Ayame Soma

Ayame Sohma
Fruits Basket character
File:FB ayame.jpg
Created by	Natsuki Takaya
In-universe information
Nickname	Aya
Occupation	Tailor and Store Owner(lingerie shop)

Ayame Sohma (草摩 綾女, Sōma Ayame) is a fictional character featured in the Japanese manga and anime series Fruits Basket. The older brother (and antithesis) of Yuki Sohma, he is flamboyant, expressive, and anything but soft-spoken. According to Takaya, he usually wears long-sleeved shirts because he is prone to sunburn (possibly due to his zodiac animal, the snake) He often realizes too late that he has hurt other people emotionally from being self-centered. He also, as said by Shigure, has confidence above the chart that is impossible to achieve when Ritsu said that he wanted to be as confident as Ayame.

Ayame's name is derived from the fifth month of the Japanese lunar calendar, Ayamezuki, or Month of falling irises. His name could also just be the common feminine name 'Ayame', meaning iris, though this is speculated.

Ayame transforms into the snake of the Chinese Zodiac whenever he is hugged by the opposite gender, when his body comes under a great deal of stress, or when he gets too cold or too hot. He was introduced while transformed when he slithered up Tohru's shirt for warmth (during the winter) and Yuki ordered Shigure to skin him alive.

He is one of the members of the Mabudachi Trio, consisting of the three oldest members of the zodiac. The other two are Shigure Sohma and Hatori Sohma, who are also his best friends. Despite his age, he refers to himself with the young "boku" instead of a more mature "ore". Ayame is also one of the few members of the Jyūnishi who has never been hurt by Akito Sohma directly or indirectly (Kagura Sohma and Ritsu Sohma appear to be the only other ones). He may have escaped simply by being beyond Akito's reach. He often calls Kyo Kyonkichi(-kun).

Personality

Ayame's flamboyant, dramatic behavior and kooky pretenses are a source of comic relief in the series. He's known for his dramatic entrances, such as when he sweeps into Yuki's teacher's office with a giant bunch of roses, or when he rushes to greet Yuki wearing a wedding dress. Despite his massive charm, he does seem to be rather socially clumsy when it comes to deeper emotions, since he can't quite figure out how to get close to Yuki.

Unfortunately, he hasn't entirely lost his self-centeredness, though he grows much kinder as time goes on. Ayame has a tendency to not entirely listen to what other people say, or to make up dramatic histories on the spot, since in high school he browbeat the principal into believing he was royal. Rather than argue or debate, he tends to steamroll people with his outrageous personality until they give up.

In his first few appearances he often exchanges loverlike greetings with Shigure, and implies that they are sleeping together, claiming that he couldn't stay with Shigure overnight because "he'd keep me awake." Most of these end with both of them giving the thumbs-up, and yelling "All right!"

It is eventually revealed that this is simply an elaborate joke between the two of them, true to both of their overly dramatic personalities, and their loves lie with Mine and Akito respectivley.

Relationship with Yuki

Ayame is one of the oldest cursed members of the Sohma clan. Since Yuki was locked up for most of his childhood, Ayame hardly knew his brother at all to the point of even forgetting Yuki's name. His most vivid childhood memory he had of the two of them was when Yuki reached out to Ayame for help, presumably asking for rescue from Akito; however, Ayame responded by slapping his hand away.

Ayame and Yuki did not get along very well until Ayame arrived at Yuki's house, and offered him peaches. Yuki leaves, with Ayame soon following. Shigure notes that peaches and the crab that Ayame brought last time were probably foods that Yuki enjoyed when he was a child, showing that Ayame is trying to make up for when he abandoned Yuki.

Yuki also delighted Ayame when he asked to visit Ayame's shop, resulting in Ayame rushing around the house alerting everyone. Yuki was very nervous in the shop, due to Ayame locking him in and wearing a wedding dress (for a fitting), but the brothers do end up having a good conversation together.

While Yuki still disapproves of Ayame's outrageous attitude and overly "royal" behavior, he admits that Ayame is somewhat reliable, which Ayame feels he must call and tell Hatori immediately about the news. After Yuki's departure, Mayu repeats Yuki's compliment, and Ayame is briefly seem smiling widely, apparently lost in his joy.

The fact that both Ayame and Yuki are members of the Jyūnishi is quite unusual since it is very rare that any of the Jyūnishi are siblings at any given time; this may, however, be caused by the fact that the two are ten years apart. Because their mother was unable to force Ayame to bend to her will, she turned to Yuki and controlled every aspect of his life. Yuki became emotionally both fragile and detached in her attempts to gain status and wealth within the family while she bluntly and tactlessly shot down any attempts he made to refuse her wishes. The unbalanced relationship between mother and son is broken completely and Yuki is finally able to stand up to her when Ayame appears at the parent-teacher conference, interrupting his mother as she dictates Yuki's future to his teacher. The two have been on considerably better terms since, and have even had conversations about their love lives.

Relationship with Tohru

Since Ayame has not seen Yuki for many years, he is unable to connect with his younger brother. As a result, he privately tells Tohru about his feelings of loneliness and how he wants to reconcile with Yuki. Tohru tells Ayame about the difficulties of an adult understanding a child and advises him to try to meet Yuki halfway. Later, Ayame invites Yuki and Tohru to visit his store, which leads to the brothers coming to understand each other a bit better (as well as Ayame and Mine being able to try a pretty dress on Tohru).

Ayame's business

Ayame owns a men's cosplay shop which he named after himself, specializing in "men's sluttish fantasies". To most people, the place is quite strange, as Ayame has gotten orders for some very strange things. Ayame and his assistant, Mine Kuramae (pronounced, "Mee-neh"), design and sew the clothing themselves. Mine often wears some of this clothing for personal business.

In the manga and anime, Mine is often seen in a maid's outfit, and she likes to grab any particularly cute girls who come into the shop and make them try on clothes. She also likes to alter her fashion style depending on her mood and the situation surrounding her. According to her, "fashion possibilities are infinite!"

Trivia

• Like most members of the Zodiac, Ayame's name is actually a pun regarding his character. However, it has nothing to do with his Zodiac Animal; the snake. Ayame is translated as pattern, design, or distinction. This refers to his clothing store. The distinction portion of the translation is his shop's noted "keen eye for detail."