Otonashi lost his memory in an accident and thus thinks his life has no meaning. Things start to change for him as the story progresses. He is the main male protagonist of Angel Beats! Armaments Glock 19
In episode 7, Naoi is asked by Yuri to hypnotize him so he can regain his memories. This turns out successful revealing he had a very ill younger sister who was his sole reason for living. After her death, Otonashi decides to become a doctor to cure others who are ill like his sister and starts to study frantically. On his way to take an exam, his train crashes because of a snow storm. This hints that he died at that moment. However in episode 9, it is shown he survives the crash and starts helping the other few survivors as much as he can, since he was studying medicine. He and the survivors are stuck in a dark tunnel and it is only after 7 days that a rescue team arrives. A few minutes before losing all hope, Otonashi signs a paper to donate his organs (and inspires the other survivors to do the same). Otonashi dies soon after, just seconds before the rescue team arrived. Over the course of the anime, he is the first of the SSS to try and understand Tenshi (Kanade). In the final episode, he confesses his love to her. However, it is revealed that Kanade's reason for coming to that world was she was unable to thank the person who let her live on - the person that donated their heart for a heart transplant. Kanade reveals that she knew it was Otonashi all along, stating that she realized he did not have a heart in the very first episode when she stabbed him. They embrace in Kanade's final moments, and she disappears from the world. Otonashi, overwhelmed by grief, screams out her name.
In the last moments of the final episode, an Otonashi-like figure is walking through a city street. He passes by a figure resembling Kanade, who is humming "My Song" (the final song that Iwasawa sings before she disappears). As he walks by, he suddenly stops upon hearing it. He turns around and walks after her, then runs and reaches out to touch her shoulder. The scene then fades to white, and the anime concludes.
