Information.
Name • Ritsu Sohma
Canon • Fruits Basket
Timeline • Mangaverse post-chapter forty-five
Age • Twenty-one
Gender • Male
Sexual Orientation • Heterosexual
Eye color • Brown
Hair color • Shoulder length orangey brown
Height • Short...ish
Other • He's stronger than he looker or gives credit to himself.
Clothing • HE CROSSDRESSES IN KIMONOS.
History • Ritsu is the zodiac monkey of the Sohma family and like the other cursed members, he changes into the creature when hugged by a member of the opposite sex who is not in the family. Since Ritsu is a man, this means women. His nuclear family is composed of three: himself, his father, and his mother. Of all the things these parents passed to their son, their looks was not one of them. Ritsu noticed how his parents apologized profusely for absolutely everything, especially him. He lost all his confidence and picked up a knack for apologizing. The fits of "I'm sorry"s and "Please forgive me!"s are almost identical to his mother. He's thought he's quite worthless and figured his parents would be happier with a different son.
Ritsu was born at an awkward time in relation to his fellow zodiac members. First of all, the older generation, the Mabudachi Trio, mainly only toyed with him rather than actually foster any family relationship. Shigure especially likes to take advantage of Ritsu's insecurities and gullibility. He's a constant target for teasing and it doesn't stop there; Shigure was the first to find out that pushing the soft spot of Ritsu's torso made his wiggle down and resume more calmly. However, the most influential member of the trio to make an impression on Ritsu is Ayame. He admires his elder cousin to the point of idolization. It's very similar to the yearning mosquitoes have for light: the bug will never actually get to the light but it will flitter as close as possible.
Secondly, he was too old to play with the younger generation without stirring up raised eyebrows. He and Kagura played together often. By chance he wore a dress she loaned him which, for some reason, calmed him down. Ritsu now had a secret weapon that would give him the confidence to speak up. He crossdressed ever since; it's a rare occasion when he wears male clothing. When he does, it's simple like a button up shirt and pants. As Ritsu mentions when he sees Akito in the last volume of the series, what was once something that calmed him down grew into a hobby. His favorite kind of drag is a kimono worn by unmarried women, the furisode. In fact, Ritsu looks so much like a girl when he cross dresses that both Tohru thought he was a woman at first and Mitsuru still has a hint of doubt that he's a man.
Adding insult to injury, Ritsu has always been mediocre at everything. He even says himself that he has to work twice as hard just to average out. His grades were lousy but still he was able to attend college. It's hard to say what kind of experience that was but it's known that he went to school dressed in female clothing as well. Luckily Ritsu's ambitions after college don't require any knowledge learned there; he trained to inherit the onsen his mother runs. Because of these two things, he's not at the Sohma estate very often and is quite detached from the ongoings in the family.
Ritsu is urged by his mother to meet Tohru and visits Shigure's house. It's one of his most assertive moments though the whole visit becomes a catastrophe. Instead of bringing fruit, he brings books about fruit. Moreover, he ends up breaking stuff in the house and causing a scene where he almost falls off the rooftop. Hatori is called to Shigure's house because of him and the fun tiemz ensue. Shigure reveals that he hasn't been able to write any of his manuscript for his editor Mitsuru to review which hurls him into a panic. However, Mitsuru and Ritsu have lots to talk about because of this which grows into a crush.
However, the the most important part of Ritsu's history is that he was apparently the only one to have ever seen Shigure use his takoyaki power.
Personality • Ritsu is the bipolar child of timidity and violence. One second she's shy and insecure and the next he's confessing to the most unrealistic phenomena at the speed of light. He cries easily, trembles a lot, and flails quite a bit. When poked in the side of his torso, he wiggles down like a noodle. It's the only surefire way to shut him up.
He is apologetic to a fault and believes the world is both criticizing and blaming him for every little thing. His paranoia causes him to think up unrealistic situations that are highly unlikely. If he said it looked cloudy and, say, it rained, he would blame himself. If he said it looked cloudy and, say, it cleared up, he would still blame himself. If he said it looked cloudy and, say, it remained cloudy, he would blame himself, of course. No matter what, he will fit the situation -- past, present, or future -- to somehow link himself at the core of why it sucks to be you. He's quite melodramatic and easily thrown into fits of screaming confession because of it.
Ritsu's definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed. He reads situations completely wrong -- not just because he somehow finds a way to put himself at fault -- but also in the most obvious of situations. It's his gullibility added to his insecurity.
The monkey wants to be punished in the hopes that it will somehow atone for his shortcomings. What's ironic is that even if he got the judgment he thinks he deserved, he would probably think it's not enough. And yet he is able to accept it when told that what he's doing is not over the top and easily comforted by others. Even the smallest bit of thanks makes him feel like he's been relieved of those "sins" of his. It's around these people that Ritsu can be calm and comfortable with. Although crying, he can still, for the most part, carry a normal (?) conversation with them.
In other words, he's just a simple idiot that goes along with what others say.
Ritsu tries his best but it's often times not enough. As mentioned in the canon, he has to work twice as hard to achieve the average. Moreover, his attempts are quite feeble. What is assertive for Ritsu, announcing in a small voice that he will take his leave or walking about, is part of the everyday person's life. Ritsu has a hard time integrating with the rest of society, moving to his own beat but not because of eccentricity. As far as crossdressing is concerned, Ritsu acknowledges it as embarrassing yet he continues to do it because he's not emotionally strong enough to dress like a man. His self esteem is extremely low as he believes himself to be the most useless person on the planet. It might be this extremity that leads him to think that nothing can be worse than what he already does, and it makes him appear shameless. (His case is one of so much shame that it leads to shamelessness.) Self proclaimed, Ritsu says that he is clumsy and weak. Weak emotionally, yes, but Ritsu is quite energetic and powerful when he gets worked up in an apology storm. He talks about his uselessness quite a bit.
Despite this, Ritsu sincerely tries his best. He wants to be a better person but doesn't put much obvious effort into that goal. He can never truly measure up to his dreams because they're not achievable even for the talented (such as being confident like Ayame). Though he is successfully able to stop crossdressing, cut his hair, ask Mitsuru out, and otherwise be a "normal" part of society by the conclusion of the series, he is still coming to terms with himself and the world around him.
Abilities • When hugged by a member of the opposite sex (AKA GURLZ), he will transform into a monkey. Also, as the monkey, monkeys are naturally attracted to him. He's training to take over his mother's hot springs.
Affection • I can't guarantee your safety.
Fighting • I can't guarantee your safety.
Permissions • Here!
Other • I'm sorry!!