1. Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya (Volumes 1-19).  Los Angeles, California: Tokyopop. (2004-2007)

    

 

The Sohma family are cursed by the members of the zodiac.  When one is hugged by a member of the opposite sex, the person reverts to his/her zodiac animal.  Orphan Tohru Honda brings love and optimism as she tries to break the zodiac curse.

 

 

Literary Concepts:

Themes:

• Tolerance, self-discipline, overcoming obstacles
• Intense emotional situations (death, abandonment)
• Teens sticking together/family

 

 

Literary Concept:

Theme Discussion

 

Fruits Basket gets its name from a childhood game played by Tohru Honda.  In this game, a group of children are each assigned a fruit, and then run out before being tagged when their fruit is called.  Tohru is called an “onigiri,” a rice ball, as a purposeful act of childhood mean-ness.

 

This metaphor of being an outsider or a misfit is the predominant thematic arc of the characters in Fruits Basket.  This is particularly true of members of the Sohma family, who are cursed with the vengeful spirits of the zodiac.  Members are in constant inner turmoil about finding true love, family, and independence.  Many members have been rejected by their biological families because of their curse, and struggle to fit in both within and outside of the Sohma family. 

 

 

         Read the first book online from Tokyo Pop (great web-animation): http://www.tokyopop.com/Fruits_Basket/tp_manga/1291812.html

 

 

Diane Mahan

Partington 267 Spring 2008

Manga/Literary Concepts

Faculty Presentation

 

 

Save Our Manga!

 

 

The manga collection at Woodland High School has come under increasing scutiny.  More and more questions have arisen about what the kids are reading, how it was funded, and what is its literary value.  Many teachers are complaining that kids read manga in class, and confiscate the books.

 

The library media teacher wanted to give a presentation to the English department on this genre, but decided that it was best done by the readers themselves…the students. 

 

Following an inquiry-based model, the students are going to create a presentation with curriculum connections for the faculty and staff to use.

 

The students will break into groups to present each section.

 

What is Manga?

 

 

Using an authoritative source of information, students will create a short presentation using power point slides explaining the hallmarks of manga, its history, and how to read it. 

 

Students should include elements from the Ninth and Tenth Grade English Language Arts Content Standards  Writing Standard (Persuasive Writing) 2.4c: Clarify and defend positions with precise and relevant evidence, including facts, expert opinions, quotations, and expressions of commonly accepted beliefs and logical reasoning.

 

 

Popular Titles

 

 

Each student needs to create a short power point presentation on the following titles:

·         Fruits Basket

·         Bleach

·         Death Note

·         Ranma ½

 

Information should include a cover of the book, a discussion of the main characters, overview of the plot, and any larger story arcs that carry into several books in the series.

 

 

 

 

Literary Concepts

 

 

Students will identify literary concepts in each series and explain how these stories illustrate these concepts.  Concepts should include elements from:

Ninth and Tenth Grade English Language Arts Content Standards

 

Literary Response and Analysis (3.0)

 

 

• Theme
• Metaphor
• Symbol
• Interior monologue
• Foreshadowing
• Characterization
• How minor characters enhance themes of major characters
• Tone
• Mood
• Narration

 

Lesson Plans

 

 

Each student group is to create a short lesson plan in which particular manga titles could be used in an instructional classroom.  These could be across the curriculum, but should address the English Language Arts standards in particular.

 

Anticipating Concerns

 

 

Students need to anticipate and address the concerns of teachers in an appropriate and persuasive manner.  Ninth and Tenth Grade English Language Arts Content Standards

 

Writing Standard (Persuasive Writing) 2.4d: Address concerns, counterclaims, biases, and expectations.  This will include a discussion of:

 

• Language, nudity, and sexuality
• Literary value
• Recreational value
• Graphic novels as literature
• Circulation statistics

 

 

Students will be able to field questions in an articulate manner and leave the teachers with the lesson plans and a concluding statement that summarizes the main points. 

 

Have several copies of the titles on hand for teachers to peruse, and encourage them to read a title and see for themselves!

 

 

            (DM) 4.17.08

 

Fruits Basket v. 1 by Natsuki Takaya. Japanese copyright 1998 by Hakusensha, Inc. English text copyright 1999 by Tokyopop, Los Angeles, CA.

Summary: Tohru Honda, an orphaned high school girl, encounters the Sohma family, who are inhabited by the vengeful spirits of the Chinese zodiac. They turn into their zodiac animal when weakened or when hugged by a member of the opposite sex.

Illustrations: Black-and-white ink shaded drawings.

Analysis: This is a delightful comedy/fantasty/romance story with good characters. It's in the traditional right-to-left manga format with often-detached speech bubbles, making it difficult to follow if you're not used to it, but the plot is usually fairly simple, so if a particular page is too confusing, it doesn't mean complete loss of plot thread. The Japanese onomatopoetic interjections are left in the original script, but there's a highly useful key in the back if you want to find out what they say.

Rating (Quality/Popularity): 4/5

Potential curricular uses: It could be fun to suggest as further reading to a class learning about the Chinese zodiac legend, but isn't really a "curricular" sort of book otherwise.

 

---SLH