Sabtu, 13 September 2008

Jeanne D'Arc - Joan Of Arc

JOAN of ARC


Joan of Arc (French, Jeanne d'Arc), born ca.1412, was a French peasant girl who led the French army against the English during the Hundred Years' War. Called the Maid of Orleans, she is a French national heroine and patron saint.


When Joan was about 13 years old she began to hear "voices" (which she later identified as those of Saint Catherine, Saint Margaret, and Saint Michael) that gave her the mission of liberating France from English domination. She kept the messages secret for about 5 years, and only in 1429 did she leave her home in Domremy, Champagne, and travel with an escort to the court of the dauphin, later King Charles VII, who had been deprived of his rights as heir to the French throne by the Treaty of Troyes of 1420. At that time the English were besieging Orleans. After a group of theologians tested her, Charles was persuaded to reassemble his troops and place them under Joan's command in an expedition to relieve the city. In 8 days during May 1429, she lifted the siege that had lain on Orleans for 8 months. In June 1429, Joan and her troops were able to break through to Reims, where she persuaded Charles to hold his coronation. The relief of Orleans and the crowning of the dauphin revived French hopes.


Against Joan's advice, a period of military inactivity followed, but in the spring of 1430, Joan resumed her campaigns. In May, while attempting to relieve Compiegne, she was captured by the Burgundians, who sold her to the English. The latter, who wanted her executed but were reluctant to accept the responsibility for such an action, turned her over to a church court in Rouen. There she was tried on charges of heresy and witchcraft, and the judges declared her visions diabolical. After months of interrogation Joan was tricked into admission of guilt. She soon retracted her confession, however, and was condemned as a relapsed heretic. On May 30, 1431, she was burned at the stake in Rouen. When French fortunes were finally restored, Joan was rehabilitated in a formal trial (1456) called for by Charles VII, who had done nothing to save her while she was alive.


Joan of Arc has been the subject of much art and literature. There are monuments to her memory in many French cities and towns. In Rouen, a statue stands on the spot in the marketplace where she was executed. She was canonized in 1920. Feast day: May 30.
READ MORE - Jeanne D'Arc - Joan Of Arc

Jumat, 12 September 2008

Fruit Basket - Furuba

FRUITS BASKET - FURUBA

Let's talk about Fruits Basket or Furuba ! Fruits Basket is created by Natsuki Takaya, its about the Shoma's family who cursed by the animal in 13 shio and the girl named Tohru Honda who want to break the curse.


* SINOPSIS *

Fruits Basket follows the life of high-school student Tohru Honda, who was recently orphaned when her mother, Kyoko Honda, died in a car accident. After that, Tohru lived with her grandfather, but when his house needs remodeling, Tohru resorts to living in a tent in a forest and holds down a job to support herself. Despite suffering many hardships, Tohru remains optimistic.

One day, Tohru comes upon a house in the forest that is the home of her classmate Yuki Sohma and his cousin Shigure Sohma. When the Sohmas discover that Tohru is living in a tent, they are quite surprised by her inner strength. The entire area is Sohma property, and Tohru asks to be allowed to stay in her tent (affectionately dubbed "her castle"). Feeling sorry for her and desperate to end their bachelor days of filthy living conditions, the Sohmas offer her their spare room in exchange for cooking and housework. After a landslide buries her tent, including her mother's picture and school clothes, she has no option but to accept. Soon after she moves in, Kyo Sohma comes to challenge Yuki.

Tohru soon discovers the Sohma family's secret, and the reason why Yuki is so private and secretive at school: thirteen members of the family are possessed by the 12 animal spirits of the Chinese Zodiac (jyūnishi in Japanese) plus the spirit of the cat who was, according to legend, left out of the Zodiac. They transform into animals when hugged by the opposite sex or when put under a great deal of emotional or physical stress (such as being sick). When she promises to keep their secret, the Sohmas allow Tohru to keep her memories rather than hypnotically erasing them, a fate that had previously befallen anyone not "Inside" the Sohma family who had discovered the secret.

The story follows the lives of Tohru and the Sohma family, as they deal with each other and a society where neither quite fits in, as well as the feared Akito Sohma, head of the Sohma family. Soon, after living with the Sohma family she began to like, then love, all of the Sohmas, and sets out to break the zodiac curse.

* CHARACTER PROFILE *

Tohru Honda

Alias : Honda-san (by Yuki) Onee-chan (by Kisa)
Race : Human
GendeR : Fem
ale
Age : 16 years old
Hair : Light Brown

Eyes : Blue
Height : 156.7 cm
Weight : 46 kg

Status : Hous
ekeeper Of the Shigure’s House
Quote : "Thank you for everything you've done for me."

Sixteen-year-old Tohru Honda's life seems to get stranger and stranger. After a string of tragic and bizarre circumstances, Tohru found herself working as a housekeeper for the Sohma family. Tohru's generous nature, sympathetic heart, and friendly manner are in stark contrast to the prevailing mood in the Sohma House.

Tohru is a very kind girl who is always looking on
the bright side of everything. Despite the attitude anyone else shows her, she always shows kindness. She even influenced Kyo and Yuki to tone the constant fighting down.

She is usually very deep in thought, and du
e to this fact, she is very clumsy. In turn for her room at Shigure's house, she cleans the house and makes all their meals for them. And no matter how much Yuki or Kyo get depressed or angry, she never gives up trying to get them to look on the bright side. She even blows all of her money to buy everyone chocolates for Valentine's day. Tohru has had a pretty rough life, but doesn't show it around people. She loves to help people. She first meets Yuki Sohma and Shigure Sohma when she stops to look at some rocks outside a house that have the Chinese Zodiac animals, but the cat was not among them.

Shigure comes out to see her looking at them. Yuki comes out after a bit. Shortly after meeting Tohru, Yuki and Shigure discover that Tohru has been living in a tent on their property, and so they ask her to stay with them at their house. She agrees and moves in and starts get to know them and the other Sohma's more and more over time. She struggles to keep the Souma curse a secret, and to please the other family members.

Kyo Sohma

Alias : Kyo-Kyo (by his classmates)
Lucky Kyo (by Ayame)
Kyonkitchi (by Ayame)
Kyon-Kyon (by Uo-chan and Ayame)
Race : Human/Cat
Gender : Male
Age : 16 years old
Hair : Orange

Eyes : Reddish-brown
Height : 171.3 cm
Weight : 56 kg
Status : Cursed
Quote : "Damn Rat" "You're so full of it!"

Kyo is the cat or outcast of the zodiac. Kyo is really sensitive, so it is easy to get him pissed off. Whenever he loses his temper, he says mean things without thinking about what he's saying. In the story, the rat tricked the cat into thinking the banquet for the animals was a different day. Kyo is also really competitive with Yuki. He will get in a fist fight or argument, but Yuki always beats him or has a comeback. He lives in Shigure's house along with Yuki, Shigure himself, and Tohru Honda.

Kyo and Yuki both took quickly to Tohru, but she had to leave when the house was finished. In the end, they took her back; she wasn't happy at her grandfather's house. In result, Kyo has never been treated like a true member of the Sohmas. It also means he cannot attend the Zodiac Banquet, just like in the story.

Since the cat didn't attend the banquet, Kyo must always wear his red and white beads so he doesn't turn into the Cat's Evil Spirit (the red are supposedly colored with sacrificed blood and all the beads are made of bone). The Cat's Evil Spirit is what built up after the Cat realized he had been fooled. The Evil Spirit is Kyo's true form, and it is hideous. Kyo hides a secret, that he doesn't ever want Tohru to know. Kyo has a very bad temper, but when he's around Tohru, he seems to be a little sweeter and more calm. And Kyo took a liking to her, especially after she accepted his darkest secret.

Yuki Sohma

AliaS : The Prince
Race : H
uman/rat
Gende
r : Male
Age : 1
6 years old
Hair : Grey Eyes : Purple
Height : 170.5 cm
Weight : 54 kg
Blood : Type A

Status : Curse
d
Quote : "Baka neko" ("stupid cat")

Yuki is a mysterious, smart, and athletic bishounen (beautiful boy) that almost everyone likes. Hiding behind a cool exterior, Yuki actually yearns for a normal life without hidden secrets and mysterious curses. Playing the kind, thoughtful prince in school, Yuki even has his own fan club! Yuki may seem confident and fearless, but he has a scarred past that hides in the crevices of his fears.

Yuki has some serious self esteem issues. After meeting Tohru Honda, Yuki looked at himself differently, and slowly the deep scars of his past began to heal. Yuki scorns himself for not knowing Tohru ealier.

Yuki's riva
l is the cat, Kyou Sohma. Yuki envies Kyou, who isn't stuck inside "that Sohma cage", so Yuki gets annoyed whenever Kyou talks about becoming one of the zodiac. Yuki appears to be better then Kyou in everything he does. They constantly fight each other over some of the silliest things, but Tohru thinks its a good thing, because they "acknowledge each other". Yuki isn't a morning person, and Kyou claims "he fights harder when he's like that" meaning Yuki's been holding back when he fights Kyou.

Yuki also has an older brother, Ayame Sohma. Until Tohru came along, the two brothers weren't very close. Now, they are slowly beginning to understand each other. Whenever Shigure, Ayame, or someone says something 'lecherous' or 'rude', Yuki gets annoyed and stands up for Tohru. He cares greatly for Tohru. Kagura Sohma sometimes calls Yuki Yun-chan. And he sometimes calls Kagura, Kagura-nee (big sister.) He also feels close to Kisa Sohma, because, like her, he went through a period in which he wouldn't speak. Yuki's two major fears are Akito Sohma, and small, confined spaces.

Shigure Sohma

Alias : Gure
Race : Human/Dog
Gender : Male
Age : 27 years old
Hair : Black
Eyes : Brown
Height : 178 cm
Weight : 68.5 kg
Status : Novelist

Quote : "High-school girls, high-school girls, all for me, pretty high-school girls!"

Shigure is the older cousin of Yuki and Kyo. Despite the lecherous way he acts, he can actually be kind and sometimes selfless. Shigure is just an all around good and funny guy...

He and Tohru met when Tohru was on her way to school and stopped to look at some figurines of the zodiac animals on his porch, and he was the one who invited Tohru to live with him, Yuki, and before too long, Kyo. Though humorous and kind, he can still be quite the lech. He is also a novelist, and one of his favorite hobbies is putting his editor through near-torment with his jokes and pranks, which often focus on hiding in some way when a deadline rolls around.

Hatori Sohma


Alias :Ha-san (to Shigure),Tori-san(to Ayame)
Race : Human/Dragon (Seahorse)

Gender : Male
Age : 27 years old
Hair : Black
Eyes : Green
Height : 182 cm
Weight : 69 k
g
Status : Doctor
Quote : "Tell me...When the snow melts, what does it become?" "No."

Hatori is the kind of guy who usually likes to look responsible and professional. He can barely see out of his left eye, because Akito hurt it when Hatori wanted to get married. Hatori seems sort of jerky when you first meet him, but you eventually understand that he's not, and the reason he acts as such. When someone finds out about the zodiac curse, Hatori is the one responsible for the erasing When Akito decides that a person is to have their memory erased in order to protect the Sohma secret, Hatori is the man to do it. The Sohma curse has caused Hatori much pain in the past, and he only wishes that anyone outside the family stay away from the secret that could ruin their life.

Momiji Sohma

Alias : Momitchi
Race : Human/Rabbit
Gender : Male
Age : 15 ye
ars old
Hair : Blond

Eyes : Brown
Height : 155.8 cm
Weight : 47.5 kg
Status : Cursed

Quote : "Wah-ah-ah! Kyo-o's picking on me-e!"

Momiji likes Tohru when he first meets her. He is the younger cousin of Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure. He takes Tohru to a hot spring in return for Valentine's chocolates.

Although Momiji acts kind, he has a terrible secret abou
t his mother. He vows that he'll always keep all of his memories no matter how bad or good, because he knows that someday, he'll be able to overlook the pain and be able to remember.

Momiji is cursed with the spirit of the rabbit. Because of this, his mother hated him because when she tried to hold him he transformed. She was unable to smile, and she would snap when ever she saw him. And so Hatori had to erase her mind. Momiji then watches her and his little sister, Momo, from afar but his father forbid him to let them see him.

When Momiji is accidently spotted by both his mother and Momo, Momo thinks Momiji looks like her mom. Momo then asks Tohru to tell Momiji that she wants him to be her big brother. His mother knows that he is part of the Sohma family, but believes he is someone else's son. He is always crying because Kyo picks on him.

Despite acting sort of childish, Momiji is a very nice kid. He is a very energetic boy. Momiji and Hatsuharu go to their high school in episode 13. On his first day at high school, he chose to where the girl's uniform, and the student council president began to pick on Momiji. But that doesn't happen anymore. Haru went black and now Momiji can wear the girl's uniform. Despite his awful past, he's a very perky young boy. He's part German and part Japanese, and he constantly switches between the two languages naturally.

Kagura Sohma

Race : Human/boar
Gender : Female
Age : 18 years old
Hair : Dark brown
Eyes : Gray
Height : 160.5 cm
Weight : 51 kg
Status : Cursed
Quote : "Kyooo- My Looove!"

Kagura Sohma is an interesting character. When Tohru first meet Kagura, she's shyly watching Shigure's house from behind the gate. She meets Tohru at the door and asks if Kyo is around. When she's brought inside, Shigure and Yuki are surprised to see her, while Kyo is utterly terrified. Now, why would Kyo, the one who trained in the mountains for months and never backs down from any fight, be so unnerved as to shake in his boots at the sight of Kagura, a simple girl his age?

Moved to tears by seeing Kyo, at first Kagura can only emotionally mutter his name. Then her eyes gleam evilly, and as she shrieks, "I wanted to see you!!" and She screams "I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" she punches Kyo so hard he flies across the room and crashes through the door. Yuki and Shigure, being used to Kagura's temper tantrums, casually duck as Kyo flies over them and Kagura follows, leaping across the room. And then she will go back to her normal personality, worriedly fawning over the injured Kyo and saying, "Who did this to you my love?!" Kyo is not so affectionate to her, but she tries her best to make him happy... and messes up all of it to be Kyo's future wife. She also call herself his "girlfriend" and of course she's very jealous of Tohru.

Tohru is completely shocked by the sudden surge of violence from what seemed like such a sweet girl. But Kagura quickly becomes friends with Tohru, but is still convinced Kyo is cheating on her.

Kagura is very similar to Haru, as in she also has a double personality. So badly does she want to proof her love to Kyo that she always carries a cat-shaped bag so that when staying at Shigure's house she can help cook and wash dishes and clothes, but of course she end up with a mess everywhere.

She loves Kyo deeply and declares her love for him more than once. She is very demanding when she is around Kyo, though she can be pretty shy and timid when he isn't there. She states that Kyo promised to marry her, but Kyo reminds her that it was only after she threatened him. She believes that she and Kyo are meant to be together because they can hug each other without turning into animals (members of the zodiac can hug each other without being affected).

Hatsuharu Sohma

Alias : Haru Sohma , Black Haru , White Haru
Race : Hum
an/cow
Gender : Male
Age : 15 years old
Hair : Black
and white
Eyes : Gray
He
ight : 170.2 cm
Weight : 57.5 kg
Blood : Type O
Status : Cursed

Quote : "You still can't beat Yuki, now can you loser?"


Hatsuharu Sohma is one of the most interesting characters in Fruits Basket. Whenever he embraces a person of the opposite gender, he turns into a cow. Haru has developed a split personality. The good side of him is "White Haru", the calmer, kinder, lazier, and less arrogant side. The bad side is "Black Haru", who is arrogant, rude, and rather violent. Even the smallest problem can trigger his black personality.

This all started when he was little. He held a grudge against Yuki. People in his family always made fun of him about how the cow was stupid and let the rat used him. This made him mad, so mad that he developed a black personality. He soon had forgiven Yuki after he got to know him. Haru is mostly seen wearing rockish attire, like biker clothes. Sadly, he only rides a bicycle because he's not old enough to ride a motorcycle. Haru is bisexual, as Haru does indeed like Yuki. He explained that to Tohru when Yuki got sick, stating that Yuki was "His first love."

Haru actually loves Isuzu "Rin" Sohma. Though to protect him, she breaks up with him. She is trying to protect him from Akito because Akito already put Rin into the hospital so she is worried that Akito will put Haru there too. Though Rin breaks up with Haru, she is still very much in love with him as he is with her.

Ayame Sohma


Alias : Aya (to Shigure)
Race : Human/Snake
Gender
: Male
Age : 2
7 years old
Hair : White
Eyes : Gold/Yellow
Height : 175 cm
Weight
: 69 kg
Status : Yuki's older brother
Quote : "I came in through the door, of course!" "What's the matter? You all look so surprised!"

Ayame is Yuki's older brother, but they are nothing alike. Ayame is much louder than Yuki, not to mention much more sure of himself. He is under the impression that he is the most charming person in the world. One day, Yuki and Tohru come to visit him at his shop, and find him fitting a wedding dress for a man! Yuki and Ayame get a chance to talk and Yuki realizes that he has to accept Ayame for the way he is.

Ayame likes to dress up in women's clothing from time to time. His only intention is to bond with Yuki (no matter how much it might seem like he only wants to piss everyone off). Ayame is the loud, egotistical and over-dramatic member of the Sohma family. One of the oldest cursed members of the family.

Ritsu Sohma

Alias : Rit-chan
Race : Human/Monkey
Gender : Male (but looks female)
Age : About 20-21 years
Hair : Light Brown
Eyes : Brown
Height : 174.3 cm
Weight : 59 kg
Status : Junior at a university
Qu
ote : "I'M SO SORRY!"

Ritsu was born with the curse of the sign of the monkey. As far back as he could remember, his par
ents always had to apologize for everything he did, so he is very unsure of himself. He feels that every day, he is robbing the world of its air by breathing.He found that it always made him feel more comfortable to dress like a girl, but that only gave his parents even more to apologize for. Since he looks so much like a girl, that's what Tohru thought when she first saw him, until he accidently transformed. Somehow, Tohru convinced him that he does have a reason to live, he just hasn't found it yet.

Hiro Sohma

Race : Human/sheep
Ge
nder : Male
Ag
e : 11 years old
Hair : Blond

Eye
s : Brown
Height : 150 cm
Weight : 38 kg
Status
: Kisa's friend/Cursed
Quote : "You could at least say thank you or something! Geez!"

Hiro Sohma is possessed by the ram. Hiro seems to have no motivation to do anything to quell the anger he causes. He is Kisa's best friend, and he even has a crush on her. Hiro likes Kisa a lot, and when he told Akito, Akito hurt Kisa so badly that it took months for the wounds to heal. But no one was hurt more then Hiro, who felt like it was his fault Kisa was hurt. After that, Hiro began to distance himself from Kisa, because he felt guilty. During this time, Kisa was being teased at school. Hiro wanted to help, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. Hiro wants to be more grown up so he can protect Kisa. Because of this, he acts more grown up and it causes trouble.

Hiro is the only zodiac member that does not like Tohru at all. Since Kisa likes Tohru, Hiro becomes incredibly jealous over her. He gives of sarcastic remarks and bosses Tohru around, giving her lectures and it made Kisa a little sad. Hiro doesn't like Tohru, but because Kisa likes her, he is willing to put up with Tohru even if he doesn't like it. Tohru understands that Hiro is going through a tough phase in his life, but Hiro doesn't really care about what Tohru thinks. He also witnessed Akito attack Rin, so he feels close to Rin, like a brother.

Kisa Sohma

Race : Human/Tiger
Gender : Female
Age : 12 years old
Hair : Orange
Eyes : Brown
Height : 145 cm

Weight : 32 kg

Status : Freshman in junior high school
Qu
ote : "Oneechan!"

Kisa S
ohma is a really nice little girl all in all. Also, she and Hiro are really good friends, and he even has a crush on her. She first met Tohru when Hatsuharu went to go find Kisa, who had runaway. At first, she wouldn't stop biting Tohru's hand, and she kept on running away from Tohru. Kisa had been teased at school, and so she stopped talking.

When Kisa's mother showed up, she was at her wits end, and was upset with Kisa. But Tohru appeared and began to talk about how she had been teased as well, and she could understand, that Kisa probably felt ashamed and afraid to tell someone. She learned how to talk again because of Tohru. After that, Kisa wouldn't stop following Tohru around, but still, she wouldn't speak. After reading a letter from Kisa's teacher, Yuki told Kisa how he wouldn't talk either. After that, Kisa spoke.

He
r secret admirer is Hiro Sohma. But they grew distant after an incident in which Akito beat Kisa so bad... it took weeks for her wounds to heel. People began to tease Kisa when Hiro left. But because of Tohru, they are growing closer once again.

Kureno Sohma

Race : Human/Rooster
Gender : Mal
e
Age : 26 years old
Hair : Brown

Eyes : Brown
Height : ?
Weight : ?
Blood : Type AB
Status : Free from Sohma Curse

Kureno Sohma is the only person that Akito Sohma trusts. He used to be the rooster of the zodiac. He was in love with Arisa Uotani. He reminds Arisa a lot of Tohru Honda. As far as loyalty would go, Kureno would go to the ends of the Earth for Akito Sohma. Or he might even go to the bottom of the sea for his dearest Arisa Uotani.

Isuzu Sohma


Alias : Rin (started by Shigure)
Race : Human, Horse
Gender : Female

Age : About 18 years old
Hair : Black

Eyes : Black

Height : ?
Weight : ?

Blood : Type A

Status : Student at an all girls' private school


Rin Sohma is very stubborn, yet took the time to fall in love with Hatsuharu Sohma. she is two years older than Haru. She used to date him, but due to the fact that Akito hurt Rin at one point in time, she didn't want Haru to get hurt too. So she broke up with him.

Her parents always
devoted her. she now lives with Kagura and her mother. When Haru was young, he used to visit Yuki in his isolation room, which is forbidden. Rin felt that he needed to protect him. Akito's mother, Ren Sohma, tries to get Rin to steal a special box from Akito's room. She is caught and sent into Kyou's room by Akito, who later cuts her hair off. She has also attempted to break the curse, but has not succeeded. She currently goes to a all girls Private school.

Akito Sohma


Race : Human
Gender : Male
Age :19 years old

Hair : Plum
Eyes : Dark teal
Height : 163.8 cm

Weight : 43 kg

Blood : Type AB
Status : Head of
Sohma Household
Quote : "You will suffer as we suffer."


Akito Soh
ma is the leader of the Sohma family. It is only after assurance from Shigure that Tohru can be trusted with the family secret that she is allowed to stay. Akito has no choice but to order Tohru's memory erased should she fail to uphold her end of the bargain. Most of the Sohma family is afraid of Akito and will follow his orders no matter what their personal feelings may be.

Akito is a cruel person who doesn't care for anyone else (or if he does, he doesn't show it). He gets sick very often and is watched over by Hatori Sohma, who is a doctor for the family. The cause of his sickness comes from the fact that he won't live past the age of thirty. The head of the house is the person who takes the whole weight of the family, and that puts a lot of pressure on him. He does not turn into any animals.

Akito Sohma is the head of the Sohma household. Although he does not transform, he believes he has something to do with being g
od. When he comes to learn about Tohru Honda he decides to accept her and lets her in on the Sohma secret.

Akito seems like a demented person that has many problems. He gets sick easily, he has
an uncontrollable temper, he's a control freak, and doesn't understand much about life. The things known about him are that he is basically evil and doesn't want anyone in the Sohma family who has the curse to really ineract with anyone outside.

In the past he has abused Yuki Sohma by whipping him at a young age. He also made
Hatori Sohma go blind in one eye, causing him to lose his love. He demands that everyone respects him and follows him.

He knows the cure for the curse, but he is determined to keep it to himself so that the members of the zodiac can not leave, even if this hurts everyone he knows. He is also interested in tormenting Yuki. Controlling others is what he loves to do. He gets sick a lot so he is often found in a robe/traditional Japanese clothes.

Kyoko Honda

Alias : The Red Butterful
Race : Hum
an
Gender : Female
Age : ?

Hair : Brownish-orange
Eyes : Blue

Height : ?
Weight : ?

Status : Deceased

Quote : "Don't Worry Just Be Yourself"


Kyoko as a child was known to be quite a bit like Uo is. She cut classes and disowned her parents. She was the leader of an all female gang and was called 'The Red Butterfly'. Kyoko gives Tohru advice even though she is now dead.

Arisa Uotani


Alias : Yankee , Uo-Chan
Race : Human

Gender
: Female
Age : 1
6 years
Hair : Blonde

Eyes :
Gray
Height : 168.5 cm

Weight : 47 kg
Status : Student
Quote : "Do you need me to rough him up for you?"


Arisa Uo
tani is a fun character. Uotani is a tomboy girl and has the nickname "Yankee", which is Japanese slang for 'female gangster' (which she was before she met Tohru). Yankees wear long skirts, dye their hair, and use eyeliner to make their eyebrows more noticeable and wearing a surgical mask in public. The most interesting of Uo's personality is probably even when things seem to get rough she always tries to get some fun out of it.

Her mom ran off with her boyfriend when Uo-chan was young and her dad is an alcoholic. He isn't abusive, but appears negligent. Uo-chan grew up in her gang listening to stories of Kyoko "The Red Butterfly", who would apparently beat up men twice her size and, despite being a women, became leader of the suicide squad.

Uo-chan later found out that Kyoko had married a man with the last name Honda [Honda K
atsuya] and that her daughter was Uo-chan's age. By this time Uo-chan is in junior high. She doesn't go to school very often but has quite the reputation. She pictures Kyoko's daughter to be a "real Yankee" and cannot wait to meet her. While walking down the hall, a young girl in brown pigtails carrying a mountain load of books crashes into Uo-chan and all of the books fall. Uo-chan calls over a few students to help the girl and the girl introduces herself to Uo-chan. It's Tohru, and when Uo-chan finds out that this is the daughter of the Red Butterfly she is enraged. Upon meeting the "red Butterfly" (who has developed a motherly complex) Uo-chan tries to forget about Kyoko.

After getting
into a fight one day and getting severely injured, Uo-chan accidently runs into Tohru several days later. Tohru, freaking out at the state of Uo-chan's injuries, drags her to the Honda residence to be healed. Kyoko listens to Uo-chan's stories and offers advice. From that day forward Uo-chan became a regular at the Honda residence. Finally, Uo-chan decided to leave her group. But you don't quit your gang and expect no one to care- you get beaten severely. Fortunately for Uo-chan, she had someone who honestly cared about her in the gang. This girl went to Kyoko and Kyoko rushed to save Uo-chan. After that, Uo-chan was out of her gang and on the way to being reformed. After Tohru's mother dies, she begins to look out for Tohru, and whenever someone bothers her or whatever, she sticks up for her. Arisa is a strong-willed person who cares deeply for her friends. She also hates Yuki's fanclub girls, and carries a led pipe at times. She has fun getting Kyo's bad side. Their relationship is fun because it seems so competitive. To summarize this, Uo-chan is just a wild, fun loving type of girl.

Saki Hanajima


Alias : Hana-chan
Race : Human
Gender : Female
Age : 16-17 ye
ars old
Hair : Black

Eyes : Purple
Height : 162 cm
Weight : 52 kg

Status : Psych
ic, Tohru's friend
Quote : "One more word, and you'll all get *beep* with electric shocks"

Hana is a very scary character in Fruits Basket. Saki Hanajuma (Hana) was born with the power of electric signals. With this power, Hana was able to hear the inner voices of her family as well as other people. Because of this, Hana's family moved to a different town, in hopes that it would help Hana. Her entire family, including her brother Megumi, were worried about her and helped her however they could. Everyone called Hana a witch at school and even picked on her because she was very gloomy and didn't talk. Soon everyone at school turned against Hana.

One day, a boy made Hana eat live newts because it was said that witches ate them. When Hana refused, they held her down and shoved them in her mouth. Completely infuriated, Hana began to hate the boy and even wished with all her heart
that he would die. All of a sudden, the boy collapsed and Hana was introduced to her Poison Waves. Hana felt guilty after that and knew that it was her fault that he collapsed. Afterward she wore nothing but black. Everyone believed that she "the witch" had cursed the boy. Soon every little thing that went wrong, was blamed on Hana. She was outcast from everyone else at school.

Megumi was like a ray of light to Hana's life, and helped her with her problems. He pray
ed for someone to help Hana and be a friend to her, even love her. Soon everyone hated Hana and didn't want her to go to school. She almost sent out poison waves to a group of girls that tried to burn her arm since they were curious about Hana's waves. Her family then decided to move and start a new life for Hana once again.

When Hana transferred to her new school, she met Tohru Hon
da at lunch. Arisa Uotani (Uo) even invited Hana to sit with her and Tohru. Although Hana warned them that she didn't want to associate with them, Tohru and Arisa insisted on being friends with Hana. After spending time with Arisa and Tohru, Hana became friends with them and they formed "a team". She is always willing to do anything to make Tohru happy. Like Arisa, she wishes to return the favor of friendship to Tohru for being her first real friend.

When you look it all over, Hana really is a good person, no matter how scary or mysterious.
Soon enough, two girls found out about Hana's Poison Waves and the incident with Hana and the boy back in Elementary School. When Hana remembered, she accidently shot her Poison Waves at one of the girls. Scared, Hana runs away from Tohru and Arisa. Both of them follow her until Hana tells them to stay away from her. She apologizes for not telling them and again tells them to stay away because she didn't want to hurt anyone. Tohru ignores Hana's plea and tells her that they had become too close to just give up. Arisa then tells Hana that they want her back but Hana should decide weather to stay with them or not. Hana decides to stay close friends and then the three of them stayed a team.

Kana

Race : Human
G
ender : Female
Ag
e : About 25 years old
Hair : Dirty blonde
Eyes : Brown
Height : About 157 cm

Weight : About 49.9 kg

Status : Hatori's love

Quote : "I'm sorry, Hatori"

Kana was a very sweet girl who began working with Hatori as his assistant. They ended up spending a lot of time together, and her way of thinking astounded Hatori. Kana asked "what do you think snow becomes when it melts?" Hatori replied with "It'll become water of course." She makes the sound of a buzzer showing that he's wrong and says "Wrong! It becomes spring!" (Hatori later asks Tohru the same question and she gives him Kana's answer, which also surprises him.)

One day, Hatori ended up changing into the seahorse, and Kana was scared because she didn't kn
ow if she should put him in fresh water or salt water! After Hatori changed back, Kana finally understood why Hatori wouldn't hold her, but that didn't change her love for him.

They finally went to Akito to tell him they were planning on getting married. Akito was pissed and ended up injuring Hatori's eye. Akito then yelled and screamed at Kana telling her it would be her fault if Hatori couldn't see and it was her fault all of it happened. Kana then had an emotional break down and never recovered.


Due to that, Akito ordered Hatori to erase Kana's memories, as a kind of gift to Kana. When Hatori did, Kana apologized for not being able to protect him. She then left his services and ended up getting married to someone else later on.


Megumi Hanajima


Alias : The Trio's Bodyguard

Race : Human
Gender : Male

Age : 13 years old
Hair : Black

Eyes : Purple

Height : ?
Weight : ?

Status : Saki's younger brother

Quote : "By the way I still asked your names yet"

Megumi and Saki are extremely close. Megumi has always been there for Saki, and when he learned of his sister's powers, he, not wanting his sister to be the only "weird one" in the family, studied the art of curses until he finally mastered it. He and Saki both enjoy wearing black, because they feel "calm" in that color. He joined Saki in her predicament so that she would not be alone in her sufferings.

Megumi has never actually been seen using his power to curse anyone. When the Prince Yuki F
an Club attempted to weaken Tohru's defenses by finding and using Saki's weakness, Megumi joined his sister in scaring them away. His dark demeanor and his ability to "guess" the girl's names frightened them from the house. The next day, Saki mentioned that the girls would all be cursed in three days' time. While it seems possible for Megumi to do this, since he claimed that all he would need were the girls' names. Like his sister, he is also highly mature for his age, not only in intelligence and behaviour but as well as in sexual maturity. Megumi, for his part, has been called the trio's "bodyguard" and seems to consider himself as such as he goes through a good deal of trouble to aid Arisa and his sister in their guarding of Tohru. Megumi seems to admire her very much and will do anything to help her.

Mine Kuramae

Race : Human
Gender :
Female
Age : ?

Hair : Brown
Eyes : Brown

Height : ?

Weight : ?

Status : Ayame's assistant

Quote : "I'm wearing this because I feel like it."

Mine is Ayame's assistant at his store. She is quite a perky person. When Tohru and Yuki go to visit Ayame's store, she drags Tohru away to change her clothes and to give the two brothers some quality, bonding time. she is also Ayame's girlfriend.
 
READ MORE - Fruit Basket - Furuba

KAMIKAZE KAITOU JEANNE

Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne is created by Arina Tanemura which tell about girl named Maron Kusakabe who get some power to seal the Demon.



* SINOPSIS *



Shortly before the year 2000, 16-year-old high-school gymnast Maron Kusakabe is visited by the angel Finn Fish, who gives her a task. God's power is scattered across the Earth, and if He does not gather enough by the turn of the millenium, He will die. To block Him, the Devil has sent out agents to gather His power, which is the beauty in human hearts, in the form of chess pieces. With Finn's assistance, Maron transforms into the reincarnation of Jeanne D'Arc in order to hunt Demons hidden within works of art.


When Maron defeats a Demon, the artwork disappears, and to the outside world it is as if she has stolen it, and she becomes known as a kaitō ("phantom-thief"). Maron's best friend is Miyako, the daughter of a police detective in charge of Jeanne's case.





Maron and Miyako fall in love with new classmate Chiaki, who is also secretly a demon hunter, Kaitō Sindbad. Chiaki at first "fakes" falling in love to get closer to Maron, knowing Maron is Jeanne. Later he falls in love truthfully after realizing that Maron's worth the effort, even if she does "hate" him. Maron, on the other hand, is confused and does not know what "love" means because her parents abandoned her when she was around ten years old because they were having problems getting along, so no one taught her. As a result, she does not know how to respond to Chiaki's advances. Eventually, she realizes that Chiaki is not a bad guy after all. She is deeply hurt, however, when she learns that Chiaki is her rival, Sinbad, and that he only went after her because he knew she was Jeanne.






* CHARACTER PROFILE *





Maron Kusakabe



Maron is 16 and a seemingly ordinary high school student. She is extremely gifted in gymnastics. Her alter-ego is Kaito Jeanne (phantom thief Jeanne), the reincarnation of Jeanne D’Arc. Through the angel Finn, who is sent to help her, she receives a mission from God to seal away demons who have come to Earth to steal the beauty in human hearts. The demons, which are hidden inside objects of great beauty (usually pieces of artwork) are captured when Jeanne hits them with a pushpin and shouts "Checkmate!", turning them into chess pieces. She is a lonely character who hides her feelings behind a warm smile. At a very young age her parents left her for their jobs over seas, and have not contacted her since then. The first phone call she gets is from her mother, informing her that they have have decided to get a divorce. As a result, she lives alone, although is very close with the family of her best friend and neighbour Miyako. She starts out hating Chiaki when they first meet, but falls in love with him as they become closer and the series progresses. She marries Chiaki in and they have a daughter named Natsuki (the reborn form of Finn.





Chiaki Nagoya



Chiaki is 16 and is a new student who also lives in the same apartment complex as Maron (in the apartment next door) and is also in Maron's and Miyako's class. he is very popular and seems interested in Maron, even though she repeatedly rejects himHe ran away from home because of something he wanted to do. Like Maron, Chiaki also has an alter ego, which is Kaitou Sinbad. He also has the ability to seal demons using pins, like Jeanne. Although he always seemed to go against Maron (at first), he does it for a reason. He also knew about Maron's true identity. instead of using pins to seal demons, he used daggers. Chiaki is a "ladies man", or "womanizer" and always tries to seduce Maron, who at first, can't stand him and his habit of always trying to protect her. At first he says he was just trying to get closer but later he says he wants to protect her forever.



Finn Fish



Finn Fish is the angel, or semi-angel (jun-tenshi), who helps Maron detect demons and is also the one who transforms Maron into Kaito Jeanne. As the story goes on, it's revealed Finn had been manipulating Maron the whole time to gather chess pieces to deliver to the Devil. The former half-angel reveals herself as a fallen angel named Da-Tenshi Finn Fish. She was in love with the Devil. she is reborn as Natsuki Nagoya, Chiaki and Maron's daughter.




Finn became a Fallen Angel after she went voluntarily to Lucifer. As one of the first three dark angels to become a semi angel, she was allowed to go to Earth with the other two angels, Celcia and Toki. There, Celcia was injured and take in by a priest named Sagami Kugahara. Misunderstanding the situation, Finn and Toki attacked Sagami, but as they were in their tiny forms, they only succeeded in cutting his finger. He brought them to Celcia, and Finn used a strand of her hair to fill her friend with holy energy. They then explain to Sagami how holy energy in stored in their hair. In an effort to pay Sagami back, Finn went to meet him in cave, ignoring Toki's pleas not to go, and even running away after he confessed that he had always loved her. When she met him, she saw a girl frozen in ice, who (through a picture on Sagami's desk) had previously been identified as "Natsuki", Sagami's sickly sister who died of an illness. As Finn angrily explains, this was not true, and Sagami had killed Natsuki in order to freeze her so the holy ice would melt faster, providing more holy water to be sold. She reveals herself to be Natsuki, calling Sagami "Nii-San" (big brother). He captures her and cuts her green hair, which he explains has far more power than even the whitest hair (believed to store the most holy energy), in order to dip it into the holy water and make it even stronger. However, her hair had the power of a full angel, and exploded, killing many people. She was tried for murder in heaven and sentenced to going through the Gate of Annihilation. However, the devil gets to her first, and she goes to him and becomes his servant.




It is later explained that the reason was because of a promise she made with Access before she went to Earth. She promised to listen to what he was going to tell her (he was going to tell her that he had always loved her) and chose to go with the Devil to become a Fallen Angel so that she would be able to meet Access again. In the end, she sacrifies herself so that Maron survives the battle with the Devil. When she died, Access gave her his earring, and was reborn with the same earring in her hand.



Access Time



Like Finn, Access is Chiaki's "side-kick" who detects demons and is the one who gave Chiaki the power to transform into Kaitou Sinbad and to seal demons; he apparently chose the name Sinbad for Chiaki from a movie poster. He is a dark angel (kuro-tenshi) but becomes a semi-angel (jun-tenshi ). However, he gives all of his holy power to Finn so she could be reborn, and thus turned back into a dark angel. He loves Finn. He is so deeply in love with her, even working to become a full angel so that he could be reincarnated with her. In the manga, Access becomes reborn as Shinji Minazuki, Miyako and Yamato's son. When he sees Finn (Natsuki) and that she's holding his earring, he proposes to her at the spot.






Miyako Toudaiji



Miyako is Maron and Chiaki's classmate who lives across the hall from Maron. Miyako is the child of parents who are detectives, and thus Miyako is always trying to catch Jeanne. She says the reason of catching Jeanne is to prove Maron's innocence because half a month before the beginning of the series people in their class were saying Maron looks and talks just like Jeanne. Miyako does not know that Maron is really Jeanne she tries so hard with tricks and plots that are rather dangerous to Jeanne just to catch her. She causes a lot of trouble for Jeanne and her mission. Miyako does not know about Maron's true self until the end. She is madly in love with Chiaki, but gives up on him since he is more interested in Maron. She is stubborn and is exactly like Maron. She usually gets mad every time Jeanne escapes. After Yamato tells her about his feelings for her near the ending, she gets mad, thinking he's playing a sick joke, and neglects him. However, she married Yamato Minazuki and has a son named Shinji (the reborn form of Access).




Minazuki Yamato



Minazuki is the class president. He's also the son and heir of the rich Minazuki Group. He is studious and quiet, and is Chiaki's rival for Maron. He shows some signs of becoming attracted to Miyako. He is trying to catch Sinbad for Maron, hoping that if he does, she'll go out with him. He looks much better




Noin Claude



Noin is a Demon who disguises himself as the history teacher in Maron's class, Hijiri Shikaido. Five hundred years ago, he was Noin Claude, a knight who assisted the original Jeanne d'Arc. he became a Demon when his present-day self traveled into the past with Maron and caused a Demon to possess his past self. he also falls in love with Marron. he vows to love Jeanne's next reincarnated form. he has a pet dragon named Silk who is devoted to him despite his harsh treatment. In the end, he dies protecting Maron and rises up to Heaven to join Jeanne d'Arc.
READ MORE - KAMIKAZE KAITOU JEANNE