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Hatori

Name: Hatori Sohma

Zodiac Animal: Dragon (sea horse)

Age: 27

Hair: Black (bordering on dark green)

Eyes: Green

Height: 5' 11"

Weight: 152 lbs

Blood Type: A

Family: All the other Sohma's... duh!  Actually, if you've seen the anime you meet so much of the family that it's just ridiculous.  He's closest to Ayame and Shigure (both his cousins) and Akito is, of course, a major figure in his family life (as Akito is the head of the family)

Status: Cursed, Doctor

Quote: Tell me...When the snow melts, what does it become?

Anime: Fruits Basket

Voice: (English) Kent Williams (Japanese) Kazuhiko Inoue

History and Personality: Hatori is a one of the oldest "cursed" members of the Sohma family. Hatori's Chinese Zodiac animal is the dragon, but he transforms into a seahorse whenever he is hugged by the opposite gender or his body comes under a great deal of stress, because the seahorse is the creature thought to be a baby dragon. He's actually very self-conscious about this, and even threatened his cousin, Shigure Sohma so he wouldn't tell Tohru Honda what animal he was.

Hatori is the family doctor of the Sohma clan. He is quite rough with his patients, namely Shigure (as a joke after Shigure kept annoying him, Hatori deliberately kept missing the spot in Shigure's arm where a shot was supposed to be administered). While he appears to be a very serious and grim young man, he really has a warm, gentle and caring nature deep down. He is perceptive, but not talkative.

Hatori appears to be the one who understands Shigure's true nature best and is often the one Shigure will semi-openly discuss his machinations. Hatori also likes to read books, usually books of very old genres often found only the Shiraki family's bookstore, though he finds books Shigure wants him to read are often terrible in taste.

Whenever Akito Sohma decides that someone is to have his memory erased to protect the Sohma secret, Hatori is the one who executes Akito's order. It is unknown how he does such things, but the event usually occurs as he lifts his hand upon the victim's forehead and, with a flash, they collapse and awake without such memories. As of now, he has erased the memories of Yuki Sohma's friends, Momiji Sohma's mother, and Kana, Akito’s second cousin and Hatori's former lover.

Relationships: Growing up under the curse with Shigure and Ayame, and even in the same high school class as the two, Hatori is understandable closest to these two cousins.  He and Shigure seem to understand one another, and occasionally even have a meaningful conversation, but Hatori can grow weary of Shigure's antics - especially when the writer is dodging his editor.  Hatori often "spoils" Shigure's "fun".  He's probably a good influence on the other man. 

As for Ayame, Shigure once stated that Hatori is the only person who Ayame will listen to.  This is because Ayame sees so much in Hatori that he wishes he could be.  In other words, he has great respect for him.  Hatori spends most of his time getting Ayame out of trouble or patiently guiding him to do the right thing, so he must care about his often ridiculous cousin despite his antics.  Hatori is the same age as Ayame and Shigure but seems to act almost as an older (more responsible) sibling to them both.  He disapproves of many of their actions but is infinitely patient with them.

Hatori seems to be one of the family members "closest" to Akito.  In the anime Akito is always sick and therfore Hatori must give him nearly constant attention.  He is also one of the family members who will never stand up to Aktio even when the man is at his worst (as evidenced when Akito attacks Tohru near the end of the anime's only season.  Shigure and Yuki move to stop him, but Hatori just sits there.)  This is probably (in the anime at least) largely due to guilt as it is implied that Hatori was the one who settled the bulk of the curse (and therefore the sickliness) on Akito (though this was not by choice).

Hatori, contrary to his typically grave manner, once fell in love with an 'outsider', Kana Sohma. Her buoyancy and kindness attracted him, and even when Kana discovered Hatori's curse and viewed him in his Zodiac form, she simply smiled and expressed how she was willing stay by his side and fully accept him for who he was. Having finally found true happiness, the love-struck Hatori asked for Akito's permission to marry Kana. In response, Akito severely injured Hatori's left eye with a nearby vase, causing him to go half blind in that eye. Furthermore, Akito accused Kana of hurting Hatori, telling her that he wouldn't have been injured if she had never existed. Kana, taking in Akito's spiteful words, was unable to bear the guilt she felt over Hatori's injuries, and descended into madness. Hatori, left with no choice, erased Kana's memory to ease the immense burden of blame with which she could not endure. Tohru reminds Hatori of Kana, so he feels at ease around her. Like Kana, Tohru panicked trying to figure out whether to put Hatori in fresh water or sea water when he transformed. When Hatori asks her what happened to snow after it melted, Tohru replied, "Hmm... well, it turns into Spring, doesn't it?", which is the same reply Kana gave. Kana, once able to smile again, later married another person, but Hatori, knowing that her memories were not deeply buried, chose not to attend her wedding for fear that she might remember her past at the sight of Hatori.

Kana's best friend, Mayuko Shiraki (who is the teacher of Tohru, Kyo, Yuki, Saki, and Arisa) is romantically interested in Hatori, and was interested in him the whole time he was dating Kana. To try and escape this feeling, she began to date Shigure, but dumped him after a month. In book 10, Hatori learns that "Mayu-chan" (Mayuko) had and still has feelings for him and begin to date. The creator of the series, Natsuki Takaya, hints that this relationship is a long-term one.

As with all the Sohma's, Hatori finds himself inexplicably drawn to Tohru.  Her innocence and sense of wonder and joy remind him of Kana, but rather than causing pain this generally seems to comfort him.  Though he does not seek her out, as others of the family often do, Hatori does enjoy her company and is somewhat protective of her.

Trivia: As of chapter 130 (in the manga), it appears that he was freed from the curse.

Why we love him: He's so serious and solemn and sad... I just want to make him feel all better!  Plus he's responsible and intelligent and has that cool stoic demeanor without being arrogant. His past is so painful and yet he still manages to put others before himself. He tries not to get close, but he can't help but care. Awwww!!!  I won't forget you Hatori-kun!

 

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