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This article is about a character in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei. |
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  This article or section contains untagged major spoilers for all of the original Higurashi When They Cry story and possibly the console-exclusive arcs. Readers who have not completed the story are advised not to proceed further. |
Keitarou Maebara (前原 圭太郎 Maebara Keitarou) is one of the main protagonists of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei. He is Keiichi Maebara's son.
Profile[]
The only son of Keiichi, who moved to Hinamizawa from Tokyo. His father's "Magician of Duplicity" status is still intact.
(Translated from the Hoshiwatashi website).
Appearance[]
Keitarou has short brown hair and bright blue eyes. He wears a white school uniform shirt and black pants.
Personality[]
Keitarou is energetic and outgoing. He deeply cares for his friends and thinks of them as his family, finding joy in hanging out with them. Keitarou is very quick to make friends and will try to befriend anybody he runs into, despite the lukewarm reactions he often gets as a result. Sakiko says that Keitarou's ideas are always childish.
Background[]
Keitarou is the son of Keiichi Maebara and an unnamed woman. They lived in Tokyo due to Keiichi's job as a congressman's secretary and would make yearly visits to Hinamizawa. Keitarou's since moved to the village 3 weeks ago in June 2019 to live with his mother and grandparents, and attends the Okinomiya middle school as a second-year.
In Oniokoshi, when Mion is killed and Keiichi is demoned away on the night of Watanagashi in 2019, the second year of an apparent revival of Oyashiro-sama's curse, Rika intends to loop back and bestow her magic bracelet to Keitarou so he can also loop and avert this tragedy.
Relationships[]
- Keiichi Maebara (father)
- Ichirou Maebara (grandfather)
- Aiko Maebara (grandmother)
- Kihiro Ryuugu (best friend)
- Sakiko Kimiyoshi (friend)
- Tamaki Sonozaki (friend)
- Kururu Isshiki (friend)
- Rika Furude ("aunt")
- Inori Mikazuki (friend, love interest)
Role in the Story[]
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei[]
Oniokoshi[]
Keitarou tries to make friends
Keitarou wakes up and sees his father on TV trying to stave off rumors of misappropriation of funds. Keitarou joins his friends Kihiro, Tamaki, and Sakiko, where Tamaki gropes Keitarou at Sakiko's urging. They take the bus together to school, where Keitarou attempts to make friends with everyone in his class but gets middling results.
After class he meets the girl Inori and also tries to make friends with her, but winds up startling her and making her fall down some stairs. Keitarou goes to help her but she starts mumbling something while holding a pendant. Keitarou also sees Inori's friends standing back and watching, wondering why they won't help.
Keitarou carries Inori to the nurse's office and tries to talk to her again, but they get interrupted by Kururu and Inori's friends appearing. Inori speaks to her friends and leaves with them, and gives Keitarou a silent farewell bow. Keitarou sees that Inori left behind her pendant and puts it in his pocket.
Kururu is left alone with Keitarou and starts teasing him about wanting to manipulate Inori. Keitarou becomes friends with her anyway, then joins Kihiro, Tamaki, and Sakiko after school.(Oniokoshi Chapter 1) Keitarou tells them about Inori, and the others tell him about the Polaris group and their beliefs, explaining why some kids ignored Keitarou earlier. Keitarou asks Sakiko if she hates Polaris, and she responds with a question if anybody in the village at all likes them.
The group goes to Smile Shop afterwards for ice cream. Keitarou and Kihiro eat alone outside, where Kihiro suggests that he stop trying to make friends with Polaris people. Keitarou agrees. They then meet Marutake when he takes a picture of the boys. Marutake introduces himself and talks with the boys about Hinamizawa's image, worrying that Oyashiro-sama's curse will ruin it. Keitarou thinks he's talking about the old ghost story from Hinamizawa's past, but Marutake says it actually happened again last year. One person died and another person disappeared on the night of Watanagashi last year, with the disappeared being a member from Polaris. Marutake sees Keitarou's Polaris charm and learns a friend dropped it, then tells him about bad rumors about Polaris, including a murder-suicide incident that Polaris members perpetrated. Keitarou thinks Polaris really is a cult.
Marutake then points out an approaching procession of Polaris cars, and Keitarou sees Kururu in one of them. He worries about what Polaris is planning if there are hundreds of them in Hinamizawa, and if they really would resort to murder.(Oniokoshi Chapter 2)
Keitarou's second attempt at making friends doesn't go well either
At home, Keitarou looks up videos and articles talking about Polaris when he gets a call from Aunt Rika. They talk about Polaris, and Rika tells him to be careful around them and asks how he really feels about them. The next day, Keitarou becomes inspired to make friends with Polaris members again and tries talking to more kids, but he continues to be ignored.
Keitarou tries to stop some delinquents but gets hurt
Keitarou and friends go to Angel Mort after school. Keitarou gets a golden butterfly charm prize from a cafe collab and considers giving it to Inori, but hands it off to Tamaki when she glares at him. They leave the restaurant and see some delinquents harassing a girl. Keitarou tries to help but gets knee'd in the chest, and his friends drive away the delinquents. Keitarou then sees that the girl is Inori, who thanks him for helping her so much and runs away.
Kururu then appears and apologizes to the group for Inori's behavior, explaining that she's also a member of Polaris but isn't very devout. Keitarou and Kururu fool around as the others watch.(Oniokoshi Chapter 3)
Hoshiwatashi[]
Keitarou does similar things to Oniokoshi, including getting groped by Tamaki. At school, Keitarou tries to make some new friends, but several kids ignore him completely.
He meets Inori and also tries to make friends with her, but winds up startling her and making her fall down some stairs. Keitarou tries to help her, wondering why Inori's friends are just standing back and watching, and carries her to the nurse's office. Inori is patched up and Keitarou tries to make friends with her again, but they get interrupted by Kururu and Inori's friends appearing. Inori's friends leave with her, and she gives Keitarou a silent farewell bow.
Meanwhile, Kururu starts teasing Keitarou and angers him, taking a picture of his enraged expression with her smartphone. Keitarou becomes friends with Kururu anyway and sees her off after school, then joins his other friends at the gate.(Hoshiwatashi Chapter 1) Kihiro says that Hinamizawa is no longer the village Keitarou knows, and Sakiko says it's because Polaris came to the village.
Keitarou learns about Polaris's customs and that Kururu may be a member. Sakiko claims that Oyashiro-sama will curse Keitarou if he gets any more involved with the group but soon brushes it off as a joke. At home, Keitarou does his own research about Polaris and finds a video of some members with their Holy Mother, getting more and more suspicious about them.
Keitarou joins his friends at Smile Shop the next day to help Aunt Satoko and Sakiko record a video. Keitarou and Kihiro chat outside, where Kihiro tells him that many villagers think Polaris's presence will reawaken Oyashiro-sama's curse and that it already happened; one person died of illness on the Watanagashi and a Polaris member disappeared.
Sakiko arrives, and she and Kihiro show concern about Keitarou trying to make friends with everyone, including Polaris. Sakiko however says she has no right to tell him what to do, and Keitarou becomes encouraged to continue.
Inori thanks Keitarou
At the store, Keitarou runs into Inori and her mother and tries to talk to them, but they recoil in fright and embrace each other. Keitarou introduces himself, apologizes for causing Inori to get hurt, and helps pick up their groceries. Inori actually thanks Keitarou for his help, albeit seemingly straining herself, and then drives off with her mother.
At home, Keitarou considers how he can get closer to Inori when he suddenly gets a call from Aunt Rika.(Hoshiwatashi Chapter 2) They talk about Polaris, and Rika tells him to consider Polaris members' points of view on Hinamizawa and how they feel about it. The next day, Keitarou prints out stacks of surveys and gives them to various Polaris kids at school, asking them what they feel about Hinamizawa. The group then sees Kururu apologizing on behalf of a Polaris girl, and they learn she's a member but isn't devout. Keitarou gives her a survey as well but Kururu questions what he'll do with the responses.
Keitarou gets some surveys returned to him but they contain overwhelmingly negative responses, and he loses faith in making friends with them. He still places a letter inside of Inori's locker.(Hoshiwatashi Chapter 3)
Gallery[]
