Okay, I have a sorta stupid question and I've been reading all your questions searching for it... But what exactly is the curse? I know it turns them into animals and that they are tied to Akito and it has to do with a potion... But why does it affect the Sohmas, what ambient effects does it seem to have, etc etc. Especially rambly thoughts you have on it would be totally appreciated! I've read the entire series before this so I am wondering why this curse confuses me so much sometimes.
Don’t worry, it’s not a stupid question! The nature of “the curse” in Fruits Basket is the series’ most fascinating and most complicated aspect!
(and I just love talking about it, so I’m glad you’re up for some rambling)
Where’d the Curse Come From?
In chapter 131 we learn the origin story of the curse. A man (later to be called ‘god’) lived alone on top of a mountain and was one day visited by a cat. The cat and the man befriended one another and eventually the man decided to send out invitations to other animals. This is when the other animals (those that are considered part of the Chinese zodiac) showed up. They all partied and had a great time together until one day the cat fell ill and began to die.
God didn’t want their friendship or banquet to ever end so he created a spell by drawing a circle in a cup of water with his finger. (the actual spell itself and how it was made is really not important, it just serves as a vehicle for the story).
This is important, however - god had the Cat drink first without telling him what it was. Then he revealed what the spell was to everyone else, saying it would make their friendship last for all eternity, that they would be reborn again and again and no matter how many times they were reborn the bond of their friendship would remain. Then after he had explained, all the other animals drank the spell willingly, the Rat going first.
Afterwards the Cat spoke up and said he didn’t want this and rejected god’s plan for their eternity. He died after saying his piece but the text tells us that all the others turned their back on the Cat because of his words, because he had rejected their plan for an eternal bond, and it seemed like a betrayal to them.
So What Had God Created?
So what exactly had god done when the had the Cat and all the animals drink that water? Well, he did basically what he said - he created an eternal bond between himself and them.
That is what the curse is. In the most simple and truest forms, the ‘curse’ is an eternal bond between God, the Cat, and the Zodiac animals.
When you think about it in these terms, in the context of which it was first created, this isn’t intended to be a ‘curse’. That is what Akito and Shishou and other characters throughout the series call the ‘bond’. The ‘bond’ is all that was originally intended to exist. It’s all that does exist, in truth.
What Does the “Bond” Mean?
The eternal bond that god created between himself and the others is tricky to pin down or give a single explanation to. It is a connection between the very souls of the animals and god. It is a very, very, very intense emotional connection. It can transcend spoken words, or direct interaction, between any of them. They don’t need to do anything to feel this connection.
It’s why when Akito was first conceived, Shigure, Hatori, Ayame, and Kureno all woke up crying and ran immediately to Ren Sohma, reaching out for her womb. They knew their God was in there, had just come into existence, and they had an immediate, intense, transcendent emotional connection between the Zodiac spirits inside them and the spirit of God.
It’s why when Yuki first met Akito as a child he immediately started crying and said he felt intense love, a desire to hold Akito close, etc.
It’s why Shishou explains to Tohru that “words that from any other mouth would make them flinch, when said said by Akito cause such pain in their hearts that it’s as if their bodies are being torn apart” and that “none of them has a strong enough will to oppose Akito” (ch. 67).
It’s why Hatori didn’t blame Akito for blinding him, causing Kana to become sick, or making him erase her memories. It’s why Yuki has wanted to run away from the Sohma family for so long but just couldn’t.
The bond means that there is such a powerful connection between the spirits possessing them all that it completely overtakes them. God did not only make the connection between them eternal, lasting in rebirth after rebirth, but he made it unbreakable, unconditional, all-consuming.
What is the “Curse”?
“The bond … is the curse?” - Tohru Honda, ch. 67
The very same thing that god intended to create a sacred bond between himself and the animals becomes over time a curse on them.
As seen above, the connection is so strong, the Zodiac animals (and God as well, if you think about it) possess no free will. They aren’t just bonded, they are bound to one another. Isuzu refers to it as “shackles” (ch. 82). For them to feel that strongly connected to one another and to god, that god’s words and actions could have such a profound effect on them, means that they are controlled by the bond. It’s a sort of situation that is ripe for abuse, and may just happen naturally, accidentally, without anyone intending to be abusive.
Additionally, over time, the possessed individuals start to feel a discrepancy, between their personal desires and those of the spirit (the spirits feel it as well). God’s original spell is not as powerful as he would have hoped. People cannot stay so completely and unconditionally connected to one another. They start to experience feelings just as strongly that are negative.
This is why when Yuki first meets Akito as a child he also describes immediately and intensely feeling the desire to run away and the feeling of hatred. At the same time as the desire to never leave and feeling love. The bond is still there but so are the feelings of being tied down, shackled, trapped. Something that was intended to be beautiful becomes warped and ugly.
That’s how it becomes a curse.
What is the Cat’s Curse?
The Cat is the only member of the bond who is perhaps intended to be cursed.
The Cat knew what was going to happen and foresaw that god’s plan would turn sour and hurt them all in the end, but god and the other animals did not understand this at the time. They saw the Cat as rejecting and betraying them.
So the Cat is sort of punished for this in each rebirth. In addition to having a ‘true form’ (I talk more about this here), he is also ostracized and isolated.
Shigure also explains that the Cat is used as a scapegoat. He is treated so horribly so that the other Zodiacs won’t feel so bad about their own situation. When they feel that their bond is a curse they can look at the Cat and think “I am not as cursed as him, maybe this bond isn’t so bad”. This ensures that they also won’t reject the bond and turn their backs on god.
What Breaks the Bond/Curse?
Two factors, which are really quite simple.
1) Time. The bond cannot stay intact over the thousands and thousands of years since it was first created. It naturally weakens because it is such an unnatural thing. Like most things it breaks down and falls apart if given enough time. Shigure explains this to Rin, saying the curse will naturally break “eventually”.
He also predicts that it will break completely in their (the current generation of Zodiacs) lifetime, although maybe not until they are much older. This is because Kureno’s bond/curse had already broken, naturally just through time, and that they were the first generation in centuries where all the spirits and god were alive at the same time.
2) Each possessed member forming a strong bond with someone else (a complete outsider or someone other than god). Ideally the bond becomes stronger than the one between them and god, but through being more natural. It doesn’t rely on supernatural power or uneven feelings in order to exist.
This is what happens over the course of the story. Tohru forms bonds with many of the zodiac members and Akito towards the very end.
It can be speculated the three most important players, so to speak, in the bond are God, the Cat, and the Rat. God because they created the bond to begin with; the Cat because he was the first to form a bond with God, the first to drink the spell, and the one who was against it from the start; the Rat because he was the first to drink the spell and create the bond willing, so he is considered “the closest to god”.
If those three have their bond weakened, then the bond as a whole will be weaker. Kyo forms a strong bond with Shishou, with Kyoko, with Tohru. Yuki forms a strong bond with Tohru, with Kakeru, with Machi. Akito forms a bond with Tohru towards the very end and is willing to destroy the Cat’s room and let Yuki and the others have their freedom. These actions all weaken the bond and allow it to finally break, once and for all.
Why Do They Turn Into Animals Then????
Because it’s a fun gimmick! It draws you into the story with something cute that any young girl would love and then BAM - hella deep commentary on relationships and the risk of them becoming toxic under certain constraints. Kinda like how Evangelion draws young boys in with the giant fighting robots and then BAM - existentialism.
And because it can act as a metaphor for the Zodiac spirits being unable to get close with anyone but each other. Not even their own parents.
The “opposite sex” thing is definitely for the draw-you-in gimmick though.
Takaya has said in interviews before that the Chinese Zodiac aspect of the story was a motif she was encouraged by her editor to add, which she picked on a whim, to fit her original intention of the story she had planned from the beginning (the best I can gather from this is that Takaya originally planned a story about a cursed family with the sort of emotional parameters outlined above but not specifically involving the Chinese zodiac until later).
Other Things That Are True About the Bond/Curse?
- They transform when hugged (by members of the opposite sex) but not when they hug another possessed member.
- The only other thing that can cause them to transform is if their bodies become weak or ill in some way.
- They can attract animals of their possessed spirit and somewhat communicate with them (the idea that they can communicate with them is only really used once, in the first chapter when Yuki asks rats to help him collect Tohru’s thing. It’s never used after that which kinda gives me reason to believe Takaya wasn’t too keen on the idea itself).
- The Sohma family is structured in such away to keep the bond strong (more about that here) and have certain rituals surrounding it.
- The Cat is the only possessed member who has an additional ‘form’ and needs outside forces to keep it contained, i.e. the Buddhist prayer beads he wears. This is a part of his curse.
Why Does it Possess the Sohma Family?
This is a question that really has no answer directly in the text. There is no explanation given as to who the Sohma are or where their family comes from, or how/why they have this curse, especially given that we see in the origin story it had nothing to do with anyone or any family named Sohma.
There are various ways you could speculate about this but I think ultimately it’s not too important. The fact that the bond/curse revolves around a family unit is more thematic and symbolic, so it doesn’t necessarily need a practical explanation. The bond/curse is about relationships between people. The most primary relationships in people’s lives, and particularly in Japanese culture you could say, is the family. So, the bond/curse surrounds a family.
