Kureno Sohma

Spoiler! This page contains major plot spoilers related to the Fruits Basket manga, not yet revealed in the anime. Read at your own risk!

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Quotes

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Kureno Sohma
Manga Anime Re-Design Past Design
Kanji	草摩 紅野
Rōmaji	Sōma Kureno
Description
Gender	Male
Age	26-27
Hair Color	Auburn
Eye Color	Reddish-Brown
Cursed Year	Rooster
Actual Year	Rabbit
Professional Status
Occupation	Assistant of the Head of the Sohma Family (formerly)
Affiliation	Sohma Family
Relatives
Parents	Unnamed Parents
Debut
Manga	Chapter 50
Anime	Episode 7 (Cameo)
Voice Actors
Japanese	Susumu Chiba (Drama CD)

“	I alone am free. I could go anywhere I please. I could love whomever I wish. But that’s exactly why I have to…I have to stay with Akito.	”
—Kureno Sohma regarding his situation about the curse.

Kureno Sohma (草摩 紅野, Sōma Kureno) is one of the recurring characters of the Fruits Basket series.

He is the former Rooster of the Chinese Zodiac whose curse had been broken when he was around Tohru Honda's age. Despite being freed, he said he missed being able to fly, as he usually transformed into a sparrow.

Appearance

Kureno appears to be smaller than Shigure so he might be around 5'8 -5'9. He has auburn hair and reddish-brown eyes. He is one year younger than Hatori, Shigure, and Ayame, but he is two years older than Ritsu.

He bears a striking resemblance to Katsuya Honda.

Personality

Kureno is noted to be very much like Tohru: kind, polite, slightly scatterbrained at times, and cares more for others around him than for himself. Arisa describes him as the kind of person who can step in dog poo and not notice. When she is no longer able to see Kureno, she becomes very upset, and keeps thinking of him.

History

Early Life

When the day of Ren was pregnant, he was woke up and crying. He, Shigure, Hatori, Ayame was young and saw dream, he and others crying around Ren Sohma who is carrying baby in her womb.

He is one of the only four Sohmas who knew all along that Akito was a female. He also says that Ritsu had the same dream, but was "too young and didn't really understand".

Curse Broken

When Akito Sohma had found out that his curse had been broken, she kept Kureno confined in her house for most of his life, and at one point, had a sexual affair with him to keep him there and for him to want her as a woman and not just as God.

Story Overview

Second Year Arc

Arisa Uotani meets him in the convenience store she works at and is immediately attracted to him, and vice versa. Later, Arisa finds him while he's out, and the two go out to eat. Kureno tells her that he's content with his life, causing Arisa to lash out, shouting that his smiles should be happier. Kureno explains himself and almost kisses her. However, Kureno broke off their relationship.

He explaining to Tohru that he'd made a promise to Akito to stay by her side. He tells Tohru that the four who knew were Shigure, Hatori, Ayame, and himself.

Kureno is the one who releases Isuzu Sohma from the cat compound after her imprisonment.

Third Year Arc

After giving Akito some advice about her behavior, Akito stabs him angrily in the back, whereupon Kureno collapsed and was sent to the hospital.

Arisa went to visit him there, and the two of them later moved out to live in the countryside together.

The Rooster of The Zodiac

Kureno is cursed by the spirit of the Rooster. Whenever he is hugged by the opposite sex, or if his body goes through a great deal of stress, Kureno transforms into his Chinese Zodiac form. Like all the Cursed Sohmas, their respective animals are drawn to them, and in Kureno's case; roosters. The Rooster is the tenth of all zodiac animals.

Kureno has auburn hair due to sharing a similar trait with his animal, the Rooster. In Chinese culture, Roosters are complex people who seem strong but, deep down, need validation from loved ones, which applies to Kureno rather well.

It has been stated that Kureno, despite being the rooster or bird of the zodiac, transforms into a sparrow instead. Being able to transform into a sparrow enabled him to fly, this making him the only member to be able to have flown. However, as his curse was broken before the story started, his transformation and flying has never been shown.

In a shown flashback, Kureno had been surrounded by a flock of birds before his curse was broken. When it broke, the flock of birds fled and flew away, leaving Kureno alone.

Kureno's Zodiac form.

He was the first of the cursed Sohmas to have his curse broken, speaking of his broken curse and how he felt "free, no longer in a bird cage" without the presence of the spirit.

Trivia

• According to the official Fruits Basket Character Book:
  • Kureno doesn't wear white shirts (except when school uniforms used to require them). It's a color he feels an aversion to, and he avoids wearing it because he wants to blend in and not draw attention to himself.
  • Natsuki Takaya also mentions that she doesn't put Kureno in suits, because "it makes him look too much like Hatori".
• According to Takaya, while he was still cursed, he did not like others to see his animal form, which was a sparrow instead of a Rooster.

Navigation

[v · e · ?] Fruits Basket Characters Main Characters Tohru Honda  •  Kyo Sohma  •  Shigure Sohma  •  Yuki Sohma Sohma Family Zodiacs Akito Sohma  •  Ayame Sohma  •  Hatsuharu Sohma  •  Hatori Sohma  •  Hiro Sohma  •  Isuzu Sohma  •  Kagura Sohma  •  Kazuma's Grandfather  •  Kisa Sohma  •  Kureno Sohma  •  Kyo Sohma  •  Momiji Sohma  •  Ritsu Sohma  •  Shigure Sohma  •  Yuki Sohma Others Akira Sohma  •  Ayame and Yuki's Mother  •  Hinata Sohma  •  Isuzu's Father  •  Isuzu's Mother  •  Kagura's Mother  •  Kana Sohma  •  Kazuma Sohma  •  Kisa's Mother  •  Kyo's Father  •  Kyo's Mother  •  Momo Sohma  •  Momiji's Mother  •  Momiji's Father  •  Okami Sohma  •  Ren Sohma  •  Satsuki Sohma  •  Tohru and Kyo's Son  •  Tohru and Kyo’s Daughter-in-law  •  Tohru and Kyo’s Granddaughter Secondary Characters Kaibara High School Arisa Uotani  •  Chie  •  Hiroshi and Yusuke  •  Kakeru Manabe  •  Kimi Toudou  •  Machi Kuragi  •  Makoto Takei  •  Mai Gotou  •  Mai Iwata  •  Mayuko Shiraki  •  Mio Yamagishi  •  Minami Kinoshita  •  Motoko Minagawa  •  Naohito Sakuragi  •  Rika Aida  •  Saki Hanajima Others Akimoto  •  Delinquent Trio  •  God of The Chinese Zodiac  •  Cat of The Chinese Zodiac  •  Katsuya Honda  •  Kyoko Honda  •  Komaki Nakao  •  Kunimitsu Tomoda  •  Megumi Hanajima  •  Mine Kuramae  •  Mitsuru  •  + Minor Characters Relatives Arisa's Father  •  Kyoko's Father  •  Kyoko's Mother  •  Machi's Mother  •  Mayuko's Mother  •  Saki's Father  •  Saki's Grandmother  •  Saki's Mother  •  Tohru's Aunt  •  Tohru's Female Cousin  •  Tohru's Male Cousin  •  Tohru's Grandfather Fruits Basket Another Main Characters Sawa Mitoma  •  Hajime Sohma  •  Mutsuki Sohma  •  Shiki Sohma Sohma Family Chizuru Sohma  •  Hibika Sohma  •  Kinu Sohma  •  Mina Sohma  •  Riku Sohma  •  Sora Sohma Students Amane  •  Chiaki Hasada  •  Michi Manabe  •  Mio Hasegawa  •  Mito  •  Rio Mosca  •  Ruriko Kageyama Others Sawa's Mother