History Characters / FruitsBasket

** [[Characters/FruitsBasketAkitoSohma Akito Sohma]])

* [[Characters/FruitsBasketTheSohmaFamily The Sohma Family]][[note]]Zodiac Members (Akito Sohma, Kagura Sohma, Momiji Sohma, Hatori Sohma, Hatsuharu Sohma, Ayame Sohma, Kisa Sohma, Hiro Sohma, Ritsu Sohma, Isuzu "Rin" Sohma, Kureno Sohma), Other Sohmas (Kazuma Sohma, Ren Sohma, Akira Sohma, Kyo's parents, Yuki and Ayame's mother, Momiji's parents, Isuzu's parents, Kana Sohma, Satsuki Sohma, Meshou Sohma)[[/note]]

* [[Characters/FruitsBasketMainCharacters Main Characters]][[note]]Tohru Honda, Yuki Sohma, Kyo Sohma, Shigure Sohma[[/note]]

* [[Characters/FruitsBasketAnother Characters from the sequel Another]]

* [[Characters/FruitsBasketTheStudentCouncilAndOtherCharacters The Student Council and Other Characters]][[note]]The Student Council (Machi Kuragi, Kakeru Manabe, Kimi Todou, Naohito Sakuragi, the Prince Yuki Fanclub, Motoko Minagawa, Makoto Takei), Other characters (Komaki Nakao, Mine Kuramae, Mayuko Shiraki, Mitsuru, Tohru's grandfather, Mr. Uotani, Mr. and Mrs. Hanajima, Mr. and Mrs. Katsunuma, the Sohmas' Head Maid)[[/note]]

* [[Characters/FruitsBasketMainCharacters Main Characters]]
* [[Characters/FruitsBasketTheSohmaFamily The Sohma Family]]
* [[Characters/FruitsBasketTohrusFriendsAndFamily Tohru's Friends and Family]]
* [[Characters/FruitsBasketTheStudentCouncilAndOtherCharacters The Student Council and Other Characters]]

The following tropes can be applied to the characters of the {{Main/manga}} and {{Main/anime}} series ''Manga/FruitsBasket''.

'''Major unmarked (manga) spoiler below. Seriously, the spoiler tags will not protect you!'''

[[foldercontrol]]

!!Tohru's Friends

[[folder:In General]]
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Non-romantically, towards Tohru. Although late in the manga there is some implication that [[LesYay Saki may have harbored something deeper]].
* LonerTurnedFriend: Uotani and Hanajima were alienated loners before Tohru befriended them.
* MamaBear: Took over for Kyoko after she passed away, and have Tohru's legion of would-be tormentors too terrified to get near her.
* NiceMeanAndInBetween: Tohru is nice, Arisa was formally mean then is now in-between, Saki is in-between, nice towards her friends, (slightly) mean towards anyone who bothers Tohru.
* OddFriendship: People certainly find it odd that NiceGirl Tohru is best friends with Uotani the former delinquent and Hanajima the stoic {{Goth}} with PsychicPowers. Despite how incredibly different they all are, they're still very close, likely because all three of them were [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer ostracized at some point in their lives]] and found solace in each other.
* ThreeAmigos: With Tohru.
* TownGirls: We have the traditionally feminine and gentle Tohru (Femme), the seemingly emotionless {{Goth}} Hanajima (Neither) and the laidback former delinquent Uotani (Butch).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Arisa Uotani]]
!!Arisa Uotani
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YukaImai (2001 Series), Creator/AtsumiTanezaki (2019 Series) (JP), Parisa Fakhri (2001 Series), Creator/ElizabethMaxwell (2019 Series) (EN)

[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/arisa_uotani_2019.png]]

One of Tohru's closest friends and a former gang member. While still a bit rough around the edges due to her delinquent past and her troubled home life, she's a loyal friend to Tohru after she and Kyoko helped her quit her gang and clean up her act during middle school.
----
* AffectionateNickname: Tohru calls her "Uo-chan".
* BewareTheNiceOnes: She's warm and friendly towards her friends, but frigid and hostile towards anyone that gets on her nerves, primarily the Prince Yuki Fan Club.
* BigSisterInstinct: She's very protective of Tohru who is sort of a little sister figure to her.
* {{Bokukko}}: She uses "boku," and has an aggressive, boyish personality.
* BoyishShortHair: She had shorter hair during her middle school days.
* BrokenBird: Her father spent most of his time drinking after Uotani's mother left him and Uotani to run off with another man. The absence of her parents' love made Uotani join a gang to distract herself from the pain and take out her anger in fights. After meeting Tohru and Kyoko, Uotani found a place in which she felt welcomed and that healed her emotional wounds.
* CoolBigSis: She's the very definition of this to Tohru. In fact, their friendship started when Arisa became like a second daughter to Tohru's mother Kyoko, so it's natural she cares for Tohru like a sister. Arisa also acts like a wise sisterly figure to some delinquent wannabe girls.
* FormerTeenRebel: She used to be a sukeban in middle school before Tohru and Kyoko helped her turn her life around and quit her gang.
* FreudianExcuse: Her parents divorced when she was little, her mother walked out on her with her new boyfriend and her father spent most of his time drinking. The absence of her parents' love resulted in her joining a gang.
* GenerationXerox: To Kyoko, who isn't even her mother. Like Kyoko, she developed anger issues due to emotional ParentalAbandonment from a young age and joined a gang by middle school, was healed by ThePowerOfLove during middle school, and fell for a (seemingly) ordinary NiceGuy. The only difference is she's healed by friendly love first (from Tohru and Kyoko) and then fell for [[spoiler:Kureno]] later. [[spoiler:Then there's The Zodiac Curse.]]
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: She has a very bright and caring disposition that is emphasized by her blonde hair.
* IJustWantToBeLoved: Her mother walked out on her and her father was a neglectful alcoholic, which drove Uotani to join a gang. After she met the Hondas, Uotani understood that what she wanted the most was to be part of a loving family.
* JuniorCounterpart: She's a younger version of Kyoko, being a FormerTeenRebel who grew into a wise and mature young woman precisely because of Kyoko's positive influence.
* LoveRedeems: It was receiving the warmth of the loving Honda family what motivated Arisa to quit the life of a delinquent and live like an honorable civilian.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Does various part time jobs.
* NonUniformUniform: Though she's no longer a delinquent, she still wears a long skirt as part of her school uniform.
* ParentalAbandonment: When she was very young, her mother left her and her father to marry another man.
* PeekABangs: Her hair hides her right eye.
* SourOutsideSadInside: Back in middle school, she picked fights with gangs to cope with the abandonment of her mother and the neglect of her alcoholic father. Kyoko could understand what she was going through thanks to having been in a similar position before and she helped Arisa grow out of it.
* StarCrossedLovers: She and Kureno fell in love with each other over the course of two meetings. However, due to Kureno's obligation to Akito he decided to never see her again even after learning that she wanted to. [[spoiler:They are reunited at the end of the series.]]
* TearsOfRemorse: In her backstory, when she admits to Kyoko she was dumb and wanted to be friends with Tohru.
* TomboyishVoice: Both anime adaptations give her a raspy voice to fit with her easygoing tomboy character.
* TookALevelInCheerfulness: She went from a grumpy and depressingly lonely delinquent to a cheerful and outgoing friend for Tohru.
* TookALevelInKindness: She wasn't as nice and caring before she befriended Tohru. When they first met in middle school, Arisa was a delinquent with a bad attitude until Kyoko convinced her to change her lifestyle.
* TragicKeepsake: She keeps the deceased Kyoko's BadassLongcoat from the latter's young delinquent days.
%%* VolleyingInsults: With Kyo.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Saki Hanajima]]
!!Saki Hanajima
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ReikoYasuhara (2001 Series), Creator/SatomiSato (2019 Series) (JP), Daphne Gere (2001 Series), Creator/JadSaxton (2019 Series) (EN)

[[quoteright:180:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/saki_hanajima_2019.png]]

One of Tohru's closest friends and a psychic. She was ostracized as a child due to her powers, but was able to come to terms with her abilities after befriending Tohru and Uotani in middle school. While very stoic and intimidating at first glance, she's a devoted friend to Tohru and isn't without her own eccentricities.
----
* AffectionateNickname: Tohru calls her "Hana-chan".
* AfraidOfTheirOwnStrength: After she accidentally made a bully collapse by [[IWishedYouWereDead wanting him dead]], Hanajima became terrified at the possibility that her PsychicPowers could make her kill people by merely thinking it.
* AgeGapRomance: Teased at. She falls for Kyo's foster father Kazuma, who is over 20 years older than her at the very least. While there are some hints late in the manga that they're developing a relationship, it's ultimately left ambiguous. She isn't shown to be with him in ''Another''.
* AloofBigSister: Subverted. She ''seems'' aloof, but she really loves her little brother and they get along very well.
* AmbiguouslyBi: While it's hinted that she may have deep feelings for Tohru, she also gets a crush on Kazuma Sohma [[spoiler:and in ''Another'' is revealed to have married a foreigner and now has a son]].
* BigEater: She plays her role in "Cinderella" like this, trying to wish for yakiniku instead of a carriage to the ball.
* BrilliantButLazy: She fails school tests on purpose because the makeup tests are easier.
* BookDumb: She's not really, but she pretends to be because the make-up tests are easier. However, she does become motivated enough to pass her exams before summer vacation, because otherwise she'd be stuck taking make-up exams in a school building with no air conditioning.
* BullyMagnet: Her infamy first brought her a lot of cruel bullying at first, then almost complete isolation... until Tohru and Arisa break through her defenses.
* BullyingADragon: When she was in elementary school, a bully called her a witch for being weird and [[ForceFeeding force fed]] her ''live newts''. Hanajima got so angry that she mentally cursed the bully to die many times. Since she didn't have proper control of her PsychicPowers yet, the bully fell unconscious and was put in the hospital. Hanajima was [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone horrified of what she was capable of]] and did her best to never think something that would hurt people again, no matter how terrible the bullying got later on.
* CerebusRetcon: Her electric waves power is a comedy element in the present storyline. When her backstory is explained, it's revealed her powers were much uncontrollable and dangerous when she was younger and this caused Hanajima to be mercilessly bullied most of her life.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: If her feelings for Tohru are romantic after all.
* ClingyJealousGirl: She hates the idea of Tohru getting married and feels jealous that she's now spending much more time with the Sohmas than with her. After she hears her younger brother giving a speech about why it's bad to be possessive, Hanajima accepts that it's fine to not be the only important person in Tohru's life.
* TheComicallySerious: It's sometimes shown that her thought processes can be kind of odd, like how she purposefully fails tests because makeup tests are easier or how she insists that she and her brother Megumi look nothing alike even though they're very obviously related. Combined with her stoic nature, she tends to fall into this trope.
* CreepyLonerGirl: Hanajima is an EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette with a mysterious and stoic personality, often talks about the waves she detects in people and only ever wears black clothing outside of school (and she always wears black nail polish). She was a loner before befriending Tohru and Uotani due to her PsychicPowers alienating her from her peers who called her a freak and bullied her terribly.
* CreepyMonotone: She never raises her voice, which attributes to her EmotionlessGirl image.
* TheDreaded: To the Yuki Fan Club: while they're certainly intimidated by Arisa, it's Saki they're truly ''terrified'' of.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Raven black hair and pale skin tone are the perfect fit for a [[TheStoic stoic]] {{Goth}} girl like Hanajima. She has also been called a witch because of her PsychicPowers.
* EmotionlessGirl: She always speaks in monotone and rarely gets emotional.
* ExtremeDoormat: For many years, Hanajima quietly let her classmates shun and bully her, never trying to defend herself or ask for help because she thought she deserved to be treated so cruelly for having such dangerous PsychicPowers.
* {{Goth}}: She essentially forced herself into being a Lone Psycho Goth. When Hanajima was in elementary school, she accidentally made a bully pass out with her PsychicPowers and she convinced herself that she had tried to kill him. Ever since then, she only wore black gothic-style dresses to remind herself of her "sin" and she also painted her nails black because her school uniform isn't black. Her peers either were afraid of her because they thought she would use her powers to hurt them or they bullied her mercilessly to test if her powers were real. After she was befriended by Tohru and Uotani, Hanajima came to accept herself and her powers. She now wears black dresses out of habit and is a EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette with a stoic, eccentric character, so she still fits into the oddball goth stereotype.
* HiddenDepths: The Yuki Fan Club is surprised to discover she likes to read shojo manga. She also takes an interest in Shigure's romance novel series ''Summer Sigh'', and is later shown to have bought the first three volumes.
* InvisibleToNormals: Hanajima's denpa waves are something only she can see.
* IWishedYouWereDead: When she was in elementary school, she thought she wanted a boy who bullied her to die over and over again. The boy fainted on the spot and Hanajima blamed her PsychicPowers for it. While the boy didn't die, Hanajima thought what she did more than counted as attempted murder and spent years punishing herself for her "crime".
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: She's so guilt-ridden over putting a little boy who bullied her into a coma that she spent the rest of her childhood punishing herself, believing she deserved to be bullied and ostracized for what she did. She only forgave herself after meeting Tohru, Arisa, and Kyoko.
* ParasolOfPrettiness: She's occasionally seen walking around with a black parasol as part of her affinity for {{Goth}} fashion.
* PowerIncontinence: Her abilities were implied to be controlled by her emotions and couldn't be turned off when she was growing up. Nowadays, she has a much better handle on them.
* ProfessionalSlacker: To the point that her plan for life after high school is just to muster up the motivation to ''actually pass high school''. Her teacher is not amused.
* PsychicPowers: She reads auras and can potentially kill with her "denpa waves". [[spoiler: That almost happened in her backstory, where she loses it after being brutally bullied by a boy and wishing for his death... then her powers go haywire and he almost dies.]]
* RandomlyGifted: Hanajima was born with PsychicPowers despite everyone else in her family being completely normal. When she was a child, Hanajima felt guilty because she thought that she was a burden to her family because of having such unusual power.
* RapunzelHair: Her hair reaches past her waist when she lets it down.
* RomanticTwoGirlFriendship: Tohru is possibly the most important person to Hanajima. In her backstory, the two share a very intimate moment with strong yuri vibes, complete with the IntertwinedFingers and HeadbuttOfLove.
* ShipTease: She falls for Kyo's foster father, who finds her very charming. While there are some hints late in the manga that they're developing a relationship, it's ultimately left ambiguous. However, she isn't shown to be with him in ''Another,'' [[spoiler: and Megumi mentions that she is married to a foreigner and she had a son named Rio, who is friends with Shiki and Chizuru]].
* TheStoic: She always has the same contemplative look on her face. Tohru is the only one who can even get a small smile out of her.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: She's cool and unemotional most of the time, but she turns soft like a marshmallow for anything related to Tohru.
* UnhappyMedium: Her PsychicPowers gave her nothing but trouble through her childhood. She couldn't even take a walk outside with her family without becoming overwhelmed by hearing the thoughts of everyone around her. When she realized that she could hurt people with only her thoughts, Hanajima came to hate having such powers even more.
* WidowsWeeds: When she goes to visit Kyoko's grave, she's wearing a Victorian mourning dress. Hanajima thinks she looks ''plain'' with it.
* ZettaiRyouiki: Grade C. She wears knee-high socks and a long skirt in her school uniform, leaving a small section of her legs bare.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Megumi Hanajima]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/OmiMinami (2001 series), Creator/YukiyoFujii (2019 series) (JP), Hollie Townson (2001 series), Creator/LeahClark (2019 series) (EN)

Saki's younger brother.
----
* BigSisterWorship: He's especially doting to Hana and wishes for her happiness with the knowledge of how much she suffered as a child.
* CreepyChild: He can be somewhat unsettling because he's unemotional and abnormally mature for a kid. He made Motoko and her GirlPosse run away screaming from his house by simply called by her names before they introduce themselves to him (Megumi found out by spying on them and hearing them talk to each other).
* CreepyMonotone: He speaks in a very flat, unemotional voice, which is part of why Motoko and her GirlPosse get terrified of him when he merely says their names.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: He's a {{Goth}} kid with black hair and pale skin, like his sister.
* EmotionlessBoy: Like his sister, Megumi isn't the type to show strong emotions.
* GenderBlenderName: In Japan, there normally aren't boys named Megumi since that's generally a girl's name.
* LikesOlderWomen: He's pretty subtle about it, but he mentions once how "interesting" it is for him to be the only boy amongst three women (Saki, Tohru, and Arisa). Then there was his forward comment about visiting Arisa at work to see her in a miniskirt...
* {{Goth}}: To support his sister, he also started wearing black. Hana encouraged him to move on from it, but admits people would think it weird if he swiched to pastel colors.
* IKnowYourTrueName: His curses work when he knows someone's name.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Upon hearing the plan of the [[ClingyJealousGirl Prince Yuki Fan Club girls]], he gives them a speech about how they're being selfish by forcing their one-sided affections on Yuki and that he would come to hate them for driving away the people he allows into his life. His words even reach Saki, who had been suffering from her own mild jealousy of Tohru's friendship with the Sohma family.
* SpearCounterpart: He's basically Saki if she was a boy.
* TheStoic: You won't see any more facial expressions out of him than you will see in his sister.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: He looks like a younger, male version of Hana. However, he and his sister deny it.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: While he's [[TheStoic stoic]] and frank, the way he deeply cares about his sister's wellbeing shows a very sweet side to him.
* WhenHeSmiles: Like his older sister, he has a charming smile, but he hides it.
* WiseBeyondHisYears:He's possibly only second to Kyoko in terms of maturity and emotional intelligence. That's a big accomplishment for a boy who is just starting middle school.

[[/folder]]

!!Tohru's Parents

[[folder:In General]]
* AgeGapRomance: Kyoko was just out of middle school (16) and Katsuya was in his early twenties when they met and got married. The age difference is commented on a lot.
* DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: Tohru quotes Kyoko's words quite a few times in the manga; also Kyoko helping [[spoiler:Kyo and Arisa]] in the {{flashback}}s.
** Subverted in regards to Tohru's feelings for her father, as she has few memories of him and [[spoiler:after Katsuya died, Kyoko became catatonic with grief to the point of ignoring Tohru. A young Tohru believed back then that in a way, Kyoko's grief meant that her father was taking her mother away also. Years later, the thought still haunts her because she knows Katsuya was a good person and Tohru can't believe she ever thought that way to begin with. It's also the reason why she adopted what few of his speech patterns she could remember - she was trying to remind Kyoko of Katsuya]].
* HappilyMarried: The two of them were very close, doted on their daughter, and were planning to have another child.
* OppositesAttract: Kyoko was brash and excitable while Katsuya was calm and polite to a fault.
* MalignedMixedMarriage: Pretty much no one but Katsuya's father approved of their marriage, due to Kyoko's age and gang history.
* PosthumousCharacter: Both of them are dead by the beginning of the series, but their influence is felt through secondary and tertiary connections to other characters.
* TeacherStudentRomance: Katsuya was a student teacher and counselor when he met Kyoko (who in turn almost never showed up to school and never attended a class he helped teach), but he started working for a pharmaceutical company shortly before they got married. [[spoiler: He was actually going to her house to ask her parents if he could marry her... and quite in time, since he did it right when the Katsunumas were kicking Kyoko out of the house. He gives them a WhatTheHellHero speech and takes Kyoko in.]]
* TogetherInDeath: [[spoiler:Kyoko finally saw her husband again when she died and their souls happily reunite.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kyoko Honda]]
!!Kyoko Honda, née Katsunuma
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ReikoYasuhara (2001 Series), Creator/MiyukiSawashiro (2019 Series) (JP), Julie Mayfield (2001 Series), Creator/LydiaMackay (2019 Series) (EN)

[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kyoko_honda_2019.png]]

Tohru's mother, who died from being hit by a car a few months before the story begins. Despite her rough past as a former gang member and losing her husband Katsuya to illness, she still did her best to be a good mother to Tohru, and much of Tohru's worldview was shaped by Kyoko's wisdom.
----
* AdultFear:
** A flashback reveals a pregnant Kyoko terrified that her relationship with Tohru would go the way of hers with her own mother.
** Also, when little Tohru got lost, Kyouko went ''ballistic'' on the police because it was very hard to find her.
* AffectionateNickname: Her husband affectionally called her "Miss No Eyebrows".
* AlliterativeName: Prior to marrying Katsuya, her name was '''K'''yoko '''K'''atsunuma.
* AnticlimacticParent: When Arisa first met Tohru, she's a gang member who admires Tohru's mother who was once a ruthless gang leader. She goes to Tohru's home to meet Kyoko and finds out she's a devoted and loving mother, to her major disappointment.
* BrokenBird: Being rejected by her egocentric parents made Kyoko hate the entire world and she took her anger out on those around her. Katsuya was the one who healed her heart. Kyoko briefly slipped back into this trope after Katsuya suddenly died, but she fortunately recovered when she realized her daughter needed her to be strong. She then became the cheerful and emotionally mature mother in Tohru's memories.
* CryCute: During her first meeting with Katsuya, Kyoko yelled about how much she hated everyone for making her feel so lonely. When Katsuya pointed out she simply wanted to feel loved, Kyoko broke down in tears. Katsuya later confessed that he fell in love with her when he saw her crying because she could express her sadness in a way he couldn't.
* DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: Tohru has nothing but fond memories of her. Arisa and Saki both also see her in a good light and remember her fondly as well.
* DiedHappilyEverAfter: [[spoiler:After entrusting Tohru's happiness to Kyo, Kyoko dies from her wounds and her spirit is greeted by her husband in the afterlife.]]
* DistaffCounterpart: Kyoko is essentially a female adult version of Kyo post-CharacterDevelopment. Even her name is a female equivalent of Kyo.
* DotingParent: Despite being a single mother who didn't have much of an income, Kyoko is still shown to have doted on Tohru and tried to make her as happy as she could. She would frequently hug Tohru while proclaiming how cute she was, and wasn't shy about bragging about her to Uotani.
* DyingDeclarationOfHate: {{Subverted|Trope}}. [[spoiler:Tohru's mother Kyoko tells Kyo, "I'll never forgive you," as she lies dying after being hit by a car that he could have saved her from but didn't due to fear of revealing his curse. A later flashback reveals Kyoko's intended last words were, "If you don't protect Tohru, I'll never forgive you." Unfortunately, because she was heavily injured and on the verge of death, she wasn't able to speak clearly and only got the second half out.]]
* ExcessiveMourning: Kyoko's despair over her husband's sudden death made her nearly forget about her young daughter who still needed her badly. Fortunately, she snapped out of it right before taking her own life and dedicated the rest of her life to taking care of Tohru with all the love in the world.
* FamousLastWords: "I will never forgive you". As she looked at him while saying this, Kyo interpreted this as her cursing him for not saving her despite being able to and developed a guilt for the rest of his life. [[spoiler:In fact, Kyoko actually meant to say along the lines of "I will never forgive you if you do not your keep your promise to protect Tohru". Alas, her death throes prevented her from saying this in full.]]
* FieryRedhead: It's pointed out early on that Kyoko had orange hair, like Kyo. Turns out that she also had a loud and destructive behavior very similar to Kyo's when she was a teenager, but grew out of it after getting married.
* FormerTeenRebel: In her teenage years, she was part of a gang where she engaged in delinquent behavior to cope with having unloving parents. She turned her life around after she met and fell in love with Katsuya, going on to become the saintly mother of Tohru. Her rebellious past is the reason why no one in Katsuya's family (except for his father) ever accepted her and Tohru.
* HappilyFailedSuicide: After Katsuya dies and the rest of her family abandons her, she decides to throw herself into the sea. Hearing a mother and child talking reminds her of Tohru and snaps her back from the brink, and after that she vows never to abandon Tohru again, considering the attempted suicide [[MyGreatestFailure her greatest failure]].
* HatesBeingAlone: Her parents never gave her positive attention and outright told her nobody needed her. The young Kyoko claimed that she hated everyone in the world, but Katsuya immediately knew what she really hated was the feeling of loneliness.
* HatesWearingDresses: When she got married to Katsuya, the one thing she wasn't happy about was the idea of wearing a wedding dress.
* HerHeartWillGoOn: When her husband passed away, Kyoko became so depressed that she almost killed herself, but she realized if she died, Tohru would have been left all alone. She spent the rest of her life raising Tohru with the best disposition possible, which is why her daughter greatly admires her strength and kindness.
* IJustWantToBeLoved: In her youth, having incredibly self-centered parents made Kyoko desperate for someone who would make her feel loved and needed. Katsuya gave her that and even after he died, Kyoko understood she still had a daughter to take care of.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: She was friends with a young Kyo enough for her to share the story of her life.
* InterruptedSuicide: An accidental example. After Katsuya's death, she was prepared to drown herself in the sea to rejoin him. Then she saw a mother and her young son passing by and Kyoko realized that if she were to die, Tohru would be left completely alone. She changed her mind, returned home, and became Tohru's saintlike mother as we know today.
* JerkassRealization: When she got pregnant with Tohru, Kyoko began to worry about being such a bad mother that her child would wish she had never been born. Kyoko is stunned when she realizes she said that awful thing to her own parents and now she knows how terribly she would feel if her child said that to her.
* LoveRedeems: Katsuya treating her with the love and understanding no one ever gave her before made Kyoko quit the life of a delinquent and her personality greatly improved thanks to his influence.
* MarriedTooYoung: She got married to the significantly older Katsuya right after finishing middle school. This is one of the reasons why their marriage was frowned upon by her husband's family.
* MissingMom: Her mother was emotionally distant with her, and after Katsuya died she was so suicidally depressed that she neglected Tohru for a long while, and ''almost'' left her to commit suicide.
* MiseryBuildsCharacter: She firmly believed this, as seen when she told Uotani that often people can't mature and become emotionally strong until they have expressed lots of pain and hardships. Kyoko herself went through a lot, mainly being disowned by her parents and losing her husband, and it nearly broke her, but because she still had a daughter to take care of, she knew how to turn her bad experiences into wisdom. As a result, Kyoko became the most emotionally intelligent and strong-willed character in the series.
* TheMourningAfter: She stayed loyal to her late husband up to her own death.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: She was appalled at herself when she snapped out of her suicidal grief over losing her husband at the last minute, realizing that she was about to abandon her little daughter and made her feel neglected like Kyoko's own awful parents did to her.
* NoBrows: When she was a teenager, Katsuya liked to tease Kyoko about her thin eyebrows, which lead her to use eyeliners.
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: She tries to leave the gang she was a part of and clean up her act; as a result, said gang puts her in the hospital, and when she gets out, she loses her chance of getting into high school and is disowned by her AbusiveParents.
* OpenMindedParent: Knowing she wanted her child to grow up happy was pretty much her mindset throughout her years as Tohru's mother. The only thing she really wanted Tohru to do for her was to graduate high school, since she never went to high school herself.
* ParentalNeglect When Katsuya died, Kyoko had an emotional breakdown and started neglecting Tohru for a while. Thankfully, she snapped out of it before any lasting harm could be done, but she regards it as MyGreatestFailure.
* ParentalSubstitute: Besides being Tohru's actual mother, Kyoko took the role of a mother figure to her daughter's friend Uotani whose own mother abandoned her after a bad divorce. [[spoiler:She was also motherly towards Kyo during the short time they knew each other in his childhood.]]
* PeekABangs: Her right eye is usually covered by her hair in the second anime series.
* PlotTriggeringDeath: Kyoko's death essentially kicks off the whole plot, since many of the story's events would never have happened otherwise.
* PosthumousCharacter: She was killed in a road accident a few months before the story starts.
* RebuiltPedestal: When she was in a gang, Arisa idolized Kyoko as the infamous "Red Butterfly", but when she went to meet her, she was disgusted to learn she'd become a loving mother to a NiceGirl like Tohru. However, Kyoko eventually helped her see that her anger was misplaced and gang life isn't the answer, and helped her turn her life around. Then Arisa idolized her for real.
* RedBaron: She was known as "The Red Butterfly" during her delinquent days, since the image of the red taillight on her bicycle was said to resemble a flitting butterfly as she rode it.
* RetiredBadass: As Arisa's origin story shows us, she still possessed the skills she learned during her delinquent years while saving Arisa from being attacked by her gang members.
* ShadingColourDissonance: Kyoko's hair color is orange, just like Kyo. However, in the manga, Kyo's hair is given a grayscale shading while Kyoko's hair has no shading, making it easy to imagine her as a blonde like Uotani instead.
* ShipperOnDeck: [[spoiler:She was the very first [=TohruxKyo=] supporter. The reason why Kyo is so protective of Tohru from the beginning is because Kyoko often talked to the little Kyo about how wonderful her daughter is. Kyoko even spent her final moments hoping that Kyo would love Tohru a lot after she was gone. Thankfully, Kyoko's dying wish came true.]]
* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Katsuya giving her the love and care her parents denied her was the reason why she was deeply in love with him.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: She's dead by the time the story starts and only appears in flashbacks, but Tohru's entire outlook in life, and by extension her resolve to help the Sohma through kindness, is rooted in her mother's loving upbringing.
* SourOutsideSadInside: In her delinquent days, she acted out because she was so lonely and unhappy. Katsuya was the first person to recognize this, and helped her grow out of it.
* StrugglingSingleMother: {{Subverted|Trope}}. She was a young mother who was tragically widowed when her daughter was a toddler. Despite facing problems in earning enough income to maintain herself and Tohru, Kyoko was truly happy with raising her daughter because it gave her someone to love. She never once complained about anything no matter how much she had to work.
* TakeCareOfTheKids: [[spoiler:What she really meant to say to Kyo in her final moments was that she expected him to protect and love Tohru in her place and wouldn't forgive him if he didn't keep his promise.]]
* TameHerAnger: When she was a teenager, she was constantly angry and engaged in violence to discharge her negative emotions. Thanks to Katsuya, she learned to control her temper to the point she was always calm and happy as an adult.
* TeenPregnancy: She was only fifteen or sixteen years old when she gave birth to Tohru.Unlike most examples, she was in a stable relationship at the time.
* TookALevelInCheerfulness: As a teenager, she was depressed, grumpy and desperately lonely. As an adult, she was lively, optimistic and always smiling.
* TookALevelInKindness: Kyoko wasn't always the gentle mother Tohru remembers. In her teenage years, Kyoko was abrasive, ill-tempered and violent. She only started to change thanks to Katsuya's influence.
* {{Tsundere}}: She was a Harsh type as a teenager. She had a bad temper and was prone to violence, but Katsuya could easily calm her down and make her embarrassed with his teasing.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Her last words to Kyo end up [[spoiler:preventing him from acting up on his feelings for Tohru and to reject her when she confesses. The latter indirectly contributes to Tohru's landslide accident]].
* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Although she dies still as a young woman, she has a great deal of kindness and patience with struggling people-- most of it earned [[MiseryBuildsCharacter the hard way]]. After her death, Tohru relies on her mother's wisdom greatly.
* YamatoNadeshiko: After marrying Katsuya, she is happy to be a loving mother and HouseWife and finally experience living in a happy family... and then, in Uotani's backstory, we see that she [[MamaBear beats the tar out of a group of]] delinquents to save Arisa. In [[spoiler: Yuki]]'s flashback to when little Tohru went missing, we also see her threaten to "rain death upon [the police's] miserable souls" if they don't find her baby. That's the kind of inner iron that separates the pushover ExtremeDoormat HouseWife from YamatoNadeshiko.
* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Katsuya's belief that she was more than just a violent delinquent helped her become just that. Likewise, her assertion that he was much nicer than he gave himself credit for helped him open up too.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Katsuya Honda]]

Tohru's father.
----
* AffectionateNickname: Calls Kyoko "Ms. No-Eyebrows" because it was her "look" early on--even after she lets her brows grow out, he sticks with the name.
* BigBrotherMentor: He was this to Kyoko, before they fell in love.
* BirdsOfAFeather: It's eventually revealed that Katsuya was secretly lonely and unhappy with his life just like Kyoko was, and he also came from a cold and distant family, so they found solace together.
%%* {{Bishonen}}
* DefrostingIceKing: Flashbacks reveal that while he was an extremely polite speaker, Katsuya was very cold and distant with everyone before he met Kyoko. Falling in love with her helped defrost him.
* DisappearedDad: Died of a flu when Tohru was a toddler.
* HotTeacher: He was Kyoko's student teacher when they met, but he ultimately decided that it wasn't for him. It's implied that falling in love with Kyoko was part of the reason he decided not to become a teacher.
* DeathByIrony: A pharmaceutical company employee died of a badly-treated cold.
* IncurableCoughOfDeath: Katsuya died of a badly-treated flu.
* {{Keigo}}: He's said to have been an extremely polite speaker.
* LetsHaveAnotherBaby: His last conversation with Kyoko before he died had him asking her to help him give Tohru a younger sibling.
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: He made Kyoko confront her demons and gave her a reason to live happily by marrying her. Losing him drove her to suicidal despair and she only snapped out of it after remembering she still had the daughter Katsuya left her to raise and love.
* LoveRedeems: Twice. He and his father didn't start getting along until his mother died of an illness and they subsequently turned to each other for support. His father thanks Kyoko for the second time love changes Katsuya, noting that Katsuya hardly showed interest in anyone or anything in his daily life and he didn't think he'd see Katsuya living a genuinely happy life with the experience of having his own family.
* NiceGuy: Not actually a straight-up example of him at first when he's introduced as polite but reserved until meeting Kyoko which he then becomes much happier around her, had the guts to call out on her callous parents for disowning her for being a 'delinquent' and genuinely loves Tohru until his death.
* OneHeadTaller: He topped Kyoko's height by a full head, emphasizing the age difference between them.
* ReasonYouSuckSpeech: Gives a swift but fantastic one to Kyoko's AbusiveParents when they disowned her for daring to need help after she got beaten up badly enough to be hospitalized (because she was trying to quit her gang and turn her life around).
* TheStoic: Flashbacks reveal that one of the reasons he fell for Kyoko was because she was able to express her emotions so openly and honestly, while he'd suppressed his emotions for so long he no longer knew ''how'' to express them. Falling for Kyoko and parenting Tohru helped bring out his warmer, loving side.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: When he first met Kyoko, he was polite but cold and reserved around everyone but her. Their marriage helped him grow past this, to the point that his father was delighted to see him so openly and honestly in love, and happy with his family.
* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Kyoko and Katsuya both had this opinion of each other. He saw her as more than just a violent delinquent, and she thought he was much nicer than he gave himself credit for. They both grew from each other's mutual love and support.
* YoureInsane: Kyoko's father's reaction when he told him he wanted to marry Kyoko.
[[/folder]]

!The Student Council

[[folder:Machi Kuragi]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YukiKaida (CD dramas), Creator/AiKakuma (2019 Series) (JP), Creator/CaitlinGlass (EN)

The student council treasurer during Yuki's presidency. She is Hatsuharu and Momiji's classmate, and Kakeru's half-sister.
----
* AdaptationDyeJob: Machi's hair is dark brown in the manga and dark gray hair in the 2019 anime.
* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: She makes an EarlyBirdCameo in the first season finale of the 2019 anime when Yuki passes her in the stairs at school.
* {{Adorkable}}: She chases Yuki all around the school one day just because she saw him. Why? Just to say hi, dammit!
* AmbiguousDisorder: She initially has no friends aside from her half-brother, has dangerously low self-esteem, and trouble communicating with people in general. She also feels compelled to ruin things whenever they're too "perfect", either methodically or in fits of violence. While this could be due to some kind of disorder, her flashbacks reveal that it's mainly because of all the stress she accumulated from being pushed to be perfect by her parents.
* BetaCouple: She gradually forms one with Yuki soon after her introduction. Since Machi doesn't know about the Zodiac curse, the relationship between Yuki and Machi develops about as any normal high school romance. This is a sharp contrast to all the drama surrounding the romance of Tohru and Kyo.
* BrokenBird: She was forced by her mother into a bitter inheritance rivalry with her illegitimate half-brother, the result being that Machi became quiet, removed from society, and disdainful of anything she considers "perfect".
* BirdsOfAFeather: With [[spoiler:Yuki]], due to their AbusiveParents and being pushed towards perfection.
* FriendlessBackground: She doesn't interact much with anyone aside from her half-brother.
* HeirClubForMen: Machi's mother decided to make her second child the potential heir of the family fortune only because he's a boy and despite Machi being the first-born legitimate child of her parents.
* ICantBelieveAGuyLikeYouWouldNoticeMe: To [[spoiler:Yuki]].
* {{Irony}}: She was introduced as the girl who had the least interest in Yuki [[spoiler:to falling in love with him, and the only girl he truely falls in love with]].
* MinorLivingAlone: Machi is forced to live by herself because her parents threw her out of the house after they mistook her putting a blanket on her baby brother with her trying to smother him.
* NotEvilJustMisunderstood: All Machi wanted to do was make sure her baby brother stayed warm while he slept. Her parents came in and assumed she was trying to smother him with a blanket.
* TheQuietOne: She hardly talks directly to anyone but her half-brother and later, Yuki.
* ShadingColourDissonance: Machi has dark brown hair, but its lack of shading in the manga suggests a much lighter hair color.
* SiblingYinYang: With Kakeru, even though they are only half siblings.
* TrophyChild: Her mother only wanted to use Machi to inherit the fortune of her husband by forcing her to be a better successor than her illegitimate half-brother. After her mother gave birth to a son, she pretty much forgot about Machi just because a daughter is less likely to be chosen as the family heir.
* {{Tsundere}}: She becomes easily irritated and embarrassed around Yuki even though it's so obvious that she's falling for him. It's understandable because the way her AbusiveMom treated her left Machi with great difficulty at expressing herself honestly.
* TheUnfavourite: Her mother openly tells a friend that Machi is "dull" and that she prefers her new baby boy because a male heir has better chances at getting the fortune of her husband.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kakeru Manabe]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KenichiSuzumura (CD dramas), Creator/TakuyaEguchi (2019 Series) (JP), Creator/AaronDismuke (EN)

Vice president of the student council during Yuki's presidency. He is Machi's older half-brother.
----
* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: He, along with Machi, gets an EarlyBirdCameo in the first season finale of the 2019 anime, where he catches a glimpse of Yuki walking with Tohru at the school.
* ACertainPointOfView: [[spoiler:In his point of view, Komaki also lost her parent in the same incident that killed Kyoko and he thinks that Tohru is being self-centered when she openly grieved for her mother, unaware that Tohru is essentially orphaned with Kyoko's passing]].
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Kakeru teases his girlfriend a lot, but they really do love each other.
%%* {{Bishonen}}
* HeroicBastard: He's the son of his father's mistress.
* HeyYou: Claims this is one of his nicknames.
* HiddenDepths: His headstrong approach to his daily life continually wears out Yuki and most everyone around him, but the quiet moments between him and Yuki show that he's capable of being empathetic as a friend to Yuki and brother to Machi. [[spoiler:He also feels incredible guilt towards what he said to Tohru at her mother's funeral years ago, and it weighs on his mind until he and Tohru talk about it]].
* JerkassRealization: He gets hit by this in response to the KickTheDog moment below, especially after [[spoiler: Komaki threatened to dump him in disgust, and it weighs on his mind for years afterwards.]]
* KickTheDog: He had the gall to [[spoiler: tell Tohru to her face, ''right in the middle of her mother's funeral'', that she wasn't the only one who lost a parent in the accident and [[QuitYourWhining that she was whiny and disgusting for openly grieving]]. Komaki was so furious with him when she found out that she nearly broke up with him.]]
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Manabe may act like the local joker most of the time, but he also show signs to be much more observant than he lets on.
* QuitYourWhining: As established under KickTheDog above, [[spoiler: he told Tohru to her face that she wasn't the only one to lose a parent in the accident and she was whiny and disgusting for openly grieving over it.]]
%%* SiblingYinYang: With Machi.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kimi Todou]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YukariTamura (CD dramas)

One of the student council secretaries during Yuki's presidency.
----
* AttentionWhore: For men, at least.
* BrainlessBeauty: Admits to it, and is completely unbothered by it.
* {{Kawaiiko}}
* GoldDigger: A rare good-hearted version, as she doesn't use the gifts she gets for her own benefit but for the council's.
* InsultBackfire: In middle school, some female bullies tried to shame her into humility by calling her a BrainlessBeauty who could [[GoldDigger only get by on her looks]]. Kimi thought that was a brilliant idea, and Yuki secretly muses that her former bullies are probably still kicking themselves for giving her the idea to this day.
* LovableAlphaBitch: Cute, vain, spoiled, popular with the boys, and [[KickTheSonOfABitch intentionally antagonizes the Prince Yuki Fanclub]] but is otherwise pretty harmless to everyone else.
* PluckyComicRelief: WordOfGod is that Kimi was a character specifically created to have absolutely no connection to the dramatic parts of the story. Specifically, [[BigScrewedUpFamily the Sohma Family]].
* YourCheatingHeart: She dates lots of guys, whether or not they have girlfriends.
* ThirdPersonPerson: Does not refer to herself by a Japanese honorific.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Naohito Sakuragi]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JunFukuyama (CD dramas)

One of the student council secretaries during Yuki's presidency. He considers Yuki his rival, as he crushes on the president of Yuki's fan club, Motoko Minagawa.
----
%%* ChewToy
%%* TheComicallySerious
* CrazyJealousGuy: He was envious of Yuki for being the object of interest of Motoko's heart and isn't pleasant with him as a result.
* HairTriggerTemper: He's generally annoyed by default, so it doesn't take much to get him screaming.
* HopelessSuitor: He has a crush on Motoko, who similarly has an unrequited crush on Yuki.
* TheNapoleon: And it doesn't help that Manabe's nickname for him is "Chibisuke."
* OnlySaneMan: In his eyes, at least.
* OutnumberedSibling: Has two older sisters.
* PerpetualFrowner: Never seen smiling.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Prince Yuki's Fanclub (Minami Kinoshita, Mio Yamagishi, Mai Gotou, and Rika Aida)]]
->'''Minami voiced by:''' Hiromi Asai (2001 anime), Creator/ShizukaIshigami (2019 anime) (JP), Libby Smith (2001 anime), Creator/NatalieHoover (2019 anime) (EN)
->'''Mio voiced by:''' Yuuki Kajita (2001 anime) (JP), Kasey Buckley (2001 anime), Creator/EmilyNeves (2019 anime) (EN)
->'''Mai voiced by:''' Kaoru Suzuki (2001 anime) (JP), Meredith [=McCoy=] (2001 anime), Kristen [=McGuire=] (2019 anime) (EN)
->'''Rika voiced by:''' Miwa Matsumoto (2001 anime), Chika Anzai (2019 anime) (JP), Elise Baughman (2001 anime), Creator/AmberLeeConnors (2019 anime) (EN)

A group of girls devoted to adoring Yuki Sohma and keeping him single.
----
* BetaBitch: Minami, serving as the Vice President and thus one level below Motoko.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Minami, Mio, and Mai were interchangeable from one another in the 2001 anime during their early appearances. It was around their ADayInTheLimelight episode where they were given names and distinctions between their personalities began to show. Minami and Mio tend to squabble between one another with Minami taking the lead whenever Motoko wasn't around, while Mai was sort of a harmless CloudCuckoolander who didn't seem to have any genuine ill will towards Tohru other than being jealous of her hanging around Yuki.
* ClingyJealousGirl: If you're a girl and you're anywhere near Yuki, then be ready to be jumped by these girls.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: When Motoko is about to graduate, Minami is all set to take over leadership of the fanclub next year, while Mio comments that she'll take over after ''her''. The author notes in an aside that she still hasn't realized ''Yuki's'' going to be gone, too.
%%* GirlPosse
* HarmlessVillain: They constantly plot against Tohru, but they're never really able to carry out any of their harassment, since they're terrified of Arisa and Saki. They also try it on Kimi but she just blows them off. Machi has a little more trouble with them until Kakeru and Yuki intervene.
* MurderTheHypotenuse: Their attitude towards whoever they perceive as a threat to Yuki: Tohru and later Kimi, specifically.
* RomanticRunnerUp: All of them, for Yuki, who has zero interest in them.
* SpoiledBrat: All of them are so attracted to Yuki, that they enjoy bothering other in his life.
* StalkerWithACrush: Definitely. In one of her spacier moments, Mai is appalled at Rika Aida not properly utilizing her lock picking skills... because they could use them to ''sneak into Yuki's house''.
* TokenGoodTeammate: In the 2001 anime, Mai Gotou seemed to become the least offensive of the group while still showing jealousy towards Tohru for hanging around Yuki. She at one point even cheerfully waves goodbye to Tohru's group as Mokoto starts screaming at Hana for Megumi possibly placing a curse on them.
%%* UnwantedHarem: To Yuki.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Motoko Minagawa]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KaoriShimizu (2001 anime), Creator/MaoIchimichi (2019 anime) (JP), Creator/JamieMarchi (EN)

The president of the Prince Yuki Fan Club and Yuki's senpai.
----
* AdaptationDyeJob: In the 2001 anime, she has reddish brown hair in contrast to the manga and 2019 anime's charcoal.
* AlphaBitch: The leader of the group who hates the kindhearted Tohru and plans to be rid of her.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Maybe the reason why she's hooked on Yuki so much.
* CannotSpitItOut: For all her jealousy and entitlement, Motoko is too cowardly to tell Yuki how she feels about him. [[spoiler:She finally confesses to him on her graduation day.]]
* TheChewToy: Her attempts at bullying Tohru always fail and Motoko ends up being scared shitless by Hanajima.
* ClingyJealousGirl: She gets jealous over any girl giving Yuki attention. She gets better later, though.
%%* CryCute
* EmotionallyTongueTied: She stutters a lot and talks very fast around Yuki.
* EntitledToHaveYou: Motoko and her GirlPosse act as if Tohru has stolen Yuki away from them when they don't even have the courage to approach him and express their feelings for him. Basically, Motoko objectifies Yuki and pretends that he doesn't have the right to favor someone else for no reason other than her having a crush on him. Megumi calls her out on this behavior and tells her that just because she likes Yuki a lot that doesn't mean he owns her to not like someone else by his own choice.
* LovingAShadow: Like the rest of Yuki's fangirls, Motoko is smitten with the PrinceCharming she imagines Yuki to be. She isn't brave enough to even have an actual conversation with the real him.
* HairDecorations: Two butterfly bows.
* {{Hypocrite}}: She makes a passionate, jealousy-fueled outburst telling Tohru (who was not even present) to stay away from Yuki. She leaves to clear her head and [[HeelRealization realizes that the selfish fangirls she despises who want Yuki all to themselves]] [[YouAreWhatYouHate have negative qualities that she sees in herself]].
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: The anime shows in her ADayInTheLimelight episode that, beneath her haughty attitude, she doesn't view herself as special or interesting and focuses all her energy on Yuki. She tearfully breaks down when she shows Yuki her "ugly" side, mentioning that she hates herself.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: [[spoiler:She decides to let Yuki go after she confesses to him on her graduation day.]]
* LargeHam: And is passionate about it.
* RapunzelHair: She has hip-length hair.
* SatelliteCharacter: She has a big crush on Yuki and is jealous of Tohru for being so close to him. There's nothing else you need to know about Motoko.
* ShadingColourDissonance: Motoko's canon hair color is charcoal, as seen in the second anime. The manga uses a much lighter shade for her hair, so the first anime mistook it for light brown.
* SingleGirlSeeksMostPopularGuy: She leads the Prince Yuki fan club, dedicated to worshipping Yuki as the prettiest and most charming guy at their high school.
* SomethingAboutARose: Often appear in the background when she's talking.
* SpoiledBrat: Obviously the most spoiled of the whole fan club.
* ZettaiRyouiki: She wears black thigh-high stockings with her school uniform, which leaves a small fraction of her legs bare.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Makoto Takei]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YujiUeda (2001 series), Creator/JunFukushima (2019 series) (JP), Creator/KyleHebert (EN)

The former StudentCouncilPresident.
----
* AbhorrentAdmirer: Is head over heels for Yuki, much to the latter's dismay.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's obnoxious and full of himself, but he's not a ''bad'' guy by any stretch of the imagination.
* LargeHam: It's incredibly rare to see him not bellowing dramatically about something.
* OpaqueNerdGlasses: His eyes are never seen through his glasses.
* {{Pride}}: Something Haru calls him out on--he's a bit too obsessed with enforcing the rules and generally has a "my way or the high way" attitude.
* ScaryShinyGlasses: His glasses are ''always'' like this, to the point that his eyes are almost never visible.
* SingleTargetSexuality: He only has eyes for Yuki. [[spoiler:Somewhat creepily, this ends up extending to Yuki's ''son'' when he first meets him.]]
* StraightGay: He's as enamored with Yuki as the female students are, and even gets into a fight with Motoko about it, but he shows no "camp" or stereotypical qualities.
* StudentCouncilPresident: And a particularly obnoxious one too, considering how strict and arrogant he is.
[[/folder]]

!Other characters

[[folder:Komaki Nakao]]

Kakeru's girlfriend.
----
* DisappearedDad: Who died in a car crash. [[spoiler: And he actually was the driver who killed Kyoko, by accidentally hitting her with his car before crashing and perishing. He might have had a heart attack at the steering wheel, even.]]
%%* GenkiGirl
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Meat!
* {{Tsundere}}: Lightly, to Kakeru. With an attitude like his, can you blame her?
* WhatTheHellHero: [[spoiler: To Kakeru, who told Tohru ''[[KickTheDog during Kyoko's funeral]]'' that she wasn't the only one who had lost a parent in the accident and [[QuitYourWhining that she was whiny and disgusting for openly grieving.]] Komaki was ''very'' pissed off when she found out and almost broke up with him, forcing him to apologize.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mine Kuramae]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Miki Takahashi (JP), Amber Cotton (EN)

A clothing designer who works in Ayame's store.
----
%%* {{Adorkable}}
* CosplayOtakuGirl: Is passionate with making clothes for cosplay.
* ElegantGothicLolita: Loves the style and in the 2019 reboot, she has a gothic lolita styled umbrella.
* EarlyBirdCameo: She appears in the second opening of the 2019 reboot as the woman standing next to Ayame behind the gothic lolita umbrella.
* FashionDesigner: She works at Ayame Soma's clothing store as a designer and seamstress.
* GirlishPigtails: She keeps her hair in two braids.
* {{Meganekko}}: She wears glasses and is quite cute.
* {{Meido}}: One of the many things she wore is a maid uniform.
* NiceGirl: She's a very friendly girl.
* OfficialCouple: She officially becomes Ayame's girlfriend.
* PerpetualSmiler: Very few scenes show her not smiling.
* SatelliteLoveInterest: Her only role in the story is being Ayame's perky girlfriend and she doesn't receive any CharacterDevelopment unlike the other characters in a relationship.
* SecretKeeper: Implied to have known about the curse, though not explicitly stated. During a somber conversation with Ayame, Yuki asks Ayame if Mine knows about the curse, and Ayame not-so-subtly (Yuki even lampshades it) changes the topic of conversation to something else. Yuki notes that he wouldn't be surprised if Mine did know - because he doesn't think that Ayame would have been capable of keeping it a secret from her for so long.
* TenderTears: She cries [[spoiler:when the newly-released Ayame is finally able to hug her in the manga.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mayuko Shiraki]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/HitomiNabatame (JP), Anastasia Munoz (EN)

Tohru, Arisa, Saki, Yuki, and Kyo's homeroom teacher.
----
* ACupAngst: When Hatori suggests going to the beach together very late in the manga, she angsts briefly about wearing a swim suit.
* AdaptedOut: The first anime version of the classroom teacher is male.
* CoolBigSis: Sometimes she seems more like this to her students than their teacher.
* EarlyBirdCameo: In the second anime, she appears at the end of episode 4 to tell Tohru about her grandpa's call.
* HeWillNotCrySoICryForHim: [[spoiler:For Hatori's sake.]]
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: She loved Hatori from the beginning, but she also was Kana's closest friend. She was a ShipperOnDeck [[MatchmakerCrush for him and Kana]], and was genuinely grief-stricken when it went to hell.
* SecondLove: [[spoiler:For Hatori. In fact, Mayu even felt guilty for "taking Kana's place" in his heart at first.]]
* SenseiChan: After some of her female students address her as Mayu-chan-sensei, she demands (jokingly) that they call her [[Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka Great Teacher]] Mayuko (some translated it as Mayuko-daisensei-sama). Despite this, she's actually more of a downplayed example of this trope, acting more like a usually-stern CoolBigSis towards her students than an immature {{Womanchild}} like most examples.
* SternTeacher: But also CoolTeacher.
* TheStoic: In front of her students, which makes sense considering their antics, but...
** NotSoStoic: ...when it comes to dealing with [[ManipulativeBastard Shigure]] and [[SecondLove Hatori]], she spazzes quite a bit.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mitsuru]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AkemiOkamura (2001 series), Creator/ChinatsuAkasaki (2019 series) (JP), Creator/CynthiaCranz (EN)

Shigure's editor.
----
* AdaptationDyeJob: Her hair is brown in the 2001 series, but a light gray in the 2019 reboot.
* AdaptationExpansion: The 2019 anime gives her a bit more of a presence by adding screentime with Mitsuru bonding with Ritsu before they start dating.
* BeleagueredAssistant: Well, editor, but Shigure still drives the poor woman crazy.
* BirdsOfAFeather: She and her boyfriend Ritsu are both overly emotional people with anxiety problems and prone to panic over small things, which causes them to have low self-esteem.
* ButtMonkey: She's the biggest victim of Shigure's {{Troll}}ing. About all her appearances have Shigure driving her crazy by acting flaky, to the point she's on verge of killing herself.
* HystericalWoman: She acts like it's the end of the world whenever it looks like Shigure isn't going to have his manuscript ready on time.
* ProneToTears: She's so emotional that it doesn't take much for Shigure to make her cry by messing with her a little.
* SuicideAsComedy: When Tohru meets her, she's on the verge of killing herself with a box cutter because Shigure has run off without meeting his deadlines again. Later, we see her writing a suicide note to her parents for the exact same reason. Shigure thinks it's funny.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tohru's paternal grandfather]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Hiroshi Masuoka (JP), Brice Armstrong (2001 anime), Doug Jackson (2019 anime) (EN)

----
* AccidentalMisnaming: He typically calls Tohru "Kyoko-san" after Kyoko's death. While at first it seems like it's due to being a ScatterbrainedSenior, he's actually doing it on purpose since he wants to let Tohru know that there's at least one other person besides her who remembers Kyoko after her death.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: He's quiet flighty. To say the least. PlayedWith though, as he isn't as flighty as he seems at times.
* GoodParents: To Katsuya and later Kyoko when she becomes a part of Katsuya's life. He later becomes the best grandparent he can be to Tohru, even if that means letting her live with another family since he knows his own family won't treat her well.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: Subverted. He begins habitually calling Tohru "Kyoko-san" after Kyoko passes away, which everyone seems to write off as a result of his age, but Kyo points out that it's a bit insensitive for him to do so. Then Tohru's grandfather admits he's aware he does it, and says that he started doing it because after Kyoko's funeral, it looked like Tohru was going to fall apart if there wasn't some sort of reminder every so often that her mother was once alive and that other people think of her as well.
** Played straight when he throws his back out and Tohru comes to visit him. He's reminiscing about Katsuya and Kyoko, telling Tohru that it would be nice to see them again, even as ghosts, before he died. What he doesn't know is that the phrase "I want to see them again," triggers a painful memory for Tohru - one where after Katsuya's death, Kyoko left her alone in the house to wander aimlessly without thinking of Tohru.
* LoveRedeems: When his son was alive, their relationship suffered from a strain. When his wife passed away, he changed and became the kind-hearted man Tohru knew.
* MiniatureSeniorCitizens
* NiceGuy: He was the only person in the Honda family who didn't ostracize Kyoko, and later he remains kind to Tohru even when all of her other relatives treat her like crap.
* NoNameGiven: We never get to know what his given name is.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: As Katsuya says in a flashback, "He's lost his edge." However, there are infrequent instances in the manga that suggest he's capable of being just as disagreeable as his son was, but doesn't act on it until he feels he needs to.
* PapaWolf: Do not make any crude comments about his granddaughter. Even if you're family, he ''will'' hit you.
* ScatterbrainedSenior: Subverted; his odd behavior makes him seem as though his mind is declining from old age, but it's later made clear that much of this is ObfuscatingStupidity.
* YourFavorite: The food which he brings to Kyoko's grave.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mr. Uotani]]
!!!Voiced by: Masashi Nogawa (JP), Josh Martin (EN)
Arisa's father and a recovering alcoholic.
----
* AlcoholicParent: Until a few years ago, he tried to [[DrowningMySorrows drink his sorrows away]] because of his wife running off with another man. Arisa has been helping him with his recovery.
* ParentalNeglect: After his wife left him, he would spend all day drinking and blankly staring at the TV, never once even trying to look after Arisa. This was the cause of Arisa joining a gang to cope with her frustration at being unattended by her father.
* RecoveredAddict: Arisa somehow managed to get him out of his drinking habit, although she still needs to keep an eye on him in case he tries sipping a beer every once in a while.
* UnnamedParent: We never get to know his given name.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mr. and Mrs. Hanajima]]
!!!Saki's father is voiced by: Creator/HirofumiNojima (JP), Creator/ChristopherWehkamp (EN)
!!!Saki's mother is voiced by: Creator/YumiKakazu (JP), Jenny Ledel (EN)
Saki's parents.
----
* GoodParents: They are endlessly loving and supportive of Saki, especially when she was being bullied and ostracized.
* OpenMindedParent: They aren't bothered by Saki's PsychicPowers and did everything they could to help her through the problems her lack of control over her powers brought to her when she was growing up. Many of the Sohma parents should learn from them when it comes to raising a child born with a supernatural trait.
* ShadingColourDissonance: Their hair lacks any shading in the manga, which is odd given that both their kids have black hair. According to the 2019 anime, Saki and Megumi get their black hair from their father and their mother has brown hair.
* UnnamedParent: Their given names are never revealed.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mr. and Mrs. Katsunuma]]
Kyoko's parents who were callous and unloving to the point that they disowned Kyoko.
----
* AbusiveDad: The father treated Kyoko like dirt because she got herself in delinquent life, cruelly telling her the world doesn't need people like her.
* TheFaceless: Their faces are never drawn clearly in the manga.
* HateSink: They're yet another example of disgustingly bad parents in a series overloaded with those. It was their callous treatment what made Kyoko involve herself with gangs when she was a teenager.
* IHaveNoDaughter: Kyoko's father finally got sick of her after she was put in the hospital in her attempt to abandon her gang. The day Kyoko left the hospital, the father threw her out of the house while cruelly telling her to "never bother him again".
* {{Jerkass}}: They are unbelievably egocentric and heartless adults who care for nothing but their image.
* ParentalNeglect: They emotionally ignored Kyoko throughout her childhood. Kyoko said that they would never even eat at the table as a family.
* NeverMyFault: Both condemned Kyoko for choosing the life of a delinquent without any consideration of how badly it would make them look. Neither of them wanted to even consider that Kyoko's bad behavior was a direct result of their extremely neglectful treatment of her.
* SlaveToPR: The only reason why they complained about Kyoko joining a gang was that having a delinquent for a daughter was bad for their image in society.
* UnnamedParent: Like most parents in the series outside of Tohru's, Kyoko's parents are never named.
* UselessBystanderParent: While the father abused and later disowned Kyoko, the mother did nothing but fret and wonder how her daughter turned out so poorly and what would the neighbors think.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Sohma's Head Maid]]

An OldRetainer of the Sohma. She has been working with them for more than twenty years.
----
* AllThatGlitters and MagicFeather: [[spoiler: She gave an empty box to a very young Akito and told her it had her recently deceased father Akira's soul, in an attempt to help her cope.]]
* NoNameGiven: Her actual name is never mentioned.
* KimonoIsTraditional: She's always seen wearing a kimono, as a sign of her being a member of a very old-fashioned environment.
* OldRetainer: She has been working in the Sohma household for decades.
* ParentalSubstitute: Sorta, towards Akito. She's pretty much the only woman Akito gets along with.
* ShippingTorpedo: She opposed quite a bit to [[spoiler: her then fellow maid]] Ren and Akira's relationship.
* StatusQuoIsGod: As she tells Akito [[spoiler: after her HeelFaceTurn]], she's much too old now to be able to accept all this drastic new change into the strictly traditional Sohma family, even saying how she ''liked the old Akito'' better.
[[/folder]]

[[Characters/FruitsBasketMainCharacters Main Characters]]

!Zodiac Members

[[folder:General Zodiac Tropes]]
The cursed members of the Sohma family.

* AbusiveParents: More often than not, the curse causes their parents to treat them badly, with indifference at best and physical, mental, and emotional abuse at worst. Hiro, Kisa, Haru, and Ritsu seem to be on good terms with their parents, but that doesn't preclude not getting mistreated by ''other'' members of the family.
* {{Animorphism}}: They change into animals when hugged by a person of the opposite sex who isn't cursed, or when they're very physically weak. Ayame is a special case since he also transforms when he gets too cold, due to being the Snake (since snakes are reptiles and thus cold-blooded).
* TheBeastmaster: They have the ability to speak to, and control to some degree, whichever animal they're possessed by.
* EasternZodiac: Thirteen individuals turn into the twelve animals of the Zodiac [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and the cat]]; they are then [[AnimalMotifs greatly associated with said animals]] in appearance, personality, and relationships.
* HereditaryCurse: They are cursed to turn into animals of the EasternZodiac when they are hugged by someone of the opposite sex that is not also subject to the curse. It's later revealed that there's another part to the curse: each cursed member finds it [[spoiler:impossible to act in any way that isn't subservient to the family member cursed to be the reincarnation of the God of the Zodiac when in their presence]].
* HonorThyAbuser: At the end of the story, all the members of the Zodiac minus Rin decide to not bear grudges against Akito for all the emotional and physical abuse she inflicted on them for years. While they recognize how Akito treated them was very wrong, they can see Akito is set on being a better person from now on and they also wish to move on with their lives.
* ImplausibleHairColor: Some of the cursed Sohmas have hair and eye colors that aren't considered normal InUniverse by Japanese standards, as a side effect of the animals they're possessed by. Some of them are even [[MistakenForDyed suspected to dye their hair]] by those outside the family, even though their hair colors are completely natural. Kisa in particular is bullied by her classmates for having blonde hair and golden eyes.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: They can't control the transition from animal to person and vice versa.
* KissingCousins: Romantic relationships between them aren't frowned down upon despite all being related; it's implied that the Sohma family is just ''[[TheClan that big]]'' that it's probably inconsequential in terms of genetics.
** It's a given that the Sohmas are a ''[[TheClan clan]]'', not simply one big family, so the current generation of cursed Sohmas aren't necessarily cousins by blood and merely refer to each other as such out of formality and kinship.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Whenever a Sohma gets inadvertently transformed into animal in front of a person, they resort to erasing the victim's memories. This is currently done by Hatori, whose family line has had this ability for generations.
* MistakenForDyed: Most of them have rare or unusual hair colors by Japanese standards, which has them subjected to being bullied over their hair. Kisa is shown to get the worst of it.
* MyMasterRightOrWrong: All the Zodiac members feel compelled to be subservient to Akito because she's their God. Because of this, none of them ever tries to fight back her abuse nor comes to hate her no matter how much she wrongs them and other people.
* PinocchioSyndrome: The curse greatly restricts the social freedom of the afflicted and binds them to the head of the Sohma family. This is emphasized more later on in the story, which the 2001 anime doesn't cover.
* ShapeshiftingExcludesClothing: Their clothes don't change with them when they transform, so they're always naked whenever they change back, which is often [[NakedPeopleAreFunny played for comedy]].
* TemporalThemeNaming: Their names (excluding Yuki and Kyo) are derived from archaic Japanese names for the months based off the lunisolar calendar. Each member (besides Momiji and Kureno) is named for the month associated with their animal.
** Shigure is from the tenth month "'''Shigure'''zuki"[[note]]autumn showers month[[/note]], the month of the Dog.
** Kagura is from the eleventh month "'''Kagura'''zuki" [[note]]month of Shinto song and dance[[/note]], the month of the Boar.
** Momiji was mistakenly mixed up with Kureno and named after the ninth month "'''Momiji'''zuki"[[note]]autumn leaves month[[/note]], the month of the Rooster.
** Hatori is from the fourth month "Kono'''hatori'''zuki"[[note]]month of taking leaves [to silkworms][[/note]], the month of the Dragon.
** Hatsuharu is from the first month "'''Hatsuharu'''"[[note]]early spring[[/note]], the month of the Ox.
** Ayame is from the fifth month "'''Ayame'''zuki"[[note]]month of irises[[/note]], the month of the Snake.
** Kisa is from the second month "'''Kisa'''ragi"[[note]]changing clothes month[[/note]], the month of the Tiger.
** Hiro is from the seventh month "Fumi'''hiro'''getsuki"[[note]]month of publication[[/note]], the month of the Sheep.
** Ritsu is from the eighth month "Odaka'''ritsu'''ki"[[note]]rice harvest month[[/note]], the month of the monkey.
** Isuzu is from the sixth month "'''Isuzu'''kuretsuki"[[note]]month of the last cool spring days[[/note]], the month of the Horse.
** Kureno was mistakenly mixed up with Momiji and named after the third month "'''Kureno'''haru"[[note]]late spring[[/note]], the month of the Rabbit.

[[folder:Hatsuharu Sohma (The Ox)]]
!!Hatsuharu Sohma (The Ox)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Akio Suyama (teen), Creator/AkemiOkamura (child) (2001 Series), Creator/MakotoFurukawa (teen), Mariko Higashiuchi (child) (2019 Series) (JP), Creator/JustinCook (teen, both series), Joshua Huber (child, 2001 series), Morgan Berry (child, 2019 series) (EN)

[[quoteright:195:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hatsuharu_sohma_2019.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ox_2019.png[[/labelnote]] to see him as the Ox]]

The Ox of the Zodiac, who possesses something of a SplitPersonality. "White Haru" is a soft-spoken, spacey young man, but "Black Haru" is perverted and short-tempered. He is protective of the younger members of the Zodiac.

* AngerBornOfWorry: Downplayed when he sternly lectures Kisa for running away and not telling anyone she was being bullied, a rarity for White Haru.
* BerserkButton:
** He does not like being called dumb, since while growing up a lot of people joked about his being "the dumb ox" of the zodiac.
** His biggest button is abusing Rin. He told off ''her mother'' when they were little children because she didn't care that Rin had been hospitalised. It only got bigger as he and Rin grew up.
* BigBrotherInstinct: To Kisa. After she ran away from home, he ventured out into the rain looking for her, not caring if he got sick in the process. He also hangs around Shigure's house (where Kisa temporarily stays), making sure that she's doing alright. He even hugs her after she speaks for the first time in a while.
* BigBrotherMentor: To Hiro. He's hilariously unaware of it.
* {{Bishonen}}: He's handsome like the rest of his family members.
* BiTheWay: Tells Tohru that Yuki was his first love, and he's currently in love with Rin.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: He has been attracted to Rin ever since they were little kids and seeing how cruelly she was treated by her AbusiveParents made him want to protect her and stay by her side more.
* CloudCuckoolander: Says odd, almost random things some times, and other times says things in such a way that people don't understand him.
-->"A teacher said he didn't like my hair, so now I have to get my ears pierced."
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: When he becomes Black Haru.
* DualityMotif: He has hair that's white with black roots, making it look white on top and black toward the bottom. Hence, his [[SplitPersonality Split Personalities]] are known as [[CloudCuckoolander White Haru]] and [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Black Haru]].
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: A couple of girls on the street gush about how handsome and badass he looks in all that biker leather, thinking he must be a [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys bad boy]] off to a club. Just when they decide to go talk to him, he puts on his biker gloves and goggles and gets dramatically onto his bike... which turns out to be a common bicycle, complete with a dinging bell. The scene establishes how hardass he looks outside, but how young and spacey he is inside.
* FreakyFashionMildMind: Played with. At first glance he looks like a delinquent, with his tendency to dress in a punk-inspired style along with having piercings and MulticoloredHair, but his hair colors are actually natural and his default personality is rather soft-spoken and somewhat [[CloudCuckooLander odd]]. However, as Black Haru he has a violent and perverted personality that's much more fitting of a delinquent.
* HellBentForLeather: A look he shares with Rin.
* HeroicBSOD: Hits one when he realized how much he contributed to Rin's pain.
* InSeriesNickname: Many of the other Sohmas shorten his name to "Haru".
* ItsAllMyFault: As mad as he is [[spoiler:at Akito for hurting Rin]], he also admits to himself that he's also at fault for her pain. Deep down, [[spoiler:he knew how Akito would hurt the girls who came between her and the male Zodiac members. But he wanted Rin so badly, that he pushed away those worries and pursued her anyway.]]
* LikesOlderWomen: In the manga, he's involved with Isuzu, who is two years older than him. There's also the implication that he (or at least Black Haru) is attracted to Tohru who is a year older than him.
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: He was Rin's emotional support after her AbusiveParents threw her away like garbage. Rin believes that if Haru haven't been there for her, she would have fallen apart.
* ALoadOfBull: He does transform into an ox.
* MulticoloredHair: Part white, part black. Since it's a side effect of the curse, it's actually natural despite most people thinking it's dyed. This prompts a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}} when he drags the student council president into the men's room to prove it's natural, and it's heavily implied that Hatsuharu's "proof" was showing the president his pubic hair.
* MyGreatestFailure: After he learns Akito has been torturing Rin, Haru feels guilty for failing to protect the girl he loves, especially when he should have known how Akito would react to his relationship with Rin and he still didn't consider it because he didn't want to think Rin would suffer because he fell in love with her.
* NoSenseOfDirection: When they were kids, Kyo had to hold his hand and lead him to the bathroom. At his introduction he states he was 'lost in the dark heart of the urban jungle' for three days.
* SelectiveObliviousness: He did have a hunch that Rin didn't end up so badly injured from falling from the stairs, but he deliberately didn't try to confirm whether Akito had done something to Rin because he didn't want to feel at fault for Rin being hurt.
* SlasherSmile: Black Haru delivers these often, specifically when he wants to fight Kyo.
* SplitPersonality: [[RuleOfThree Black Haru.]] Normal (White) Haru is soft-spoken and relaxed. Black Haru is lecherous, violent, and very short-tempered.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: He can give the impression of being serious and detached, but he's just spacey. Haru is a really sweet guy to those he cares about.
* SuperpoweredEvilSide: [[OverlyLongGag You guessed it, Black Haru]].
* UnstoppableRage: Black Haru can express himself as a a teasing, provocative bastard most of the time, but the first moment he genuinely snaps out of rage rather than just petty irritation makes it clear that things can become dangerous if you're in a room with him when he does. In the manga, he destroys his classroom when [[spoiler:Rin dumps him, unbeknownst to him, for his own safety]].
** Played straight and then averted when he confronts [[spoiler:Akito over what happened to Rin. He's pretty close to wrecking Akito until Kureno manages to tell him where Rin is, which is the moment he turns around and seeks Rin out]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Black Haru isn't just PlayedForLaughs. He called out Rin's parents when they put her in the hospital and abandoned her, and later calls out [[spoiler:Akito for what she did to Rin]].
* YoungerThanHeLooks: He looks like he's in college, but he's actually 15.

[[folder:Kisa Sohma (The Tiger)]]
!!Kisa Sohma (The Tiger)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KaoriNazuka (2001 Series), Creator/ReinaUeda (2019 Series) (JP), Creator/KateBristol (EN)

[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kisasohma2019_1.png]]
[[caption-width-right:230:Click [[labelnote:Here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kisatiger_8.png[[/labelnote]] to see her as the Tiger]]

The Tiger of the Zodiac. Kisa is very shy, sensitive, and withdrawn, and suffers school bullying as a result of her curse. After Tohru helps her through it, she starts looking up to her as a big sister figure.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: When she's first introduced in tiger form, she willingly bites Tohru twice and Haru once. It's not quite played for laughs, since she'd likely developed trust issues after being bullied at school.
* BigSisterWorship: She adores Tohru and refers to her as "Nee-chan/Sissy".
* BreakTheCutie: Courtesy of her classmates bullying her for her unusual hair and eye colors, laughing whenever she tried to speak and then ultimately ignoring her.
* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: Gentle Girl to Hiro's Brooding Boy.
* BullyMagnet: Her classmates bully her for her unusual hair and eye colors, which are a side effect of being the Tiger of the Zodiac.
* CassandraTruth: According to Haru, Kisa tried to tell her classmates that her hair and eye colors were natural, but none of them believed her and they just bullied her even more.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Blonde hair and gold eyes. Since neither of these hair or eye colors are viewed as normal for a Japanese girl in this story, though, she ends up being bullied for it.
* CuteKitten: Her curse has her turn into an adorable tiger cub, and she's already cute as a button as a human girl. When Tohru first meets Kisa in her tiger form, she mistakes Kisa for a cat while proclaiming how cute she is.
* ElectiveMute: When she's first introduced, she refuses to speak since her classmates bullied her by laughing whenever she tried to say anything. After Tohru's kind treatment encourages her to come out of her shell, she starts talking more often. Yuki also emphasizes with her due to his own experiences with bullying, so both resolve to be better.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: One of the most innocent characters in the series. Unfortunately, her golden hair is part of what causes her to be bullied.
* HeroWorship: She completely adores Tohru.
* MoralityChain: When it comes to Tohru, she plays this role for Hiro.
* PuppyLove: She and Hiro are the youngest Zodiac members and they obviously like each other as more than friends.
* TheRunaway: When she's first introduced, she's run away from home due to being bullied at school and being too ashamed to tell her mother about it, with Hatsuharu having found her in her tiger form. After staying at Shigure's house for a few days, she goes back to live with her mother.
* ShrinkingViolet: PlayedForDrama. Being a victim of bullying at school and physical abuse from Akito caused Kisa to become withdrawn and her self-esteem was seriously damaged. She only opens up because of Tohru boosting her confidence.
* SkippingSchool: As a result of being bullied, she briefly stopped going to school. Because of Tohru's emotional support, Kisa starts attending class again.
* SproutingEars: Occasionally sprouts tiger ears and a tail in relation to her curse.
* StockShoujoBullyingTactics: A victim of the "ignoring" one. Her classmates would eventually just laugh whenever she tried to speak up after standing up for herself, which leads to her refusing to speak at all.
* SupernaturalGoldEyes: She has golden eyes as a side effect of the Sohma family curse. Her unusual eye color (along with having naturally blonde hair) is what leads her to be bullied by her classmates.
* ZettaiRyouiki: She wears thigh-high socks and a short skirt in her school uniform.

[[folder:Momiji Sohma (The Rabbit)]]
!!Momiji Sohma (The Rabbit)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MikiNagasawa (Drama CD), Creator/KoukiMiyata (''The Last Story'' Voice Comic), Creator/AyakaSaitou (2001 Series), Creator/MegumiHan (2019 Series) (JP), Kimberly Grant (2001 Series), Creator/MikaelaKrantz (2019 Series) (EN)

[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/momiji_sohma_2019.png]]
[[caption-width-right:230:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rabbit_2019.png[[/labelnote]] to see him as the Rabbit]]

The Rabbit of the Zodiac, and the son of one of the richest members of the Sohma clan. His German mother was horrified by the Sohma curse and had all memories of him erased. Momiji is androgynous, childish, and likes dressing in women's clothing, but possesses great empathy and intuition about others. He is very fond of Tohru.

* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: He's introduced in Episode 3 of the 2019 anime, a good deal earlier than he first appeared in the manga and 2001 anime.
* BigBrotherInstinct: For his little sister, Momo. Even though she doesn't know about their relation, he still looks after her. In fact, she asks him to be her "big brother", which he happily accepts.
* {{Bishonen}}: He becomes as pretty as Yuki when he finally grows taller.
* BroughtDownToNormal: [[spoiler:He's freed from the curse in volume 20, with Hiro following shortly after.]]
* BunniesForCuteness: He's the Rabbit of the Zodiac, and there's a lot of emphasis on how cute he is in both his human form and his rabbit form.
* ButNotTooForeign: Half Japanese, half German. This detail isn't addressed at all in the 2001 anime.
* CuddleBug: Loves hugging people, especially Tohru, even though it means he'll transform.
* DramaticIrony: His mother had her memory of him erased and only knows him as a random Sohma child, and his little sister Momo doesn't know he exists, but his mother expresses concern that "his mother" will worry, and his sister asks to act as her [[BigBrotherInstinct big brother]].
* FreeRangeChildren: Lives in a house all to himself since his dad had his mom's memories erased. While he has servants and the occasional babysitting relative (like Hatori), for the most part he's left free to go wherever he wants.
* GratuitousGerman: In the manga and 2019, he'll occasionally sprinkle words and phrases in his dialogue due to being [[ButNotTooForeign half German]]. When he first meets Tohru in both versions, he speaks to her entirely in German, causing Tohru to assume he's a foreigner.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Nice, affectionate, helpful, a great kid.
* HeIsAllGrownUp: Later in the manga. Also invoked when he first enrolled in school. Hatsuharu argued that it should be okay for Momiji to wear the girl's uniform when he starts high school, because once he grows up more, he'll look ''very'' nice in the boy's uniform. Evidently, he was correct.
* HollywoodGenetics: Blonde German mother plus dark-haired Japanese father equals blonde son, apparently. Same for his sister Momo.
* HopelessSuitor: He truly does love Tohru, but he never confesses because he knows she doesn't love him back, at least not in the relationship sense.
* HypocriticalHumor: He accuses Kyo of having inappropriate thoughts towards Tohru before attempting to get in a hot spring with her himself.
* IGotBigger: He undergoes a growing spurt in later stages of the story.
* ItIsDehumanizing: His mother called him "that thing" in his flashbacks.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: He's in love with Tohru, but accepts that she loves Kyo.
* {{Keet}}: The ''embodiment'' of this trope and seems to be in love with Tohru. He's less of a Keet when he grows up, though he's still rather genki.
* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: Especially towards Tohru - his excitement at meeting a woman outside of the zodiac led him to hug Tohru in a public place, and he continues to [[CrashIntoHello glomp her as a greeting later in the manga]].
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Or rather immaturity. He displays seriousness at some points in the manga, which is usually quickly followed with childish antics. It's implied that he's more mature than he looks, and puts on a cheerful, childish facade.
* OlderThanHeLooks: Looks and acts like a child, but is actually the same age as Hatsuharu and only a year younger than Tohru, Yuki and Kyo.
* ParentalAbandonment: Both of Momiji's parents decided to erase his mother's memories of him and cast him out of their house to hide his existence from her and his younger sister.
* PrecociousCrush: While he's really only a year younger than Tohru, his childish appearance and behavior makes his feelings for her come off as this.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Says something like this when [[spoiler:Akito asks him to stay and be taken care of by her once his curse lifts. Akito doesn't take this well.]]
* SiblingTeam: If ''Another'' is anything to go by, he and Momo constantly work together, since she is his assistant.
* SproutingEars: In the 2019 anime's first ending, one scene has him run by with bunny ears. The reboot itself has its moments as well.
* StepfordSmiler: His mother's reaction to his cursed form hurt him terribly, but he pretends it doesn't bother him.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: With his mother and little sister. [[spoiler: Said little sister quickly latches onto him as a brother figure, despite not being told that they're related, she is basing it on how strongly he looks like her and her mama]].
* TheUnfavourite: His mother was so disgusted by him that she willingly asked to have him erased from her memory and his father pretty much chose his wife's mental health over his son, leaving Momiji abandoned by both parents. Momiji's parents went on to have a curse-free daughter who they dote on while Momiji is not even allowed to be part of the family and can only watch his mother and little sister from afar.
* WholesomeCrossdresser: Sometimes dresses up in female clothes. It's downplayed when he enters high school; he starts out wearing the girl's uniform, but with shorts instead of a skirt, and he eventually switches to the boy's uniform after he has a growth spurt.
* WildChild: Occasionally acts like this since he has no real adult supervision.
* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Occasionally displays this, like when he tells the story of the foolish traveler.
* ZettaiRyouiki: He sometimes wears thigh-high socks paired with shorts.

[[folder:Hatori Sohma (The Dragon)]]
!!Hatori Sohma (The Dragon)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KazuhikoInoue (2001 Series), Creator/KazuyukiOkitsu (2019 Series) (JP), Creator/KentWilliams (EN)

[[quoteright:140:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hatori_sohma_2019.png]]
[[caption-width-right:320:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dragon_2019.png[[/labelnote]] to see him as the Dragon]]

The Dragon of the Zodiac (despite turning into a seahorse instead of a literal dragon), and the family doctor. Serious and reserved, Hatori is responsible for Akito's health as well as erasing all memories that may interfere with the Sohma family's affairs. Hatori is almost blind in one eye as a result of an incident involving Akito in the past. He is good friends with Shigure and Ayame.

* AffectionateNickname: Momiji calls him "Ha'ri", while Shigure calls him "Haa-san" and Ayame calls him "Tori-san".
* TheAtoner: Shigure's discussions with Hatori indicate that Hatori feels very guilty about his role in the family as the memory-wiper, especially as the one who had to erase the memories of all of Yuki's friends when they were younger. It's also implied that his closeness with Momiji is a result of his guilt from being the one to wipe his mother's memories.
* BerserkButton:
** A more emotionally subdued version but he's very self-conscious about his zodiac form. When Shigure is about to tell Tohru what his zodiac form looks like, Hatori threatens to reveal all of Shigure's embarrassing secrets to his publishers.
** A bit of a subtle one: compare him to Shigure at all and he may throw a bit of a fit. When Tohru notes that his hair is growing out so much that it reminds her of Shigure, his immediate reaction is to say he's gonna cut it soon. When Shigure borrows a suit from him for Tohru's parent-teacher conference and tries to return it after, Hatori's response is to tell him to '''burn it''' (and it's worth noting that it's a 300000 yen (~$2800) suit!)
* BilingualBonus: Hatori turns into a seahorse instead of a dragon. A Japanese word for seahorse is 竜の落し子 ([[SeahorsesAreDragons "tatsu no otoshigo", which translates to "dragon's baby."]])
* {{Bishonen}}: Similar to the other members of the Zodiac and the Sohma in general. Kakeru asks if there's something he eats to be so good looking.
* CloudcuckoolandersMinder: Shigure mentions that Hatori is just about the only person Ayame listens to. The reason is that Aya admires the qualities in him he lacks.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: He has black hair and black eyes.
* DeadpanSnarker: To balance out the over-the-top Ayame and Shigure.
* EyeScream: Akito nearly blinded him in one eye in a fit of anger after he and Kana asked for permission to marry. [[GoryDiscretionShot The manga doesn't clearly show how it happened]], but in the 2001 anime Akito threw a vase at Hatori's face and in the 2019 anime Akito shoved Hatori so that he crashed into a nearby mirror.
* FatalFlaw: According to Ayame, it's his kindness as much as it is his best virtue.
* TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest: He's honestly glad that Kana could find happiness with another man after forgetting him, but Hatori still refuses to seek his own happiness because his curse and Akito make him afraid that he will only go through another depressing break up if he ever gets a new girlfriend.
* {{Foil}}: To Shigure. Both have been important figures in Akito's life, but Hatori holds nothing against Akito and he still takes care of Akito into adulthood regardless of what Akito has done to him. Hatori is also genuinely upset at his inability to protect the younger characters from Akito's wrath. One conversation with Shigure also indicates that despite his disapproval at '''how''' Shigure sets things in motion with regards to Akito and the rest of the family, he thinks that what Shigure is doing is better than his neutrality that keeps him from doing anything as someone that respects Akito's position as head of the family as well as [[spoiler:her place as God]].
* HospitalHottie: He's a doctor and has a reputation among the Sohma clan for being cool and very handsome, though he technically doesn't work at a hospital since he's strictly the Sohma family doctor.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: After Akito flipped out over Hatori's engagement to Kana and hurt his eye, Kana blamed herself for his injury and eventually became sick from the traumatic incident. To free Kana from her guilt and pain, Hatori erased her memories. He overhears Kana has been able to find a new love after forgetting about Hatori and he congratulates her with a smile.
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: For Akito to a certain extent - it seems like after her father died, Akito frequently turned to the older zodiac members for familial comfort and as an adult, Akito turns to Hatori for support on the rare occasion when Kureno isn't around. Unlike Shigure, Hatori doesn't abandon this duty in place of a grudge, and doesn't seem to genuinely hold a grudge for what happened to Kana or his eye.
* LoveMartyr: Hatori doesn't spend as much time with Akito as Kureno does, but the situation is similar in that he doesn't seek company outside of the Sohma family because caring for Akito takes up much of his time. That, and [[TraumaCongaLine Akito didn't take it so well the first time Hatori put another woman before Akito in his life]].
* ManlyTears: He cried the first time Kana told him she loved him.
* MemoryWipingCrew: He's the one in charge of erasing the memories of anyone who discovers the Sohma family's curse. This ability is a form of hypnosis that's been passed down through his line of the family for generations.
* NotSoAboveItAll: Has a few of moments of not being completely mature and poised. He tricked Yuki and Kyo into taking a photo of them seemingly smiling together only to playfully give the camera to Tohru by putting on her head. He gave Shigure more injections than necessary because the latter was being annoying. He also threatened to tell Shigure's colleagues every embarrassing story he knew about him since he was four if he told Tohru the secret of his zodiac form.
* OfficeRomance: With Kana. They fell in love while she was working as his assistant.
* OnlySaneMan: He's the serious, levelheaded foil to his best friends Shigure and Ayame.
* PeekABangs: His bangs completely cover his hurt left eye.
* SeahorsesAreDragons: He's the Dragon of the zodiac, but he actually transforms into a seahorse. [[spoiler:According to Shigure, this is a sign that the curse is weakening.]]
* SecondLove: After his first relationship failed, Shigure helps him find a second chance at love with [[spoiler: Mayuko.]]
* SecretRelationship: With Kana, until he told Akito about it. Akito did not respond well.
* SmokingIsCool: He's shown to smoke whenever he and Shigure meet up in the manga and 2001 anime, but not in the 2019 anime where none of the characters smoke.
* TheStoic: He's cool and composed at all times.
* StraightMan: He acts as the punchline deliverer whenever he's hanging out Shigure and Ayame, since he's used to their quirky personalities.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: He appears cold and collected in the surface. It only takes knowing him a bit better to realize Hatori is a very gentle man at heart.
* TrueCompanions: The Mabudachi Trio (with Shigure and Ayame), as much as it pains him to be around them...

[[folder:Ayame Sohma (The Snake)]]
!!Ayame Sohma (The Snake)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TakehitoKoyasu (Drama CD), Creator/MitsuruMiyamoto (2001 Series), Creator/TakahiroSakurai (2019 Series) (JP), Creator/ChristopherSabat (EN)

[[quoteright:215:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ayame_sohma_2019.png]]
[[caption-width-right:320:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/snake_2019.png[[/labelnote]] to see him as the Snake]]

The Snake of the Zodiac, and older brother to Yuki. Gregarious, flirtatious, flamboyant, and self-centered, Ayame runs a shop that sells custom-made costumes. He has a complicated relationship with his younger brother, and is good friends with Shigure and Hatori.

* AffectionateNickname: Shigure calls him "Aaya".
* AloofBigBrother: He used to be rather aloof towards Yuki. By the time the series starts, he's gotten over it, but unfortunately his over-the-top behavior tends to annoy Yuki more than anything.
* TheAtoner: Feels guilty for his treatment of Yuki when they were kids, and for how he treated a girl who loved him when he was in school.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Eventually develops this towards Yuki in an attempt to make up for his mistreatment of his brother during their younger days.
* BigDamnHeroes: To Yuki during a parent/teacher conference. Yuki's emotionally abusive mother overrides his wishes for his future, coldly shuts down his objections to her steamrolling him, and starts to make him feel like a helpless child at her mercy again. Then Ayame [[LiteralMetaphor busts in]] with his [[LargeHam usual pomp and regalia]], carelessly overrides his mother's objections to him being there, and cooly shuts her down when she tries to exert control over Yuki again. This causes her to RageQuit and leave in a huff. It's also the first time Yuki is genuinely happy that Ayame is in his life.
* {{Bishonen}}: Considering he's [[DudeLooksLikeALady Yuki's]] brother...
* BiTheWay: He's unapologetically and indiscriminately flirtatious, doesn't think twice about snuggling close to Kyo while he sleeps, and in his student council president days, offered to let all the boys in his high school channel any scandalous desires towards him. He's also happily dating Mine.
* ChivalrousPervert: Much more than Shigure. He always makes perverted comments towards Tohru, which always make Yuki and Kyo mad.
* {{Determinator}}: He ''will'' mend bridges and bond with Yuki, no matter how many times the kid loses his temper with him and throws him out.
* DudeLooksLikeALady: It's the long hair and his effeminate behavior.
* GenderBlenderName: "Ayame" is usually a girl's name.
* HomoeroticSubtext: PlayedForLaughs between him and Shigure as a long-running joke between them.
* ItsAllAboutMe: PlayedForLaughs a lot, but it's also a genuine character flaw that has caused him to be callous to Yuki and others. When he finds out a girl he had been cluelessly cruel to in high-school is in town, he's all in a tizzy to comfort her, thinking she must have been broken and mooning over him all these years. Then he finds out she'd simply ''moved on'' and is HappilyMarried.
* LargeHam: It's refered to as "steamrolling people with his personality."
* LongHairedPrettyBoy: Has long white hair and fine features.
* MundaneMadeAwesome: Ayame eats his ''soba'', with great confidence.
* MyGreatestFailure: While it took years to sink in, in the long run the day he callously [[LiteralMetaphor brushed Yuki away]] when he literally [[LiteralMetaphor reached out to him for help]] (while Yuki was being severely emotionally abused by Akito with their mother's consent) is not something he can forgive himself for. He also feels terrible for indifferently shrugging off the romantic confession of a girl he went to high school with.
* TheNicknamer: Gives nicknames to nearly all his friends, whether they're okay with it or not.
* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: Justified when he's in snake form, as he's extremely susceptible to the cold and needs to rely on another person's body heat. Not that this explains him from getting into bed with Kyo (fully clothed) in the middle of the night and snuggling close.
* RapunzelHair: Down to his back.
* ShipperOnDeck: Seems to support Yuki/Tohru and Kyo/Kagura judging by how he wants to embroider "I live for Kagura" on Kyo's clothing and "I live for Yuki" on Tohru's clothing. Then again, Yuki is his brother and Yuki has a crush on Tohru for most of the series, so it makes sense that Ayame would ship her with his little brother.
** Later when Kakeru lets Ayame know about Yuki [[spoiler:and Machi's growing relationship, he immediately supports them together]] showing that it doesn't matter who his brother ends up with, as long as he's with someone he loves.
** He was also a strong supporter of Hatori's relationship with Kana, and is surprisingly upset that Hatori didn't at least go to her wedding.
* ShownTheirWork: Reptiles like snakes are cold-blooded, and thus, get easily influenced by the temperature of their surroundings. It explains why Ayame transforms so easily during the cold weather.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: Ayame is basically Yuki if he had longer, lighter hair.
* TrueCompanions: The Mabudachi Trio (with Shigure and Hatori)
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Not so much because he'll do anything to ''get'' what he wants, it's that he'll do ''what'' he wants - with all sorts of flowers, frill, and flair - that he thinks will help convey his point the best (his 'brotherly love' for Yuki being the best example).
* WhatTheHellHero: He calls out Hatori for giving up on Kana. He's wrong in one respect (the lesson she taught him never faded), but you still can't deny he had a point.
-->'''Ayame:''' I cannot accept that. Yes, I'm biased in your favor, but that doesn't change how wrong all of this is. It's not fair to ''you''. Kana has it easy. She's forgotten everything and found her chance at happiness. And you're stuck shouldering the burden of those memories all alone. I can't help but feel that she's left you behind with nothing!

[[folder:Isuzu "Rin" Sohma (The Horse)]]
!!Isuzu "Rin" Sohma (The Horse)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/HoukoKuwashima (''The Last Story'' Voice Comic), Creator/AkiToyosaki (2019 Series) (JP), Creator/BrinaPalencia (EN)

[[quoteright:194:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/isuzurinsohma.png]]
[[caption-width-right:210:Click [[labelnote:Here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rinhorse.png[[/labelnote]] to see her as the Horse]]

The Horse of the Zodiac. Cold, stubborn, and fiercely independent, Rin is very closed-off as a result of her very abusive and traumatic past. She is determined to find a way to break the Sohma family curse.

* AloofDarkHairedGirl: She fits this trope to a T. She's tall, has hip-length black hair and a very cold personality that resulted from severe trauma, courtesy of her AbusiveParents and Akito.
* AngerBornOfWorry: Often acts irritable with Tohru because she worries about her.
* BadDreams: Thanks to her AbusiveParents and Akito.
* BirdsOfAFeather: She and Haru understand each other's volatility.
* BreakHisHeartToSaveHim: She dumps Haru by saying that she was "tired" of him, because Akito had beaten her up for dating him and she wanted to find a way to free him from the Zodiac curse.
* BrokenBird: Her AbusiveParents damaged her so badly that she finds it incredibly difficult to open up and bond with people.
* BrutalHonesty: Rin does not mince words.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: She was very close to Haru since their childhood and when they entered their teenage years, they started dating. Because of [[{{Yandere}} Akito]], Rin broke up with Haru, but they still love each other. By the end of the series, they go back together.
* DestinationDefenestration: When Akito [[spoiler: confronts her in regards to her and Haru, Rin says she's the one who started their relationship. An enraged Akito throws her out the second floor window. She survives, but is seriously injured.]]
* {{Determinator}}: She won't rest until the Zodiac curse is broken and Haru is finally free from Akito's clutches.
* DontYouDarePityMe: When she meets Tohru and is awed by her kindness and warmth, Isuzu hates herself for wanting to confide in her and cry on her shoulder.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: The contrast between her long jet-black hair and pure white skin befits her somber personality and taste for gothic fashion.
* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: Tohru's reaction after seeing her naked (post-transformation).
* FriendlessBackground: She never made many friends due to her parents' abuse, her health problems putting her in and out of the hospital, and her own distant personality. The only people she really bonds with are [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Hatsuharu]], and later [[OddFriendship Tohru]].
* {{Goth}}: Not as blatant as Hanajima, but Rin has notable elements of the Gloomy Goth stereotype. She's an EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette who habitually wears dark casual clothes with heavy gothic fashion influence. Her attitude is very sardonic and moody because of a terrible childhood that left her with traumas she might never fully get over.
* HimeCut: Her hairstyle denotes her status as a member of a very rich and influential clan. However, her personality doesn't fit the attributes related to the trope, as she's a melancholic and embittered BrokenBird instead of a graceful YamatoNadeshiko.
* IllGirl: Her traumatic past causes her health problems more than once. Specifically, she has stomach ulcerae and often is bed-ridden due to them.
* IneffectualLoner: Instead of asking help from Haru or anyone, Rin resolved to find a way to break the Zodiac curse by herself. Her efforts only end in her being tricked by Ren into stealing a box from Akito and Akito tortures Rin when she catches her in the act. Afterwards, Haru makes Rin promise him that she won't ever try to do everything alone again.
* InsecureLoveInterest: While she and Haru love each other very much, the trauma with her AbusiveParents left Rin terrified that anyone she loves will come to hate and abandon her again. It got worse after Akito told her nobody wants her and critically injured her just for being Haru's girlfriend. Rin then broke up with Haru, thinking that she would be nothing but a burden for him.
* {{Irony}}: Her favorite food is gelatin, which is famously made by boiling animal products like horse hooves.
* TheMentallyDisturbed: She displays signs of PTSD as a victim of child abuse, indicated by her hallucinating that Tohru is her mother whom she is begging not to be angry with her.
* MsFanservice: By WordOfGod, "she's the character in charge of sexiness." Thankfully, she has enough of a complex personality that this isn't all there is to her.
* MoralityPet: To Black Haru, enough that [[spoiler: when Akito throws her out of a window, he goes ''[[UnstoppableRage ballistic]]'' and tries to kill her.]]
* OddFriendship: Eventually develops this with Tohru, since she's still aloof and stand-offish, while Tohru is... well, [[AllLovingHero Tohru]].
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: In-series she's called more often by her nickname "Rin" than by her given name "Isuzu". Her nickname is tied to her real name in two ways; "Rin" is an alternate reading of the second kanji of "Isuzu" (鈴) and the kanji in question means "bell", while "rin" would refer to a bell's "ring".
* PickyEater: Due to her stomach ulcer. She only really likes gelatin.
* PleaseIWillDoAnything: She [[spoiler: offers herself to Shigure to get him to tell her how to break the curse. Thankfully, [[ChivalrousPervert Shigure]] declines.]]
* ProperTightsWithASkirt: She wears black tights with her school uniform.
* RapunzelHair: Her hair is initially hip-length. Akito hates it because Ren has long black hair too and she cuts Rin's hair out of spite.
* RavenHairIvorySkin: Her straight, black hair and very pale skin are part of what makes her possibly the most beautiful woman in the series.
* RealityEnsues: [[spoiler: Rin had hoped that ending the curse would also end her pain. It doesn't. She's upset to learn that ending the curse doesn't magically end a lifetime of horrific emotional scars.]]
* ReasonYouSuckSpeech: Gives a swift but brutal one to Kagura during her EstablishingCharacterMoment.
-->'''Rin:''' It's sad how you force yourself on him and call it love.\\
'''Kagura:''' (''stunned and hurt'') ... How could you say that?\\
'''Rin:''' Well, it's true, isn't it?
* RescueRomance: Her relationship with Haru kickstarted when he saved her from almost dying after she collapsed on the street because of her parents' abuse.
* ScarsAreForever: [[spoiler: Has heavy scars on her back, thanks to her evil parents.]]
* ScrewDestiny: She actively tries to break the curse.
* ShesGotLegs: As expected from the Horse, Rin has very long and slender legs. Many of her outfits emphasize how good her legs look.
* SingleIssuePsychology: Defied. [[spoiler:After the curse is finally broken, Rin reveals that she'd hoped all of her pain and emotional issues would go away, but they didn't. It turns out, a lifetime of horrific abuse that the curse brought her (her parents, Akito, etc) doesn't magically end with said curse.]]
* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: She fell in love with Haru because he was gentle with her, demanded her evil parents to apologize for abusing her and helped her forget about all pain and sadness.
* SourOutsideSadInside: She acts grumpy and unfriendly as a way to keep people away out of fear of being hurt again.
* TraumaticHaircut: [[spoiler:Courtesy of Akito, as punishment for following Akito's evil mother, Ren's, orders.]]
* {{Tsundere}}: It's very obvious Rin is still completely in love with Haru and she grows fond of Tohru as a friend, but she tries to hide it behind an aloof front. It's {{justified|trope}} because a past full of physical and emotional abuse made Rin reluctant to show herself as emotionally open and vulnerable.
* TsurimeEyes: Her sharp eyes represent her emotionally distant personality. They are also fitting because of her {{Tsundere}} tendencies towards Haru and Tohru.
* WhatTheHellHero: Delivers a shockingly direct one to Kagura, after the latter slaps Tohru across the face and yells at her that she needs to confess her feelings properly to Kyo. Despite all of Rin's aloof behavior towards Tohru, she ''flips her shit'', physically grabs Kagura, and ''screams in her face'' that she has no right to raise a hand to Tohru. God only knows what she might have done if Kagura hadn't been shocked into realizing she'd crossed the line and given Rin a CooldownHug and a sincere "I'm sorry".
* ZettaiRyouiki: A lot of her casual outfits include thigh-high socks, combined with either shorts or short skirts.

[[folder:Hiro Sohma (The Sheep)]]
!!Hiro Sohma (The Sheep)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YurikoFuchizaki (2001 Series), Creator/YoTaichi (2019 Series) (JP), Creator/AaronDismuke (2001 series), Creator/LuciChristian (2019 series) (EN)

[[quoteright:190:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hirosohma2019_7.png]]
[[caption-width-right:200:Click [[labelnote:Here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hirosheep.png[[/labelnote]] to see him as the Sheep]]

The Sheep of the Zodiac, and the youngest of the cursed Sohmas. Hiro was Kisa's best friend in elementary, but he withdrew from her after Akito reacted negatively to hearing that Hiro loved her. Hiro is prickly and easily riled up, and takes a bit longer to warm up to Tohru than everyone else does.

* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: Both anime adaptations move his introduction chapter a bit earlier.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Invoked in the manga after [[spoiler: the birth of his younger sister, Hinata]]. Present to an extent in his desire to protect Kisa [[spoiler: and Rin]], although he's younger than both of them.
* BrattyHalfPint: During his introduction, Hiro acts like a self-important kid who badmouths everyone around him and takes his frustrations out on Tohru for petty reasons like Tohru getting along with his crush. His behavior does improve later on.
* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: Brooding Boy to Kisa's Gentle Girl.
* BroughtDownToNormal: [[spoiler:His curse is broken in volume 20, shortly after Momiji's.]]
* BystanderSyndrome: He witnessed how Akito threw Rin off the second story of a building from a window, but he was too paralyzed by fear to do anything.
* CrazyJealousGuy: He lashes out against Tohru for her [[OneeSama close friendship]] with Kisa because she comforted her when he couldn't. [[OhCrap He realizes this was a dumb move]] when Kisa [[WhatTheHellHero warns him to back off.]]
* GoodParents: Notable in that it is almost unheard of in this series. Unlike most of the Zodiac, Hiro has kind parents who love him just as he is.
* {{Hypocrite}}: "I can't stand people who complain all the time." He also points out that Tohru's a mama's girl when it turns out he's just as fond of his own mom.
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: He acts like he's above everyone else because he feels horrible about not being able to help Kisa and Rin when they needed help the most.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Kisa thought that Hiro suddenly grew to hate her because he began to avoid her for no apparent reason. Turns out Hiro stopped talking to Kisa because he told Akito he has a crush on Kisa, which caused Akito to beat Kisa so badly that Kisa ended up in the hospital. Hiro fears staying close to Kisa will draw Akito's wrath to her again.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Hiro is a good boy, but also very rude and smart-mouthed. His protectiveness of Kisa is the greatest proof that his heart is in the right place.
* JerkassHasAPoint: While he can be rather rude towards Tohru, a lot of his putdowns about Tohru's weaknesses (like her being an ExtremeDoormat and being too attached to her mother) do have some truth to them.
* LoveConfessor: All his problems started when he personally went to Akito to announce that he has a crush on Kisa. Akito [[{{Yandere}} reacted as expected]] and Kisa ended up hospitalized for two weeks.
* MommasBoy: Even if he can be exasperated with his mother's antics, he is very fond of her.
* MouthyKid: He's very prone to insulting people and delivering snarky remarks. He even indirectly makes Tohru cry at one point during the vacation at the Sohma beach house..
* MyGreatestFailure: He thinks he failed to protect Kisa from Akito's fury and that's why she was hurt. Tohru gives him a pep talk that motivates him to become a man who can be Kisa's prince.
* PetTheDog: His real love and concern for Kisa [[spoiler: and Rin]] shows his HiddenHeartOfGold more.
* PuppyLove: Hiro has a crush on Kisa, who is the youngest Zodiac member next to him. He asked Akito permission to date Kisa, but that obviously didn't turn out well.
* SecretKeeper: He knows Rin wasn't hospitalized because of an accident; Hiro saw Akito pushing Rin off an upper floor window. Akito makes him stay silent about it for most of the series and [[KeepingSecretsSucks it weighs heavily on him]]. Eventually, he breaks down in tears when he can't hold back anymore and explains the truth to Haru.
* SomebodyDoesntLoveRaymond: One of the few people ''not'' immediately charmed by [[AllLovingHero Tohru]], he at first actively baits her. See GreenEyedMonster.
* StraightMan: Becomes this a few times in the Beach arc after he decides to cool his hostility towards Tohru because of how spacey she can be, and often times is this to Kisa.
* TooCleverByHalf: Very smart for his age and knows it. This usually doesn't keep his [[MouthyKid mouth]] from getting him in trouble or give him the emotional maturity to handle difficult situations.
* {{Tsundere}}:
** {{Justified|Trope}} in his crush on Kisa. First, as much as he likes Kisa, Hiro is still a smart-mouthed kid and he has a hard time expressing his feelings properly. Second, Akito beat Kisa to a pulp just because Hiro admitted he has a crush on Kisa, which left Hiro hesitant of openly showing affection for Kisa out of fear of how Akito will react.
** Eventually acts this way to a degree with Tohru as well; while Hiro is never as effusively affectionate toward Tohru as most of the other cursed Sohmas, he does show genuine concern for her and her well-being.
* TsurimeEyes: His sharp eyes suit perfectly his arrogant {{Tsundere}} attitude.
* WackyParentSeriousChild: His mother is a dangerous mix of CuteClumsyGirl and TheDitz, which sometimes makes him panic.

[[folder:Ritsu Sohma (The Monkey)]]
!!Ritsu Sohma (The Monkey)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MinaTominaga (2001 Series), Creator/KengoKawanishi (2019 Series) (JP), Creator/MikeMcFarland (adult, both series), Sarah Hussey (child, 2001 series), Creator/KatelynBarr (child, 2019 series)(EN)

[[quoteright:270:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ritsu___full_body_3.png]]
[[caption-width-right:270:Click [[labelnote:Here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ritsumonkey_5.png[[/labelnote]] to see him as the Monkey]]


The Monkey of the Zodiac, a beautiful but near-hysterical young man. Ritsu prefers dressing in women's clothing.

* AdaptationDyeJob: His hair is a peach color in the manga illustrations, but light brown in both 2001 and 2019 anime. Also, his kimono is green in the manga and 2019 reboot, while the first anime made it violet.
* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: The two anime series moved his introduction to happen a bit earlier than in the manga.
* AffectionateNickname: Most of the other Sohmas call him "Ricchan". This nickname is used for him more often than his real name, to the point that Tohru refers to him as "Ricchan-san".
* AmbiguousDisorder: He acts like a textbook example of someone with a Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
* ApologizesALot: He apologizes ''constantly'' for anything he thinks he did wrong, due to his many insecurities. Taken to an extreme in the manga and 2001 anime when he apologizes for ''eating breakfast'', and he'll sometimes even apologize simply for ''being born''.
* AttractiveBentGender: He looks way too convincing when dressed like a woman.
* BirdsOfAFeather: He starts dating Mitsuru, who also screams and freaks out over trivial things and lacks self-confidence because of it. They bond over their shared status as {{Nervous Wreck}}s.
* {{Bishonen}}: He's a very beautiful man.
* CampStraight: He dresses and acts like a demure woman, yet he finds himself a girlfriend in Shigure's editor.
* GenderBlenderName: Ritsu is a unisex name in Japan, which is part of why no one suspects he's a guy when he crossdresses.
* HairDecorations: He ties his long hair back with ribbons that match his outfits.
* HeroicSelfDeprecation: The root of his problems. It was played for laughs initially, but then he explained it to Tohru that he believed he had no redeeming qualities, because his parents kept apologizing for him...poor guy.
* HeroWorshipper: Hopes to one day be as confident as [[LargeHam Ayame]]. At least the poor sucker has a goal...
* HystericalWoman: RareMaleExample. Ritsu goes into a major FreakOut whenever he makes a little mistake or displeases people. Just trying to hold a casual conversation makes him overly anxious and this makes him slip into apologizing over nothing.
* ImportantHaircut: [[spoiler: In the final chapter of the manga, now that the curse is broken, Ritsu has cut his hair short and doesn't dress like a girl anymore.]]
* InnocentlyInsensitive: He tells Yuki that he's starting to look more like his brother, but Yuki views this more as an insult more than a compliment. He also wrongly assumes that Kyo is getting along better with Yuki since they started living together, and this only pisses off both Kyo ''and'' Yuki.
* InterruptedSuicide: In his introduction, he almost jumps off the roof of Shigure's house after he blames himself for Tohru hurting her hand when he transformed (in the 2019 reboot he accidentally ruins a few pages of Shigure's story draft and causes his editor Mitsuru to faint from the shock). Thankfully, Tohru manages to convince him to not jump.
* InTouchWithHisFeminineSide: He's very sensitive, wears female clothes, and has long brown hair.
* KimonoIsTraditional: Ritsu is almost always seen in a kimono.
* LikeParentLikeChild: His hysteria is inherited from his mother.
* LongHairedPrettyBoy: He has straight hair falling down his back and a face so feminine that no one would think he's a guy in girl's clothes until they're told.
* NoSocialSkills: Due to being a NervousWreck who feels the need to [[ApologizesALot constantly apologize for everything he does]], he's not the best at interacting with people. When he visits Shigure's house, he decides to bring books about fruit as gifts since he originally wanted to bring actual fruit but didn't know what kinds of fruit Shigure and the others liked. He tries to improve himself by complimenting Yuki and Kyo instead of apologizing to them, but he [[InnocentlyInsensitive ends up accidentally insulting them instead]].
* NervousWreck: He's constantly on the verge of having a mental breakdown. Unlike the other Sohmas, this is actually played more for laughs than anything.
* NoIndoorVoice: Because he apologizes ''that'' loudly and repeatedly. The reboot's episode 19 title is literally him apologizing in this manner.
* OutOfFocus: Out of the Zodiac members, Ritsu gets by far the least character focus and development. The number of chapters in which he appears, including his introduction, can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
* ProneToTears: Nearly anything can set off his tears and frantic apologies.
* ShrinkingViolet: He's timid and plagued with countless insecurities.
* UnsettlingGenderReveal: Tohru was sure Ritsu was a woman until she bumped into Ritsu, causing him to transform. It took Tohru a minute to understand what that meant.
* VocalDissonance: The 2019 anime got a male seiyuu for him, which sort of gives away that he's a WholesomeCrossdresser before the GenderReveal. This was {{averted|trope}} in the first anime where Ritsu was voiced by a woman to match his feminine appearance.
* WholesomeCrossdresser: He worn girl's clothes ever since he was a kid because it makes him feel more at ease. Although, this is acknowledged as a bit of a problem because he will soon have to get a job and his crossdressing hobby won't be seen as acceptable for that.

[[folder:Kureno Sohma (The Rooster)]]
!!Kureno Sohma (The Rooster)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/SusumuChiba (JP, ''The Last Story'' Voice Comic)

[[quoteright:210:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kureno_sohma.jpg]]

The Rooster of the Zodiac. A polite and selfless young man whom Akito is very attached to.

* TheAtoner: [[spoiler:Realizes how much abiding to Akito's wishes only contributed to her growing up as bad as she did and, realizing that his presence would only remind Akito of her mistakes and keep her from moving forward, leaves the Sohma estate near the conclusion of the manga]].
* BrokenPedestal: [[spoiler:Inverted. Kureno thought the world of Shigure according to a couple of side-drawings by Takaya, and Kureno definitely still respects Shigure; but Shigure ''did not'' appreciate that Kureno slept with Akito and Shigure explicitly tells Kureno that he ''hates'' Kureno for his role in Shigure's exile from the estate.]]
* BroughtDownToNormal: Sort of, after [[spoiler: Kureno's curse is broken]].
* ButNowIMustGo: [[spoiler:Kureno leaves the Sohma family after he is discharged from the hospital, realizing that Akito needs to find her own way in the world without him to remind her of her mistakes]].
* CooldownHug: [[spoiler:Tried hugging Akito to calm her down at the climax of the manga. It didn't work.]]
* EarlyBirdCameo: It's a FreezeFrameBonus, but [[https://twitter.com/nekoblocko/status/1129444328332570625 he's in the car with Akito]] in episode 7 of the reboot.
* ExtremeDoormat: He has let Akito dominate his life more than anyone in the Zodiac because he's way too nice to reprimand her abusive behavior or leave her alone.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler:Supplemental materials state that the other Zodiac members distrust him not only because he's close to Akito, but because their spirits subconsciously detect that he's no longer one of them.]]
* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler:He stays with Akito because she's desperately lonely, but staying with her leads to him being lonely in a different way since Akito doesn't allow anyone to see him. Supplemental materials state that the other zodiac members distrust him not only because he's close to Akito, but because their spirits subconsciously detect that he's no longer one of them]].
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: For [[spoiler:Akito, starting from the moment his curse was broken. His release from the curse caused Akito to realize that the curse ''wasn't'' permanent, causing her to desperately plead with him to stay with her. He admits to Tohru that once he was freed from the curse, he no longer understood what was keeping him attached to Akito - but also knew that beyond that broken connection, he saw a crying little girl that was desperate for love. Shigure points out that Kureno fulfilling this role for Akito in her life has not helped her for the better, and tells him that he should leave for her sake]].
* LoveMartyr: Was one for [[spoiler:Akito - so much so that his staying with Akito kept him from pursuing a relationship with Arisa. We later find out that his being with Akito completely wrecked his relationship with Shigure, and Kureno intends to continue staying with Akito to keep her from being lonely despite knowing full well that who Akito really wants is Shigure, not him]].
* MaintainTheLie: [[spoiler: Kureno's curse being broken is only known by him, Tohru, Akito and Shigure.]]
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: [[spoiler:We don't know exactly how badly he was injured, but he doesn't initially react to Akito's literally stabbing him in the back besides calling for someone to go after Akito, and he seems to need a cane after the fact.]]
* NonIndicativeName: His cursed animal is called the Rooster, but he turns into a sparrow. [[spoiler:Judging from Shigure's comments about Hatori, this is likely a sign that the curse is weakening, since Kureno himself has been free of the curse for at least ten years.]]
* NotQuiteTheRightThing: When he was much younger, [[spoiler:he was actually freed from the zodiac curse. He agreed to pretend he was still a part of the Zodiac and stay by Akito's side at all times though, because he didn't want to abandon the poor kid]]. It's implied in present times that [[spoiler:it would have been better for Akito's overall mental health if Kureno had instead broken away then and there, instead of feeding Akito's clingy dependency issues. When Kureno tries to make it better and gives Akito a very heartfelt talk about how it is better to live moving forward, Akito fully breaks down and stabs literally stabs him InTheBack.]]
* SecondHandStorytelling: When he tells Tohru about Akito.
* SecretKeeper: [[spoiler:As a child, he was one of four members of the zodiac that knew Akito's real gender. He's also proof that the curse is weakening, and has been free from the Sohma curse for at least ten years before the events of the manga.]]
* ShadingColourDissonance: Kureno's reddish brown hair has no shading in the manga, which can lead readers to think his hair color is much lighter until they see him in color.
* SpearCounterpart: He's basically a male Tohru. The best way to show it is that his first meeting with Arisa mirrors perfectly her first meeting with Tohru.
* StarCrossedLovers: He's in love with Arisa, but is unable to be with her or see her anymore because of Akito. [[spoiler:At the end, they're finally able to be together.]]
* WalkingSpoiler: His deep involvement with Akito pretty much makes it impossible to reveal much about him without revealing major spoilers.
%%* WeWouldHaveToldYouBut: About Akito's history, when he tells Tohru.
* YouRemindMeOfX: Arisa says that Kureno reminds her of Tohru in that he is unfailingly kind like she was.

[[folder:Kagura Sohma (The Boar)]]
!!Kagura Sohma (The Boar)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YuriShiratori (Drama CD), Creator/KotonoMitsuishi (2001 Series), Creator/RieKugimiya (2019 Series) (JP), Meredith [=McCoy=] (2001 Series), Creator/TiaBallard (2019 Series) (EN)

[[quoteright:145:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kagura_sohma_2019.png]]
[[caption-width-right:320:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/boar_2019.png[[/labelnote]] to see her as the Boar]]

The Boar of the Zodiac. A strong-willed, impulsive young woman who has deep feelings for Kyo; despite constantly beating him up and berating him she insists they're engaged.

* AdaptationDyeJob: The 2001 anime gave her gray eyes. This also goes for the dress she usually wears; in the manga and 2019 anime her dress is yellow, but in the 2001 anime it's green.
* AngerBornOfWorry: In her introduction, she beats the crap out of Kyo after he went to train at the mountains for four months and didn't call her even once.
* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: Just after [[spoiler: she gives up on Kyo]], she has a LoveEpiphany that is followed by this.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: She wants this with Kyo, considering they've known each other since they were children.
* ChildhoodMarriagePromise: Kagura claims Kyo promised to marry her when they were children. Actually, Kagura forced him to. [[spoiler:She eventually stops holding him to it]].
* ClingyJealousGirl: At first, she loses it when she thinks Tohru might be a love rival for Kyo's affections. She quickly mellows out around her and [[spoiler:even accepts Tohru and Kyo's relationship]].
* CoolBigSis: Was described as one by Creator/NatsukiTakaya herself.
* ConstantlyCurious: In the BackStory, during her first meeting with Kyo.
* ContraltoOfDanger: Most notably in the 2019 anime, her voice turns deeper when she goes on a rampage.
* CrocodileTears: If Kyo won't do as she says and resists her violence, Kagura will start crying to make Kyo feel guilty enough to give in.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Brown hair and eyes in the manga and the 2019 reboot. The AdaptationDyeJob gives her gray eyes in the first anime.
* CuteAndPsycho: She's usually a demure and sweet ShrinkingViolet, but around Kyo, her cuteness abruptly switches to a crazy, destructive fury.
* TheCutie: She tries to invoke this trope, but fails because she can't resist beating up Kyo.
* DoggedNiceGirl: She kept forcing herself on Kyo, even though he clearly doesn't like her and is terrified of her.
* DoesNotKnowHerOwnStrength: Due to being possessed by the volatile Boar, Kagura easily resorts to violence and often doesn't realize how badly she's beating up poor Kyo until she sees him bruised on the floor. She also once unintentionally knocked Tohru out on the floor with a single slap.
* DontYouDarePityMe: [[spoiler:After being rejected by Kyo definitely, when her mom asks her what's wrong, she says she's just realized how self-centered she was and rejects her pity.]]
* DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale: Her beating the tar out of Kyo nearly every scene they're in is entirely PlayedForLaughs. The ''only'' time Kagura is even scolded for hitting someone is in the case of Tohru, another woman, who ends up knocked out on the floor after receiving a single slap from Kagura.
* TheDreaded: Is this to Kyo. His gut reaction when he realizes that she's coming for a visit is to attempt to run for the hills.
* FullBoarAction: As the boar of the Zodiac. In the beginning she is quite aggressive as well.
* GenkiGirl: Extremely energetic about her feelings for Kyo.
* TheGlomp: Tries to do this to Kyo at one point when he opens the front door, but he immediately slams it shut.
* GirlyGirlWithATomboyStreak: She's very girly for the most part, but she knows martial arts and is prone to violent outbursts.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Tohru.
* HopelessSuitor: Even if Kyo haven't fallen in love with Tohru, there were little chances he would have agreed to marry Kagura (unless she had literally forced him into it).
* HypocriticalHumor: Happens a lot in her first appearance, like when she beats the tar out of Kyo in a fit of passion, snaps out of it, sees him beat up, and cries "My love! Who could have done this to you?!" Also when she tells Kyo she would forgive him if he cheated on her, but when she believes Tohru loves him she instantly beats the stuffing out of him for being "unfaithful." Lampshaded frequently by Shigure and Yuki.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: [[spoiler:She eventually realizes that Kyo doesn't love her in the same way and openly accepts his relationship with Tohru.]]
* ItsAllAboutMe: [[spoiler: Took Kyo's beads against his protests when they were small children, then ran away when she saw his true form, which caused his mother to stop letting him out, till the pressure of hiding her "monstrous" son to drove her to commit suicide. Rather than acknowledge how much pain this caused Kyo, she instead focused on and tried to hide her own guilt by convincing herself that she loved him, and tried to force him to love her back.]] By the time we find this out, it's through a confession that reveals she's moved beyond that.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She's overly self-centered, intense, violent and hates it when things don't go her way, but her behavior is mainly caused by emotional immaturity instead of malice. She does care about Kyo, but has no patience for his stubbornness like Tohru does and this results in her reacting with violence whenever Kyo refuses her romantic gestures.
* LovingBully: Shigure compares the way Kagura beats the living daylights out of Kyo while yelling that she loves him to a kid bulling their crush.
* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: She is very clingy with Kyo, but she's also been shown to hug other members like Yuki. Her clinginess with Kyo is because of her belief that since they're both members of the Zodiac and thus don't transform when they hug, it means they're meant for each other.
* ObliviousToHatred: Kyo makes it clear multiple times that he hates her, but she can't seem to take the hint.
* OlderThanSheLooks: She's 18 at the beginning of the story and a 20-year-old college student by the end, but she both looks and acts like a high schooler.
* ProperlyParanoid: In her first appearance, she [[spoiler:worries about Kyo living in a house with Tohru lest he eventually fall for her. She's right.]]
* ProneToTears: She very easily cries when she feels upset or worried.
* ReasonYouSuckSpeech: Receives a swift but brutal one from Rin, regarding her feelings toward Kyo. "How sad that you keep forcing yourself on him and calling it love." This eventually forces Kagura to acknowledge and correct this.
* SelfProclaimedLoveInterest: She claims that she and Kyo are engaged due to a ChildhoodMarriagePromise, but it's only because she threatened him to agree when they were kids.
* ThroughHisStomach: She tries to win affection points with Kyo by cooking a lot of food for him, even leaving the fridge empty. Too bad Kyo doesn't want to try her food and Kagura ends up wasting it by throwing Kyo at the table.
* {{Tsundere}}: Sweet type and a very rare case of doubling as a {{Yandere}}. Kagura is super affectionate and very honest about her feelings for Kyo. Whenever Kyo expresses he doesn't like her back, Kagura beats the poor guy to a pulp. This is even more emphasized in the 2019 anime where she's voiced by the Queen of Tsundere Creator/RieKugimiya.
* {{Yandere}}: Kagura loves Kyo so much that she beats him half to death if he runs away from her or refuses to go on a date with her. She also made Kyo promise to marry her ''at knifepoint''. Unlike [[BigBad Akito]], though, her violence is played more for laughs and she doesn't cause any physical damage.

[[folder:Akito Sohma (God)]]
!!Akito Sohma (God)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Murasaki Wakaba (adult), Creator/YukaImai (child) (2001 series), Creator/JunkoMinagawa (''The Last Story'' Voice Comic), Creator/MaayaSakamoto (2019 Series) (JP), Chad Cline (adult), Creator/AaronDismuke (child) (2001 series), Creator/ColleenClinkenbeard (adult), Creator/TrinaNishimura (child) (2019 series) (EN)

[[quoteright:135:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/akito_sohma_2019.png]]

The head of the Sohma family, representing the God who commands the Zodiac (known as the Jade Emperor in Chinese culture). Despite her frail health, Akito is short-tempered, controlling, and abusive as a result of her crippling abandonment issues, and is in some way responsible for many of the issues currently plaguing the family.

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Most other members of the Sohma clan can't stand her. Considering the fact that she's abused them all physically and verbally at least once, one can't really blame them.
* AllThatGlitters: Akito was told that a small black box [[spoiler: contained her father's soul. It didn't.]]
* AmbiguousDisorder: She's such a textbook case of Borderline Personality Disorder watching a montage of her scenes can practically serve as an intro to it.
* AnimalMotifs: Subverted in the manga, kind of played with in the anime--early on, she's frequently shown with birds. Small birds perching on her hand/shoulder, fluttering over her estate, [[BreadEggsMilkSquick lying dead in her room with the strong implication that she killed them]] etc. Turns out these were actually ''Kureno's'' animal motif. Presumably, Akito kept them around because they reminded her of him. In the first anime, Kureno isn't present at all, but it's made very clear that Akito is ''not'' the rooster...
* AntagonisticOffspring: There are multiple occasions in the manga where she tries to harm/kill her mother, Ren. [[spoiler:Considering that Ren's abuse is the reason why she's violently possessive of the Zodiac members, it's hard not to see why Akito hates her mother.]]
* AntiVillain: By the end of the manga, it's revealed that there's not really a villain to begin with in the story (except maybe Ren), Akito fills this role because she is definitely seen as a villain to the younger Sohma family members for how she treats them.
* AttentionWhore: Akito will ''never'' accept that the Zodiac members even ''consider'' giving some attention to anyone other than her. This, unfortunately, yet another of the personality problems she picked up from her awful mother.
* AxCrazy: Someone who beats the crap out of a child and pushes a woman out of a window for having a boyfriend is ''definitely'' not the epitome of mental health.
* BeautifulAllAlong: When dressed up in a female kimono, she's ''very'' beautiful. Lampshaded by Ritsu's comment when he gets to see dolled-up!Akito and is shocked by how gorgeous she looks.
* BerserkButton:
** If you're a Sohma, do ''not'' tell Akito you're leaving the family in ANY way.
** Whether you're an outsider or family member, ''don't'' get close to any of the Zodiac members. You will regret it.
* {{Bifauxnen}}: Akito is a woman, but due to being RaisedAsTheOppositeGender, she's seen in suits during functions out of the Sohma estate. She looks androgynous enough that no one suspects that she's a woman and most people are shocked by the GenderReveal.
* BigBad: Essentially the main villain of the story. Although [[GreaterScopeVillain her mother]] might be willing to steal that title from her.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: The first time Akito speaks with Tohru, she acts all nice and says she's happy Yuki and Kyo are being taken care of by such a cute girl. Afterwards, Akito tells Shigure Tohru is an ugly, pathetic girl and she's convinced Yuki and Kyo will be disappointed by Tohru in no time.
* {{Bokukko}}: Aside of being a {{Bifauxnen}}, she uses "boku" to refer to herself. [[spoiler:She keeps doing so after her HeelFaceTurn.]]
* BoyishShortHair: She has short hair as a result of her masculine upbringing.
* BreakTheCutie: Attempts this on Kisa and Tohru. Has this inflicted on her as a little girl, via Ren.
* BreakTheHaughty: Begins to experience this as [[spoiler:the curse gets broken and each member goes free.]]
* BrokenBird: Manifested less as hypercompetency or great worldliness, but rather through wild mood swings and constant abuse to the family members. All of which springs from a really bad childhood with a loving DisappearedDad who died when she was a little girl, a very cruel and arguably crazy EvilMatriarch of a mother, and being forcefully raised as a boy to avoid being seen as a threat by said mother, who poisoned her with hatred and insecurity.
* CallingParentsByTheirName: Due to the incredibly antagonistic relationship she has with her mother, Akito either refers to her by her name or just calls her "that woman".
* ClingyJealousGirl: Taken to the extreme. Akito has '''zero''' tolerance to the male Zodiac members favoring other women. When she found out Hatori, Hiro and Haru had girlfriends, Akito went nuts. Poor Kana, Kisa and Rin had more than their share of pain because of Akito's jealous wrath. Akito's insane JealousParent of a mother is to blame for this behavior.
* CorporalPunishment: On top of being a ManipulativeBitch. Some examples are: slapping Kisa on-screen in the anime (and apparently beating her bloody in the manga), slapping Momiji (and apparently Shigure) at least once, beating Yuki and Kyo in the past, throwing ceramics at Yuki and Hatori's faces (Hatori is almost blind in one eye as a result), [[spoiler: throwing Rin out a window and later forcibly cutting her long hair before locking her up in a dark room]], [[spoiler:stabbing Kureno]] etc.
* CrashingDreams: Akito has a flashback dream where [[spoiler: she asks Shigure if he loves her. After Shigure responds, gives her a flower and kisses her, he says her name, at which point so does Kureno, causing Akito to wake up in the car.]]
* CreepyChild: As a kid, she's seen painting her room black and claiming she hates everyone, after she snaps as a product of Ren's psychological abuse.
* DaddysGirl: Akito's father loved her as much as possible while her mother rarely looked at her.
* DomesticAbuse: Akito is both a physical and emotional abuser of the worst kind to the Zodiac. Nearly all the cursed Sohmas were deeply scarred by Akito's intimidation and violence against them, particularly Yuki and Rin.
* DontYouDarePityMe:
** Tells that to [[spoiler: Tohru]] in the middle of a VillainousBreakdown in the manga.
** Several desperate variations of this are scattered throughout the last third of the manga [[spoiler:where it's revealed that Kureno's curse had already been broken a long time ago. Though it's not explicitly stated, a young Akito realizes that Kureno is looking at her differently after he is released with distant eyes - i.e. eyes that no longer understand the bond that Akito tried to hold onto so tightly and pity Akito for doing so. Akito cries for Kureno to stop looking at her like that and begs him to stay by her side. A similar instance occurs with Momiji. Really, anyone looking at her with 'those eyes' sets off this feeling in her, though she reacts in various ways - at the New Years Banquet during which Yuki tells Akito he's not going to blame Akito anymore, Akito is reminded of Kureno's look and smashes what seems to be a small sake bottle into his face.]]
* EasilyForgiven:
** {{Deconstructed|Trope}}. One of the aspects of the family curse is that the Zodiac members ''have to'' forgive Akito no matter what she does to them or other people, even if they clearly don't approve of her misdeeds. This has added to many of their emotional issues and Akito continues to abuse the Zodiac's inability to blame her to the extreme.
** Played straight at the end of the manga. [[spoiler:With the curse completely broken]], the Zodiac members now have the option of hating Akito for how she treated them, but they choose not to because Tohru's influence allow them to let go of any bad feelings they might have for Akito. The only one who still doesn't want to forgive Akito is Rin, who was the biggest victim of her abuse, and yet Rin feels more awful about this than Akito does.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Akito is black-haired and pale-skinned because of her sickly condition. She also throws out negative vibes like no tomorrow.
* ElectraComplex: Akito loved her father very much and was torn up by his death while she despises her EvilMatriarch of a mother enough to want her dead. Considering that Ren's abuse is the reason why Akito is violently possessive of the Zodiac members, it's hard not to see why Akito hates her mother.
* EntitledToHaveYou: Akito ''insists'' the male Zodiac members are obligated to only love her because she believes the Zodiac animals should direct all their affection to their God. Akito strictly forbids the Zodiac from forming romantic relationships with other women and when they start dating someone anyway, Akito throws a tantrum and puts the girlfriend in the hospital.
* EtTuBrute: Akito feels betrayed by Kureno and Haru when they jump to Rin's defense even though Rin tried to steal a possession of hers. Take into account this is after Akito already [[DisproportionateRetribution punished]] Rin by trapping her in the Cat's Room and leaving her to starve for weeks. Of course, Kureno and Haru would berate Akito for that, yet Akito doesn't understand why her Zodiac would be mad at her for whatever reason.
* EvilPlan: Originally it was to possess the Zodiac, then it became drive Tohru away and ''then'' possess the Zodiac.
* EyeScream: Performed on Hatori [[spoiler:and very nearly on Yuki]].
* {{Fauxshadow}}: She does a [[spoiler: HeelFaceTurn about 30 chapters later]].
* FemaleMisogynist: Akito hates women despite being a woman herself. More specifically, Akito hates women who try taking the Sohmas away (even if they're Sohmas themselves), [[spoiler: due to Ren's abuse]].
* FlowerMotifs: Associated with red camellias (''benitsubaki''), which are a symbol of love in the language of flowers. [[spoiler:This is also the kind of flower Shigure gave her when she was little and he confessed his love.]]
* {{Foil}}: With Tohru Honda. Aside from their commonly boyish names, and deceased fathers; the two are said to [[LikeParentLikeChild strongly resemble a parent]] they resent. Played with in how Tohru is very little like Katsuya, aside from copying his very polite speech habits. It can be said much of Akito's personality was shaped by Ren's even worse one, they look so much alike [[spoiler: Shigure only saw Ren as an older, feminine Akito when he slept with her]], and since Akito was RaisedAsTheOppositeGender, speaks masculinely.[[spoiler: They both realize they have to let go of the memories of a parent they adored in order to move on, while reconciling with the other one. They aren't able to make verbal amends, however Katsuya's dead. Ren just refuses to talk]]. At the end, like Tohru, [[spoiler: Akito tries reaching out to someone that spent their entire life wanting things to stay the same. However, this time]] they walk away instead.
* FreakOut: Has one whenever she thinks a Zodiac member is leaving her or someone is taking them away from her.
* FreudianExcuse: ...Except it really isn't an ''excuse''. More like a "[[TraumaCongaLine List of Grievances]]". [[spoiler:After her father died, Ren made her life miserable, raised her as a boy, and constantly pounded it into her that she was alone and no one would ever love her.]]
* GenderBlenderName: "Akito" is generally a male name. Combined with her [[{{Bifauxnen}} masculine appearance]], this managed to fool readers (and some other characters) into believing she was male right up until the UnsettlingGenderReveal.
* GenderFlip: Because the first anime stopped before Volume 17 was released, the animators made Akito biologically male. They make it [[http://i.imgur.com/d9auBh3.jpg very clear]].
* GirlOfMyDreams: The night of her conception, Akito appeared in the dreams of the oldest Zodiac members, making them shed TearsOfJoy. Shigure fell madly in love with Akito after seeing that dream.
* GirlinessUpgrade: At the end of the series, [[spoiler:after the curse is finally broken,]] Akito stops posing as a man and begins dressing like a woman. This symbolizes her first step into living as herself instead of the person the Sohma adults want her to be.
* AGodAmI: She let her position as the God of the Zodiac go to her head, to put it mildly. Primarily, Akito justifies her controlling and abusive treatment of the Zodiac members by claiming that a God can do whatever they please and no one can punish them for it.
* GodInHumanForm: Akito is the [[spoiler: "God" of the Zodiac, who the other Zodiac members have a psychic link to. Aside from this, though, she doesn't have any kind of godlike power.]]
* HatesBeingAlone: She fears being alone/abandoned so much that she rules the Zodiac by fear to keep them from leaving. Her mother is responsible for this.
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: She eventually reforms in the manga, in part due to Tohru's kindness.]]
* HiddenBuxom: She's been accustomed to flattening her chest to conceal her female gender. She often looks perfectly androgynous when wearing masculine clothing, but she has a very feminine figure when she finally puts on girl's clothes.
* HomeschooledKids: She was homeschooled during her high school years, due to her frail health.
* IControlMyMinionsThrough: While not minions per se, Akito keeps the Sohma family under her thumb through fear. When Yuki forgives her and makes it clear he's no longer afraid of her, Akito [[FreakOut flips out]] since it means her power over the Zodiac is waning.
* IllGirl: Akito is said to have been sickly since childhood, although she's physically healthier than her father was.
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: For her entire life, Akito has convinced herself that she's special and important because she's a "god" as a desperate way to cope with nonexistent self-esteem, loneliness and a crippling fear of the world.
* InTheBlood: Akito picked up the {{Yandere}} tendencies of her mother after her father died. If it hasn't been for Akito having a change of heart because of Tohru offering her friendship, Akito would have ended up as a solitary crazy lady like Ren.
* {{Jerkass}}: Akito is incredibly selfish, immature and cruel. She causes much more pain and trauma for some of the Zodiac members than the curse.
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Akito gets a happy ending with Shigure and goes off without receiving any comeuppance for the years she spent inflicting very cruel physical and emotional abuse on the Zodiac members.]]
* KimonoIsTraditional: To fit her position of the family head of an exaggeratedly traditional clan, Akito is almost always seen in a male kimono. Towards the end of the manga, she changes it for a female kimono since she's still going to lead the Sohma clan, but she's not going to hide her gender anymore.
* KnightOfCerebus: Every time she makes a major appearance, the series gets irreversibly darker in tone and drama.
* LetMeAtHim: The older Sohma members have had to hold Akito back from continuing to beat other members of the family on numerous occasions.
* LikeParentLikeSpouse: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}. When she was a child, Akito developed a crush on Shigure because the gentle way he treated her reminded her of her father. She's greatly displeased by how his attitude towards her drastically changed after she slept with Kureno because her father would have never been so cold to her. Also, Shigure knew Akito has one big ElectraComplex and he refused to be a replacement for her deceased father in her eyes.
* LimitedWardrobe: Almost always seen in a male kimono, but is seen in suits during functions out of the Sohma estate and a longsleeved turtleneck during the one instance at Tohru's high school. [[spoiler:Towards the end of the manga, she wears a female kimono]].
* LonelyAtTheTop: Because of her status as both the head of the Sohma clan and the Zodiac God, nobody corrected her unstable behavior growing up nor treated her as an equal rather than someone feared by all or pitied by few. This prevented her from ever learning right from wrong and isolating her from interpersonal development and understanding healthy relationships. The only people who could try to help her either catered to her whims, ignored her, or abused her; [[spoiler:Tohru was the very first person to try to empathize with her and talk her through her issues, as well as offer the “God” the chance to genuinely befriend someone outside the Zodiac. [[HeelFaceTurn It worked.]]]]
* LoveHungry: Everyone in the Zodiac ''must'' love Akito only. If anyone tries to leave her or comes to love someone other than her, Akito flips her shit and resorts to abusing them cruelly so they have no choice but to love her.
* ManipulativeBitch: She can keep the Sohma under a tight leash with mood swings and abuse.
* {{Matricide}}: There are multiple occasions in the manga where Akito tries to kill her mother Ren. The one thing holding her back from going through with it is that Ren wants to join Akira in death.
* MindRape: Akito is both a perpetrator ''and'' a victim. [[spoiler: [[SarcasmMode Thank you, Ren]].]]
* MisplacedRetribution: Hiro tells Akito that he has a crush on Kisa and wants to make her his girlfriend. What does Akito do? Beat the living daylights out of Kisa, who is still a middle school student, resulting in poor Kisa being hospitalized for two weeks. That should teach Hiro a lesson on why none of the Zodiacs can direct their affections to anyone but Akito.
* MoodSwinger: She can be calm one moment and having a screaming tantrum the next, though this is partly done on purpose in order to keep the members of the Zodiac in line.
* NeverMyFault: Akito cannot ''fathom'' being to blame for anything. {{Subverted|Trope}} towards the end when she and Tohru have their fateful confrontation [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone and realizes just how badly her clinging to the past and abusive behavior has destroyed the livelihoods of the other Zodiac members.]]
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: [[spoiler: Had she not said yes to the presence of Tohru in Shigure's household, the curse would never have been broken.]] But by then, Akito had realized her mistakes and had accepted it.
* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: Despite being a {{Domestic Abuse}}r towards the Zodiac members, Akito loves getting close to them, especially the boys and men.
* NotGoodWithRejection: Her mother emotionally abused her to the point that Akito can't stand the mere prospect of being rejected and unloved by the people in the outside world. She clings on to the Zodiac curse because it's impossible for the cursed Sohmas to ever hate their "God". Possibly the biggest part of Akito's CharacterDevelopment is accepting that there's people who won't like her, but she mustn't think that will be the case with everyone.
* NotSoDifferent: Though neither seem to realize it, and they both hate each other's guts, [[LikeFatherLikeSon she's more like her mother, Ren]], than either would care to admit. If it wasn't for [[spoiler: Akito's HeelFaceTurn from Tohru's offer of friendship]], it would've [[BookEnds been her mother's story]].
* PleaseDontLeaveMe: Whenever one of the Zodiac members leaves her as her intimidation loses effect, Akito is reduced to pathetically begging them to not leave her alone and asking why everyone keeps betraying her. [[spoiler:This is a result of her mother's abuse. When Kureno's curse is lifted, she went ballistic and started screaming hysterically. Momiji's curse breaking, however, is a little calmer and she asks him to stay with her and be taken care of by her. He didn't accept her offer, though. By the time she has a chance to talk to Hiro, she's already mellowed out and doesn't ask him to stay. Plus, the curse breaks completely shortly after.]]
* PsychologicalProjection: Akito treats other women like her worst enemy because she's projecting her demented AbusiveMom unto them. This is especially true in her cruelty towards poor Rin because the latter's black RapunzelHair heavily reminds Akito of Ren, to the point Akito first gave her the nickname "Rin" because it sounds like Ren.
* PsychopathicManchild: She's essentially the same at age 19 as she was when she was little: a SpoiledBrat with a god complex and crippling fear of abandonment. All thanks to mental and emotional abuse from her mother, who's even ''worse'' in this regard.
* PsychoticSmirk: She's shown to have done this often while Yuki was her prisoner.
* RaisedAsTheOppositeGender: When she found out her child would be a girl, Ren demanded Akito to be raised as a boy and that no one should even be allowed to know her true gender after her birth. Ren used the excuse that a female family head would look bad, but her true motive was to make Akito less desirable because she hated the mere idea that her daughter could be more popular with men than her.
* RedHerring: When Tohru has met twelve of the thirteen cursed Sohmas, she (and the reader) assume that Akito is the Rooster by process of elimination.
* SelfMadeOrphan: Was ''veeeeeeeery'' close to doing this, and it's implied she would have totally done it without remorse [[spoiler:if Hiro hadn't been released from the curse at that exact moment and distracted Akito from doing so]].
* ShadowArchetype: Akito ultimately embodies the unstable and abusive woman Tohru could have become if she had been raised by an insane AbusiveMom instead of the loving and nurturing Kyoko.
* SomebodyDoesntLoveRaymond: Just one member of the Sohma family trying to leave is more than enough for Akito to flip her shit.
* SourOutsideSadInside: Akito shows herself as an intimidating, cruel and abusive family head, but she's really a crybaby who is terrified of being abandoned and unloved.
* SpoiledBrat: Her father and the members of the Sohma household spoiled her rotten, giving a pass to her increasingly bad temper tantrums and encouraging the AGodAmI mindset that causes Akito to believe everyone must do as she says.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: To her mother. Shigure notes Ren looks like Akito would've looked like, had she been raised as a woman.
* TomboyishName: Akito was given a boy's name because her spiteful mother only accepted to give birth to her if her daughter was never allowed to live like a woman.
* TomboyishVoice: In the 2019 anime, Creator/MaayaSakamoto's voice makes Akito sound like a young boy in an attempt to conceal that Akito is a woman RaisedAsTheOppositeGender.
* TookALevelInKindness: After her HeelFaceTurn, Akito starts acting like the gentle child she once was and now wants to become the sort of person who can help others like Tohru does.
* TraumaCongaLine: Her father's death, [[spoiler:Kureno's curse breaking,]] and Ren's mental abuse did a real number on her as a child.
* TroubledAbuser: Ren made Akito's life a living hell, for just being jealous of her husband's love towards their child. Between that, a somewhat justified [[AGodAmI god complex]], and quite possibly a predisposition toward mental illness (also courtesy of Ren), it's not all that surprising Akito turned out the way she did.
* {{Tsundere}}: She was a straightforward one in her childhood. Yuki recalls that Akito was a nice playmate and never did anything worse than occasionally yell at Yuki when impatient (like during one of his asthma coughing fits), but would quickly calm down and be nice again. Ren's abuse made her into a {{Yandere}}. She still shows shades of tsun-tsun around Shigure; it's obvious Akito has feelings for him, but she cannot forgive him for having slept with her hated mother just to get back at her for sleeping with Kureno. During a heated argument, she goes from yelling at Shigure for hurting her to abruptly seducing him.
* UnsettlingGenderReveal: Everyone not in the know (except Uotani) reacts like this to TheReveal about Akito's gender ''and'' identification. A good example is what happened to Tohru when she learned about it through Kureno. Apparently, she was so shocked that ''she stood in the snow for hours''.
* UnstoppableRage: Akito becomes violent when she thinks that a Zodiac member is leaving her or taking attention away from her. She blinded Hatori in one eye for trying to marry Kana, shoved Rin out of a second story window for being romantically involved with Hatsuharu, and later [[spoiler:stabs Kureno for trying to leave her]].
* UsedToBeASweetKid: Various flashbacks reveal that Akito was very kind and gentle as a child. Then one day Akito ''snapped'' due to Ren's abuse, painted her walls black, and tortured Yuki physically and psychologically from then on. It all went downhill from there.
* VillainousBreakdown: An absolutely ''epic'' one.
* WalkingSpoiler: No one can go into too much detail when discussing about Akito without revealing that she's the God of the Zodiac and that she's a woman being forced to pose as a man by her AbusiveMom, both facts which are big revelations in the later part of the story.
* WhatHaveIBecome: [[spoiler:Towards the end of the series, she realizes what she has become and is horrified by her actions.]]
* WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou: A good part of Akito's ManipulativeBitch strategy.
** When Hatori asked permission to marry Kana, Akito attacked Hatori, blinding him in one eye. Akito immediately accused Kana, Hatori's innocent would-be fiancée, of being responsible for Hatori losing an eye. Kana ends up agreeing while Hatori, being unable to hate Akito because of the curse, blames himself for Kana's following depression.
** She beat the crap out of poor little Kisa, who needed to be hospitalized for two weeks to recover. Why? Because Hiro admitted to having a crush on Kisa. Again, because the Zodiac animals can't hate Akito, Hiro could only blame himself for Kisa's injuries.
** Taken to even worse extremes in her abuse of Rin. First, she nearly killed Rin by ''throwing her off a window'' while claiming Rin only got what was coming for her after she started dating Haru, who can only belong to Akito like the other Zodiac males. Later, she locks Rin in isolation for weeks and cuts nearly all her hair after Rin tried to steal a "special" box [[spoiler:that Akito knows is clearly empty]]. When confronted about it by Haru and Kureno, Akito insists it's perfectly justified and what on Earth is Kureno thinking betraying Akito and freeing Rin from harm? And then Haru calls Akito out for almost killing Isuzu twice because she hates women for no good reason (although he doesn't know how Akito's mother is like). Akito counters with telling him that it was really his fault that Rin was put in danger at all because he dated Rin despite knowing how much of a {{{Yandere}} Akito is for the Zodiac males. Surprisingly, Haru agrees that he is partially to blame for poor Rin's suffering.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Whether or not one can excuse her actions, Akito counts. Despite beating the living daylights out of several Zodiac members for the majority of their childhood(s) ''and'' emotionally abusing [[spoiler:''everyone'']], [[AllLovingHero Tohru]] can't help but feel sorry for her. One, she learned just how badly Akito herself was emotionally abused, and how her upbringing influenced her outlook on life. The psychological abuse heaped onto her by her mother and EvilMatriarch extraordinaire, Ren, led to a pathological fear of abandonment, driving her to do ''anything'' to make sure no one will leave her. Being told that no one loves you, everyone will abandon you, and no one even respects you, ''and'' having your ''boyfriend'' sleep with Ren to spite you for sleeping with another man (which you partly did to get back at said boyfriend, and partly to stop said man from abandoning you) will do that to you.
* WouldHurtAChild: She took Kisa, one of the two Zodiac members still in middle school, and beat her to a pulp, which resulted in her being hospitalized for weeks, only because Hiro told Akito that he has a crush on Kisa.
* {{Yandere}}: Akito is very mentally unstable and is willing to do anything to keep members the Zodiac from leaving and being loved by other people. It certainly doesn't help that [[spoiler:she's the daughter of another {{Yandere}}, one who was more than willing to abort her out of jealousy.]]
* YouAreWhatYouHate: Despite hating her mother's guts, Akito is really the same as her: a PsychopathicWomanchild who is obsessed with proving that only she deserves to be loved by the Sohma men and gets insanely jealous over other women who "steal" their attention.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: What the curse burdens Akito with in the 2001 anime adaptation only. He[[note]](Since the anime was released before her gender reveal in the manga, it's generally assumed that this iteration of Akito is unequivocally male)[[/note]] has a shortened lifespan due to bearing what Shigure explains to Tohru as the "core" of the curse. It also serves as his FreudianExcuse in said adaptation as well.

!!Other Sohmas

[[folder:Kazuma Sohma]]
!!Kazuma Sohma
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Norihiro Inoue (adult), Miki Machii (child) (2001 series), Creator/ToshiyukiMorikawa (2019 series) (JP), Creator/DameonClarke (adult, both series), Heaven Tubbs (child, 2001 series), Emily Fajardo (child, 2019 series) (EN)

[[quoteright:195:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kazumasohma.png]]

Kyo's martial arts teacher and foster father. His grandfather was the previous Cat, and Kazuma regrets his cruel words towards his grandfather during the one time they met. After Kyo's mother died, he took Kyo in as a way to atone, but over time he came to love Kyo like his own son.

* AdaptationDyeJob: In the manga and 2019 anime he has brown hair, but the 2001 anime gives him grey hair.
* TheAtoner: As a child, Kazuma treated the former Cat (his grandfather) quite badly. Upon meeting the new Cat, Kyo, he takes him in, having never been able to forgive himself for that.
* BareFistedMonk: The martial arts instructor of Kyo, Yuki, Haru, and Kagura.
* {{Bishonen}}: He's very good-looking for being ''39''.
* ForYourOwnGood: When he first appears in the manga and 2019 anime he purposefully [[spoiler:removes Kyo's beads in front of Tohru, revealing his true form to her, because he wanted Kyo to confront the possibility that someone wouldn't reject him for it.]]
* LethalChef: He can't even prepare decent ''tea''.
* OlderThanHeLooks: He's 39 during his first appearance. At the end of the series, he should be about 41. You wouldn't guess any of this just by looking at him. Even [[WordofGod Takaya]] [[LampshadeHanging admits she draws him very young looking.]]
* PapaWolf: He will ''not'' allow anyone to mistreat Kyo. He even calls out Kyo's biological father when the man tries to enlist Kazuma's support in locking Kyo up once he's out of school.
* ParentalSubstitute: He's Kyo's foster father, and has been seen taking care of Rin in lieu of their terrible biological parents.
* ShadingColourDissonance: Kazuma's hair is dark brown, but it lacks any sort of shading in the manga. As a result, the first anime adaptation gave him grey hair.
* ShipperOnDeck: He actively encourages the growing romance of Kyo and Tohru from the moment he first sees them together because of how happy Kyo looks around Tohru. He even forced Kyo to reveal his monstrous cursed form to Tohru so they could become much closer by having Tohru accept all of Kyo.

[[folder:Ren Sohma]]

Akito's mother.

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: She has even fewer supporters in the Sohma family than Akito.
* AbusiveMom: She raised Akito as a man and constantly told her that she was worthless and no one would ever love her.
* AmbiguousDisorder: There's clearly something up with her, especially with her intense fixation on her deceased husband Akira that goes beyond regular devotion and into co-dependency. The most anyone says about her is that she's "a little sick, both mentally and physically", and no specifics are given.
* AxCrazy: [[spoiler: She stumbles deliriously into Akito's room with a knife to demand the box Akira gave to Akito (that's not even his)]] as Ren needs [[AllThatGlitters his possessions]] to reassure herself of their love together. Especially after Ren's [[spoiler: [[DespairEventHorizon mortified realization]] that her deep connection with Akira was little more than talk on her part]].
* ChildHater: She once said that she hated how [[spoiler: then-tiny Ayame, Hatori, Kureno and Shigure]] swarmed to her and cried. [[spoiler: Their tears were because they sensed she was pregnant with Akito, the future God of the Zodiac]]. Akito remembers her as a cold mother and as noted by Ren herself, has always hated Rin; up to the point that she tricked a young Rin into questioning her parents's love, knowing what the horrible outcome would be.
* ClingyJealousGirl: She absolutely hated the idea that Akira could love another woman more than her, even if that woman was their own daughter.
* DramaticIrony: Her destined deep connection with Akira is NotSoDifferent than the eternal bond Akito says she has with the Zodiac that Ren always ridicules. It's revealed [[spoiler: that neither are true; the Zodiac curse is waning and Ren slept with Shigure in the past]].
** Ren unknowingly despises what Akira believed truly symbolized how special their love was together: [[spoiler: Akito being born as God of the Zodiac]]. She obsesses over [[spoiler: whatever's in a box of his]] as [[MagicFeather evidence of his love]] that she says is hers by right, that was left to Akito [[spoiler: but, in truth, prepared by the Sohma's Head Maid in order to console her over her father's death. It did very little to once she opened it. It's empty]]. After [[BreakThemByTalking what Shigure said to her beforehand]], Ren's left an EmptyShell of a mess once she sees what's inside.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Her daughter inherited her looks, and she's very unstable.
* ElectraComplex: Inverted. [[spoiler:Rather than being the daughter who wants to kill the mother to have the father all to herself, Ren is a mother who wants to kill her own daughter to have her husband all to herself.]]
* EvilIsPetty: She more or less singlehandledly screws up the family by abusing Akito to insanity, all because she was jealous that her husband would love their child more than her, and that her daughter would receive more male attention once she grew up (being beautiful, female, ''and'' the head of the family) than she did. [[spoiler:At one point, she tries to ''kill'' Akito over a ''box'', which she believes holds some treasure left behind by her husband. The reveal that the box was empty just emphasized how obsessively twisted Ren was.]]
* EvilMatriarch: She is above Akito and arguably the BiggerBad of the series.
* FemaleMisogynist: She had Akito raised as a boy under the excuse that the Sohma family having a female head would look bad, but it was really because of her petty jealousy over Akira and Akito's close relationship, and her fear that her daughter would receive more male attention once she grew up than she did. Her misogynist tendencies eventually rubbed off on Akito.
* FlorenceNightingaleEffect: Ren originally worked as a maid in the Sohma state, then she was the first person who took care of IllBoy [[LonelyRichKid Akira]] and reached out to him.
* {{Foil}}: For Kyoko Honda - Ren lived at the [[BigFancyHouse Sohma estate]] as a proper maid, while Kyoko was a part of a gang and had a rough upbringing. Kyoko was disowned by her family, the Sohma's being unable to dismiss Ren due to her position. When their husbands made their marriage proposals, both families were in shocked due to their belief one partner unfit for the other; the Katsunuma wondering why such a respectable person would want to marry their daughter, while Ren was apparently an unsuitable choice. Both were young mothers who lost their husbands when their only daughter was a toddler. However, while Kyoko was able to move on with just the memory of Katsuya, and the love she shared with Tohru ultimately proved to be the redeeming factor in the entire series; Ren stayed fixated about Akira's love for her, yet needing a box of Akira's for proof of it, and was swallowed by her grief to the point [[LoveMakesYouEvil that she fueled the angst of the main series]].
** Their relationship with their husbands and daughters. Ren cared for Akira who was [[YourDaysAreNumbered terminally ill]] and reached out to him when she saw how lonely he was. Katsuya was a student teacher who worried about a troubled Kyoko and his death from a flu was very sudden. Ren threatened to abort Akito unless [[spoiler: she was raised as a boy]] out of fear Akira could love her more. They went irreconcilable over their child until very the end. Kyoko was happy to have Katsuya’s baby but worried that their child's life would be miserable because of her, but they were still a happy family upon Katsuya's death.
** The opinions they have about children in general. Kyoko forms a few [[IntergenerationalFriendship Intergenerational Friendships]] and was even [[LetsHaveAnotherBaby thinking of having another baby]] with Katsuya. Unless she's able to use a child for her schemes, Ren believes them to be useless and [[JealousParent refused to even hold her own child after they were born]].
* GreaterScopeVillain: She's more or less responsible for shaping [[BigBad Akito's]] personality.
* HateSink: Unlike her daughter, she has no tragic backstory or excuses for her actions and she's to be blamed for how horrible Akito is now. The most that can be said is that the rest of the Sohma family treated her poorly when Akira showed interest in her and she's clearly mentally ill to some degree.
* {{Hypocrite}}: After all her talk of how a man is destined for one woman and that Akira loved no one else but her, she brushes off any authenticity to the relationship between Shigure and Akito and easily starts one up with him herself. It's possibly due to the similarities she sees he has with Akira: belief he's suffering from the Zodiac Bond and only she can ease his pain, falling in love with him as she believes [[LongingLook he secretly desires her]]. She [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]] when [[MindRape Shigure tells her how he only slept with her as she looked like Akito if she'd raised female, and mocks her over how ''only'' she would need a box to prove Akira's love for her]].
* ItIsDehumanizing: When discussing making Akito the head of the family, Ren outright referred to her as "that."
* JealousParent: She couldn't stand the attention that her husband, Akira, gave to their child Akito. In fact, she was so jealous that she did her best to ruin Akito's life.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Ren notes that the outside world will ultimately prove too attractive an alternative to Akito's presence for the Zodiac.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: Her FaceHeelTurn came when she got pregnant and became obsessed with the idea that Akira would care more for their then-unborn child than for her... and you know what came next.
* MaddenIntoMisanthropy: While Akira's death proved to be the tipping point, the rest of the Sohma clan and attendants did their best to marginalize Ren as soon as Akira started showing interest in her. It eventually got to the point where Akira's support for her was the only positive influence in her life. And when she lost that... well, see the other tropes for her.
%%* ManipulativeBastard
* MeddlingParents: To some degree. She doesn't believe in the bond but she doesn't do anything about it except trying to use it against Akito.
* NotSoDifferent: If it hadn't been for Akito's [[spoiler: HeelFaceTurn]], it would've been a complete BookEnds to the story. Ren's constant mental abuse of Akito that she'd be abandoned led to Akito ruling mostly through fear to keep the Zodiac from leaving her. There are two bets running throughout the series; Akito with Kyo that he'd be allowed to join the Zodiac if he could beat Yuki within the year to prove himself, otherwise he'd be confined; Ren with Akito that if the Zodiac didn't return to her side after being allowed into the outside world with a stranger among them, Akito would admit defeat, and leave the Sohma house.
** They hit their lowest about the same time when they realize the bond they believed in so much [[spoiler: was a lie]]. However, Ren broke hers by her own hands [[spoiler: sleeping with Shigure]]; while there's no real explanation why the curse started breaking, Tohru's healing personality definitely helped. Ren is completely willing to [[spoiler: [[OffingOnesOffspring kill Akito over a box Akira left to her (that was actually given to Akito by the Head Sohma Maid)]] she believes is hers by right and does receive, Akito stopped herself from becoming a SelfMadeOrphan when she feels Hiro's bond break]]. She's able to calmly let it go.
** Ren's pregnancy with the next God of the Zodiac and threat to abort Akito if she wasn't RaisedAsTheOppositeGender was start of her FaceHeelTurn. [[spoiler: Akito's HeelFaceTurn is when she's about to kill Tohru over the curse breaking, though Tohru convinces her they should start over; however the cliff crumbled out from under her before they can]]. Luckily, she wasn't seriously injuried.
* PsychopathicManchild: Not only is her reason for abusing Akito ultimately very bratty (being jealous of her just because Akira was happy to be a father, and because she couldn't stand the idea of her daughter growing up receiving more male attention than she did), she tries to [[spoiler: outright murder Akito over an empty box that belonged to Akira, believing that all of Akira's belongings are hers by right]].
* RapunzelHair: It goes all the way down to her ''knees''.
* SmugSnake: Beautiful, evil, sly, manipulative, and not just despicable, but in the end, very ''incompetent''. [[spoiler: She has to manipulate her desperate niece Rin to get her late husband Akira's box (Rin then fails and is horrifyingly "punished" by Akito), is humiliated by Shigure when he tells her he only had sex with her because she looks like an older Akito, and once her plans crumble she's left as an EmptyShell of her former self.]]
* WantedASonInstead: She wishes Akito was born a man. She claims it's because a female family head is unfitting, but it's actually because she was afraid that her husband could love another woman more than her (even if she's ''their daughter'').
* {{Yandere}}: Even ''more'' than Akito! She initially wanted to ''abort'' Akito because of her fear of losing her husband's love to their daughter. When Akira passed away, though, she turned into an AbusiveParent and got worse from there.

[[folder:Akira Sohma]]

The former head of the Sohma family and Akito's father.

* {{Bishonen}}: He had an "unearthly beauty", according to people.
* DisappearedDad: He died when Akito was a child.
* DotingParent: He adored his child Akito, because he believed [[spoiler:her being the God of the Zodiac proved that his love with his beloved wife Ren was special]].
* IllBoy: It was said that he was born with a weak body and succumbed to illness before the story started.
* LonelyRichKid: As head of the Sohma family, people could seldom approach him. Not helped by his horrible health.
* PoorCommunicationKills: If he had TOLD Ren [[spoiler:that the reason he adored their daughter was because he felt their child being "God" of the Zodiac was proof that their love was special]], maybe she would have been... ''less'' destructively jealous and spiteful throughout the series. Maybe.
* PosthumousCharacter: He died long before the start of the series and is only seen in flashbacks.
* UptownGuy: When they first met, Akira was the leader of the Sohma household while Ren worked as a maid in the Sohma state. They fell in love and got married.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: He was terminally ill for a very long time.

[[folder:Kyo's parents]]
!!!Kyo's father is voiced by: Creator/ShinobuMatsumoto (2019 series) (JP), E. Bailey (2001 series), Aaron Roberts (2019 series) (EN)
!!!Kyo's mother is voiced by: Creator/MikiNagasawa (2001 series), Creator/AtsukoYuya (2019 series) (JP), Creator/WendyPowell (EN)
Kyo's biological parents who are the root of many of his issues.

* AbusiveDad: Kyo's father ''hates'' him, refers to him as "it", claims his mother committed suicide from shame and disgust at having him and insists Kyo should already be locked up in the Cat's Room and be left to rot away there.
* DirtyCoward: When Kyo simply touches him, the father starts pathetically yelling for help and claiming that Kyo will kill him.
* DomesticAbuse: Kyo's father treated his mother as badly as he treats him, blaming her for making him fall into disgrace by giving birth to the boy cursed by the Cat, even though that was in no way her fault. It's very likely that this was what really pushed her into committing suicide.
* DrivenToSuicide: Kyo's mother committed suicide by throwing herself in front of a train and poor Kyo got blamed for it.
* TheFaceless: The face of Kyo's mother is obscured in flashbacks.
* HateSink: The father is one of the most despicable parents in the entire series, which is saying something.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Kyo's father never shuts up about how hard his life has been ever since he became the father of the Cat and his wife committed suicide as if he was the only one with problems because of Kyo's curse.
* {{Jerkass}}: The father is a spiteful and petty man who treated his wife and son like garbage for things that weren't their fault.
* {{Manchild}}: To put it simply, Kyo's father is nothing but an annoying and whiny brat in the body of an adult man.
* MissingMom: Kyo lost his mother at a very young age.
* MyBelovedSmother: Kyo's mother tended to keep him sheltered and away from other people. This is implied later on to be his father's decree.
* NeverMyFault: The father insists that everything even slightly wrong with his life ''has'' to be Kyo's fault. He even refuses to acknowledge his emotional abuse towards his wife might have been a factor in her suicide because Kyo must be the one to blame.
* ParentsAsPeople: Kyo's mother did try to make him feel loved and support him, but she failed to do it in a healthy way. Though she often told Kyo she loved him, Kyo believes she was lying and suspects that she was overcompensating to hide how she was deeply afraid and paranoid of his true form. He remembers how she would constantly check to make sure he was wearing his beads, and she prevented him from leaving the house by claiming he was so adorable that she needed to keep him all to herself. Eventually, the stress of raising the Cat ''and'' the emotional abuse of her husband were too much for her, resulting in her taking her own life.
* PosthumousCharacter: Kyo's mother has been dead for years by the beginning of the series and we only know about her through Kyo's memories.
* ShadowArchetype: Kyo's father represents the worst possible version of Kyo without the positive influence and love Kyo received from Kazuma and Tohru.
* ThatThingIsNotMyChild: Kyo's father calls him a monster and absolutely refuses to acknowledge him not only as his son, but as a human being. He sees and treats Kyo as an abominable beast that needs to be locked up for his safety.
* UnnamedParent: Neither of them is ever called by name.

[[folder:Yuki and Ayame's mother]]
Yuki and Ayame's cold and selfish mother.

* AbusiveMom: Like most of the Sohmas, she was mostly emotionally abusive towards her son (though not above smacking him around a little when she was upset with him).
* {{Jerkass}}: She's extremely callous and self-centered.
* ParentalFavoritism: PlayedWith. She only gives more attention to Yuki because him being the Rat is beneficial for her, but she doesn't care about him as a person. Meanwhile, she doesn't even acknowledge her older son Ayame since she can't get anything out of the Snake.
* UnnamedParent: Her given name is never revealed.

[[folder:Momiji's parents]]
!!!Momiji's father is voiced by: Creator/ToshihikoSeki (2001 series), Junichi Yanagita (2019 series) (JP), E. Bailey (2001 series), Ben Bryant (2019 series) (EN)
!!!Momiji's mother is voiced by: Azusa Nakao (2001 series), Creator/TakakoHonda (2019 series) (JP), Elise Baughman (EN)
Momiji's father is a businessman who owns a big company. He met his German wife in college and she came to live in Japan after marrying him. After Momiji was born, Momiji's mother entered a serious depression because she couldn't accept that her son transformed into a rabbit when she hugged him. Ultimately, Momiji's father took the decision, with Momiji's "consent", to erase him for his mother's memories. Shortly after the mother forgot about Momiji, they had a daughter named Momo. Momiji was forced to live within the Sohma House with other people because his father doesn't want him to get to his mother and sister in fear that his mother could remember him.

* BungledSuicide: In her madness over having given birth to the Rabbit, Momiji's mother stabbed herself with scissors. She was saved on time and Hatori erased Momiji from her memory at her own request so her emotional health could improve.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: PlayedWith. Momiji got his blond hair from his mother. While she's shown to be a gentle woman in the present, that's only because Momiji was erased from her memory. She originally was extremely depressed because of the stress that being the mother of a cursed Sohma put in her mind. She finally broke down and asked to have Momiji erased from her memory, going as far as saying that her biggest regret was giving birth to that "creature".
* HystericalWoman: According to Momiji, his mother panicked and started screaming whenever she saw him until Hatori made her forget about her own son.
* IHaveNoSon: They all but officially disowned Momiji because they didn't want to endure the complications of having a Zodiac member as their son. The mother went as far as to ask Hatori to make her forget Momiji because she regretted the mere fact of giving birth to such a "creature". Even though the father had promised to love him even more to compensate, he apparently changed his mind after Momiji's sister was born and seems to ignore Momiji in favor of his wife and daughter, even having him live in another house so his wife doesn't see him.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: Since she willingly forgot about Momiji being her son, the mother has been made believe that Momiji is the son of another Sohma family. Each time she runs into Momiji, she asks him to not make his mother worry by staying out late and tells him to have fun in family vacation. You can see how Momiji is struggling to not cry as he hears his own mother saying such things while treating him like a stranger.
* MoreThanMindControl: Momiji's mama readily agreed to the memory wipe because she didn't ''want'' to remember him. Even after forgetting he's her boy she still distances herself from him; for example she never smiles when she sees him, and when her daughter points out the [[StrongFamilyResemblance obvious resemblance between them]] she firmly denies that he looks anything like her. [[spoiler:Near the end of the manga though, his mother finally showed Momiji a true genuine smile once his curse was broken]].
* PhenotypeStereotype: The mother is a blonde German woman with green eyes.
* ThatThingIsNotMyChild: Momiji's mother only saw him as an abomination just because he transforms into a cute rabbit if a woman hugs him. She got so sick of him that she allowed Hatori to erase Momiji from her memory so she could feel better.
* UnnamedParent: Their given names are never mentioned.
* UselessBystanderParent: Momiji's father chose his wife over his son, asking Hatori to wipe his wife's memory of Momiji to prevent her from confronting the oh-so-horrible fact that, through no fault of his own, Momiji turns into a cute bunny when hugged. He promised Momiji that he'll love him twice as much to make up for his mother rejecting him. Yet, all we see him do is constantly run interference to make sure Momiji sees as little of his mother and sister as possible, out of fear that Momiji getting too close to them will trigger his wife's memories. Momiji is even expected to apologize if he runs into them accidentally.

[[folder:Isuzu's parents]]
Isuzu's parents abandoned her after they subjected her to terrible abuse. They are responsible for most of Isuzu's emotional issues.

* AbusiveParents: One of the worst ones in the entire series. Once they got tired of pretending to love their cursed daughter, they became ''horribly'' abusive towards Isuzu, until Kagura and her parents found out and took Isuzu into their custody. The aftereffects of their abuse are still strong in Isuzu to this day.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: When Isuzu was a little girl, they acted like ideal parents, as Isuzu puts it, like putting on a play. But then, Isuzu innocently asked them if they always were as happy as they seemed to be. With just that, her parents got sick of acting and started abusing her terribly until Haru found her collapsed on the street and Kagura's family took Isuzu in.
* TheFaceless: Their faces are never fully drawn.
* HateSink: They're loathsome AbusiveParents even by the standards of the BigScrewedUpFamily that are the Sohmas. They're the main reason why Isuzu is the most emotionally broken and traumatized out of the Zodiac members.
* IHaveNoDaughter: They told Isuzu to her face that they didn't want her at their house anymore because they could never love her. Damn.

[[folder:Kana Sohma]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/HaruhiTerada (2001 anime), Creator/MinamiTsuda (2019 anime) (JP), Libby Smith (2001 anime), Creator/KaraEdwards (2019 anime) (EN)

Hatori's ex-fiancée.

* AmnesiacLover: Hatori erased her memories of their romance after Kana became depressed out of guilt over Akito hurting Hatori's eye. Kana goes on to marry another man, and only remembers Hatori as her never-confessed FirstLove.
* BreakTheCutie: Kana was a very sweet and optimistic young woman who loved Hatori and wanted to live happily with him. However, Akito would never allow that and injured Hatori in one eye in her fury at hearing that Hatori wanted to marry Kana. This broke Kana ''badly''. The poor woman was left in such a serious state of depression that Hatori erased her memories of their time as a couple so she could get better.
* FirstLove: She was the first woman Hatori ever fell in love with. Their romance ending so badly for both of them is what convinces Hatori that the cursed Sohmas aren't meant to find happiness.
* HospitalHottie: She was Hatori's assistant.
* ItsAllMyFault: She blamed herself for Akito blinding Hatori in one eye. Her guilt ended up making her so depressed that Hatori made her forget about their romance so Kana could feel better.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: As one of the 'outer' Sohmas, she had little awareness of the influence Akito held over the family and was so devastated after Hatori was nearly blinded that she has to have her memories erased to even begin to recover from the mental trauma that the incident caused.
* NiceGirl: Gentle, sweet and cheerful.
* OfficeRomance: She met and fell in love with Hatori when working as his assistant.
* TheOneThatGotAway: Kana was Hatori's girlfriend and their time together was the happiest of his life. That was until Akito half-blinded Hatori because he asked permission to marry Kana and Kana felt so guilty about it that she fell into deep depression. Not wanting to see his beloved suffer anymore, Hatori erased Kana's memories of their time as a couple and exited her life forever. Hatori will never forget Kana, but he's sure her forgetting him was the best for her.
* SatelliteLoveInterest: She receives little characterization of her own and her only purpose in the story is providing Hatori with a sad backstory.
* UnderstandingBoyfriend: Gender-swapped example. When she first learnt about Hatori's seahorse cursed form, she immediately accepted him and told him she loved him despite of it. This made Hatori cry TearsOfJoy.

[[folder:Satsuki Sohma]]

Hiro Sohma's mother, she makes relatively few appearances late in the manga. Gives birth in the manga to a non-Zodiac daughter, Hinata, making Hiro a big brother.

* ChildrenRaiseYou: Hiro acts like a concerned but exasperated parent to her most of the time. She remarks in one panel how her son always scolds her. In another panel, Satsuki responds with a "Yes, sir!" when he tells her to be more careful [[spoiler: while she's still pregnant]]. (Though her lighthearted tone of voice could mean she just humors him all of the time.)
* CuteClumsyGirl: Such a klutz that Hiro is paranoid she's bound to trip down a flight of stairs. He's especially freaked out [[spoiler:when she's pregnant.]]
* DotingParent: Aside from Kagura's mother, she's the only mother of a Zodiac child we see who neither rejected him nor became overprotective.
%%* GenkiGirl
* GoodParents: Satsuki is one of the only parents of Zodiac members who openly loves her kid.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: She's a lot more aware of Hiro's emotional sore spots than he realizes.
* OpenMindedParent: Unperturbed that [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting her son turns into a sheep]]. When he transformed when she held him for the very first time, her reaction was, "I love sheep!"
* ShipperOnDeck: Openly anticipates gaining Kisa as a daughter-in-law, much to [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents Hiro's horror]].
* SoProudOfYou: Honestly is very proud of Hiro being her child without being overprotective or ashamed of him.
* WackyParentSeriousChild: She indulges her son Hiro's strictness often.
* WomanChild: She's very loopy and clumsy, which stresses out her son.

[[folder:Meshou Sohma]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Junko Yamamoto (2001 series), Sachiko Kojima (2019 series) (JP), Julie Mayfield (EN)

Ritsu's mother, and the manager of a hot springs owned by the clan.
----
* ApologizesALot: Most of her lines are apologies.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette
* KimonoIsTraditional: Wears one all the time.
* LikeParentLikeChild: Ritsu didn't get his emotional side from thin air.
%%* MyBelovedSmother: Sympathetic example, because...
* ParentsAsPeople: For all of her faults, she adores Ritsu.
* StringyHairedGhostGirl: Not a ghost, and certainly not a young girl, but has the looks and she ''has'' been mistaken as a ghost.
* {{Transplant}}: She apparently appeared in one of Natsuki Takaya's earlier stories.
[[/folder]]

!!Tohru's Friends

[[folder:In General]]
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Non-romantically, towards Tohru. Although late in the manga there is some implication that [[LesYay Saki may have harbored something deeper]].
* LonerTurnedFriend: Uotani and Hanajima were alienated loners before Tohru befriended them.
* MamaBear: Took over for Kyoko after she passed away, and have Tohru's legion of would-be tormentors too terrified to get near her.
* NiceMeanAndInBetween: Tohru is nice, Arisa was formally mean then is now in-between, Saki is in-between, nice towards her friends, (slightly) mean towards anyone who bothers Tohru.
* OddFriendship: People certainly find it odd that NiceGirl Tohru is best friends with Uotani the former delinquent and Hanajima the stoic {{Goth}} with PsychicPowers. Despite how incredibly different they all are, they're still very close, likely because all three of them were [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer ostracized at some point in their lives]] and found solace in each other.
* ThreeAmigos: With Tohru.
* TownGirls: We have the traditionally feminine and gentle Tohru (Femme), the seemingly emotionless {{Goth}} Hanajima (Neither) and the laidback former delinquent Uotani (Butch).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Arisa Uotani]]
!!Arisa Uotani
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YukaImai (2001 Series), Creator/AtsumiTanezaki (2019 Series) (JP), Parisa Fakhri (2001 Series), Creator/ElizabethMaxwell (2019 Series) (EN)

[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/arisa_uotani_2019.png]]

One of Tohru's closest friends and a former gang member. While still a bit rough around the edges due to her delinquent past and her troubled home life, she's a loyal friend to Tohru after she and Kyoko helped her quit her gang and clean up her act during middle school.
----
* AffectionateNickname: Tohru calls her "Uo-chan".
* BewareTheNiceOnes: She's warm and friendly towards her friends, but frigid and hostile towards anyone that gets on her nerves, primarily the Prince Yuki Fan Club.
* BigSisterInstinct: She's very protective of Tohru who is sort of a little sister figure to her.
* {{Bokukko}}: She uses "boku," and has an aggressive, boyish personality.
* BoyishShortHair: She had shorter hair during her middle school days.
* BrokenBird: Her father spent most of his time drinking after Uotani's mother left him and Uotani to run off with another man. The absence of her parents' love made Uotani join a gang to distract herself from the pain and take out her anger in fights. After meeting Tohru and Kyoko, Uotani found a place in which she felt welcomed and that healed her emotional wounds.
* CoolBigSis: She's the very definition of this to Tohru. In fact, their friendship started when Arisa became like a second daughter to Tohru's mother Kyoko, so it's natural she cares for Tohru like a sister. Arisa also acts like a wise sisterly figure to some delinquent wannabe girls.
* FormerTeenRebel: She used to be a sukeban in middle school before Tohru and Kyoko helped her turn her life around and quit her gang.
* FreudianExcuse: Her parents divorced when she was little, her mother walked out on her with her new boyfriend and her father spent most of his time drinking. The absence of her parents' love resulted in her joining a gang.
* GenerationXerox: To Kyoko, who isn't even her mother. Like Kyoko, she developed anger issues due to emotional ParentalAbandonment from a young age and joined a gang by middle school, was healed by ThePowerOfLove during middle school, and fell for a (seemingly) ordinary NiceGuy. The only difference is she's healed by friendly love first (from Tohru and Kyoko) and then fell for [[spoiler:Kureno]] later. [[spoiler:Then there's The Zodiac Curse.]]
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: She has a very bright and caring disposition that is emphasized by her blonde hair.
* IJustWantToBeLoved: Her mother walked out on her and her father was a neglectful alcoholic, which drove Uotani to join a gang. After she met the Hondas, Uotani understood that what she wanted the most was to be part of a loving family.
* JuniorCounterpart: She's a younger version of Kyoko, being a FormerTeenRebel who grew into a wise and mature young woman precisely because of Kyoko's positive influence.
* LoveRedeems: It was receiving the warmth of the loving Honda family what motivated Arisa to quit the life of a delinquent and live like an honorable civilian.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Does various part time jobs.
* NonUniformUniform: Though she's no longer a delinquent, she still wears a long skirt as part of her school uniform.
* ParentalAbandonment: When she was very young, her mother left her and her father to marry another man.
* PeekABangs: Her hair hides her right eye.
* SourOutsideSadInside: Back in middle school, she picked fights with gangs to cope with the abandonment of her mother and the neglect of her alcoholic father. Kyoko could understand what she was going through thanks to having been in a similar position before and she helped Arisa grow out of it.
* StarCrossedLovers: She and Kureno fell in love with each other over the course of two meetings. However, due to Kureno's obligation to Akito he decided to never see her again even after learning that she wanted to. [[spoiler:They are reunited at the end of the series.]]
* TearsOfRemorse: In her backstory, when she admits to Kyoko she was dumb and wanted to be friends with Tohru.
* TomboyishVoice: Both anime adaptations give her a raspy voice to fit with her easygoing tomboy character.
* TookALevelInCheerfulness: She went from a grumpy and depressingly lonely delinquent to a cheerful and outgoing friend for Tohru.
* TookALevelInKindness: She wasn't as nice and caring before she befriended Tohru. When they first met in middle school, Arisa was a delinquent with a bad attitude until Kyoko convinced her to change her lifestyle.
* TragicKeepsake: She keeps the deceased Kyoko's BadassLongcoat from the latter's young delinquent days.
%%* VolleyingInsults: With Kyo.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Saki Hanajima]]
!!Saki Hanajima
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ReikoYasuhara (2001 Series), Creator/SatomiSato (2019 Series) (JP), Daphne Gere (2001 Series), Creator/JadSaxton (2019 Series) (EN)

[[quoteright:180:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/saki_hanajima_2019.png]]

One of Tohru's closest friends and a psychic. She was ostracized as a child due to her powers, but was able to come to terms with her abilities after befriending Tohru and Uotani in middle school. While very stoic and intimidating at first glance, she's a devoted friend to Tohru and isn't without her own eccentricities.
----
* AffectionateNickname: Tohru calls her "Hana-chan".
* AfraidOfTheirOwnStrength: After she accidentally made a bully collapse by [[IWishedYouWereDead wanting him dead]], Hanajima became terrified at the possibility that her PsychicPowers could make her kill people by merely thinking it.
* AgeGapRomance: Teased at. She falls for Kyo's foster father Kazuma, who is over 20 years older than her at the very least. While there are some hints late in the manga that they're developing a relationship, it's ultimately left ambiguous. She isn't shown to be with him in ''Another''.
* AloofBigSister: Subverted. She ''seems'' aloof, but she really loves her little brother and they get along very well.
* AmbiguouslyBi: While it's hinted that she may have deep feelings for Tohru, she also gets a crush on Kazuma Sohma [[spoiler:and in ''Another'' is revealed to have married a foreigner and now has a son]].
* BigEater: She plays her role in "Cinderella" like this, trying to wish for yakiniku instead of a carriage to the ball.
* BrilliantButLazy: She fails school tests on purpose because the makeup tests are easier.
* BookDumb: She's not really, but she pretends to be because the make-up tests are easier. However, she does become motivated enough to pass her exams before summer vacation, because otherwise she'd be stuck taking make-up exams in a school building with no air conditioning.
* BullyMagnet: Her infamy first brought her a lot of cruel bullying at first, then almost complete isolation... until Tohru and Arisa break through her defenses.
* BullyingADragon: When she was in elementary school, a bully called her a witch for being weird and [[ForceFeeding force fed]] her ''live newts''. Hanajima got so angry that she mentally cursed the bully to die many times. Since she didn't have proper control of her PsychicPowers yet, the bully fell unconscious and was put in the hospital. Hanajima was [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone horrified of what she was capable of]] and did her best to never think something that would hurt people again, no matter how terrible the bullying got later on.
* CerebusRetcon: Her electric waves power is a comedy element in the present storyline. When her backstory is explained, it's revealed her powers were much uncontrollable and dangerous when she was younger and this caused Hanajima to be mercilessly bullied most of her life.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: If her feelings for Tohru are romantic after all.
* ClingyJealousGirl: She hates the idea of Tohru getting married and feels jealous that she's now spending much more time with the Sohmas than with her. After she hears her younger brother giving a speech about why it's bad to be possessive, Hanajima accepts that it's fine to not be the only important person in Tohru's life.
* TheComicallySerious: It's sometimes shown that her thought processes can be kind of odd, like how she purposefully fails tests because makeup tests are easier or how she insists that she and her brother Megumi look nothing alike even though they're very obviously related. Combined with her stoic nature, she tends to fall into this trope.
* CreepyLonerGirl: Hanajima is an EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette with a mysterious and stoic personality, often talks about the waves she detects in people and only ever wears black clothing outside of school (and she always wears black nail polish). She was a loner before befriending Tohru and Uotani due to her PsychicPowers alienating her from her peers who called her a freak and bullied her terribly.
* CreepyMonotone: She never raises her voice, which attributes to her EmotionlessGirl image.
* TheDreaded: To the Yuki Fan Club: while they're certainly intimidated by Arisa, it's Saki they're truly ''terrified'' of.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Raven black hair and pale skin tone are the perfect fit for a [[TheStoic stoic]] {{Goth}} girl like Hanajima. She has also been called a witch because of her PsychicPowers.
* EmotionlessGirl: She always speaks in monotone and rarely gets emotional.
* ExtremeDoormat: For many years, Hanajima quietly let her classmates shun and bully her, never trying to defend herself or ask for help because she thought she deserved to be treated so cruelly for having such dangerous PsychicPowers.
* {{Goth}}: She essentially forced herself into being a Lone Psycho Goth. When Hanajima was in elementary school, she accidentally made a bully pass out with her PsychicPowers and she convinced herself that she had tried to kill him. Ever since then, she only wore black gothic-style dresses to remind herself of her "sin" and she also painted her nails black because her school uniform isn't black. Her peers either were afraid of her because they thought she would use her powers to hurt them or they bullied her mercilessly to test if her powers were real. After she was befriended by Tohru and Uotani, Hanajima came to accept herself and her powers. She now wears black dresses out of habit and is a EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette with a stoic, eccentric character, so she still fits into the oddball goth stereotype.
* HiddenDepths: The Yuki Fan Club is surprised to discover she likes to read shojo manga. She also takes an interest in Shigure's romance novel series ''Summer Sigh'', and is later shown to have bought the first three volumes.
* InvisibleToNormals: Hanajima's denpa waves are something only she can see.
* IWishedYouWereDead: When she was in elementary school, she thought she wanted a boy who bullied her to die over and over again. The boy fainted on the spot and Hanajima blamed her PsychicPowers for it. While the boy didn't die, Hanajima thought what she did more than counted as attempted murder and spent years punishing herself for her "crime".
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: She's so guilt-ridden over putting a little boy who bullied her into a coma that she spent the rest of her childhood punishing herself, believing she deserved to be bullied and ostracized for what she did. She only forgave herself after meeting Tohru, Arisa, and Kyoko.
* ParasolOfPrettiness: She's occasionally seen walking around with a black parasol as part of her affinity for {{Goth}} fashion.
* PowerIncontinence: Her abilities were implied to be controlled by her emotions and couldn't be turned off when she was growing up. Nowadays, she has a much better handle on them.
* ProfessionalSlacker: To the point that her plan for life after high school is just to muster up the motivation to ''actually pass high school''. Her teacher is not amused.
* PsychicPowers: She reads auras and can potentially kill with her "denpa waves". [[spoiler: That almost happened in her backstory, where she loses it after being brutally bullied by a boy and wishing for his death... then her powers go haywire and he almost dies.]]
* RandomlyGifted: Hanajima was born with PsychicPowers despite everyone else in her family being completely normal. When she was a child, Hanajima felt guilty because she thought that she was a burden to her family because of having such unusual power.
* RapunzelHair: Her hair reaches past her waist when she lets it down.
* RomanticTwoGirlFriendship: Tohru is possibly the most important person to Hanajima. In her backstory, the two share a very intimate moment with strong yuri vibes, complete with the IntertwinedFingers and HeadbuttOfLove.
* ShipTease: She falls for Kyo's foster father, who finds her very charming. While there are some hints late in the manga that they're developing a relationship, it's ultimately left ambiguous. However, she isn't shown to be with him in ''Another,'' [[spoiler: and Megumi mentions that she is married to a foreigner and she had a son named Rio, who is friends with Shiki and Chizuru]].
* TheStoic: She always has the same contemplative look on her face. Tohru is the only one who can even get a small smile out of her.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: She's cool and unemotional most of the time, but she turns soft like a marshmallow for anything related to Tohru.
* UnhappyMedium: Her PsychicPowers gave her nothing but trouble through her childhood. She couldn't even take a walk outside with her family without becoming overwhelmed by hearing the thoughts of everyone around her. When she realized that she could hurt people with only her thoughts, Hanajima came to hate having such powers even more.
* WidowsWeeds: When she goes to visit Kyoko's grave, she's wearing a Victorian mourning dress. Hanajima thinks she looks ''plain'' with it.
* ZettaiRyouiki: Grade C. She wears knee-high socks and a long skirt in her school uniform, leaving a small section of her legs bare.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Megumi Hanajima]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/OmiMinami (2001 series), Creator/YukiyoFujii (2019 series) (JP), Hollie Townson (2001 series), Creator/LeahClark (2019 series) (EN)

Saki's younger brother.
----
* BigSisterWorship: He's especially doting to Hana and wishes for her happiness with the knowledge of how much she suffered as a child.
* CreepyChild: He can be somewhat unsettling because he's unemotional and abnormally mature for a kid. He made Motoko and her GirlPosse run away screaming from his house by simply called by her names before they introduce themselves to him (Megumi found out by spying on them and hearing them talk to each other).
* CreepyMonotone: He speaks in a very flat, unemotional voice, which is part of why Motoko and her GirlPosse get terrified of him when he merely says their names.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: He's a {{Goth}} kid with black hair and pale skin, like his sister.
* EmotionlessBoy: Like his sister, Megumi isn't the type to show strong emotions.
* GenderBlenderName: In Japan, there normally aren't boys named Megumi since that's generally a girl's name.
* LikesOlderWomen: He's pretty subtle about it, but he mentions once how "interesting" it is for him to be the only boy amongst three women (Saki, Tohru, and Arisa). Then there was his forward comment about visiting Arisa at work to see her in a miniskirt...
* {{Goth}}: To support his sister, he also started wearing black. Hana encouraged him to move on from it, but admits people would think it weird if he swiched to pastel colors.
* IKnowYourTrueName: His curses work when he knows someone's name.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Upon hearing the plan of the [[ClingyJealousGirl Prince Yuki Fan Club girls]], he gives them a speech about how they're being selfish by forcing their one-sided affections on Yuki and that he would come to hate them for driving away the people he allows into his life. His words even reach Saki, who had been suffering from her own mild jealousy of Tohru's friendship with the Sohma family.
* SpearCounterpart: He's basically Saki if she was a boy.
* TheStoic: You won't see any more facial expressions out of him than you will see in his sister.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: He looks like a younger, male version of Hana. However, he and his sister deny it.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: While he's [[TheStoic stoic]] and frank, the way he deeply cares about his sister's wellbeing shows a very sweet side to him.
* WhenHeSmiles: Like his older sister, he has a charming smile, but he hides it.
* WiseBeyondHisYears:He's possibly only second to Kyoko in terms of maturity and emotional intelligence. That's a big accomplishment for a boy who is just starting middle school.

[[/folder]]

!!Tohru's Parents

[[folder:In General]]
* AgeGapRomance: Kyoko was just out of middle school (16) and Katsuya was in his early twenties when they met and got married. The age difference is commented on a lot.
* DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: Tohru quotes Kyoko's words quite a few times in the manga; also Kyoko helping [[spoiler:Kyo and Arisa]] in the {{flashback}}s.
** Subverted in regards to Tohru's feelings for her father, as she has few memories of him and [[spoiler:after Katsuya died, Kyoko became catatonic with grief to the point of ignoring Tohru. A young Tohru believed back then that in a way, Kyoko's grief meant that her father was taking her mother away also. Years later, the thought still haunts her because she knows Katsuya was a good person and Tohru can't believe she ever thought that way to begin with. It's also the reason why she adopted what few of his speech patterns she could remember - she was trying to remind Kyoko of Katsuya]].
* HappilyMarried: The two of them were very close, doted on their daughter, and were planning to have another child.
* OppositesAttract: Kyoko was brash and excitable while Katsuya was calm and polite to a fault.
* MalignedMixedMarriage: Pretty much no one but Katsuya's father approved of their marriage, due to Kyoko's age and gang history.
* PosthumousCharacter: Both of them are dead by the beginning of the series, but their influence is felt through secondary and tertiary connections to other characters.
* TeacherStudentRomance: Katsuya was a student teacher and counselor when he met Kyoko (who in turn almost never showed up to school and never attended a class he helped teach), but he started working for a pharmaceutical company shortly before they got married. [[spoiler: He was actually going to her house to ask her parents if he could marry her... and quite in time, since he did it right when the Katsunumas were kicking Kyoko out of the house. He gives them a WhatTheHellHero speech and takes Kyoko in.]]
* TogetherInDeath: [[spoiler:Kyoko finally saw her husband again when she died and their souls happily reunite.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kyoko Honda]]
!!Kyoko Honda, née Katsunuma
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ReikoYasuhara (2001 Series), Creator/MiyukiSawashiro (2019 Series) (JP), Julie Mayfield (2001 Series), Creator/LydiaMackay (2019 Series) (EN)

[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kyoko_honda_2019.png]]

Tohru's mother, who died from being hit by a car a few months before the story begins. Despite her rough past as a former gang member and losing her husband Katsuya to illness, she still did her best to be a good mother to Tohru, and much of Tohru's worldview was shaped by Kyoko's wisdom.
----
* AdultFear:
** A flashback reveals a pregnant Kyoko terrified that her relationship with Tohru would go the way of hers with her own mother.
** Also, when little Tohru got lost, Kyouko went ''ballistic'' on the police because it was very hard to find her.
* AffectionateNickname: Her husband affectionally called her "Miss No Eyebrows".
* AlliterativeName: Prior to marrying Katsuya, her name was '''K'''yoko '''K'''atsunuma.
* AnticlimacticParent: When Arisa first met Tohru, she's a gang member who admires Tohru's mother who was once a ruthless gang leader. She goes to Tohru's home to meet Kyoko and finds out she's a devoted and loving mother, to her major disappointment.
* BrokenBird: Being rejected by her egocentric parents made Kyoko hate the entire world and she took her anger out on those around her. Katsuya was the one who healed her heart. Kyoko briefly slipped back into this trope after Katsuya suddenly died, but she fortunately recovered when she realized her daughter needed her to be strong. She then became the cheerful and emotionally mature mother in Tohru's memories.
* CryCute: During her first meeting with Katsuya, Kyoko yelled about how much she hated everyone for making her feel so lonely. When Katsuya pointed out she simply wanted to feel loved, Kyoko broke down in tears. Katsuya later confessed that he fell in love with her when he saw her crying because she could express her sadness in a way he couldn't.
* DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: Tohru has nothing but fond memories of her. Arisa and Saki both also see her in a good light and remember her fondly as well.
* DiedHappilyEverAfter: [[spoiler:After entrusting Tohru's happiness to Kyo, Kyoko dies from her wounds and her spirit is greeted by her husband in the afterlife.]]
* DistaffCounterpart: Kyoko is essentially a female adult version of Kyo post-CharacterDevelopment. Even her name is a female equivalent of Kyo.
* DotingParent: Despite being a single mother who didn't have much of an income, Kyoko is still shown to have doted on Tohru and tried to make her as happy as she could. She would frequently hug Tohru while proclaiming how cute she was, and wasn't shy about bragging about her to Uotani.
* DyingDeclarationOfHate: {{Subverted|Trope}}. [[spoiler:Tohru's mother Kyoko tells Kyo, "I'll never forgive you," as she lies dying after being hit by a car that he could have saved her from but didn't due to fear of revealing his curse. A later flashback reveals Kyoko's intended last words were, "If you don't protect Tohru, I'll never forgive you." Unfortunately, because she was heavily injured and on the verge of death, she wasn't able to speak clearly and only got the second half out.]]
* ExcessiveMourning: Kyoko's despair over her husband's sudden death made her nearly forget about her young daughter who still needed her badly. Fortunately, she snapped out of it right before taking her own life and dedicated the rest of her life to taking care of Tohru with all the love in the world.
* FamousLastWords: "I will never forgive you". As she looked at him while saying this, Kyo interpreted this as her cursing him for not saving her despite being able to and developed a guilt for the rest of his life. [[spoiler:In fact, Kyoko actually meant to say along the lines of "I will never forgive you if you do not your keep your promise to protect Tohru". Alas, her death throes prevented her from saying this in full.]]
* FieryRedhead: It's pointed out early on that Kyoko had orange hair, like Kyo. Turns out that she also had a loud and destructive behavior very similar to Kyo's when she was a teenager, but grew out of it after getting married.
* FormerTeenRebel: In her teenage years, she was part of a gang where she engaged in delinquent behavior to cope with having unloving parents. She turned her life around after she met and fell in love with Katsuya, going on to become the saintly mother of Tohru. Her rebellious past is the reason why no one in Katsuya's family (except for his father) ever accepted her and Tohru.
* HappilyFailedSuicide: After Katsuya dies and the rest of her family abandons her, she decides to throw herself into the sea. Hearing a mother and child talking reminds her of Tohru and snaps her back from the brink, and after that she vows never to abandon Tohru again, considering the attempted suicide [[MyGreatestFailure her greatest failure]].
* HatesBeingAlone: Her parents never gave her positive attention and outright told her nobody needed her. The young Kyoko claimed that she hated everyone in the world, but Katsuya immediately knew what she really hated was the feeling of loneliness.
* HatesWearingDresses: When she got married to Katsuya, the one thing she wasn't happy about was the idea of wearing a wedding dress.
* HerHeartWillGoOn: When her husband passed away, Kyoko became so depressed that she almost killed herself, but she realized if she died, Tohru would have been left all alone. She spent the rest of her life raising Tohru with the best disposition possible, which is why her daughter greatly admires her strength and kindness.
* IJustWantToBeLoved: In her youth, having incredibly self-centered parents made Kyoko desperate for someone who would make her feel loved and needed. Katsuya gave her that and even after he died, Kyoko understood she still had a daughter to take care of.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: She was friends with a young Kyo enough for her to share the story of her life.
* InterruptedSuicide: An accidental example. After Katsuya's death, she was prepared to drown herself in the sea to rejoin him. Then she saw a mother and her young son passing by and Kyoko realized that if she were to die, Tohru would be left completely alone. She changed her mind, returned home, and became Tohru's saintlike mother as we know today.
* JerkassRealization: When she got pregnant with Tohru, Kyoko began to worry about being such a bad mother that her child would wish she had never been born. Kyoko is stunned when she realizes she said that awful thing to her own parents and now she knows how terribly she would feel if her child said that to her.
* LoveRedeems: Katsuya treating her with the love and understanding no one ever gave her before made Kyoko quit the life of a delinquent and her personality greatly improved thanks to his influence.
* MarriedTooYoung: She got married to the significantly older Katsuya right after finishing middle school. This is one of the reasons why their marriage was frowned upon by her husband's family.
* MissingMom: Her mother was emotionally distant with her, and after Katsuya died she was so suicidally depressed that she neglected Tohru for a long while, and ''almost'' left her to commit suicide.
* MiseryBuildsCharacter: She firmly believed this, as seen when she told Uotani that often people can't mature and become emotionally strong until they have expressed lots of pain and hardships. Kyoko herself went through a lot, mainly being disowned by her parents and losing her husband, and it nearly broke her, but because she still had a daughter to take care of, she knew how to turn her bad experiences into wisdom. As a result, Kyoko became the most emotionally intelligent and strong-willed character in the series.
* TheMourningAfter: She stayed loyal to her late husband up to her own death.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: She was appalled at herself when she snapped out of her suicidal grief over losing her husband at the last minute, realizing that she was about to abandon her little daughter and made her feel neglected like Kyoko's own awful parents did to her.
* NoBrows: When she was a teenager, Katsuya liked to tease Kyoko about her thin eyebrows, which lead her to use eyeliners.
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: She tries to leave the gang she was a part of and clean up her act; as a result, said gang puts her in the hospital, and when she gets out, she loses her chance of getting into high school and is disowned by her AbusiveParents.
* OpenMindedParent: Knowing she wanted her child to grow up happy was pretty much her mindset throughout her years as Tohru's mother. The only thing she really wanted Tohru to do for her was to graduate high school, since she never went to high school herself.
* ParentalNeglect When Katsuya died, Kyoko had an emotional breakdown and started neglecting Tohru for a while. Thankfully, she snapped out of it before any lasting harm could be done, but she regards it as MyGreatestFailure.
* ParentalSubstitute: Besides being Tohru's actual mother, Kyoko took the role of a mother figure to her daughter's friend Uotani whose own mother abandoned her after a bad divorce. [[spoiler:She was also motherly towards Kyo during the short time they knew each other in his childhood.]]
* PeekABangs: Her right eye is usually covered by her hair in the second anime series.
* PlotTriggeringDeath: Kyoko's death essentially kicks off the whole plot, since many of the story's events would never have happened otherwise.
* PosthumousCharacter: She was killed in a road accident a few months before the story starts.
* RebuiltPedestal: When she was in a gang, Arisa idolized Kyoko as the infamous "Red Butterfly", but when she went to meet her, she was disgusted to learn she'd become a loving mother to a NiceGirl like Tohru. However, Kyoko eventually helped her see that her anger was misplaced and gang life isn't the answer, and helped her turn her life around. Then Arisa idolized her for real.
* RedBaron: She was known as "The Red Butterfly" during her delinquent days, since the image of the red taillight on her bicycle was said to resemble a flitting butterfly as she rode it.
* RetiredBadass: As Arisa's origin story shows us, she still possessed the skills she learned during her delinquent years while saving Arisa from being attacked by her gang members.
* ShadingColourDissonance: Kyoko's hair color is orange, just like Kyo. However, in the manga, Kyo's hair is given a grayscale shading while Kyoko's hair has no shading, making it easy to imagine her as a blonde like Uotani instead.
* ShipperOnDeck: [[spoiler:She was the very first [=TohruxKyo=] supporter. The reason why Kyo is so protective of Tohru from the beginning is because Kyoko often talked to the little Kyo about how wonderful her daughter is. Kyoko even spent her final moments hoping that Kyo would love Tohru a lot after she was gone. Thankfully, Kyoko's dying wish came true.]]
* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Katsuya giving her the love and care her parents denied her was the reason why she was deeply in love with him.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: She's dead by the time the story starts and only appears in flashbacks, but Tohru's entire outlook in life, and by extension her resolve to help the Sohma through kindness, is rooted in her mother's loving upbringing.
* SourOutsideSadInside: In her delinquent days, she acted out because she was so lonely and unhappy. Katsuya was the first person to recognize this, and helped her grow out of it.
* StrugglingSingleMother: {{Subverted|Trope}}. She was a young mother who was tragically widowed when her daughter was a toddler. Despite facing problems in earning enough income to maintain herself and Tohru, Kyoko was truly happy with raising her daughter because it gave her someone to love. She never once complained about anything no matter how much she had to work.
* TakeCareOfTheKids: [[spoiler:What she really meant to say to Kyo in her final moments was that she expected him to protect and love Tohru in her place and wouldn't forgive him if he didn't keep his promise.]]
* TameHerAnger: When she was a teenager, she was constantly angry and engaged in violence to discharge her negative emotions. Thanks to Katsuya, she learned to control her temper to the point she was always calm and happy as an adult.
* TeenPregnancy: She was only fifteen or sixteen years old when she gave birth to Tohru.Unlike most examples, she was in a stable relationship at the time.
* TookALevelInCheerfulness: As a teenager, she was depressed, grumpy and desperately lonely. As an adult, she was lively, optimistic and always smiling.
* TookALevelInKindness: Kyoko wasn't always the gentle mother Tohru remembers. In her teenage years, Kyoko was abrasive, ill-tempered and violent. She only started to change thanks to Katsuya's influence.
* {{Tsundere}}: She was a Harsh type as a teenager. She had a bad temper and was prone to violence, but Katsuya could easily calm her down and make her embarrassed with his teasing.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Her last words to Kyo end up [[spoiler:preventing him from acting up on his feelings for Tohru and to reject her when she confesses. The latter indirectly contributes to Tohru's landslide accident]].
* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Although she dies still as a young woman, she has a great deal of kindness and patience with struggling people-- most of it earned [[MiseryBuildsCharacter the hard way]]. After her death, Tohru relies on her mother's wisdom greatly.
* YamatoNadeshiko: After marrying Katsuya, she is happy to be a loving mother and HouseWife and finally experience living in a happy family... and then, in Uotani's backstory, we see that she [[MamaBear beats the tar out of a group of]] delinquents to save Arisa. In [[spoiler: Yuki]]'s flashback to when little Tohru went missing, we also see her threaten to "rain death upon [the police's] miserable souls" if they don't find her baby. That's the kind of inner iron that separates the pushover ExtremeDoormat HouseWife from YamatoNadeshiko.
* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Katsuya's belief that she was more than just a violent delinquent helped her become just that. Likewise, her assertion that he was much nicer than he gave himself credit for helped him open up too.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Katsuya Honda]]

Tohru's father.
----
* AffectionateNickname: Calls Kyoko "Ms. No-Eyebrows" because it was her "look" early on--even after she lets her brows grow out, he sticks with the name.
* BigBrotherMentor: He was this to Kyoko, before they fell in love.
* BirdsOfAFeather: It's eventually revealed that Katsuya was secretly lonely and unhappy with his life just like Kyoko was, and he also came from a cold and distant family, so they found solace together.
%%* {{Bishonen}}
* DefrostingIceKing: Flashbacks reveal that while he was an extremely polite speaker, Katsuya was very cold and distant with everyone before he met Kyoko. Falling in love with her helped defrost him.
* DisappearedDad: Died of a flu when Tohru was a toddler.
* HotTeacher: He was Kyoko's student teacher when they met, but he ultimately decided that it wasn't for him. It's implied that falling in love with Kyoko was part of the reason he decided not to become a teacher.
* DeathByIrony: A pharmaceutical company employee died of a badly-treated cold.
* IncurableCoughOfDeath: Katsuya died of a badly-treated flu.
* {{Keigo}}: He's said to have been an extremely polite speaker.
* LetsHaveAnotherBaby: His last conversation with Kyoko before he died had him asking her to help him give Tohru a younger sibling.
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: He made Kyoko confront her demons and gave her a reason to live happily by marrying her. Losing him drove her to suicidal despair and she only snapped out of it after remembering she still had the daughter Katsuya left her to raise and love.
* LoveRedeems: Twice. He and his father didn't start getting along until his mother died of an illness and they subsequently turned to each other for support. His father thanks Kyoko for the second time love changes Katsuya, noting that Katsuya hardly showed interest in anyone or anything in his daily life and he didn't think he'd see Katsuya living a genuinely happy life with the experience of having his own family.
* NiceGuy: Not actually a straight-up example of him at first when he's introduced as polite but reserved until meeting Kyoko which he then becomes much happier around her, had the guts to call out on her callous parents for disowning her for being a 'delinquent' and genuinely loves Tohru until his death.
* OneHeadTaller: He topped Kyoko's height by a full head, emphasizing the age difference between them.
* ReasonYouSuckSpeech: Gives a swift but fantastic one to Kyoko's AbusiveParents when they disowned her for daring to need help after she got beaten up badly enough to be hospitalized (because she was trying to quit her gang and turn her life around).
* TheStoic: Flashbacks reveal that one of the reasons he fell for Kyoko was because she was able to express her emotions so openly and honestly, while he'd suppressed his emotions for so long he no longer knew ''how'' to express them. Falling for Kyoko and parenting Tohru helped bring out his warmer, loving side.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: When he first met Kyoko, he was polite but cold and reserved around everyone but her. Their marriage helped him grow past this, to the point that his father was delighted to see him so openly and honestly in love, and happy with his family.
* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Kyoko and Katsuya both had this opinion of each other. He saw her as more than just a violent delinquent, and she thought he was much nicer than he gave himself credit for. They both grew from each other's mutual love and support.
* YoureInsane: Kyoko's father's reaction when he told him he wanted to marry Kyoko.
[[/folder]]

!The Student Council

[[folder:Machi Kuragi]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YukiKaida (CD dramas), Creator/AiKakuma (2019 Series) (JP), Creator/CaitlinGlass (EN)

The student council treasurer during Yuki's presidency. She is Hatsuharu and Momiji's classmate, and Kakeru's half-sister.
----
* AdaptationDyeJob: Machi's hair is dark brown in the manga and dark gray hair in the 2019 anime.
* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: She makes an EarlyBirdCameo in the first season finale of the 2019 anime when Yuki passes her in the stairs at school.
* {{Adorkable}}: She chases Yuki all around the school one day just because she saw him. Why? Just to say hi, dammit!
* AmbiguousDisorder: She initially has no friends aside from her half-brother, has dangerously low self-esteem, and trouble communicating with people in general. She also feels compelled to ruin things whenever they're too "perfect", either methodically or in fits of violence. While this could be due to some kind of disorder, her flashbacks reveal that it's mainly because of all the stress she accumulated from being pushed to be perfect by her parents.
* BetaCouple: She gradually forms one with Yuki soon after her introduction. Since Machi doesn't know about the Zodiac curse, the relationship between Yuki and Machi develops about as any normal high school romance. This is a sharp contrast to all the drama surrounding the romance of Tohru and Kyo.
* BrokenBird: She was forced by her mother into a bitter inheritance rivalry with her illegitimate half-brother, the result being that Machi became quiet, removed from society, and disdainful of anything she considers "perfect".
* BirdsOfAFeather: With [[spoiler:Yuki]], due to their AbusiveParents and being pushed towards perfection.
* FriendlessBackground: She doesn't interact much with anyone aside from her half-brother.
* HeirClubForMen: Machi's mother decided to make her second child the potential heir of the family fortune only because he's a boy and despite Machi being the first-born legitimate child of her parents.
* ICantBelieveAGuyLikeYouWouldNoticeMe: To [[spoiler:Yuki]].
* {{Irony}}: She was introduced as the girl who had the least interest in Yuki [[spoiler:to falling in love with him, and the only girl he truely falls in love with]].
* MinorLivingAlone: Machi is forced to live by herself because her parents threw her out of the house after they mistook her putting a blanket on her baby brother with her trying to smother him.
* NotEvilJustMisunderstood: All Machi wanted to do was make sure her baby brother stayed warm while he slept. Her parents came in and assumed she was trying to smother him with a blanket.
* TheQuietOne: She hardly talks directly to anyone but her half-brother and later, Yuki.
* ShadingColourDissonance: Machi has dark brown hair, but its lack of shading in the manga suggests a much lighter hair color.
* SiblingYinYang: With Kakeru, even though they are only half siblings.
* TrophyChild: Her mother only wanted to use Machi to inherit the fortune of her husband by forcing her to be a better successor than her illegitimate half-brother. After her mother gave birth to a son, she pretty much forgot about Machi just because a daughter is less likely to be chosen as the family heir.
* {{Tsundere}}: She becomes easily irritated and embarrassed around Yuki even though it's so obvious that she's falling for him. It's understandable because the way her AbusiveMom treated her left Machi with great difficulty at expressing herself honestly.
* TheUnfavourite: Her mother openly tells a friend that Machi is "dull" and that she prefers her new baby boy because a male heir has better chances at getting the fortune of her husband.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kakeru Manabe]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KenichiSuzumura (CD dramas), Creator/TakuyaEguchi (2019 Series) (JP), Creator/AaronDismuke (EN)

Vice president of the student council during Yuki's presidency. He is Machi's older half-brother.
----
* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: He, along with Machi, gets an EarlyBirdCameo in the first season finale of the 2019 anime, where he catches a glimpse of Yuki walking with Tohru at the school.
* ACertainPointOfView: [[spoiler:In his point of view, Komaki also lost her parent in the same incident that killed Kyoko and he thinks that Tohru is being self-centered when she openly grieved for her mother, unaware that Tohru is essentially orphaned with Kyoko's passing]].
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Kakeru teases his girlfriend a lot, but they really do love each other.
%%* {{Bishonen}}
* HeroicBastard: He's the son of his father's mistress.
* HeyYou: Claims this is one of his nicknames.
* HiddenDepths: His headstrong approach to his daily life continually wears out Yuki and most everyone around him, but the quiet moments between him and Yuki show that he's capable of being empathetic as a friend to Yuki and brother to Machi. [[spoiler:He also feels incredible guilt towards what he said to Tohru at her mother's funeral years ago, and it weighs on his mind until he and Tohru talk about it]].
* JerkassRealization: He gets hit by this in response to the KickTheDog moment below, especially after [[spoiler: Komaki threatened to dump him in disgust, and it weighs on his mind for years afterwards.]]
* KickTheDog: He had the gall to [[spoiler: tell Tohru to her face, ''right in the middle of her mother's funeral'', that she wasn't the only one who lost a parent in the accident and [[QuitYourWhining that she was whiny and disgusting for openly grieving]]. Komaki was so furious with him when she found out that she nearly broke up with him.]]
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Manabe may act like the local joker most of the time, but he also show signs to be much more observant than he lets on.
* QuitYourWhining: As established under KickTheDog above, [[spoiler: he told Tohru to her face that she wasn't the only one to lose a parent in the accident and she was whiny and disgusting for openly grieving over it.]]
%%* SiblingYinYang: With Machi.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kimi Todou]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YukariTamura (CD dramas)

One of the student council secretaries during Yuki's presidency.
----
* AttentionWhore: For men, at least.
* BrainlessBeauty: Admits to it, and is completely unbothered by it.
* {{Kawaiiko}}
* GoldDigger: A rare good-hearted version, as she doesn't use the gifts she gets for her own benefit but for the council's.
* InsultBackfire: In middle school, some female bullies tried to shame her into humility by calling her a BrainlessBeauty who could [[GoldDigger only get by on her looks]]. Kimi thought that was a brilliant idea, and Yuki secretly muses that her former bullies are probably still kicking themselves for giving her the idea to this day.
* LovableAlphaBitch: Cute, vain, spoiled, popular with the boys, and [[KickTheSonOfABitch intentionally antagonizes the Prince Yuki Fanclub]] but is otherwise pretty harmless to everyone else.
* PluckyComicRelief: WordOfGod is that Kimi was a character specifically created to have absolutely no connection to the dramatic parts of the story. Specifically, [[BigScrewedUpFamily the Sohma Family]].
* YourCheatingHeart: She dates lots of guys, whether or not they have girlfriends.
* ThirdPersonPerson: Does not refer to herself by a Japanese honorific.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Naohito Sakuragi]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JunFukuyama (CD dramas)

One of the student council secretaries during Yuki's presidency. He considers Yuki his rival, as he crushes on the president of Yuki's fan club, Motoko Minagawa.
----
%%* ChewToy
%%* TheComicallySerious
* CrazyJealousGuy: He was envious of Yuki for being the object of interest of Motoko's heart and isn't pleasant with him as a result.
* HairTriggerTemper: He's generally annoyed by default, so it doesn't take much to get him screaming.
* HopelessSuitor: He has a crush on Motoko, who similarly has an unrequited crush on Yuki.
* TheNapoleon: And it doesn't help that Manabe's nickname for him is "Chibisuke."
* OnlySaneMan: In his eyes, at least.
* OutnumberedSibling: Has two older sisters.
* PerpetualFrowner: Never seen smiling.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Prince Yuki's Fanclub (Minami Kinoshita, Mio Yamagishi, Mai Gotou, and Rika Aida)]]
->'''Minami voiced by:''' Hiromi Asai (2001 anime), Creator/ShizukaIshigami (2019 anime) (JP), Libby Smith (2001 anime), Creator/NatalieHoover (2019 anime) (EN)
->'''Mio voiced by:''' Yuuki Kajita (2001 anime) (JP), Kasey Buckley (2001 anime), Creator/EmilyNeves (2019 anime) (EN)
->'''Mai voiced by:''' Kaoru Suzuki (2001 anime) (JP), Meredith [=McCoy=] (2001 anime), Kristen [=McGuire=] (2019 anime) (EN)
->'''Rika voiced by:''' Miwa Matsumoto (2001 anime), Chika Anzai (2019 anime) (JP), Elise Baughman (2001 anime), Creator/AmberLeeConnors (2019 anime) (EN)

A group of girls devoted to adoring Yuki Sohma and keeping him single.
----
* BetaBitch: Minami, serving as the Vice President and thus one level below Motoko.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Minami, Mio, and Mai were interchangeable from one another in the 2001 anime during their early appearances. It was around their ADayInTheLimelight episode where they were given names and distinctions between their personalities began to show. Minami and Mio tend to squabble between one another with Minami taking the lead whenever Motoko wasn't around, while Mai was sort of a harmless CloudCuckoolander who didn't seem to have any genuine ill will towards Tohru other than being jealous of her hanging around Yuki.
* ClingyJealousGirl: If you're a girl and you're anywhere near Yuki, then be ready to be jumped by these girls.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: When Motoko is about to graduate, Minami is all set to take over leadership of the fanclub next year, while Mio comments that she'll take over after ''her''. The author notes in an aside that she still hasn't realized ''Yuki's'' going to be gone, too.
%%* GirlPosse
* HarmlessVillain: They constantly plot against Tohru, but they're never really able to carry out any of their harassment, since they're terrified of Arisa and Saki. They also try it on Kimi but she just blows them off. Machi has a little more trouble with them until Kakeru and Yuki intervene.
* MurderTheHypotenuse: Their attitude towards whoever they perceive as a threat to Yuki: Tohru and later Kimi, specifically.
* RomanticRunnerUp: All of them, for Yuki, who has zero interest in them.
* SpoiledBrat: All of them are so attracted to Yuki, that they enjoy bothering other in his life.
* StalkerWithACrush: Definitely. In one of her spacier moments, Mai is appalled at Rika Aida not properly utilizing her lock picking skills... because they could use them to ''sneak into Yuki's house''.
* TokenGoodTeammate: In the 2001 anime, Mai Gotou seemed to become the least offensive of the group while still showing jealousy towards Tohru for hanging around Yuki. She at one point even cheerfully waves goodbye to Tohru's group as Mokoto starts screaming at Hana for Megumi possibly placing a curse on them.
%%* UnwantedHarem: To Yuki.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Motoko Minagawa]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KaoriShimizu (2001 anime), Creator/MaoIchimichi (2019 anime) (JP), Creator/JamieMarchi (EN)

The president of the Prince Yuki Fan Club and Yuki's senpai.
----
* AdaptationDyeJob: In the 2001 anime, she has reddish brown hair in contrast to the manga and 2019 anime's charcoal.
* AlphaBitch: The leader of the group who hates the kindhearted Tohru and plans to be rid of her.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Maybe the reason why she's hooked on Yuki so much.
* CannotSpitItOut: For all her jealousy and entitlement, Motoko is too cowardly to tell Yuki how she feels about him. [[spoiler:She finally confesses to him on her graduation day.]]
* TheChewToy: Her attempts at bullying Tohru always fail and Motoko ends up being scared shitless by Hanajima.
* ClingyJealousGirl: She gets jealous over any girl giving Yuki attention. She gets better later, though.
%%* CryCute
* EmotionallyTongueTied: She stutters a lot and talks very fast around Yuki.
* EntitledToHaveYou: Motoko and her GirlPosse act as if Tohru has stolen Yuki away from them when they don't even have the courage to approach him and express their feelings for him. Basically, Motoko objectifies Yuki and pretends that he doesn't have the right to favor someone else for no reason other than her having a crush on him. Megumi calls her out on this behavior and tells her that just because she likes Yuki a lot that doesn't mean he owns her to not like someone else by his own choice.
* LovingAShadow: Like the rest of Yuki's fangirls, Motoko is smitten with the PrinceCharming she imagines Yuki to be. She isn't brave enough to even have an actual conversation with the real him.
* HairDecorations: Two butterfly bows.
* {{Hypocrite}}: She makes a passionate, jealousy-fueled outburst telling Tohru (who was not even present) to stay away from Yuki. She leaves to clear her head and [[HeelRealization realizes that the selfish fangirls she despises who want Yuki all to themselves]] [[YouAreWhatYouHate have negative qualities that she sees in herself]].
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: The anime shows in her ADayInTheLimelight episode that, beneath her haughty attitude, she doesn't view herself as special or interesting and focuses all her energy on Yuki. She tearfully breaks down when she shows Yuki her "ugly" side, mentioning that she hates herself.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: [[spoiler:She decides to let Yuki go after she confesses to him on her graduation day.]]
* LargeHam: And is passionate about it.
* RapunzelHair: She has hip-length hair.
* SatelliteCharacter: She has a big crush on Yuki and is jealous of Tohru for being so close to him. There's nothing else you need to know about Motoko.
* ShadingColourDissonance: Motoko's canon hair color is charcoal, as seen in the second anime. The manga uses a much lighter shade for her hair, so the first anime mistook it for light brown.
* SingleGirlSeeksMostPopularGuy: She leads the Prince Yuki fan club, dedicated to worshipping Yuki as the prettiest and most charming guy at their high school.
* SomethingAboutARose: Often appear in the background when she's talking.
* SpoiledBrat: Obviously the most spoiled of the whole fan club.
* ZettaiRyouiki: She wears black thigh-high stockings with her school uniform, which leaves a small fraction of her legs bare.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Makoto Takei]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YujiUeda (2001 series), Creator/JunFukushima (2019 series) (JP), Creator/KyleHebert (EN)

The former StudentCouncilPresident.
----
* AbhorrentAdmirer: Is head over heels for Yuki, much to the latter's dismay.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's obnoxious and full of himself, but he's not a ''bad'' guy by any stretch of the imagination.
* LargeHam: It's incredibly rare to see him not bellowing dramatically about something.
* OpaqueNerdGlasses: His eyes are never seen through his glasses.
* {{Pride}}: Something Haru calls him out on--he's a bit too obsessed with enforcing the rules and generally has a "my way or the high way" attitude.
* ScaryShinyGlasses: His glasses are ''always'' like this, to the point that his eyes are almost never visible.
* SingleTargetSexuality: He only has eyes for Yuki. [[spoiler:Somewhat creepily, this ends up extending to Yuki's ''son'' when he first meets him.]]
* StraightGay: He's as enamored with Yuki as the female students are, and even gets into a fight with Motoko about it, but he shows no "camp" or stereotypical qualities.
* StudentCouncilPresident: And a particularly obnoxious one too, considering how strict and arrogant he is.
[[/folder]]

!Other characters

[[folder:Komaki Nakao]]

Kakeru's girlfriend.
----
* DisappearedDad: Who died in a car crash. [[spoiler: And he actually was the driver who killed Kyoko, by accidentally hitting her with his car before crashing and perishing. He might have had a heart attack at the steering wheel, even.]]
%%* GenkiGirl
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Meat!
* {{Tsundere}}: Lightly, to Kakeru. With an attitude like his, can you blame her?
* WhatTheHellHero: [[spoiler: To Kakeru, who told Tohru ''[[KickTheDog during Kyoko's funeral]]'' that she wasn't the only one who had lost a parent in the accident and [[QuitYourWhining that she was whiny and disgusting for openly grieving.]] Komaki was ''very'' pissed off when she found out and almost broke up with him, forcing him to apologize.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mine Kuramae]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Miki Takahashi (JP), Amber Cotton (EN)

A clothing designer who works in Ayame's store.
----
%%* {{Adorkable}}
* CosplayOtakuGirl: Is passionate with making clothes for cosplay.
* ElegantGothicLolita: Loves the style and in the 2019 reboot, she has a gothic lolita styled umbrella.
* EarlyBirdCameo: She appears in the second opening of the 2019 reboot as the woman standing next to Ayame behind the gothic lolita umbrella.
* FashionDesigner: She works at Ayame Soma's clothing store as a designer and seamstress.
* GirlishPigtails: She keeps her hair in two braids.
* {{Meganekko}}: She wears glasses and is quite cute.
* {{Meido}}: One of the many things she wore is a maid uniform.
* NiceGirl: She's a very friendly girl.
* OfficialCouple: She officially becomes Ayame's girlfriend.
* PerpetualSmiler: Very few scenes show her not smiling.
* SatelliteLoveInterest: Her only role in the story is being Ayame's perky girlfriend and she doesn't receive any CharacterDevelopment unlike the other characters in a relationship.
* SecretKeeper: Implied to have known about the curse, though not explicitly stated. During a somber conversation with Ayame, Yuki asks Ayame if Mine knows about the curse, and Ayame not-so-subtly (Yuki even lampshades it) changes the topic of conversation to something else. Yuki notes that he wouldn't be surprised if Mine did know - because he doesn't think that Ayame would have been capable of keeping it a secret from her for so long.
* TenderTears: She cries [[spoiler:when the newly-released Ayame is finally able to hug her in the manga.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mayuko Shiraki]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/HitomiNabatame (JP), Anastasia Munoz (EN)

Tohru, Arisa, Saki, Yuki, and Kyo's homeroom teacher.
----
* ACupAngst: When Hatori suggests going to the beach together very late in the manga, she angsts briefly about wearing a swim suit.
* AdaptedOut: The first anime version of the classroom teacher is male.
* CoolBigSis: Sometimes she seems more like this to her students than their teacher.
* EarlyBirdCameo: In the second anime, she appears at the end of episode 4 to tell Tohru about her grandpa's call.
* HeWillNotCrySoICryForHim: [[spoiler:For Hatori's sake.]]
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: She loved Hatori from the beginning, but she also was Kana's closest friend. She was a ShipperOnDeck [[MatchmakerCrush for him and Kana]], and was genuinely grief-stricken when it went to hell.
* SecondLove: [[spoiler:For Hatori. In fact, Mayu even felt guilty for "taking Kana's place" in his heart at first.]]
* SenseiChan: After some of her female students address her as Mayu-chan-sensei, she demands (jokingly) that they call her [[Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka Great Teacher]] Mayuko (some translated it as Mayuko-daisensei-sama). Despite this, she's actually more of a downplayed example of this trope, acting more like a usually-stern CoolBigSis towards her students than an immature {{Womanchild}} like most examples.
* SternTeacher: But also CoolTeacher.
* TheStoic: In front of her students, which makes sense considering their antics, but...
** NotSoStoic: ...when it comes to dealing with [[ManipulativeBastard Shigure]] and [[SecondLove Hatori]], she spazzes quite a bit.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mitsuru]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AkemiOkamura (2001 series), Creator/ChinatsuAkasaki (2019 series) (JP), Creator/CynthiaCranz (EN)

Shigure's editor.
----
* AdaptationDyeJob: Her hair is brown in the 2001 series, but a light gray in the 2019 reboot.
* AdaptationExpansion: The 2019 anime gives her a bit more of a presence by adding screentime with Mitsuru bonding with Ritsu before they start dating.
* BeleagueredAssistant: Well, editor, but Shigure still drives the poor woman crazy.
* BirdsOfAFeather: She and her boyfriend Ritsu are both overly emotional people with anxiety problems and prone to panic over small things, which causes them to have low self-esteem.
* ButtMonkey: She's the biggest victim of Shigure's {{Troll}}ing. About all her appearances have Shigure driving her crazy by acting flaky, to the point she's on verge of killing herself.
* HystericalWoman: She acts like it's the end of the world whenever it looks like Shigure isn't going to have his manuscript ready on time.
* ProneToTears: She's so emotional that it doesn't take much for Shigure to make her cry by messing with her a little.
* SuicideAsComedy: When Tohru meets her, she's on the verge of killing herself with a box cutter because Shigure has run off without meeting his deadlines again. Later, we see her writing a suicide note to her parents for the exact same reason. Shigure thinks it's funny.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tohru's paternal grandfather]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Hiroshi Masuoka (JP), Brice Armstrong (2001 anime), Doug Jackson (2019 anime) (EN)

----
* AccidentalMisnaming: He typically calls Tohru "Kyoko-san" after Kyoko's death. While at first it seems like it's due to being a ScatterbrainedSenior, he's actually doing it on purpose since he wants to let Tohru know that there's at least one other person besides her who remembers Kyoko after her death.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: He's quiet flighty. To say the least. PlayedWith though, as he isn't as flighty as he seems at times.
* GoodParents: To Katsuya and later Kyoko when she becomes a part of Katsuya's life. He later becomes the best grandparent he can be to Tohru, even if that means letting her live with another family since he knows his own family won't treat her well.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: Subverted. He begins habitually calling Tohru "Kyoko-san" after Kyoko passes away, which everyone seems to write off as a result of his age, but Kyo points out that it's a bit insensitive for him to do so. Then Tohru's grandfather admits he's aware he does it, and says that he started doing it because after Kyoko's funeral, it looked like Tohru was going to fall apart if there wasn't some sort of reminder every so often that her mother was once alive and that other people think of her as well.
** Played straight when he throws his back out and Tohru comes to visit him. He's reminiscing about Katsuya and Kyoko, telling Tohru that it would be nice to see them again, even as ghosts, before he died. What he doesn't know is that the phrase "I want to see them again," triggers a painful memory for Tohru - one where after Katsuya's death, Kyoko left her alone in the house to wander aimlessly without thinking of Tohru.
* LoveRedeems: When his son was alive, their relationship suffered from a strain. When his wife passed away, he changed and became the kind-hearted man Tohru knew.
* MiniatureSeniorCitizens
* NiceGuy: He was the only person in the Honda family who didn't ostracize Kyoko, and later he remains kind to Tohru even when all of her other relatives treat her like crap.
* NoNameGiven: We never get to know what his given name is.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: As Katsuya says in a flashback, "He's lost his edge." However, there are infrequent instances in the manga that suggest he's capable of being just as disagreeable as his son was, but doesn't act on it until he feels he needs to.
* PapaWolf: Do not make any crude comments about his granddaughter. Even if you're family, he ''will'' hit you.
* ScatterbrainedSenior: Subverted; his odd behavior makes him seem as though his mind is declining from old age, but it's later made clear that much of this is ObfuscatingStupidity.
* YourFavorite: The food which he brings to Kyoko's grave.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mr. Uotani]]
!!!Voiced by: Masashi Nogawa (JP), Josh Martin (EN)
Arisa's father and a recovering alcoholic.
----
* AlcoholicParent: Until a few years ago, he tried to [[DrowningMySorrows drink his sorrows away]] because of his wife running off with another man. Arisa has been helping him with his recovery.
* ParentalNeglect: After his wife left him, he would spend all day drinking and blankly staring at the TV, never once even trying to look after Arisa. This was the cause of Arisa joining a gang to cope with her frustration at being unattended by her father.
* RecoveredAddict: Arisa somehow managed to get him out of his drinking habit, although she still needs to keep an eye on him in case he tries sipping a beer every once in a while.
* UnnamedParent: We never get to know his given name.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mr. and Mrs. Hanajima]]
!!!Saki's father is voiced by: Creator/HirofumiNojima (JP), Creator/ChristopherWehkamp (EN)
!!!Saki's mother is voiced by: Creator/YumiKakazu (JP), Jenny Ledel (EN)
Saki's parents.
----
* GoodParents: They are endlessly loving and supportive of Saki, especially when she was being bullied and ostracized.
* OpenMindedParent: They aren't bothered by Saki's PsychicPowers and did everything they could to help her through the problems her lack of control over her powers brought to her when she was growing up. Many of the Sohma parents should learn from them when it comes to raising a child born with a supernatural trait.
* ShadingColourDissonance: Their hair lacks any shading in the manga, which is odd given that both their kids have black hair. According to the 2019 anime, Saki and Megumi get their black hair from their father and their mother has brown hair.
* UnnamedParent: Their given names are never revealed.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mr. and Mrs. Katsunuma]]
Kyoko's parents who were callous and unloving to the point that they disowned Kyoko.
----
* AbusiveDad: The father treated Kyoko like dirt because she got herself in delinquent life, cruelly telling her the world doesn't need people like her.
* TheFaceless: Their faces are never drawn clearly in the manga.
* HateSink: They're yet another example of disgustingly bad parents in a series overloaded with those. It was their callous treatment what made Kyoko involve herself with gangs when she was a teenager.
* IHaveNoDaughter: Kyoko's father finally got sick of her after she was put in the hospital in her attempt to abandon her gang. The day Kyoko left the hospital, the father threw her out of the house while cruelly telling her to "never bother him again".
* {{Jerkass}}: They are unbelievably egocentric and heartless adults who care for nothing but their image.
* ParentalNeglect: They emotionally ignored Kyoko throughout her childhood. Kyoko said that they would never even eat at the table as a family.
* NeverMyFault: Both condemned Kyoko for choosing the life of a delinquent without any consideration of how badly it would make them look. Neither of them wanted to even consider that Kyoko's bad behavior was a direct result of their extremely neglectful treatment of her.
* SlaveToPR: The only reason why they complained about Kyoko joining a gang was that having a delinquent for a daughter was bad for their image in society.
* UnnamedParent: Like most parents in the series outside of Tohru's, Kyoko's parents are never named.
* UselessBystanderParent: While the father abused and later disowned Kyoko, the mother did nothing but fret and wonder how her daughter turned out so poorly and what would the neighbors think.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Sohma's Head Maid]]

An OldRetainer of the Sohma. She has been working with them for more than twenty years.
----
* AllThatGlitters and MagicFeather: [[spoiler: She gave an empty box to a very young Akito and told her it had her recently deceased father Akira's soul, in an attempt to help her cope.]]
* NoNameGiven: Her actual name is never mentioned.
* KimonoIsTraditional: She's always seen wearing a kimono, as a sign of her being a member of a very old-fashioned environment.
* OldRetainer: She has been working in the Sohma household for decades.
* ParentalSubstitute: Sorta, towards Akito. She's pretty much the only woman Akito gets along with.
* ShippingTorpedo: She opposed quite a bit to [[spoiler: her then fellow maid]] Ren and Akira's relationship.
* StatusQuoIsGod: As she tells Akito [[spoiler: after her HeelFaceTurn]], she's much too old now to be able to accept all this drastic new change into the strictly traditional Sohma family, even saying how she ''liked the old Akito'' better.
[[/folder]]

!Protagonist

[[folder:Tohru Honda]]
!!Tohru Honda
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/HirokoKonishi (Drama CD), Creator/YuiHorie (2001 series), Manaka Iwami (2019 series) (JP), Creator/LauraBailey (EN)

[[quoteright:125:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tohru_honda_2019.png]]

The heroine of the story, Tohru ends up in the Sohma household after her mother dies and she sets up tent on their property. She forges friendships with Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure, and eventually comes to befriend the rest of the Sohmas as well.

* AdaptationDyeJob: Has blue eyes in the anime as opposed to the brown ones of the manga. Averted with the 2019 reboot where she has the same brown eyes as her manga incarnation.
* {{Adorkable}}: She's a quirky & CuteClumsyGirl, and she manages to endear almost everyone around her because of her kindness.
* AllLovingHeroine: She loves ''everyone'', even ''Akito'', who is disliked by nearly the entire Sohma family, and does not hold grudges against anyone.
* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: Near the end of the manga, Kyo tries to push Tohru away by revealing that [[spoiler:he "killed" her mother by choosing to not save her from a speeding car out of fear of transforming if he did so]]. Kyo fully expects Tohru to hate him [[spoiler:as he believes the dying Kyoko did]]. Instead, Tohru proclaims with tears in her eyes that [[spoiler:even if her mother wouldn't forgive him,]] the only person she loves is Kyo.
* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:With Kyo. The epilogue shows their granddaughter.]]
* BadassPacifist: This non-ActionGirl teenager manages to [[spoiler: calm down Kyo when he reverts to his true form]] and then she also [[spoiler: speaks gently to Akito ''even when she's screaming and swinging a knife around'']].
** To add to the first point, [[spoiler: Kyo's true form is not only hideous and reeking of dead human flesh but also super strong and super agile. Kyo, in blind fear of being rejected by her, slashes her arm, which noticeably hurts her a lot. She ''does'' [[VomitDiscretionShot vomit]] at some point from the stench of rotten flesh.]].
** And to add to the second: [[spoiler: Akito is the God(dess) of the Zodiac. A terrifying mix of ManipulativeBitch, BrokenBird and {{Yandere}}, who is in [[VillainousBreakdown a state of complete terror and anger]] since the Jyuunishi are being released from the curse one by one, which she sees as them abandoning her... and it's her biggest fear coming true. So after stabbing Kureno, [[DespairEventHorizon Akito is at the lowest point of her whole life]], screaming and swinging the knife she used on him. And yet Tohru manages to not run away, and offer her kindness... which would eventually kickstart Akito's HeelFaceTurn]].
* BeYourself: A value that was instilled in her by Kyoko. She also encourages the Somas to embrace who they are. [[spoiler:Becomes horribly ironic when it's revealed that she was always trying to act like her dad to prevent her mom from leaving her again.]]
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Tohru may be nice and friendly, but she will not hesitate to protect her friends as Akito learned when she was pushed away from Yuki whom she threatened to lock up and torture for defying her.
* BlitheSpirit: Tohru's kind heart and endless compassion is what changes the cursed Sohmas for the better. This is {{lampshaded}} by Hiro who questions how can Tohru be so special that she makes everyone who meets her feel better about themselves. [[spoiler:At the end of the story, Tohru coming into the life of the Sohmas was what finally broke the curse.]]
* BookDumb: Though Tohru is quite emotionally intelligent and can be very insightful when it comes to people's feelings, she doesn't have very good grades and often needs help with studying.
* BrokenHero: Tohru lost her father at a very young age, her mother in her teens, and ended up living in a tent. Nevertheless, she is cheerful and bright — so much that other characters who want to help and provide moral support have to figure out on their own that she's in need of it.
* BrokenMessiah: Tohru obsessively sidelines her own needs and problems, ostensibly because she wants to take care of her friends, but really because she can't face her trauma. It's eventually revealed she has ''severely'' low self-esteem and an unhealthy inability to move on from her mother's death.
* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: She doesn't get scared of Kyo's aggressive behavior since she understands he's highly troubled. She approaches him with a lot of kindness and patience as he gradually opens up to her.
* BullyMagnet: As a young girl, she was frequently mocked by her kindergarten peers. In fact, the title of the series lampshades this trope: after the kids humiliate her during a game of [[TitleDrop Fruits Basket]] (essentially a version of "Duck Duck Goose" but with fruit names) by designating her as a rice ball instead of a fruit and never calling on her during the game, Tohru thinks "there's no place for me, a rice ball, in a fruits basket." Her experiences with being bullied are what later allow her to help Kisa through her own issues with school bullying.
* CareBearStare: Hiro ''thinks'' she can do this because she can love and tolerate the shit out of anyone.
* CloudCuckoolander: She can be this on occasion due to her naivete, but on the most part she's level headed.
* CoolBigSis: Towards Kisa; she encourages the younger girl to step out of her shell.
* CooldownHug: She uses this move frequently to comfort the Sohmas when they're experiencing something traumatic.
* CrashIntoHello: Kyo falls through the roof, shouts at Yuki, and then Tohru trips and falls on him.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: In the manga and 2019 anime, her hair and eyes are brown. This is subverted in the 2001 anime where she's given blue eyes instead.
* CuteClumsyGirl: Many of Kyo and Yuki's transformations are caused by Tohru falling into them.
* {{Determinator}}: One of Tohru's many mottos is to "never give up". As such, she continues to press on and on until she achieves the goals she has laid out for herself, including [[spoiler:breaking the Sohma family's curse.]]
* DontYouDarePityMe: Invoked; Tohru is warned by Kagura not to [[spoiler: claim she loves Kyo because she pities him]].
* ExtremeDoormat: Tohru tries to be so nice all the time that she won't ever assert herself and never says a word of complaint even if others treat her badly.
* FaceFault: Truly, out of ALL the characters, she makes the MOST face faults out of ANYONE. Makes sense though, being the normal person among a family of people who can transform into talking animals.
* FanOfUnderdog: She's easily the cat of the zodiac's biggest fan, making her the first person ever to like Kyo for his animal. She's not so much oblivious of his faults as understanding that there are some ''serious'' underlying causes. When she heard the legend of the zodiac as it's usually told she explicitly declared the cat her favorite for exactly this reason before she even met him.
* FeminineWomenCanCook: She learned to cook from a young age to help her mother. This is one of the qualities that make others say Tohru would make a good wife.
* FirstKiss: [[spoiler:With Kyo. Unfortunately she was unconscious and injured from falling down a cliff, so she doesn't remember when Kyo brings it up at their second kiss.]]
* GenderBlenderName: "Tohru" is more commonly a boy's name, but her father gave it to her to emphasize her femininity -- "like adding salt to something sweet to enhance the flavor", in his own words.
* GirlishPigtails: She sometimes wears her hair in pigtails or braids when she's not at school. Flashbacks show that she wore this hairstyle more often when she was in middle school.
* GrewASpine: Tohru has a bit of a problem with standing up for herself. Most of her CharacterDevelopment focuses on Tohru learning to speak up and make self-serving requests once in a while.
* GrowOldWithMe: With [[spoiler: Kyo. The epilogue shows them as a senior couple with grandchildren and still very much in love.]]
* HairDecorations: Usually has ribbons in her hair.
* HasTwoMommies: It's often joked that Uotani and Hanajima have been acting as Tohru's surrogate parents ever since Kyoko passed away.
* TheHeart: She becomes the moral center of the cursed Sohmas, listening to their problems and giving them emotional support to overcome their traumas.
* HeroesWantRedheads: She falls in love with the FieryRedhead Kyo.
* HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler: After Kureno tells her that he has no desire to see Arisa again as well as the truth about Akito, Tohru stays in the same spot for hours, until Hanajima comes to save her.]]
** In the first anime, [[spoiler:when she first discovers Kyo's [[OneWingedAngel True Form]]. Akito [[KickTheDog attempting to break her down further moments later]] had added to this trauma, and it took a very important crossroads in order to snap out of it]].
* HeroicSelfDeprecation: Has low self esteem hidden under [[ThePollyanna her eternal smile]].
* TheHeroine: The protagonist who is saving the Sohmas from themselves.
* HowDareYouDieOnMe: Towards the end of the series, it's revealed that [[spoiler:she resented her father for dying and causing grief to her mother.]]
* IdiotHair: In the reboot, some of her more airheaded moments give her one of these.
* InconvenientAttraction: When Tohru finds herself falling in love with Kyo, she feels guilty about it because her mother had always been the person she held the dearest and she fears she's demeaning her memory by placing a new person in her heart. Eventually, Tohru accepts that is fine for her to fall in love since she understands her mother would have surely wanted her to find her own happiness.
* TheIngenue: She has the pure innocence of a sweet child, never doubts people and any subtext goes over her head. This is considered both charming and alarming since the wrong kind of people can take advantage of her naivety.
* InnocentBlueEyes: In the first anime, her kindness and naivete are emphasized by her blue eyes.
* ItWasAGift: She keeps an old baseball cap that was given to her by a boy who helped her find her way home at a time she was lost. [[spoiler:The boy in question was Yuki, but the baseball cap originally belonged to Kyo.]]
* {{Keigo}}: Tohru's most notable quirk is how she always speaks very politely, even to people she's close to or in situations where it's unnecessary. One brief scene in the manga even has her sigh and then add "desu" out of habit. She does this deliberately since her father also had polite speech patterns, and since he died when she was three, it's one of the few things she remembers about him. [[spoiler:She also deliberately picked up these speech patterns as a way to keep Kyoko from leaving her, since she secretly resents Katsuya dying as Kyoko's grief made her neglect Tohru for a time and almost commit suicide.]]
* KindheartedCatLover: Ever since her mother told her the fate of the cat in the Chinese Zodiac origin story, her favorite animals have been cats. She is so fond of them that if the Year of the Cat existed then she would want to be born in it. It makes sense that she falls in love with Kyo.
* KindheartedSimpleton: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. Tohru is spacey and ''very'' naïve instead of outright stupid, even showing glimpses of wisdom from time to time. She makes up for what she lacks in smarts with her big heart.
* LikeParentLikeChild:
** Most of the Honda family believe Tohru will go the way of her mother because "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." They're wrong. Then again, [[spoiler:Tohru adopted what she could remember of her father's speech patterns to remind Kyoko of Katsuya after Kyoko's psychological breakdown, and we later learn that her grandfather's occasional calling her "Kyoko-san" was to remind her that her mother was loved by others so she wouldn't fall into the same rut, so perhaps there are some similarities between them]].
** Through most of the series we're told Tohru strongly resembles her father. [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed she's nothing like him; doesn't look like him, didn't inherit his personality. She only started talking like him hoping it would keep her mother from leaving her again.]]
** Tohru likes to [[CutenessProximity fawn over Kisa]], who she dotes on like a little sister. She likely got it from [[DotingParent Kyoko]], if flashbacks with her cuddling her daughter are anything to go by.
* LikeParentLikeSpouse: Her mother Kyoko was very similar to Tohru's LoveInterest Kyo in her teenage years, being a FieryRedhead who acted violently because of being raised by an abusive family. Like Kyo, Kyoko grew out of her angry ways by falling in love with a kindhearted person. They even have very similar-sounding names.
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: It might not be evident at first, but Tohru was this to her mother. Because of the neglect of her parents, Kyoko always felt desperately lonely and feared that the world doesn't need her. The sudden death of her husband threw Kyoko into suicidal despair because he was the only person who alleviated her loneliness. Just before she took her own life, Kyoko realized that one person in the world did need her very much; her daughter Tohru. From then on, Kyoko made raising Tohru her entire reason for living.
* LoveConfessor: In chapter 114, she confesses to Rin that her real reason for wanting to break the Sohma curse is to stay together with Kyo because he has become the most important person to her. Kagura overhears this and hits Tohru, berating her that she should be saying that to Kyo instead of someone else.
* MagicSkirt: Courtesy of her school uniform which is so absurdly short she would get arrested for it in other places which makes it all the weirder how it manages to stay in place.
* MamasBabyPapasMaybe: During Katsuya's funeral, Tohru's relatives openly speculate if Tohru was born from an affair. Their "evidence" was that Tohru didn't physically resemble Katsuya, and that Kyoko was a FormerTeenRebel.
* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Starts off acting as this for Yuki and Kyo. Later subverted as she has serious emotional problems of her own, which they eventually help her out with.
* MommasBoy: Female example. Tohru looks up to her deceased mother as the best person in the world and still holds on to her teachings as a devoted daughter. It later gets PlayedForDrama as clinging on to her mother's memory is keeping Tohru from moving on in several aspects of her life, particularly feeling guilty about making Kyo her new most important person. At the end, Tohru learns to live her life while still having a special place for her mother in her heart.
* NiceGirl: Her defining characteristic. She sees good in everyone she meets and is willing to help them no matter what. She doesn't hold any grudges toward those who have wronged her, especially in regards to Akito who has made the Sohmas' lives a living nightmare. Towards the end of the manga, Tohru [[spoiler:sympathizes with Akito who had a miserable childhood, thanks to her insane mother. She even offers friendship to the head of the family while she's in the midst of a VillainousBreakdown and waving a knife around.]]
* NeverGotToSayGoodbye: To her mom, before she died. Tohru would almost always say goodbye to Kyouko before she left for work, but the morning Kyouko died, Tohru overslept since she had pulled an all-nighter to study for a test. Tohru even wonders if the reason her mother died was because she hadn't seen her off as usual.
* NotSoDifferent: In the manga's climax, parallels are drawn between how Tohru's devotion to her dead mother ties her down emotionally and the Sohma clan's curse. [[spoiler: Specifically their 'bonds' to Akito, who does all of her evil and bitchy deals to not be abandoned by them.]]
* ObliviousGuiltSlinging: [[spoiler: Tohru living in Shigure's house is this for Kyo, as she's a living reminder that he let her mother die.]]
* OddFriendship: Tohru's best friends are a former delinquent who's still a bit rough around the edges (Uotani) and a [[TheStoic stoic]] {{Goth}} who has psychic powers (Hanajima). The three of them couldn't be more different, but they're all very close regardless.
* OedipusComplex: GenderFlipped. Her love for her mother Kyouko reached near-worshipful levels, but she resents her father Katsuya, blaming him for her mother's near-suicidal depression after his death, even when she realizes this isn't exactly his fault.
* OneeSama: Kisa views Tohru as this; she adores Tohru and follows her like a duckling during her stay at Shigure's house.
* OppositesAttract: With Kyo. Tohru is a very sweet, patient and kind girl, while Kyo is a hot-headed, tough, no manners, always wants to fight boy.
* OrphansOrdeal: She has a living grandfather and other relatives, but lived in a tent because she didn't want to burden them. Considering how badly her aunt and cousins treat her when she ''has'' to move back with the grandpa, she can't be blamed.
* ParentalSubstitute: It's later revealed that Yuki sees Tohru as the kind-hearted, gentle mother he wishes he could have had, which also explains why he's always exceptionally affectionate to her [[spoiler:even while dating Machi.]]
* PinkMeansFeminine: According to Hanajima, pink is the color that suits Tohru the best because of her girliness and gentleness. Also, it's the combination of the colors of Tohru's mother (red) and father (white).
* PitbullDatesPuppy: With Kyo. In the early chapters, Kyo was verbally aggressive to her and even accidentally hits her at one point, but he gets better and learns to control his temper around her.
* PleaseDontLeaveMe: Kyo tries to run away from Tohru after Kazuma forcibly removes his bracelet and he transforms into his 'true' form right in front of Tohru. Immediately after that, Tohru desperately runs after Kyo and despite him literally pushing her away, Tohru clings on to him and begs him to return home with her because she wouldn't stand it if he goes away. Turns out Tohru has a deep-rooted fear at being abandoned because it reminds her of the time Kyoko left her alone in the house to attempt suicide after Tohru's father died.
* PluckyGirl: Eternally optimistic but never delusional. As for the bravery, see her entry on BadassPacifist.
* ThePollyanna: In the first anime, where nothing at all gets her down, unlike in the manga and second anime where it's deconstructed.
* ProneToTears: Tohru is prone to crying over after hearing a sad story or being treated nicely by one of her friends, even for something as simple as receiving a swimsuit as a gift.
* SecretKeeper: She's allowed to stay in close contact with the Sohmas after she accidentally finds out about the Zodiac curse because of Kyo. This is taken further in the final stages of the story when Kureno lets Tohru in on the bigger secrets that Akito is a woman being forced to pose as a man by her jealous mother and that the spirit of the Rooster is no longer possessing him.
* ShadingColourDissonance: Tohru's hair has no shading in the manga, which can give the impression that she's a blonde until you see her with brown hair in the coloured pictures and both animes.
* SharedFamilyQuirks: Tohru adopted what she could remember of her father's speech patterns to remind Kyoko of Katsuya after Kyoko's psychological breakdown in the hopes it would keep her mother from leaving her again.
* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: She falls in love with Kyo after seeing past his angry exterior and discovering the soft, caring and protective guy he really is.
* StepfordSmiler: The Depressed type, since her perpetual positivity is hiding serious self-esteem issues and an unhealthy inability to move on from her mother's death. This isn't really explored in the 2001 anime where she comes off as more of ThePollyanna, but the 2019 anime hints at this early on by having her up her usual perkiness at points where it's clear she's not okay.
* StockShoujoHeroine: Softspoken, emotional Tohru has no issue with helping anyone that needs help. She ends up deconstructing the archetype to a degree, since it's later shown that she tends to [[StepfordSmiler bottle up her insecurities]] and her being an ExtremeDoormat can cause problems.
* TalkingToTheDead: She often has inner monologues where she talks to her mother Kyoko. She also keeps a photo of Kyoko in her wallet and will sometimes treat it as though it [[CompanionCube really]] ''[[CompanionCube is]]'' [[CompanionCube her]] (like when Hiro takes her wallet and Tohru is incredibly shaken by this, reacting as though Kyoko herself just got kidnapped). As the story goes on, it becomes clear that this habit of hers is actually rather unhealthy; the fact that she almost never talks about her mother in the past tense (aside from quoting things she once said), and her over-attachment to photos of her, shows that she's still unable to move on from her death.
* TaremeEyes: Her big and round eyes go perfectly with her gentle and meek personality.
* TragicKeepsake: She keeps a picture of her deceased mother and never wants to go anywhere without it. On one occasion, she even ''takes a bath with it''.
* UnderstandingBoyfriend: Gender-swapped example. Kyo believes that when Tohru sees his monstrous cursed form, she will be disgusted and scared of him like everyone else who has seen him in that state. Indeed, seeing Kyo in that form scares Tohru. But instead of leaving him, Tohru runs after him and begs him to return because she wants to be together with him. Near the end of the series, Tohru proclaims she loves Kyo despite him [[spoiler:choosing to not save her mother from the car accident for his own self-preservation]]. Even Kyo finds it incredible that Tohru can accept everything bad and ugly about him.
* UnwittingPawn: Unbeknownst to her, Shigure took Tohru in so she could be the key to his plan to [[spoiler:break the Zodiac curse by having Tohru form new bonds with the cursed Sohmas and break them free from the bond tying them to their "God"]].
* WeReallyDoCare: Tohru briefly moves out of Shigure's house when her relatives come back to town, since that's what she'd promised to do. While they all make it clear that they don't want her around, the little Sohma outpost of Shigure, Yuki, and Kyo rediscover the fact that they fail at keeping their household running. In the end, Yuki and Kyo show up when Tohru's relatives are being especially bitchy and drag her (not unwillingly) back.
* WellDoneDaughterGirl: Tohru wanted to successfully graduate from high school because she hoped it would make her mother proud of her. Sadly, her mother died before she even finished her first year in high school, but Tohru still wants to fulfill her promise to her mother.
* WhatWouldXDo: She always quotes Kyoko.
* WhyCantIHateYou: When Kyo makes her face her feelings for her father Katsuya, Tohru admits that she can only think of her father as the villain who left her and her mother Kyoko behind and made Kyoko so depressed that she neglected and very nearly abandoned Tohru to join Katsuya in the afterlife. Adding to that, Katsuya's relatives accused her of being the child of an affair because they thought she doesn't look like him, which made it harder for Tohru to remember her father fondly. After spilling her heart out, Tohru tells Kyo that she feels awful for thinking of her father that way because she does remember he was a good father for the short time he lived and he made Kyoko very happy.
* YamatoNadeshiko: Downplayed; while she's clumsier and more naive than most examples, she still has all the politeness and domestic talent, and is very good at cooking Japanese style dishes. Also, while she has a tendency to be an ExtremeDoormat due to her low self-esteem, she does show inner iron when it really counts, being able to overwhelm everyone she nicely confronts. At one point, she even has an ImagineSpot about being a Japanese princess.
[[/folder]]

!Zodiac Members

[[folder:General Zodiac Tropes]]
The cursed members of the Sohma family.
----

[[folder:Yuki Sohma (The Rat)]]
!!Yuki Sohma (The Rat)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AyaHisakawa (2001 Series), Creator/NobunagaShimazaki (teen), Miyuri Shimabukuro (child) (2019 Series) (JP), Creator/EricVale (teen, both series), Creator/KateBristol (child, 2001 series), Creator/AmandaLee (child, 2019 series) (EN)

[[quoteright:180:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yuki_sohma_2019.png]]
[[caption-width-right:320:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rat_2019.png[[/labelnote]] to see him as the Rat]]

The Rat of the Zodiac, younger brother to Ayame, and rival to Kyo. Despite being attractive, accomplished, and popular, Yuki is very reserved and possesses low self-esteem due to years of being controlled by Akito. Tohru helps him become more open with his feelings.

* AllTakeAndNoGive: Has shades of this but it is never intentional on his part. He seeks Tohru's friendship, listening ear, and understanding quite often and has benefited from Hatsuharu's and Ayame's affection for him whenever he's in a tight spot he is unable to get himself out of. [[CharacterDevelopment When this trait is pointed out to him he resolves to change himself into a person who can give back to the people who care for him.]]
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Kyo has trained in martial arts longer than he has and is more dedicated but he can't reach Yuki's level no matter what.
* AttractivenessIsolation: The girls of his fan club think Yuki is so perfect that none of them will ever be good enough for him and limit themselves to admiring him from afar. Tohru is the only girl who treats him like a regular boy instead of an idol, which makes him feel at ease. This also adds to Yuki's fangirls hating Tohru because they thought it was an unofficial rule that no girl at their school could get so close to Yuki.
* BadDreams: Thanks to the MindRape he suffered under Akito.
* BerserkButton: Reminders of his older brother's quirks, Kyo at his worst, being mistaken for a woman, being compared to a woman, or the mere thought of crossdressing sets him off. Being unpleasant to Tohru is a great way to piss him off, too.
* BetaCouple: Starting from the second act of the series, Yuki develops a romantic relationship with his fellow student council member Machi. The smooth way their romance develops forms a nice contrast to the drama and obstacles Tohru and Kyo face as the main couple of the series.
* {{Bishonen}}: He's prettier than several girls in the series.
* BrokenAce: He ''looks'' perfect, but due to his past Yuki is so ''terrified'' of rejection that he also is an enormous StepfordSmiler.
* CaringGardener: He has a private garden that's some distance away from Shigure's house, which he refers to as his "secret base". Revealing it to Tohru and letting her help him take care of it is a major sign that he's opening up to her.
* ChickMagnet: Enough that he gets his own UnwantedHarem. [[CluelessChickMagnet Not that he noticed...]]
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Silver in the manga and the 2019 reboot (makes sense, considering he's the Rat), purple in the first anime.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: As a young child, he was plagued with severe asthma that inhibited him from doing most things. When he was still very young, his [[AbusiveParents very selfish mother]] [[spoiler: sold him to Akito, who then proceeds to [[BreakTheCutie torment him]] physically (is shown whipping him), verbally/emotionally, and '''especially''' psychologically (locking him in a windowless, dark room for days on end, and convincing him that no one will accept him for who he is).]] A little Yuki attempts to go to his brother, Ayame, for help, but he is instantly rebuked. Such experiences in his past has left him emotionally withdrawn and exhausted. After it all, however, he manages to empathize with and forgive Akito, and he is well on his way to forming a brotherly bond with Ayame.
* {{Deuteragonist}}: Becomes one in the second half of the series as more focus is put on his student council activities and [[spoiler:his growing relationship with Machi]].
* DraggedIntoDrag: His class puts him in a maid outfit to attract more students in the SchoolFestival.
* DudeLooksLikeALady: He has a bit of a complex about his girly face, has been mistaken for a woman and Kyo often mocks him by calling him "girly boy".
* EmotionallyTongueTied: He's very smooth when he's in his charming prince persona, but he struggles to communicate his true feelings in a natural way.
* EvenTheGuysWantHim: Boys and girls alike swoon over him. Makoto Takei, the first StudentCouncilPresident, has a very blatant crush on him.
* FirstLove:
** PlayedForLaughs when Haru casually admits Yuki was his first crush.
** In a more serious sense, [[spoiler:he was Tohru's childhood crush who helped her find her way back home when she was lost.]]
* ForgottenFirstMeeting: [[spoiler:He was the boy who guided Tohru back to her house after she got lost one day when she was a child.]]
* TheFourLoves: Yuki loves Tohru a lot, but it's ambiguous what kind of love he feels for her until the final stages of the series. After a long time where it seems to be leaning towards Eros (romantic love), Yuki comes to the conclusion that his feelings for Tohru are much closer to Storge (familial love).
* TheGadfly: CharacterDevelopment has him start to become this, showing how he's more relaxed and not as worried. He particularly likes doing this to [[spoiler:his girlfriend]] [[{{Tsundere}} Machi]].
* HarmfulToMinors: [[spoiler: Flashbacks are shown of Akito whipping him.]]
* HeavySleeper: Might as well be asleep on his feet in the morning, and yet he defeats Kyo ''even quicker'' in this state. [[IAmNotLeftHanded It's because he's too drowsy to hold back like he normally does]].
* IllBoy: When he was younger he had pretty severe asthma and other unspecified health problems, but this improves as he gets older.
* IJustWantToHaveFriends: He secretly longs to have friends of his own. Part of the reason why he hates Kyo so much is because of his ability to make friends easily.
* InstantFanClub: The Prince Yuki Fan Club, which formed within a few months of his first year of high school.
* InsultedAwake:
** Kyo's voice alone is enough.
** Kakeru calling him a "spoiled little rich girl" woke him up, too.
* LethalChef: His cooking will literally make you ill.
* LovingAShadow:
** On the receiving end of this as plenty of girls in school like his "princely" image, but are unaware of his hidden insecurities.
** His feelings for Tohru were later said to be him looking for the mother he never had.
* LuminescentBlush: When Tohru calls him by name during Haru's visit, he gets one of these as he transforms out of shock.
* MutualEnvy: He envies Kyo for being able to socialize more easily than he can, as well as not having as many restrictions placed on him by the Sohma clan since he isn't seen as a "true" member of the Zodiac due to his status as the Cat. Ironically, Kyo envies Yuki for being seemingly perfect and being accepted as one of the Zodiac.
* NobleMaleRoguishMale: Noble Male to Kyo's Roguish Male, being the charming prince of his high school.
* NoSell: [[spoiler:At one point Rin tries to get under his skin by calling him "Akito's toy." Little did she know he'd mostly grown past those issues, so her words didn't have the affect she'd hoped. She leaves in a huff.]]
* NotAMorningPerson: He's incredibly tired in the morning, but despite that he's even stronger in this state since he's too sleepy to hold back. Kyo has tried attacking him, but was unsuccessful.
* NotAfraidOfYouAnymore: Used when he tells Akito that he forgives him. Although Akito still gets mad and injures Yuki, it's obvious that Yuki doesn't fear him anymore, and since Akito controls the Zodiac through fear, it becomes clear that his power is waning.
* TheNotLoveInterest: The series seems to set him up as Tohru's love interest, but ultimately there isn't any romance between them. Yuki loves Tohru in a familial way rather than romantic, because she acts like a motherly figure towards him. [[{{Foreshadowing}} Foreshadowed]] in that, unlike Kyo, he doesn't get flustered around her (except once when she switched to FirstNameBasis).
* OddNameOut: He and Kyo are the only cursed Sohmas whose names aren't part of the others' TemporalThemeNaming.
* PrinceCharming: Parodied when his class put on a performance of ''Cinderella''. He specifically asks that he not be cast as the prince, because he feels he doesn't fit the role. The entire female population of his class disagrees. This bites him in the rear when he is instead cast as [[spoiler: the fairy godmother.]]
* PrincelyYoungMan: His fan club gives him the nickname "Prince Yuki."
* PurpleEyes: In the first anime.
* RedOniBlueOni: The calm, reserved, grey-haired Blue Oni to Kyo's temperamental, loud, red-haired Red Oni.
* RomanticFalseLead: The series makes it look like Yuki will be Tohru's main love interest when it is actually Kyo.
* SchoolIdol: He's recognized as the most popular guy in school. He has his own fan club and student council members look to him to be student council president.
* ShownTheirWork: Rodents kept in captivity can commonly develop respiratory problems [[labelnote:*]]usually due to poor bedding quality or air circulation in their cages[[/labelnote]], explaining why Yuki suffers from something similar.
* SicklyChildGrewUpStrong: He suffered from severe respiratory problems when he was young (and they occasionally come back when he's under emotional stress), but he's largely recovered from them and is an even stronger martial artist than Kyo despite being not as passionate about it.
* SlaveToPR: Yuki feels like he's trapped in the façade of the ideal prince everyone loves from afar because Akito drilled into his head that no one would ever accept his real self. His CharacterDevelopment is about learning to be more real thanks to Tohru's influence.
* SoBeautifulItsACurse: He has a complex about his pretty face and he very much dislikes the unwanted attention his beauty draws from both women and men.
* StepfordSmiler: Depressed variety. Because of his DarkAndTroubledPast and his desire to have friends, he tends to hide behind a smile. He even comes clean to Tohru about secretly being a greedy and selfish person, though it isn't established if this just SelfDeprecation or if he was being honest.
* StudentCouncilPresident: He takes up this position during his second year of high school.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: At first, he's extremely sugarly kind and sweet toward Tohru, but a bit colder to other people and downright hostile to Kyo and Ayame. His CharacterDevelopment involves him actually opening up to people other than Tohru.
* TranquilFury:
** When Tohru's {{Jerkass}} cousin called her a tramp in front of him and Kyo, Yuki calmly got in the guy's face and stunned him and his equally dickish parents speechless with one sentence, said in a calm, but still clearly angry, tone:
-->'''Yuki''': Don't you ''ever'' talk about Miss Honda that way again, you lowlife.
** Also seen when Ayame admits to not only have been in the red light district with Shigure in the past, he made a complete fool of himself when sticking up for his classmates. With BishieSparkles around him, Yuki calmly tells his brother to get out of the house. It doesn't last long -- with Aya continuing, he's eventually yelling to shut up and leave until Hatori shows up.
* TrophyChild: His parents basically sold him to Akito for wealth and status.
* VitriolicBestBuds: He and Kakeru have a bit of this. Once when Yuki was depressed, Kakeru cheered him up... by throwing a soccer ball in his face. He and Kakeru also had an insult match that involved them choking each other and then walking off all happy and friendly a couple of panels later.
* WhatTheHellHero: He gets pissed off at Kyo for [[spoiler:refusing to visit Tohru at the hospital after the landscape accident]]. When Kyo protests that he doesn't need to do that because Yuki is the one who make everything better and protect Tohru, Yuki makes Kyo understand that there's one thing only he can do; make Tohru happy as the man she loves.

[[folder:Kyo Sohma (The Cat)]]
!!Kyo Sohma (The Cat)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TomokazuSeki (teen), Kyousuke Ikeda (child) (2001 series), Creator/YuumaUchida (teen), Asuna Tomari (child) (2019 series) (JP), Creator/JerryJewell (teen, both series), Avery Rice Williams (child, 2001 series), Creator/AlisonViktorin (child, 2019 series) (EN)

[[quoteright:195:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kyo_sohma_2019.png]]
[[caption-width-right:284:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cat_2019.png[[/labelnote]] to see him as the Cat]]

Kyo is cursed by the Cat, an animal who would have been part of the zodiac had the Rat not tricked him into missing the ceremony. He turns into a huge, foul-smelling beast if his beads are taken from him. As a result he is looked down on by the rest of the family save his foster father and [[AnimalJingoism does not get along with Yuki]]. Charismatic and hot-blooded, if a bit socially awkward, he gradually cools down thanks to Tohru's kindness.

* AdaptationDyeJob: Kyo's beads are red and white in the manga, but black and white in the first anime. Also, his eyes were originally orange to [[CurtainsMatchTheWindow match his hair]], but the first anime gives him red eyes. Averted with the 2019 reboot where both his eyes and beads share the same respective colors as his manga incarnation.
* AffectionateGestureToTheHead: He develops a habit of lightly tapping Tohru's head with his fist. It's his peculiar way of showing he cares about her.
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: He is despised by more than one member of the Sohma clan since he's the cat. Specially by Akito, and to a smaller degree Yuki.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: He begins the series trying to beat Yuki, but Kyo always loses. [[spoiler:We later learn it was a bet with Akito that if Kyo could beat Yuki he wouldn't be confined and the Cat could join the zodiac.]] It's eventually stated that part of the curse is that the Cat can never beat the Rat.
* AnimalMotifs: While the other members of the zodiac all demonstrate motifs related to their animal, Kyo may be the one most blatant with it - [[DefrostingIceKing aloof but loving once he gets close]], listless in rainy weather, preferring to be active and running around, able to jump from very high places and land on his feet, and even [[DoesNotLikeSpam his least favorite foods]] are all ones that are very bad for cats and can lead to renal failure. In the reboot's first ending sequence, he's seen sleeping in a tree in a catlike position.
* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:With Tohru. They have three children and their oldest son, Hajime, becomes one of the main characters of ''Fruits Basket Another''.]]
* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: Kyo has a lot of issues, to put it mildly. Tohru's gentleness calms him down and little by little, his heart heals by finding true love in Tohru.
* ButtMonkey: Is ''the'' go-to target for any form of physical comedy. Yuki frequently trounces him in fights (which Kyo usually brings upon himself) and also develops a habit of shoving [[DoesNotLikeSpam leeks]] into Kyo's mouth whenever he's getting on his nerves. And this is ''nothing'' compared to [[UpToEleven the abuse]] [[DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale Kagura puts him through]], though fortunately he appears to be MadeOfIron when it comes to this. However this is also PlayedForDrama, as his status as the Cat means that he's essentially treated as an outsider in his own family, and played a huge part in him developing the issues he has as a teenager.
* CannotSpitItOut: He is not really good about voicing his feelings on ''anything,'' let alone romantic ones.
* CatsAreMean: Subverted because while he can be very rude and temperamental, he's ultimately not a bad person. Also, [[spoiler:as shown at the end of the manga, the spirit possessing him was a very kind cat, who loved God and only wanted his friend to live his next life surrounded by people.]]
* ChekhovsGun: Beads? A "cursed form?" Well, ''this certainly won't show up in a few dozen chapters.''
* CompetitionFreak: He gets fired up for any challenge in which he can beat Yuki, even if it's a running race or a simple ping-pong game.
* CrazyJealousGuy: Even before he understands why, Kyo gets pissed when other guys hit on Tohru.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: In the manga and the 2019 anime, he has orange eyes to match his hair.
* CuteKitten: He lures kittens to himself at one point because his classmates were calling his culture festival idea dumb. They end up nicknaming him "Kyon-Kyon" for the rest of high school because of it.
* CuteLittleFangs: He has them during some comedic moments.
* DefrostingIceKing: Kyo slowly opens up to Tohru and as they become closer, he starts treating her a lot better and falls in love with her.
* DoesNotLikeShoes: Goes barefoot at nearly every possible moment, even during a footrace! In one case it works to his advantage, as he takes off his shoes when going inside the Hondas' house.
* DoesNotLikeSpam: Much is made of Kyo's dislike of onions, leeks, and miso. It's occasionally used as blackmail to get him to do something. And when he willingly cooks with leeks to make something for Tohru when she's sick, it's one of the earliest indications of how dear she is to him. This is justified since he's the Cat of the Zodiac, and all of those foods are known to be very bad for cats.
* DontLookAtMe: Kyo absolutely doesn't want anyone to see his "true form" because it's so hideous.
* DontYouDarePityMe: He fears people getting close to him, since he has difficulty to know if they genuinely love him or just pity him for his curse.
* DudeShesLikeInAComa: [[spoiler: Near the end of the manga, Tohru falls off a cliff. While she's lying on the ground unconscious, Kyo kisses her. To be fair, Tohru regained consciousness for a bit when she noticed Kyo was crying. She said some comforting words to him, then lost consciousness again, and ''then'' he kissed her. He also wasn't exactly sure whether she was fully conscious or not, as he even confirms that she wasn't after their second kiss when she acts completely shocked that it's their second and not their first.]]
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Everyone can tell Kyo's feelings for Tohru. In some cases even before Kyo himself realizes it.
* FailureToSaveMurder: Kyo blames himself for [[spoiler:Kyoko]]'s death. He could have gotten her out of harm's way, but he would have transformed in the middle of a busy street, so he did nothing. Nobody else seems to know about it (except possibly Kazuma), but he heavily associates it with his mother's death, which many people do blame him for. It doesn't help that he (mistakenly) believes [[spoiler:Kyoko]] died hating him for his inaction, either.
* FieryRedhead: He has naturally orange hair due to the curse, and he's usually shouting or breaking something.
* FirstKiss: [[spoiler:With Tohru.]]
* FirstNameBasis: At the start of the manga, he called Tohru "you." By the end of volume six, he switches to "Tohru."
* FreakinessShame: Being the Cat is equivalent to being a monster in eyes of the Sohma family. Therefore, Kyo is baffled when Tohru tells him the Cat is her favorite sign of the Zodiac.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: During moments of high emotion Kyo's pupils become cat-like slits. When he gets extremely excited his eyes will start glowing, too. [[spoiler: Especially prominent at the start of his PainfulTransformation in the 2019 anime]]
* GrowOldWithMe: [[spoiler:With Tohru. The final pages show them walking together as elders]].
* HairTriggerTemper: He gets extremely angry very easily and usually deals with it by attacking his own family. This lessens over time as he learns to keep his anger under control, especially around Tohru.
* HappilyAdopted: He has something of a CutenessProximity-style change to his personality when his foster father Kazuma is mentioned. His biological father registers somewhere near the [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Gendo]] end of the Sliding Scale of Bastard Fathers, so no wonder.
* HellishPupils: His pupils become slits like a cat's when he gets extremely angry [[spoiler:and when he turns into the cat's True Form.]]
* HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler:Kyo didn't disappear to the mountains for four months to train. After he did nothing to save Kyoko from being hit by a car, Kyo completely shut down out of guilt. He only snapped out of it when he decided to cope with his guilt by blaming Kyoko's death on Yuki.]]
* HeyYou: Due to his brash personality, he rarely calls anyone by name. The fact that he starts addressing Tohru by her name after she accepts him in his true form is a big step in their relationship.
* HopeIsScary: When Kazuma comes back to visit, Kyo claims that he hates to stay at Shigure's house with Yuki and Tohru because it's like an uncomfortable hot bath for him. Kazuma correctly deduces that Kyo doesn't hate to live with Tohru; he loves it and that makes him terrified that Tohru will at some point come to hate and/or fear him like everyone in the Sohma clan.
* HotBlooded: Gets riled up and angry real easy. Especially if Yuki is involved.
* IAmAMonster: The Cat is viewed like a monster by the Sohma clan and Kyo's own father treats him like an abomination. Because of this and his repulsive cursed form, Kyo thinks of himself as nothing but a hideous thing.
* InconvenientAttraction: The more he falls in love with Tohru, the worst he feels about himself because [[spoiler:he's falling for the daughter of the woman he left to die]].
* InsecureLoveInterest: He believes Tohru would be better off falling in love with anyone but him because no good can come out of becoming the girlfriend of an outcast like him. [[spoiler:He also believes himself responsible for the death of Tohru's mother, which he uses as proof that he has no right to be loved by Tohru.]]
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Aside from the 'cat if hugged' thing, he has a second one. Those beads? They [[spoiler: keep him from transforming into a hideous, car-sized, stinking monstrosity]].
* ItIsDehumanizing: His asshole dad hated him so much that he called Kyo an "it."
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: His angry and violent approach might give a bad impression of him, but he's just had a ''very'' difficult life. His protectiveness of Tohru is the major giveaway of how much of a good guy he really is.
* KindHeartedCatLover: He gets teased for being this at school, after a herd of cats swarm him during a school fair. Since the alternative is telling everyone that cats are attracted to his zodiac spirit, he (grudgingly) lets them believe.
* LongingLook: He throws a few in Tohru's direction once he realizes his feelings for her.
* LoveEpiphany: During the summer vacation, Kyo realizes that he has fallen head over heels in love with Tohru.
* MadeOfIron: Despite constantly getting the crap kicked out of him by Yuki and ''especially'' Kagura whenever she's around, Kyo never actually gets seriously injured. This is even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] when Haru trips him when he's racing Yuki, causing him to faceplant but only suffer a minor scrape. Haru then [[BreakingTheFourthWall addresses the viewers]] and warns them to [[DontTryThisAtHome not try this at home]], as anyone other than Kyo would receive much more than an AmusingInjury from this.
* MagneticHero: An advantage to how hot-headed Kyo is is that his wearing his emotions on his sleeves allows him to socialize with his classmates with relative ease. This is something Yuki [[GreenEyedMonster actually resents him for]].
* MutualEnvy: He envies Yuki for being [[BrokenAce seemingly perfect]] and being considered a "true" member of the Zodiac as the Rat; Kyo has been ostracized by the Sohma family his whole life for being the Cat, and believes that if he can defeat Yuki in a fight he'll finally be accepted. Ironically, Yuki envies Kyo for being able to socialize with others more easily, and through his own experience has learned that being accepted by the Sohma family isn't necessarily a good thing since his life has been tightly controlled by his parents and Akito.
* MyInstinctsAreShowing: In the second anime, he's occasionally shown grooming himself in cat form.
* MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours: He constantly fights Yuki and loses.
* NeverMyFault: Kyo always wanted to blame Yuki for all his problems, particularly him being excluded from the Zodiac, his mother's suicide [[spoiler:and Kyo choosing not to save Kyoko]], because thinking of himself as the victim of a bad guy made him feel better about himself. Towards the end of the series, Kyo acknowledges how unfair and self-serving this way of thinking was.
* NobleMaleRoguishMale: The Roguish Male to Yuki's Noble Male, being the HotBlooded Tsundere who wears his uniform improperly.
* NoGuyWantsToBeChased: Kyo is very much put off by Kagura's overly aggressive advances and possessive behavior towards him. There's also that she extracted a ChildhoodMarriagePromise out of him ''at knifepoint''. Kyo ends up falling in love with the demure and gentle Tohru who reaches out to him with patient understanding instead of force.
* NoSocialSkills: At the start a lot of his rough actions and words come from his HotBlooded nature and various issues getting in the way. He's very aware he struggles in that regard and it often makes him think terribly of himself. As the manga goes on, he starts moving away from this trope.
* OddNameOut: He and Yuki are the only cursed Sohmas whose names aren't part of the others' TemporalThemeNaming. In Kyo's case it's more justified since as the Cat, who never became an official part of the zodiac, his animal isn't associated with a month on the Japanese calendar.
* OppositesAttract: With Tohru. Kyo is a hot-headed, tough, no manners, always wants to fight boy, and Tohru is a girl who's very sweet and kind.
* PainfulTransformation: [[spoiler:Unlike the other cursed Sohmas' transformations, which happen immediately in a puff of colorful smoke, Kyo's transformation into the cat's true form isn't pretty. This is made especially clear in the 2019 anime, where Kyo actually transforms onscreen and he sounds like he's in a lot of pain while it happens.]]
* PickyEater: He hates leeks and miso a ''lot'' and is very vocal about it, even though those vegetables are used very often in Japanese cooking. He still makes Tohru some leek porridge when she was sick, which shows how much he's starting to care for her. Justified since he's the Cat, and leeks and miso are very bad for cats.
* PitbullDatesPuppy: With Tohru. In the early chapters, Kyo was verbally aggressive to her and even accidentally hits her at one point, but he gets better and learns to control his temper around her.
* PleasePutSomeClothesOn: To a naked Kagura, after she transforms back.
* PowerLimiter: The beads he wears on his left wrist, [[spoiler:which prevent him from transforming into the hideous, foul-smelling beast that is the Cat's "true form". They also serve to block PowerIncontinence.]]
* RedHeadedStepchild: The Cat has naturally orange hair and is treated as the pariah of the Sohma clan.
* RedOniBlueOni: The temperamental, loud, red-haired Red Oni to Yuki's calm, reserved, grey-haired Blue Oni.
* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: He embarrassingly denies there's anything going on between him and Tohru, as it slowly becomes more obvious that he has romantic feelings for her [[spoiler:until the end]].
* ShownTheirWork: Cats are deathly allergic to leeks, onions and miso, so it makes sense why Kyo (Spirit of the Cat) would hate them.
* SirSwearsALot: Due to being an aggressive teenager with a HairTriggerTemper, it's unsurprising that Kyo has a pretty colorful vocabulary to match at times. While the exact extent of it depends on the translation of the manga or format of the anime, he's pretty much ''always'' depicted as having the most foul mouth of the cast by a considerable margin.
* SittingOnTheRoof: Shigure lampshades it. "Sulking on the roof is how he shows he cares." He also has a touching moment at that spot with Tohru where he talks about his adoptive father.
* SourOutsideSadInside: His behavior is a defensive mechanism to hide the pain buried deep in his heart. At one point, he denied that Kazuma was his father because he didn't want Kazuma to get hurt.
* SproutingEars: He's prone to sprouting cat ears and a tail when he's angry during more lighthearted moments, especially in the anime.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: With his father. Other than sharing the Sohma name, facial features and anger issues, there is no connection with Kyo and his father.
* SuperReflexes: His insane reflexes are constantly brought up by his classmates and Takaya's occasional reminder to the reader of his reflexes [[spoiler:actually make it very believable that he could have saved Kyoko before the accident, a fact that weighs heavily in Kyo's mind]].
* TameHisAnger: A big part of his CharacterDevelopment is him learning to control his temper and stop resorting to violence for everything.
* TheyDiedBecauseOfYou: Many people, particularly his {{Jerkass}} father, blame him for his mother being DrivenToSuicide since she must have wanted to die after giving birth to a disgusting thing like him. [[spoiler:Eventually, Kyo understands it wasn't his fault after he realizes his father also emotionally abused his mother to the point of sending her into suicidal depression.]]
* ThroughHisStomach: Cooks for Tohru when she's ill -- despite teasing.
* TookALevelInKindness: Thanks to the Tohru's influence, Kyo gradually grows into a gentler and emotionally mature person. By the ending of the series, many are surprised by how nice and laidback Kyo has become.
* {{Tritagonist}}: Kyo is equal in importance to Tohru and Yuki, getting as much focus and CharacterDevelopment as them.
* TroubledButCute: He's rambunctious, but that doesn't stop female classmates from asking him out.
* {{Tsundere}}: A male Harsh Type towards Tohru. At first he gets annoyed with her very easily, but as their relationship evolves, he shows her his softer side and learns to better control his temper around her.
* TsurimeEyes: His sharp eyes are just perfectly for a cat-like {{Tsundere}}.
* UsedToBeASweetKid: Kagura's flashbacks indicate that Kyo was a lot nicer than he is as a young adult.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Uo. They bicker and fight, yet he always hangs with her when they're on break in school.
* VoiceOfTheLegion: He speaks with an echoing, scary voice when he turns into his monstrous 'true' form.
* WellDoneSonGuy: He wants to become someone his martial arts teacher and surrogate father Kazuma can be proud of. Kazuma already loves him as a son the way he is, though.
* WhenHeSmiles: Tohru's heart melts whenever Kyo shows her a genuine happy smile.
* WouldHitAGirl: On his first day at Tohru's school, he puts a girl into an armbar to discourage her attention. Granted, it ''was'' a panic reaction when he was in danger of being embraced, and she ''did'' grab him first, but it being PlayedForLaughs is a little disconcerting.

[[folder:Hatsuharu Sohma (The Ox)]]
!!Hatsuharu Sohma (The Ox)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Akio Suyama (teen), Creator/AkemiOkamura (child) (2001 Series), Creator/MakotoFurukawa (teen), Mariko Higashiuchi (child) (2019 Series) (JP), Creator/JustinCook (teen, both series), Joshua Huber (child, 2001 series), Morgan Berry (child, 2019 series) (EN)

[[quoteright:195:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hatsuharu_sohma_2019.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ox_2019.png[[/labelnote]] to see him as the Ox]]

The Ox of the Zodiac, who possesses something of a SplitPersonality. "White Haru" is a soft-spoken, spacey young man, but "Black Haru" is perverted and short-tempered. He is protective of the younger members of the Zodiac.

* AngerBornOfWorry: Downplayed when he sternly lectures Kisa for running away and not telling anyone she was being bullied, a rarity for White Haru.
* BerserkButton:
** He does not like being called dumb, since while growing up a lot of people joked about his being "the dumb ox" of the zodiac.
** His biggest button is abusing Rin. He told off ''her mother'' when they were little children because she didn't care that Rin had been hospitalised. It only got bigger as he and Rin grew up.
* BigBrotherInstinct: To Kisa. After she ran away from home, he ventured out into the rain looking for her, not caring if he got sick in the process. He also hangs around Shigure's house (where Kisa temporarily stays), making sure that she's doing alright. He even hugs her after she speaks for the first time in a while.
* BigBrotherMentor: To Hiro. He's hilariously unaware of it.
* {{Bishonen}}: He's handsome like the rest of his family members.
* BiTheWay: Tells Tohru that Yuki was his first love, and he's currently in love with Rin.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: He has been attracted to Rin ever since they were little kids and seeing how cruelly she was treated by her AbusiveParents made him want to protect her and stay by her side more.
* CloudCuckoolander: Says odd, almost random things some times, and other times says things in such a way that people don't understand him.
-->"A teacher said he didn't like my hair, so now I have to get my ears pierced."
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: When he becomes Black Haru.
* DualityMotif: He has hair that's white with black roots, making it look white on top and black toward the bottom. Hence, his [[SplitPersonality Split Personalities]] are known as [[CloudCuckoolander White Haru]] and [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Black Haru]].
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: A couple of girls on the street gush about how handsome and badass he looks in all that biker leather, thinking he must be a [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys bad boy]] off to a club. Just when they decide to go talk to him, he puts on his biker gloves and goggles and gets dramatically onto his bike... which turns out to be a common bicycle, complete with a dinging bell. The scene establishes how hardass he looks outside, but how young and spacey he is inside.
* FreakyFashionMildMind: Played with. At first glance he looks like a delinquent, with his tendency to dress in a punk-inspired style along with having piercings and MulticoloredHair, but his hair colors are actually natural and his default personality is rather soft-spoken and somewhat [[CloudCuckooLander odd]]. However, as Black Haru he has a violent and perverted personality that's much more fitting of a delinquent.
* HellBentForLeather: A look he shares with Rin.
* HeroicBSOD: Hits one when he realized how much he contributed to Rin's pain.
* InSeriesNickname: Many of the other Sohmas shorten his name to "Haru".
* ItsAllMyFault: As mad as he is [[spoiler:at Akito for hurting Rin]], he also admits to himself that he's also at fault for her pain. Deep down, [[spoiler:he knew how Akito would hurt the girls who came between her and the male Zodiac members. But he wanted Rin so badly, that he pushed away those worries and pursued her anyway.]]
* LikesOlderWomen: In the manga, he's involved with Isuzu, who is two years older than him. There's also the implication that he (or at least Black Haru) is attracted to Tohru who is a year older than him.
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: He was Rin's emotional support after her AbusiveParents threw her away like garbage. Rin believes that if Haru haven't been there for her, she would have fallen apart.
* ALoadOfBull: He does transform into an ox.
* MulticoloredHair: Part white, part black. Since it's a side effect of the curse, it's actually natural despite most people thinking it's dyed. This prompts a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}} when he drags the student council president into the men's room to prove it's natural, and it's heavily implied that Hatsuharu's "proof" was showing the president his pubic hair.
* MyGreatestFailure: After he learns Akito has been torturing Rin, Haru feels guilty for failing to protect the girl he loves, especially when he should have known how Akito would react to his relationship with Rin and he still didn't consider it because he didn't want to think Rin would suffer because he fell in love with her.
* NoSenseOfDirection: When they were kids, Kyo had to hold his hand and lead him to the bathroom. At his introduction he states he was 'lost in the dark heart of the urban jungle' for three days.
* SelectiveObliviousness: He did have a hunch that Rin didn't end up so badly injured from falling from the stairs, but he deliberately didn't try to confirm whether Akito had done something to Rin because he didn't want to feel at fault for Rin being hurt.
* SlasherSmile: Black Haru delivers these often, specifically when he wants to fight Kyo.
* SplitPersonality: [[RuleOfThree Black Haru.]] Normal (White) Haru is soft-spoken and relaxed. Black Haru is lecherous, violent, and very short-tempered.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: He can give the impression of being serious and detached, but he's just spacey. Haru is a really sweet guy to those he cares about.
* SuperpoweredEvilSide: [[OverlyLongGag You guessed it, Black Haru]].
* UnstoppableRage: Black Haru can express himself as a a teasing, provocative bastard most of the time, but the first moment he genuinely snaps out of rage rather than just petty irritation makes it clear that things can become dangerous if you're in a room with him when he does. In the manga, he destroys his classroom when [[spoiler:Rin dumps him, unbeknownst to him, for his own safety]].
** Played straight and then averted when he confronts [[spoiler:Akito over what happened to Rin. He's pretty close to wrecking Akito until Kureno manages to tell him where Rin is, which is the moment he turns around and seeks Rin out]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Black Haru isn't just PlayedForLaughs. He called out Rin's parents when they put her in the hospital and abandoned her, and later calls out [[spoiler:Akito for what she did to Rin]].
* YoungerThanHeLooks: He looks like he's in college, but he's actually 15.

[[folder:Kisa Sohma (The Tiger)]]
!!Kisa Sohma (The Tiger)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KaoriNazuka (2001 Series), Creator/ReinaUeda (2019 Series) (JP), Creator/KateBristol (EN)

[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kisasohma2019_1.png]]
[[caption-width-right:230:Click [[labelnote:Here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kisatiger_8.png[[/labelnote]] to see her as the Tiger]]

The Tiger of the Zodiac. Kisa is very shy, sensitive, and withdrawn, and suffers school bullying as a result of her curse. After Tohru helps her through it, she starts looking up to her as a big sister figure.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: When she's first introduced in tiger form, she willingly bites Tohru twice and Haru once. It's not quite played for laughs, since she'd likely developed trust issues after being bullied at school.
* BigSisterWorship: She adores Tohru and refers to her as "Nee-chan/Sissy".
* BreakTheCutie: Courtesy of her classmates bullying her for her unusual hair and eye colors, laughing whenever she tried to speak and then ultimately ignoring her.
* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: Gentle Girl to Hiro's Brooding Boy.
* BullyMagnet: Her classmates bully her for her unusual hair and eye colors, which are a side effect of being the Tiger of the Zodiac.
* CassandraTruth: According to Haru, Kisa tried to tell her classmates that her hair and eye colors were natural, but none of them believed her and they just bullied her even more.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Blonde hair and gold eyes. Since neither of these hair or eye colors are viewed as normal for a Japanese girl in this story, though, she ends up being bullied for it.
* CuteKitten: Her curse has her turn into an adorable tiger cub, and she's already cute as a button as a human girl. When Tohru first meets Kisa in her tiger form, she mistakes Kisa for a cat while proclaiming how cute she is.
* ElectiveMute: When she's first introduced, she refuses to speak since her classmates bullied her by laughing whenever she tried to say anything. After Tohru's kind treatment encourages her to come out of her shell, she starts talking more often. Yuki also emphasizes with her due to his own experiences with bullying, so both resolve to be better.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: One of the most innocent characters in the series. Unfortunately, her golden hair is part of what causes her to be bullied.
* HeroWorship: She completely adores Tohru.
* MoralityChain: When it comes to Tohru, she plays this role for Hiro.
* PuppyLove: She and Hiro are the youngest Zodiac members and they obviously like each other as more than friends.
* TheRunaway: When she's first introduced, she's run away from home due to being bullied at school and being too ashamed to tell her mother about it, with Hatsuharu having found her in her tiger form. After staying at Shigure's house for a few days, she goes back to live with her mother.
* ShrinkingViolet: PlayedForDrama. Being a victim of bullying at school and physical abuse from Akito caused Kisa to become withdrawn and her self-esteem was seriously damaged. She only opens up because of Tohru boosting her confidence.
* SkippingSchool: As a result of being bullied, she briefly stopped going to school. Because of Tohru's emotional support, Kisa starts attending class again.
* SproutingEars: Occasionally sprouts tiger ears and a tail in relation to her curse.
* StockShoujoBullyingTactics: A victim of the "ignoring" one. Her classmates would eventually just laugh whenever she tried to speak up after standing up for herself, which leads to her refusing to speak at all.
* SupernaturalGoldEyes: She has golden eyes as a side effect of the Sohma family curse. Her unusual eye color (along with having naturally blonde hair) is what leads her to be bullied by her classmates.
* ZettaiRyouiki: She wears thigh-high socks and a short skirt in her school uniform.

[[folder:Momiji Sohma (The Rabbit)]]
!!Momiji Sohma (The Rabbit)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MikiNagasawa (Drama CD), Creator/KoukiMiyata (''The Last Story'' Voice Comic), Creator/AyakaSaitou (2001 Series), Creator/MegumiHan (2019 Series) (JP), Kimberly Grant (2001 Series), Creator/MikaelaKrantz (2019 Series) (EN)

[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/momiji_sohma_2019.png]]
[[caption-width-right:230:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rabbit_2019.png[[/labelnote]] to see him as the Rabbit]]

The Rabbit of the Zodiac, and the son of one of the richest members of the Sohma clan. His German mother was horrified by the Sohma curse and had all memories of him erased. Momiji is androgynous, childish, and likes dressing in women's clothing, but possesses great empathy and intuition about others. He is very fond of Tohru.

* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: He's introduced in Episode 3 of the 2019 anime, a good deal earlier than he first appeared in the manga and 2001 anime.
* BigBrotherInstinct: For his little sister, Momo. Even though she doesn't know about their relation, he still looks after her. In fact, she asks him to be her "big brother", which he happily accepts.
* {{Bishonen}}: He becomes as pretty as Yuki when he finally grows taller.
* BroughtDownToNormal: [[spoiler:He's freed from the curse in volume 20, with Hiro following shortly after.]]
* BunniesForCuteness: He's the Rabbit of the Zodiac, and there's a lot of emphasis on how cute he is in both his human form and his rabbit form.
* ButNotTooForeign: Half Japanese, half German. This detail isn't addressed at all in the 2001 anime.
* CuddleBug: Loves hugging people, especially Tohru, even though it means he'll transform.
* DramaticIrony: His mother had her memory of him erased and only knows him as a random Sohma child, and his little sister Momo doesn't know he exists, but his mother expresses concern that "his mother" will worry, and his sister asks to act as her [[BigBrotherInstinct big brother]].
* FreeRangeChildren: Lives in a house all to himself since his dad had his mom's memories erased. While he has servants and the occasional babysitting relative (like Hatori), for the most part he's left free to go wherever he wants.
* GratuitousGerman: In the manga and 2019, he'll occasionally sprinkle words and phrases in his dialogue due to being [[ButNotTooForeign half German]]. When he first meets Tohru in both versions, he speaks to her entirely in German, causing Tohru to assume he's a foreigner.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Nice, affectionate, helpful, a great kid.
* HeIsAllGrownUp: Later in the manga. Also invoked when he first enrolled in school. Hatsuharu argued that it should be okay for Momiji to wear the girl's uniform when he starts high school, because once he grows up more, he'll look ''very'' nice in the boy's uniform. Evidently, he was correct.
* HollywoodGenetics: Blonde German mother plus dark-haired Japanese father equals blonde son, apparently. Same for his sister Momo.
* HopelessSuitor: He truly does love Tohru, but he never confesses because he knows she doesn't love him back, at least not in the relationship sense.
* HypocriticalHumor: He accuses Kyo of having inappropriate thoughts towards Tohru before attempting to get in a hot spring with her himself.
* IGotBigger: He undergoes a growing spurt in later stages of the story.
* ItIsDehumanizing: His mother called him "that thing" in his flashbacks.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: He's in love with Tohru, but accepts that she loves Kyo.
* {{Keet}}: The ''embodiment'' of this trope and seems to be in love with Tohru. He's less of a Keet when he grows up, though he's still rather genki.
* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: Especially towards Tohru - his excitement at meeting a woman outside of the zodiac led him to hug Tohru in a public place, and he continues to [[CrashIntoHello glomp her as a greeting later in the manga]].
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Or rather immaturity. He displays seriousness at some points in the manga, which is usually quickly followed with childish antics. It's implied that he's more mature than he looks, and puts on a cheerful, childish facade.
* OlderThanHeLooks: Looks and acts like a child, but is actually the same age as Hatsuharu and only a year younger than Tohru, Yuki and Kyo.
* ParentalAbandonment: Both of Momiji's parents decided to erase his mother's memories of him and cast him out of their house to hide his existence from her and his younger sister.
* PrecociousCrush: While he's really only a year younger than Tohru, his childish appearance and behavior makes his feelings for her come off as this.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Says something like this when [[spoiler:Akito asks him to stay and be taken care of by her once his curse lifts. Akito doesn't take this well.]]
* SiblingTeam: If ''Another'' is anything to go by, he and Momo constantly work together, since she is his assistant.
* SproutingEars: In the 2019 anime's first ending, one scene has him run by with bunny ears. The reboot itself has its moments as well.
* StepfordSmiler: His mother's reaction to his cursed form hurt him terribly, but he pretends it doesn't bother him.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: With his mother and little sister. [[spoiler: Said little sister quickly latches onto him as a brother figure, despite not being told that they're related, she is basing it on how strongly he looks like her and her mama]].
* TheUnfavourite: His mother was so disgusted by him that she willingly asked to have him erased from her memory and his father pretty much chose his wife's mental health over his son, leaving Momiji abandoned by both parents. Momiji's parents went on to have a curse-free daughter who they dote on while Momiji is not even allowed to be part of the family and can only watch his mother and little sister from afar.
* WholesomeCrossdresser: Sometimes dresses up in female clothes. It's downplayed when he enters high school; he starts out wearing the girl's uniform, but with shorts instead of a skirt, and he eventually switches to the boy's uniform after he has a growth spurt.
* WildChild: Occasionally acts like this since he has no real adult supervision.
* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Occasionally displays this, like when he tells the story of the foolish traveler.
* ZettaiRyouiki: He sometimes wears thigh-high socks paired with shorts.

[[folder:Hatori Sohma (The Dragon)]]
!!Hatori Sohma (The Dragon)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KazuhikoInoue (2001 Series), Creator/KazuyukiOkitsu (2019 Series) (JP), Creator/KentWilliams (EN)

[[quoteright:140:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hatori_sohma_2019.png]]
[[caption-width-right:320:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dragon_2019.png[[/labelnote]] to see him as the Dragon]]

The Dragon of the Zodiac (despite turning into a seahorse instead of a literal dragon), and the family doctor. Serious and reserved, Hatori is responsible for Akito's health as well as erasing all memories that may interfere with the Sohma family's affairs. Hatori is almost blind in one eye as a result of an incident involving Akito in the past. He is good friends with Shigure and Ayame.

* AffectionateNickname: Momiji calls him "Ha'ri", while Shigure calls him "Haa-san" and Ayame calls him "Tori-san".
* TheAtoner: Shigure's discussions with Hatori indicate that Hatori feels very guilty about his role in the family as the memory-wiper, especially as the one who had to erase the memories of all of Yuki's friends when they were younger. It's also implied that his closeness with Momiji is a result of his guilt from being the one to wipe his mother's memories.
* BerserkButton:
** A more emotionally subdued version but he's very self-conscious about his zodiac form. When Shigure is about to tell Tohru what his zodiac form looks like, Hatori threatens to reveal all of Shigure's embarrassing secrets to his publishers.
** A bit of a subtle one: compare him to Shigure at all and he may throw a bit of a fit. When Tohru notes that his hair is growing out so much that it reminds her of Shigure, his immediate reaction is to say he's gonna cut it soon. When Shigure borrows a suit from him for Tohru's parent-teacher conference and tries to return it after, Hatori's response is to tell him to '''burn it''' (and it's worth noting that it's a 300000 yen (~$2800) suit!)
* BilingualBonus: Hatori turns into a seahorse instead of a dragon. A Japanese word for seahorse is 竜の落し子 ([[SeahorsesAreDragons "tatsu no otoshigo", which translates to "dragon's baby."]])
* {{Bishonen}}: Similar to the other members of the Zodiac and the Sohma in general. Kakeru asks if there's something he eats to be so good looking.
* CloudcuckoolandersMinder: Shigure mentions that Hatori is just about the only person Ayame listens to. The reason is that Aya admires the qualities in him he lacks.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: He has black hair and black eyes.
* DeadpanSnarker: To balance out the over-the-top Ayame and Shigure.
* EyeScream: Akito nearly blinded him in one eye in a fit of anger after he and Kana asked for permission to marry. [[GoryDiscretionShot The manga doesn't clearly show how it happened]], but in the 2001 anime Akito threw a vase at Hatori's face and in the 2019 anime Akito shoved Hatori so that he crashed into a nearby mirror.
* FatalFlaw: According to Ayame, it's his kindness as much as it is his best virtue.
* TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest: He's honestly glad that Kana could find happiness with another man after forgetting him, but Hatori still refuses to seek his own happiness because his curse and Akito make him afraid that he will only go through another depressing break up if he ever gets a new girlfriend.
* {{Foil}}: To Shigure. Both have been important figures in Akito's life, but Hatori holds nothing against Akito and he still takes care of Akito into adulthood regardless of what Akito has done to him. Hatori is also genuinely upset at his inability to protect the younger characters from Akito's wrath. One conversation with Shigure also indicates that despite his disapproval at '''how''' Shigure sets things in motion with regards to Akito and the rest of the family, he thinks that what Shigure is doing is better than his neutrality that keeps him from doing anything as someone that respects Akito's position as head of the family as well as [[spoiler:her place as God]].
* HospitalHottie: He's a doctor and has a reputation among the Sohma clan for being cool and very handsome, though he technically doesn't work at a hospital since he's strictly the Sohma family doctor.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: After Akito flipped out over Hatori's engagement to Kana and hurt his eye, Kana blamed herself for his injury and eventually became sick from the traumatic incident. To free Kana from her guilt and pain, Hatori erased her memories. He overhears Kana has been able to find a new love after forgetting about Hatori and he congratulates her with a smile.
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: For Akito to a certain extent - it seems like after her father died, Akito frequently turned to the older zodiac members for familial comfort and as an adult, Akito turns to Hatori for support on the rare occasion when Kureno isn't around. Unlike Shigure, Hatori doesn't abandon this duty in place of a grudge, and doesn't seem to genuinely hold a grudge for what happened to Kana or his eye.
* LoveMartyr: Hatori doesn't spend as much time with Akito as Kureno does, but the situation is similar in that he doesn't seek company outside of the Sohma family because caring for Akito takes up much of his time. That, and [[TraumaCongaLine Akito didn't take it so well the first time Hatori put another woman before Akito in his life]].
* ManlyTears: He cried the first time Kana told him she loved him.
* MemoryWipingCrew: He's the one in charge of erasing the memories of anyone who discovers the Sohma family's curse. This ability is a form of hypnosis that's been passed down through his line of the family for generations.
* NotSoAboveItAll: Has a few of moments of not being completely mature and poised. He tricked Yuki and Kyo into taking a photo of them seemingly smiling together only to playfully give the camera to Tohru by putting on her head. He gave Shigure more injections than necessary because the latter was being annoying. He also threatened to tell Shigure's colleagues every embarrassing story he knew about him since he was four if he told Tohru the secret of his zodiac form.
* OfficeRomance: With Kana. They fell in love while she was working as his assistant.
* OnlySaneMan: He's the serious, levelheaded foil to his best friends Shigure and Ayame.
* PeekABangs: His bangs completely cover his hurt left eye.
* SeahorsesAreDragons: He's the Dragon of the zodiac, but he actually transforms into a seahorse. [[spoiler:According to Shigure, this is a sign that the curse is weakening.]]
* SecondLove: After his first relationship failed, Shigure helps him find a second chance at love with [[spoiler: Mayuko.]]
* SecretRelationship: With Kana, until he told Akito about it. Akito did not respond well.
* SmokingIsCool: He's shown to smoke whenever he and Shigure meet up in the manga and 2001 anime, but not in the 2019 anime where none of the characters smoke.
* TheStoic: He's cool and composed at all times.
* StraightMan: He acts as the punchline deliverer whenever he's hanging out Shigure and Ayame, since he's used to their quirky personalities.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: He appears cold and collected in the surface. It only takes knowing him a bit better to realize Hatori is a very gentle man at heart.
* TrueCompanions: The Mabudachi Trio (with Shigure and Ayame), as much as it pains him to be around them...

[[folder:Ayame Sohma (The Snake)]]
!!Ayame Sohma (The Snake)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TakehitoKoyasu (Drama CD), Creator/MitsuruMiyamoto (2001 Series), Creator/TakahiroSakurai (2019 Series) (JP), Creator/ChristopherSabat (EN)

[[quoteright:215:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ayame_sohma_2019.png]]
[[caption-width-right:320:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/snake_2019.png[[/labelnote]] to see him as the Snake]]

The Snake of the Zodiac, and older brother to Yuki. Gregarious, flirtatious, flamboyant, and self-centered, Ayame runs a shop that sells custom-made costumes. He has a complicated relationship with his younger brother, and is good friends with Shigure and Hatori.

* AffectionateNickname: Shigure calls him "Aaya".
* AloofBigBrother: He used to be rather aloof towards Yuki. By the time the series starts, he's gotten over it, but unfortunately his over-the-top behavior tends to annoy Yuki more than anything.
* TheAtoner: Feels guilty for his treatment of Yuki when they were kids, and for how he treated a girl who loved him when he was in school.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Eventually develops this towards Yuki in an attempt to make up for his mistreatment of his brother during their younger days.
* BigDamnHeroes: To Yuki during a parent/teacher conference. Yuki's emotionally abusive mother overrides his wishes for his future, coldly shuts down his objections to her steamrolling him, and starts to make him feel like a helpless child at her mercy again. Then Ayame [[LiteralMetaphor busts in]] with his [[LargeHam usual pomp and regalia]], carelessly overrides his mother's objections to him being there, and cooly shuts her down when she tries to exert control over Yuki again. This causes her to RageQuit and leave in a huff. It's also the first time Yuki is genuinely happy that Ayame is in his life.
* {{Bishonen}}: Considering he's [[DudeLooksLikeALady Yuki's]] brother...
* BiTheWay: He's unapologetically and indiscriminately flirtatious, doesn't think twice about snuggling close to Kyo while he sleeps, and in his student council president days, offered to let all the boys in his high school channel any scandalous desires towards him. He's also happily dating Mine.
* ChivalrousPervert: Much more than Shigure. He always makes perverted comments towards Tohru, which always make Yuki and Kyo mad.
* {{Determinator}}: He ''will'' mend bridges and bond with Yuki, no matter how many times the kid loses his temper with him and throws him out.
* DudeLooksLikeALady: It's the long hair and his effeminate behavior.
* GenderBlenderName: "Ayame" is usually a girl's name.
* HomoeroticSubtext: PlayedForLaughs between him and Shigure as a long-running joke between them.
* ItsAllAboutMe: PlayedForLaughs a lot, but it's also a genuine character flaw that has caused him to be callous to Yuki and others. When he finds out a girl he had been cluelessly cruel to in high-school is in town, he's all in a tizzy to comfort her, thinking she must have been broken and mooning over him all these years. Then he finds out she'd simply ''moved on'' and is HappilyMarried.
* LargeHam: It's refered to as "steamrolling people with his personality."
* LongHairedPrettyBoy: Has long white hair and fine features.
* MundaneMadeAwesome: Ayame eats his ''soba'', with great confidence.
* MyGreatestFailure: While it took years to sink in, in the long run the day he callously [[LiteralMetaphor brushed Yuki away]] when he literally [[LiteralMetaphor reached out to him for help]] (while Yuki was being severely emotionally abused by Akito with their mother's consent) is not something he can forgive himself for. He also feels terrible for indifferently shrugging off the romantic confession of a girl he went to high school with.
* TheNicknamer: Gives nicknames to nearly all his friends, whether they're okay with it or not.
* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: Justified when he's in snake form, as he's extremely susceptible to the cold and needs to rely on another person's body heat. Not that this explains him from getting into bed with Kyo (fully clothed) in the middle of the night and snuggling close.
* RapunzelHair: Down to his back.
* ShipperOnDeck: Seems to support Yuki/Tohru and Kyo/Kagura judging by how he wants to embroider "I live for Kagura" on Kyo's clothing and "I live for Yuki" on Tohru's clothing. Then again, Yuki is his brother and Yuki has a crush on Tohru for most of the series, so it makes sense that Ayame would ship her with his little brother.
** Later when Kakeru lets Ayame know about Yuki [[spoiler:and Machi's growing relationship, he immediately supports them together]] showing that it doesn't matter who his brother ends up with, as long as he's with someone he loves.
** He was also a strong supporter of Hatori's relationship with Kana, and is surprisingly upset that Hatori didn't at least go to her wedding.
* ShownTheirWork: Reptiles like snakes are cold-blooded, and thus, get easily influenced by the temperature of their surroundings. It explains why Ayame transforms so easily during the cold weather.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: Ayame is basically Yuki if he had longer, lighter hair.
* TrueCompanions: The Mabudachi Trio (with Shigure and Hatori)
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Not so much because he'll do anything to ''get'' what he wants, it's that he'll do ''what'' he wants - with all sorts of flowers, frill, and flair - that he thinks will help convey his point the best (his 'brotherly love' for Yuki being the best example).
* WhatTheHellHero: He calls out Hatori for giving up on Kana. He's wrong in one respect (the lesson she taught him never faded), but you still can't deny he had a point.
-->'''Ayame:''' I cannot accept that. Yes, I'm biased in your favor, but that doesn't change how wrong all of this is. It's not fair to ''you''. Kana has it easy. She's forgotten everything and found her chance at happiness. And you're stuck shouldering the burden of those memories all alone. I can't help but feel that she's left you behind with nothing!