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| This villain was proposed but was rejected by the community for not being heinous enough or lacks what is necessary to be a Pure Evil villain. Therefore, this villain shall be added to our "Never Again List", where proposed villains rejected by the community shall be placed to prevent future proposals of the same evil-doer. They can be proposed again (with the permission of an administrator) if new elements appear in their series that can change their status as non-PE villains. Any act of adding this villain to the Pure Evil category without a proposal or creating a proposal for this villain without the permission of an administrator will result in a ban. | ||
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| “ | 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 of 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 (who also voiced Jakotsu in InuYasha, Dr. Vega in Mega Man Star Force 2, Saya in Namco X Capcom, Anesthesia in Rumble Roses, Chizuru Kirishiki in Shiki, and Ryoko Hakubi in Tenchi Muyo!) in Japanese and Katelyn Barr (who also voiced Kyouno Natsumi in Date A Live, Baby 5 in One Piece and Lizbeth Sargant in The Ancient Magus' Bride) in English.
Appearance
Ren is noted to be a strikingly beautiful and elegant woman, being around in her early 40s. She has long raven black hair at calf-length, a tall and busty figure, a poreclain complexion, and sharp grey eyes with a purpish tint to them.
Her main outfit of choice appears to be a long-sleeved black dress with a deep V-neckline and is accompained by a crimson shawl. In addition to that, her nails and toes are even painted black as well.
Shigure claims that if Akito had been raised as a woman, she would have looked very much like Ren and Tohru once mistook Ren's voice for Akito's.
Personality
Ren Sohma is a cruel and manipulative woman with a dark and deep envious nature towards her own daughter, whom she has continuously abused and antagonized for her entire life. While she appears to be an elegant and composed woman, her true nature is that of a haughty and malicious woman who is incredibly unstable as well. Due to her hostile and cruel abusive nature towards her daughter, Ren and Akito are extremely antagonistic towards each other.
Shigure notes that Ren is deeply obsessed with her dead husband, Akira, which is shown to be incredibly unhealthy and twisted. When she conceived her baby, as the new god of the zodiac, Akito got more attention than herself. Also, since Akito turned out to be female instead of a proper male heir, Ren was afraid the baby would replace her in Akira's heart and demanded Akito be raised as a male or she would terminate her pregnancy. To feed Akito's fear of being abandoned, Ren continually claims that Akito's bond with the zodiac is fake rather than the true love Akito claims. To prove her wrong, Akito tried to mold Yuki into a zodiac animal devoted to her (Akito) and did everything to keep the zodiac members close.
Ren is incredibly petty, as most of her actions are simply to hurt Akito, uncaring about how many lives she has ruined because of her petty grudge towards her own daughter. Her hatred towards Akito makes Ren even start up a relationship with Shigure, Akito's love interest. Ren does this mainly to spite Akito and also because she believes Shigure shared the same similarities that her late husband did and somehow thought that Shigure secretly desired her, unaware that he still loved Akito, despite the hostility between the two. She also dislikes Rin for no apparent reason, manipulating her into asking her family about their "happiness," which led to them showing their true nature and abusing Rin. She also once had Rin try to steal a box that she believed contained Akira's soul and didn't care how Rin was caught and severely punished by Akito. In the sequel series, her pettiness still remains the same, as she verbally abused her grandson simply because he looked like Akito and even once tried to murder him in cold blood.
The one redeeming trait that demonstrates Ren's humanity is her genuine affection for her deceased husband. While it remained toxic and obsessive, and she was not above abusing him, a small part of her still genuinely loved Akira, to the point where his death broke her, and she cried in grief for him. Even now, she still mourns Akira and seeks to reunite with his soul even going as far as to steal a box in the hopes of finding him.
Biography
Background
Ren was originally a Sohma household maid who won Akira's heart by being the only one to notice his loneliness and treat him with kindness instead of as just the head of the household. Their relationship gradually blooms into genuine love. When the oldest maid hears about this and that she warns Akira to stay away from Ren, who was nothing more than a maid of the household, Akira replies that Ren was the only person who had recognized his suffering. Despite the oldest Sohma maid's warning, ideally after a year or so, they got married.
She then angrily discovered her unborn child was female, and Ren demanded that Akito be raised male out of fear that a female child would steal her place in Akira's heart. She threatened to abort the child unless her demands were met. After Akito's birth, in compliance with Ren's demands, she was presented as a male, with only the four eldest of the cursed Sohmas, Hatori, Shigure, Ayame, and Kureno, knowing her true gender due to a dream they had on the night she was conceived. Throughout her entire life, Ren hated Akito simply because she was the "God" of the Zodiacs, which meant she would be treated lavishly, which fueled her immense envious nature towards her daughter.
After he passed away, when Ren found out that no one had come to get her when Akira had been dying, she yelled at the young Akito that she was an unwanted existence and that she had only been a little toy to amuse Akira; Ren also added that, because Akira was dead, no one had any more need of her. This led to Akito becoming self-controlling and abusive towards the Zodiacs.
She then later learned about Akito and Kureno having a sexual relationship, and out of spite towards Akito and a twisted lust, Ren revealed to Shigure about this and seduced him into a sexual relationship (though for Shigure's case, he merely did it out of revenge towards Akito). This led to an estrangement between Akito and Ren, with the former banishing him from the Sohma Estate.
After Yuki left the Sohma Estate to live with Shigure, Ren commented that the cursed Sohmas were abandoning Akito, just as Ren always predicted they would. Akito denied this and claimed they would all come back to her because of their inseparable Zodiac bonds. She and Ren made a dare in which Akito was to allow the cursed Sohmas to form bonds with "outsiders" to test whether they would return to Akito's side. If they did not return, Akito would have to bow before Ren then leave the Sohma family.
Ren also decided to talk with Isuzu "Rin" Sohma about how she has a "happy home," even though she is gravely aware that Rin's parents are miserable and hate her so much, and after they revealed their true nature, began to abuse Rin and eventually left her behind, making Ren responsible for her emotional issues and trauma, which was worsened by Akito's self-controlling and abusive actions.
Fruits Basket
Ren made a short appearance in the series when Tohru was sneaking around the estate investigating the Zodiac curse. Before Ren could find out who it was, Kureno came in and took Tohru away, ensuring that Ren didn't spot her, while having a short civil conversation with Ren. She then makes an full appearance in the series, where she continues to antagonize Akito, with the conversation turning violent as Akito tries to strangle Ren before ultimately breaking down.
When Rin Sohma approaches Ren for information about breaking the curse, Ren lies and promises to tell Rin how if she does a "favor" for her, which is to steal a black box that she believes contains Akira's soul. In desperation, Rin agrees, but unfortunately, she gets caught by Akito, her hair is cut and sent to the Cat Room for several days, nearly dying as a result.
Later, after having her seductions rejected by Shigure, who revealed that the reason he even slept with her was because she had Akito's physical attributes, a broken Ren threatens Akito with a knife to get the box, only to learn that it is as empty as her obsession. Akito, having losing her composure, tries to kill her but halts when she senses Hiro's curse broken. Ren smiles gleefully as she sees her daughter didn't attempt to kill her the way she wanted and is taken back to her room under survillance.
Ren does not appear after this incident, though Akito mentions that Ren has rejected her attempts to reconcile after the zodiac curse was broken.
Fruits Basket Another
Even as the years have passed, Ren has grown far worse than she was before, as she still continued to be hostile towards the rest of the Sohma clan members, especially towards Akito, still continuing to refuse to reconcile with her. Her mental health is so unstable that nobody bothers to talk to her or even visit her in her room.
Then, during a New Year's Celebration holiday, Ren finds herself at a breaking point, to the point that she stabbed her grandson with a knife while wearing a sneer on her face. When Ren attempts to make her attack on Shiki, Akito takes notice of the situation and steps in to take the blow in his place, horribly gaining a scar as a result. And since the incident, she has been placed under heavy surveillance to ensure she doesn't hurt anyone ever again.
Quotes
Manga
| “ | Always using such filthy language... you'll makes the members of the zodiac fall out of love with you... Akito-san! | „ |
| ~ Ren to Akito. |
| “ | How many times do I have you to tell you? The love you feel because of that bond... isn't real. That "Unchanging eternity" you've been holding on to for dear life... is a sham. A delusion! I pity the members of the zodiac, being forced to humor you. | „ |
| ~ Ren to Akito. |
Anime
| “ | You really should watch your mouth around the zodiac members, Akito. If you're not careful, they'll lose all affection for you, family head. Right, Hatori? Poor dear. I feel sor--. | „ |
| ~ Ren to 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 to Akito. |
| “ | I'll tell you what's real! It does exist. I have it... with Akira. Unlike your zodiac bond, our bond is real. | „ |
| ~ Ren to Akito. |
Trivia
- According to an author's note, Takaya designed Akito and Ren to resemble each other.
External Links
- Ren Sohma on the Fruits Basket Wiki
 Villains
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