Category:Characters


 * Tohru Honda (本田 透, Honda Tōru?)
 * 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 and describes herself as an excellent housekeeper. She also has an after-school job as a janitor to pay her tuition fees to avoid being a burden on her grandfather.[9] She is depicted as polite, optimistic, extremely kind, and selfless;[10] [11] several other characters, including Kyo,[12] Rin,[13] and Hanajima,[14] 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,[15] 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.[16] 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;[17] when she falls in love with Kyo she feels guilty of being "unfaithful" to her mother's memory.[18]
 * 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.[19] Only later does she admit that she wants to free Kyo most of all.[20] Despite setbacks, she stubbornly persists in her goal and eventually frees Kyo and her friends.[21] 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.[22] Voiced by: Yui Horie (Japanese), Laura Bailey (English)


 * Yuki Sohma (草摩 由希, Sōma Yuki?)
 * 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;[23] because of this, Yuki has low self-esteem and feels isolated.[24] 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,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-76_24-0">[25] and he is pressured by his popularity to become president of the student council despite his misgivings.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-28_25-0">[26] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-4_26-0">[27] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-73_27-0">[28] 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,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-2_28-0">[29] which no one had asked him before.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-86_29-0">[30] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-59_30-0">[31]
 * 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-85_31-0">[32] For that, Yuki has always had fond feelings for Tohru for actually "needing" him.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-85_31-1">[32] However, he later admits to Manabe that he was looking for a mother-figure and found her in Tohru.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-86_29-1">[30] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-110_32-0">[33] Yuki becomes attracted to Machi Kuragi, a student council secretary who also had a traumatic childhood,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-reviews-yuki-machi_33-0">[34] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-130_20-1">[21] In the last chapter, he gives Machi a key to his new apartment, where he will be living as he attends university.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-136_21-1">[22] Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (Japanese), Eric Vale (English)


 * Kyo Sohma (草摩 夾, Sōma Kyō?)
 * 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).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-1-2_8-1">[9] 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,"<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-7_2-1">[3] and Yuki Sohma expresses envy of his ability to make friends easily.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-4_26-1">[27] He is also fiercely competetive, 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, who he sees as never having to work hard at anything,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-7_2-2">[3] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter_62_34-0">[35] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-25_35-0">[36] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-123_36-0">[37]
 * At the start of the story, Kyo moves into Shigure's house with Yuki and Tohru.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-1-2_8-2">[9] 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,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-33_37-0">[38] but Kazuma insists he continue to live with Shigure because he believes Tohru is helping him open up.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-32_38-0">[39] Aside from his foster father, however, Kyo runs away from 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-33_37-1">[38] When Tohru sees his true form, however, she is initially repulsed but follows him to beg him stay with her, which strengthens their bond.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-33_37-2">[38] 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..."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-119_39-0">[40] 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."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-119_39-1">[40] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-130_20-2">[21] 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 grandaughter.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-136_21-2">[22] Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki (Japanese), Jerry Jewell (English)

Arisa Uotani
Arisa Uotani (魚谷 ありさ, Uotani Arisa?), aged 16–18, is a former gang member (a "yankee",<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-arisa-yankee_31-0">[32] the Japanese version of the American "thug" image) and one of Tohru's closest friends. Arisa is depicted as tough, brash, and sometimes violent;<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-animeondvd-v7-arisa_32-0">[33] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-66_33-0">[34] 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 gang-leader into doting mother, but became friends after Kyoko helped her escape from her gang.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-uotani-gang_34-0">[35] With Saki Hanajima, she swore on Kyoko's grave to look after Tohru, and in their "parental" protection of Tohru, noted by Kyo and Yuki,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-7_35-0">[36] Arisa is depicted as the brash and direct father-figure.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-134_36-0">[37] Tohru calls her Uo-chan and her manga symbol is a fish, the meaning of the first kanji (魚) 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-50_37-0">[38] They meet a second time a few days later, when he nearly kisses her after buying her lunch, but after that he refuses to see her again because of his promise to Akito,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-akito-sex_38-0">[39] and she tries to get over him. When Kureno leaves Akito, Arisa helps him move out, telling him that she has been waiting for him all this time,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-127_39-0">[40] and in the final chapter she is preparing to move in with him.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-136_30-1">[31] Voiced by: Yuka Imai (Japanese), Parisa Fakhri (English)

Saki Hanajima
Saki Hanajima (花島 咲, Hanajima Saki?), aged 16–18, is a psychic girl who has the ability to sense people's "waves" and send out electric "waves" (denpa in Japanese), and one of Tohru's closest friends. She is depicted as very perceptive, polite,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ukanime-10best-saki_40-0">[41] 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,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ukanime-10best-saki_40-1">[41] she likes shōjo manga and novels and bought a copy of Shigure Sohma's Summer-Colored Sigh.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-hanajima-freetalk_41-0">[42] Tohru calls her Hana-chan, and her manga symbol is a small flower, the meaning of the first kanji (花) 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-51_42-0">[43] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-51_42-1">[43] She wears black fingernail polish and (when not in her school uniform) black dresses, often with a cloak or veil,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-hanajima-fanbook_43-0">[44] habits Hanajima started before she met Tohru as a way of signaling her guilt.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-51_42-2">[43] With Arisa, she promised on Tohru's mother's grave to look after Tohru and in their near-"parental" protection,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-7_35-1">[36] she acts as the "motherly" figure.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-134_36-1">[37] She uses her reputation for sending out "poison waves" to shield Tohru from the malice of Yuki's fan club.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-29_44-0">[45] She has a close relationship with her family, which accepts and nurtures her gifts, especially her younger brother, Megumi, who also has psychic abilities. When Hanajima sees Kazuma Sohma when he comes in for Kyo's parent-teacher conference, she calls him "handsome,"<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-71_45-0">[46] and later at the class performance of Sorta Cinderella, she seeks Kazuma out to talk with him.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-89_46-0">[47] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-teasing-kyo_47-0">[48] However, in the final chapter, Hanajima is working as a cook at Kazuma's dojo, and it is implied they are in a relationship.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-136_30-2">[31] Voiced by: Reiko Yasuhara (Japanese), Daphne Gere (English)

Katsuya Honda
Katsuya Honda (本田 勝也, Honda Katsuya?) is the late father of Tohru Honda and husband of Kyoko Honda. He appears only in the manga in flashbacks. Katsuya habitually spoke formally (see Honorific speech in Japanese) as a way of distancing himself from the world,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kyoko-past_48-0">[49] a habit that, according to his father, Tohru later adopted.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-109_23-1">[24] 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;<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ann-gn16-katsuya_49-0">[50] in turn, Kyoko initially described his manners as "fake polite". 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kyoko-past_48-1">[49]

Kyoko Honda
Kyoko Honda (本田 今日子, Honda Kyōko?) is the late mother of Tohru Honda, appearing only in flashbacks and photographs treasured by Tohru. In middle school, Kyoko was the leader of an all-female bosozoku gang called Red Butterfly Suicide Squad, the name coming from how a motorcycle's tail-lights supposedly look like a red butterfly at night.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-24_50-0">[51] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ann-gn16-kyoko_51-0">[52] She was devastated by her husband's death and nearly killed herself before remembering her three-year-old daughter needed her.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kyoko-past_48-2">[49] Because of her experiences, Kyoko raised Tohru to believe that everyone needs to feel needed,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kyoko-past_48-3">[49] and helped Arisa Uotani leave her own gang.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-uotani-gang_34-1">[35] 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 could not save her without revealing his curse, and heard her last words as "I'll never forgive you."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-119_52-0">[53] 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."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-135_53-0">[54] Voiced by: Reiko Yasuhara (Japanese), Julie Mayfield (English)

Akito Sohma
Main article: Akito SohmaAkito Sohma (草摩 慊人, Sōma Akito?) is the head of the Sohma family and very frail. She often get sick and runs fevers, and Hatori Sohma claims half his doctor's work is tending to Akito, who he says "specializes in getting sick."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-10_54-0">[55] Akito's age is not given, but she is a few years younger than Ritsu and is said to be at least twenty by Shigure.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-akito-sex_38-1">[39] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-101_55-0">[56] Akito is depicted as short-tempered and abusive, and has physically and emotionally scarred many Sohmas, including Hatori, Rin, Kisa, and Yuki. While part of the Sohma family curse, Akito 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, the "one who controls the Zodiac", and the "master of their souls."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-65_26-1">[27] 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."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-67_56-0">[57] Akito's mother, Ren Sohma, denies that the zodiac bond is real, and Akito is obsessed with proving her wrong.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-98_57-0">[58] 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."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-64_58-0">[59] Akito initially allows Tohru to live with Shigure because she believes that Tohru will come to reject Yuki and Kyo because of the curse,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-20_59-0">[60] and when instead they learn that outsiders can accept them and so grow away from her, she comes to hate Tohru most of all.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-121_60-0">[61] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Ep26_61-0">[62] In the manga, through Tohru's efforts to break the curse, Akito comes to realize that holding onto the bond has hurt herself as much as the others and lets it go.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-130_29-1">[30]

In the anime, Akito is male.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Ep26_61-1">[62] In the manga, Akito is female but was brought up as a boy by her mother, Ren, and it is not revealed until Chapter 97 that Akito is biologically female.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-akito-sex_38-2">[39] Ren decided to raise Akito as a male because she was ashamed of giving birth to a girl who was the "god" to the Zodiac, and who was receiving more attention from her husband, Akira.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-akito-birth_62-0">[63] The only other Sohmas who knew about Akito's gender were the oldest four zodiac members: Kureno, Shigure, Hatori, and Ayame.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-akito-sex_38-3">[39] After the curse is broken, Akito begins dressing as and living as a woman,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-132_63-0">[64] and in the final chapter Shigure, with whom she is in love, moves in with her.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-136_30-3">[31] Voiced by: Wakaba Murasaki (Japanese), Chad Cline (English)

Shigure Sohma
Main article: Shigure SohmaShigure Sohma (草摩 紫呉, Sōma Shigure?), aged 27–29, 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 series, Summer-Colored Sigh. He is best friends with his cousins Hatori and Ayame, and he and Ayame like to pretend they are lovers.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-21_85-0">[86] In an author's note, Natsuki Takaya described Shigure as a "problem child."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-takaya-shigure_86-0">[87] In the anime, Shigure is depicted as lazy and dirty-minded, seeming to take nothing seriously,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-shigure-fanbook1_87-0">[88] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ign-anime-shigure_88-0">[89] 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:<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-UkAnime-shigure_89-0">[90] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-16_90-0">[91] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-54_91-0">[92] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-108_25-1">[26] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-101_55-1">[56] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-115_92-0">[93] 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,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-132_63-1">[64] and in the last chapter, he moves in with Akito in the main Sohma house.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-136_30-6">[31] Shigure habitually wears a kimono unless he has to leave home for business, which according to Takaya is his way of getting into "the spirit of things" as a writer.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-shigure-fanbook2_93-0">[94] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-zodiac-naming2_94-0">[95] Voiced by: Ryotaro Okiayu (Japanese), John Burgmeier (English)

Kagura Sohma
Kagura Sohma (草摩 楽羅, Sōma Kagura?), aged 18–20, is the boar of the Chinese zodiac. She is depicted as a girlish young woman<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kagura-freetalk-girly_95-0">[96] with great strength, and the impulsive behavior associated with those born in her zodiac year.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kagura-impulsive_96-0">[97] The latter often takes the form of berating and beating up Kyo, to whom she insists she is engaged. 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,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-68_97-0">[98] and one day threatened him into proposing to her (using a knife in the manga,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-5_98-0">[99] a boulder in the anime<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Ep4_99-0">[100] ). After having the nature of her love questioned by Rin Sohma, Kagura eventually admits to Kyo that her love was based on pity,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-68_97-1">[98] much as Kazuma fears Tohru's is,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-114_100-0">[101] and that she has clung to him because, compared to the cat, she has it easy.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-68_97-2">[98] After Kyo tells her he cannot love her, she claims to give up hope of winning him<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-68_97-3">[98] but still loves and cares for him;<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kagura-freetalk_101-0">[102] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-114_100-1">[101] According to an author's note, Kagura is an "older sister type who's always ready to help."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kagura-freetalk_101-1">[102] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-zodiac-naming2_94-1">[95] Voiced by: Kotono Mitsuishi (Japanese), Meredith McCoy (English)

Momiji Sohma
Momiji Sohma (草摩 紅葉, Sōma Momiji?), aged 15–17, 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).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-UkAnime-shigure_89-1">[90] Momiji is depicted as a cute, cheerful, androgynous 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."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-momiji-freetalk_102-0">[103] Momiji is older than he initially 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,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-19_103-0">[104] until he has a growth spurt at the start of his second year and switches to the boy's uniform.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-111_104-0">[105] He lives alone inside the Sohma family compound, and was raised by servants.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-momiji-freetalk_102-1">[103] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-23_105-0">[106] Because of this, his younger sister, Momo, is unaware he is her older brother,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-23_105-1">[106] even though she is interested in him.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-74_106-0">[107] Despite his upbringing, Momiji is insightful about others and emotionally strong. In chapter 115, his curse is broken before the rest of the zodiac,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-115_92-1">[93] and he decides to leave Akito despite the latter's pleading.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-116_107-0">[108] Momiji takes to Tohru very quickly, even hugging her when they are 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-30_108-0">[109] He is very fond of Tohru, and even defies Akito to protect her.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-65_26-2">[27] He later warns Kyo that if he does not act on his feelings for Tohru, someone else, such as himself, might steal her away;<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-111_104-1">[105] in the final chapter, Momiji tells Hatsuharu and Rin that he hopes to find a girlfriend as wonderful as Tohru.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-136_30-7">[31] Takaya derived his name from the ninth month of the traditional Japanese calendar, momijitsuki or "autumn leaves month";<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-zodiac-naming2_94-2">[95] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kureno-momiji-names_15-1">[16] Voiced by: Ayaka Saitō (Japanese), Kimberly Grant (English)

Hatori Sohma
Hatori Sohma (草摩 はとり, Sōma Hatori?), aged 27–29, is the dragon of the Chinese zodiac and, like his father before him,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-hatori-freetalk_109-0">[110] 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)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-hatori-freetalk_109-1">[110] of those outsiders who discover the Sohma family secret,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-10_54-1">[55] such as Yuki's childhood playmates.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-84_64-1">[65] 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,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-26_110-0">[111] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-10_54-2">[55] In an author's note, Natsuki Takaya described him as "the best marriage material of the cast."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-hatori-freetalk_109-2">[110] When his curse activates, Hatori transforms into a 8-centimeter (3.1 in) long seahorse (in Japanese tatsuno-otoshigo, literally "baby dragon") rather than an actual dragon, which he is self-conscious about.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-12_111-0">[112] According to Shigure, this is a sign the zodiac curse has weakened.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-107_27-1">[28]

Two years before the series began, he was engaged to Kana Sohma, the assistant in his doctor's office.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-10_54-3">[55] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-12_111-1">[112] When Tohru meets up with him near the end of Volume 2, he looks back with his time with Kana, then says his heart is like snow. After Kana marries someone else, Shigure manipulates Hatori into meeting Kana's best friend, Mayuko Shiraki, who secretly had always liked him.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-56_112-0">[113] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-57_113-0">[114] In the last chapter, Hatori invites Mayuko on a Okinawa vacation.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-136_30-8">[31] Takaya derived Hatori's name from the fourth month, konohatorizuki or "month of taking leaves [to silkworms]," which is the month of the dragon, of the traditional Japanese calendar.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-zodiac-naming1_114-0">[115] Voiced by: Kazuhiko Inoue (Japanese), Kent Williams (English)

Hatsuharu Sohma
Hatsuharu Sohma (草摩 溌春, Sōma Hatsuharu?), aged 15–17, often called Haru, is the ox (cow) of the Chinese zodiac. Hatsuharu is depicted as having something of a Yin and Yang personality related to the ox's traditional personality:<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-haru-black-white_115-0">[116] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-animeondvd-v3-haru_116-0">[117] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-haru-black-white_115-1">[116] He has a reputation in the family for being somewhat stupid, and when he was a child he blamed Yuki Sohma, the current rat, for it because of the story of how the rat tricked the ox to become first in the zodiac. After Yuki asked Hatsuharu whether he believes he is stupid, he realized the mental trap and has since cared very much for Yuki. 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 punches Akito for confining Rin,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-105_117-0">[118] and looked for Kisa when she ran away from home. Hiro admires Hatsuharu as a brother figure, even calling him Haru-nii ("big brother Haru").<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-hiro-freetalk_118-0">[119] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-13_119-0">[120] He likes to tease Kyo in a dead-pan way; Kyo in turn calls him "downright lewd" for saying Momiji should wear the girls' uniform.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-19_103-1">[104] He is usually shown wearing various jewelry and leather accessories, which, according to an author's note, he makes himself.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-haru-freetalk_120-0">[121] 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,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-zodiac-naming1_114-1">[115] though his name is written with different kanji than the month. Voiced by: Akio Suyama (Japanese), Justin Cook (English)

Ayame Sohma
Ayame Sohma (草摩 綾女, Sōma Ayame?), aged 27–29, 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ayame-freetalk_121-0">[122] 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, which Tohru notes is similar to Yuki's violet eyes and grey hair.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-21_85-1">[86] He runs a shop, named after himself, that sells custom-made "romantic costumes" such as frilly dresses and maid costumes with the help of Mine Kuramae, his seamstress. He is best friends with Shigure and Hatori, who are the same age; Ayame and Shigure like to pretend that they are lovers,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-21_85-2">[86] while Hatori is the only one, according to Shigure and Takaya, who can restrain Ayame's worst behavior.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ayame-freetalk_121-1">[122] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-22_122-0">[123] As the snake, Ayame is especially susceptible to cold.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-21_85-3">[86] When Ayame was in high school, he was president of the student council,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-22_122-1">[123] and is proud that Yuki is following him.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-36_123-0">[124] Ayame fears the "nothingness" of not being acknowledged.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-36_123-1">[124] When Ayame was young, he completely ignored Yuki, and even forgot Yuki's name once, but during the series he realizes that he will be totally alone with his brother when he gets older. This spurs an obsession with gaining Yuki's love, which he attempts to do by demanding it from Yuki.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-36_123-2">[124] As the series progresses, however, Yuki accepts Ayame as a brother, and even tries to understand him.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-130_29-4">[30] Takaya derived the name Ayame (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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-zodiac-naming1_114-2">[115] Voiced by: Mitsuru Miyamoto (Japanese), Chris Sabat (English)

Kisa Sohma
Kisa Sohma (草摩 杞紗, Sōma Kisa?), aged 12–14, is the tiger of the Chinese zodiac and the second-youngest of the cursed Sohmas after Hiro. She is depicted as a cute but very shy and withdrawn girl. In author's notes, Natsuki Takaya described her as "in competition to be the first or second most beautiful character"<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kisa-freetalk_13-2">[14] and as a "girly-girl."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kisa-sketch_124-0">[125] When Kisa starts seventh grade, her classmates harass and ostracize her because of her naturally tawny hair and golden eyes, an effect of her curse, and the cause of her shyness. 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-27_125-0">[126] 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 Tohru, calling her "onee-chan" (translated as "big sister" in both the English manga and subtitled anime, and as "Sissy" in the English dubbed anime).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-28_67-1">[68] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Ep17_126-0">[127] 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,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-28_67-2">[68] much like Hatsuharu is hurt by Rin.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-hiro-freetalk_118-1">[119] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-111_104-2">[105] Kisa is a fan of a fictional anime series Mogeta, which she sometimes watches with Tohru. 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-zodiac-naming1_114-3">[115] Voiced by: Kaori Nazuka (Japanese), Kate Bristol (English)

Hiro Sohma
Hiro Sohma (草摩 燈路, Sōma Hiro?), aged 11–13, is the sheep of the Chinese zodiac and the youngest of the cursed Sohmas. He is depicted as a very intelligent but verbally aggressive and smart-mouthed sophist who is initially not very likeable.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-animeondvd-v7-hiro_127-0">[128] Several characters express intense irritation with him, but he escapes physical punishment by hiding behind being "just a kid."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-37_24-1">[25] Hiro loves 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,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-38_128-0">[129] and being told to let up by Kisa and Hatsuharu,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-55_129-0">[130] whom he admires.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-hiro-freetalk_118-2">[119] Hiro is frustrated that he is just a kid and desperately wants to grow up so he can protect Kisa,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-38_128-1">[129] who was beaten by Akito after Hiro admitted he liked her,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-104_130-0">[131] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-118_131-0">[132] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-zodiac-naming2_94-3">[95] Voiced by: Yuriko Fuchizaki (Japanese), Aaron Dismuke (English)

Ritsu Sohma
Ritsu Sohma (草摩 利津, Sōma Ritsu?), aged 21–22, 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-animeondvd-ritsu_132-0">[133] In this, he takes after his mother,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-animeondvd-ritsu_132-1">[133] the hostess of the Sohma family's onsen,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-18_133-0">[134] whose position he is in training to take over.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ritsu-freetalk_134-0">[135] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-44_135-0">[136] 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;<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-45_136-0">[137] when Ritsu and Mitsuru meet, they realize they have this in common.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-45_136-1">[137], and in a bonus story in the first fan-book, he and Mitsuru are a couple.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ritsui-after_137-0">[138] In the final chapter of the manga, Ritsu is giving Kagura one of his women's kimonos, has cut his hair short, and is not dressed like a girl. 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-zodiac-naming2_94-4">[95] In an author's note, Takaya said that she regretted how little role Ritsu played in the main story,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ritsu-freetalk_134-1">[135] appearing a total of five times. Voiced by: Miina Tominaga (Japanese), Mike McFarland (English)

Isuzu "Rin" Sohma
Isuzu Sohma (草摩 依鈴, Sōma Isuzu?), aged 17–19, is the horse of the Chinese zodiac. She appears only in the manga. She is often called Rin because that is an alternate reading of 鈴, the second kanji of her given name. She is tall and initially has hip-length dark hair; according to an author's note, Natsuki Takaya initially designed her with very short hair but then made it long to mimic the blowing of a horse's mane in the wind.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-rin-hair_138-0">[139] Takaya described Rin as "the character in charge of sexiness."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-rin-sexiness_139-0">[140] Rin is depicted as stubborn and independent,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-69_140-0">[141] to the point she cannot stand being dependent on someone else,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-80_21-1">[22] traits associated with those born in her zodiac year; she is also sharp-tongued but concerned about others.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-animeondvd-v14-rin_141-0">[142] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-78_142-0">[143] 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 both to protect him and to avoid burdening him, but without explaining why.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-104_130-1">[131] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-79_143-0">[144] To free Hatsuharu, Rin starts searching for a way to break the curse, and asks Kazuma,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-67_56-1">[57] Shigure,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-78_142-1">[143] and Ren Sohma<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-106_144-0">[145] for help, though she resists the assistance of Tohru Honda, who she thinks is too nice than is good for herself.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-80_21-2">[22] Ren offers to help if Rin steals a treasure (a black box) from Akito, but Rin is caught by Akito, who confines her in the cat's prison and cuts off her hair;<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-105_117-1">[118] after she is released by Kureno, she reconciles with Hatsuharu,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-106_144-1">[145] accepting his support. She also accepts Tohru's assistance because of the latter's kindness,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-82_145-0">[146] and grows as protective of her as of Hatsuharu, getting angry when someone upsets or hurts her.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-98_57-1">[58] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-114_100-2">[101] After the zodiac curse is broken, Rin cannot understand how others can move on as if Akito's abuse never happened,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-133_146-0">[147] and in the final chapter she says she still gets angry.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-136_30-9">[31] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-zodiac-naming2_94-5">[95]

Kureno Sohma
Kureno Sohma (草摩 紅野, Sōma Kureno?), aged 26–27, 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kureno-form_147-0">[148] 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,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-50_37-1">[38] and Saki Hanajima and Akito Sohma both compare his selflessness to Tohru's.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-99_22-1">[23] In his mid-teens, about ten years before the series begins, Kureno's curse was somehow broken, but because of Akito's distress he promised never to leave.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-akito-sex_38-4">[39] Kureno and Akito have a sexual relationship, and when Shigure learned about it, some time before the start of the series, in retaliation he slept with Akito's mother, Ren.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-117_148-0">[149] Akito keeps Kureno away from the rest of the family to hide that he is no longer cursed, and Kureno does most of Akito's work as the head of the family.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-149">[150] As a result, Kureno is so sheltered he is 26 when he first visits a convenience store, where he meets Arisa.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-50_37-2">[38] Despite their mutual attraction, he stays away from her because, he claims to Tohru, of his promise to Akito.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-akito-sex_38-5">[39] However, when Akito locks Rin Sohma away for stealing her father's box, it is Kureno who frees her.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-105_117-2">[118] As the zodiac curse begins breaking down, Kureno eventually admits he is partially responsible for keeping Akito coddled and fearful by being too obedient, and Akito angrily stabs him in the back.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-118_131-1">[132] When Kureno is released from the hospital, he moves out of the Sohma compound with Arisa's help,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-127_39-1">[40] and in the final chapter, Arisa is preparing to move in with him.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-136_30-10">[31] In an author's note, Takaya described him as possibly the most lonely of those affected by the curse, because of his isolation.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-takaya-kureno_150-0">[151] Takaya derived his name from the third month of the traditional Japanese calendar, kurenoharu or "late spring";<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-zodiac-naming1_114-4">[115] he was supposed to have been named after the ninth month, the month of the rooster, but according to the author, she mixed up his and Momiji's positions in the zodiac.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kureno-momiji-names_15-2">[16]

Kazuma Sohma
Kazuma Sohma (草摩 籍真, Sōma Kazuma?) is a master of karate 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."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kazuma-freetalk_151-0">[152] Takaya also claimed he is "clumsy with his hands and has no sense of flavor,"<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kazuma-freetalk_151-1">[152] and he is depicted as being so bad at cooking, he does not know how to prepare tea.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-67_56-2">[57] His daily routine is taken care of by his assistant at the dojo, Kunimitsu Tomoda.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kunimitsu-freetalk_152-0">[153]

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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kazuma-freetalk_151-2">[152] 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;<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-114_100-3">[101] both to test Tohru's feelings and to show Kyo he can be accepted by others despite his curse, Kazuma forces Kyo to show Tohru his true form.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-33_83-3">[84] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Ep25_153-0">[154] After Rin is hospitalized the second time during the series, he takes her in to recuperate so that she does not have to live inside the family compound, which he has done before.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-107_27-2">[28] In the final chapter, Saki Hanajima has taken a job as a cook at Kazuma's dojo and it is implied they are in a relationship.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-136_30-11">[31] Voiced by: Norihiro Inoue (Japanese), Dameon Clarke (English)

Ren Sohma
Ren Sohma (草摩 楝, Sōma Ren?) is Akito's mother. She appears only in the manga, and is depicted as an elegant but obsessive woman with long black hair similar to Rin Sohma's. According to an author's note, Takaya designed Akito and Ren to resemble each other;<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-takaya-ren_154-0">[155] Shigure claims that if Akito had been raised as a woman, she would have looked very much like Ren,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-akito-birth_62-1">[63] and Tohru once mistook Ren's voice for Akito's.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-74_106-1">[107] Ren and Akito are extremely antagonistic towards each other; Shigure notes that she is obsessed with her child and dead husband.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-akito-birth_62-2">[63] Her background and age were deliberately left vague by Takaya.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-takaya-ren_154-1">[155] Ren was originally a Sohma household maid who won Akira's heart by being the only one to notice his loneliness and treat him with kindness, instead of as just the head of the household.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-akito-birth_62-3">[63] When she conceived and her child received, as the new god of the zodiac, more attention than herself, and then turned out to be female instead of a proper male heir, she was afraid the baby would replace her in Akira's heart and demanded Akito be raised as a male.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-akito-sex_38-6">[39] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-akito-birth_62-4">[63] Before his death, Akira told Akito, but not Ren, that Akito's place in the curse was proof that his and Ren's relationship was special.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-117_148-1">[149] To feed Akito's fear of being abandoned, Ren continually claims that Akito's bond with the zodiac is fake, rather than the true love Akito claims; to prove her wrong, Akito tried to mold Yuki into a zodiac animal devoted to her (Akito).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-117_148-2">[149] After Akito began sleeping with Kureno Sohma, some time before the series began, Ren told Shigure to make him jealous and then seduced him to infuriate Akito.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-117_148-3">[149] When Rin Sohma approaches Ren for information about breaking the curse, Ren lies and promises to tell Rin how if she steals a black box owned by Akito, said to contain Akira's spirit;<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-akito-birth_62-5">[63] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-106_144-2">[145] later, goaded by Shigure, Ren threatens Akito with a knife to get the box, only to learn that it is as empty as her obsession.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-chapter-117_148-4">[149] Ren does not appear after this, though Akito mentions that Ren has rejected her attempts to reconcile after the zodiac curse was broken.