Yuki Sohma
Encyclopedia
is a fictional character from the anime
and manga
series Fruits Basket
by Natsuki Takaya
, and is one of the three protagonists of the story. He is depicted as a popular high school student despite severe self-doubts, and is president of the student council. He is sometimes called "Prince Yuki" by his fans. When Yuki is hugged by the opposite gender or if his body is under a great deal of stress, he transforms into the rat
of the Chinese zodiac
.
According to the anime, when he turns into the same animal, he's revealed to have light gray
fur
.
, unlike the other zodiac characters, his name is not derived from it. Natsuki Takaya
claimed in an author's note she used "Yuki" because "nothing sounded good." can also mean snow
in Japanese
, corresponding with "Ice Prince," one of Yuki's nicknames, although the kanji
in his name mean and , or "a reason to hope".
In an interview, Takaya said that when she was developing the series, Yuki was one of the first three characters she developed, after Tohru. According to the Fruits Basket Character Book, she had him dress in Chinese-style clothes because she likes them. She added that she believes they suit his androgynous nature, and that she deliberately gave Yuki and Kyo different tastes to distinguish them.
, the animal that according to legend was first to arrive at the initial zodiac banquet, Yuki is talented at anything he tries (except cooking and cleaning). However, when Yuki was young, Akito Sohma
kept him isolated from the rest of the family and convinced him no one liked or needed him; because of this emotional abuse, Yuki has low self-esteem and feels isolated. He is known as "Prince Yuki" and "Prince Charming" at school, where despite his popularity he must avoid intimacy with girls lest they trigger his transformation into a rat. He has a fan club headed by Motoko Minagawa that tries to "protect" him from other admirers, with the result that Yuki is further isolated. Yuki, however, wishes that he could be with people as friends, rather than be admired from afar, and envies both Kyo Sohma
's and Kakeru Manabe's easy ways with others. He is touched when, faced with the prospect of having her memory of the Sohma family secret erased, Tohru Honda
asks that he remain her friend, which no one had asked him before.
With Tohru's help Yuki is gradually able to "open the lid" on his feelings, and the summer after she begins living in Shigure's house, Yuki admits to himself that he loves her. As a child, Yuki was traumatized by Akito Sohma
, the leader of the Sohma family. When Yuki was younger, Akito had total control over him. He would tell him terrible things that he could never forget, like that he was the most hated member of the family, and that if it weren't for him, Yuki would have no reason to exist. These statements were seemingly confirmed by the behavior of the rest of the family: Hatsuharu proclaimed he hated Yuki (although he later comes to adore Yuki), despite the fact he had never met him before. His brother, Ayame Sohma, brushed off his cry for help, and Kyo always hated and blamed him. Everyone else in the zodiac did not speak with him, though that was probably not an intentional snub on their part. On top of being mentally abusive, Akito was often physically abusive as well, and sometimes would lock Yuki away inside a dark room to torment him. As a result of the combined abuse, Yuki has terribly low self-esteem, and suffers from self-hatred
and an inferiority complex
. Though his outward demeanor shows nothing of his childhood torture, Yuki reveals to Tohru that he does not care or appreciate who he is as his personality was shaped to please others and conform to society, which he incidentally excels at.
Yuki's worst enemy would be Kyo Sohma
, the cat of the zodiac. Hatsuharu Sohma felt animosity towards Yuki during part of their childhood because of the story often told to Haru about the rat taking advantage of the stupid cow; this made Haru develop an inferiority complex
towards his older cousin. However, after actually meeting Yuki face-to-face, Haru was able to see Yuki's extreme kindness and developed a deep admiration for him, going as far to call it love.
Yuki also feels a close connection with his cousin Kisa Sohma, as Kisa was teased because the children in her class thought she was different from others. Until Tohru Honda touched her heart, she didn't go to school and she couldn't speak, much like Yuki back when he was younger. Likewise Yuki, despite his popularity, rarely interacted with anyone on a personal level and was extremely private and introverted. Until he met Tohru, Yuki was afraid of becoming close to anyone because of an incident during his childhood when his secret was discovered by his friends during a game of tag, when Akito ordered Hatori Sohma to erase the children's memories, thus leaving Yuki alone and without friends. After meeting Tohru, Yuki started warming up to other people and becomes much more social, as well as accepting who he really is. He even becomes close friends with the other members of the student council during his time as president, especially with Kakeru Manabe (who becomes a very close friend to Yuki despite having a similar personality to Ayame) and Machi Kuragi (a girl that he falls in love with).
Yuki also appears to have respiratory problems, due to his weak bronchial tubes, and gets regular checkups from Hatori to monitor his condition. In his childhood these asthma
attacks were apparently frequent, though they appear to be less so in the present. Still, he has to take extra precautions because he occasionally has attacks, which could cause him to transform in public. Throughout the manga, the attacks are less and less frequent.
When Tohru ends up in the hospital, Yuki goes to Kyo's room demanding to know why he did not visit her. Yuki then begins to beat him up saying that Kyo is not a superhero so he couldn't have saved Tohru. This is when they finally admit to each other that they envied one another. In the last chapter Yuki tells Kyo to remain level headed and he calls him "stupid cat", Kyo replies that he does not need to be looked after and calls him "stupid rat" they both smile.
In the manga but not the anime, after Kyo was freed from the curse, a series of events was triggered and the rest of the cursed Sohma family members became free. Yuki is the last Sohma member to be freed, noticing this as he was talking to Machi. The spirit of the zodiac took the rat spirit and thanked Yuki for keeping his promise for a long time. It is possible perhaps Yuki was the last one to be freed because he was the rat, the first of the Jyuunishi. Throughout the series, he, like Kyo, seems to have some romantic feelings for Tohru, and they have some "chemistry" you could say. He gets protective of her when someone else tries to do something to her, though maybe not quite as strongly as Kyo does.
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
and manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series Fruits Basket
Fruits Basket
, sometimes abbreviated , is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Natsuki Takaya. It was serialized in the semi-monthly Japanese magazine Hana to Yume, published by Hakusensha, from 1999 to 2006. The series was also adapted into a 26-episode anime series, directed by Akitaro...
by Natsuki Takaya
Natsuki Takaya
is the penname of a Japanese manga artist best known for creating the series Fruits Basket, which at one time was the best selling manga in the world. She was born on July 7, 1973. Takaya is left-handed and once revealed that she wanted to be a manga artist since first grade, when her sister...
, and is one of the three protagonists of the story. He is depicted as a popular high school student despite severe self-doubts, and is president of the student council. He is sometimes called "Prince Yuki" by his fans. When Yuki is hugged by the opposite gender or if his body is under a great deal of stress, he transforms into the rat
Rat (zodiac)
The Rat is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar, the Year of the Rat is associated with the earthly branch symbol 子...
of the Chinese zodiac
Chinese zodiac
The Shēngxiào , better known in English as the Chinese Zodiac, is a scheme that relates each year to an animal and its reputed attributes, according to a 12-year mathematical cycle...
.
According to the anime, when he turns into the same animal, he's revealed to have light gray
Grey
Grey or gray is an achromatic or neutral color.Complementary colors are defined to mix to grey, either additively or subtractively, and many color models place complements opposite each other in a color wheel. To produce grey in RGB displays, the R, G, and B primary light sources are combined in...
fur
Fur
Fur is a synonym for hair, used more in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensives body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal...
.
Creation and conception
Although the rat is the twelfth month in the Japanese lunar calendarJapanese calendar
On January 1, 1873, Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar. Before 1873, the Chinese style lunisolar calendar had been in use since 7th century. Japanese eras are still in use.-System:...
, unlike the other zodiac characters, his name is not derived from it. Natsuki Takaya
Natsuki Takaya
is the penname of a Japanese manga artist best known for creating the series Fruits Basket, which at one time was the best selling manga in the world. She was born on July 7, 1973. Takaya is left-handed and once revealed that she wanted to be a manga artist since first grade, when her sister...
claimed in an author's note she used "Yuki" because "nothing sounded good." can also mean snow
Snow
Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
in Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, corresponding with "Ice Prince," one of Yuki's nicknames, although the kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
in his name mean and , or "a reason to hope".
In an interview, Takaya said that when she was developing the series, Yuki was one of the first three characters she developed, after Tohru. According to the Fruits Basket Character Book, she had him dress in Chinese-style clothes because she likes them. She added that she believes they suit his androgynous nature, and that she deliberately gave Yuki and Kyo different tastes to distinguish them.
Personality and background
Yuki is depicted as an attractive, reserved, and accomplished young man with many admirers, but who finds being friendly difficult. As a young man possessed by the ratRat (zodiac)
The Rat is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar, the Year of the Rat is associated with the earthly branch symbol 子...
, the animal that according to legend was first to arrive at the initial zodiac banquet, Yuki is talented at anything he tries (except cooking and cleaning). However, when Yuki was young, Akito Sohma
Akito Sohma
is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the manga and anime series Fruits Basket. Akito is the head of the Sohma clan and is shrouded in mystery and although frail with poor health, is feared and loathed by many members of the Sohma clan....
kept him isolated from the rest of the family and convinced him no one liked or needed him; because of this emotional abuse, Yuki has low self-esteem and feels isolated. He is known as "Prince Yuki" and "Prince Charming" at school, where despite his popularity he must avoid intimacy with girls lest they trigger his transformation into a rat. He has a fan club headed by Motoko Minagawa that tries to "protect" him from other admirers, with the result that Yuki is further isolated. Yuki, however, wishes that he could be with people as friends, rather than be admired from afar, and envies both Kyo Sohma
Kyo Sohma
is a character in the manga and anime series Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya. He transforms into an orange cat whenever he is hugged by the opposite gender or when his body comes under a great deal of stress. This animal is not in the Chinese zodiac, but legend says would have been if it had not...
's and Kakeru Manabe's easy ways with others. He is touched when, faced with the prospect of having her memory of the Sohma family secret erased, Tohru Honda
Tohru Honda
is a fictional character in the manga and anime series Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya. She is the main protagonist, noted for her cheerful optimism, altruistic nature, and great sympathy for others...
asks that he remain her friend, which no one had asked him before.
With Tohru's help Yuki is gradually able to "open the lid" on his feelings, and the summer after she begins living in Shigure's house, Yuki admits to himself that he loves her. As a child, Yuki was traumatized by Akito Sohma
Akito Sohma
is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the manga and anime series Fruits Basket. Akito is the head of the Sohma clan and is shrouded in mystery and although frail with poor health, is feared and loathed by many members of the Sohma clan....
, the leader of the Sohma family. When Yuki was younger, Akito had total control over him. He would tell him terrible things that he could never forget, like that he was the most hated member of the family, and that if it weren't for him, Yuki would have no reason to exist. These statements were seemingly confirmed by the behavior of the rest of the family: Hatsuharu proclaimed he hated Yuki (although he later comes to adore Yuki), despite the fact he had never met him before. His brother, Ayame Sohma, brushed off his cry for help, and Kyo always hated and blamed him. Everyone else in the zodiac did not speak with him, though that was probably not an intentional snub on their part. On top of being mentally abusive, Akito was often physically abusive as well, and sometimes would lock Yuki away inside a dark room to torment him. As a result of the combined abuse, Yuki has terribly low self-esteem, and suffers from self-hatred
Self-hatred
Self-hatred refers to an extreme dislike and hatred of oneself, or being angry at or even prejudiced towards oneself. The term is also used to designate a dislike or hatred of a group, family, social class, mental illness, or stereotype to which one belongs and/or has...
and an inferiority complex
Inferiority complex
An inferiority complex, in the fields of psychology and psychoanalysis, is a feeling that one is inferior to others in some way. Such feelings can arise from an imagined or actual inferiority in the afflicted person...
. Though his outward demeanor shows nothing of his childhood torture, Yuki reveals to Tohru that he does not care or appreciate who he is as his personality was shaped to please others and conform to society, which he incidentally excels at.
Yuki's worst enemy would be Kyo Sohma
Kyo Sohma
is a character in the manga and anime series Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya. He transforms into an orange cat whenever he is hugged by the opposite gender or when his body comes under a great deal of stress. This animal is not in the Chinese zodiac, but legend says would have been if it had not...
, the cat of the zodiac. Hatsuharu Sohma felt animosity towards Yuki during part of their childhood because of the story often told to Haru about the rat taking advantage of the stupid cow; this made Haru develop an inferiority complex
Inferiority complex
An inferiority complex, in the fields of psychology and psychoanalysis, is a feeling that one is inferior to others in some way. Such feelings can arise from an imagined or actual inferiority in the afflicted person...
towards his older cousin. However, after actually meeting Yuki face-to-face, Haru was able to see Yuki's extreme kindness and developed a deep admiration for him, going as far to call it love.
Yuki also feels a close connection with his cousin Kisa Sohma, as Kisa was teased because the children in her class thought she was different from others. Until Tohru Honda touched her heart, she didn't go to school and she couldn't speak, much like Yuki back when he was younger. Likewise Yuki, despite his popularity, rarely interacted with anyone on a personal level and was extremely private and introverted. Until he met Tohru, Yuki was afraid of becoming close to anyone because of an incident during his childhood when his secret was discovered by his friends during a game of tag, when Akito ordered Hatori Sohma to erase the children's memories, thus leaving Yuki alone and without friends. After meeting Tohru, Yuki started warming up to other people and becomes much more social, as well as accepting who he really is. He even becomes close friends with the other members of the student council during his time as president, especially with Kakeru Manabe (who becomes a very close friend to Yuki despite having a similar personality to Ayame) and Machi Kuragi (a girl that he falls in love with).
Yuki also appears to have respiratory problems, due to his weak bronchial tubes, and gets regular checkups from Hatori to monitor his condition. In his childhood these asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
attacks were apparently frequent, though they appear to be less so in the present. Still, he has to take extra precautions because he occasionally has attacks, which could cause him to transform in public. Throughout the manga, the attacks are less and less frequent.
When Tohru ends up in the hospital, Yuki goes to Kyo's room demanding to know why he did not visit her. Yuki then begins to beat him up saying that Kyo is not a superhero so he couldn't have saved Tohru. This is when they finally admit to each other that they envied one another. In the last chapter Yuki tells Kyo to remain level headed and he calls him "stupid cat", Kyo replies that he does not need to be looked after and calls him "stupid rat" they both smile.
In the manga but not the anime, after Kyo was freed from the curse, a series of events was triggered and the rest of the cursed Sohma family members became free. Yuki is the last Sohma member to be freed, noticing this as he was talking to Machi. The spirit of the zodiac took the rat spirit and thanked Yuki for keeping his promise for a long time. It is possible perhaps Yuki was the last one to be freed because he was the rat, the first of the Jyuunishi. Throughout the series, he, like Kyo, seems to have some romantic feelings for Tohru, and they have some "chemistry" you could say. He gets protective of her when someone else tries to do something to her, though maybe not quite as strongly as Kyo does.