Momiji Sohma

Momiji Sohma, aged 15–17, is the rabbit of the Chinese zodiac. His father, one of the richer members of the Sohma family, is Japanese, while his mother is German (they speak German and Japanese in the manga, but only Japanese in the anime). Momiji is depicted as a cute, cheerful, androgynous boy who hides a sad family life behind his sunny demeanor. In an author's note, Takaya described him as "the most comfortable" of the Sohmas with his spirit possession, and "the most successful of the boys." Momiji is older than he initially appears, and Tohru is surprised to learn he is only a year younger than her. To Kyo's horror, Momiji wears the girl's version of their high school uniform with shorts instead of a skirt, until he has a growth spurt at the start of his second year and switches to the boy's uniform. He lives alone inside the Sohma family compound, and was raised by servants. His mother learned about the zodiac curse when she first held him, just after he was born, and was repulsed; she later had Hatori erase her memory that Momiji is her son. Because of this, his younger sister, Momo, is unaware he is her older brother, even though she is interested in him. Despite his upbringing, Momiji is insightful about others and emotionally strong. Momiji takes to Tohru very quickly, even hugging her when they are formally introduced despite his curse. He sometimes helps Tohru at her evening job as an office cleaner in one of his father's buildings, and once substitutes for her when she is sick with a cold. He is very fond of Tohru, and even defies Akito to protect her. He later warns Kyo that if he does not act on his feelings for Tohru, someone else, such as himself, might steal her away; in the final chapter, Momiji tells Hatsuharu and Rin that he hopes to find a girlfriend as wonderful as Tohru. Takaya derived his name from the ninth month of the traditional Japanese calendar, momijitsuki or "autumn leaves month"; he was supposed to have been named after the third month, the month of the rabbit, but according to the author, she mixed up his and Kureno's positions in the zodiac.

Voiced by: Ayaka Saito (Japanese), Kimberly Grant (English)