Cursed members Akito Soma : 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. Akito is depicted as short-tempered and abusive, and has physically and emotionally scarred many Somas, including Hatori, Rin, Hiro, Kisa, Yuki, and Kyo. While part of the Soma 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." Akito's mother,
Ren Soma, 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 Soma 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, but when instead they learn that outsiders can accept them and begin to grow away from Akito, she comes to hate Tohru most of all. This leads to her obsession with eliminating Tohru so she will never have contact with them again, even mocking Tohru's deceased mother. This leads to Tohru confronting her about her abusive actions toward the other Somas. 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, 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. Ren decided to raise Akito as a male because she was ashamed of giving birth to a girl who was "god" to the zodiac, and who was receiving more attention from her husband, Akira. The only other Somas who knew about Akito's biological sex were the oldest four zodiac members: Kureno, Shigure, Hatori, and Ayame. and in the final chapter Shigure, whom she is in love with, moves in with her. because of this, Yuki has low self-esteem and felt isolated throughout most of his childhood. 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, further isolating Yuki. 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 Soma's and
Kakeru Manabe's easy ways with others. Yuki is touched when, faced with the prospect of having her memory of the Soma family secret erased,
Tohru Honda asks that he remain her friend afterwards, which no one had asked him before. When Yuki was around six or seven years old, he ran away from Akito. Yuki has always had fond feelings for Tohru for actually "needing" him. As the
Rat, Yuki despises the current cat, Kyo, despite envying him, and is contemptuous of his attempts to defeat him. Even when he realizes 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 treasurer who also had a traumatic childhood, and falls in love with her. When he knows Kyo will be confessing his love to Tohru, Yuki meets with Machi and is with her when his curse lifts, whereupon the first thing he does is embrace her. :Kid 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). Kyo is depicted as an orange-haired young man who is short-tempered and charismatic, if initially awkward around people;
Arisa once calls him "anger management boy," 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. At the start of the story, Kyo moves into Shigure's house with Yuki and Tohru. 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 the cat's true form—a grotesque, foul-smelling, monster—which he turns into when his bone
juzu bead bracelet is removed. :Kid 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 series,
Summer-Colored Sigh. He is best friends with his cousins Hatori and Ayame, and he and Ayame like to pretend they are lovers. In an author's note, Natsuki Takaya described Shigure as a "problem child." 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 with apparently undiplomatic responses that create other confrontations, such as Akito's visit to the summer beach house in volumes 10–11. Shigure eventually admits to Kureno 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. 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 Soma : with great strength, and the impulsive behavior associated with those
born in her zodiac year. 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, while he was all alone because he carried the curse of the cat, she played with him. One day threatened him into proposing to her (using a knife in the manga, a boulder in the 2001 anime). After the nature of her love is questioned by Rin, Kagura eventually admits to Kyo that her love was based on pity, and that she has clung to him because she has it easy compared to the cat. When Tohru admits to Rin that she loves Kyo, Kagura impulsively strikes her, saying that the one to tell that to is Kyo himself. Momiji is older than he initially appears, and
Tohru is surprised to learn he is only a year younger than she is. 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 switches to the boy's uniform. He lives alone inside the Soma family compound, and was raised by servants. Because of this, his younger sister, Momo, is unaware he is her older brother, Despite his upbringing, Momiji is insightful about others and emotionally strong. In chapter 115, his curse is broken before the rest of the zodiac, Momiji takes to Tohru very quickly, including kissing her when they first meet and 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. He is very fond of Tohru, and even defies Akito to protect her. of those outsiders who discover the Soma family secret, and is the only person Shigure trusts enough to talk about his schemes. He takes his duties to the Soma family and as a doctor seriously and warns
Tohru about the dangers of getting too involved with the family. According to Shigure, this is a sign the zodiac curse has weakened. In the last chapter, Hatori invites Mayuko on an
Okinawa vacation. In the sequel series
Fruits Basket another, Hatori and Mayuko are married with a daughter named Kinu.
Hatsuharu Soma : , age 15–17, often called Haru, is the
Ox of the Chinese zodiac. Hatsuharu is depicted as having a
Yin and Yang personality, which mirrors the
Ox's traditional personality characteristics in the zodiac. He is an older-brother figure to the younger zodiac members, and is usually calm and placid, but, if provoked, can become enraged. The Somas 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
Ox. 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"), but also believes that Haru is too nice to everybody for his own good. He likes to tease Kyo in a deadpan way; Kyo in turn calls him "downright lewd" for saying Momiji should keep wearing the girls' uniform until he gets bigger. 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, Despite his age, he refers to himself with the boyish pronoun
boku (see
Japanese pronouns). 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. Ayame is best friends with Shigure and Hatori, who are the same age; while Shigure goes along with Ayame's outrageous personality, frequently pretending to be lovers. As the
Snake, Ayame is especially susceptible to cold. Ayame fears the "nothingness" of not being acknowledged. and as a "girly-girl." When Tohru first met her, Kisa refused to speak to anyone, and had a tendency to bite when in her animal form and is seen as a little tiger cub biting anyone who approaches or angers her. When Kisa had started seventh grade, her classmates harassed and ostracized 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 or why she has stopped speaking. When this distresses her mother even further, she runs away and is found by Hatsuharu. She also sees Hatsuharu as an older brother figure.
Tohru Honda, who understands Kisa's distress because she was once bullied herself, helps Kisa to come out of her shell, and start to speak again. 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). She sometimes gets frustrated at Hiro because of his treatment of Tohru. Kisa likes Hiro and is hurt when he withdraws from her to protect her from Akito. 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. In the final chapter, he and Kisa are presumed to be a couple due to her holding his arm and his affectionately comforting her about Tohru's imminent move. Natsuki Takaya derived his name from the seventh month,
fumihirogetsuki or "month of publication," which is the month of the
Goat, of the traditional Japanese calendar. 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, whose position he is in training to take over. Being cursed by the Monkey, Ritsu is blessed with fast reflexes and an extremely agile body; he is able to react quickly and climb to high grounds easily. Ritsu
dresses in women's clothing because he says he then feels less pressure from society. He is initially mistaken for a woman by
Tohru Honda because of his long hair and beauty. When Ritsu and Mitsuru meet, they realize they have this in common, In the final chapter of the manga, Ritsu is giving Kagura one of his women's
kimono, 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. is the
Horse of the Chinese zodiac. 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. Takaya's fans described Rin as, "the character in charge of sexiness." Rin is depicted as stubborn and independent, to the point she cannot stand being dependent on someone else, When Rin was young her parents acted affectionate and devoted to her, unlike the parents of many cursed Somas, but when she asked if they were happy, the strain of pretending for her benefit shattered the facade. After this they neglected and
abused her to the point she was hospitalized and developed a
panic disorder. After this, her parents kicked her out and Rin moved into Kagura Soma's home. Rin and Hatsuharu have a romantic and 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 recuperating in the hospital, Rin breaks up with Hatsuharu both to protect him and to avoid burdening him, but without explaining why. To free Hatsuharu, Rin starts searching for a way to break the curse, and asks Kazuma, and
Ren Soma for help. She initially resists the assistance of
Tohru Honda, who she thinks is too nice for her own good. and grows as protective of her as of Hatsuharu, getting angry when someone upsets or hurts her. and in the final chapter she says she still gets angry. 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. As a result, Kureno is so sheltered he is 26 when he first visits a
convenience store, where he meets Arisa. He never blames Akito for his injury and still feels a responsibility to care for her. He says the best thing he can do for her is to erase his existence. Hence his moving out of the Soma home. Takaya derived his name from the third month of the traditional Japanese calendar,
kurenoharu or "late spring"; is a master of
karate who runs a
dojo near the Soma family main house, where he teaches several of the younger Somas including Kyo, Kagura, Yuki, and Hatsuharu. He is usually addressed as
Shishō, 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," When he was a child, during their only meeting, Kazuma was mean to his grandfather simply because his grandfather was cursed by the cat. His grandfather had offered him a sweet but Kazuma had rejected it, saying it was cursed. Instead of getting angry, his grandfather merely smiled and forgave him. His cruelty at their only meeting haunted him as he grew up. 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. 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. is the previous head of the Soma family and Akito's father. A lonely, sickly man, he found solace in the maidservant Ren, whom he married to the objection of many people in the household thinking that she was too lowborn for his status. Ren eventually became pregnant with the God of the Zodiac, but felt jealous upon learning that her baby is a girl, fearing that she would take Akira's attention away from her. Akira agreed to Ren's request for the baby to be raised as a boy, in return for Ren's promise not to abort her. He died a few years after Akito's birth, with his daughter by his side. He privately confided to Akito that her birth as the God of the Zodiac was a proof that his love for her mother was special. However, Ren was never privy to his information, further fueling her jealousy at her daughter and starting their enmity.
Ren Soma : is Akito's mother. She is depicted as an elegant but obsessive woman with long black hair similar to Isuzu Soma's. According to the author's note, Takaya designed Akito and Ren to resemble each other; Shigure claims that if Akito had been raised as a woman, she would have looked very much like Ren, 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). is a Soma that is not a member of the main branch family, and is hence not privy to the details of the Soma
family curse. Kana was Hatori's lover, much to the dismay of Akito. When Hatori told Akito that he intends to marry Kana, Akito violently lashed out at Hatori and injured one of his eyes, which induced a traumatic experience for Kana. To make matters worse, Akito berated Kana for Hatori's injuries, and guilt tripped her into believing the injury was her fault, and she is incapable of lifting the family curse. Overridden with guilt, Kana was unable to lead a normal life following the incident, which eventually led to Akito suggesting that Hatori should erase her memories. Hatori followed Akito's suggestion accordingly and abstained from interacting with Kana ever again. She later marries another man, having believed her involvement with Hatori was only an unrequited crush.
Kyo's Father : Kyo's biological father is a hateful man who banished him from the house after his wife's suicide, forcing him to seek refuge with Kazuma. He still blames Kyo for his wife's death, even though it is later revealed that it was his continual abuse at her for birthing the Cat of the Zodiac that led her to commit suicide.
Kyo's Mother : Kyo's late mother. She was one of the few parents of the Zodiac members who accepted her son's destiny. After Kyo accidentally transformed into his real form in public, she forbade him from leaving the house. However, the fact that she was the mother of the "unwanted" Zodiac member led to her being shunned by the Soma estate, as well as abused by her husband. She took her own life by jumping into a railway track when Kyo was eight years old.
Okami Soma : is mother of Ritsu Soma. She owns a bath house and mirrors her son's personality, being overly apologetic and neurotic. She is one of the few Soma parents who accept their "cursed" child.
Momiji's Father : Father of Momiji and Momo Soma. He is one of the few Soma parents who accept their "cursed" child and retains his memory of Momiji after the mother asks hers to be repressed.
Momiji's Mother : Mother of Momiji and Momo Soma. She discovers the curse after attempting to hold Momiji when he is born, and is repulsed when he transforms. She has Hatori erase her memory of being Momiji's mother and remains unaware.
Momo Soma : younger sister of Momiji Soma. She appears in the sequel, now as an adult and aware that she and Momiji are siblings.
Ayame and Yuki's Mother : Mother of Ayame and Yuki Soma. She is a cold and shallow woman who is sometimes abusive to Yuki. She is proud of the fact that she is the mother of two Zodiac members, one of whom (Yuki) is the closest to the God of the Zodiac. Eventually, Ayame calls her out during Yuki's parent-teacher conference for her callous treatment of Yuki, which seems to have changed her for the better.
Soma Maid : An elderly maid of the Soma clan. She has been raising Akito since young, as her mother, Ren, refused to care for her. She respects Akito terribly and willing to overlook her horrible actions since she feels like it is justified due to Akito being the "God". It is revealed that she was the one who gave Akito the box that supposedly contains Akira's soul. She did this not only to cheer Akito up but also to make her realize that she does not need a physical evidence to know that her father loved her, as the box is actually empty. However, this only made things worse as the box became a source of conflict between Akito and Ren, who is envious that she did not share Akira's supposed last gift. Near the end of the series, she and Akito converse about her impending decision to release Kyo from confinement and reveal her gender, musing that it is too late for an old woman like her to change her views, and saying that she liked Akito's old self better.
Kisa's Mother : Mother of Kisa. She is one of the few Soma parents who accept their "cursed" child.
Satsuki Soma : is mother of Hiro and Hinata. She is one of the few Soma parents who accept their "cursed" child.
Isuzu's Parents : :They are parents of Isuzu Soma. When Rin was young, her parents acted affectionate and devoted to her, unlike the parents of many cursed Somas, 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 and developed a panic disorder. After this, her parents kicked her out, forcing her to seek refuge in Kagura's house. ==Other characters==