Baton Pass: Kyoko Honda

[Lethe]

Hey, everyone! This is my shrine for the super fun Fruits Basket marathon that was run here on the forums. *-* Kyoko is a character I've always had a lot to say about, but I didn't know I'd really get to shrine her one day, so I owe this marathon and the Furuba-loving folks here at Amassment a lot.

Kyoko has already passed away by the time the story starts, and her story is told via fragments and memories of other characters here and there, which doesn't happen in chronological order, and considering the series' length (23 volumes), there's a lot to piece together to understand who Kyoko truly was. Coming up with the shrine's structure was the most fun part about working on this, and what I'm proudest of about this shrine is that each section has an entirely different feel to it - but it is only together that they lead to the shrine's conclusion.

I'm never allowed to say "hey I'm making a small shrine" again, but I hope that it makes for an enjoyable read! <3 And I'd love it if it got more people to read Fruits Basket - the series will be rereleased in English later on this year!!!!

[Mikari]

This is an interesting concept in story telling. Wow your sites are always so detailed! You have quotes from the manga and everything. Very pretty and soft layout. :)

[Robin]

What a beautiful, moving tribute to this character who might otherwise be overlooked! Even the shrine title has extra-special meaning (though I shouldn't be surprised!).

I love that you weave together story retellings and close reading/examination in this shrine--it helps tie together events and extract meaning for even those of us who aren't familiar with the source material (i.e., me, lol). Oh, and the color scheme? Gorgeous and poignant <3

Well done! I know you have a couple more pages to add, but it's already awesome!

[Laura]

There is literally nothing I don't absolutely adore about your Kyoko shrine, Lethe! I love the way you organized information about her; it flows in such an awesome way. I always thought Kyoko was really neat because she's a character that doesn't actually appear herself, only through disposition or via flashbacks/memories. So to read all of this... it fit Kyoko perfectly in every single way. I can't even pick one section I liked the most, it was all wonderful!!

You really have a way with words. ^_^ <3<3

[Andrea]

Ugh, Lethe. LETHE. Every part of this shrine is so fantastic As someone who has never read Fruits Basket (/hides), this was such a moving and emotional read.

For someone who doesn't seem to appear in the manga often, it's amazing that you were able to piece together so much information about Kyoko, and weave her into the narrative of the series—in a narrative that she is, essentially, physically absent from throughout. The Journey section of the site was so heartbreaking and difficult for me to read, just because I was of the tragedy and what would happen to her in the end. But Premature End turned out to be one of my favorite pages of the site since you conveyed her passing so beautifully and so hopefully, with the image of Kyo and everything, ugh. (I think there might be a slight typo on the page: 'Katsuya... I understand now that both leaving and behind left behind are equally painful.'" Did you mean "being left behind"? If I'm mistaken, though, totally ignore this! I STILL LOVED READING IT.)

Similarly, I absolutely love Message; when I finished reading it, I was filled with a kind of longing to also know Kyoko as a person, it was just a cathartic experience overall, haha. And of course, I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the pages of the site!

Aside from the wonderful content, THAT LAYOUT. THOSE COLORS??? SO BEAUTIFUL. I love how SOFT it is and that image of Kyoko is just so lovely. I love how much MEANING you put into everything, from the colors to the images to the shrine TITLE. I JUST LOVE EVERYTHING A LOT, OK. FANTASTIC JOB AS ALWAYS.

[FandomSavant]

That is a fantastic design, I love it. The information is very good. I'm always amazed at how well I can get to know an unfamiliar fandom through visiting a shrine. It's so wonderful to read about something new, and end up caring about it as if it were a fandom of mine.

Wonderful. :)

[Lethe]

Thank you, everyone, for giving my shrine a read!! <3 <3 <3

(Side note: Thanks for all the lovely comments on the layout...!! >_< I was like... "okay... this is totally going to look like I ran out of texture, so most of the text area is white, but.............." LOL)

This is an interesting concept in story telling. Wow your sites are always so detailed! You have quotes from the manga and everything. Very pretty and soft layout. :)

Yes, one of my favourite things about Fruits Basket are all the lessons and important messages it teaches you, so I knew from the start that I'd want the shrine to be quote-heavy, and have an entire section dedicated to those lessons. I complain about translating and comparing translations all the time, but it was still very fun to translate all those quotes (from German) for the shrine! <3

What a beautiful, moving tribute to this character who might otherwise be overlooked! Even the shrine title has extra-special meaning (though I shouldn't be surprised!).

I love that you weave together story retellings and close reading/examination in this shrine--it helps tie together events and extract meaning for even those of us who aren't familiar with the source material (i.e., me, lol). Oh, and the color scheme? Gorgeous and poignant <3

Well done! I know you have a couple more pages to add, but it's already awesome!

Thank you, Robin - especially for describing my shrine as "moving", because that's what Kyoko's story is and what I wanted to convey. Yessss for blending summaries, observations and analysis. *-* AND YES, I PUT SO MUCH THOUGHT INTO SHRINE NAMES LOL (and site names in general... and video game character names... and everything...) <33333

There is literally nothing I don't absolutely adore about your Kyoko shrine, Lethe! I love the way you organized information about her; it flows in such an awesome way. I always thought Kyoko was really neat because she's a character that doesn't actually appear herself, only through disposition or via flashbacks/memories. So to read all of this... it fit Kyoko perfectly in every single way. I can't even pick one section I liked the most, it was all wonderful!!

You really have a way with words. ^_^ <3<3

I'm happy you love my shrine so much!! <3 Also glad to hear from someone who knows the series that my shrine does capture Kyoko. <3 <3 Structuring the shrine was the best thing about this project (though I say this about all the shrines).

That is a fantastic design, I love it. The information is very good. I'm always amazed at how well I can get to know an unfamiliar fandom through visiting a shrine. It's so wonderful to read about something new, and end up caring about it as if it were a fandom of mine.

Wonderful. :)

Thank you so much for your feedback, and for checking out a shrine to a subject you're unfamiliar with! <3 All the more so for telling me my shrine made you care about the subject. ;_; <3 I really love checking out shrines here at Amassment, and seeing other people's enthusiasm and insight into subjects they adore is very lovely.

Ugh, Lethe. LETHE. Every part of this shrine is so fantastic As someone who has never read Fruits Basket (/hides), this was such a moving and emotional read.

For someone who doesn't seem to appear in the manga often, it's amazing that you were able to piece together so much information about Kyoko, and weave her into the narrative of the series—in a narrative that she is, essentially, physically absent from throughout. The Journey section of the site was so heartbreaking and difficult for me to read, just because I was of the tragedy and what would happen to her in the end. But Premature End turned out to be one of my favorite pages of the site since you conveyed her passing so beautifully and so hopefully, with the image of Kyo and everything, ugh. (I think there might be a slight typo on the page: 'Katsuya... I understand now that both leaving and behind left behind are equally painful.'" Did you mean "being left behind"? If I'm mistaken, though, totally ignore this! I STILL LOVED READING IT.)

Similarly, I absolutely love Message; when I finished reading it, I was filled with a kind of longing to also know Kyoko as a person, it was just a cathartic experience overall, haha. And of course, I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the pages of the site!

Aside from the wonderful content, THAT LAYOUT. THOSE COLORS??? SO BEAUTIFUL. I love how SOFT it is and that image of Kyoko is just so lovely. I love how much MEANING you put into everything, from the colors to the images to the shrine TITLE. I JUST LOVE EVERYTHING A LOT, OK. FANTASTIC JOB AS ALWAYS.

WTF I WOULD HAVE NEVER THOUGHT THAT YOU'VE NEVER READ FURUBA because you seem like an old manga person just like me, all the long-dead things nobody talks about etc.!! Thank you so much for reading............ such a long shrine................. <3 <3

I KNOW what you mean with the Journey section - I've known Furuba by heart for so long, but every time I reach that point in the manga, I'm sitting here with so many conflicting feelings: anticipation because I adore the adolescent Kyoko, apprehensiveness because I know how things will play out (and especially how they're presented), and then just heartbreak all over again. I'm!! So happy you pointed out "Premature End" - I was honestly worried it might not have been well-placed since it takes place in a different volume and much later than the rest in that section. Thanks for letting me know about the typo too. <3

"Message" IS THE PAGE I WROTE THE ENTIRE SHRINE FOR, PROBABLY, and I wasn't allowed to write it until I had all the lead-up to it written looooool, it's the page that kept me going - while shrining and beyond. omg "cathartic" is such a lovely word to describe one of my shrine conclusions as, thank you. ;_; <33333333

Thank you so much for your lengthy feedback and your attention to detail, I appreciate. <3 Always love hearing about your opinions!

[Andrea]

WTF I WOULD HAVE NEVER THOUGHT THAT YOU'VE NEVER READ FURUBA because you seem like an old manga person just like me, all the long-dead things nobody talks about etc.!! Thank you so much for reading............ such a long shrine................. <3 <3

Y-Yeah... You know the THING that I said happens to me... in which I tend to avoid series, etc. that seem to be super popular with everyone at any given time? Furuba's one of them, ahahahaha. /FLEES

But since it's going to be rereleased later this year, now might be a good time for me to finally read it. :D <3

[Crystal]

Your Kyoko shrine is amazing. I love how you arranged all the content, and even wrote it for that matter. And that layout. *drools* <3

[Megan]

Lethe!

Kyoko's character was kind of confusing to me during my first few reads of FB, especially because like you've stated, her story is kind of all over the place - and it is subtly mentioned many times in regards to how Tohru talks about her as well. I feel like reading through your site has really helped me piece together everything, and understand and appreciate her character way more!

I really like the "first glance" page, and I feel like that summarizes a lot of good information. I told you on Skype, but I also LOVE the Echo page (title of it an messages in it!) I think that may be my favorite page of the site because you show that she is really a person of her own, and not a narrative by Tohru. My next favorite page is your "message" section (maybe tied with parenthood, I am not sure!)

AHH there is just so many good things to say about this site. I think it is visually pleasing with the amount of images you add to each page, as well as how you separate quotes. I also love when people bold main points, and you have that done very nicely! It makes those points really stand out and makes sure the reader is understanding those. I can't wait to see what you add with those two other pages one day!

CONGRATS ON FINISHING <3 :D Glad we made it through these FB sites and I can't wait to see what else you come up with soon!