Yuki Sohma

Slim, pale, and of ordinary height, Yuki carries a delicate, almost regal beauty that draws constant admiration, though the softness of his own face embarrasses him. His straight hair falls in dark grey to about the nape, parted into bangs that curtain his light grey eyes, with a pair of longer strands trailing past his chin and a few stubborn cowlicks refusing to lie flat.

At Kaibara High he wears the boys' uniform, a bordered blue sweater over a yellow shirt finished with a pale blue tie. Off campus he leans toward gentle blues and whites, Chinese-cut garments, and snug collared pieces. Once Kakeru enters his life and the student council claims him, that formal wardrobe gives way to looser, more relaxed clothing. His grey coloring quietly echoes the Rat whose spirit he carries.

Classmates treat Yuki as an untouchable, gracious prince, but at home he is clumsy, quick to fluster, hopeless with cooking and chores, and generally idle. Beneath the poise sit deep scars from Akito's abuse: crushing self-doubt, loneliness, a dread of being turned away, and an inability to voice what he actually feels, all of which harden into a distant, guarded exterior. He is certain his true self would repel everyone, envies how easily Kyo makes friends, and confesses that his own inferiority complex is the enemy he fights hardest.

Tohru's steady acceptance, joined later by Kakeru and Machi, gradually coaxes him out of that shell. As he heals he grows cheekier and more self-assured, trading barbs and sometimes showing an arrogant streak, yet he also owns up to how self-serving it was to blame others for his pain and chooses to move forward, even forgiving Akito. Under the sharper edges he stays deeply kind, reaching out to steady Kisa, Kakeru, and Machi, and he resolves to stop merely taking from people and instead give back as an equal.

Born as the Rat, Yuki arrived favored, and his parents exploited that status to climb within the Sohma clan, treating him like a bargaining chip while neglecting his older brother Ayame, a divide that pushed the siblings far apart. A sickly, respiratory-troubled child, he was handed over to Akito as the zodiac member reckoned closest to God. What began as playmate visits curdled into years of torment, with Akito shutting him in a lightless room and drilling into him that he was worthless, unwanted, and despised by everyone, family and fellow zodiac alike. A secret attempt to befriend the outcast Kyo ended in rejection, and his own mother slapped him back toward Akito's side.

Sent to an elite private school, Yuki briefly tasted happiness when a group of boys asked him to play and be their friends, until a girl bumped into him, triggered his transformation, and forced Hatori to erase their memories, a loss that sealed him off once more. His turning point came when he guided a lost little Tohru home and gave her his hat, an act that restored his will to keep living. Hatsuharu, who first confronted then came to love him, eventually begged Shigure to take Yuki out of the estate, and so Yuki moved into Shigure's house.

Reunited with Tohru as classmate and housemate, he watches her uncover the Sohma curse, grows attached, and at first mistakes his need for a mother figure as romance. Fueled by her kindness, he becomes student council president, forges a genuine friendship with Kakeru, and falls for Machi Kuragi. His curse is the last of the thirteen to break, freeing him to embrace her. In Fruits Basket Another he has wed Machi and become father to their son Mutsuki, and in the story's farewell he at last thanks Tohru outright for helping him grow into a whole person.