Manga4Kids: Manga Reviews for Parents and Kids

Plot Summary:

Another series of episodes in the life of Tohru Honda, the cheerful orphan who is a "permanent guest" in the Sohma household. The Sohma family suffers from an ancient curse: If a member of the opposite sex hugs them, they turn into an animal from the Chinese zodiac—or, in the case of Kyo, the cat, which was left out of the zodiac. This makes Kyo an outsider with an attitude.

Tohru's two best friends, Hana-chan and Uo-chan, come to the house for a sleepover with Tohru. Confidences are shared, and stories are told. Among them is Tohru's memory of getting lost when she was a child and being led home by a strange boy. Kyo, who just happens to be eavesdropping on this conversation.

Tohru works evenings cleaning buildings, and one evening she runs into a German-speaking boy who seems tremendously excited to see her.

Meanwhile, Tohru's school is holding a cultural festival. All the girls get together and buy Yuki an elaborate traditional costume—a dress. Being a really nice guy, he wears it, which brings the crowds to his class's booth.Then two of his cousins show up: Momiji, who is half-German (he's the boy Tohru met earlier) and Hatori, a doctor.Hatori gives Yuki a checkup on the spot while Momiji generally disrupts everything, winding up by hugging Tohru in front of everyone and turning into a rabbit. The onlookers are puzzled, but Yuki distracts them by drawing their attention back to him. Tohru sees this as a noble sacrifice, while Kyo is disgusted. Later, Tohru consoles Yuki by telling him that when her mother called her "cute," she was uncomfortable but saw it as a sign of love. Yuki mulls this over, then tells Tohru he thinks she's cute. Tohru's bliss at this is short-lived, because Yuki warns her not to be alone with Hatori, as he could erase her memories to preserve the Sohma secret. The next minute, Hatori pages Tohru and asks her to visit him, warning her not to tell Yuki and Kyo.

When Tohru visits Hatori, he warns her to leave the Sohma household. The family is possessed by vengeful spirits, he says, and the situation is more serious than she realizes. Akita, the head of the family, is allowing her to stay because he is using her. Hatori leaves, and Momiji explains that Hatori was once in love, and even engaged to be married, to an outsider who didn't care about the curse. When Akita found out, he attacked Hatori and blinded him in one eye. Hatori blamed himself and pined away, and when that made his fiancee miserable, he broke up with her and erased her memories so she could be happy again. He is warning Tohru away, Momiji said, to spare her the same fate. Tohru responds that she is so happy to know the Sohmas that she doesn't mind being used.

New Year's rolls around, and Yuki and Kyo resist going back to the Sohma compound for the feasts, until Tohru tells them their parents must be anxious to see them. Ashamed, they agree to go, but they worry about her being on her own. On the way, howver, they run into Hana, who asks them how they think Tohru will feel when she sees the lights and decorations, and she's alone. That's enough for Yuki and Kyo, who turn around and head home. They surprise Tohru, who is weeping over her mother's picture. She apologizes (!) but the boys are embarrassed to have even thought of leaving her.

A few days later, Tohru runs into Hatori on the street. She slips and falls against him, and he turns into his zodiac animal: a seahorse. (It's supposed to be a dragon, but it didn't work that way for Hatori.) In a swoon, he dreams of Kana, his lost love. He wakes up on a park bench, where Tohru has placed him and covered him up. As he lies there, Kana walks by, chatting with some friends about her upcoming marriage. She admits she has always been in love with Hatori, "but it was just one-sided." She does not see him as she passes, and he lets her go by.