.

I found it somewhat ironic that I started reading this volume on Valentine's Day considering that the theme for this one was Valentine's Day and White Day. I wish there was something like White Day here in the United States considering it's a sweet idea for the fellows to do return gifts for the ladies that gave them chocolate.

Even though I gave this a 5-star rating, I really disliked this volume just because you're getting more into the nitty gritty of the angst that comes from the Sohma family. Overall, the volume is wonderful and great, but this is when we start learning more about the Sohma family. We learn about Momiji and the pain he had to suffer with his mother, along with a glimpse of the pain and hardship that Yuki had to endure with Akito. On the bright side though, we do get to meet Ayame and as a fellow snake, I love him so much.

One word: Kisa. She's in my top 5 favorite characters and we get to meet her in this volume. Yet again, we learn more about the drama and angst the Sohmas have to go through and it broke my heart when you learn that Kisa had been teased die to something she couldn't even control. I do love how Tohru was the one to help her through her issues, along with Yuki and Hatsuharu. You can see the care and compassion some of the zodiac members have towards one another and how close they can be due to their curse.

Ahhh, we finally get to learn more about Kyo's past and what being possessed by the spirit of the cat actually means. I loved this part of the series because it shows just how much Tohru cares about Kyo, even after learning about his terrible secret and I loved that. She really doesn't see any bad in a person and when I first read the series in high school, it inspired me to be more like her.

The growth and development of the characters is so great and amazing, but I do feel bad because you can see that Tohru is becoming closer to Kyo than she is with Yuki. I never shipped Tohru and Yuki, even with my first reading, but I still could feel his jealously and pain when he saw that Tohru was still wanting to be around Kyo after learning his secret.

Hiro gets introduced and I forgot how much I disliked this little brat. After reading the volume, I remembered that he's a brat because of his feelings towards Kisa and not being able to protect him, but that doesn't excuse his behavior towards Tohru.

We also learn more about Arisa and how her and Tohru became friends. It was nice to see more of Tohru's mother and how even though she had quit her gang, she still could fall back into those habits if she needed to. I don't approve of her saying she had beat up a bunch of middle schoolers, but I'll give her the benefit of the doubt that she didn't actually do that and just scared them off. Either way, the encounter that Arisa had while hanging with Tohru and friends brought up her memories of being in a gang and how she's doing better without them.

This is the first volume we get a glimpse of Rin and how Hatsuharu has feelings for her, albeit it's a very brief glimpse of Rin that we get.

We meet Ritsu and I love how Tohru's compassion is able to calm them down to the point that they're wanting to meet someone to eat takoyaki with. As the series progresses, we see just how Tohru's kindness affects the Sohmas and how she is able to help them become happier with themselves just by being herself.

We learn more about Hanajima and how she was born with her curse in this volume. I sometimes forget that the author, Natsuki Takaya, has invested a lot of time in this series to go so far as to give even "minor" characters in depth backgrounds that it's refreshing to read about them. I love it when all the characters you encounter in a series have their own lives outside of being friends or siblings with the main protagonist. We also get a glimpse of Kyo's father in this volume and learn how he feels about his son, that it makes me glad that Kazuma was there when Kyo needed him the most.

We also see more of Rin and see her interacting with Shigure in a way that makes me raise my eyebrow just a bit. I can't remember what's going on between the two of them, so I guess that means I just need to continue reading to figure it out.

Guh, the punches keep rolling when it comes to angst and trouble for the Sohmas and friends.

As I mentioned in a previous review, Natsuki takes the time to develop all the characters we encounter in the series, including the teacher of Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo. This added story makes the series that much more interesting, but it does break my heart that some of the characters have to go through such hardships before they can be happy.

Akito also makes another appearance in the story, along with Kureno, while the main gang are enjoying their stay at a summer vacation home. This appearance of Akito reminds me how much I hate them and how I wish the younger Sohmas didn't have to deal with this dark cloud, but every happy story must have an antagonist to drive the plot along.

There's also a wonderful ending to this volume that makes my heart soar, even if I know that what happens won't necessarily happen between the two characters involved. Still, it's nice to see some of the Sohmas are able to open up more and that they're not afraid to admit to themselves how they feel and react to the environment around them.