Tohru Honda :
The
typical shoujo female lead. Tohru lost her father
at a very early age. The cute and seemingly innocent 16-year-old then
lost her mother in a car crash and she was forced to live with her
grandfather. Later she was forced to move out when her stingy, rapacious
auntie decided that the house needed a renovation. Ever the considerate
little girl: rather than be a burden on her friends, she pitches a tent
in the woods and decides to live there until the renovations are
completed.
Under fateful
circumstances she ends up living with the Souma family - proprietor of
the deserted woods - on the condition that she'd be responsible for
their household duties. Two members of the Souma family, "High
School Prince" Yuki and the flamboyant Kyo, ultimately fall in love
with her.
At an early age,
Tohru was bullied by both the boys at school and those in her
neighbourhood area. One day, as she was escaping from her harassers, she
hid in a cold, damp alley. A "mysterious" boy with a cap
appeared and rescued the little princess. Who is this boy? Could it be
Kyo or Yuki? Or could it be Akito? Or perhaps Kazuma?
Souma Yuki :
Renowned
for his charm and flamboyance, Yuki has long been famed the "High
School Prince." Born in the year of the rat, Yuki's life has been
impelled by his transformation into an ebony-gray mouse whenever the
opposite sex hugs him or whenever he becomes nervous. This
cursed nature prevents him from ever developing intimate relationships
with others, especially his girl-fans (not friends).
"Surprisingly,"
Tohru's innocence and kindness helps Yuki to loosen up and develop
better relationships with his peers. Although Yuki is a quiet and polite
teenager, his skills in martial arts are not to be underestimated.
Resembling Jackie Chan's Drunken Fist, he fares better in a fight when
he is sleepy!
The mysterious cap
boy mentioned in Tohru's profile description was indeed Souma Yuki. It
appears that Yuki still remembers the incident and recognises Tohru. The
dilemma he now faces is whether or not he should tell Tohru about the
truth. The truth that he was the handsome little prince who saved the
cute little princess.
Souma Kyo: And
so it came to pass that the cat who was tricked by the rat had sworn to
take vengeance for such betrayal. Kyo believes he's Yuki's rival due to
their respective cat and mouse cursed bodies. The second of Kyo's
transformations transmogrifies him into an overpowering cat-like
creature. To suspend such power, Kyo wears a magical bracelet of his
mother's.
Although
bad-tempered, Kyo displays a studious attitude and backs it up with
intelligence! Being a martial-artist like Yuki, the two are easily
embodied in an anime-ideal approach of handling differences between
people: in combat! The complication of Tohru also drives the two to
further rivalry not only in school and in the dojo, but also in love.
Kyo had been seen
as an outcast by the Souma family - there had always been a resentment
against the "cats". When Kyo's mother died, Souma Kazuma took
on the onerous responsibility of raising Kyo. In fact, Kazuma feels
guilty about the negligence of his grandfather, a cat-cursed Souma who
died a lonely death. Although Kyo seems to distant himself from Kazuma,
he looks up to the man as a father-figure.
Souma Shigure:
Shigure
had always lived with Yuki and Kyo until Tohru came into the picture. He
earns his living from writing sophisticated, romance novels. Nearly
always wrapped in a "writer's kimono" and dwelling at home,
Shigure serves the fundamental purpose of being a laughing-stock.
Perhaps that was an exaggeration. But there's no doubt that Shigure is
one of the funniest characters throughout the anime.
Shigure marks the
new generation of artistic, nocturnal creatures who enjoys staying up
late, smoking and driving their publishers crazy. As a Souma family
member, Shigure is also cursed by the Jyuunishi and has the
uncanny transformation of a dog.
Of all the
Souma's', he is one of the few who visits their clan leader, Akito. He
adopts a pen name, Kiritani Noa, when he writes about the sophisticated,
romance novels.
Souma Hatori:
In a
tragic incident of love and its inevitable separation, Hatori's left eye
was blinded. He now works as a doctor, devoting much of his time to
looking after the Souma clan leader, Akito.
Hatori possesses
the uncanny ability to destroy people's memories. With such power, he
destroyed Kana's (his lover's) memory - Kana found out about the Jyuunishi
curse when Hatori unexpectedly transformed into a seahorse, which was
supposed to be a reflection of the dragon. After losing all her memories
of Hatori, Kana married another person. All Hatori wants to do now is
watch over Kana from afar and ensure that she will always be happy.
Some people seem
to think that Hatori is a cold figure. He does loosen himself, however,
when embraced by the companionship of his best friends and cousins,
Shigure and Ayame.
