Fruits Basket 17 by Natsuki Takaya: A+

From the back cover:
Akito has more than skeletons hiding in the closet—the curse, dear reader, is not the only reason Kureno won’t leave Akito. And who can make Arisa understand Kureno’s devotion to Akito? Graduation is approaching, so everyone needs answers!

Review:
This volume was awesome from start to finish. I followed this series as it was being released in Japanese, so I knew what was coming, but I still got goosebumps during the scene where Kureno told Tohru the real reason he won’t leave Akito’s side. It wasn’t only the big reveal itself that was so great, but also the skillful manipulation of tension and atmosphere leading up to it.

Speaking of manipulation, most of my favorite scenes involved Shigure—a conversation with Hatori, a phone call with Kureno, and an encounter with Akito. The phone call was especially good, with snippets of it being doled out across several chapters. In his appearances, Shigure was manipulative, honest, teasing, hateful, and, in one particular panel, downright creepy. What an amazing character.

I also liked that most of the other subplots were touched on in this volume. There were some very cute Kyou/Tohru and Yuki/Machi scenes, and things like Momiji and his sister and Shigure’s editor’s relationship with Ritsu even got a mention. There wasn’t a single chapter that merited anything less than a perfect score, in my opinion.

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