From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Fruits Basket character |
 |
| Yuki Sohma |
| Gender |
Male |
| Age |
16-17 |
| Height |
170.5 cm |
| Blood Type |
A |
| Sign |
Virgo |
| Occupation |
End of anime: 2nd year at Kaibara High School Manga: 3rd year and President at Kaibara High School |
| Animal |
Rat |
Yuki Sohma (草摩 由希 Sōma Yuki), also known as the "Prince of Kaiwaia (or
Kaibara) High", is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Fruits Basket. He is often called "Yun-Yun" by his friends and colleagues in the student council of his school. When Yuki is hugged
by the opposite sex or if his body is under a great deal of stress he transforms into the rat of the Chinese Zodiac.
Role in the story
Background
Yuki, attractive and popular, is the heartthrob of his high school. Even though he is often encountered by a Yuki fan club run by the crazy girls who love him, he does not accept any girl's
crush on him or let any girl hug him. However, he confesses his love for Tohru Honda in volume 11 and end of 10 in the manga series, though it was later revealed that his love for Tohru was not romantic, but
actually more along the lines of thinking of her as a maternal figure. This is possibly a result of his distant relationship with his real mother (see below).
As a child, Yuki was traumatized by Akito Sohma, the leader of the Sohma family. When Yuki was younger Akito Sohma was cruel to Yuki and told him terrible things that Yuki
could never forget. He locked him in a dark room and was often physically abusive as well. 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, which 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 the two became close allies.
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 couldn't speak and didn't go to school. 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, and while still keeping his fanclub, begins to pursue his own love interests.
Yuki also appears to have a respiratory illness, possibly bronchitis or severe asthma, and gets regular checkups from Hatori to monitor his condition. In his childhood these attacks were apparently frequent
and was one of the reasons he was kept in the main house, to the point that his older brother Ayame Sohma began to forget he even had a younger brother because of their extended seperation.
Relationship with Mother
The fact that both Ayame and Yuki are members of the Jyunishi is quite unusual since it is very rare that any of the Jyunishi
are siblings at any given time. Because their mother was unable to force Ayame to bend to her will, she turned to Yuki and
controlled every aspect of his life. Yuki became both emotionally fragile and detached in her attempts to gain status and
wealth within the family while she bluntly and tactlessly shot down any attempts he made to refuse her wishes. This changes
during a parent-teacher conference in which his mother was attempting to influence his life even after high school Yuki finally
managed to take control of his own life after Ayame burst in dramatically and gave Yuki the confidence to stand up for his
own ideals and dreams.
Relationship with Machi
It is revealed in chapter 125 of the manga that he is in love with Machi Kuragi, a member of the student council who has emotional issues similar to his own. She loves him as well, and they are seen holding
hands as they walk.
In Chapter 128, Yuki wants to tell Machi something. He was going to tell her in the student council room, but Kimi interrupted
and asked them if they had seen her brush. Kakeru also came in with her. Yuki, still wanting to tell Machi, calls her the
following day and asked her if she had free time later on. Speculations say that Yuki will tell Machi about him being cursed,
since Yuki is afraid if Machi will accept that fact.
Relationship with Ayame
When their relationship is first introduced Yuki shows downright hatred for his brother, ordering Shigure to skin Ayame's
snake-form after he is first found inside Tohru's shirt (it is later revealed that Ayame was merely doing this to stay warm
as a result of being cold blooded). The two had a strained relationship when Yuki was a child, Ayame tells Tohru that because of his brother's poor health
Yuki and himself would often be seperated for long periods of time, to the point Ayame almost forgot he had a younger brother.
The rift between the two was cemented when a young Yuki tried to reach out to Ayame after Akito's mistreatment, but Ayame
merely responded by pulling away. With prompting from Tohru Yuki attempts to learn about his brother by visiting his store,
which despite resulting in a large amount of disgust and shock from Yuki gives the brothers time to be honest with each other,
even if that translated to an argument between the two. After Ayame's dramatic entrance during Yuki's parent-teacher conference
with his domineering mother, in which he gives Yuki the confidence to reject his mother's control, the relationship between
the two seems to improve greatly.
Relationship with Kyo
Originally, Yuki did not hate Kyo; he actually wanted to be friends with him. But Kyo refused, as he hated Yuki, the rat,
for inherently being superior to the cat. The conversation first started when Kyo dropped his red hat. Yuki picked it up and
offered it to him, but Kyo turned the hat down, disgusted that the rat would touch his things.
The hat ended up in the hands of Tohru, who had gotten lost as a child. Yuki (whom Tohru did not recall nor recognize when
they met again as teenagers) found her and led her home, giving her Kyo's hat.
It has only very recently been revealed that Kyo never hated Yuki for who he was, but had been so miserable with his life
that he felt he needed a scapegoat for all his misfortune. Kyo felt it would only be logical for the cat to blame the rat
and began to hate Yuki for this reason alone.
Their relationship has become more overtly complex since this revelation. Kyo has always felt Yuki was more fortunate and
always able to take advantage of a situation like one should, thus Kyo's dislike of Yuki stemmed from envy. However, Yuki
reveals to Kyo that he is jealous of Kyo, because despite all of Kyo's bad luck and misfortunes, he is not passive like Yuki
(something Yuki despises of himself) and able to vocally express his own emotions and thoughts regardless of what they are
and also bring happiness to Tohru, something Yuki knows that he will never be able to do in the same way.
