History Characters / FruitsBasketTohruHonda

* ChronicSelfDeprecation: Has low self esteem hidden under [[ThePollyanna her eternal smile]].* ChronicSelfDeprecation: Has low self esteem hidden under [[ThePollyanna her eternal smile]].

* HeroicSelfDeprecation: Has low self esteem hidden under [[ThePollyanna her eternal smile]].

* HatesTheirParent: Deconstructed. Tohru has ''very'' troubled feelings towards her deceased father [[spoiler:who she can't clearly remember. When Tohru was a toddler, Kyoko's ExcessiveMourning after Katsuya's unexpected death caused her to neglect Tohru for some time. Unable to understand what was happening, the little Tohru interpreted this as her father "taking her mother away" and became terrified that Kyoko didn't love her because "she didn't resemble her father". Ever since, Tohru started using {{Keigo}} to remind Kyoko of Katsuya, but a part of her was always afraid that could be the only reason Kyoko became such a loving mother. Tohru admits a very dark side of her still wants to think of her father as a bad guy, but [[WhyCantIHateYou she feels terrible for having such a feeling towards her own father who really wasn't at fault for dying so suddenly]].]]

* HisQuirkLivesOn: After her father Katsuya died, her relatives on his side of the family insensitively commented on how Tohru looks nothing like him and she began fearing Kyoko wouldn't love her unless she reminded him of Katsuya. Since one of the few things she remembered about her father was his overly-polite speech, she adapted {{Keigo}} into her speech and has used it constantly ever since.

* {{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 even has her sigh and then add "desu" out of habit. While this reflects her humble nature, she also does this deliberately since her father Katsuya also had polite speech patterns, and since he died when she was three, it's one of the few things she remembers about him. In the dub, this is adapted as her speaking as though she was a parent or significant other. [[spoiler:She also deliberately picked up these speech patterns as a way to keep Kyoko from leaving her, since she secretly resents Katsuya as Kyoko's grief over his death made her neglect Tohru for a time and almost commit suicide.]]

** Deconstructed in the case of Tohru and her father. She's nothing like him; doesn't look like him, didn't inherit his personality. The only thing they have in common is that both speak in {{Keigo}} [[spoiler:and she only started talking like him hoping it would keep her mother from leaving her again because Tohru heard her father's relatives say she didn't resemble Katsuya at all and the little Tohru believed Kyoko wouldn't love her unless she reminded her of Katsuya in some way.]]

** Invoked; Tohru adopted what she could remember of her father Katsuya's [[{{Keigo}} polite speech patterns]] to remind her mother Kyoko of him after Kyoko had a psychological breakdown when he died, in the hopes it would keep Kyoko from leaving her again. Of course, as noted on the FridgeBrilliance page, Tohru ''does'' actually have more in common with her father than it initially seems.

* YamatoNadeshiko: Downplayed; she has all the [[{{Keigo}} politeness]] and domestic talent, is very good at cooking Japanese style dishes, and can show some 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, and her design in the 2019 anime changes her hairstyle slightly into more of a HimeCut. However, she still doesn't quite live up to the trope since she's also clumsy, naive, and has a tendency to be an ExtremeDoormat due to her low self-esteem.

* HasTwoMommies: It's often joked that Uotani and Hanajima have been acting as Tohru's surrogate parents ever since Kyoko passed away.

* 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.

** Of the AllLovingHero. While a genuinely kind person who sees the best in everyone, Tohru is also a BrokenMessiah who focuses on helping other people because her low self-esteem and grief over Kyoko's death makes her believe that she doesn't deserve any kindness for herself. As a result, she constantly sidelines her own problems and [[StepfordSmiler hides her insecurities behind her upbeat attitude]]. Part of her CharacterDevelopment is allowing other people to help her, and to feel worthy of being helped.

* DudeMagnet: She attracts a lot of attention from guys over the course of the series: most notably [[spoiler:Kyo, Yuki, and Momiji, who all fall for her, though it's later revealed that Yuki was LovingAShadow]], but Haru also hits on her when he's in Black Haru mode, and Shigure wishes late in the series that he could have met someone like her in his youth.

* DudeMagnet: She attracts a lot of attention from guys over the course of the series: most notably [[spoiler:Kyo, Yuki, and Momiji, who all fall for her, though it's later revealed that Yuki was LovingAShadow]], but Haru also hits on her when he's in Black Haru mode, and Shigure notes that, if they were the same age, he would've been happy to end up with her.

* GenericCuteness: Downplayed: while Tohru isn't unattractive by any means, she's noted to not be a standout in terms of looks, and her status as a DudeMagnet has more to do with her [[NiceGirl exceptionally caring]] personality

* 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.

* AmbiguouslyBi: Tohru is definitely attracted to men, since she often gets flustered when interacting with the [[{{Bishonen}} very attractive]] male Sohmas and her primary love interests are Yuki and Kyo. However, she also tends to comment to herself how cute or beautiful other female characters are, particularly Rin (who's [[NakedFirstImpression naked]] when Tohru first meets her, causing Tohru to think about how Rin is a "voluptuous beauty" while blushing).

* BlackSheep: Due to their disapproval of Kyoko's background as a delinquent, most of the Hondas view Tohru as an outsider to the point where they think [[TurnOutLikeHisFather Tohru will eventually become a delinquent herself]], with her grandfather as the noteworthy exception. After some persuasion from her grandfather, Tohru chooses to stay with Yuki and Kyo at Shigure's house since the Hondas don't want her around.

* BlackSheep: Aside from her grandfather, most of the Hondas distrust her because they disapproved of her mother's background as a delinquent, and they even think [[TurnOutLikeHisFather it's likely that Tohru will become a delinquent herself]]. After some persuasion from her grandfather, Tohru chooses to stay with Yuki and Kyo at Shigure's house because the Hondas make it abundantly clear they don't want her around.

* BlackSheep: Aside from her grandfather, most of the Honda family looks down on her because they didn't approve of her mother's background as a delinquent, and they even think [[TurnOutLikeHisFather it's likely that Tohru will become a delinquent herself]]. After some persuasion from her grandfather, Tohru chooses to stay with Yuki and Kyo at Shigure's house because the Hondas make it abundantly clear they don't want her around.

* GoodCounterpart: To Akito. Both girls struggle with the loss of a beloved parent and are secretly afraid of being alone and abandoned, both have {{Gender Blender Name}}s, and parallels are drawn between Tohru's devotion to her dead mother tying her down emotionally and Akito's obsession with the "eternal bonds" of the Zodiac curse. However, whereas Tohru is a NiceGirl who treats others kindly in spite of her issues, Akito is a {{Yandere}} who let her issues consume her and is abusive and cruel to everyone around her. In many ways, Akito also serves as Tohru's ShadowArchetype, representing what she could have become had she been raised by an AxCrazy, [[AbusiveParents abusive]] mother like Ren rather than a [[DotingParent doting]] but still wise mother like Kyoko. During the series' climax, Tohru herself [[NotSoDifferentRemark acknowledges that she and Akito aren't so different]].

* MirrorCharacter: To Akito. While they have similar traits ({{Gender Blender Name}}s, attachment to beloved [[DeceasedParentsAreTheBest dead parents]], and a [[HatesBeingAlone fear of being alone]]), they're also as different as night and day. While Tohru is an incredibly sweet and selfless NiceGirl who always puts other people's happiness before her own, Akito is an incredibly cruel and selfish {{Jerkass}} who [[ItsAllAboutMe prioritizes her own happiness]] before everyone else's, especially the Zodiac members'. While Akito envies the unconditional love Tohru receives, Tohru herself has deeply-repressed selfish urges (mainly her desire to have her mother all to herself, hating her father for "taking" her mother even though she knows such hatred is wrong). Over the course of the manga, Tohru comes to terms with the idea that it's okay to be selfish once in awhile, and Akito is able to let go of the curse and accept that [[SomebodyDoesntLoveRaymond not everyone will like her]].

* CompanionCube: She rarely goes anywhere without photos of Kyoko, going so far as to take baths with them and treating them as though they actually ''are'' Kyoko. In the first episode alone, she has a FreakOut over her mother's picture being buried in a landslide alongside her tent, speaking as if Kyoko was BuriedAlive, and when Hiro takes her wallet, which contains one such picture, she reacts as if Hiro just kidnapped her mother. Deconstructed as time goes on, as it's made clear that Tohru doing so is unhealthy and signifies her inability to accept her mother's death and move on.

* BlackSheep: Aside from her grandfather, most of the Honda family looks down on her because they didn't approve of her mother's background as a delinquent, and they even think it's likely that Tohru will become a delinquent herself since "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree". After some persuasion from her grandfather, Tohru chooses to stay with Yuki and Kyo at Shigure's house because the Hondas make it abundantly clear they don't want her around.

* BlackSheep: Aside from her grandfather, most of the Honda family looks down on her because they didn't approve of her mother's background as a delinquent. After some persuasion from her grandfather, Tohru chooses to stay with Yuki and Kyo at Shigure's house because the Hondas make it abundantly clear they don't want her around.

* BlackSheep: Except for her grandfather, Tohru is viewed negatively by the other members of the Honda family because they frown upon her mother's background as a delinquent. After some persuasion from her grandfather, Tohru chooses to stay with Yuki and Kyo at Shigure's house because the Hondas make it abundantly clear they don't want her around.

* ChildrenDoTheHousework: Tohru was raised by her young and widowed mother Kyoko. Since Kyoko needed to work all day to support them both, Tohru did the cooking, cleaning and laundry at their apartment. After Kyoko dies in a traffic accident, Tohru's experience at housekeeping is very useful when she moves in with the Sohmas since none of [[MenCantKeepHouse her male housemates are good at it]].

[-[[Characters/FruitsBasketMainCharacters Main Characters]] ('''Tohru Honda''') | [[Characters/FruitsBasketTheSohmaFamily The Sohma Family]] | [[Characters/FruitsBasketTohrusFriendsAndFamily Tohru's Friends and Family]] | [[Characters/FruitsBasketTheStudentCouncilAndOtherCharacters Student Council and Other Characters]] | [[Characters/FruitsBasketAnother Sequel Characters]]]]-]]]

* CharacterDevelopment: Tohru starts out as very softspoken and latched onto the mother she just lost, but by the end of the story has left her grieving phase and is a little bit more assertive with her feelings.

* MirrorCharacter: To Akito. While they have similar traits ({{Gender Blender Name}}s, attachment to beloved [[DeceasedParentsAreTheBest dead parents]], and a [[HatesBeingAlone fear of being alone]]), they're also as different as night and day. While Tohru is an incredibly sweet and selfless NiceGirl who always puts others before her own happiness, Akito is an incredibly cruel and selfish {{Jerkass}} who [[ItsAllAboutMe puts her own happiness]] before everyone else's, especially the Zodiac members'. While Akito envies the unconditional love Tohru receives, Tohru herself has deeply-repressed selfish urges (mainly her desire to have her mother all to herself, hating her father for "taking" her mother even though she knows such hatred is wrong). Over the course of the manga, Tohru comes to terms with the idea that it's okay to be selfish once in awhile, and Akito is able to let go of the curse and accept that [[SomebodyDoesntLoveRaymond not everyone will like her]].

* ExpectingSomeoneTaller: When Arisa Uotani found out that her Gang Idol Kyoko had a daughter around her age named Tohru Honda, she thought that said daughter would be one of the toughest gangster there was and was wondering why she hadn't come across a girl like that if they supposedly went to the same school. When she bumped into a sweet clumsy girl and found out she was Tohru Honda, she could only give a FlatWhat.