| “ | If that's really true...then prove it...! You think they can see go the outside world...see all its charms and wonders...and still agree to return, bound to your gloomy old self for "Eternity"? Do you honestly believe that!? Then prove it! Prove that no one can destroy your delusional dreams...and you'll beat me! However...If you lose...You will kneel before me...and leave the Sohma Family forever. |
„ |
| ~ Ren making a bet with Akito. |
| “ | Are you still trying to convince people that nonsense is true? You little fool. How many times do I have to explain this to you? That so-called bond may make you feel something, but it is not real love. The "forever unchanging" story you like to tell yourself is exactly that: A fantasy. A delusion. So of course I pity the ones who have to put up with it. | „ |
| ~ Ren Sohma to Akito Sohma |
Ren Sohma (草摩 楝 Sōma Ren) is the overarching antagonist in the manga/anime series Fruits Basket and its sequel series Fruits Basket Another. She is the abusive estranged mother of Akito Sohma, the widow of the late Akira Sohma, and the grandmother of Shiki Sohma.
Due to her abuse towards Akito, she is ultimately responsible for shaping her into the self-controlling and abusive villain she is in the series, as well as being responsible for estranging the relationship between Akito and Shigure, and the emotional trauma that Isuzu "Rin" Sohma faces.
She is voiced by Ai Orikasa in Japanese and Katelyn Barr in English.
Her Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Her Close to Pure Evil?[]
In General[]
- She's heavily abusive (mentally and emotionally) towards Akito and several of her relatives, often manipulates people to get what she wants, and doesn't have any remorse for her actions.
- Her abuse of Akito is bad enough that she was willing to abort her if Akira didn't agree to raise her as a boy.
- Furthermore, despite her sincere affection for her late husband, she was not above mentally abusing him as well, threatening to have Akito aborted if he did not raise her as a boy.
- Despite her unstable mental nature, she still possesses enough moral agency to know from right to wrong, as she is fully aware of the people she has hurt but does not care at the slightest.
- Although the Sohma Clan looked down on her for her background as a maid and her only value was her husband Akira, the narrative makes it absolutely clear that she is not sympathetic in the slightest, as none of this excuses her actions and behavior towards others (especially towards Akito), and it merely showcases her narcissistic and envious nature.
- Due to the Fruits Basket series' low heinous standards, she easily stands out for her personal villainy against her family (primarily towards Akito and Rin), as well as for attempting to murder a child, her own grandson, for petty reasons.
- While the series contains many comedic moments, the moment she appears, all of the comedy and lighthearted moments instantly vanish, demonstrating that she is never played for laughs.
Background[]
- It's heavily implied that she merely played the role of a "loving maid" to take advantage of Akira's loneliness and get him to fall in love with her.
- Due to her immense jealousy and hatred towards Akito for "stealing" Akira's love and attention and being treated lavishly due to being the "God" of the Zodiacs, she emotionally and mentally abused Akito for many years.
- She often shoves insults towards her, mostly out of cruel pettiness, even when Akito was a young girl. She even constantly scolds Akito for not keeping a sacred bond with the Zodiac members, yet admits that she does not need nor love her.
- When Akira passed away, she reacted very angrily to the fact that Akito was by Akira's side but not her, leading to her becoming more emotionally and mentally abusive, even stating to Akito she would never be loved. This led Akito to become self-controlling and heavily abusive towards the Zodiac members.
- Due to her overall abuse towards Akito, she is ultimately responsible for all the pain and suffering the Sohma family (especially the Zodiac members) were forced to endure from Akito.
- She made a deal with Akito to prove that her bonds are sacred with her, and if one of them loses, they will be forced to leave the Sohma Estate. This led Akito to become further controlling, demanding, and even abusive towards the Zodiac members in order to ensure they stay by her side, even if they despised her.
- She manipulated Rin into asking her parents if they were truly happy, which led to them revealing their true colors to her and heavily abusing her, which led to her trauma and emotional issues.
- What makes this even crueler is the fact Ren dislikes Rin for no apparent reason, making this act pettier and even more cruel.
- In order to spite Akito further, she revealed to Shigure of Akito having a sexual relationship with Kureno and seduced him into starting a relationship between them (although Shigure merely did it to get payback on Akito), which led to the estrangement between Akito and Shigure, with the former exiling him from the Sohma Estate.
- This also led to an estrangement between Shigure and Kureno, with Shigure outright resenting Kureno despite the latter still genuinely caring about him.
- She is seen trying to seduce or manipulate Hatori Sohma in a suspicious manner before Akito stopped her. Her intentions in that scene are unknown, but it is unlikely that they were good.
Fruits Basket[]
- She continues to antagonize and insult Akito, to the point that their confrontation gets physically violent as Akito one time tries to strangle her before ultimately breaking down.
- She asked Rin for a "favor" to steal the box that she believes contains Akira's soul, and if she does so, she will tell her information on how to break the curse. However, Rin is caught by Akito, resulting in her long hair getting cut short and sent to the Cat Room for several days, nearly dying as a result.
- What makes this worse is the fact that Ren purposely lied about knowing how to break the curse, and she doesn't show any concern or regret for Rin at all, perfectly willing to let the poor girl suffer because of her actions.
- After Shigure refused to sleep with her and revealed why he even had a relationship with her and called her out for her treatment towards Akito, she slanders him and hypocritically calls him ungrateful.
- After Shigure rejects her and explains his reasons for sleeping with her, she slanders him for his "ungratefulness".
- She threatened Akito with a knife, demanding the box that contained Akira's soul so she could be with him.
- Although she becomes an empty shell after discovering that the box was just an ordinary box and it did not contain Akira's soul as she thought, none of this makes her sympathetic, and it serves as a karmic moment.
- Her actions still have an impact in the series, since although Akito is atoning for her actions, she is not fully forgiven by the majority of the people she has hurt, including Rin (although she does feel bad that she cannot forgive her), which makes her road to redemption a lot harder.
- To make matters worse, because of her mother's actions during her time as the "God of Zodiac," Shiki has been facing verbal harassment from the Sohma retainers.
Fruits Basket Another[]
- Despite the many years that have passed, she still selfishly refuses to reconcile with her daughter, despite the latter's attempts at doing so.
- Similar to her abuse towards Akito, she is verbally abusive towards Shiki, constantly harassing her young grandson out of pettiness simply because he resembles his mother.
- During New Year's celebration, she attempted to murder her young grandson, Shiki. While Akito manages to arrive in time and protect him, she gains a horrible scar on her as a result of Ren's attempted murder.
- As a result of her attempted murder, Shiki (who was already facing a lot of issues due to his mother's past) became distant and withdrawn as a result for years before he slightly became more sociable. However, the fact he still remembers the event shows he is traumatized for life after nearly losing his life and witnessing his mother being hurt.
What Prevents Her from Being Near Pure Evil?[]
- Despite her heinous actions and being beyond redemption, she is shown to have genuine love for her late husband, Akira. Although it eventually became an obsession, and she was not above mistreating him, there was still a part of her that genuinely loved Akira, to the point where she was shown to be mourning for her husband when he died. Even now, she still mourns him and seeks to reunite with his soul by stealing a box in the hopes of finding him.
Trivia[]
- According to an author's note, Takaya designed Akito and Ren to resemble each other.
- Ren is widely considered to be one of the worst parents in manga/anime history due to her horrible abuse towards Akito, shaping her into a self-controlling and abusive matriarch as a result.
- She's the only Fruits Basket villain to be Near Pure Evil.
- Ren was previously considered Pure Evil when her love for Akira was thought to be obsession, but once it was proven she did care for Akira despite some mistreatment, she became NPE.
External Links[]
- Ren Sohma on the Villains Wiki
- Ren Sohma on the Fruits Basket Wiki
- Ren Sohma on the Ultimate Evil Wiki