Fruits Basket is known for its large roster of unique characters. From the energetic and childlike Momiji to the quiet fan favorite Haru to the kind, soothing Tohru, there’s a character for every anime fan out there. While most of them are lovable, with entertaining personalities and charming storylines, there are also quite a few who fit the complete opposite description.
The villainous characters of Fruits Basket are essential to the plot, showing the worst of the human psyche by putting others through hellish situations. They’re neither supervillains nor evil masterminds, but their abusive treatment has traumatized some of the characters in ways that only time – and Tohru – can heal.
10 Tohru’s Rude Extended Family Don’t Deserve Her
It’s pretty clear that Tohru’s extended family on her father’s side is the absolute worst. Not the grandpa, of course, he’s the only one that truly cares for Tohru and looks out for her. Tohru’s aunt and two cousins, on the other hand, make a handful of unnecessary rude remarks that no one, much less an amazing person like Tohru, deserves.
Their ill-intended words and holier-than-thou behavior made them unlikable on the spot and garnered fans’ dislike despite only appearing for one episode. Good thing the Sohmas saved Tohru from living with them!
9 Ayame & Yuki’s Mother Should Be Charged With Child Neglect
Mrs. Sohma’s biggest sin is her indifference towards her children and putting her personal gain above their well-being. She hates Ayame for his flamboyant ways and left Yuki, her supposedly favorite son, in the hands of an abusive Akito just because it would elevate her position within the family.
Ayame eventually takes over her role as Yuki’s guardian and pushes her into realizing her mistakes. Though it’s too late for her to remedy some of them, Yuki seems willing to let it go as long as she stops interfering in his life.
8 Kyoko’s Careless Parents Didn’t Even Do The Bare Minimum
Most of the terrible parents in Fruits Basket were driven to extremes by their innocent children’s involvement with the Curse, but that’s not the case for Kyoko’s parents. They were cold to their only daughter for no apparent reason, with Kyoko recalling that they never even shared meals or went out together, which inevitably led Kyoko to joining a girl gang.
After a fight that sent her to the hospital, Kyoko returned home only to be completely disowned by her parents. Tohru’s father Kazuma comes to the rescue, and after a brief conversation, they allow their fifteen-year-old daughter to leave with an adult man who claims he wants to marry her.
7 Kyo’s Father Needs Therapy. Immediately.
Crazy with grief after his wife’s suicide, Kyo’s father decided that instead of going to therapy and getting his life back together, everything should be blamed on his own child. He’s the fans’ first insight into the world of atrocious parents in Fruits Basket, with a nasty, combative personality and a bad case of denial that makes him easy to hate. His unjustified hatred of Kyo is just the cherry on top, really.
Mr. Sohma stays in his cycle of bitterness until the end of the series, and his worst punishment is seeing his son happy and choosing to leave him and his past behind.
6 Machi’s Terrible Parents Deserve Each Other
The Kuragi family suffers from a much less supernatural and far more common curse: greed. In their crazed obsession with heirs, perfection, and money, Machi’s parents scarred their daughter into developing a serious case of OCD that has affected much of her personal and social life.
What’s worse, once they were able to produce a male heir, they completely shoved Machi aside in favor of the new child, even going as far as forcing her to live separately from the rest of the family after misinterpreting Machi’s kind gesture towards her brother for attempted murder.
5 Rin’s Abusive Parents Should Be In Jail
Everyone hates Rin’s parents. They’re considered by many fans to be the worst parents in Fruits Basket, which is saying a lot given the sheer amount of terrible progenitors in the series. Once Rin saw through their fake ‘happy family’ acting, they unraveled against their own daughter in such a terrifying way that it’s difficult to get through Rin’s story with a dry eye.
The only catharsis came in the form of Haru, who furiously yelled at them everything fans wanted to say themselves. In the end, their selfish actions didn’t completely ruin Rin’s life, as she went on to have a happier future without them.
4 Shigure’s Game Hurt Too Many People
Most people never saw him coming, but Shigure proved that scheming from the shadows is much more efficient than going full villain like Akito. Despite not attacking anyone directly, his manipulative ways hurt too many people in the process, with Kureno and Tohru suffering the most after being used as his personal pawns.
Shigure played a dangerous game that depended on getting others to do his bidding without them even noticing, and it was a long but effective process that ultimately gave him what he wanted: Akito, free from the ghost of her father and ready to be with him.
3 Akito Did Unforgivable Things
Akito is the main villain throughout most of Fruits Basket, only atoning for her sins towards the end of the story once Tohru has finally reached her. Despite the trauma she carries on her shoulders, her terrible behavior towards the rest of the Sohmas is still inexcusable, and for many, utterly unforgivable.
Akito caused bodily harm to at least half of the Zodiac members and psychologically tortured them into staying under her tyranny. Thankfully, she realized the error of her ways and changed for the better, but misguided or not, she still chose to bring pain to the people that she claimed to love the most.
2 The Oldest Sohma Maid Is The Root Of The Problem
The oldest Sohma maid is a villain who often gets overlooked for her minimal role in the main story, but she played a vital part in shaping Akito into the trainwreck of destruction she grew up to be. Not only did she raise Akito to believe that her abusive behavior was justified, but she also created further tension between Akito and her mother Ren by pitting them against each other, making them rivals over Akito’s father’s love.
When Akito finally decides to change and follow a better path, the maid rejects her friendliness and straight-up informs her that she preferred the old Akito. She’s definitely the only one.
1 Ren Is Pure Evil
Given her treatment of Akito and her obsessive love for Akira Sohma that set a terrible chain of hatred and psychological abuse in motion, Ren is the ultimate villain of Fruits Basket. Her jealousy over her own daughter led to Akito’s internalized misogyny and profound loneliness, and she only exacerbated Akito’s troubled relationship with Shigure by having an affair with him.
Ren starts evil and ends evil. She’s one of the few important characters who doesn’t change one way or the other, continuing to stew in her hatred and obsession with Akito’s father well after the others have moved on to better things.
About The Author
