From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Akito Sohma (草摩 慊人 Sōma Akito) is the leader of the Sohma clan in the
manga and anime series entitled Fruits Basket. Akito is shrouded in mystery, and though frail with poor health, is feared and respected by many members of the Sohma
clan.
Role in the story
Akito has scarred many members of the Sohma clan, both physically and psychologically. Since Akito is the head, no one
dares oppose him. Although not cursed by any of the vengeful spirits of the Chinese Zodiac, it has been speculated that Akito might play the role of the Jade Emperor (God) from the stories about the origins of the Chinese Zodiac. A possible part of the curse was that Akito would only live
to be 21-30 years old.
Personality
According to the anime, it is revealed that Akito was coerced to take the "core" of the curse at birth; this possibly explains
Akito's frailness. Since no one questioned Akito's consent in order to take this responsibility, Akito holds bitterness against
the entire Sohma family. (This is not proven true in the manga. See "Difference Between Manga and Anime" below.)
Akito feels that all male members of the Jyūnishi have to devote themselves to the God of the Zodiac, which is why
she hurts only the females (with the exception of Hatori; it is said that he got in the way), claiming that they are stealing
the men away. (This only happens in the manga.) Akito's hatred for females may also derive from the influence of her parents.
Her father Akira Sohma, whom Akito remembers fondly, was kind, while Ren, her mother, was cruel and sly.
In chapter 120, it is revealed that Akito has always been lonely and afraid of change. The reason why she clings so hard
to the bond that exists between her and the twelve Jyūnishi is because she fears that without them, she will actually
be the nothing her mother claims she is and that she will be left alone. Tohru, realizing this, offers her hand to Akito in
friendship, but as Akito is hesistantly about to accept, the ground beneath Tohru collapses.
When Tohru, who recovers at the hospital, is finally allowed visitors who are not members of the family, Akito is surprising
one of the first of the visitors (and even more surprisingly according to Hatori and Shigure Sohma, she went alone and entirely on her own accord). Fearful that she will be rejected, Momiji Sohma tells her a story and offers her advice that allows Akito to see Tohru and Kureno for who they really are. Kureno, whom she
had treated so poorly, still worries about her well-being, even as he recovers in the hospital. Akito finally sees that both
Tohru and Kureno are people whose kindness for others overrides their ability to be concerned about themselves. With that
in mind, she goes to see Tohru, who offers her hand (despite the fact her arm is injured) to Akito, which she can now accept.
Afterwards, Akito goes and "changes" as suggested by Tohru as a good thing. She is later confronted by the juunishi about
their futures.
List of injuries caused by Akito
- Isuzu Sohma: Pushed her out a window for her relationship with Hatsuharu Sohma, hospitalizing her. Later in the manga, Akito locks her up in the room intended for those cursed with the Cat spirit, and
chops off her hair(unevenly) with a scissor.
- Kisa Sohma: Slapped her across the face, causing her to be slammed into a wall (anime); attacked her, giving her injuries that caused
her to be hospitalized for two weeks (manga) when Hiro Sohma professed his love for her.
- Yuki Sohma: Often abused when he was young (emotionally, mentally, and physically). Akito hit him with a clay pitcher or vase at a New
Years banquet because Yuki was being disrespectful.
- Hatori Sohma: Smashed a vase against his head when he asked permission to marry his co-worker Kana, blinding him in the left eye.
- Kyo Sohma: Threw a bell at him, hitting him in the cheek when he came to visit the Sohma summer home, and slapped him. Akito has also
been particularly cruel with her use of psychological torture.
- Momiji Sohma: Punched him in the jaw when he tried to stop her from going to see Tohru (chapter 64); Slapped him when he told her he wouldn't
stay with him, due to his release from the curse (chapter 116)
- Tohru Honda: Scratched her on her cheek, causing her to bleed when she tried to stop Akito from hurting Momiji further (chapter 65);
slashes her arm with a knife and slaps her (chapter 121); pulls her off the ground by her hair and repeatedly tugs on it until
warded off by Yuki and Shigure (anime).
- Kureno Sohma: Slapped him (chapter 98); stabbed in lower back, though it's later revealed that he is all right (chapter 118, 122).
- Ren Sohma: Attempted to strangle her, but Hatori pulled Akito back (flashback in chapter 98). Later Akito attempted to stab her, but
stopped when she felt Hiro's release from the curse.
Akito and Kyo
Until recently, Akito viewed Kyo as a 'monster' and neither considered him to be part of the Zodiac nor held feeling towards
him the way she did the other Jyūnishi. As part of tradition, the Sohma member cursed by the cat must live alone and
imprisoned in a room designated for the cat until the day they die, and Akito planned to do the same to Kyo unless he could win a bet:
Should he be able to beat Yuki in a fight before he graduated from high school, Kyo would become part of the Zodiac and would
not have to be locked in the cat's room.
In chapter 126, Akito confirmed that she plans to have the cat's room torn down, implying that Kyo is no longer going to
be imprisoned in the room following his high school graduation. In 127, Kyo finds her near Kazuma's house, where she tells him somewhat awkwardly that "he can live however he likes".
At the end of chapter 129 you see Akito looking into the garden where Tohru and Kyo have just confessed and are hugging,
and as the two look shocked Akito, sensing Kyo's release from the curse says "Goodbye".
Differences between the manga and anime
As the anime covers only 45 chapters of the manga (loosely in parts), there are several differences in the character of
Akito in both.
It has never been confirmed in the manga that Akito will die at 30 years old. In the manga, Hatori Sohma (Akito's doctor) reveals that most of Akito's illnesses are psychological, though her father, Akira Sohma, was also quite sickly, and died at a young age. Also, in the anime Akito is the "core" of the curse; however, in volume
11 of the manga, it is revealed that Akito is actually the zodiac god.
In that same line, it has never been confirmed in the manga that Akito holds bitterness against the entire Sohma family
because of her role in the curse. Akira Sohma told a very young Akito that, once he died, the cursed Sohmas would love her forever to make up for the lack of affection
from Ren. This casts a new light on the Akito's behavior and her claim that, sooner or later, all the Jyūnishi will come
back to her.
In chapter 97 (volume 17) of the manga, it is revealed that Akito is actually female, but was raised to act and appear as a male. The decision to raise Akito male was her mother Ren's; and though the reason is currently unknown, it is largely assumed
that Akito was raised male because the head of the family could not be female, and/or because of Ren's jealousy of her late
husband's great affection for their daughter. This fact is known only by the three eldest cursed Sohmas (Hatori, Shigure, and Ayame), Kureno, and Akito's mother, Ren Sohma.
In chapter 101 of the manga, Shigure Sohma's editor, upon glimpsing Akito from afar, comments on how young the head of the Sohma family seems. Shigure replies, "Young? But he's
got to be past 20 years old now."
