Momiji Soma
Template:FB CharacterMomiji Sohma (草摩 紅葉 Sōma Momiji) is a fictional character in the manga and anime series entitled Fruits Basket. When hugged by a member of the opposite gender or his body comes under a great deal of stress, he transforms into the rabbit of the Chinese Zodiac. He is voiced by Ayaka Saito.
Momiji's name is derived from the ninth month of the Japanese lunar calender, Momijitsuki, or "autumn leaves month". Template:Spoiler
Synopsis
Momiji, whose name means "Japanese Maple" in Japanese, is a Eurasian. More specifically, he is of both German and Japanese decent, with his father being Japanese and his mother German. He frequently switches between the two languages, much to the bafflement of Tohru.
Momiji is introduced in volume two. Tohru works in a building owned by Momiji's father and runs into Momiji. She mistakes him for a foreigner because of his appearance and because he talks in German. He kisses her on the cheek, to her surprise. At a school fair not long after their first meeting, he is introduced along with Hatori Sohma. He instantly befriends Tohru Honda, glad that she, a person outside the Sohma clan, knows of their family secret. Momiji is a painfully adorable, androgynous-looking teenager (Tohru believed him to be in grade school until it is revealed he is the same age as Hatsuharu) who is gentle, playful, and can always offer a kind word. He is also extremely perceptive and is rather tactful. He enjoys eating junk food (especially pastries and sweets) and is rarely seen without a lollipop or some other treat. Until volume 19 he wore the girl's uniform, which caused quite the commotion until Hatsuharu defended him and his crossdressing was grudgingly accepted.
Role in the story
Background
Momiji was born into the richer families of the Sohma clan. His father, who is Japanese, owns a number of companies, one of which Momiji's best friend, Tohru Honda, works at as a janitor.
Although Momiji almost always appears to be care-free, he lives with a mournful past, much like Tohru's, which he tries to keep secret. Immediately after his birth, Momiji's mother learned of his curse and from then on rejected him and was eventually driven mad. She later requested to have her memories erased by Hatori Sohma so she could recover. When asked if she would regret the procedure, she responded by saying that the greatest regret she had was that "that creature", referring to Momiji, had come out of her body. Momiji, standing hidden just outside the room, overheard this and was, needless to say, extremely saddened. Tohru asks Momiji if he ever wanted to forget about his mother, and what has emotionally scarred him in life. He replies that even though that has made him very sad, he would never want to forget about it.
Momiji now attends Kaibara high school with Tohru, Yuki Sohma, Kyo Sohma, and Hatsuharu Sohma. In his first year of high school, Momiji wore a girl's uniform (with short shorts), because he liked the way it looked on him.
In chapter 115 of the manga, Momiji is freed from the curse. Around this time, we see that he has grown up both emotionally and physically (the girls at school describe him as charming and "princely" when he finally decides to wear a boy's uniform, though the image is somewhat ruined when he asks Tohru if she wants to buy an ice cream cake to share with the others).
Momiji's sister, Momo
Momiji's mother, after having her memories of Momiji erased, and father later had a daughter, Momo, who realizes that her mother and Momiji look similar. Momiji's mother denies this, perhaps still subconsciously rejecting her son. Momiji's father, who promised to love his son enough for both himself and his mother, tries to keep Momiji away from the rest of the family in fear of losing his newfound happiness. While deeply saddened, Momiji understands and tries not to come face to face with his mother and Momo deliberately.
When Momo saw Momiji playing the violin and decided she wanted to take it up, Momiji's father asked Momiji, who took violin lessons at the time, to quit since they'd have the same teacher. Unfortunately, the reason Momo wanted to take up violin in the first place was because she wanted to play together with Momiji.
When Tohru came to the main house to talk to Kureno Sohma, Momo asked her to ask Momiji if he would be her older brother. When Tohru told him this, Momiji cried with happiness.
Relationship with Tohru
When Momiji first met Tohru, he was so happy about knowing a girl that knows about the Sohma family's secret that he willingly jumped on her and hugged her, transforming himself into his rabbit form. From then on, he develops more and more of a crush on Tohru and even wanted to bathe with her in a hot spring. He later then treats Tohru like an older sister, especially since Kyo confessed his own love for Tohru.
In volume 20 of the manga, it was discovered that Momiji was in love with Tohru, although he knew she didn't feel the same way about him. He even encouraged Kyo to confess he was in love with her. In a way, Momiji and Kyo were rivals in love, though Momiji's kind disposition made him give in. Momiji jokes that if Kyo doesn't confess to Tohru, Momiji might try and steal her away.
Relationship with Hatori
Momiji thinks of Hatori Sohma as a friend, even though Hatori's serious nature is the exact opposite of Momiji's cheerful and easygoing attitude. Momiji knows of Hatori's past, including his relationship with Kana. Momiji takes up a little pity for Hatori, but said to Tohru that he really likes Hatori, and even calls him "Hari".