Search - Fruits Basket, Volume 3: Puddles of Memories (Episodes 13-19) on DVD

Not Your average Stereotype

Lee Sumtz | Somewhere, USA | 03/26/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When you first see Fruits Basket, you think that it must be a soft, gentle, childs anime, and that it might not be a worthwhile investment. You might think that the plot is not meaningful, and that it might just be a waste of money. Boy, are you wrong. In this DVD, there are three episodes, where Tohru, who has more love in her heart then brains in her head ( not that I respect people who make fun of her- that's childish), Does many things. She meets two new members of the Sohma family, Ayame and Kisa. She goes on another vacation trip- to a lake. She fails an exam. And, celebrates (no joke) the aniversary of her mother's death. But, that's not what makes you want to watch it. The title, Puddles of Memories, is definately justified. For those who saw the second DVD and were looking for more romance won't find it here (except with Shigure and Ayame- lol), besides for something nice Kyo actually does for Tohru (clue- hhe over comes a fear of something that is a green vegetable). It deals with a revelation of Momiji's that connects him to Tohru, the saddening story of Kisa, which relates to Yuki as well, and clues to why Akito is so feared (not many- and feared by Yuki only). Otherwise, this DVDis hilariously funny. There are the joke like always, except now we have Ayame, classmate of SHigure and Hatori, in which all three of them play off eachother perfectly (plus Haru in the bathroom). There are not many things talking about the curse, like how Kagure mentioned Kyo's other form (in DVD 1), except for something Yuki says in teh episode with Kisa. Overall, this DVD is more then it seems, and it would be wise to pick one up."

Family Ties

Kellyannl | Bronx, NY USA | 08/07/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Tohru meets two more Sohmas as Fruits Basket continues.

The volume begins with an episode both humorous and creepy. Momiji and Haru's hilarious first day at high school turns sinister as Yuki is scared witless by a sudden appearance by Akito, and we find out through flashbacks exactly why Yuki was so desperate to flee to Shigure.

Tohru gets her own more innocent scare when she meets Ayame the Snake, Shigure's favorite cousin - and Yuki's big brother - in the garden. There are reasons Yuki hasn't mentioned him. They're not exactly close because of a ten year age gap and the fact that our Aya just happens to be a very loud, hypersensual, presumably bisexual, crossdressing drama queen - which of course mortifies spotlight hating Yuki. How bad is he? The man has his own bagpipe theme that plays whenever he shows up. Of course, Tohru thinks he's the greatest thing since sliced bread once she gets over her initial shock, and Shigure's no help considering that his mentality degenerates to that of a five year old whenever he's anywhere near Aya. The only one who also wants Aya's visit to be as short as possible is Kyo.

Ayame did not show up to cause problems, though. He's actually come because he heard about Yuki's scare and wanted to make sure he was o.k. He also knows that being the older brother he dropped the ball by not making sure that he stayed in Yuki's life, and he wants to make things right and be there for him if things get bad with Akito.

Later, Tohru also meets Kisa the Tiger, who isn't speaking to anyone - including her mother and Haru, with whom she's very close - after suffering trauma in elementary school.

The volume also covers the one year anniversary of the death of Tohru's mother, on which Tohru further bonds with Momiji, who she finds out bears a terrible burden of his own behind his seemingly perpetual smile. Haru shows surprisingly tactful sensitivity in quietly helping Yuki out with his Ayame problem and has some very moving moments with Kisa.

There's also a weak episode built around the Yuki Fan Club notable only for the appearance of Hana's equally strange brother, but all in all this is a worthy follow up to the first two volumes."