Short Report, Fruits Basket

Hiya!

So a few things to report:

• I managed to work out a few story kinks in ECA this week, but unfortunately haven't finished a post yet (so still stuck on #76 T_T)
• I had a random burst of inspiration yesterday and ended up writing a little over 2,000 words for a way-way distant scene in Sun Dagger that has absolutely nothing to do with anything. 
• My random idea from early in the week is about half finished, but I got off topic a little so I've been editing a bit to see what I want to keep. Please look forward to it next week or in a few weeks though. 
• Still no artistic work, sorry. 
• I think it's a bad idea to get notebooks/ sketchbooks for a particular purpose because it ends up with the first few pages complete and the rest empty. I much prefer my "put anything in this, it's here for your amusement and convenience" books
• I have a part-time job grading papers and doing whatever needs to be done at a tutoring center I used to go to. So...I'm busy XD
• I read Fruits Basket! 

Let me digress to fangirl about this for a bit. I had read the first few pages about 6-7 years ago in Spanish and didn't understand anything (lol) so didn't continue, but picked it up last weekend in a burst of inspiration. Loved it.

---(Spoilers follow)---
The title is derived from a game, in which (according to the manga) players are assigned a fruit name. When their fruit is called they can join the circle. The protagonist, Honda Tohru, is assigned as "riceball" when she is young. Obviously, a riceball isn't a fruit, and will never join the fruits basket. Although the game isn't mentioned ever again in the manga, it is a constant allusion to a theme in the manga: loneliness is a source of evil.  Many of the character's backstories show how not being accepted or wanted deteriorates their confidence, their happiness and ultimately their view on life. It's a beautiful exploration on the human psyche with a focus more on loneliness and acceptance than on just love in general.

I enjoyed Tohru's perpetual kindness and her simple acceptation of others and of situations. She mirrors Kinomoto Sakura (CardCaptor Sakura) and Sakura's perpetual optimism and faith in the good of people in this aspect. Both mangas focus on a "very important emotion", with Fruits Basket emphasizing the healing ability of love on loneliness, and CardCaptor Sakura emphasizing the beneficial radiance of optimism on trying situations. Neither has a clear cut antagonist by the conclusion, which resonates very well with me. I'm reminded of Lillian Hellman's quote "Nothing, of course, begins when you think it did." Which really is: to every story there is a dozen backstories, which have backstories of their own, and events that led up to those as well. But as these mangas do very well to show, it does no good to get lost searching into the endless past: we have to do what we can now to move forward, accepting those that oppose us, and understanding that they too have their story and reasons.
--(end rant)--

So I really like it! It definitely makes it up there in my favorites list, though how high up I'm still deciding.

I'll have a story/writing post up this weekend as well. Sorry for being late!