Voiced by: Miina Tominaga (Japanese), Mike McFarland (English)
Ritsu Sohma is possessed by the monkey spirit of the Chinese zodiac. He is often described as a very sensitive man with self esteem issues. He dresses like a women as he feels as though if you are a women, there is less pressure on you than if you were a man thus Tohru accidentally mistaken him for a women. He takes after this mother who is as sensitive as him. He regularly annoys Kyo and Yuki for his overreactions to things yet he always tries the best he can to make others happy. He constantly apologises for everything.
Ritsu Sohma (草摩 利津, Sōma Ritsu), aged 21–22, is the monkey of the Chinese zodiac. He is depicted as a beautiful but unstable young man with very low self-esteem and a tendency to overreact. He apologizes frantically for everything, even things that are not his fault. In this, he takes after his mother, the hostess of the Sohma family's onsen, whose position he is in training to take over. Ritsu dresses in women's clothing because he says he then feels less pressure from society, and is initially mistaken for a woman by Tohru Honda because of his long hair and beauty. Most Sohmas call him "Rit-chan" and, to Shigure's amusement, Tohru calls him "Rit-chan-san" (see Japanese honorifics). Shigure likes to play with Ritsu's insecurities and gullibility, much as he does his editor, Mitsuru; when the two meet, they realize they have this in common. In the final chapter of the manga, Ritsu tells Kagura, while giving her one of his women's kimonos, that he has asked Mitsuru on a date, and in a bonus story in the first fan-book, he and Mitsuru are a couple. Natsuki Takaya derived his name from the eighth month, odakaritsuki or "rice harvest month," which is the month of the monkey, of the traditional Japanese calendar. In an author's note, Takaya said that she regretted how little role Ritsu played in the main story.