Hinamizawa, June 1983 · the cicadas are crying
“Hau~! Kyuu~ kawaii!”
“Omochikaeri~!” (I'm taking it home~!)
…but if you lie to her… (tap) “USO DA!” (Liar!)
Rena is a cheerful, caring girl from the small mountain village of Hinamizawa. Her family moved back there from Ibaraki about a year before the story begins, and she is the first friend Maebara Keiichi makes when he moves to town.
She belongs to the club, the after-school games club led by Sonozaki Mion, along with Keiichi, Hojo Satoko and Furude Rika. Card games, tag, punishment games, cosplay penalties: Rena plays to win, and her sharp eyes make her dangerous at cards.
Rena walks to school with Keiichi every morning and looks out for him. She is warm, a little teasing, and turns bright red when he compliments her. Hau~!
Her favourite hobby is digging through the village trash heap for “treasure”. Her greatest dream find is a Kenta-kun statue (a parody of the Colonel Sanders figure outside a fried-chicken shop), which she absolutely wants to take home.
For digging through the junk she uses a big blade, usually translated as a cleaver or hatchet (nata). It's a handy tool at the dump… and also the most famous accessory in Higurashi fandom.
Sunny side: sweet, motherly, a good cook, and helpless before anything cute.
Sharp side: very perceptive. She can tell when someone is hiding something, and her eyes can go cold in an instant. Don't lie to Rena.
Fun fact: “Rena” is a name she chose herself. More on that behind a spoiler below.
Spoilers are hidden. Tap a blurred box to reveal it.
Rena shows Keiichi her secret treasure spot and begs him to help dig out the Kenta-kun statue. Pure, unfiltered “omochikaeri” energy.
Losing a club game means a penalty costume. Rena gets very excited about dressing up whoever loses, especially if it's someone cute.
The two words that turned a cute girl into a horror icon.
One arc puts Rena at the centre of the story.
Her name has a story.
Click the cute things! Rena wants to take them all home.
Treasures taken home: 0