Hiro Sohma

is one of the recurring characters of the Fruits Basket series. He is the son of Satsuki Sohma and the older brother of Hinata Sohma by twelve years.

He is the Sheep of the Chinese Zodiac and the youngest of the Cursed Sohmas. He tends to criticize people and seems older than he really is, but frequently regrets what he says to others when he is made aware of how insensitive his remarks can be. Because of his attitude, he takes a bit longer to warm up to Tohru Honda than everyone else does.

Hiro is best friends with Kisa Sohma and loves her more than anything. When Kisa was beaten by Akito Sohma because he had confessed his love towards Kisa to the former, Hiro was greatly upset for himself for not being able to protect her. Because of this, he eventually decides that he wants to become stronger so he can protect Kisa and his younger sister.

Appearance
Hiro is a young boy with an average build who is quite tall for his age. He is rarely seen smiling and is usually seen with a frown, but will perk up a smile at times. He has short, spiked brown hair that sticks out at all angles, with an additional cowlick sticking out from his head. His bangs resemble that of a leaf, which mostly covers his forehead.

Hiro is often depicted in his school uniform, which consists of a black-colored sweater with a white shirt underneath, along with a black ribbon around the collar. It also consists of black shorts and shoes, along with long white stockings.

On other occasions, he is shown wearing a dark green shirt and pants. He hates slovenliness, so he dresses carefully and always wears neatly tailored clothing. He doesn't like wearing accessories, unless it's something small to accent western clothing. It is also mentioned that he prefers winter clothes.

Personality
Hiro is prickly, easily riled up, and exceedingly good at making sarcastic comments and complaining, as he is very prone to insulting people and delivering snarky remarks. He enjoys quibbling and can talk circles around most adults. He uses pretentiously large words and can keep arguing without even pausing for breath, until people like Tohru can't keep up. He is hypocritical to a certain degree as well; while he can't stand people who complain all the time, he does a fair share of complaining too. He also points out that Tohru is too clingy with her mother when it turns out he's just as fond of his own mother.

Hiro is a very serious and level-headed boy, though this doesn't keep his mouth from getting him in trouble or give him the emotional maturity to handle difficult situations. He was initially seen being very rude towards Tohru, and made putdowns about her weaknesses. He also lashes out against Tohru for her close friendship with Kisa because she comforted her when he couldn't. While he often sounds accusing and often makes people dislike him unnecessarily, he realizes that he should stop talking so harshly, and hates himself for picking trivial fights. However, he can't quite apologize and has such trouble expressing his feelings honestly that sometimes argumentative things are all that come out. At the same time, Hiro is extremely kind towards Kisa but has a "tsundere" personality around her, as although he loves her more than anything, he will get very shy, timid, and has trouble expressing himself around her.

Despite his arrogant personality and acting like he's above everyone else, he feels horrible about not being able to help Kisa and Isuzu Sohma when they needed help the most. Since he had to keep quiet about Isuzu's incident and the truth about her injuries, it weighs heavily on him. And he breaks down in tears when he can't hold back anymore and explains the truth to Hatsuharu Sohma.

Throughout the series, while he remains the person he is at heart, Hiro is actively trying to change for the better, both for his own sake and for Kisa's sake. He doesn't like the childish part of him that lashes out at other people, and wants to quickly mature into a composed adult who is able to protect the people he cares about. Hiro's personality was half-stemmed from his mother's ditzy and clumsy persona saying that one day he looked at her and thought that he had to be strong. When his younger sister Hinata is born, Hiro undergoes another change; he becomes a loving and doting older brother, but also more self-aware and even quite philosophical. Hiro gradually mellows down to a much gentler and considerate boy, who is always ready to help others out while in distress.

Pre-Fruits Basket
When Hiro was born two months prematurely and transformed into a sheep upon being hugged by his mother, she exclaimed "I love sheep!", being neither rejecting or overprotective. His mother has become an anomaly within the Sohma family, and unlike many other Zodiacs, Hiro has lived a very peaceful life with his loving parents.

Hiro's Confession
Hiro and Kisa have been best friends throughout elementary school, and the two would often spend time together. Eventually, Hiro developed feelings for Kisa, and he wanted to make sure the head of the Sohma family, Akito Sohma, knew. When he confessed to Akito that he was in love with Kisa, Akito became furious and proceeded to attack Kisa, which lead to her having to stay in the hospital for two weeks to recover.

While visiting Kisa in the hospital, Hiro knew that his confession had led Akito to attack Kisa and could only blame himself on the incident. Since he didn't want Akito to hurt Kisa again because of him, Hiro began avoiding her ever since she entered middle school. When he found out she was being picked on by the other kids, he felt useless and was not able to do anything as it would be awkward for him to suddenly defend her after months of ignoring her.

Witnessing Isuzu
Hiro accidentally witnessed Akito pushing Isuzu Sohma out of a window, which later causes Hiro some distress, because he found out about Hatsuharu Sohma and Isuzu dating. Hiro knew that Hatsuharu would never forgive Akito for that act if he told the older boy. Isuzu and Akito forced him not to tell Hatsuharu about the incident that Hiro had witnessed.

Second Year Arc
He first meets Tohru Honda while she is on her way to work. He throws his shoe onto the ground and orders her to pick it up. When she does, he immediately begins belittling and lecturing her about always obeying orders from other people and thinking for herself. He also steals Tohru's wallet, which contains the photo of her mother, and runs away.

When Tohru follows him in an attempt to get it back, Kisa appears with Momiji Sohma and asks him to give it back. He throws it at her in response, and Kisa tells him that she doesn't understand why Hiro is acting the way he is. Hiro replies by saying how annoyed he was by the fact Kisa always talks about Tohru and never gives attention to anyone else. With the help of Kyo, Momiji, and Kisa, Hiro gives back Tohru's notebook. As punishment for stealing her wallet, Tohru hugs the boy, which turns him into a sheep.

Despite his dislike and jealously of Tohru, Hiro still brings Kisa to Shigure's house to watch an anime show. Hiro then demands Tohru to take him and Kisa out somewhere. At the park, Hiro tells Tohru about his past with Kisa and how he was unable to help when she was injured by Akito and when she was bullied. Thus Hiro became angry at himself and took that anger out on Tohru, who was able to help Kisa recover. Tohru, however, comforts him that it takes courage to admit that he is still a child, and that she is confident that he could become a wonderful prince who is able to protect Kisa in the future. Although Hiro is touched by hearing this, he won't show it Tohru, but he swears he will become a "prince" and protect Kisa in the future.

During summer vacation, Hiro and Kisa get an invitation from Momiji Sohma to the Sohma beach house. With the invitations written on bunny stationery), Hiro complains about Momiji being childish, but when Kisa expresses that she wants to go, Hiro accepts to go immediately to make her happy.

Hiro and Kisa arrive at the beach house a day later. He becomes annoyed when Kisa and Tohru hug each other just after seeing another, leaving Haru and Momiji to tease him for feeling "left out". Jokes aside, Haru advises Hiro to do something about his temper, since it can make Kisa feel unsettled sometimes. Hiro replies that it has nothing to do with him.

Later, Hiro goes out to the forest with Kisa, Tohru, and Momiji to search for stag beetles. Hiro then notices that Tohru has dropped her notebook which contains a picture of her mother, but gives it back rather quickly. However, he questions Tohru why she only keeps a picture of her her mother but not a picture of her father, and calls her out for being absolutely obsessed with her mother. This visibly saddens her but she smiles and runs after Momiji. When Kisa calls Hiro out for being rude towards Tohru, Hiro says he feels like he didn't do anything wrong and that Tohru didn't seem to mind. This upsets Kisa further and thinking that he had only come to the vacation house to aggravate Tohru, Kisa runs away. Hiro falls down to his knees and berates himself for making Kisa cry and not being able to better himself.

Later that night, Kisa began feeling a bit guilty for having sided with Tohru, so she decides to apologize to Hiro. She goes to Hiro's room but he accidentally hits her in the face with his door when he decides to apologize to her as well. However, they apologize for their actions and soon make up. The next day, Hiro gets a phone call from his mother, who informs him that she is is pregnant. Rather than being happy, Hiro is seen worrying about his clumsy mother, afraid that she will fall down or slip at the stairs. When Momiji finds out about the pregnancy, he decides to have a watermelon splitting contest with everyone, much to Hiro's reluctance. and worries when Akito arrives the beath, afraid that Akito will hurt Tohru the same way she was hurt.

During Sorta Cinderella, Hiro accompanies Kisa to the school. He expresses doubt at the success of the play, and was shown to be easily angered, as seen when three boys had their eyes on Kisa. He is also scared by Megumi Hanajima, who approaches him from behind unnoticed. When Sorta Cinderella is over, he says "Crud. What was that supposed to be?" Later, Hiro accidentally mentions Rin, and chastises himself for doing so, because he wasn't supposed to know about Rin dating Hatsuharu. However, Hatsuharu jokingly replies by asking him if he has got a crush on Rin, which Hiro embarrassingly denies.

Hiro attends the Sohma banquet on New Year's Eve, where he is seen spending his time with the other Zodiacs minus Kyo. When Akito attacks Yuki during the banquet, while he and Momiji watched that Akito tell Yuki to apologize.

After his younger sister, Hinata is born, Hiro is seen visiting his mother and sister in the hospital. Satsuki asks Hiro if he wants to hold Hinata, but Hiro declines, explaining that he will transform if he does so. Satsuki assures him that even if he does transform, she will hug both of them close, putting a smile on Hiro's face.

A few days later, Hiro and Kisa are spending time together, while he is being a little philosophical for recently becoming an older brother. The two eventually bumps into Haru, and he can’t help but bring up Rin again. When Haru questions Hiro about Rin, he eventually confesses that he had witnessed Rin being pushed off a second-story balcony by Akito, which was the reason she had been in the hospital for so long. Hiro also confesses that it was his fault for Akito injuring Kisa a while back. He then asks Haru to help Rin, as she is trying to break the curse so she can free Haru from the curse. He also reveals that she had broken up with Haru for this very reason. Haru is enraged by what he has heard and immediately goes after Akito. After he leaves, Hiro breaks down sobbing, though Kisa comforts him by saying it wasn't his fault.

Third Year Arc
Hiro and Kisa at some point visits Shigure's house to have dinner with Tohru and the younger Zodiacs. However, Shigure leaves for the estate, leaving the two alone; so when Kyo later sees Kisa, he is surprised. Hiro suddenly appears and tells him to stop intimidating Kisa. The two then begin arguing, but Hiro manages to hold his tongue and tries to respond maturely instead of with his usual rude behavior, irritating Kyo. When Kisa manages to greet Kyo, Hiro is proud of her. When the Tohru and the others arrive, Hiro tells Haru that he wonders if Kyo is in love with Tohru; explaining that he is worried because Kyo is the Cat and since he will eventually be confined. Haru scolds him for bringing this up and Hiro leaves it at that.

When Akito was about to stab her mother, she stopped when she noticed that Hiro's curse had been broken. Hiro noticed this as well, and picked up his sister and hugged her. Hiro's mother came into the room to see Hiro no longer changing into a sheep, and was overjoyed. However, Hiro interrupted her, saying that it was more bittersweet. While his mother came to comfort him, Hiro broke down in tears.

Hiro and Kisa go out and are near the hospital when they see Kyo vomiting. While Hiro does not like the sight of Kyo's vomit, he insists on helping him out cleaning it up. Kyo declines his help, but Hiro does not budge.

For the first time after his curse breaks, Hiro visits Akito. Hiro has braced himself for whatever Akito is about to tell him. But as opposed to what Hiro thought, Akito tells: "Hiro, as always, you’re naive and stupid. Even though you’re not particularly strong or smart, you stubbornly cling to your desires…to be honest, that side of you has always been something I admire." This surprised Hiro greatly.

Once all the Zodiacs' curse breaks, Hiro is invited to the final banquet of all by Akito. Hiro and Kisa accompany each other, and when Akito reveals herself to be a woman, Hiro is seen to be the most shocked out of everyone. Akito tries to apologize for everything she has done, but without success. However, she explains that she would now move forward, continue living as a Sohma and the head of the family, and that she would be giving all the Zodiacs their freedom to do whatever they want.

Epilogue
Towards the end of the series, Hiro and Kisa are seen spending time with each other, happily arm in arm. They think about Tohru moving with Kyo to the countryside, and when Kisa goes into an overdrive of emotion, Hiro comforts her, telling her there is no point holding back her emotions and tears. As Kisa cries, Hiro remembers all the memories he had with Tohru, right from the start when they met for the first time.

Fruits Basket Another
He was mentioned by Mutsuki Sohma, as he mentions that Hiro told him that Hinata might go to the Sohma summer place. He is also mentioned by Hinata to be a very protective older brother who constantly worries about her.

The Sheep of the Zodiac
Hiro is cursed by the spirit of the Sheep (or Ram) of the Zodiac. Whenever he is hugged by the opposite sex, or if his body goes through a great deal of stress, Hiro transforms into his Chinese Zodiac form. Like all the Cursed Sohmas, their respective animals are drawn to them; and in Hiro's case, sheep. The Sheep is the eighth of all Zodiac animals.

As he isn't an adult or teenager yet, when he transforms, he is shown as a lamb. It is possible that his brown hair- and eye color comes from being cursed by the Sheep spirit.

In Chinese culture, Sheep are loving and selfless, always thinking for others, even if it works against their own interest, which applies to Hiro rather well, though this only applies when it resolves around people Hiro cherishes; such as Kisa, Rin, his parents, and younger sister.

When Hiro's curse broke, he was subconsciously aware of it, and immediately hugged his younger sister to confirm it. When he didn't transform, he broke down in tears and was left with a bittersweet feeling. Hiro's curse broke earlier than everyone else, and the overall third to break (after Momiji and Kureno).

Trivia

 * Hiro's name is derived from the seventh month, fumihirogetsuki or "month of publication", which is the month of the Goat of the traditional Japanese calendar.
 * Hiro's name means "Light on the Path", while his younger sister's Hinata's name means "Towards the Sun" in Japanese. Their mother thought about it for a long time, because she wanted "sunny" names for both of her children.
 * Other than Akito Sohma, the person Hiro can't stand the most is Ayame Sohma.
 * He is the youngest member of the Zodiac; confirmed when it was stated that when Kisa started middle school, he doesn't start until the next year, therefore he is a year younger than her.
 * Hiro is possibly the only Zodiac member who grew up with normal, loving parents who were neither rejective or overprotective.
 * Aaron Dismuke, who was a child at the time, voiced Hiro which is very uncommon in the voice acting industry.

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