Random Acts of Fandom: Fruits Basket

So after finally getting sucked into reading Fruits Basket(I blame evilbeej) I ran out of borrowed volumes at v17 last night and just gave in and looked up the rest online. (I know, I know, but I'm planning to buy the series for myself gradually anyhow, so.)

Then I cried like a little girl. I should stop reading things that make me cry, really. (Katsuya ;_;)

The main thing that strikes me about this series is that it's crammed full of very winning characters. I'm not entirely sure if it's just that immersion has made it increasingly easy for me to buy into the feel of the story and the particular way that things play out in it, or if it's just something about Takaya's writing style that makes it possible for her to introduce a minor character and have me firmly invested in that character's story within a single chapter. With only two exceptions (Ritsu, who... needs a Valium, and Akito), even the characters that had otherwise left me cold managed to have at least one moment of winning at life which won me over. (See particularly Ayame at Yuki's parent-teacher conference.)

( Cut for some spoilers. )

( And edited to add some further, non-spoily natter about Shigure and the appeal of the series in general. )