Tohru Honda
The protagonist of the story is a young girl who
has been forced by the circumstances of her life to take care of herself. She is energetic and resourceful, striving not to be a burden to anyone. She needs to grow up fast yet remains surprisingly innocent and naive. In order to support herself she becomes a housekeeper to a remarkable group of characters and finds herself in the middle of a family curse.
Facts:
Zodiac -- born in the year of the dog but would join the year of the cat fan club if there was one
Nicknames --
Love interest --
Juunishi
Yuki Sohma
Tohru knows Yuki as a popular student at the school she attends. He's very attractive an popular with the other girls at the school but generally holds himself aloof from others, giving himself an air of mystery. He lives with Shigure and does not like going to the main house. We are lead to believe that he suffered there when younger.
Facts:
Zodiac animal -- Rat
Nicknames -- The Prince
Love interest -- None
Kyo Sohma
Seeming to be perpetually angry, Kyo strives to beat up Yuki. Invariably Yuki wins these battles. Kyo is also popular at school, even with his prickly nature. Kyo and Yuki are the same age.
Facts
Zodiac animal -- Cat
Nicknames --Kyon-Kyon
Love interest -- None
Kagura Sohma
Kagura charges in, heedless of the consequences. She's painfully in love with Kyo and forces herself on him. Kagura is actually older than Kyo.
Facts:
Zodiac animal -- Boar
Nicknames --
Love interest -- Kyo Sohma
Momiji Sohma
Half German and half Japanese, Tohru first met Momiji in the building where she works. He is a middle student who looks like an elementary student and he lives in the Sohma compound. Momiji and Hatsuharu are the same age.
Facts:
Zodiac animal -- Rabbit
Nicknames --
Love interest --
Hatsuharu Sohma
In general kind and laid back but when he loses his temper he becomes Black Haru and cannot be reasoned with. He is the same age as Momiji.
Facts:
Zodiac animal -- Ox
Nicknames -- Haru
Love interest -- Yuki
Mabudachi Trio
Shigure Sohma
Shigure is the apparent adult in the house. He is a writer of what we are lead to believe are somewhat questionable novels. He's an enigmatic character who seems to be able to communicate comfortably with Akito when others are nervous about it. Typically wears tradition Japanese kimono.
Facts:
Zodiac animal -- Dog
Nicknames --Shii-Chan
Also called Sensei because of his profession
Love interest-- high school girls
Hatori Sohma
Cigarette smoking doctor to the Sohma family, Hatori is nearly blind in his left eye as a result of a disagreement with Akito. Hatori is the one who erases the memories of those who find out the family secret. He and Shigure have know each other since childhood.
Facts:
Zodiac animal -- Dragon
Nicknames -- Haa-San, Tori-nii
Also called Sensei because of his profession
Love interests -- Engaged to Kana until ordered by Akito to break up
Ayame SohmaYuki's older brother, Ayame runs a shop that sells very interesting clothing.
Facts:
Zodiac animal -- Snake
Nicknames -- Aaya
Love interests -- None
Akito Sohma
The head of the Sohma family, Akito is a mysterious figure that is sometimes seen in the background, flashback, or a single panel. The other members of the Zodiac seem to be quite afraid him.
Facts:
Zodiac animal --
Nicknames --
Zodiac animal --
Nicknames --
Love interest --
Kisa Sohma
Kisa has just entered middle school and is being mercilessly teased because of the way she looks. Not knowing what else to do she stops talking completely. Tohru is able to explain to Kisa's mother why Kisa didn't tell her about the teasing. In response Kisa follows Tohru around and eventually starts speaking again.
Facts:
Zodiac animal -- Tiger
Nicknames --
Love interests -- None
Other Sohma Characters
Kazuma Sohma
A martial arts instructor who taught Yuki, Kyo, Kagura, Hatsuharu, and others. He is Kyo's father figure.
Facts:
Nicknames -- Shishou
Love interest --
Arisa Uotani
Arisa enjoys fighting with Kyo whenever they have any sort of friendly competition. He calls her a Yankee thug. She is a very close friend of Tohru's and is always deeply concerned about her well-being.
Facts:
Nicknames -- Uo-Chan
Love interest --
Saki Hanajima
Apparently a psychic, Hana-chan senses the electric vibes from people around her. She's also able to throw out some powerful electric waves herself. Hana-san is very close to Tohru.
Facts:
Nicknames -- Hana-Chan
Love interest --
Mine Kuramae
An employee of Ayame's she is able to sew the dresses he creates in his fantastical shop.
Facts:
Nicknames --
Love interest --
8 comments:
I'm not done reading vol. 4 but I'm tired so this is all I have for now. All of the descriptions aren't quite done and of course we'll have to add more as they appear in the story. Please feel free to edit in or correct the information in the post.
I thought we could discuss the characters in more depth here. For instance, Shigure who I rather like is starting to look like quite a selfish person. However, we don't really know the entire story with him.
Wonderful work here, Debra (I keep having to resist the urge to call you Ghost, old habits die hard). I love the pics you chose, though there are a few characters that don't appear in the anime later on that we'll have to use another format of pic for.
Shigure certainly seems to take the curse much more lightly than everyone else, and doesn't seem to have any serious love interest, which may or may not be related. He seems to be scheming, as you mentioned when he and Hatori talk together. I often felt he and Yuki should change animals, if the animals dictate their personalities. Rats are thought to be more scheming and conniving than dogs, who are perceived as loyal and faithful, which are traits I don't necessarily see in Shigure at this point in time.
I also want to discuss the rivalry between Kyo and Yuki here, and what certain significant comments say about it. I get the impression that Kyo, as an outcast, seeks at the very least Yuki's favored status within the Sohma family, some sort of acceptance. Yuki seems more mature than Kyo in that he recognizes more of his own weaknesses and shortcomings, but still can't seem to do anything about them. They both envy what the other one has, and have some problems with communication, especially regarding their feelings.
This is wonderful, Debra! Thank you for all the work in starting this up. We'll have lots more to add as we get to know these characters better and meet new ones. I'm really glad to have a place where we can put all our thoughts.
I've thought about what our perceptions are about the different animals of the zodiac, and I wonder if Western thought is different than Eastern thought...if that makes sense. Like you said with rats, Angela, that rats are thought to be more as schemers...but is that how they are thought of in the Chinese Zodiac? I will have to dig a little deeper on this and see if there are any cultural perspectives that need to come into play here.
Oh - I had to add that I love that you put that Haru's love interest is Yuki, Debra. lol. Aw, Haru...he's one of my favorites.
The art is great and this is really helpful. Thanks for putting this together.
This is awesome. Maybe for Aaya's love interest we could put "himself." (lol) Though I could be wrong. That's just he impression I have of him so far.
I added a little about Tohru - just that she's born in the year of the dog.
Are you okay with us contributing additional information to this list, Debra? I'm not sure what you had in mind for adding new characters or for adding new info as we learn it. I think that a good policy would be to not post any "new" information until we've opened the discussion for that reading section. I know that goes without saying, but we'll be able to really flesh this list out as we go along.
Finally, just some housekeeping - I added a link list on the side of the blog that will make it easier to navigate between this guide and the various discussions.
Sorry that I've been too busy to keep up. Yes, by all means, please add whatever you want to this. I was thinking that we should probably have an entry for Tohru's mother. I am still finishing volume 4 so I'm getting pretty far behind. I have 1 more week of school left before the summer break. Hopefully I can catch up then.
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