I'm trying with this series, I am, but it's testing my usual practice of finishing any series I begin, it really is. The characters are just so annoying. I thought I'd hit the nadir in volume 7, with the abominable Hiro. And truth be told he's still the worst, but the major guest star of this volume would hold the crown if Hiro didn't exist. Ritsu, the member of the family who transforms into a monkey, is so slavishly, dramatically self-loathing that they make even Tohru look like an emotionally stable and well-functioning individual, and I didn't know that was possible. Ritsu doesn't need to constantly apologise for their existence - they need to go with Tohru to a doctor and get some medication and a mental health check-up, before someone (anyone) around them gets so sick of the woe-is-me dramatics that Ritsu is pushed into a woodchipper for the sake of some fucking peace and quiet.

I don't know whether or not to be terrified or impressed that the author continually comes up with people this irritating. It's a talent, that's for sure.