Shigure Sohma

Shigure Sohma, aged 27–29, is the dog of the Chinese zodiac and the owner of the house where he, Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo live. He is a writer who publishes literary novels under his own name and trashy romances under pen names. His most successful pen name is Noa Kiritani, which he used for his erotic novel series, Summer-Colored Sigh. He is best friends with his cousins Hatori and Ayame, and he and Ayame like to pretend they are lovers. In an author's note, Natsuki Takaya described Shigure as a "problem child." In the anime, Shigure is depicted as lazy and dirty-minded, seeming to take nothing seriously, and with a fondness for teasing people—especially his editor Mitsuru, but also Kyo, Yuki, Tohru, and Ritsu. In the manga, he behaves the same but is also shown to be manipulative: he admits early on to Hatori that he is using Tohru as "a pawn" for some deeper purpose and calls himself "filthiest of all" for being willing to sacrifice anyone to get what he wants. More than once, he provokes Akito Sohma with apparently undiplomatic responses that create other confrontations, such as Akito's visit to the summer beach house in volumes 10 and 11. Shigure eventually admits to Kureno Sohma that he hopes the disruption Tohru has caused will further weaken the weakening zodiac curse, and gives Tohru hints to figure out how to break it herself. Shigure's deepest feelings are for Akito, and he once had sex with Akito's mother, Ren, because he was upset that, although Akito secretly felt the same of Shigure, she was sleeping with Kureno. In the end, it is implied that Shigure's machinations have all been aimed at freeing Akito from the curse and the need to live as a man, so that he can have her to himself. He gives Akito the woman's kimono worn when she announces that she will live as a woman, and in the last chapter, he moves in with Akito in the main Sohma house. Shigure habitually wears a kimono unless he has to leave home for business, which according to Takaya is his way of getting into "the spirit of things" as a writer.[94] Takaya derived his name from the tenth month, shigurezuki or "autumn showers month," which is the month of the dog, of the traditional Japanese calendar.

Voiced by: Ryotaro Okiayu (Japanese), John Burgmeier (English).