Akito Sohma is a polarizing figure in Fruits Basket: is she redeemable or unforgivable? She has an intense, irrational fear of losing her bonds with the Cursed Zodiac members but doesn’t foster those bonds in a healthy manner. Instead, she uses her status as their god as an excuse to rule over them with abuse and cruelty. Fans who have read the manga know just how far Akito can go, but even anime-only fans will remember Akito's malice in the 2001 Fruits Basket.
Considering Akito's tragic backstory, it seems clear that creator Natsuki Takaya wanted fans to feel sympathy for Akito. Takaya even goes so far as to include a redemption arc that results in Tohru forgiving Akito and becoming her friend, despite everyone she's hurt. With everything Akito's done, it's pretty impressive for Tohru to let bygones be bygones.
10 Akito Yanks Tohru Up By Her Hair At The End Of The 2001 Fruits Basket Anime
This Akito is different from the canon Akito in the fact that he's biologically male. Takaya always meant for Akito to be a woman, but the Fruits Basket manga was on hiatus at the time the 2001 Fruits Basket anime was airing. What never changed with Akito is her penchant for temper tantrums when faced with what she doesn't like. The 2001 Fruits Basket, Akito is no different in this regard and views Tohru as a threat to his bond with the Zodiac members.
9 She Cuts Off Isuzu's Hair & Confines Her To The Cat Room
This was previously a manga-only scene, but fans finally got to see it animated in the Fruits Basket reboot anime. Akito's displeasure is uncharacteristically calm at this moment and that's exactly what makes it so potent. The violence aimed at Isuzu is done in such a way that puts her on the level of the Zodiac Cat, the most hated member of them all. Not only that, but she leaves Isuzu in there for months with no regard for her health or safety.
8 She Punches Momiji & Scratches Tohru's Cheek At The Summer House
It's important to note that Akito wasn't even invited to the summer house. She found out about the trip from Shigure and invited herself to keep tabs on everyone. Akito's displeasure during the trip culminates when she makes a late-night surprise visit to see Tohru. And when Momiji courageously tries to protect Tohru from Akito's spite, Akito responds with physical abuse.
Up to this point, Tohru doesn't know exactly who Akito is. Akito makes sure to let Tohru know her position over the Zodiac members and leaves a parting gift: a bloody scratch on Tohru's left cheek.
7 She Breaks A Vase Over Yuki's Head At The New Year's Banquet
By the end of the second season of the new Fruits Basket anime, Yuki has shown a tremendous amount of growth. He's made bonds with others and learned to lower his guard and let people in. In other words, he's making healthy changes that are good for him, and expresses as such to Akito during the banquet. Akito, who wants to be in permanent stasis with the other Zodiac members, is less than pleased to see that Yuki is growing. Her response is to suddenly attack him to "teach him a lesson".
6 She Beats Kisa So Badly That Kisa Ends Up Hospitalized
Due to her toxic relationship with her mother, Ren Sohma, Akito has a special dislike of women. It's always the female Zodiac members who bear the brunt of her anger, especially when there's a male member involved. In this case, Hiro innocently expressed to Akito that he loves Kisa, something he felt obligated to do out of the bond he shares with Akito as a Zodiac member. Luckily, viewers are not exposed to exactly what Akito did to land a child in the hospital. This event scarred Hiro so badly that he avoided Kisa out of guilt when she needed him most.
5 She Cuts Tohru's Arm With A Knife At The End Of The Manga
By the end of the series, Akito is so paranoid about losing the Zodiac members' bonds that she begins to lose her grip on her sanity. As a last effort to stop Tohru once and for all, she runs from the Sohma estate to Shigure's house. She finds Tohru and begins to blame her for the bonds breaking, blaming Tohru for her ending up alone. Tohru responds with sympathy and kindness but Akito still attacks her out of fear.
4 She Inadvertently Blinds Hatori When He Tries To Get Her Permission To Marry Kana
In this instance, Akito turns her hatred out onto another woman trying to come between her bond with the Zodiac. But unlike Tohru, Kana is too traumatized to continue living a normal life after the incident.
Even though Akito's violence is the reason Hatori got injured, Akito berates Kana into believing it's her fault if Hatori goes blind. Sadly, Kana could not get past the incident and Hatori erased her memory to spare her feelings.
3 She Violently Chokes Ren Out Of Jealousy & Hatred
Akito’s relationship with her mother is... complicated, to say the least. There's been bad blood between them from the start and Ren is undoubtedly the source of Akito's own mental instability. Akito catches Ren trying to make contact with Hatori, which sends her into a rage. It only takes a few taunts from Ren before Akito completely loses her composure and slams Ren with enough violence to knock them both outside while violently strangling her. If Hatori hadn't come between them, Akito might have killed her.
2 She Stabs Kureno When He's Trying To Calm Her In The Manga
This is one of Akito's more dangerous outbursts. As more Zodiac bonds break, Akito slowly loses her grip on her sanity. Kureno is dutifully trying to calm her, even though he hasn't felt a special bond with her for years. Akito's response is to blame him for her crumbling psyche because he didn't leave her when the bond originally broke, giving her false hope. She stabs him in the back with a knife, telling him to die and atone for his sin.
1 She Pushed Isuzu Out Of A Window Multiple Stories Above The Ground
It's unclear exactly how far Isuzu fell but, judging by the damage Isuzu suffered, it was at least a two-story building. This could have resulted in Isuzu's death. Actions like this make it difficult to believe that Akito wants to stay with the Zodiac forever, but perhaps it's because Isuzu resembles Ren that Akito is able to treat her with such cruelty. Isuzu, fortunately, makes it through this incident but not without serious physical and emotional scarring to go along with it.