Arata Hinohara

Arata Hinohara (日ノ原 革, Hinohara Arata) is one of the main characters of story, along with Arata. He was an ordinary troubled teenager pulled through another dimension to the world of Amawakuni where he is pit into a contest to become the world's emperor. Both main characters are named Arata but modern Arata goes by Hinohara to avoid confusion when both boys converse. He is also called the The Emperor Of Hinowa (日輪の大王, Nichirin no Daiou).

Appearance
Arata has blonde hair and greyish colored eyes. Wears a school uniform consisting of tan dress pants a brown tailor jacket with a white dress shirt underneath. (The uniform is an reminiscience of Yuu Watase's first hit Fushigi Yugi heroine Miaka's school uniform). Sometimes he wears athletic clothes consisting of jogging pants and windbreaker.

Personality
Arata begins as a shy, tortured soul who is continuously bullied throughout his early teenage years by his ex-best friend Kadowaki. Arata is easily liked because of his easy-going attitude and good sense of justice. During the time of his bullying, he isolates himself from his family to not draw attention to the issues circling around him. Finally, the bullying intensifies to the point of him taking a year off from school. When he begins high school, its a new start and he begins to quickly make new friends until things take a turn for the worst when Kadowaki arrives. The bullying restarts and when Arata wishes he had never been born he is pulled into Amawakuni. He is frightened of his new surroundings, and horrified that he is blamed for Himeou's death which he angrily protests against. Arata's time in the new world helps him grow as a person as he begins to find himself and put trust in others. He grows stronger and after years of being bullied, strongly refuses to let the twelve shinshou treat ordnairy citizens in a similar manner. His character change can be credited partly to Kotoha who teaches Arata that he should love himself and how his life does have meaning-protecting those who can't protect themselves. Arata has a sense of humor that is shown throughout fragments of the story.

Amawakuni/Japan Arc
Arata Hinohara is starting his first year of high school at the story's beginning. His parents are shown anxious for him returning to school after a year of withdrawing from middle school; he replies that things will be different. Arata helps fellow student, Suguru, out when a woman claims he stole her purse. Arata takes down the perpetrator and is called a hero. Arata begins to make several friends and seems relieved that school is going well until Masoto Kadowaki appears. Kadowaki and Arata had a history back in middle school: both boys were best friends on the track team. However, Kadowaki began bullying Arata thinking the boy was looking down on him. The bullying became so severe Arata withdrew from his final year of middle school. Unfortunately, history begins to repeat itself and Arata's new friends distance themselves to not become targets themselves. Arata breaks after discovering Suguru glued his desk and tells Kadowaki he was never Arata's friend to begin with. Arata flees from the school and screams about wishing he had never been born when he is pulled into the Kando Forest: switching places with the other Arata.

Upon entering Amawakuni, he meets Kotoha- who cannot see that he is a different person due to a spell cast by the forest: he still appears as the other Arata. Kotoha tells him they must flee since he is blamed for causing Himeou's death. The two manage to sneak back to her village where Hinohara learns from Arata's grandmother that he may be the wielder of the family hayagami that has been in her family for generations. He finds the situation riduculous, but is forced into trying to wield the hayagami when Kannagi, the shinshou who struck down Himeou, takes Kotoha hostage and falsely calls Hinohara the murderer of Himeou, the high priestess. Arata manages to awaken the hayagami and drives Kannagi off. However, Kannagi makes a surprise attack on Arata and Kotoha later. The two are dragged back to the capitol where Arata Hinohara is sentenced to Gatoya, the prison where criminals are cast into to die.

Gatoya Arc
At Gatoya, he meets Kanate, who becomes a member of Hinohara's group.

A himezoku called Seo tells Hinohara he will save Himeou and awaken his hayagami as the most powerful weapon. In order to save Himeou, Hinohara must make the other shinshou submit their powers to him for his weapon to truly awaken. Hinohara, Kotoha, and Kanate travel to make the other shinshou submit to Hinohara to help him save Himeou. Kannagi joins Hinohara's group after losing his weapon to Akachi; Mikusa and Rami join when discoverng Hinohara's wish to save Himeou. Hiruha joins in admiration of Hinohara, and Yataka is the last to join in hopes of fixing the problems he started by suggesting to the other shinshou to betray Hmeou.

Kadowaki reappears in Amawakuni and is granted his own hayagami, Orochi. Hinohara is troubled with having to fight his ex-best friend and not losing to his hidden anger and sorrow for Kadowaki in the fights.

Abilities
Tsukuyo (ツクヨ, Tsukuyo)

Relationships

 * Kotoha: Arata's love interest. Kotoha's kind nature helps bring introverted, bullied Arata out of his shell and begin to trust in others. Although Kotoha sees Arata Hinohara as the blue-haired Arata she is quick to note the differences. She begins to fall in love with Hinohara over time. Kotoha is often kidnapped since she Is Hinohara's biggest weakness.
 * Kadowaki: Arata's ex-best friend. Kadowaki had a bad home life and through these circumstances hated for others to look down upon him due to his pride. Both boys ran track together in middle school where they became friends. Arata was the better runner and the one time he let Kadowaki win infuriates Kadowaki; who believed Arata was looking down on him. Kadowaki begins bullying Arata maliciously, but it is hinted out of jealously not hatred. His anger grows so intense, the six shou sense it from their world and drag him over where he becomes Arata's main rival for emperor.
 * Arata: Despite having the same name, the two are complete opposites. Arata has never had family outside his grandmother and Kotoha so he was able to live freely without being tied down. While Hinohara is very close to his family and all his actions reflect this. Hinohara takes matters more serious and looks into situations closely; while Arata is overly curious and doesn't take caution.