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Fruits Basket
 Read manga
 Details Fruits Basket is a story about enigmatic Sohma family shares a great secret, its members are possessed by spirits of the Chinese Zodiac, and when they are hugged by members of the opposite sex, they transform into their Zodiac animal! Tohru Honda, an orphaned high school freshman, is given lodging in the Sohma household in exchange for taking care of household chores. The humble Tohru is quite grateful for the Sohma family's generosity, and the longer she stays with them, the more they realize what a blessing she is in their lives, as well. By Natsuki Takaya (Fruits Basket) Characters Main Characters Main article: List of Fruits Basket characters Tohru's family and friends Tohru Honda - aged 16–18 Voiced by: Yui Horie (Japanese), Laura Bailey (voice actress) (English) Tohru is an orphaned high school student who, at the start of the story, begins living with Shigure, Yuki, and Kyo Sohma in exchange for housekeeping. She loves to cook, describes herself as an excellent housekeeper, and has an after-school job as a janitor to pay her tuition fees to avoid being a burden on her grandfather. She is depicted as polite, optimistic, extremely kind, and selfless; several other characters, including Kyo, Rin, and Hanajima, tell her she needs to look out for her own interests and not shoulder everyone else's burdens. In the original Japanese, Tohru habitually speaks formally (see Honorific speech in Japanese), but not always correctly, a habit she picked up from her father, Katsuya, after he died when she was three, as a way of replacing him in her mother's eyes. Tohru's mother, Kyoko, raised her alone until she died in a car accident shortly after Tohru entered high school, a few months before the start of the story. Tohru repeatedly calls Kyoko the most important person in her life and treasures her photograph; when she falls in love with Kyo she feels guilty of being "unfaithful" to her mother's memory. In the first half of the series, as Tohru learns about the zodiac curse and its effects on those she loves, she becomes distressed, and when she learns that the dangerous Akito is the "god" of the zodiac, she resolves to break the curse. Only later does she admit that she wants to free Kyo most of all. Despite setbacks, both external and personal, she stubbornly persists in her goal and eventually frees Kyo and her friends. In the last chapter, she begins moving with Kyo to another city so he can continue his martial arts training, and in the final pages they are shown as a loving elderly couple with a granddaughter. Kyoko Honda Voiced by: Reiko Yasuhara (Japanese), Julie Mayfield (English) Kyoko is the late mother of Tohru Honda, appearing only in flashbacks and photographs treasured by Tohru. When she was young, Kyoko was the leader of an all-female bosozoku gang called The Red Butterfly Suicide Squad, the name coming from how motorcycle tail-lights supposedly look like a red butterfly at night. She told Kyo Sohma she was ignored and rejected by her parents, and fell in love with a student teacher named Katsuya Honda who stood up for her when her parents disowned her after a gang fight. Katsuya and Kyoko married after she left middle school and had a daughter, Tohru, and Kyoko learned how to work through difficulties together with Katsuya. She was devastated by her husband's death and nearly killed herself before remembering her young daughter needed her. Because of her experiences, Kyoko raised Tohru to believe that everyone needs to feel needed, and helped Arisa Uotani leave her own gang. Tohru calls Kyoko the most important person in her life, and repeats bits of her mother's emotional wisdom throughout the series. Kyoko died a few months before the start of the series when she was struck by a car. Kyo was present at the accident but couldn't save her without revealing his curse, and heard her last words as "I'll never forgive you."In chapter 135, a flashback of her final moments shows that she was trying to say "I'll never forgive you if you don't keep your promise to protect Tohru." Katsuya Honda Katsuya is the late father of Tohru Honda and husband of Kyoko Honda. In the series, he appears only in flashbacks. Katsuya habitually spoke formally (see Honorific speech in Japanese) as a way of distancing himself from the world, a habit that, according to his father, Tohru later adopted. He met Kyoko as a student teacher at her middle school and recognized that her rebellious behavior was as much protection as his own polite manners. Despite their eight-year difference in age (he was 21, she was 13), they fell in love; he helped her set aside her gangster lifestyle and they married after she finished middle school. Three years after Tohru was born, Katsuya died of pneumonia while on a business trip. Arisa Uotani - aged 16–18 Voiced by: Yuka Imai (Japanese), Parisa Fakhri (English) Arisa is a former gang member (a "yankee", the Japanese version of the American "thug" image) and one of Tohru's closest friends. Arisa is depicted as tough, brash, and sometimes violent; she wears long skirts, sometimes carries an iron pipe, and often speaks like a man (see Gender differences in spoken Japanese). Arisa is tall for a girl, and once claims she wishes to reach 6 feet (1.8 m) tall. She is especially competitive with Kyo and bickers with him frequently. Her childhood was troubled: father is an alcoholic and her mother left him for another man when Arisa was young; Arisa joined an all-girl gang (called "The Ladies") in fifth grade, and idolized Kyoko Honda's reputation from her gang days. When Arisa met Kyoko's daughter Tohru in middle school, and then Kyoko herself, she was shocked by the change from gangleader into doting mother, but became friends after Kyoko helped her escape from her gang. With Saki Hanajima, she swore on Kyoko's grave to look after Tohru, and in her "parental" protection of Tohru with Hana-chan, noted by Kyo and Yuki, she comes off as the brash and direct father-figure. Tohru calls her Uo-chan and her manga symbol is a fish, the meaning of the first kanji of her family name. Arisa works a couple different part-time jobs during the series; at one of them, in a convenience store, she meets Kureno Sohma and is immediately attracted to him, though she worries about their nine-year age difference. They meet a second time a few days later but after that he refuses to see her again because of his promise to Akito, and she tries to get over him. When Kureno leaves Akito, she helps him move out, telling him that she has been waiting for him all this time, and in the final chapter she is preparing to move in with him. Saki Hanajima - aged 16–18 Voiced by: Reiko Yasuhara (Japanese), Daphne Gere (English) Saki is a psychic girl who has the ability to sense people's "auras" and send out electric "waves" (denpa in Japanese), and one of Tohru's closest friends. She is depicted as very perceptive, polite, with a usually deadpan manner, and is often seen eating or doing Tohru's or Arisa's hair when not in class. According to an author's note, in contrast with her Gothic Lolita appearance, she likes shojo manga and novels and bought a copy of Shigure Sohma's Summer-Colored Sigh. Tohru calls her Hana-chan, and her manga symbol is a small flower, the meaning of the first kanji of her family name. Hanajima had trouble controlling her abilities when she was young, and blamed herself for the near-fatal collapse of a boy who was bullying her. Like Arisa Uotani, Hanajima is extremely protective of Tohru, who was the first person in school who truly accepted her, which acceptance helped her gain control of her powers. She wears black fingernail polish and (when not in her school uniform) black dresses, often with a cloak or veil, habits Hanajima started before she met Tohru as a way of signaling her guilt. With Arisa, she promised on Tohru's mother's grave to look after Tohru and in their near-"parental" protection, she acts as the "motherly" figure. She uses her reputation for sending out "poison waves" to shield Tohru from the malice of Yuki's fan club. She has a close relationship to her family who accept and nurture her gifts, especially her grandmother and her younger brother, Megumi, who has his own special ability to curse people. When Hanajima sees Kazuma Sohma when he comes in for Kyo's parent-teacher conference, she calls him "handsome," and later at the class performance of Sorta Cinderella, she seeks Kazuma out to talk with him. Kyo is disturbed enough at the idea of Hanajima in a relationship with his foster-father, that she and Uotani tease him with the possibility. However, in the final chapter, Hanajima is working for room and board at an unspecified job at Kazuma's dojo, and it is implied they are in a relationship. The Sohmas Akito Sohma (Soma Akito) Voiced by: Wakaba Murasaki (Japanese), Chad Cline (English) Akito is the head of the Sohma family and very frail. She often runs fevers, and Hatori Sohma claims half his doctor's work is tending to Akito, who he says "specializes in getting sick." Akito's age is not given, but he is a little younger than Ritsu and is taken for around twenty by Mitsuru. Akito is depicted as short-tempered and abusive, and has physically and emotionally scarred many Sohmas, including Hatori, Rin, Kisa, and Yuki. While she is part of the Sohma family curse, she is not possessed by a spirit of the Chinese zodiac, but rather fulfills the role of the Jade Emperor, a figure from the stories about the origins of the zodiac; she describes herself as the "god" of the zodiac and the "master of their souls." Kazuma Sohma tells Tohru Honda that to the rest of the zodiac, Akito is a figure of awe they cannot resist, with whom they have a "bond of blood." Akito's mother, Ren Sohma, denies that the zodiac bond is real, and Akito is obsessed with proving her wrong. Once the zodiac members are old enough, she desires to have them live within the Sohma compound for the rest of their lives in a never-ending "banquet." Akito initially allows Tohru to live with Shigure because she believes that Tohru will come to reject Yuki and Kyo because of the curse, and when instead they learn that outsiders can accept them and so grow away from him, she comes to hate Tohru most of all. In the anime, Akito and Tohru come to an accommodation centered on Akito's fears of dying young, which is an effect of the curse described only in the anime. In the manga, through Tohru's efforts to break the curse, she comes to realize that holding onto the bond has hurt herself as much as the others, and lets the curse go. In the anime, Akito is male. In the manga, Akito is female, but she was brought up as a boy, and it is not until Chapter 97 that it is revealed that Akito is actually female. This is revealed to Tohru through Kureno Sohma. Akito's mother, Ren, made the decision to raise Akito as a male. This is because when Ren learned she had given birth to a girl, one who was the "God" to the Zodiac and began receiving more attention from Akira, Ren threatened to kill the baby if her husband did not agree to raise Akito as a boy. The only other Sohmas who knew about this were the oldest four zodiac members: Kureno, Shigure, Hatori, and Ayame. After the curse is broken, Akito begins dressing as and living as a woman, and in the final chapter Shigure, with whom she is in love, moves in with her. Yuki Sohma (Soma Yuki) - aged 16–18 Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (Japanese), Eric Vale (English) Yuki is the rat of the Chinese zodiac. Yuki is depicted as an attractive, reserved, and accomplished young man with many admirers, but who finds being friendly difficult. When Yuki was young, Akito Sohma kept him isolated and convinced him no one liked him; because of this, Yuki has low self-esteem and feels isolated. Yuki does not much like his older brother Ayame, or "Aya Sohma", telling Shigure to peel his skin off and burn him. He is known as "Prince Yuki" and "Prince Charming" at school, where he has a fan club headed by Motoko Minagawa that tries to "protect" him from other admirers, with the result that Yuki is further isolated, and he is pressured by his popularity to become president of the student council despite his misgivings. Yuki, however, wishes that he could be with people as friends, rather than be admired from afar, and envies both Kyo Sohma's and Kakeru Manabe's easy ways with others. Kyo call's him "That Damn Rat". He is touched when, faced with the prospect of having her memory of the Sohma family secret erased, Tohru Honda asks that he remain her friend, which no one had asked him before. With Tohru's help Yuki is gradually able to "open the lid" on his feelings, and the summer after she begins living in Shigure's house, Yuki admits to himself that he loves her. When Yuki was around six or seven years old, he ran away from Akito and was the one who returned Tohru to her mother when she was lost. For that, Yuki has always had fond feelings for Tohru for actually "needing" him. However, he later admits to Manabe that he was looking for a mother-figure and found her in Tohru. As the rat, Yuki despises the current cat, Kyo, despite envying him, and is contemptuous of his attempts to defeat him. Even when he recognizes the true nature of his feelings for Tohru, Yuki is uncomfortable when he recognizes her and Kyo's growing feelings for each other. Yuki becomes attracted to Machi Kuragi, a student council secretary who also had a traumatic childhood, and falls in love with her. When he knows that Kyo will be confessing to Tohru that he loves her, Yuki meets with Machi, and is with her when his curse lifts, whereupon the first thing he does is embrace her. In the last chapter, he gives Machi a key to his new apartment, where he will be living as he attends university. Kyo Sohma (Soma Kyo) - aged 16–18 Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki (Japanese), Jerry Jewell (English) Kyo is cursed by the cat, an animal not in the Chinese zodiac but which legend says would have been if it had not been tricked by the rat into missing the induction feast (see Zodiac origin stories). He is depicted as an orange-haired young man who is short-tempered and charismatic, if initially awkward around people; Arisa Uotani once calls him "anger management boy," and Yuki Sohma expresses envy of his ability to make friends easily. He is also fiercely competitive, and can be easily manipulated into doing things he does not want to by turning it into a competition—especially against Yuki. As the cat, Kyo hates Yuki, the current rat of the zodiac, whom he sees as never having to work hard at anything, and has dedicated his life to defeating him. Shortly before the series beginning, Kyo made a bet with Akito: if he defeats Yuki before graduating high school, he would officially be accepted as part of the zodiac; however, if he does not, Kyo would be confined inside the Sohma estate for the rest of his life. Despite many months of strict training, however, Kyo never lands a decent blow on Yuki. Their rivalry distresses Tohru, who likes them both, but she comes to worry even more when they do not fight. The two eventually tell each other, during an argument, they envy as well as despise each other and come to a truce for Tohru's sake. He is often called "Orange Top" by Arisa and "Stupid Cat" by the rest of the Sohma family, but mostly used by Yuki. At the start of the story, Kyo moves into Shigure's house with Yuki and Tohru. When Kyo was young, his mother died in an accident rumored to be suicide over her son's curse, and after his father rejected him, Kyo was taken in by Kazuma Sohma. The two love each other as father and son, but Kazuma insists he continue to live with Shigure because he believes Tohru is helping him open up. Aside from his foster father, however, Kyo pushes away the people who want to help him, because he is ashamed of his true form a grotesque, foul-smelling, larger version of his zodiac animal which he turns into when his bone juzu bead bracelet is removed. When Tohru sees his true form, however, she is initially repulsed but follows him to beg him stay with her, which strengthens their bond. However, Kyo also blames himself for the death of Tohru's mother, whom he could have saved at the risk of turning into a cat, and he was shaken by Kyoko's last words, "I'll never forgive you..." As the story progresses, Kyo falls in love with Tohru, but he refuses to subject her to the pain he is convinced he will cause, so when she confesses she loves him, he calls her "delusional." Only when Uotani, Hanajima, and Yuki impress upon him how deeply his rejection hurt Tohru does he get up the courage to accept her, and when he does finally confess to her, his curse lifts along with the rest of the zodiac. In the last chapter, he and Tohru begin moving out of Shigure's house to another city, where he will study at another dojo in preparation for inheriting Kazuma's, and in the final pages they are shown as a loving couple with a granddaughter. Shigure Sohma (Soma Shigure) - aged 27–28 Voiced by: Ryotaro Okiayu (Japanese), John Burgmeier (English) Shigure is the dog of the Chinese zodiac and the owner of the house where he, Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo live. He is a writer who publishes literary novels under his own name and trashy romances under pen names. His most successful pen name is Noa Kiritani, which he used for his erotic novel, Summer-Colored Sky. He is best friends with his cousins Hatori and Ayame, and he and Ayame like to pretend they are lovers. In the anime, Shigure is depicted as lazy and dirty-minded, seeming to take nothing seriously, and with a fondness for teasing people especially his editor Mitsuru, but also Kyo, Yuki, Tohru, and Ritsu. In the manga, he behaves the same but is also shown to be manipulative: he admits early on to Hatori that he is using Tohru as "a pawn" for some deeper purpose and calls himself "filthiest of all" for being willing to sacrifice anyone to get what he wants. More than once, he provokes Akito Sohma with apparently undiplomatic responses that create other confrontations, such as Akito's visit to the summer beach house in volumes 10 and 11. Shigure eventually admits to Kureno Sohma that he hopes the disruption Tohru has caused will further weaken the weakening zodiac curse, and gives Tohru hints to figure out how to break it herself. Shigure's deepest feelings are for Akito, and he once had sex with Akito's mother, Ren, because he was upset that, although Akito secretly felt the same of Shigure, she was sleeping with Kureno. In the end, it is implied that Shigure's machinations have all been aimed at freeing Akito from the curse and the need to live as a man, so that he can have her to himself. He gives Akito the woman's kimono worn when she announces that she will live as a woman,<52> and in the last chapter, he moves in with Akito in the main Sohma house. Shigure habitually wears a kimono unless he has to leave the house for business, which according to Natsuki Takaya is his way of getting into "the spirit of things" as a writer. Takaya derived his name from the tenth month, shigurezuki or "autumn showers month," which is the month of the dog, of the traditional Japanese calendar. Kagura Sohma (Soma Kagura) - aged 18–20 Voiced by: Kotono Mitsuishi (Japanese), Meredith McCoy (English) Kagura is the boar of the Chinese zodiac. She is depicted as a girlish young woman with great strength, and the impulsive behavior associated with those born in her zodiac year. The latter usually takes the form of berating and beating up Kyo, who she insists is engaged to her. When Kagura was seven and Kyo was five, when he was all alone because he carried the curse of the cat, she played with him, and one day threatened him into proposing to her (using a knife in the manga, a boulder in the anime). After having the nature of her love questioned by Rin Sohma, Kagura eventually admits to Kyo that her love was based on pity, much as Kazuma fears Tohru's is, and that she has clung to him because, compared to the cat, she has it easy. After Kyo tells her he cannot love her, she claims to give up hope of winning him, but still loves and cares for him; when Tohru admits to Rin Sohma that she loves Kyo, Kagura impulsively strikes her, saying that the one to tell that to is Kyo himself. According to an author's note, Kagura is an "older sister type who's always ready to help." She attends a local college while living with her parents, who are shown taking her double-edged personality in stride, and Rin. Kagura is the only female member of the zodiac who is not shown to have been injured by Akito. Takaya derived her name from the eleventh month, kagurazuki or "month of Shinto song and dance," which is the month of the boar, of the traditional Japanese calendar. Momiji Sohma (Soma Momiji) - aged 15–17 Voiced by: Ayaka Saito (Japanese), Kimberly Grant (English) Momiji is the rabbit of the Chinese zodiac. His father, one of the richer members of the Sohma family, is Japanese, while his mother is German (they speak German and Japanese in the manga, but only Japanese in the anime). Momiji is depicted as a cute, cheerful boy who hides a sad family life behind his sunny demeanor. In an author's note, Takaya described him as "the most comfortable" of the Sohmas with his spirit possession, and "the most successful of the boys." Momiji is an androgynous boy who is older than he appears, and Tohru is surprised to learn he is only a year younger than her. To Kyo's horror, Momiji wears the girl's version of their high school uniform with shorts instead of a skirt, until he has a growth spurt at the start of his second year and swiches to the boy's uniform. He lives alone inside the Sohma family compound, and was raised by servants. His mother learned about the zodiac curse when she first held him, just after he was born, and was repulsed; she later had Hatori erase her memory that Momiji is her son. Because of this, his younger sister, Momo, is unaware he is her older brother, even though she is interested in him. Despite his upbringing, Momiji is insightful about others and emotionally strong. In chapter 115, his curse is broken before the rest of the zodiac, and he decides to leave Akito despite the latter's pleading. Momiji took to Tohru very quickly, even hugging her when they were formally introduced despite his curse. He sometimes helps Tohru at her evening job as an office cleaner in one of his father's buildings, and once substitutes for her when she is sick with a cold. He is very fond of Tohru, and even defies Akito to protect her. He later warns Kyo that if he does not act on his feelings for Tohru, someone else, such as himself, might steal her away; in the final chapter, Momiji tells Hatsuharu and Rin that he hopes to find a girlfriend as wonderful as Tohru. Takaya derived his name from the ninth month of the traditional Japanese calendar, momijitsuki or "autumn leaves month"; he was supposed to have been named after the third month, the month of the rabbit, but according to the author, she mixed up his and Kureno's positions in the zodiac. Hatori Sohma (Soma Hatori) - aged 27–28 Voiced by: Kazuhiko Inoue (Japanese), Kent Williams (English) Hatori is the dragon of the Chinese zodiac and, like his father before him, the private doctor to the Sohma family. He is responsible for erasing memories (using a form of hypnosis that is handed down in his line of the family) of those outsiders who discover the Sohma family secret, such as Yuki's childhood playmates. Hatori is depicted as a tall, somber man who is rarely amused by the antics of his best friends, Shigure and Ayame. He is often the only one who can restrain Ayame's worst behavior, and is the only person Shigure trusts enough to talk about his schemes. He takes his duties to the Sohma family and as a doctor seriously, and warns Tohru about the dangers of getting too involved with the family. In an author's note, Natsuki Takaya described him as "the best marriage material of the cast." When his curse activates, Hatori transforms into a 8 cm long seahorse (in Japanese tatsuno-otoshigo, literally "baby dragon") rather than an actual dragon, which he is self-conscious about. According to Shigure, this is a sign the zodiac curse has weakened. A few years before the series began, he was engaged to Kana Sohma, the assistant in his doctor's office. The relationship ended when Hatori asked Akito for permission to marry Kana and in response, Akito attacked Hatori (in the anime, he threw a vase), leaving him almost blind in his left eye; Kana blamed herself for the incident and felt so guilty about it that Hatori was forced to erase her memory of their relationship to ease her suffering. After Kana marries someone else, Shigure manipulates Hatori into meeting Kana's best friend, Mayuko Shiraki, who secretly had always liked him. In the last chapter, Hatori invites Mayuko on a Okinawa vacation. Takaya derived Hatori's name from the fourth month, konohatorizuki or "month of taking leaves Hatsuharu Sohma (Soma Hatsuharu) - aged 15–17 Voiced by: Akio Suyama (Japanese), Justin Cook (English) Hatsuharu is often called Haru, is the ox of the Chinese zodiac. Hatsuharu is depicted as having something of a Yin and Yang personality related to the ox's traditional personality: He is usually calm, placid, and otherwise an all-around nice guy, but can be goaded into "stampeding," a state in which he is edgy and mean. The Sohmas call these two sides of his personality his "white" and "black" sides; his hair is white with black roots, and his zodiac form is a black-and-white spotted cow. Because of the story of how the first rat tricked the first ox to become first in the zodiac, when Hatsuharu was a child he blamed Yuki Sohma, the current rat, for his reputation of stupidity, but Yuki helped him realize that Haru was not at fault for the ox's actions. Since then, Haru has claimed that Yuki was his first love. Hatsuharu is in love with Rin Sohma and has an on-again/off-again secret relationship with her. He is protective of those he cares about, especially Rin, Yuki, and Kisa, and once confronts and almost strikes Akito for confining Rin, and looked for Kisa when she ran away from home. Hatsuharu has a bad sense of direction, and once becomes lost for three days in another town while looking for Kyo in order to challenge him. He likes to tease Kyo in a dead-pan way. He is usually shown wearing various accessories, which, according to an author's note, he makes himself. He is referred to by Kyo as "downright lewd" when he says that Momiji should wear the girls uniform. Natsuki Takaya derived his name from the first month, hatsuharu meaning "new year" or "early spring," which is the month of the ox, of the traditional Japanese calendar,though his name is written with different kanji than the month. Ayame Sohma (Soma Ayame) - aged 27–28 Voiced by: Mitsuru Miyamoto (Japanese), Chris Sabat (English) Ayame is the snake of the Chinese zodiac, and Yuki's older brother. Ayame is depicted as vivacious, flamboyant, self-confident, and self-centered, with a knack for annoying Yuki and Kyo (one of the few things they initially agree upon). In an author's note, Natsuki Takaya described him as a draining person to meet in real life. Despite his age, he refers to himself with the boyish pronoun boku (see Japanese pronouns). He has gorgeous eyes (gold in the manga, yellow-green in the anime) and silver hair quite similar to Yuki's violet eyes and grey hair. He runs a shop, named after himself, that sells custom-made "romantic costumes" with the help of Mine Kuramae, his seamstress and girlfriend. He is best friends with Shigure and Hatori, who are the same age; Ayame and Shigure like to pretend that they are lovers, while Hatori is the only one, according to Shigure and Takaya, who can restrain Ayame's worst behavior. As the snake, Ayame is especially susceptible to cold. When Ayame was in high school, he was president of the student council, and is proud that Yuki is following him. He sometimes over reacts, or over does things, like explaining to a teacher that he was a super magical being, and could not cut his long silver hair. Ayame fears the "nothingness" of not being acknowledged. Ayame can also be serious at times, such as when he took Tohru out for lunch. He described how he wants to be closer to Yuki and tries to get closer to him. When Ayame was young, he completely ignored Yuki, and even forgot Yuki's name and in doing this Shigure became mad at him for the first time. After this he became a bit of a drinker until Hatori finally put an end to it. He realized that when he got older, he would be totally alone without his brother, spurring an obsession of gaining Yuki's love. He does this by doing things such as embroidering "Lives for my older brother" on the back of Yuki's shirt. As the series progresses, Yuki slowly starts to accept Ayame as a brother, and even tries to understand him. When Ayame is freed from the curse, the first thing he does is finally embrace Mine. Takaya derived his name (normally a female name, meaning iris) from the fifth month, ayamezuki or "month of falling irises," which is the month of the snake, of the traditional Japanese calendar. Kisa Sohma (Soma Kisa) - aged 12–13 Voiced by: Kaori Nazuka (Japanese), Kate Bristol (English) Kisa is the tiger of the Chinese zodiac. She is depicted as a cute but very shy and withdrawn girl. In an author's note, Natsuki Takaya described her as "in competition to be the first or second most beautiful character" and also described her as a "girly-girl." When she starts middle school, her classmates harass and ostracize her due to her naturally tawny hair and golden eyes, an effect of her curse. Because she feels ashamed of being bullied, she does not tell her worried mother what is happening and stops speaking; when this distresses her mother even further, she runs away and is found by Hatsuharu. Tohru Honda, who understands Kisa's distress because she was once bullied herself, helps Kisa to come out of her shell, and Kisa becomes very attached to her, calling her "onee-chan" ("big sister") in both the manga and Japanese language anime, while in the English dubbed anime she calls her "Sissy". She sometimes gets mad at Hiro because of his treatment of Tohru. Kisa likes Hiro and is hurt when he withdraws from her to protect her from Akito, much like Hatsuharu is hurt by Rin. As the series progresses, Kisa is shown struggling with her shyness, and feels it is a major accomplishment to greet Kyo directly, instead of relying on Hiro to speak for her. Kisa likes omelets and but not dry foods, and is a fan of a fictional anime series Mogeta. She is called Sat-chan, using just the last syllable of her given name, by Shigure. Takaya derived her name from the second month, kisaragi or "changing clothes month," which is the month of the tiger, of the traditional Japanese calendar. Hiro Sohma (Soma Hiro) - aged 11–12 Voiced by: Yuriko Fuchizaki (Japanese), Aaron Dismuke (English) Hiro is the sheep of the Chinese zodiac and the youngest of the cursed Sohmas. He depicted as a very intelligent but verbally aggressive and smart-mouthed sophist who is initially not very likeable. Several characters express intense irritation with him, but he escapes physical punishment by hiding behind being "just a kid." Hiro is in love with Kisa and resents Tohru because she unwittingly monopolizes Kisa's time and admiration. His initial attitude toward Tohru eases through the series, through a combination of grudging admiration for Tohru, and being told to let up by Kisa and Hatsuharu, whom he admires. Hiro is frustrated that he is just a kid and desperately wants to grow up so he can protect Kisa, who was beaten by Akito after Hiro admitted he liked her, and later in the series he is shown struggling to restrain his tongue. He accidentally sees Akito push Rin out a window and knows about Rin's efforts to break the zodiac curse, though she forces him not tell Hatsuharu. Hiro is the only member of the zodiac who is shown having a close, loving relationship with both his parents, especially his mother, Satsuki. In Chapter 118, he is freed from the curse before most of the zodiac, and the first thing he does is hold his infant sister, Hinata, for the first time. Natsuki Takaya derived his name from the seventh month, fumihirogetsuki or "month of publication," which is the month of the sheep, of the traditional Japanese calendar. Ritsu Sohma (Soma Ritsu) - aged 21–22 Voiced by: Miina Tominaga (Japanese), Mike McFarland (English) Ritsu is the monkey of the Chinese zodiac. He is depicted as a beautiful but unstable young man with very low self-esteem and a tendency to overreact. He apologizes frantically for everything, even things that are not his fault. In this, he takes after his mother, the hostess of the Sohma family's onsen, whose position he is in training to take over. Ritsu dresses in women's clothing because he says he then feels less pressure from society, and is initially mistaken for a woman by Tohru Honda because of his long hair and beauty. Most Sohmas call him "Rit-chan" and, to Shigure's amusement, Tohru calls him "Rit-chan-san" (see Japanese honorifics). Shigure likes to play with Ritsu's insecurities and gullibility, much as he does his editor, Mitsuru; when the two meet, they realize they have this in common. In the final chapter of the manga, Ritsu tells Kagura, while giving her one of his women's kimonos, that he has asked Mitsuru on a date, and in a bonus story in the first fan-book, he and Mitsuru are a couple. Natsuki Takaya derived his name from the eighth month, odakaritsuki or "rice harvest month," which is the month of the monkey, of the traditional Japanese calendar. In an author's note, Takaya said that she regretted how little role Ritsu played in the main story. Isuzu "Rin" Sohma (Soma Isuzu?) - aged 17–19 Isuzu is the horse of the Chinese zodiac. She only appears in the manga. She is often called Rin because that is an alternate reading, the second kanji of her given name. She is tall, busty, and initially has hip-length dark hair, which is later cut off; in an author's note, Natsuki Takaya described her as "the character in charge of sexiness." She is depicted as stubborn and independent, to the point she cannot stand being dependent on someone else, traits associated with those born in her zodiac year; she is also sharp-tongued but concerned about others. When Rin was young her parents acted affectionate and devoted to her, unlike the parents of many cursed Sohmas, but when she asked if they were happy, the strain of pretending for her benefit shattered the facade, after which they neglected and abused her to the point she was hospitalized. After this her parents kicked her out and Rin moved into Kagura Sohma's home. Rin and Hatsuharu have a sexual relationship that began before the start of the series. When Akito finds out about it, Rin claims full responsibility to protect Hatsuharu, and to punish her Akito pushes Rin out a window; while recouperating in the hospital, Rin breaks up with Hatsuharu to protect him but without explaining why. Rin starts searching for a way to break the curse, and asks Kazuma, Shigure, and Ren Sohma for help, though she resists the assistance of Tohru Honda, who she thinks is annoying and too nice to others than is good for herself. To punish Rin's meddling, Akito confines her in the cat's prison; after she is released by Kureno, she reconciles with Hatsuharu, accepting his support. She also accepts Tohru's assistance, because of her kindness, and grows as protective of her as of Hatsuharu, and gets angry when someone upsets or hurts her. After the zodiac curse is broken, Rin cannot understand how others can move on as if Akito's abuse never happened, and in the final chapter she says she still gets angry. Takaya derived her name from the sixth month, isuzukuretsuki or "month of the last cool spring days," which is the month of the horse, of the traditional Japanese calendar. Kureno Sohma (Soma Kureno) - aged 26-27 Kureno is the former rooster of the Chinese zodiac. He appears only in the manga. According to Natsuki Takaya, while he was still cursed, he did not like others to see his animal form, which was a sparrow instead of a rooster. He is depicted as a polite and selfless young man. Arisa Uotani describes Kureno as "like Tohru" because of his over-the-top politeness and scatterbrained idiosyncrasies, and Saki Hanajima compares his selflessness to Tohru's. Some members of the Sohma family describe Kureno as "broken-in". Kazuma Sohma (Soma Kazuma) Voiced by: Norihiro Inoue (Japanese), Dameon Clarke (English) Kazuma is a master of martial arts who runs a dojo near the Sohma family compound, where he teaches several of the younger Sohmas, including Kyo, Kagura, Yuki, and Hatsuharu. He is usually addressed as shishou, meaning "master." In an author's note, Takaya said that although she draws him young, his age is "almost 40." Takaya also claimed he is "clumsy with his hands and has no sense of flavor," and he is depicted as being so bad at cooking, he does not know how to prepare tea. His daily routine is taken care of by his assistant at the dojo, Kunimitsu Tomoda. When he was a child, during their only meeting, Kazuma was mean to his grandfather simply because his grandfather was cursed by the cat. To make amends, after Kyo's mother died, he took in and raised Kyo, the current cat, as his foster son, and has come to think of him as his own son. Kazuma thinks well of Tohru and hopes her love for Kyo is sincere, and not based on pity like his grandmother's was towards his grandfather; both to test Tohru's feelings and to show Kyo he can be accepted despite his curse, Kazuma forces Kyo to show Tohru his true form. After Rin is hospitalized the second time during the series, he takes her in to recouperate so that she does not have to live inside the family compound, which he has done before. In the final chapter, Saki Hanajima is working at Kazuma's dojo and it is implied they are in a relationship. Read manga |