"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, and is a member of the Music Club with Makoto Ouji and Megumi Tatara at Yomiyama North Middle School.

Noboru is a fair-skinned boy of slightly below average height, with a somewhat sympathetic face that fits with his personality. He has short golden brown hair and golden brown eyes.

He is only ever seen wearing the standard male uniform.

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 Ōji and Megumi Tatara. He doesn't seem to take classes that seriously, as he can be seen sleeping behind his reader during Mr. 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 Sugiura'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.

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' major countermeasures discussions. However, he was among the students of Class 3 to directly welcome Kōichi Sakakibara on his first day. More often than not, he quietly sat in class; this does not mean he was especially attentive, as he slept through Mr. 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 Ōji, with whom he played in the school band.

Noboru was one of the students who went on the class trip. In "Makeup", he and Makoto 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 Kōichi of a fire, but foolishly chose to open the dining room's doors anyway, ignoring Kōichi'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 Maejima, Matsuko Arita, Yukito Tsuji, Yūya Mochizuki, Kōichi, and, later, Daisuke Wakui, among the few students to survive the hellish night.