Kotarou Tennouji

Kotarou Tennouji

“	At the very least, I hope that all of the choices I've made while wandering through the darkness might give everyone a ray of Light.	”
–Kotarou thinking to himself in the Terra Route

Kotarou Tennouji (天王寺 瑚太郎, Tennouji Kotarou) is the main protagonist of Rewrite and Harvest Festa!. He was originally a normal high-school student who recently discovered his ability to rewrite, before eventually getting caught in the war between Guardian and Gaia.

Personality

Kotarou is a high school student with an easygoing personality. Though not fully realizing it himself, he often meddles in the business of others, and as such, he tends to get easily drawn into incidents. He is also somewhat of a pervert. On the other hand, he is also a kind person and would do anything for a friend. He asks people to join the Occult Club in an attempt to make friends.

In all the main routes except for Moon and Terra, he's had an accident that heavily impacted his personality. Beforehand, according to Kotori Kanbe, he used to be cold and a loner. It's also mentioned that he used to like playing detective. At the time, Kotarou couldn't fit in with his family, classmates or acquaintances, and he didn't have any friends.

After his recovery, Kotarou became his easygoing self: someone who could get along with just about anyone. Thanks to the accident and the brain injuries he sustained, he begins having memory problems, and tends to be forgetful.

Appearance

Kotarou has light brown spiky hair and amber-red eyes. He wears a male school uniform which consists of a white jacket with dark blue lines running over the shoulder area and wrists, along with black pants and brown shoes. Also he has a golden chain going into his pocket protector on the left side of his jacket.

Synopsis

Kotarou's Past

Presumably ten years prior to the events of the common route, Kotarou lived with his parents, who worked for Martel. While his parents were emphatic about attending Martel's meetings, Kotarou hated them, and since he wasn't allowed to speak his mind about said meetings without being scolded, he grew distant from his family.

At night, Kotarou would hunt UMAs, but one night he went into the forest and encountered a dinosaur-like familiar. The familiar proved to be too powerful for him, then the Bayern Knights appeared and defeated the familiar. There he met their leader Esaka.

Kotarou is occassionally asked by a caretaker of a local orphanage to look after a young Akane Senri. Around that time, Kotarou also met a young Kotori Kanbe, who had a bad impression of him after seeing him pick a fight on the street in order to help a young boy get his money back. She was also brought by her parents to attend to Martel's meeting at one time, but was able to convince them not to make her attend.

Kotarou then decided to stop going to Martel's meetings which resulted in an argument with his parents. He then decided to run away, asking Esaka to let him become a member of their organization and undergo training.

During the training, Kotarou was paired with Arata, Touka, and Nagai, as they were the people who had the lowest scores in the exam training. At first, Kotarou had very little confidence in himself, but it gradually began to grow as he connected with with his other teammates. They all became members by the end, except Nagai, who quit due to her low self-confidence and subsequent loss of powers.

Their first assignment involved them stationed near an alley inside Kazamatsuri, but Arata and Touka became impatient and headed for the forest instead. Kotarou, concerned, followed them as well. In the forest he witnessed Mikuni, another Guardian, meeting his demise in a fight against the Earth Dragon.

Kotarou fled from the scene and found tiny footprints that lead him to Akane who was stuck at the top of a tree. He managed to get her down while being attacked by a hound familiar, but as he tried to escape her, he came across a newborn Key. Just as he was about to attack her, she used her ribbons that delivered a serious injury at him.

He was found and healed by Kotori using her newly-obtained druid powers and a piece of the Key's ribbons, turning him into a half-familair. Due to a head injury, he slipped into coma, aging very slowly. He woke up, having vague memories of the events in the forest.

Common Route

Kotarou reached the second year of high school, feeling that he has been wasting time not achieving anything. He spent his time poking fun at Yoshino and accompanying Kotori. Time by time Kotori's mother asks him to look for her daughter, in which he would know that she is somewhere in the forest.

He then begins to experience strange phenomena, namely a strange presence around him and a "ghost" haunting him in his room at night.

At Kazamatsuri Academy where he studies, he continues to spend time with Kotori and Yoshino. During lunch time, he found a student outside the school building stuck on a tree and helped her, but he ended up seeing her underwear. This was caused by the heavy box she was carrying, which was too heavy for Kotarou but something she can easily lift. Finding it awkward to leave her carrying it, he insisted on helping her, which caused her to fall again. He later finds out that her name is Ohtori. The awkward events in their meeting, plus his allusion to the pattern of her underwear another time he met her, caused her to hate him.

That time, Kotarou was applying for Terra Magazine as a stringer for the Harvest Festival, which he needed a camera. While looking for a camera in the alleyway, he meets a man wearing contemporary clothing.

The next day, he meets the moral guard Shizuru in the hallway, warning him not to run at the hallway. The two occasionally eat together outside the building.

Armaments

Throughout each of the heroine's routes, Kotarou aquires several weapons and tools. It should also be noted that his blood creates weapons.

• Bandages: In Chihaya's Route, Kotarou is given bandages that seem to be emit a powerful invisable barrier. As explained by Chihaya, the bandages aquire their power from the contract between her and Sakuya, due to Sakuya being a guardian familiar the bandages protect whoever wears them.
• Familiars: Pani & Gil, Dima, Lyuba, Berezovka, Woolly, and leaf-bird familiars.
• Knife: A sharp knife used by people in Guardian for hand-to-hand combat. Kotarou's knife was broken by Esaka's sword in the Terra Route.
• Semi-Automatic Machine Gun: A gun that Kotarou used often in the Terra Route; it was cut in half by Esaka.

Abilities

Rewrite: Kotarou's main ability is Rewrite. With it, he can make himself more powerful like increasing his leg strength, improving eyesight or poison immunity.

Despite the advantages of Rewrite, it also has disadvantages each time it is used.

• Each time Kotarou uses Rewrite, he chips away his own life-span. (Terra Route)
• Each time he rewrites himself, he becomes closer in becoming a familiar.
• Each time he uses it, he cannot reverse his actions or return to his former self.

In gameplay, a clock is seen in the lower left part of the screen, indicating how close Kotarou is in becoming a familiar.

Blood Manipulation: Kotarou's ability as a Polluter-type superhuman. This ability of his can be used in many ways. Some of its usage are: preventing blood loss (by speeding up the clotting property of his blood), increasing stamina (by allowing the blood to carry more oxygen), partially editing his facial appearance (several times during the Terra Route) and crystallizing to form a weapon (used against a blood-sucking familiar before Kotarou has been scouted by The Bayern Knights' Sougen Esaka and also to kill Esaka on their last battle at the forest). This ability has been changed to Aurora by the time Kotarou became a half-familiar (start of the Common Route) and after many Rewrites (near the end of the Terra Route) 

Aurora: Another ability that Kotarou has after rewriting his body is a power he calls Aurora, a power that lets him create weapons and tools made of light energy. He is able to shape the Aurora into any form but it seemingly requires his blood to make. There is only one disadvantage, however; the more he uses Aurora, the more of his blood gets drained.

Kotarou discovering his Aurora ability

• Aurora Claws: Kotarou's aura takes the form of three claws attached to his hand. The claws are very sharp and can cut through almost anything, but can break easily and if he uses to much or not enough aura they wiil crumple and turn to dust. As mentioned by Kotori, Kotarou acquired this power from the Key.

• Aurora Bullets: Using the blood pressure in his arm Kotarou can fire bullet-like pieces of aura from his hand, the bullets are not strong but can stun opponents when they strike vital points.

• Aurora Needle: An upgrade version of aurora bullets. Though the needle is not so destructive but mutiple strike of the needle on the same spot will eventually deal decent damage to the opponent. Kotarou use this to blind the teenager who are able to see through Chibi-Moth disguise in Kotori's route.

• Aurora Formations: Because of its flexability, Kotarou's aurora can assume various shapes of weapons such as a sword, rope, hammer, spear, or shield.

• Aurora Explosion: Kotarou has the ability to make his aurora explode at will, this was shown in his battle against Tenma's familiar.

• Idea Overdrive: First used in Chihaya's Route, under Midou's influence Koutarou rewrites his own mind; becoming something between human and familiar. When activated his power and speed surpasses Sakuya's who is considered to be the strongest familiar, but his thoughts are clouded to the point where he'd attack anyone even is its a friend. In this form he also fights with duel-blades made of aurora.

• Fuego's Aurora: In the final phases of Chihaya's Route, Midou contacts Kotarou from "Hell" and loans him the power of his familiar "Fuego". When used Kotarou's aurora becomes inflamed and can burn through almost anything.

• Aurora Beasts: First seen in Akane's Route, when Kotarou is forced to "kill" for the first time in the forest he uses Rewrite to strengthen himself; his emotions cause his Aurora to spawn a will of its own. The aurora takes the shape of a beast's head with teeth, though Kotarou can somewhat control it it can eats away at his enemies against his will.

• Aurora Ribbons: In the final stages of Akane's Route, in an effort to defeat the Earth Dragon Kotarou continuously rewrites his aurora power breaking through all of its evolutionary stages and becoming something like the Key's ribbons. The blades are incredibly sharp enough to match the Key's ribbons and enough to cut through the Earth Dragon's skin. Its defensive ability possible surpasses the Key's ribbons as it was able to block the dragon's skull, teeth, and tail by turning into armor. This form of aurora is similar to Sakuya's bandages in Chihaya's Route.

• Aurora Wide-Arc: In the Moon Route, Kotarou builds up the aurora in his arm, as he releases it he hardens it into the air to create a blade that is able to kill multiple enemies at once.

Quotes

• "I'll never tell you, you'll kill me if I do!" (When Lucia asks about a maid outfit from an eroge game that Kotarou has played).
• "I surrender! I know you won't listen to anything that I say, so let Kotori come here and be my lawyer...but dead men don't need lawyers." (When Kotarou is caught by Lucia tasting her food in the classroom).

Trivia

• In the Terra Route, in addition to his ability to Rewrite himself, Kotarou has the ability to turn his blood into weapons.
• Although Kotarou is confirmed to only be able to form an aurora blade with his right wrist, in one point during Chihaya's route he is said to form one with his left wrist as well. However, this is most likely just a minor plot hole.
• His birthday is May 2nd.

Gallery

Official Art from Key Visual Arts

from VN OP2

Kotarou with the Occult Club in VN OP2

TV Anime PV appearance

with the Occult Club in Chihaya's garden

discovering a toxic river

Aurora manifesting

spending the night with Kotori pre-Harvest Festival (Kotori Route)

Kotarou with some of the members of Guardian

fighting Sakuya with a game of cards

scene from Chihaya Route

in Akane's route

dream of cooking Mackerel Pike with Shizuru (Shizuru Route)

Dancing with Kagari in Moon

from Kotori Route in Harvest Festa

in a date with Kotori in Harvest Festa

from Kagari route in Harvest Festa

sketches of Kotarou from the anime teaser