Can seemingly ordinary shojo make us think about deeper issues of human relationships?
Fruits Basket is one of the shojo genres that focuses on the romantic relationships between the characters, but as we dive into the story, we find ourselves in a cycle of drama and cruelty, which, in the end, allows us to think about serious questions of morality and human psychology.
The plot is quite simple — schoolgirl Honda Tohru accidentally ends up in a house belonging to the Soma family — the writer Shigure and his brothers Kyo and Yuki. Tohru finds out the Soma family secret that they are cursed, and if they are hugged by an ordinary person of the opposite sex, they will turn into one of the animals of the eastern horoscope.
There are 12 such people, according to the number of animals of the eastern horoscope, and 1 person, Kyo, who turns into a cat, which is not a zodiac animal, which is why everyone considers him "odd".
At the beginning of the story, this curse is treated as a joke and creates many comedic moments, but the more we get to know the characters, the more we realize that this curse is a heavy burden that destroys the lives of family members and everyone connected to them. All of this is made even worse by the fact that Akito, who is the so-called "god" of the zodiacs (and who can be considered the main villain throughout almost the entire story), abuses her power, verbally and even physically abuses and manipulates the zodiac signs, knowing that they cannot resist her because of the curse.
Later we learn that all this was done not because Akito was just an "antagonist," but because she herself had a rather difficult childhood and upbringing in an atmosphere of cruelty and unloving, which shaped such behavior. Thus, we understand that we cannot judge a person for bad deeds without knowing his story.
But what was ultimately able to break this vicious circle of cruelty? Tohru turned out to be the key to everything. Her openness, faith in people, and somewhat naivety were one of the main reasons why the Soma family members were able to break the curse. It was Tohru who showed by her example that understanding and kindness can save even "broken" souls.
Another important part of the story is the ability to forgive and let go of people and your emotions. After all, only after the Zodiac members were able to forgive Akito for everything she did, they were able to free themselves from the curse.
So while we still worry about the romance throughout the story, by the end we realize that maybe it wasn't the most important thing. The most important thing was the connections and interactions of all the characters outside of the romantic tropes.
Can seemingly ordinary shojo make us think about deeper issues of human relationships?
Fruits Basket is one of the shojo genres that focuses on the romantic relationships between the characters, but as we dive into the story, we find ourselves in a cycle of drama and cruelty, which, in the end, allows us to think about serious questions of morality and human psychology.
The plot is quite simple — schoolgirl Honda Tohru accidentally ends up in a house belonging to the Soma family — the writer Shigure and his brothers Kyo and Yuki. Tohru finds out the Soma family secret that they are cursed, and if they are hugged by an ordinary person of the opposite sex, they will turn into one of the animals of the eastern horoscope.
There are 12 such people, according to the number of animals of the eastern horoscope, and 1 person, Kyo, who turns into a cat, which is not a zodiac animal, which is why everyone considers him "odd".
At the beginning of the story, this curse is treated as a joke and creates many comedic moments, but the more we get to know the characters, the more we realize that this curse is a heavy burden that destroys the lives of family members and everyone connected to them. All of this is made even worse by the fact that Akito, who is the so-called "god" of the zodiacs (and who can be considered the main villain throughout almost the entire story), abuses her power, verbally and even physically abuses and manipulates the zodiac signs, knowing that they cannot resist her because of the curse.
Later we learn that all this was done not because Akito was just an "antagonist," but because she herself had a rather difficult childhood and upbringing in an atmosphere of cruelty and unloving, which shaped such behavior. Thus, we understand that we cannot judge a person for bad deeds without knowing his story.
But what was ultimately able to break this vicious circle of cruelty? Tohru turned out to be the key to everything. Her openness, faith in people, and somewhat naivety were one of the main reasons why the Soma family members were able to break the curse. It was Tohru who showed by her example that understanding and kindness can save even "broken" souls.
Another important part of the story is the ability to forgive and let go of people and your emotions. After all, only after the Zodiac members were able to forgive Akito for everything she did, they were able to free themselves from the curse.
So while we still worry about the romance throughout the story, by the end we realize that maybe it wasn't the most important thing. The most important thing was the connections and interactions of all the characters outside of the romantic tropes.
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