Keiichi Maebara

Keiichi Maebara (前原 圭一) is the protagonist of, , and.

Background
Keiichi was born to Ichirou Maebara and Aiko Maebara. As a child, he failed to excel in any specific field. However, he performed very well on an intelligence test required to enter cram school, proving that he is fairly intelligent. Keiichi has claimed that he does poorly when asked to solve problems without a direct connection to himself or his life. After entering cram school, Keiichi was placed in an advanced class and his grades quickly improved. Keiichi was driven by the feeling of superiority he felt when he outperformed the rest of his class. However, the feeling of superiority began to fade as it became more regular and authority figures stopped praising him as often. In frustration, Keiichi purchased an airsoft gun with allowance money and used it on cardboard boxes as a method of relieving stress. Eventually, his target shifted from the cardboard boxes to small children he saw walking home from school. His actions led to a minor panic within the town and parents were asked to not allow their children to walk home alone. Some time later, Keiichi shot at a young girl he saw walking by herself. She turned to face Keiichi at the last second and the BB hit her in the eye. Despite being horrified by her pained screams, Keiichi ran away from the girl to avoid being exposed. Guilt consumed him and he spent ample time researching eye injuries. Eventually Keiichi, overcome with guilt, confessed to shooting the girl. This led to backlash from the community as well as great disappointment from his parents. In pursuit of a fresh start, the Maebara family moved to the much quieter town of Hinamizawa.

Trivia

 * Keiichi's birthdate is April 13, 1967.
 * Keiichi is often referred to as "K1" by fans as the character 一 (ichi) means "one".