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September 4, 2004 | 
56 Comments
Well, the revelations keep coming thick and fast. Although the ones revealed here are not as shocking as the one in the previous chapter, I think this week's revelations make last week's a bit more interesting. This chapter also confirms once and for all that Akito is indeed a girl. In fact, the amount of times the chapter goes through to emphasise this point is kind of ridiculous. There are some sentences in this chapter where the word '女の子 / Onna no Ko' (Girl) is used in reference to Akito to the point that the conversation feels unnatural. Anyway, the next chapter is not out until next month so don't hold your breath waiting for the next one.
The chapter begins with Tohru looking confused and repeating what Kureno said about Akito being a girl. Kureno tells her it's the truth. He said that there are many secrets within the Sohma and this one is their biggest. Kureno then adds that ever since her birth, Akito has been raised as a boy because 'that person' decided so. The scene then cuts to Akito screaming to Hatori asking him what he is doing. She orders someone to stay away from Hatori. Hatori tries to calm Akito down by telling her that the other person merely greets him. But Akito orders the person, who turns out to be a woman, to stop using her lustful eyes on the Juunishi males. The scene then cuts back to Kureno who tells Tohru that 'the person' is Ren Souma, Akito's mother. Kureno then explains to Tohru that she's the one who decided that Akito would be raised as a man. Having said that, he doesn't know the intention behind it since neither Akito nor Ren want to talk about it.
There is one thing that is obvious, however, and that is the fact that the two hate each other. As if trying to show an example, the next scene shows Ren trying to touch Hatori while saying that she feels sorry for the poor guy. Before her hand can connect with Hatori's face, however, Akito slaps her hand away and tells Ren not to be too close to Hatori. Akito believes that herself and the Juunishi are connected by the 'bond' and therefore, Ren cannot touch them. In reply, Ren coldly tells Akito that it seems Akito still believes in her conviction like a stupid brat. Ren then says that a bond is connected by love and therefore, she believes that what Akito is trying to maintain here is an eternal imitation (of a real bond). She also thinks that Akito's idea of 'eternity' is an illusion and that Akito is making everyone associated with this bond miserable. Upon hearing this, Akito becomes enraged and starts choking her own mother.
Akito asks Ren if that is the case then Ren should tell her how Ren defines a bond/real connection. Akito continues to rant and ask Ren if parental love is a bond? Akito thinks that even if it is, parental love is not a perfect bond. She says that within the Souma itself, there are many parents who forsake their own child. Akito then lets Ren know that Ren herself is one of those parents. If that's the case then what is this 'real bond' Ren talks about. Hmm, I'm actually starting to understand what Akito is trying to achieve here with the Juunishi 'bond'. This is the kind of bond where no one can leave even if they want to do so. I supposed for Akito this is a 'perfect' bond. Anyway, at this point Hatori manages to separate the catfight, allowing Ren to mutter 'Akira-san'. After regaining her ability to talk, she continues to say that the bond that she has with Akira is the real thing. Upon hearing this, Akito looks devastated and becomes insane again. She screams around telling Ren that she wants to kill Ren.
In exchange, Ren who now looks equally insane tells Akito to go ahead and do so because then her soul can go to heaven and meet Akira again. Besides, she thinks Akito is not wanted anyway. This seems to be the last straw for Akito and for some reason she is suddenly reminded of her childhood, one which suggests that Akira is her father. Back to Kureno and Tohru, Kureno tells Tohru that Ren believes that the bond that Akito has with the Juunishi is false and unnatural. However, on the day Ren conceived Akito, Kureno woke up crying and he's not the only one who did this because Shigure, Hatori, and Ayame cried as well. He also adds that these 4 people are the only people who know Akito's status as a woman. Ritsu was still young at that time and therefore does not understand much. Anyway, Kureno continues that the four of them had the same dream where they saw Akito being conceived even though no one else knows about it.
The four of them then go to Ren and when they get there, they feel anxious but happy. It feels as if another spirit that lives inside them feels this excitement. Kureno believes that this is the bond that the Juunishi has with Akito. Back at the main house, Hatori is trying his best to comfort Akito while asking the maid to take Ren back to her room. Before she left, however, Ren asks Akito if Akito thinks she can win. Cut back to Kureno who tells Tohru that he's sorry but he can't betray and abandon Akito. Therefore, he can't see Arisa. He knows that Akito hurts other people but he wants Tohru to know that Akito herself is also in pain. Upon hearing this, Tohru ends up crying even more and tries to urge herself to say something but she can't seem to say anything. Kureno also tells Tohru that he's sorry that he ends up hurting her but this is the only way for him and proceeds to leave Tohru after saying "thank you".
Unknown to Kureno, Rin has been watching the two from afar and looks angry as she sees Tohru looking devastated. Tohru herself seems to feel as if she can't move and she cries even more when she remembers Kureno, Arisa, Akito, and Kyou. My guess is she feels powerless and realises that if she fails to do something as simple as reuniting Kureno and Arisa, she must wonders how she's going to break the curse and stop Kyou's upcoming imprisonment. Meanwhile, Kureno finally returns to Akito room and promptly get a slap on the face from Akito when he tells her that he's been out inhaling some outside air. But after crying, Akito decides to 'forgive' Kureno and proceeds to hug him. The chapter ends with a narration that says the sadness is quickly spilling out. We then get to see a shot of Hanajima and her brother looking determined. There is also a little excerpt on the side that says Tohru can't move after hearing Kureno's words. Rin sees her crying. And Hanajima begins to move.
Impression:
This is quite a good chapter. It actually has an interesting storyline in comparison to last week's chapter, which shocked the readers but does not offer much plot. This chapter, on the other hand, offers answers to some of the mysteries within the story. I think Takaya-sensei did a good job in connecting the revelation of Ren as Akito's mother to the dream that Shigure and the others had when they were kids. To me it looks like these elements are used to convey two different ways of thinking about the Juunishi bond. One side thinks that the bond is a false imitation of a real bond and the other believes that it is real. I personally think that even if the bond is real, if it actually does more harm than good, then I don't see the point of continuing such bond. In addition to these revelations, the last scene with Hanajima surprised me. I wonder if Hanajima actually senses Tohru's sadness or if she is actually associated with the Souma and therefore knows all about it.
i just started reading your summaries yesterday. and it was great to find someone dedicated to deciphering the mangas for us readers who can't read the japanese manga, or has none at all.
my reaction the the story; it is getting awry... just when you thought that everything is getting into place, and all we can do is move up, it gets whole lot complicated and depressing. the whole story is depressing. who is machi?! argh!
oh well.. that's how the mangaka wants it... all i can do is bite my lip and wait for the latest post.
I really appreciate what you are doing. translating is a craft in itself, and it takes a lot for you to retell the story in the most neutral way as possible. keep up the good work. thank you.
Thank you so much for writing this summaries!
Your comments and impressions are great to read, also.
Woowoo, Akito is soo sexy lol ^^
Thank you for sharing ^^
Oh my god O_o
I'm realy sad for Akito, now.
Her mother is so stupid >_<
But thank you so mutch for this chapter !
I love Saki and Megumi More and More ! Thanks a loot ^o^
This is getting really complicated, isnt it? Haha, well the summary was great and thanx for the scans. Still, I miss the old furuba gang...
WOW!
whoa..this chapter does give alot of interesting details. it answers many questions on the chapter before,although it is quite confusing .. its so suspenseful ! this is a really nice summary. keep up the good work ! ill be waiting for your next posts.
Thank you for posting out summaries of the chapters so fast, and thank you for writing the summaries in such a lucid manner that is very easy to understand and follow (not to mention written beautifully!). Thanks for including the raw scans that are pertinent to the chapter- it helps to see the characters' faces! Your insights are helpful to understanding the bigger picture. Thanks for doing all this work!
I just wanted to thank you for the great work, it's so nice that you translate these chapters. In any case I am still shocked abt Akito but oh well, and her mom seems as psychotic as her. The only other thing I can't figure out is Shigure's plan in all this, what exactly does Shigure want? Again thanks for the translations you should know that it is truly appreciated, and I can't wait for the next one.
Wow. This has to be one of the best character develoment Takaya-san has done. You can definetely tell that Hanajima is up to something which doesn't surprise me much. I've always felt that Saki has something to do with this whole thing and with that last scene with her makes me even more positive: Saki knows something and I'm pretty sure Megumi does too. Oh, I'm prancing around the office! I can't help it! My mind is going crazy wondering what does Saki and Megumi have to do with this! Looking back to Volume three with Shigure's conversation with Hatori, I can't help but feel Shigure is also plotting something? I can not wait for October! Man, it's going to be a long month.
MWA HAHAHA. I hope that Rin and Hana meet! Those two might make very interesting social chemistry. This is exciting! The series is finally MOVING. Or so it seems. I wonder if it's building up to a climax or if this is a peak that will taper off into the usual humor and gradual divulgence of secrets? Takaya likes to move in circles (spirals?) so I imagine some other elements are going to have to wind up before anything devestatingly impactful happens.
Ohhh, thanks for the summary and also your own thoughts. I always enjoy reading other people's thoughts on Furuba issues. Definitely a plot-ful chapter, ^^ On the emphasis on Akito being a woman, I suppose the author wanted to make it absolutely clear because there were some fans who simply wouldn't believe it for what it was.
I agree that Hanajima's sudden appearance in this chapter is interesting. It makes me wonder if Hanajima's family was the one who cursed the Souma family to begin with. I can't think of a reason for them to do this though so I think I'm way off tangent.
Thank You! :D
well... this story is finally getting interesting again! haha... i was getting kind of bored w/ the past couple of chapters. and there is some angst developing as well. can't wait for the next summary. and it would be very interesting if hanajima knew more about the souma's than we now.
i've only knew about this place when my friend forwarded this page to me and i got hooked instantly!Thanks for putting this up b'coz i couldn't find the fruits basket manga.I've only finished watching the anime last week n i guess i missed up on a lot of chapters but its really interesting esp since u scanned the manga!! Thanks n keep up this wonderful job!!
Thank you, Garten for the summary! These chapters are getting more interesting. We finally know who Ren is! This explains why Akito hates other women, esp. the zodiac girls, because she probably see them as seductive, evil creatures like her mom (esp. Rin!). When any girl (ie: Kana) gets with a cursed member (ie:Hatori), Akito eliminates that relationship in order to maintain "the bond" between the 12shi and herself. I think its becoming more understanble of what Akito is trying to achieve. Cummon CH 99! I can't wait to see what happens!
First let me thank you Garten, for yet another wonderful translation and the scans to go along with it. I wonder what would happen if Akito and Shigure got together. If Akito could fall in love with just one junnishi over all the others, and especially if she were to have a child of her own I wonder how her attitude might change. We still don't know why she has plagued Yuki throughout his childhood and you know Kureno has been witness to all of that. There must have been something in her upbringing that would allow her such cruelty eh? The Hanajima and Megumi angle would be great, just needing someone like Rin to be ballsey enough to go against Akito for the sake of the other junnishi. There has to be a way for Tohru to save Kyo. Need to know more...the puzzle continuing.
What the?! Akito=girl?! No way! A friend just told me about this now, and I'm *gasp* shocked to death... I mean, what is she thinking when she wrote this chapter? Furuba was so good up to this point. And even Akito was a favorite "male" of friends... I know. OMG >
you know how you were wondering about whether or not takaya-sensei was planning the whole akito being a girl thing from the beginning? well i was reading vol 3 yesterday, and i saw the chapter where shigure is at hatori's and he makes a reference to a dream. he talks about how him, hatori, and ayaa were all crying when they woke up from a dream. so i'm guessing that that is proof that takaya-sensei had this planned all from the beginning
I knew only those four knew about it ^.^;
Well it seems that Tohru and Akito do actually have some common ground. Both their Fathers are dead, and while Ren still would rather be with Akira, Kyoko did put Tohru through the pain of wanting to leave her so she could join Tohru's Father, traumatizing her. You could say that Tohru probably empathizes with Akito. Is this actually useful? Who knows, but it could be.
Wah! I didn't even know that this was out! @_@ School is taking a toll on me... Thanks for the summary!
-ash-
Just thanks for such good summaries ... They are really well done :)
I really don't like how quickly i went from hateing akito with a passion to understanding why she is the way she is.. -_-...
I bow down to Takaya-san... just.. wow.. I totally understand why she's a bit frigged up in the head.. with a mother like that.. and the personality she has... Everything is starting to make sense.. why the older Juuniishi are so kind and loving towards her... and why the younger ones don't understand...
haa.. And I see Akito will be on book 15...
Heh, thanks very much for sharing. ^^ And you're right, the plot is finally starting to move forward a bit more.
o0; That comment about Hanajima knowing everything..! Guess we'll just have to see.
Oh-my-god!! i just found out about akito on the net and 3 sec after recovering, i was surching explanations everywhere like a mad girl!! thank's for being here and for your wonderful job!! @_@ i think i won't be able to think strate before talking about all this to someone...i...wow...i just realise this manga has really much more things in it than i thought! and i don't think the author used this idea because it was something easilly surprising, i'm sure it was all planned (i'm remembering about shigure, aya and hatori's dream...)!! i'll buy the japanese manga as soon as i can! >_< and i'll be here everyday!!! ^___^
Hi there!
I love your translations.... I watched the DVDs before reading the manga.. Am upset I cant seem to get my hands on a copy of any of the new release ones.. I wish that I could read Japanese.. I can't find any copies of Fruits Basket in Australia.. where do u get ur copies from?
You can get the English version of the manga from Amazon US while the Japanese version can be purchased from Amazon Japan.
WOO!
Man. Thanks so much for the summaries! I was hunting down chap 98 and now I've found it. I will be returning to look at more of your stuff and more Furuba course! I'll rummage through the rest of your entries too!
Thank you so much!
But about the plot...
Wow. That's a lot. But man oh man... so many questions! I can't believe Rin/Ren's her (it's still odd for me to call Akito a her, but it makes sense) mother! I mean... that makes her how freakin old?! And the whole thing with Haru!
Man, I'm so confused! But wow, that was a lot. The thing with Hanajima is really interesting. I wonder where it's leading to! Can't wait! Wonder when the next one's coming out.
Anyway, thanks again!!! I can't believe we have to wait AGES AND AGES for all 16 mangas to be translated into English! I've got the first 4 though so WOO.
the plot thickens~! it's important, i think, not to confuse rin souma (the rooster) with *ren* souma, akito's mother. otherwise...well, considering how rin was with hatsuharu, and how old she'd have to be if they were the same...XO
but thank you, garten, for all the excellent trans/scanslations~!
Just a little bit correction to what au said up there. Rin Souma is actually the Horse, not the Rooster/Bird. The Rooster/Bird curse used to belong to Kureno. No one knows who is currently possessed by this particular curse.
And yes, Rin Souma is Hatsuharu's girlfriend. The girl who is seen looking angry at Kureno in one of the panels up there. Ren Souma, on the other hand, is the older looking lady who is now revealed to be Akito's mother.
Yes, Rin and Ren do have almost similar name and physical resemblence to one another (such as their long hair). I think this is partly why Akito hates Rin (and maybe other long-haired girls) so much. It's because Rin reminds Akito of her own mother.
OHHH!!!!
See now that makes so much more sense.
At first I didn't think Ren looked like Rin aside from the hair but I've been reading the translations and because of all the different spellings (eg Souma/Sohma, Tohru/Tooru), I thought Rin and Ren were the same person.
Now I need to run through the whole thing again.... did Ren ever come into the story before this chappy? I'm so very confused now! Lmao.
Maybe Rin and Akito are sisters then. Since Rin and Ren look so much alike and Akito's disgust.
Ya know, thanks much for clearing that up. I would've gone on being as confused as a...er... goldfish...?
They aren't sisters, even though they do look alike, hair style-wise. Rin's parents, both her mother and father, who were still alive, rejected her at a certain point in her life. Akito's father is dead (Ren's talk of going to heaven with Akira and etc.). It's also very rare to have siblings who are both members of the Jyuunishi (it was probably a shock for Yuki's parents when he was born--probably why he wasn't treated very well).
Shigure and Akito seem more and more likely...There was something in Volume 3 about Shigure's monologue saying he had a dream about the one he loved (scary, since Akito wasn't even born yet--or maybe those feelings developed afterwards). It might or might not be in the romantic sense, but... I'm still trying to figure out what he means by making it "last forever." The only thing I guess is that he wants the curse to remain, so that the birth cycle and the dream will go on forever. Maybe he feels something will happen to Akito, or him, if the whole curse is broken.
Thank you... very much for the summary!
It seems to me that Rin's presence explains Shigure's sinister look in chapter 96. I mean, we know that Rin and Shigure have been plotting something together, so perhaps Shigure sent Tohru out knowing that she would run into Kureno, and then had Rin follow her in order to listen in on the resulting conversation?
Umm.. hmmm.. Akito seems scarier as a girl to me -_-;;;
Thank you so much for the sumaries!!! I guess you must be tired of hearing this but...actually...that's what I'm supposed to say.Right?
In my country is very hard to even buy manga and my only anime DVDs could only be bought in other countries!!!( I had to go to Spain!!!). So I am very thankful for posting this! But...just one question...why does Kyou have to be imprison? When did Tohru realised it? Did he told her or somebody else did? Please...answer if you know!!! Thank you ^ _ ^
It is a tradition within the Souma family to lock up members of its family who are cursed by the cat spirit. They never explained the reason but once he finished high school, Kyou will be imprisoned.
Akito was the one who told Tohru about this to break her spirit when she visited the beach house owned by the Souma. Kyou, however, doesn't know that Tohru is aware of his upcoming fate.
Woah... Great job on writing the summary of this chapter... Neutralty is good
One thing is standing out in my head right now:
Ren and Shigure are evil.
Okay, not completely but when plots get tied together and you find someone "WORSE" then the "evillest villain in the story", then I usually find it safe to say that they're evil. At least Ren is and Shigure is up to something.
(What if Shigure turned out to be the one who broke the curse? XD Not bloody likely, but it would be ironically funny if it was true)
Hanajimas + Sohma family secret = something interesting will happen...
WHAT?????????? KYO IS BEING IMPRISONED???? WHYYYYY????*dies* okaaay? so can someone answer me? email me at kyoismylove@hotmail.com so i can finaly figure it out!!!
Tomoyo, I already mentioned the answer two posts away before your post. If you're wondering why the tradition was there to begin with, then unfortunately I don't know the answer either.
Sowwy Garten. =( Do you think that Tohru will break the curse and save kyou? I am very sad about this. RAARRGH! its not fair! ITS NOT FAIIR! HOW THE HECK CAN KYOU HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH TOHRU IF HE'S LOCKED UP??? WAH! Tohru will break the curse and get together with kyou and have a happy life with her spouse, thirteen children and live at the ooocceeaannn....whee!
MY GOD NATSUKI TAKAYA IS THE GREATEST MANGAKA!
And you're the greatest translator. I love your translations!
woah! finally! the substance of shigure's dream, which he talked about wistfully in the past with hatori, has been revealed
thanks so much for the summary
... the plot thickens ....
:-)
all of this stuff is all very confusing. I mean its hard to believe that all these summaries you have posted here are actually continued from the 1st book. Why hasnt these chapters come out in anime form or anything? **CONFUSING**
Devlin,
The anime was made before these came out. I wish they could make it into an anime as well but thats just lazyness talking. Where I am we only have to volume six so its tempting to look at spoilers. However (not as though this is relevent) I just ordered Furuba 9 off of Amazon.com! I was smiling for a few hours till I had to do my violin practice. XD torture. Ah well! Its all in japanese! Ack! I'll have to get Becky to help translate it! *panics* I want to learn how to translate but I dont knoooooooooow!(where to learn it) Ah well, returning to your post... This is probably going to be a really long sirise. I do hope that-GASP! OOPS! IM ACTING LIKE I KNOW STUFF AGAIN! WAH! *runs away*
As soon as I watched Fruits Basket, I practically fell in love with it. Tohru is sort of like that "rare flower among the cherry blossoms" because she is willing to put others needs before hers-or as Yuki said,"she's the type of person who never sees her glass half empty." Even though there were some "interesting" Sohma family members, like Ritsu and Ayame, but I like all of them-especially Yuki and Kyo. But Akito? All this time I thought "he" was a "boy," but this is unusual to me. To think that Hatori and Yuki were abused by "him," a girl of all things, I don't know, I'll get used to it sometime...hopefully..
Woo! Knew most of that already. I have known Akii-san is a girl for about five months now, but its still scary! I have a pic that proves it...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v374/crowart/30.jpg
Scaaarrryyyy
In the anime, Akito is no way a girl, watch when he/she fixes his/her kimono in the last ep. No way is that a girl there. I don't know about it plot wise. I wish he was a boy, but if thats the way it is, thats the way it is.
Man, the Hanajimas could be even more important to the story than I ever realized.
My sister brought up an interesting point-Megumi has the power to cast curses...does he have the power to lift them? Or would a curse like the Sohmas be too heavy to break by ordinary means? Erkkk, this is messing with my brainnnnn xX;
Wow...man...this is gonna take a while to take in...a girl huh? *Still somewhat stunned* Oh well I guess, it would explain a few things...not sure what those are, but okay! If I had found out just by reading the manga, I probably would have had a heart attack...but now that I mention it, my left arm does feel a bit numb...?
Wow. Good chapter. One thing that is still creeping me out; Ayame, Shigure, Kureno and Hatori as kids rushing to Ren as an adult. This doesn't make sense; Hatsuharu was in love with her, wasn't he?!?! But she's like 18 or 20 when shigure was only 12! Shigure is 27 now, which means that Ren is 35. Ok. Haru is only 17. ughh, confused here!
Ren sounds so evil in this chapter, it makes Akito sound very much better. Did Haru love Ren before? I thought it was only Rin... I think im missing a chapter or so *goes back to read chapters before*
OMG!! thanx so much for all of these fruits basket summaries u have been posting. 2 bad theres no kyo right now. HE IS SOO HOT
o my god ITS a girl and in chapter 97 there is a part u can see her making out with kureno i never knew they always refer to her as he
i've always felt sorry for akito, i...i wish some one(like hatori) would tell akito that all the things that her mom has ever told her is not true. some times thinking over all the things akito has been through, i will cry, because i don't know how she manages to still live under the contitions that she does. i wish that she could understand that almost every person in heer family loves her and that no matter what her mom says she is as kind, and caring as her father. thanks for the summery!
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