| “ | 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 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, the latter who also voices Lizbeth Sargant in The Ancient Magus' Bride.
What Makes Her Pure Evil?[]
In General/Background[]
- She's heavily abusive (mentally and emotionally) towards Akito and several of her relatives, and often manipulates people to get what she wants, and doesn't have any remorse for her actions.
- 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.
- Even if she had genuine feelings for Akira at first, they become quickly twisted by feelings of jealousy and possessiveness once she becomes pregnant with Akito. And these corrupted feelings last way longer than any genuine love she ever had for Akira.
- 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 gravely hates Rin, but with no reason whatsoever, 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.
- 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.
- Even though it was stated that she loved Akira and she was driven by grief and rage from his death, all of these are proven to be nothing more than mere obsession due to the following reasons:
- She is very possessive and controlling, as displayed when she wanted to abort Akito simply out of irrational fear that because of her gender, Akira would love their daughter more than her. She even threatened Akira to raise Akito as a male or else she would go through with it, forcing the latter to agree with her demands.
- She acted selfishly towards Akira, refusing to let her husband pay attention to their daughter despite the fact that he loved both Akito and Ren equally.
- Although she was genuinely saddened by her husband's demise, it's quickly overshadowed by her rage at Akito being by his side in his final moments instead of her, which further showcases her obsession with Akira giving her love and attention.
- She quickly starts up a relationship with Shigure, despite her claims of loving Akira. Not only does this demonstrate her lustful nature, but it also illustrates her hypocrisy because she believes a man is destined for one woman, and Akira loved no one else but her (even though Akira also loved Akito as well).
- While the Fruits Basket series has low heinous standards, she mainly stands out for her personal villainy against her family (mainly towards Akito and Rin), as well as for trying to murder a child, her own grandson, for petty reasons.
- While the series tends to have a lot of comedic moments, the moment she arrives in the series, all the comedy and lighthearted moments are instantly gone, showing she is never played for laughs.
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.
Trivia[]
- According to an author's note, Takaya designed Akito and Ren to resemble each other.
- Ren is widely considered as 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.
External Links[]
- Ren Sohma on the Villains Wiki.
- Ren Sohma on the Fruits Basket Wiki.