| Information |
| Katsuya Honda | |
|---|---|
| Kanji | 本田 勝也 |
| Rōmaji | Honda Katsuya |
| Description | |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | Late 20s (At death) |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Eye Color | Black |
| Professional Status | |
| Occupation | Pharmaceutical employee (Formerly) Student teacher (Formerly) |
| Affiliation | Pharmaceutical Company (Formerly) Unnamed Middle School (Formerly) |
| Relatives | |
| Parents | Unnamed Father Unnamed Mother † |
| Siblings | Unnamed Younger Sister |
| Spouse | Kyoko Honda (Wife) † |
| Children | Tohru Honda (Daughter) |
| Extended Family | |
| Debut | |
| Manga | Chapter 90 |
| Anime | Episode 5 (2001, flashback) Episode 5 (2019, flashback) Fruits Basket -prelude- (Debut) |
| Voice Actors | |
| Japanese | Yoshimasa Hosoya |
| English | J. Michael Tatum |
Katsuya Honda (本田 勝也, Honda Katsuya) was the husband of Kyoko Honda and the late father of Tohru Honda, who died at age 28, when Tohru was only three years old. He is one of the main protagonists of Fruits Basket -prelude-.
Appearance[]
As of the colored cover of the manga, Katsuya has black hair even it looks more purplish. He has dark brown eyes, nearly black.
Personality[]
Katsuya was a very perceptive man who was able to understand the motivations behind a person's actions - as seen when he observes that Kyoko acts out only because she wants someone to pay attention to and love her. He was also unconventional, as he had no problems with seeing Kyoko - then a middle school student - inside or outside of school, take her out to lunch, and eventually marrying her despite the age gap, her history as a 'yankee', and his family's disapproval. He had a deeply loving and caring relationship with Kyoko, and cherished and loved his daughter, Tohru.
He described himself as an 'intern with absolutely no interest in becoming a teacher', and only pursued the career because his family and co-workers expected him to follow in his father's footsteps, even though he had no intention of becoming a teacher at all. However, he notes that an advantage to this is that he is able to get away when he 'crosses a few lines and breaks the rules'. Regardless, he feels that he started to 'build walls' around his true self in order to follow his father's and family's wishes.
One of the reasons why he eventually decided to work at a pharmaceutical company is because of his mother, who passed away due to illness.
Katsuya in chapter 92
When she was in middle school, Kyoko described him as being an 'aloof sort of guy' and the master of 'feigning politeness'.
Story Overview[]
History[]
Katsuya Honda was Tohru Honda's father and Kyoko Honda's husband. He was the only person to understand at all what Kyoko was going through. He met Kyoko in middle school where he was teaching as an intern teacher. He and Kyoko became nearly inseparable, and he always called her "Miss No Eyebrows" as a remark to her Yankee style.
They met over the weekends and talked to each other about nearly everything. He told Kyoko about how he was insecure as a child, and faked the kindly speech he uses to win people over. One day, after Kyoko was released from the hospital, her parent decided to disown her. They had packed her bags and while Kyoko was standing at the door, Katsuya appeared and proposed to her. Kyoko agrees and the two are soon married.
Not many of Katsuya's family members like the prospect of him marrying a former delinquent except Katsuya's father, who stands by his son's decision. Their short marriage was a happy one, resulting in the birth of Tohru, whom Katsuya became quite close to.
Katsuya died of pneumonia while on a business trip, leaving Kyoko in a deep depression. Kyoko and Tohru's grandfather were left to care for Tohru, though Kyoko did not remember doing much with Tohru during this time. One day, while seeing a show on TV, Kyoko saw something that made her think of Katsuya and left to head towards the ocean to follow him leaving young Tohru alone. Kyoko did not realize that she'd left Tohru alone until a young girl, no older than Tohru (at the time), and her mother were loudly talking about a train ticket which snapped her out of this trance. Kyoko then returned to Tohru, and hugged her.
At Kyoko's death, she begins to think about her leaving Tohru all alone, how she felt after Katsuya's death. When she dies, and sees Katsuya, she begins crying, Katsuya reaches out to hold her hand and they both reunite once more as a loving couple.[2]
Relationships[]
Father[]
His father used to be a teacher and very strict person, because of that he and Katsuya often clashed. It changed when his mother passed away that his father began to be softer to him. The moment when he gave his blessings on his son’s marriage with Kyoko was the first time for Katsuya to meet with his father after a long time.
Kyoko Honda[]
He first met Kyoko when she’s back to her middle school for a long time and forced to have a consult with him because nobody would bother with her. He understood that she always felt lonely all this time, that made Kyoko cry and confessed that she’s lonely and didn’t know what to do with herself. He then introduced himself to her and treated her ramen at the ramen shop as a gratitude. Their relationship had gradually been blossoming since then.
Tohru Honda[]
Although he had a short amount of time with his family, he loved his daughter dearly and he was the one who suggested the name ‘Tohru’ in the first place. Later Tohru mimicked his manner of speech after he died to get Kyoko’s attention so that she wouldn’t go to his place leaving Tohru alone.
Etymology[]
- The name Katsuya means "victory" (勝) (katsu) and "to be, also" (也) (ya).
- Katsuya's surname Honda means "base, root, origin, source" (本) (hon) and "field, rice paddy" (田) (ta/da).
Trivia[]
- His younger sister and her family (except for their father) are not fond of his marriage to Kyoko and do not seem to like his daughter, Tohru much either.
- He is only mentioned in the 2001 version of Fruits Basket.
- In the 2019 Anime:
- His character model as in seen in flashback sightly resembles those of Hatori Sohma's.
- During the final season, his actual appearance is only shown in a shaded/not entirely visible way. In the last scene of the last episode of the anime along with its corresponding ED (Episode 13 of third season), Katsuya's face can be seen in its entirety in the family photo that Tohru always had hidden in the picture frame behind her mother's and that she has now put instead, symbolizing that she has stopped thinking of her father as "the bad guy" and can now happily remember him in her heart as well.
- His entire backstory with Kyoko is animated as a standalone episode.
References[]
- ↑ Fruits Basket Fan Book: Cat
- ↑ Chapter