Ever since Fruits Basket ended in Japan in December of last year, fans of the Japanese releases have been waiting for the day when Takaya-sensei would begin a new story. They wondered if her next story could possibly be as good as Furuba. A rumor stated that her new work would begin in March of 2007, but it turns out that it was only a misinterpretation of an announcement of the release of Furuba volume 23. So fans never knew anything until May. It was announced on the official Hana to Yume site in May that a new series from Takaya Natsuki would begin serialization in the June 5th issue. It’s called Twinkle Stars Like Singing a Song.

Now I thought this was only going to be a promotional chapter. Most of the time, from what I’ve gathered, a series will have a chapter 0 before it begins its real story. However, that’s not the case with this new series. It went straight to the point and skipped chapter 0. My, my! I guess when you had such a successful title before, you get these kind of opportunities.

Twinkle Stars has artwork very similar to the end of Fruits Basket, so I have read some complaints about that. Sheesh…I think it’s all just fine. Emura had similar artwork for Grand Sun even after finishing the series she did after W Juliet! Anyway…Takaya’s new story revolves around an 18-year old girl who lives in the country-side with a relative. Her name is Sakuya and she loves to look up at the stars because whenever she does, it eases her worries. This is a down-to-earth story (unlike Takaya-sensei’s other works…). It’s typical high school life and teen romance.

Sakuya has been described as a Tohru Honda (Furuba) with short hair. While reading that, I went, “What’re you talking about?” They have the same surprised facial expressions, but nothing else looks the same. She looks more like Kotobuki (from Tsubasa wo Mostu Mono) than Tohru. She has a different style of speech than Tohru, and it seems to me that she has an even darker past than Tohru. Sakuya has a part-time job like Tohru did, but not as a janitor in a building. Finally, since Sakuya is starting out as an 18-year old instead of a 16-year old, there’s an age difference. (Tohru was 18 by the time Furuba ended, though.)

Sakya lives with her relative. His name is Kanade (or Kana-chan). Some describe him as Hatsuharu Sohma (Furuba) with no black and white hair combination. I have to agree with this. Kanade really does look like Hatsuharu (only he’s…older). Kanade doesn’t work for a living, and the townspeople say that he’s lazy, a good-for-nothing, and relies on kids like Sakuya to make money for him. Sakuya always objects the things they say about him because he’s been so kind as to take her in when she had nobody else. Even so, Kanade looks out for Sakuya and can become overprotective when a suspicious person comes into play. He sometimes calls Sakuya by Saku.

Sakuya has a friend named See-chan (to pronounce it, just call her Seh-chan). She is seen giving a birthday present to Sakuya in the first chapter. See-chan is a beautiful girl who looks like a mixture of Rin Sohma and Machi Kuragi (Furuba). Although, her personality is a mixture of Hanajima and Uotani (Furuba): so calm and together, yet, she can get violent. She’s an only child who has big expectations from her parents and teachers. She often gets into fights with Yuuri, another classmate of Sakuya’s.


Speaking of Yuuri…let’s introduce him! Yuuri is first seen entering the classroom from the window! After a horrifying crash into the desks, he asks Sakuya if he jumped like Spiderman! (See-chan gives him a kick in the gut soon after…) If you’re talking about physical appearance, he doesn’t seem like the big guy at all. When I first saw him, he looked like a kid younger than 17-years old! For similarities between characters from Furuba, I would say that this guy is original. He has a new look that I don’t recognize from Furuba. Some people may say he looks like Kyo (Furuba), but I’m not seeing it. But then again, he could pass as a similar Younger Kureno (Furuba). He’s a good friend of Sakuya’s, but I like to think that he feels more (I’m already a fan of the Yuuri/Sakuya pairing).

The last character of introduction is a very important role. This next character is a mysterious young man with black hair and ember eyes. He looks very similar to Kakeru Manabe (Furuba). His name is Chihiro. He has the most gentle, yet, sad look you could ever see, I swear! His smile is beautiful too (*flutter*). He is first introduced at Sakuya’s birthday celebration. Sakuya thinks that he’s a friend of Kanade’s and welcomes him. Later on, when she’s seeing him off, she asks him if he could come again. As he answers, “Yes”, he walks away, and Sakuya falls in love. This all happened in the first chapter.

The next morning is where it gets interesting. Sakuya mentions Chihiro being Kanade’s friend, but Kanade interrupts asking, “But isn’t he your boyfriend?” *silence* Sakuya asks, “He’s your friend, right?” Kanade asks in return, “He’s your boyfriend, right?” *more silence* Suddenly Kanade realizes what has happened. He was tricked by Chihiro. “Saku, get that dress and let me burn it!!” What had happened is that Kanade had asked Chihiro if he was Sakuya’s boyfriend and he answered, “Yes.” So now Kanade wants to burn the dress Chihiro gave Sakuya for her birthday, but Sakuya refuses to give it to him. So…who is Chihiro? At the end of chapter 2, he is seen gazing up at the stars, just as Sakuya loves to do.

What’s in store for this story? I think I’ll like it. All the characters are older and already in their third-year in high school. From what they’re wearing, it looks like it may be fall or winter time too, so it’s not like they’re just beginning their third-year. If that’s so, does that mean this will be a short series? I hope it’s just four-six volumes long. I don’t want another long series like Furuba. (I highly doubt this new series will go on for more than 18 volumes!)