Yuki Sohma

Grew up… in the Sohma family complex. Yuki was the favorite of Akito, the head of the family. Unfortunately, that wasn’t a good thing – Akito abused Yuki, telling him terrible things and locking him in a dark room for days. His brother and parents didn’t do anything to stop it.

Living… with his cousin, Shigure. Yuki was able to leave the Sohma complex that he hated, as long as he stayed with another Sohma. The reason? The Sohma family has a strange secret. Certain members of the family transform into the animals of the zodiac when they’re hugged by a member of the opposite sex. Yuki is the rat, and Shigure is the dog. Living together makes keeping the secret easier.

Profession… high school student, and a successful one at that. Yuki is called “Prince Yuki” by his classmates, due to his good looks, calm demeanor, and high grades. There’s even a fan club dedicated to him.

Interests… gardening. Shigure’s house is on a lot of wild land, and Yuki uses some of that for his so-called “secret base.” It’s a garden he goes to when he needs to escape other people. Besides that, Yuki is also a talented martial artist.

Relationship Status… single. Having a curse that makes it impossible to hug girls leaves a straight guy without a lot of romantic options.

Challenge… keeping the curse a secret. Classmate Tohru Honda found out when she took shelter from a storm in their house. She’s the only non-Sohma who knows, and she thinks they can even break the curse. Yuki doubts it. The Sohma family is just plain cursed, and Yuki has to learn to live with it – or so he thinks.

Personality… elegant, reserved, and accomplished. He’s popular, but he has a lot of trouble connecting to people. His childhood and the family curse make him reluctant to reach out to people, but this reluctance makes him lonely in turn. He tries to be worthy of admiration – he doesn’t even lose his cool when he’s angry – mostly because he wants people to accept him.