|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
There are only two words that can properly sum up Ritsu fully, without misrepresenting his character, and they would be: completely spastic. This guy knows no limits to his madness and is a walking talking time bomb, one which Shigure especially loves to set off. Again, we're back to the recurring theme through Fruits Basket that one should never judge a book by its cover. Because as you can see from the image above you, Ritsu is quite a lovely young lady. Little did you know, you unsuspecting, innocent bystander you, that Ritsu is by definition no lady. He is but a man with long hair who has the habit of wearing women's clothing and generally acting like a typical woman would. When Tohru first met him, she was also fooled (as everyone else outside of the Souma family naturally assumes that he's simply an attractive young girl). Even his voice is like a woman's. This kid has got his womanly image perfected down to the last minute detail. Ritsu's manners are well known throughout the Souma family and it can't be said that the family is generally pleased with him. Certainly, Ritsu has an inferiority complex. Going by the classic definition that the male plays a more stronger, dominant role in society, Ritsu feels he's simply not up to the task. He actually feels he's not up to anything and doesn't have a trace of self-worth in his body. He's constantly apologizing for imposing, for interrupting, for doing something wrong (even though he's done absolutely nothing wrong). Nearly every single sentence that comes out of his mouth begins with an, "Excuse me," or, "So sorry that..." He embraces being the scapegoat; he willingly takes the blame for little things and blows everything completely out of proportion. An example of this was the time he forgot to remind Yuki to wake up one morning. Ritsu spazzed out, screaming, "I apologize for not waking you up early!! I'm sorry for making you late for school!! I apologize for causing you to be suspended, for being tardy, and even for being expelled from your school!!" Of course Yuki wasn't going to be expelled from school -- rather, he was hardly even late to begin with. However, once Ritsu begins a tirade on his mistakes magnified, there's no stopping him.
Ritsu's mother is Ookami-san, the keeper of the Souma hot springs. One can immediately tell that the two are related because of their extreme, insanely apologetic nature. They not only apologize for everything (even things completely unrelated to them), but they apologize while screaming their heads off, declaring suicide because of their mortal sin(s), and telling people that they absolutely must be punished and cannot possibly be allowed to live after committing such terrible offenses. Both Ritsu and the Ookami have no mercy on themselves. They've simply gotten used to apologizing for everything, for being blamed for everything by the rest of the Souma family, and are shaped in this manner because of it. Ritsu is one of those characters that could probably only be interacted with in small doses. I'm sure after a period of time, the rest of the company at Shigure's house have a hard time standing his extreme ways. The kid is simply overwhelming; you must really watch what you say around him. Shigure has long dropped trying to console him completely and instead teases Ritsu to the edges of his sanity. He pretends that he's angry, which sets Ritsu off on another self-bashing speech, then chimes at the end, "Just kidding, just kidding," with an amused smile. However, Ritsu has the desire lurking inside of him to stop dressing as a girl, to stop apologizing manically, and to gain self-confidence and strength to live his life normally. Though Ritsu is much too hard on himself and has the feeling of inferiority to everyone else, he wishes to eventually be stronger and accept who he is.
- - - - - - - - - -> Back to Characters |
|
|
|
|
- - - - - - - - - -> Souma Ritsu
Ritsu's
inferiority complex is stemmed from the inner corruption of the Souma
family, as the family tends to corrupt most of its youth because of how
cold and vicious it is. Ritsu was never extraordinarily talented in
smarts or athletics like the rest of the Souma inner circle. While Yuki,
Kyou, and Hatsuharu are good at school or martial arts, Ritsu always was
the one who had to work to be good at something, who didn't have that
inner talent, who had to put up a lot of extra effort. All of this added
with the fact that he was cursed with a Juunishi spirit never did help
the Souma family approve of him. To be a normal guy just wasn't enough
-- because of the curse he had to show that he was extraordinary, he had
to make people be proud of him. However, Ritsu wasn't able to shine in the spotlight like
some other people did, so he wasn't able to impress the rest of the
family. They never quite approved, and his parents were always
apologizing for him. When Ritsu dressed as a girl, he felt safe and
comfortable. Of course, this instead further deepened the disapproval.