I got this softcover from Better World Books for another release copy.

I enjoyed the original anime adaptation of this series, and have found several volumes of the manga since then. [The series premise is a bit goofy: there's this family allied with signs of the Zodiac, and cursed such that if they're hugged by a member of the opposite sex - and someone not a member of the family - they'll change into the animal corresponding to their Zodiac sign. This means that the story's full of clumsy people stumbling into one another to generate the transformation-causing "hugs" at the most inconvenient times - and yet there's more of a story than that...]

In this volume, main character Tohru has her two best friends over for the night, so they get to see how their Sohma family classmates Yuki and Kyo behave at home. While they do give the boys a very stern warning that if anything should happen to hurt Tohru, retribution will occur, in general the visit goes well - but we also get a glimpse of a mysterious, languid person who seems to be lurking behind the scenes...

Later on, Tohru gets to meet more members of the clan, including the exuberant little Momiji and the rather intimidating-at-first Hatori (the family doctor, who has a tragic history of his own - and an embarrassing secret, as he's the "dragon" of the zodiac, but instead of turning into an actual dragon when hugged, he becomes a tiny seahorse, about as helpless as he can be). Come to think of it, in the process of learning Hatori's sad past, Tohru finds out a lot more about the whole Sohma clan - the truly dark side of the curse has caused parents to disown children, lovers to be parted, even physical abuse from Akito, the head of the family, who orders Hatori to erase memories whenever he thinks it's convenient. Pretty heavy stuff for a series that tends to be cheerful and goofy most of the time!

[There's a TV Tropes page for the series, with lots of info - and spoilers, most masked but some not, so read with care!]

I left this book on a window ledge in the entrance of Trader Joe's market on DW Highway; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]

*** Released for the 2020 Asian Zodiac/Year of the Rat Release Challenge. ***

*** Released for the 2020 TV Series release challenge. ***