Kohta Hirano

Kohta Hirano (平野 コータ, Hirano Kōta?) is one of the main characters in Highschool of the Dead. Kohta is an excellent marksman with many different types of guns, but he usually uses a AR-10 Rifle which has been remodelled in the style of a Knight's SR-25 Sniper Rifle. In the anime, Kohta is voiced by Nobuyuki Hiyama.

About

 * Kohta_large.jpg 16 year old high school junior who was often bullied at school, Kohta is a gun otaku (enthusiast) and knows the ins and outs of the firearms and any military-related equipment that the group may comes across. His skills as a marksman have proven to be an invaluable asset to keeping everyone alive. He usually doesn't play a major role in the group's decisions and stays out of discussions, but in combat situations, he becomes much more involved with the others and takes on the role of the group's backbone. He is a vital part of the group's fighting abilities, so much so that Takashi once noted that if Kohta died, the group would all be dead in a single day.

Appearance

 * Hirano is a teenaged boy, slightly short, and a bit overweight for his age, with a shoulder-length mullet-like hairstyle that has bangs reaching down from the side of his temples stretching outwards and obscuring the sides of his face. Like Komuro, he is normally seen wearing the standard male student uniform of his school and is generally seen carrying an assortment of gun-based weaponry. His character may have been based on the mangaka of the same name as the two look similar. In addition to his school uniform Kohta wears a tactical vest with multiple pockets along with an additional ammo belt.




 * (Anime) *


 * After they arrive at Saya's house Kohta appears in green coveralls, a white t-shirt, white gloves, and brown sandals.

History

 * Before the start of the series Kohta went on a month-long trip to America where he was trained by the US military contractor Blackwater USA which furthered his obsession over weapons. When Kohta attended school he was constantly bullied by classmates in Shido's classes where instead of helping Kohta out, Shidou encouraged the bullying. This led to Kohta holding in feelings of frustration and anger towards Shidou

Personality

 * Before the outbreak, Hirano's demeanor is one that is timid, carefree, and sanguine. Yet at the same time, in constant suppression of his frustations due to the frequent bullying that he suffers from school, all for the sake of having a "normal" life. As a result, when the zombies started to emerge, Kohta was one of the few people who readily accepted to the change needed to ensure his and his comrades' survival, finally being able to unleash all the frustations that he has accumulated so far. And while normally capable of maintaining a cool and level-headed demeanor (more so than Takagi), Hirano has exhibited a sadistic and almost maniacal side of himself, to the point where he actually displays a slasher-style smile that shows whenever he kills Them in cold blood. Saya once mentioned that Kohta and Takashi are the most likely to snap if things keep going the way they are. He's grown very attached to Alice and can often be found playing with her

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Summary
At the beginning of the story, Kohta is first seen just after the announcement of the incident is made. He is peering around a corner into a classroom when Saya Takagi comes up behind him and tells him to come with her. They find an empty classroom which they take refuge in while the other students are running through the halls in a state of panic. In the classroom, they find materials to make weapons with which includes the gas-powered nail gun that becomes Kohta's first weapon to fight "them" with. When the nail gun is in his hands, his demeanor instantly changes. A group of "them" break into the classroom and he easily and quickly takes out each one with a single shot to the head. He instantly takes on the role of Saya's protector, which is a role he retains throughout the series. His attitude changes so much that, to Saya's dismay, he orders her to gather the supplies. He seems to quickly go back to his normal self when the fighting is over. Later, when Saya is conducting her experiment to see what "they" react to, he is back to being awkward and nervous, and he questions Saya about her experiment. She demonstrates and he asks her if they will be walking outside, stating that he doesn't like walking long distances. Saya responds by calling him a fatass.

Kohta is next seen in th hallway where the members of the group meet for the first time. He helps the other fight "them", then introduces himself along with the others. In the break room, he walks in to the bathroom to check on Saya and sees her pulling out her contacts, and he is surprised to see her wearing glasses. When the group leaves the school he helps as they fight their way to the bus. When Takashi is hassled by the guy on the bus, Kohta begins to stand up and raise his gun, but he is held back by Saya. He looks very angry, like the others, when Shido proclaims himself their leader.

On the bus, which is stopped in a long line of cars, Kohta is seen sleeping as Shido is preaching to the students. Saya wakes him up and the two begin to discuss ways to escape the city, and which locations may be safest. They see Shido flirting with one of the girls on the bus, and Kohta, clutching his nail gun, asks if he should "interrupt" them, but Saya says they have more important things to worry about. Saya mentions that she wishes Takashi was there, to which Kohta replies that he knows she likes Takashi. Saya takes offense to this and starts to get angry until she notices Saeko and Shizuka behind her. Later, they are discussing where their families are so that they can find them when they leave the bus, and Kohta reveals that his father is a jewelry merchant and in Amsterdam to buy supplies, and his mother is a fashion designer currently staying in Paris. When Shizuka jokes that his life is like a manga, he further reveals that his grandfather was captain of a foreign cruise ship, and his grandmother was a violinist. They decide to leave and head for Onbetsu Bridge, but Shido won't let Shizuka leave. He approaches them, and Kohta fires a nail that grazes Shido's left cheek, saying that he missed on purpose. He says Shido has always made fun of him, and he has been holding his anger back for a long time to live a normal life, but now that a normal life doesn't matter, he has no problem killing a living person.

(Anime)*
After leaving the bus, they get into a fight with "them" where they meet Takashi and Rei. Takashi throws him the gun and he happily wields it instead of his nail gun. After the fight he is seen obsessing over the gun, saying that it is a Smith and Wesson's M37 Airweight. He uses the gun again in the fight when they arrive at Rika's house. In Rika's bedroom, Kohta and Takashi pry open a cabinet and find a cache of guns and ammunition. He is extremely excited when he sees the guns, pulling them out and describing each one in detail. He is even able to identify a crossbow which is in the cabinet. When Takashi asks if he has held a gun, Kohta tells him about his month-long trip in America where he was trained by a man who used to work for the military company Black Water. After the guns have been loaded, he is using binoculars to view the chaos on the bridge and compares it to a scene in Apocalypse Now. He continues to watch on the news with Takashi, and they realize the seriousness of their situation. Their discussion is broken up with the arrival of Shizuka, who is drunk and refers to Kohta as Kohta-chan (-chan is primarily used to address children, though in this context it means "cutie") and kisses him on the cheek. He is very embarrassed by this and walks alone out to the balcony looking uncomfortable. He is next seen on the balcony observing the streets, where a dog, Zeke, is barking and many of "them" are gathering. When he and Takashi notice Alice, he begins taking out "them" which are all around her. He provides cover while Takashi goes to save Alice. He proclaims himself a genius for getting a headshot with a gun he has never used before. He provides further cover from the top of the humvee while they pick up Takashi and Alice.

The next morning Kohta and Alice, who have quickly developed a close bond, are on top of the humvee singing different versions of Row, Row, Row Your Boat. He sings a parody version about guns, and Saya reprimands him for talking like that in front of Alice. When they reach the other side of the river, he gives Takashi the shotgun and teaches him how to use it. When Rei comes out holding the M1A1 and says she doesn't know how to use it, Hirano mounts a bayonet on it so she can use it as a spear. Later, the humvee runs into the ropes and Rei falls off, and Kohta is quick to take up a sniping postion on top. Takashi misses his first few shots with the shotgun, and Kohta helps him correct his aim by telling him to aim a little higher. When they are surrounded by "them" Kohta, who usually stays optimistic in battle, starts to show signs of distress. He brings Alice out, planning to save her by making her jump over the rope fence. He tries to tell her everything is alright, but she refuses to leave the others. Just as Kohta is about to throw her over, Saya's mother and her men show up to save the group and take them to the Takagi house.

Kohta is next seen in the garage at Saya's house working on the guns. Saya comes in to tell him that he should enjoy this while it lasts since they won't be staying forever. When he asks why, she tells him about the difficulties of securing water and electricity. Mr. maddo, the mechanic, comes in to say he has finished fixing the humvee, and, after seeing Kohta, says that kids shouldn't be playing around with guns. Saya notes that all the other people in the house are adults and don't take the kids seriously, so she calls a group meeting to discuss this. After the meeting and the demonstration by Saya's father, Kohta talks about how useless swords are in combat and how guns are much better weapons. Saeko corrects him by pointing out reasons why swords can be very effective. As Kohta starts to argue, Takashi tells him to stop and puts his hand on Kohta's shoulder, but this makes him furious and he storms out of the room.

Later, Kohta is seen kneeling on the ground surrounded by a group of men. He is desperately clinging onto the guns, which the men are trying to take away, stating that a kid doesn't need guns and he should share. He is pleading that nobody can use them as well as him. Soichiro shows up, asking Kohta who he is and why he needs the guns. He then asks Kohta what he can do. Kohta, who is crying at this point, cannot answer, but Takashi shows up and answers for him, telling Soichiro that Kohta is the protector of his daughter. The other members of the group soon show up to give their support as well. Last to come is Saya, who firmly tells her father that Kohta is the one who has been protecting her, not him.

(Manga)*
After they leave the bus, Kohta, Saeko, Saya, and Shizuka walk away from the bridge and soon meet up with Takashi and Rei, who are riding toward the bridge. The group decides to go to Shizuka's friend Rika's house for the night. Upon arriving at the house, Kohta is surprised to learn that Takashi has a gun and shows desire for it, but Takashi says he can see it later. Because of this, when the group fights a group of "them gathered around Rika's house, Kohta is forced to use his nail gun again.

Later that night, Kohta and Takashi are prying a cabinet open in Rika's bedroom. Kohta becomes very excited when he finds that the cabinet contains three high-grade and illegal guns. His sadistic side shows as he pulls the guns out and describes each one with great detail. He also knows details about a crossbow which is in the cabinet. He seems particularly excited when he sees the Ithica M-37 Riot Shotgun, explaining that it was used by American soldiers in the Vietnam War. When Takashi points the gun at him, Kohta freaks out, saying he should never point a gun at anyone, even if it isn't loaded. He says the only ones he should point it at... Takashi finishes the sentence with 'are "them"'. Takashi asks where Kohta learned so much about guns, he explains that, when he went to America, he went to a private military academy where he was trained by a Blackwater instructor for a month. The two then wonder what kind of person Shizuka's friend is since she keeps illegal guns at her house. They hear noises coming from outside and Takashi investigates, saying the situation on the bridge has gotten a lot worse. Kohta looks through the binoculars and says it reminds him of a scene in Apocalypse Now. He sees the people protesting and hassling the police on the bridge and wonders if they are conspiracy theorists or left-wing radicals. Takashi mentions that the left-wing radicals are no better than the right-wing radicals, and Kohta happily agrees with him. Their conversation is soon cut short by a gunshot from the news program on the television, which is broadcasting live from the bridge. They see that the situation is quickly escalating out of control, and they see an officer shoot the lead protestor, which causes the news program to quickly cut off. Kohta expresses a desire to leave the house. He is a little frightened when he sees a pair of hands reaching from behind Takashi, but it's only Shizuka. She is obviously drunk, and she refers to Kohta as Kohta-chan (-chan can mean "cutie" in this context) before kissing him on the cheek, which makes him very uncomfortable. His glasses fall down and he starts to have a nosebleed. After that he is somewhat incoherent when Takashi tries to talk to him. A short time later, Takashi goes to the balcony, where Kohta is, to investigate the sound of a dog barking. When Takashi arrive, Kohta tells Takashi with a dark face that "it is bad".

Kohta is next seen on the balcony again with Takashi and Saeko. The three are observing the large number of "them" gathered around the house and the chaos going on in the streets below. Kohta is holding his modified AR-10, looking down the scope, and he is very anxious to shoot. When he asks if they should shoot, Saeko reminds him Takashi that "they" respond to sound, and, furthermore, that other survivors may notice them and make their way to Rika's house. However, when they see a little girl, Alice, being surrounded by "them", Kohta cannot resist and, crying out "Let's Rock 'N Roll", he quickly lands a headshot on each of the ones around Alice. He then commends himself for being able to get a headshot with a new gun without even firing a test shot. He tells Takashi to go save the little girl while he covers from the balcony. When Takashi leaves, Kohta fires many shots, going through a full magazine and keeping Takashi's path free from "them". He is momentarily interrupted when Saya enters the room with Shizuka, who is completely nude, causing him to have another nosebleed. Saya reminds him to do his job and he gets back to shooting. As the group is preparing to leave and pick up Takashi, Kohta emerges wearing two flashlights on his head, a combat vest, and two ammo belts around his chest and holding both the shotgun and rifle. The girls are speechless when they see him. When they leave, Kohta provides cover from the roof of the humvee until Takashi and Alice are safely inside.

Trivia

 * Hirano is well-versed at the handling of gun-related arms, and is a very talented marksman, capable of taking down individual members of Them with only one shot each via headshot.


 * He generally serves as the long-range combat specialist of the protagonists.
 * He knows how to sing a gun parody version of "row row row your boat"
 * Hirano Kohta's character is based off the legendary Hellsing manga creator Hirano Kouta.
 * Kohta appears to have nosebleeds when in intimate situations, such as when Shizuka kisses him on the cheek or when he sees girls with revealing outfits.