Noboru Saruta

"There is something odd about her."

- Noboru describing Mei.

 Noboru Saruta  (猿田 昇 Saruta Noboru) is a student of 9th Grade Class 3 in 1998, is a member of the Music Club with Makoto Ouji and Megumi Tatara, at Yomiyama North Middle School.

Appearance
Noboru is a boy of slightly below average height and a fair complexion, with a somewhat sympathetic face what is right with his personality. He has short golden brown hair and eyes of the same color. As one student was seen wearing only the standard male uniform.

Personality
Noboru is shown as a funny, sociable person, and very nice with the rest of his companions. He is a member of a band in the Music Club with Makoto and Megumi. He is a student who doesn't seem to take classes that seriously, as he can be seen sleeping behind his reader during Kubodera's haiku classes and playing with a pencil during practice tests.

He and his best friend Makoto were among the only students who didn't seek Mei out following Takako's broadcast, suggesting he has a calmer mind than the vast majority of his peers. But despite the terrible events that occurred, in the end he was a good friend, worried and calm, seeing him during the visit that the group made to Manabu Maejima.

Plot
Noboru wasn't a major fixture of class 3-3, often staying out of the way and not taking part in any of the class's major countermeasures discussions. However, he was among the students of Class 3 to directly welcome Kouichi Sakakibara on his first day. More often than not he quietly sat in class; this does not however, mean he was an especially attentive student, as he slept through Kubodera's lecture on haiku, and spent most of the class time devoted to practice exams goofing off. More often than not he was in the company of his best friend, Makoto, who he played in the school band with.

Noburo was one of the students who went on the class trip. In "Makeup", he and Makoto Ouji left their room to see what all the fuss was about. While they didn't actively seek Mei out as Takako urged, they did leave the possibility open to consideration. Their discussion came to an abrupt end, however, when they smelt something burning. Makoto recalled being warned by Kouichi of a fire, but foolishly chose to open the dining room's doors anyway, ignoring Kouichi's advice. The inferno, given fresh oxygen, burst forth from the dining room, incinerating Makoto instantly. Noboru was shocked and terrified, slumping to the floor beside his friend's charred body, and fainted.

Eventually, however, Noboru was able to pull himself together, as in "Stand By Oneself", he was seen in the Yomiyama hospital with Manabu, Matsuko, Yukito, Yuuya, Kouichi, and later Daisuke, among the few students to survive the hellish night.

Trivia

 * He is ranked C in the Another characters ranking.
 * His home address is 3-3 Harakawacho Yomiyama City.
 * His first name, Noboru, means 'ascendant.'

Gallery

 * Main article:Noboru Saruta/Image Gallery