Hatsuharu Sohma: You stubborn idiot. What if it was Yuki wearing a girls uniform? (Mokato imagines Yuki in a girl's uniform) Yuki Sohma: Haru, cut it out or I will cut you off. Hatsuharu Sohma: Aw, have my words made you angry? Mokoto: (still imagining) It's beautiful! Yuki Sohma: Stop imagining me! This dialog is from the Japanese manga series, Fruit Basket or Furuba, by Natsuki Takaya. It was published in the semi-monthly Japanese magazine, Hana to Yume, from 1999 to 2006. Later, this manga series was adapted into an anime series, directed by Akitaro Daichi. It's a story about a girl called Tohru Honda, who after her mother's death, starts leading a lonely life. She then meets and moves in with her classmate Yuki Sohma, and his cousins Shigure and Kyo. Soon she finds out that thirteen members of the Sohma family were cursed. They were possessed by the spirits of the Chinese zodiac, and would turn into their respective zodiac animals, if they hugged anyone from the opposite gender. Tohru promises not to tell this to anyone. But she soon realizes that the curse is deeper and darker than it actually seemed earlier. Her presence in the family, however, has a positive impact on the cursed, and when she sets out to break the curse, she changes the Sohma family forever. Tohru Honda A brown-haired, brown-eyed girl, aged 16–18 years, becomes an orphan when her mother dies in a car accident. She starts living with Shigure, Yuki, and Kyo Sohma, in exchange for housekeeping. She is seen as a polite, optimistic, kind, and selfless person. She lost her father when she was three years old. Her mother, Kyoko raised her till she died in a car accident. Tohru's goal in life is to fulfill her mother's dream of completing high school. To Tohru, her mother was the most important person in her life. But when she falls for Kyo, she feels guilty, thinking that she was being unfaithful to her mother's memory. While staying with the Sohma family, she gets to know about the curse and the effect it has on the Sohma family. She tries hard to break the curse, first for the Sohma family as a whole, but later she admits that she wants to free Kyo most of all. Finally, after great difficulty, she is successful and she changes the entire family. Later in the series, she moves with Kyo to another city, and towards the end of the story, they are shown as a loving elderly couple with a granddaughter. Kyoko Honda She was Tohru's mother, who dies when Tohru was in high school. We get to know her only through flashbacks and photographs which had been kept safely by Tohru. When she was in middle school, Kyoko was the leader of an all-female bosozoku gang called the Red Butterfly Suicide Squad. She was ignored by her parents. Later, she fell in love with one of her teachers called Katsuya Honda, whom she married after she left middle school, and with whom she had a daughter, Tohru. When Katsuya died, she wanted to kill herself too. But she kept herself alive as she had to take care of Tohru. She dies months before the start of the series in a car accident. Kyo was present there, but he could not save her without revealing his curse. While dying, Kyoko tells Kyo that she would never forgive him. But it's only towards the end of the series that we find out that she was actually trying to say that she would never forgive Kyo if he didn't keep his promise of protecting Tohru. Akito Sohma She was the head of the Sohma family. She often got sick and was treated by Hatori Sohma. She is shown as a short-tempered and an abusive person, who had physically and emotionally scarred many of the Sohma clan, including Hatori, Rin, Kisa, and Yuki. Although a part of the Sohma family, she was not cursed by the Zodiac spirits. Rather, she fulfills the role of the Jade Emperor, from the stories of origins of the Zodiac. She further describes herself as the 'God of Zodiac', who 'controls the Zodiac' and is the 'master of their souls'. The rest of the Sohma family had a 'bond of blood' with her. She hates Tohru because, instead of despising Yuki and Kyo because of the curse, she becomes their close friend. This indicated that the outsiders could accept the Sohma's despite their curse. This created a distance between Akito and the rest of the Sohmas. Later, because of Tohru, Akito realizes that by holding onto the 'bond of blood', she had only hurt her, and all those around her. Thus, she lets it go, freeing the Sohma clan. Yuki Sohma Shown as an attractive, reserved, and accomplished man with many admirers, Yuki is the 'rat' of the Chinese zodiac sign. When he was young, Akito, who used to take care of him, convinced him that no one liked him and kept him away from the rest of the zodiacs. Hence, Yuki suffered from low self-esteem and always felt isolated, despite being known as 'Prince Charming' and 'Prince Yuki', and having a fan club in school. He was touched when Tohru asks him to remain her friend. Slowly, he starts opening up to people. However, he envies his brother Kyo, because of his easy way around others. He becomes attracted to Machi Kuragi, and when his curse is lifted, the first thing he does is hug her. Kyo Sohma Orange haired, short-tempered, charismatic, and envied by Yuki, Kyo was cursed by the 'cat'. The cat was not an animal in the Chinese zodiac, because it was tricked by the rat into missing the induction feast, according to the Chinese legends. He, like the rest, was confined inside the Sohma estate for the rest of his life. He loves Tohru, but rejects her as he does not want to subject her to the pain that he was sure he would cause her. But finally, when he does confess his love for her, the curse lifts, along with the other twelve curses, thus freeing them all. Later in the series, he moves to a different city with Tohru, and at the end they are shown as a loving elderly couple with a granddaughter. Shigure Sohma A writer, he was the 'dog' of the Chinese zodiac sign and also the owner of the house where he, Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo lived. Although, at the beginning of the series he is said to have used Tohru as a pawn for other purposes, in the end, he admits that he hoped that the latter would be successful in lifting the curse. In fact, he also gives Tohru hints to figure out how to break the curse herself. Hatsuharu Sohma Calm, placid, and stupid, he is the 'ox' of the Chinese zodiac. He is very protective about the one whom he cares for, such as Kisa, Yuki, and Rin. With Rin, he had an on and off secret relationship. Hiro admires Hatsuharu as a brother figure. Hatsuharu also had a very bad sense of direction. Momiji Sohma Half Japanese, half German, he is a cute, cheerful boy, with a sad family background. Momiji is the 'rabbit' of the Chinese zodiac sign. After his mother realizes that her son is cursed, she had Hatori erase Momoji's memory from her mind. His curse is broken much before the rest of the family. He too is quite fond of Tohru, so much so, that he warns Kyo that if he does not confesses his love for Tohru, then, he Momiji, might steal her away. He confesses to Hatsuharu and to Rin, that he hopes to find a girlfriend like Tohru one day. Kagura Sohma Girlish young woman, with great strength and an impulsive behavior, Kagura is like her Chinese zodiac symbol―the boar. She loves Kyo, but after he tells her that he cannot love her back, she seems to have given up hope on him. However, she still loves and cares for him. She is very loving, and is always ready to help anyone. Hatori Sohma A private doctor to the Sohma family, Hatori was the 'dragon' of the Chinese zodiac sign. He erased the memories of people who discovered the Sohma family secret. He was a somber man, hardly amused by the antics of his best friends, Ayame and Shigure. Earlier, he was engaged to Kana Sohma, but the relationship had to end because of Akito, who had attacked Hatori when he had gone to seek her permission to marry Kana.

Ayame Sohma	Kisa Sohma
Hiro Sohma	Ritsu Sohma
Isuzu 'Rin' Sohma	Kureno Sohma
Kazuma Sohma	Ren Sohma
Katsuya Honda	Saki Hanajima
Arisa Uotani	Naohito Sakuragi
Kakeru Manabe	Machi Kuragi
Mitsuru	Mayuko Shiraki
Mine Kuramae	Motoko Minagawa
Kim Toudou

Now that you know these characters well, watching the anime will be more fun and exciting. This series has been translated into English too.