Fruits Basket Analyzed: Ayame Sohma
a/n Not all experiences shared in here are mine
Ayame is the snake of the zodiac [1], the third member of the Mabudachi Trio (with Shigure and Hatori) [2], and Yuki’s estranged older brother. When we first meet Ayame it’s pretty simple to see why Yuki doesn’t get along with him-the two are polar opposites. Where Yuki is introverted and understated, hating to be the center of attention [3], Ayame is flamboyant, overbearing, and often demands attention. All his cousins learned to avoid attention to stay safe from Akito, but Ayame never had to [4]. The advantage of being protected did not come cheap, and as an adult Ayame is starting to see exactly what the price was for him to grow up so carefree [5].
I can only imagine what it must have been like for Ayame to grow up so ignorant of the world under his nose. He tells Torhu that Yuki is afraid of Akito, but there is an implication in the wording of the sentence that Ayame is not afraid of the head of the family, which makes him fairly unique in the Zodiac family [6]. Akito is untroubled by the snake’s abandonment [7], so Ayame lives freely on the outside. Ayame is pretty much an idiot and very ignorant of the reactions of those around him, a luxury his cousins don’t have, especially Shigure and Hatori, guardians of the family.
I can’t back this up with a direct quote from the story, but I’m pretty certain Hatori and Shigure have spent their lives protecting Ayame from Akito’s notice. In particular, Hatori seems parental of Ayame [8]. In the flashback of student council we see Ayame get into trouble and Hatori get him out of it. One has to wonder how Hatori, and likely Shigure, managed to keep him out of trouble with Akito-what price was paid.
I think for a long time Ayame didn’t see what they were doing because he didn’t want to see. Humans are like that-when we’re happy we don’t look too closely to find unhappy truths. I know after it was discovered that I was afraid of my uncle, and afraid of what he would do to me, I assumed my family knew he had abused me. What reason would I have to be scared otherwise? Unfortunately I found out twenty years later, some of my family had not put that together. All the years it was happening I tried to explain it to my family, but I didn’t have the words and they just didn’t see. I’m not saying they ever were neglectful, but when my parents were with my family they were enjoying themselves and so were not in tune to their daughter’s suffering. Likewise, Ayame probably just didn’t notice how much more somber Hatori might have been after certain meetings with Akito.
To me, Ayame’s choice to ignore his brothers’ plea shows he had at least some idea what Akito was doing to Yuki [9]. We see Ayame’s exuberant brand of friendship with every other person in the manga. Even Kyo is acknowledged with condescending remarks for crying out loud. The guilt Ayame feels over ignoring his younger brother drives all his actions, and that level of guilt requires Ayame to know where he messed up. The only people shown to have Ayame’s undying loyalty are Hatori [10], Shigure [11], and Yuki [12]. Even Torhu does not merit the same level of possessiveness as Ayame comes to the house to visit either Yuki or Shigure [13] [14].
I can understand that. I’m possessive of my cousin Lynnette. Somehow she was the “lucky one” growing up, the one our uncle chose most often. I didn’t understand why he liked her so much, but I was glad it was her and not me. Whenever she hid and my uncle asked for my help finding her, I helped because I didn’t want to be the new favorite (give me a break, I was 4 at the time. Even she couldn’t explain why we didn’t like his attention.) There was some resentment on her part for a while but we quickly mended the relationship once the threat was gone. Even now, I’m not sure I would do anything differently. It is horrific to imagine what Lynnette went through, but I’m not sure I could willingly face the same. Neither could she, really. Lynnette went through what she did because she had no choice, not because she volunteered. I merely let the status quo stand.
Hatori seems annoyed from time to time about the way Ayame follows him like a little lost puppy [15], but Ayame’s reasons for doing it are more than he claims. I’m sure (again without textual evidence) that Ayame sticks close to Hatori out of gratitude for his protector. I know I stuck pretty close to my protector back when I needed one. I haven’t needed him to fill that role in twenty years, but there is still a unique closeness between us that I don’t share with my other cousins. I trust him more than any other family member. Many others would protect me, but he has.
[It'll be better if you read it]I have a soft spot in my heart for Ayame because he doesn’t just give lip service to wanting to atone for the sins of the past, he really does it. Every time Yuki has to face Akito [16], Ayame comes after to check on him. When Yuki denies needing support at the parent teacher conference, Ayame comes anyway. While his exuberance can get on Yuki’s nerves [17], Ayame’s enthusiasm never wanes for building a relationship with his brother. I think by the end Yuki comes to lean on his brother’s sincerity [18] (especially after meeting Kakeru) [19].
Fangirl note: It made me so happy that Ayame and Mine end up together [20]. Even though he was unable to stand up and take Akito’s abuse at the main house, Ayame was able to protect Mine from the dark shadows of the family. Her answer to Yuki’s inquiries implies she did know about the curse, yet it seems Akito did not know about her [21]. I suspect there’s more to Mine than meets the eye.
Ayame’s story teaches that all those growing up in an abusive environment are harmed. Ayame may never have had a finger lifted against him, but he still suffered greatly because of what happened to the others. A sad range of experience has taught me there is no “lucky one” in a family like this-everyone gets hurt and copes in their own way.
[1] Volume 4, Chapter 21
[2] Volume 4, Chapter 22
[3] Volume 1, Chapter 1
[4] Volume 4, Chapter 21
[5] Volume 6, Chapter 36
[6] Volume 4, Chapter 21
[7] Fruits Basket Wika
[8] Volume 4, Volume 22
[9] Volume 6, Chapter 36
[10] Volume 4, Chapter 22
[11] Volume 5, Chapter 26
[12] Volume 13 Chapter 72
[13] Volume 4, Chapter 21
[14] Volume 6, Chapter 36
[15] Volume 6, Chapter 36
[16] Volume 5, Chapter 26
[17] Volume 4, Chapter 22
[18] Volume 23, Chapter 136
[19] Volume 9, Chapter 49
[20] Volume 22, Chapter 130
[21] Volume 6, Chapter 36
Ayame is the snake of the zodiac [1], the third member of the Mabudachi Trio (with Shigure and Hatori) [2], and Yuki’s estranged older brother. When we first meet Ayame it’s pretty simple to see why Yuki doesn’t get along with him-the two are polar opposites. Where Yuki is introverted and understated, hating to be the center of attention [3], Ayame is flamboyant, overbearing, and often demands attention. All his cousins learned to avoid attention to stay safe from Akito, but Ayame never had to [4]. The advantage of being protected did not come cheap, and as an adult Ayame is starting to see exactly what the price was for him to grow up so carefree [5].
I can only imagine what it must have been like for Ayame to grow up so ignorant of the world under his nose. He tells Torhu that Yuki is afraid of Akito, but there is an implication in the wording of the sentence that Ayame is not afraid of the head of the family, which makes him fairly unique in the Zodiac family [6]. Akito is untroubled by the snake’s abandonment [7], so Ayame lives freely on the outside. Ayame is pretty much an idiot and very ignorant of the reactions of those around him, a luxury his cousins don’t have, especially Shigure and Hatori, guardians of the family.
I can’t back this up with a direct quote from the story, but I’m pretty certain Hatori and Shigure have spent their lives protecting Ayame from Akito’s notice. In particular, Hatori seems parental of Ayame [8]. In the flashback of student council we see Ayame get into trouble and Hatori get him out of it. One has to wonder how Hatori, and likely Shigure, managed to keep him out of trouble with Akito-what price was paid.
I think for a long time Ayame didn’t see what they were doing because he didn’t want to see. Humans are like that-when we’re happy we don’t look too closely to find unhappy truths. I know after it was discovered that I was afraid of my uncle, and afraid of what he would do to me, I assumed my family knew he had abused me. What reason would I have to be scared otherwise? Unfortunately I found out twenty years later, some of my family had not put that together. All the years it was happening I tried to explain it to my family, but I didn’t have the words and they just didn’t see. I’m not saying they ever were neglectful, but when my parents were with my family they were enjoying themselves and so were not in tune to their daughter’s suffering. Likewise, Ayame probably just didn’t notice how much more somber Hatori might have been after certain meetings with Akito.
To me, Ayame’s choice to ignore his brothers’ plea shows he had at least some idea what Akito was doing to Yuki [9]. We see Ayame’s exuberant brand of friendship with every other person in the manga. Even Kyo is acknowledged with condescending remarks for crying out loud. The guilt Ayame feels over ignoring his younger brother drives all his actions, and that level of guilt requires Ayame to know where he messed up. The only people shown to have Ayame’s undying loyalty are Hatori [10], Shigure [11], and Yuki [12]. Even Torhu does not merit the same level of possessiveness as Ayame comes to the house to visit either Yuki or Shigure [13] [14].
I can understand that. I’m possessive of my cousin Lynnette. Somehow she was the “lucky one” growing up, the one our uncle chose most often. I didn’t understand why he liked her so much, but I was glad it was her and not me. Whenever she hid and my uncle asked for my help finding her, I helped because I didn’t want to be the new favorite (give me a break, I was 4 at the time. Even she couldn’t explain why we didn’t like his attention.) There was some resentment on her part for a while but we quickly mended the relationship once the threat was gone. Even now, I’m not sure I would do anything differently. It is horrific to imagine what Lynnette went through, but I’m not sure I could willingly face the same. Neither could she, really. Lynnette went through what she did because she had no choice, not because she volunteered. I merely let the status quo stand.
Hatori seems annoyed from time to time about the way Ayame follows him like a little lost puppy [15], but Ayame’s reasons for doing it are more than he claims. I’m sure (again without textual evidence) that Ayame sticks close to Hatori out of gratitude for his protector. I know I stuck pretty close to my protector back when I needed one. I haven’t needed him to fill that role in twenty years, but there is still a unique closeness between us that I don’t share with my other cousins. I trust him more than any other family member. Many others would protect me, but he has.
[It'll be better if you read it]I have a soft spot in my heart for Ayame because he doesn’t just give lip service to wanting to atone for the sins of the past, he really does it. Every time Yuki has to face Akito [16], Ayame comes after to check on him. When Yuki denies needing support at the parent teacher conference, Ayame comes anyway. While his exuberance can get on Yuki’s nerves [17], Ayame’s enthusiasm never wanes for building a relationship with his brother. I think by the end Yuki comes to lean on his brother’s sincerity [18] (especially after meeting Kakeru) [19].
Fangirl note: It made me so happy that Ayame and Mine end up together [20]. Even though he was unable to stand up and take Akito’s abuse at the main house, Ayame was able to protect Mine from the dark shadows of the family. Her answer to Yuki’s inquiries implies she did know about the curse, yet it seems Akito did not know about her [21]. I suspect there’s more to Mine than meets the eye.
Ayame’s story teaches that all those growing up in an abusive environment are harmed. Ayame may never have had a finger lifted against him, but he still suffered greatly because of what happened to the others. A sad range of experience has taught me there is no “lucky one” in a family like this-everyone gets hurt and copes in their own way.
[1] Volume 4, Chapter 21
[2] Volume 4, Chapter 22
[3] Volume 1, Chapter 1
[4] Volume 4, Chapter 21
[5] Volume 6, Chapter 36
[6] Volume 4, Chapter 21
[7] Fruits Basket Wika
[8] Volume 4, Volume 22
[9] Volume 6, Chapter 36
[10] Volume 4, Chapter 22
[11] Volume 5, Chapter 26
[12] Volume 13 Chapter 72
[13] Volume 4, Chapter 21
[14] Volume 6, Chapter 36
[15] Volume 6, Chapter 36
[16] Volume 5, Chapter 26
[17] Volume 4, Chapter 22
[18] Volume 23, Chapter 136
[19] Volume 9, Chapter 49
[20] Volume 22, Chapter 130
[21] Volume 6, Chapter 36