Covers volumes 1-8 of Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya

At the height of the mid-2000s manga boom in the US, there was no bigger series than Fruits Basket. And this story about orphaned Tohru Honda and the Sohma family curse has endured, getting a very special rerelease in recent years. For a series this influential, we brought on one of the biggest Furuba fans of all: Anime News Network editor Jacob Chapman. We discuss why Fruits Basket left such a lasting impression, who our favorite Sohmas are, how Tokyopop and Yen Press’ translations compare, what the curse really is, Kyo’s “true” form and the search for what’s real, Furuba’s message about belief in others, particularly as it relates to religion and family, and much, much more. Most importantly, obviously, we answer the question: Yuki or Kyo? And just think: This is only the first of three episodes about Takaya’s masterpiece.

Click here for a transcript of this episode

REFERENCES

• Fruits Basket is available from Yen Press in a very nice collector’s edition
• The Fruits Basket anime is available from Funimation
• Jacob’s Fruits Basket radio drama can still be listened to here
• An in-depth Twitter thread from Jacob comparing Yen Press’ editions to the original Tokyopop releases
• Other manga Jacob keeps up with (since he doesn’t read that much manga): Attack on Titan, To Your Eternity
• Other big shojo titles popular during Fruits Basket’s heyday: *Skip Beat, *Boys Over Flowers
• Quiz Segment: Can We Guess Your Chinese Zodiac Based On Your Taste In Food? [Buzzfeed]
• Outro song: “For Fruits Basket” by AmaLee (an English cover of the Fruits Basket anime opening). Download this song and AmaLee’s other great covers in iTunes here.

SOCIAL

• Jacob on Twitter: @itsbonedaddy
• Shojo & Tell on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and Facebook
• Ashley on Twitter: @AshMcD00

If you have any comments or questions about the episode, email us at [email protected], reach out to us on your preferred social media network, or comment on the episode page.

Covers all of Magic Knight Rayearth by CLAMP (that's six volumes across MKR I and II)

Take a trip to Cefiro, grab a sword, and get in a mech in this wild and beautiful Clamp classic. Asher and Ashley do a character walkthrough that’s mostly gushing about how pretty everyone is (Eagle! Lantis! Umi! Fuu! Hikaru! That's only 1/100th of the number of characters in this six-volume manga!), debate whether Princess/Pillar Emeraude committed suicide and how this relates to controversies over assisted suicide, and of course, fail to escape hitsuzen because everything is hitsuzen. Plus, the Ashes solve global problems that plague many nations, laugh at how many characters/places are named after cars (AUTOZAM! CLEF!), and fawn over how cute all the (problematic) ships are.

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Covers volumes 12 through 19 of Banana Fish by Akimi Yoshida

It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for: Banana Fish fan Marion goes on an epic rant about The Ending of the series. Seriously! What?! WHY?! Who thought this was okay!? Marion and Shojo & Tell host Ashley also discuss the role of women in Yoshida’s series, touch on the importance of found families, walk through all the ships we’re given in the end (obviously, OTP is Ash and Eiji), and ponder why Blanca has such broad shoulders. Plus: Did Ashley cry while reading the short story “Garden of Light” on the bus? You’ll just have to listen to find out.

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Comments, questions, constructive criticism, concerns? Need to tell us your feelings about the ending? Email shojoandtell [at] gmail.com or simply leave a comment on the episode page.

Covers volumes 1 through 11 of Banana Fish by Akimi Yoshida

It’s a perfect day to discuss Banana Fish, the revived classic about how everyone — except some select gang members and an innocent Japanese boy named Eiji Okumura — wants to kill the brilliant and beautiful and deadly Ash Lynx. Shojo & Tell host Ashley found the biggest Banana Fish fan in Marion, and together they discuss the literary and political history Akimi Yoshida’s work draws from, the representations of race and queerness in the story, answer some of your questions about how the modernized anime compares to this very ’80s manga, and list favorite Ash and Eiji moments. Plus, Ashley and Marion take plenty of time to discuss Ash’s transformation from River Phoenix to Nurse Barbara.

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Comments, questions, constructive criticism, concerns? Want to tell us your favorite Ash Lynx Look or Ash and Eiji moment? Email shojoandtell [at] gmail.com or simply leave a comment on the episode page.

Discusses the first volume of Shortcake Cake by Suu Morishita

We’re back for our second preview guide, covering this month’s new shojo manga series debut of SHORTCAKE CAKE. Viz Media’s mobile app developer Jeff Ruberg and host Ashley review and react to this first volume, digging into its fresh pop aesthetic, which boy is the cutest, Ten’s really long hair, and more. Should you pick up this volume, or should you just go pick up a piece of shortcake instead? Find out here.

LINKS

We’re doing a giveaway along with this episode! It's open until 8pm Tuesday, September 4th! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for entry details.

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Covers Claudine by Riyoko Ikeda (it’s only one volume long!)

Though Riyoko Ikeda’s classic manga featuring a transgender protagonist originally came out in 1978, it was officially released for the first time in the US in the summer of 2018 (40 YEARS LATER!). S&T host Ashley asks Jocelyne Allen, the translator of Claudine (and many other manga), about the use of gender pronouns and other translation challenges with this work that's set in early 1900s France, originally published in 1970s Japan, now being translated for late 2010s America. Plus, Jocelyne and Ashley walk through Claudine’s three romances, ponder if queerness coupled with tragedy are implied to be cyclical, and take a gender quiz that begs the question: Could Claudine be a mech?

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Comments, questions, constructive criticism, concerns? Want to tell us your gender quiz results? Email shojoandtell [at] gmail.com or simply leave a comment on the episode page.

Covers all of Pretear by Junichi Sato and Kaori Naruse (four volumes)

Remember back in 2001 when the Pretear anime was the cool new shojo? Did you know there was a manga that’s actually pretty vastly different than that anime you remember so fondly? May Fisher-Guest (host of the Digimon podcast Lost in Translationmon) and ever-present host Ashley get into the differences between the anime and the manga, dissect the series’ connections to the fairytales Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Cinderella, talk about the cyclic nature of suffering, and fawn over how hot Hayate and the other boys are (the art is amaze!). In addition to an epic shipping corner, May and Ashley also answer the ultimate question: Which one of the seven dwarfs are you?

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Discusses the first volumes of Fruits Basket Another by Natsuki Takaya and Sacrificial Princess & the King of Beasts by Yu Tomofuji

Welcome to our first preview guide! What's a preview guide, you ask? Our preview guide episodes will cover the first volume of newly released shojo/josei series (in the US), providing first reactions about the manga (mixing review with our normal discussion format). These will be shorter episodes that come out in addition to our normal bi-weekly, in-depth series discussions. More shojo talk! What could be better?

Our inaugural series are Fruits Basket Another and Sacrificial Princess & the King of Beasts. Honestly, you know what you’re getting just from those titles alone, but Shojo & Tell host Ashley and her bestie Asher Sofman tell you their likes and dislikes and hopes and dreams. Can the world handle yet another Fruits Basket (without the gimmick that made the original such a success)? Does this new riff on Beauty and the Beast have a uniquely compelling hook? Find out from the Ashes.

LINKS

We’re doing a giveaway along with this episode! It's open until 8pm Wednesday, August 8th! Follow us on social media and/or listen to the episode for entry details.

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Covers volumes 9 to 17 of Princess Jellyfish by Akiko Higashimura

Don your armor (read: your prettiest, frilliest dress) and get ready to defend Tsukimi and all the residents of Amamizukan from corporate kidnapper Kai Fish. Guest Carrie McClain (an editor at Black Nerd Problems) and host Ashley list off the moments that made them cry in the second half, what clothes come to mean for the Amars, who has agency (and who doesn’t), and have one of the most epic Shipping Corners on the podcast yet. (Shu!! How dare you worm your way into our hearts like this?! HOW DARE YOU make us doubt Kuranosuke x Tsukimi for even a minute?!) Plus, in an author’s note, Higashimura questions why Princess Jellyfish is so popular in America, so Ashley and Carrie, as Americans, provide personal (and speculative) answers.

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Comments, questions, constructive criticism, concerns? Want to tell us what made you cry? Email shojoandtell [at] gmail.com or simply leave a comment on the episode page.

Covers volumes 1 to 8 of Princess Jellyfish by Akiko Higashimura

Chances are you’ve heard heaps and heaps of praise bestowed upon this manga about a jellyfish otaku whose life is changed forever by a crossdresser. That praise is HELLA ACCURATE. Carrie McClain (an editor at Black Nerd Problems) and host Ashley reveal how much they’ve become Princess Jellyfish otaku by fangirling all over the Amars and Kuranosuke, dissecting how Higashimura explores identity politics through the narrative and motifs in the art, and remind you that everybody, EVERYBODY, is an otaku. Yes, even straight-laced, stuffy Shu. He’s a Tsukimi otaku.

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Comments, questions, constructive criticism, concerns? Want to tell us who your favorite member of the Amars is? Email shojoandtell [at] gmail.com or simply leave a comment on the episode page.