Yuki Souma

Yuki Souma has soft, dark gray hair and matching gray eyes. In the first anime adaptation, his eyes appear deep purple. He has a gentle and beautiful appearance with a delicate, almost feminine face. Because of this, he sometimes feels uncomfortable about his looks.

Yuki is kind and polite, always appearing calm and gentle to others. However, deep inside, he feels he's not interesting and struggles with loneliness. He is shy, has low self-esteem about his androgynous face, and finds it hard to express his feelings. Yuki wants love and acceptance, especially from his mother and friends.

He envies Kyou Souma for his strong, magnetic personality and often feels isolated, misunderstanding himself as "boring." Yuki doesn't realize how much people admire him at school, and the attention makes him feel awkward.

Yuki is a member of the Souma family, possessed by the spirit of the Rat, the top of the Chinese Zodiac. This makes him a very special and rare family member, almost as special as the family "God." He has an older brother, Ayame Souma, who is over ten years older than him, but they were not close when Yuki was younger.

From a young age, Yuki's mother wanted him to be favored by the family head, Akito Souma. Yuki spent much of his childhood with Akito, but after a certain event, Akito became twisted and started hurting Yuki emotionally.

Yuki moved into Shigure Souma's house when he started high school, mainly for convenience.

Because Yuki is possessed by the Rat, if he is hugged by someone of the opposite gender (who is not also possessed), or if he is physically stressed, he transforms into a rat. He is very smart, does well in school, and is good at sports. However, he is very clumsy with his hands—he can't fold origami cranes and his cooking is said to be dangerously bad.

Yuki has chronic bronchitis, which caused him to be sick and have asthma attacks often when he was little. As he grew older, it became less severe, but he still needs to be careful when he gets a cold or fever. Transforming into a rat during an attack makes him feel even worse.

• Kyou Souma: Yuki and Kyou are rivals, often fighting and misunderstanding each other. Secretly, they admire qualities in each other that they lack themselves.
• Tooru Honda: Tooru is kind to Yuki and gives him the motherly affection he craves. At first, Yuki felt confused about his feelings, unsure if he liked her as a mother figure or as a girl.
• Ayame Souma: Yuki's much older brother. Their relationship was strained, as they barely spoke when Yuki was younger. Later, they slowly become closer.
• Machi Kuragi: Yuki becomes interested and eventually falls in love with Machi, a quiet and reserved girl in the student council. They start dating after Yuki confides his true feelings to her.
• Shigure Souma: Yuki lives with Shigure during high school, and Shigure supports him in his own strange way.
• Mom: Yuki's mother did not show him love when he was young. Over time, Yuki speaks up about his feelings, and their relationship begins to mend.

• Yuki is very clumsy; he cannot even fold origami cranes properly.
• His cooking is so bad that Shigure Souma once said eating it was a near-death experience.
• He is messy and bad at cleaning, a trait that his future son also inherits in the sequel.
• The name "Yuki" was inspired by the sound "yuki" coming to the author. It is not named after a month, even though it is sometimes thought to come from "Yukimizuki" (December).
• Author Natsuki Takaya revealed in Fruits Basket Fan Book that Yuki is like a second protagonist.
• Yuki gained many nicknames at school, such as "Prince," "Yun-chan," and "Yun-yun."

School Life and Popularity

Yuki is a classmate of Tooru Honda. He stands out because he is kind, handsome, talented, and smart. His looks and gentle behavior create a strong fan club at school called "Prince Yuki." While everyone admires him, Yuki doesn't notice it himself and feels a bit distant from others. He is uncomfortable with his own appearance and sees himself as plain. Still, he begins to open up thanks to Tooru and his friends.

Childhood and Loneliness

Growing up, Yuki lived with his strict mother and tried to please Akito Souma, the head of the family. As a child, he spent a lot of time with Akito, at first without any problems. Later, after a certain event, Akito started harming Yuki emotionally.

Yuki had few friends because he was scared of people finding out about his transformation. Once, when his secret was found out, his only friends had their memories erased, leaving him traumatized and afraid to get close to others.

Life with Shigure and Tooru

Yuki moves in with Shigure Souma when he starts high school, where Tooru Honda also stays. This new living situation helps Yuki learn how to connect with people and begin healing from the pain of his childhood.

Student Council and Leadership

For a while, Yuki avoids leadership roles at school. But after seeing Kisa Souma's struggles, he realizes he is running away from his own problems. He accepts the position as student council president and builds strong friendships with members like Kakeru Manabe and Machi Kuragi. Slowly, he grows more confident and comfortable with himself.

Relationships and Growth

Yuki starts to overcome his childhood trauma and bonds with people. Even his relationship with his brother Ayame begins to improve, as Ayame tries to care for Yuki more.

Tooru Honda becomes like a mother figure to Yuki, giving him the warmth and acceptance he missed. Yuki's feelings for Tooru are complicated, but he comes to understand her importance in his life. He realizes his admiration for Kyou and tells him, healing their rivalry and turning it into a friendly relationship.

He falls in love with Machi Kuragi, a younger student on the council, after being moved by her honest words that he is "not a prince."

The Truth About the Boy with the Hat

Yuki is revealed to be the "Boy with the Hat" Tooru admired as a child. The hat originally belonged to Kyou, but Yuki found it and returned it to Tooru, making a lasting impression on her.

Breaking the Curse

Yuki is the last Zodiac member whose curse is broken at the end of the series. Afterward, he gets accepted into college and starts living on his own while dating Machi. In the final chapter, he calls Tooru by her first name as a thank you for everything.

Yuki enjoys gardening at home as a hobby.

He often goes by many nicknames, like "Prince," "Yun-chan," and "Yun-yun."