The end is near! No, not the end of the world, silly -- the long-awaited conclusion of Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya. This week, shojo manga fans get one step closer to the day they've been waiting for (and partly dreading) as Fruits Basket Volume 22, the penultimate volume of this hugely popular fantasy / romance / drama / comedy series arrives in bookstores. This sets the stage for TokyoPop's publication of the final volume of Fruits Basket, which is due out in July 2009.
TokyoPop is also giving fans a taste of what's in store in this exciting volume with a free 28-page preview of the first chapter of Fruits Basket Volume 22, featuring Kyo's dramatic confrontation with his estranged father.
If you're a big-time fan of Fruits Basket, you can win your own Fruits Basket / Tsubasa book standee to display your collection of Natsuki Takaya manga. Just go to your local Barnes and Noble bookstore, and look for the Fruits Basket display. Take a picture of yourself next to it, and send it in to TokyoPop, care of this contest page. No word on the contest page about an entry deadline, but you must be a registered TokyoPop member to enter. Find a Barnes and Noble near you.
Also, if you're lucky, your copy of Fruits Basket Volume 22 may come shrink-wrapped with a free shojo manga sampler. This slim booklet showcases excerpts of new and up-and-coming shojo series, including Maid Sama! by Hiro Fujiwara, NG Life by Mizuho Kusanagi (creator of Mugen Spiral), Gakuen Alice by Tachibana Higuchi and the ever-present Princess Ai: The Prism of the Midnight Dawn.
You can also check out more coming attractions in the 2009 TokyoPop New Manga Preview Gallery. So did you pick up Fruits Basket Volume 22? What did you think? Add your comments below. (No spoilers please!)
Image credit: © Natsuki Takaya
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