Ritsu Souma

Ritsu is nervous, apologetic and extremely insecure. Minor mistakes can produce disproportionate panic, and his habitual apologies often become so frantic that they create more disruption than the original problem.

Women's clothing gives Ritsu a sense of comfort and confidence that he struggles to find in conventional male presentation. His clothing is not presented as a supernatural consequence of the curse; it is a personal coping mechanism developed in response to anxiety and social pressure.

His despair can become severe, but Tooru's refusal to treat his existence as worthless gives him a different way to think about his future. He does not need to know immediately why he was born in order for continuing to search for that answer to matter.

As the Monkey, Ritsu transforms into a monkey when the Zodiac curse is triggered. His animal form is agile and capable of climbing rapidly.

Ritsu himself demonstrates surprising physical agility during moments of panic, including climbing to dangerous heights with little apparent difficulty. These feats echo the movement associated with his Zodiac animal.

Outside the curse, Ritsu is a college student preparing eventually to inherit responsibilities connected with the Souma family's hot-spring inn.

Ritsu visits Shigure's house to introduce himself to Tooru and immediately creates confusion because of his appearance and relentless apologies. Their encounter quickly moves beyond comedy when his low self-worth becomes clear.

Tooru responds without ridicule and tells him that people can continue living while searching for the reason they were born. The conversation gives Ritsu a rare experience of someone answering his despair without apologizing for him or treating him as a burden.

His later appearances are less extensive than those of many Zodiac members, but his connection with Shigure's equally anxious editor gives him a relationship in which his nervous personality is understood rather than merely mocked.

Okami Souma is Ritsu's mother and the hostess of the family hot-spring inn. Okami Souma's own compulsive apologizing strongly influences Ritsu's behavior.

Tooru Honda responds compassionately when Ritsu reaches a point of severe despair and helps him consider that his life can have meaning even if he has not found it yet.

Shigure Souma enjoys exploiting Ritsu's gullibility and nervousness for amusement.

Mitsuru shares many of Ritsu's anxious habits. Their mutual understanding develops into a romantic relationship.

Kagura Souma is another Zodiac member with whom Ritsu is friendly and comfortable.