Rena Ryuuguu

Rena Ryuuguu is one of the main characters of "Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai" and a classmate of Keiichi Maebara, a few months his junior. Across the story's arcs she shifts between protagonist and antagonist, and thanks to her frequent presence in the series' key art she has become something of its unofficial mascot.

Rena comes across as sweet and friendly, with a well-known weakness for anything cute: in her "Cute Mode" she tries to carry adorable things off with her, and Furude Rika, Satoko Houjou, and Hanyuu are her regular targets. She spends much of her free time treasure-hunting at the town's dump, where she keeps a secret hideout in an old van full of things she has collected. That gentleness has a sharp edge, though — provoked or frightened, Rena can turn genuinely dangerous, and her explosive scream of "That's a lie!" is one of the show's signature moments. Keiichi describes her as "the quiet blue flame that burns silently."

Born in Hinamizawa, Rena moved away to Ibaraki with her fashion-designer parents and went by her birth name, Reina. After her mother had an affair, became pregnant, and asked Rena to leave with her, Rena refused, cut ties with her, and began insisting on being called Rena instead. In Ibaraki she suffered a violent breakdown that led to her hospitalization — the onset of Hinamizawa Syndrome, an experience that later lets her connect with Satoshi Houjou when he develops the same affliction.

In the Tsumihoroboshi-hen arc, Rena kills the con artists Rina Mamiya and Teppei Houjou to protect her father, receives a scrapbook from Miyo Takano, and ultimately takes her school hostage until Keiichi talks her down. She remains close to Mion Sonozaki, Shion Sonozaki, and Rika throughout the series.