Akira Otobe

Akira Otobe (乙部 彰) is a character in appearing exclusively in, serving as the protagonist. He comes to Hinamizawa 20 years after the Great Hinamizawa Disaster with Akutagawa, Chiaki, and Machi as part of a group suicide. He gets separated from the group he was with and meets "Mion Sonozaki".

Background
Akira left his parents' home in an attempt to escape from the countryside, intending to go to Tokyo for college entry exams. While he was initially successful, Akira eventually began to accrue a large amount of debt he couldn't settle. After struggling against his debt for some time, Akira came to the conclusion that he couldn't return to his parents, who have since separated, with his debt and instead opted to join a group of people planning on committing suicide in Hinamizawa via carbon monoxide exposure. However, shortly before committing suicide, Chiaki shares with the group that she has a bankbook with a lot of money behind it from her deceased husband. Believing this to be the key to escaping his debt, Akira ditched the group and the car and returned after they had committed suicide to take Chiaki's bankbook. "Mion Sonozaki" later confronts him about his theft and Akira comes to regret his decision and returns the bankbook to Chiaki's body when he finds the car again. After the events of Yoigoshi-hen, Akira vows to turn his life around on his own and live his life to the fullest.

Appearance
Akira appears as a young man with blonde hair and orange eyes. He bears a resemblance to Satoshi Houjou whom both "Mion Sonozaki" and Shion Sonozaki initially mistake him for.

Personality
Akira appears to be quite timid, though this could simply be a result of his confusion and remorse regarding his circumstances. After the events of Yoigoshi-hen, Akira appears to have found his inner strength and is much bolder as a result.

Yoigoshi-hen
Akira comes to Hinamizawa with the intention to committing suicide though he gets separated from the rest of his group and falls off of a cliff. After his fall he meets "Mion Sonozaki" and becomes entangled in the mysterious occurrences surrounding Hinamizawa. After he and "Mion" meet Ryuunosuke Arakawa, he pretends to call the police to report the suicide group Arakawa found and later smashes his phone. Eventually Yae Towada joins the group and attempts to help them find a way to leave Hinamizawa and discover how they call got trapped there only to later discover her boyfriend's dead body stuffed into a stack of futons. After "Mion" deduces that Yae murdered her boyfriend, Akira reveals that he was a part of the suicide group Arakawa found and took a bankbook from one of the bodies in order to pay off his debt and later smashed his phone in order to avoid suspicion. After the "Mion" finds the suicide group's car, Akira tearfully returns the bankbook to the body of the girl he stole it from and he is forgiven. After helping "Mion" reclaim the headship of the Sonozaki family, Akira leaves Hinamizawa to change his life and repay his debts on his own.

Trivia

 * At one point, "Mion" asks Akira if he can tell the difference between broccoli and cauliflower, a reference to the fact that neither Satoshi nor Satoko Houjou can tell the difference between the two.