Ritsu Soma

Ritsu Sohma
Fruits Basket character
File:FB ritsu.jpg
Created by	Natsuki Takaya
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Occupation	University student

Ritsu Sohma (草摩 利津, Sōma Ritsu) is a fictional character in the manga and anime series entitled Fruits Basket. He transforms into the monkey of the Chinese Zodiac whenever he is hugged by the opposite gender or when his body comes under a great deal of stress.

Ritsu's name is derived from the eighth month of the Japanese lunar calendar, Odakaritsuki, or "rice harvest month".

Role in the story

Ritsu is an insecure character who dresses in women's clothing to conceal his feelings of inadequacy. He believes that because he sees himself as not particularly intelligent or physically powerful, he brings disgrace upon the Sohma family. He is constantly apologizing for his actions, even when he is not at fault. He can also be suicidal and has a certain spot on his side that makes him faint; Shigure Sohma takes advantage of it quite often, calling it 'the magic touch'.

Ritsu's insecurity likely derived from his childhood constantly witnessing his parents, particularly his mother, continually apologizing for Ritsu's faults. His mother, while hardworking and dedicated to running the Sohma family's onsen hotel, was easily stressed and had a tendency to overact. Witnessing his mother working and his parents apologizing constantly impacted his character greatly and Ritsu soon began exhibiting these traits as well. In hopes of overcoming his lack of self-esteem (perhaps thinking rather ambitiously in hoping to become more like his cousin, Ayame), he decides to meet with Tohru Honda, who helped the shy Kisa Sohma overcome her problems as well as other members of the Jyūnishi.

Ritsu is also one of the few members of the Jyūnishi who has never been hurt by Akito Sohma directly or indirectly (Kagura Sohma and Ayame Sohma appear to be the only other ones). This is both surprising and a blessing given that Ritsu tends to dress and act very feminine (a fact that Akito would not tolerate given that she despises the female members of the Zodiac, claiming them to be "stealing" the males away.), especially given the fact that Ritsu lacks confidence. Possible theories include that Ritsu is already messed up enough, that there is nothing Akito could do for him, to the fact that Akito also has gender issues. He also is extremely gullible, believing all of Shigure's tricks.

File:FB ritsu-a.jpg

Ritsu in animal form

Family

File:Okamiwiki!.jpg

Ritsu's mother, Mesho-san

Ritsu's mother, Mesho, also known as "Okami-san", as she is most often referred to as ('okami' being the Japanese term for the hostess at an onsen), or more rarely, the "Ghost Lady", is introduced, as well as appearing before Ritsu, in Chapter 18 of the manga (Episode 12 in the anime) when Tohru, Momiji, Yuki, and Kyo take a trip to the Sohma Onsen for Momiji's White Day Present for Tohru.

As Momiji introduces her to Tohru, Mesho-san at first she seems to be a fragile middle-aged woman who at times seems frightening and ghost-like as she wails and moans rather than compared to her son who usually cries when apologising, though the similarities between both are very well recognizable. Further in the chapter while Tohru and the others have a quick bath before dinner, though the scene is done somewhat differently in the anime (Tohru suddenly gets dizzy in the baths during the daytime and faints, then later returns to the baths after dinner to find Mesho-san joining her), Mesho-san accompanies Tohru in the spring and converses with her about her son, Ritsu, who she admits to her is the monkey of the zodiac (although in the anime, Ritsu's gender is not revealed in this particular conversation). During this time she also apologises to Tohru for she confesses that when she had first heard of someone outside of the Sohma family knowing of the curse, she became worried, but now knowing Tohru and that it is she who is the one who knows, she is "relieved".

Also worth noting is that in the manga there is a small part of the bath scene which was never adapted into the anime which slightly reveals Mesho-san's true feelings about Ritsu. When first hearing about Mesho-san's son, Tohru can not help but ask what he is like, and Mesho-san, though screaming with apologies, replies heartfully "...from the world's point of view he's like that but he's very precious to me deep down. He's very kind. He's my only child..." This means that Mesho-san she actually cares for Ritsu and loves him, unlike the parents of several Junishi who reject their offspring. She's there for Ritsu when he's relased from the Sohma curse; she comes into his bedroom and finds him crying softly, with the glass vase he had been holding in his hands broken at his feet.

According to Natsuki Takaya, Mesho-san is actually a "revival" of a character from her previous manga Tsubasa o Motsu Mono. In Chapter 18's Ultra Special Blah Blah Blah 6 Takaya states: "I thought it would be a waste to not use this character anymore...so I brought her back. It's very rare. Normally, I don't do that kind of thing."

Relationship with Mitchan

Ritsu (or Ritchan-san as Tohru calls him) has a relationship with Mitchan, Shigure's editor. Both are constantly stressed by Shigure's indifference to almost everything, and have a tendency to overreact. They meet when Mitchan comes to Shigure's house to get his manuscript only to discover Shigure supposedly has not finished it. Mitchan begins to scream and threaten to commit seppuku as Ritsu screams with her, blaming himself for Shigure's failure to complete the manuscript, believing that it was because he forgot to bring Shigure the takoyaki he asked for that he was unable to finish it. As their screams at Shigure become more ridiculous, they realize they have something in common and Mitchan comes to tell a very sympathetic Ritsu all of Shigure's faults and how he is constantly antagonizing her.

According to Takaya, there are "many heartwarming episodes" left between Mitchan and Ritsu, "but now that the main story has progressed so far, there might not be time to draw them..." (Chapter 67) Also in the same chapter, Mitchan is dubbed officially as Ritsu's "honey", meaning most likely that their relationship is more serious than a popular fandom.

In an unpublished short comic entitled "Ai ga Areba" ("As Long As There's Love") featured near the end of the Fruits Basket fanbook, "Neko", Ritsu and Mitchan are seen, though very briefly, together on a date walking through a park-like scene in the beginning of winter. Both are quite nervous amongst one another, though with a few realizations throughout their time together, they both discover they are perfect for one another. Ritsu is more than happy to find out that Mitchan does not mind him wearing a furisode, to which Ritsu "put on without thinking" before their meeting. It is also revealed that Mitchan actually does not know Ritsu's true gender (though she assumes he is a male), but besides such things likes him for his caring, sweet personality and for who he is and represents within himself and others. As Ritsu nervously offers Mitchan a shawl for warmth in the cold temperatures, the couple is seen walking together towards a cherry blossom tree to gaze at its beauty, and possibly, each other's. The one-page story ends happily with Natsuki Takaya's words, "They seem very happy".

In chapter 130, after Kyo's curse is lifted, the other members of the cursed family realized that they were finally being freed, one by one. Ritsu was freed right after Ayame during a moment when all of the other Sohmas are somehow in someway expressing or thinking of their feelings of their loved ones, Ritsu, with his mother (most likely at the Onsen), is carrying a flower vase when suddenly he feels a sudden burst of tears from his eyes, and his body lies frozen as the vase is dropped and crashes to the floor. It is revealed that this sudden feeling was a result of him being freed from the curse. This is most likely because of his relationship with Mitchan, as he might have been thinking of her that very moment.

In chapter 136 (the final chapter) he is featured with Mitchan, who has grown her hair out somewhat. He himself has cut his hair, and now wears regular men's clothes. He gives his kimono to Kagura while telling her that he has finally asked Mitchan out on actual date.

Relationship with Tohru

Ritsu goes to see Tohru when his mother tells him that most of the other Zodiac members have already met her. The two of them meet when the bottom falls out of a bag that Ritsu was carrying and he loudly laments it. Although Tohru recognizes the wails as being similar to those of his mother's (whom Tohru had met earlier), she believes that he is a girl (when Tohru met Ritsu's mother, she was told he was a boy. This event happened much earlier, however, so Tohru probably forgot). Ritsu is somewhat embarrassed by his cross-dressing habits and is unsure how to explain to Tohru the mistake.

The gender of Ritsu is revealed when Tohru pushes him out of way of a broken plate, causing him to turn into a small monkey. Tohru's gentle personality helps Ritsu, however she also has a tendency to overreact, which in turn causes Ritsu to become upset (when Kyo commented that they were out of milk, Tohru panicked because she felt that she had let Kyo down and Ritsu panicked because he had drank the last of the milk for breakfast). Tohru and Ritsu, in the manga, also have a unique contest, with both of them apologizing for being rude, neither of them willing to admit it is not their fault.

Ritsu tells Tohru that he has no athletic or academic talents, unlike many of the other Zodiac members, and feels inadequate as a result. In the anime, he says, "I'm the most useless person I know." Tohru tells him that even if his life seems meaningless now, there is certainly someone in the world who will need Ritsu to live, and his purpose in life will be to help them. Ritsu is thrilled at the thought of someone needing him as much as he'd need them and it is shortly afterwards that he meets Mitchan.