Danganronpa Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Shuichi Saihara
Gallery
Sprites
FTE Guide Sonia Mini Pixel This article contains FANSLATIONS and needs to be updated to official translations. FTE Guide Sonia Mini Pixel



Some lies can lead the world to hope... Some truths can lead the world to despair... So I don't think anyone can really say which is more right in the end.

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony


Shuichi Saihara (最原 終一) is a student in the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles and a participant of the Killing School Semester featured in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony. His title is the Ultimate Detective (超高校級の「探偵」 lit. Super High School Level Detective).

History[]

Early Life[]

Before Joining Danganronpa
Danganronpa V3 CG - Shuichi Saihara's audition (2)

According to Tsumugi Shirogane, Shuichi Saihara is a fan of a reality show featuring killing games known as Danganronpa, created by Team Danganronpa. In his audience tape, it was revealed that he was eager to participate in the show as the Ultimate Detective because he adores a lot of characters with the titles in the past seasons. He is willing to do his best to use the talent to commit an unsolvable murder that will amaze the series' viewers, to the point where he can think of his own execution as the Ultimate Detective.

During his high school days, Shuichi attended Spring Field Academy (春原学院). However, it is unknown if this was part of his memory's fabrication or not.

Danganronpa V3 CG - Pre-Game Students in their talent outfits (Vita) (1)

Shuichi, along with the other talentless 53rd Killing Game participants, underwent the fabrication process, where all of his past memories and personality were permanently fabricated. He also received the talent and title that he so desired, the Ultimate Detective. All of this was done for the sake of satisfying Danganronpa's audience from all around the world. After the fabrication process was completed, Shuichi entered the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles as a completely different person with the other participants, officially commencing the 53rd killing game season known as the Killing School Semester.

Fabricated Past

After he was accepted to participate in the 53rd Killing Game, Shuichi's memories were fabricated by Team Danganronpa as followed:

Shuichi's parents are a famous actor and a screenwriter, who went overseas for business, which is why Shuichi began to live with his uncle and his wife. While Shuichi claims there isn't any sad story behind it all, his parents are neglectful towards him, and he smiles bitterly whenever he talks about them. To show his gratitude to his uncle, Shuichi helped him by working as his assistant in his detective agency. While he was only helping out and had no desire to be a detective himself, he learned to be a detective this way. Shuichi's first detective case was unofficial but a tough one, as his classmate asked him to find her miniature pet alligator, and he had to do a lot of research, prepare tools and eventually climb around mountains and swim up rivers. As thanks for finding her pet, Shuichi's classmate later gave him chocolate for Valentine's Day, though he assumed it was done just as friends. Shuichi was mostly happy to be useful and memorized her words "thank you". His first official case was an infidelity case, which was nothing compared to the alligator one.

Most of the cases that happened to come to his uncle were small things like investigating infidelity, but on the one rare occasion, Shuichi managed to solve a murder case faster than the police and became publicly known as the junior detective, gaining him his Ultimate title. However, Shuichi does not believe he deserves the title, claiming that he only happened to solve this one case by chance.[4]

In reality, the situation was more complicated. When the culprit was captured thanks to Shuichi, his eyes were full of hatred and malice as he looked at Shuichi, and the boy never forgot that gaze. Shuichi heard later that the culprit had killed the victim to avenge his family and the victim was a horrible person who had tricked the culprit's family and driven them to suicide. Shuichi felt guilty for "siding with" the victim and felt everything was his fault because he exposed the truth. He gained a fear of exposing the truth, considering himself a pathetic detective, and he began to wear a hat because he couldn't look at other people's eyes anymore.

Prior to the Killing School Semester[]

The Gofer Project[]

Main article: The Gofer Project
Danganronpa V3 CG - The Gofer Project (6)

Part of the fake backstory created for Shuichi and the other fifteen students was The Gofer Project, which supposedly happened before the killing game started. It was initiated by the government after countless meteorites crashed into Earth. To try and preserve the last vestiges of mankind before the Earth’s destruction, the government decided to select a number of excellent human beings, put them in a spaceship, and have them escape.

Shuichi and fifteen other high school students were chosen to participate. However, not wanting to abandon their loved ones, they attempted to escape from the plan.

Around that time, an extremist cult came into power. They believed that the meteor crashes was a punishment humanity brought upon itself, and having heard of The Gofer Project, they tried to stop it. As a result, the “Ultimate Hunt” started and spread throughout the world, and the sixteen students were hunted down.

Danganronpa V3 CG - Mass funeral for the students

The government then decided to counter the situation by faking the students’ deaths, calming down the “Ultimate Hunt” while providing protection to the students. The Gofer Project was then put into action while the Earth was being destroyed. Shuichi and the others went to space in a massive spaceship colony, the true form of Ultimate Academy of Gifted Juveniles.

Kokichi Oma who declared himself as a member of Junko Enoshima's Remnants of Despair said that he is the mastermind behind the Killing School Semester who let Monokuma enter the spaceship, effectively forcing Shuichi and the others to participate in the Killing Game.

Shuichi was able to receive the complete memory about The Gofer Project in Chapter 5 via the Flashback Light.

Killing School Semester[]

Main article: Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

Introduction[]

Upon the start of the game, Shuichi Saihara woke up inside a locker of an eerie classroom with overgrown vegetation and futuristic motifs such as an expensive looking monitor and blackboard. After stumbling out of the locker, Shuichi was greeted by another person around his age, who quickly introduced herself as Kaede Akamatsu. Frightened and confused, the duo quickly realized that it would be impossible to learn anything by sitting around in the classroom, and so they decided to explore their surroundings and exited the classroom into a hallway. However, a large robot called an Exisal was waiting for them and, unbeknownst to the couple, this Exisal was leading them to the gymnasium were fourteen other students had already gathered.

After encountering the fourteen other students in the gym, Shuichi and Kaede proved to be even more confused than before. Shuichi would only be faced with more questions than answers as all five Exisals appeared in the gym, beginning to threaten the group of students. Eventually, the ones controlling the Exisals realized that they had gone off-script and weren’t supposed to be using the Exisals just yet. Thus, the five controlling the Exisals exited the robots, introducing themselves as the Monokuma Kubs. The Kubs distributed sixteen new uniforms to the students, replacing their generic school uniforms so they can look more like "Ultimates." After everyone is dressed in their new attire, the Kubs give the sixteen students their first memory via the Flashback Light. Shuichi and the other fifteen talentless students underwent the fabrication process, where all of their past memories and personalities were erased and replaced with entirely new, fictional ones. Shuichi, and the other fifteen students, also received Ultimate talents, with Shuichi being given the title of Ultimate Detective. All of this was done for the sake of Team Danganronpa’s audience, so the Killing Game would be more interesting. After the fabrication process was completed, Shuichi and the others entered the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles as totally different people, officially commencing the 53rd Killing Game season known as the Killing School Semester.

Shuichi once again woke up in the same locker as before, along with Kaede. The two had no recollection of their previous meeting and as such, reintroduced themselves, both now under the impression that they were Ultimate students due to the new memory they had been given. Kaede believed herself to be the Ultimate Pianist, and Shuichi believed himself to be the Ultimate Detective. The pair explored the seemingly abandoned school, finding and introducing themselves to all fourteen other students before being told by the Monokuma Kubs to assemble at the gymnasium. Kaede and Shuichi, along with everyone else, headed there immediately and were introduced to the Monokuma Kubs properly, along with their father, the self-appointed headmaster of the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles, Monokuma. Monokuma announces that all sixteen Ultimate students would participate in a Killing Game, much to a majority of the students shock, horror, or displeasure. With the students’ complaints falling on deaf ears, the Killing Game had officially begun.

Attempting the Death Road of Despair[]

After the rules of the Killing Game were uploaded onto everyone’s Monopad, the students quickly became even more outraged at the idea of being forced to participate in a Killing Game. Despite the discord amongst the students, Kaede quickly proved to have the qualities of a good leader, uniting everyone through a motivational speech. Shortly after, Gonta Gokuhara, the Ultimate Entomologist, remembered a manhole that he had found inside the boiler room behind the school building. Shuichi and the others decided it was in their best interest to at least check it out, hoping that there would be a way out of the school.

Danganronpa V3 CG - The students despairing at failing the Death Road of Despair (2)

Descending the manhole, Shuichi and the others found a tunnel leading outside of the academy. Though everyone thought that the tunnel was probably there as a trap, they still had to test every single possibility in order to escape. However, Shuichi and the others exhausted themselves both physically and mentally as they found that escaping through the Death Road of Despair is close to impossible. Kaede’s stubbornness prompted Kokichi Oma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader, to revolt against the group, claiming that Kaede’s motivational speeches are actually the reason for their anguish. Thus, what little harmony the group had before the Death Road of Despair, came to an end. Kaede was quick to blame herself for breaking up the group so early on, but Shuichi and Kaito Momota, the Ultimate Astronaut, supported Kaede’s leadership. With everyone physical and emotionally exhausted, the group returned to the dormitory as nightfall descended upon the Ultimate Academy.

The First Motive and the Hidden Door[]

The next day, following everyone gathering in the dining hall, Monokuma would announce the students’ very first motive: the “First Blood Perk.” Monokuma explained that whoever decided to commit the first murder would be able to leave the Academy without a Class Trial as a reward for initiating the Killing Game. Upon hearing this news, some of the students grew increasingly frustrated with Monokuma and their situation in general. One of these students was Kaito, who didn’t even hesitate as he lunged to attack Monokuma.

This caused the Monokuma Kubs to show up, showing no hesitation to punish the Ultimate Astronaut with the Exisals for attempting violence against their father, effectively breaking the rules. The red Exisal charged at him but accidentally ended up crushing Monokuma instead, supposedly destroying him. The Monokubs were incredibly saddened by the sudden demise of their father, stating that he had no spare and that he was one of a kind. Upon learning this, the participant's mood improved greatly, thinking the Killing Game to be over. Kaede however, was still skeptical, but this skepticism was met with accusation of her wanting to continue the Killing Game from some of the participants, much to Kaede's dismay.

After that, Shuichi would approach Kaede in her dorm room, informing her that he too was skeptical of Monokuma and the Killing Game in general. Shuichi seemed to trust Kaede completely, guiding her to the library in the basement of the Academy where he had discovered a hidden door located behind one of the many bookcases. Due to the nature of the hidden door, Shuichi speculated that someone among the group was actually working with Monokuma, much to Kaede's shock and disbelief. Shuichi was just as stunned as she was and decided to test his own theory by sprinkling some dust within the card reader slot of the hidden door to see if someone was really going in and out of that door without anyone noticing. Kaede and Shuichi left the library after putting the bookshelf back into place and headed back to their respective dorm rooms.

The Additional Motive[]

Shuichi once again joined everyone else in the dining hall the next morning, only to find that Monokuma had, in fact, returned, much to the dismay of the students, but to the joy of the Monokuma Kubs. Monokuma goes on to reveal the additional motive, that if a murder did not occur within two days by noon, everyone who was forced to participate would be killed, effectively ending the Killing Game before it had even started. Despite Kaede's best efforts to try and keep everyone together, a majority of the group seemed too depressed to stay united and left the dining hall.

Shuichi once again took Kaede to the library and revealed the hidden door to her. Both discovered that the dust that had been planted in the card reader by Shuichi had fallen onto the ground, indicating that someone had used the card reader to enter through the hidden door. With this information confirmed, Shuichi hypothesized and stated that with the way Monokuma worded the additional motive it seemed that he was trying to protect someone and that the hidden door may be connected to Monokuma's revival. He then went on to state that if someone was being protected by Monokuma, and had the ability to create a spare of him, that they were the mastermind of the Killing Game.

Kaede was horrified to think that the one responsible for all their suffering was one of them and thought to herself that there's no way she could forgive such a person. Shuichi extrapolated that the mastermind might come to the hidden room if they needed to create a huge amount of Monokuma's. Kaede made up her mind and decided to believe in Shuichi's detective work and take the risk with him despite being warned by him that it's just his deduction and that he could very well be wrong. After reapplying the dust to the card reader slot, they both left the library once again and returned to their rooms.

Shuichi's Plan[]

Danganronpa V3 CG - Kaede Akamatsu and Shuichi Saihara begging Miu Iruma to build cameras (3)

During Shuichi's and Kaede's investigation of the library, they discovered a hidden door behind one of the bookshelves. Shuichi speculated that The Mastermind might come to open the door at any time. Hoping to catch the mastermind, they asked Miu Iruma to make them cameras that they would later set up in the library. They retrieved parts for Miu to make the cameras with from the warehouse. While there Kaede, unbeknownst to Shuichi, obtained a shot put that she secretly put in her backpack. Pushed by the first motive presented by Monokuma, Kaede planned to murder the mastermind and save everyone from the killing game without telling Shuichi.

Danganronpa V3 CG - Kaede Akamatsu and Shuichi Saihara setting the trap (5)

While Kaede was setting up and preparing her trap in the library, Shuichi continued to be oblivious to her plan as he set up the cameras. Later on, while they were staking out the classroom on the first floor, Rantaro entered the library and discovers the hidden door thanks to his Survivor Perk Monopad. As soon as he moves the shelf, he triggers the sensor on top of it as well as the hidden camera that Kaede set up, alerting both her and Shuichi. Shuichi rushed out of the classroom, but Kaede threw her shot put into the air duct that led into the library before quickly following him.

Danganronpa V3 CG - Hidden Camera Photo (1)

Once the duo reaches the basement, they are joined by Kaito Momota and Tenko Chabashira. They notice the bookshelf closing again as they enter the library and come upon Rantaro's corpse, who seemed to have been bludgeoned in the back of the head with a shot put. Shuichi, along with everyone else, is mystified as to why Rantaro was killed while Kaede is shocked and horrified, thinking that she accidentally killed a dear friend but kept the secret to herself for the time being.

Shuichi's Deduction[]

Danganronpa V3 Chapter 1 - Closing Argument Revealed

During the Class Trial, Kaede hopes to reveal the mastermind and bring everyone together. Shuichi however, quickly discovers the supposed "truth" that Kaede murdered Rantaro, but refuses to speak about that fact as to not condemn his friend. Unfortunately for him, this act of silence, as well as forgetting to mention the camera intervals to Kaede before-hand, catches the suspicion of nearly everyone else in the trial and he is quickly denounced as the culprit. As a result, Kaede is left with no other choice but to protect him, mentally apologizing to everyone for being unable to reveal the mastermind and save them. Shuichi realizes this, and vows to no longer be afraid of the truth and reveals her as the "culprit" to everyone else in the trial.

Everyone is shocked and in utter disbelief that Kaede, who wanted to end the killing game and save everyone, could be the culprit. Despite this, Shuichi is goaded along by her as to make him reveal the whole truth about her plan, much to everyone's dismay.

After everyone casts their vote, Kaede comes clean fully and admitted that she planned to kill the mastermind in order to save everyone and end the killing game. Shuichi was quick to blame himself for coming to the deduction that the mastermind would be in the library and giving Kaede that idea, but she corrects him and says that she brought this upon herself. Monokuma and the Monokuma Kubs are quick to execute her, but Kaito, Tenko, and Gonta Gokuhara immediately jump to her defense despite facing an Exisal. Kaede urges them to stop, saying that she's ready to die. Shuichi criticized her for giving up, but she reassured him that she isn't. She told him that she believed in him and as such, should believe in himself before being dragged to her execution, to which everyone watched in horror.

Danganronpa V3 CG - Kaito Momota hitting Shuichi Saihara

Shuichi is rendered stunned and silenced, but is quickly brought to his senses by Kaito, who slugged him and angrily criticized him for not doing anything after Kaede put all her thoughts on him and believed in him.

Danganronpa V3 CG - Shuichi Saihara imagining Kaede Akamatu's spirit playing the piano

After the trial, Shuichi with Kaito's recommendation visited the Ultimate Pianist Research Lab. He looked around and plays Debussy's Clair de Lune via the audio player and began to reminisce about Kaede. He made a vow to not look away from the truth anymore and believe in himself, essentially saying goodbye to her.

Exploring the Rest of the Academy[]

The very next morning, Shuichi is awakened by Kaito, who wanted him to get up for breakfast. Shuichi told him that he normally doesn't eat breakfast, but reasoning with the Ultimate Astronaut proved to be a waste of time as he ended up going with Kaito anyways.

Danganronpa V3 CG - Shuichi Saihara removing his hat

After arriving to the dining hall, it was revealed that Shuichi had opted to discard his hat, causing an eruption of various emotions from the other students. Regardless, the Monokubs appeared, presenting various items the students could use to explore other areas of the Academy.

Notable areas that were unlocked included the Research Labs of, Kirumi Tojo, Gonta Gokuhara, Himiko Yumeno, Ryoma Hoshi, and Maki Harukawa. The only Lab that Shuichi did not have a hand in exploring was Maki’s, the Ultimate Child Caregiver, as she refused entry to anyone and everyone who asked, preferring to keep total control over the lab and securing herself inside. Also of note was a mysterious treasure chest located just outside of Gonta’s Research Lab. Angie noticed it first but wanted Shuichi to be the one to open it. Once he did, they discovered an odd flashlight of sorts. Angie tried to persuade Shuichi to turn it on, but he declined, saying that if she wanted it to be turned on, she should do it herself. Angie decided to meet him halfway, deciding to take the flashlight, and inspecting it herself before running off somewhere.

Another area that became unlocked was the casino, which Kaito and Shuichi were able to access and explore together. Kaito was interested in all the games in the basement, quickly amassing a fortune. However, Monokuma showed up afterwards and goaded him with the possibility of amassing double the amount that he currently has. Kaito took the bait completely, thus beginning his downfall. He was left with half of his starting amount, but Monokuma goaded him more. Kaito stubbornly declared that he would earn it all back before continuing his losing streak, all the way down to his last coin. Shuichi could only watch his friend gradually lose everything. Monokuma laughed and mocked him, stating that watching people amass a fortune and loss everything was the best, before disappearing.

Finally, one of the areas that would become unlocked was the pool. Tenko, Shuichi, and K1-B0, the Ultimate Robot, were the first ones to investigate the area. Upon seeing the resort-like pool, Tenko became excited and stated that she had always dreamed of swimming in a pool like a famous celebrity, except for the fact that she didn't know how to swim.

Danganronpa V3 CG - The Ultimate Hunt

Later on, after Shuichi finished discovering all the new locations around the school, Angie told everyone to meet in the gymnasium, seemingly failing in discovering anything about the conspicuous flashlight. After everyone had gathered, Monokuma appeared and told everyone that it was a Flashback Light and that it had the ability to restore lost memories before leaving and letting the students decide what to do with it. Although everyone was skeptical at first, they eventually gave in and used it, allowing everyone, Angie included, to remember that they had been on the run from the "Ultimate Hunt". Though they could not remember the exact details and circumstances behind it, just that they had been on the run.

Two unlockable bonus scenes are available in Chapter 2, similar to Kaede’s Nail Art in the first chapter.

Danganronpa V3 CG - Commemorative Medal Set Scene

The first scene involves Miu, Korekiyo, Ryoma, Kokichi, and Shuichi, gathered in the casino in hopes of playing a secret game with the medal that Shuichi had received from the MonoMono Machine. However, Monokuma shows up and denies this, never stating such a thing in the first place and that the medal Shuichi had was just some knickknack he made for the Monokuma Kubs. Afterwards, Kaito showed up as well, and everyone got roped into a gambling competition. Kaito ended up losing to Ryoma every single time, once again continuing his pathetic luck at gambling. Kaito attempted to shrug it off as him stating that his skills are suited for outer space rather than gambling, though it was clear he was upset at his constant losses.

Danganronpa V3 CG - Everywhere Parasol Scene

The second scene involves Angie, Himiko, and Tenko requesting Kirumi to treat them like celebrities by the pool, with K1-B0 and Shuichi sticking around to watch.

The Motive Videos[]

During that same night, the Monokubs prepared the second motive, distributing various motive videos at random while the students slept. Shuichi ended up receiving Kaito’s video, which he watched the next morning revealing that the two closest people to the Ultimate Astronaut were his grandparents. He then joined everyone in the dining hall in order to discuss what to do with the motive videos.

The night after the motive videos were presented, Kaito invited Shuichi to the courtyard for training. They both ended up doing push-ups, though Shuichi had a harder time keeping up. Shuichi asked Kaito why he had to do this, so the Ultimate Astronaut replied by asking if the one Kaede entrusted her wish to was really this weak, still able to sense that Shuichi had yet to truly overcome his weakness. Shuichi angrily responded that he knew that, but still couldn’t help but feel scared of what would happen if he revealed the truth. Kaito encouraged him, seeming to understand what his “enemy” was now. As a result, from this moment onward, Kaito and Shuichi would always attempt to meet up every night to train together like this.

Gonta’s Insect Meet and Greet[]

Kokichi, wanting to make everyone watch each other’s motive videos in order to make the Killing Game "more exciting,” thought up of a plan. He lied to Gonta that everyone in the Academy hated bugs. Hearing this, Gonta cried and declared that he would get everyone to like bugs in an "Insect Meet and Greet.” As a result, two days after the motive videos were distributed, Gonta began to kidnap various students into his lab, completely unaware of the Ultimate Supreme Leader's true intentions.

Danganronpa V3 CG - Gonta Gokuhara finding Shuichi Saihara and Ryoma Hoshi

Kaito, who was able to evade Gonta, warned Shuichi about Gonta before making a break for it again. Shuichi saw this and tried to sneak out of the dormitory without Gonta noticing and ran into Ryoma who managed to escape Gonta's grasp using his Shukuchi technique, leaving Shuichi behind. Despite his best efforts, the Ultimate Detective is also detained by Gonta and brought to his lab, apologizing later for accidentally knocking him unconscious before continuing his kidnapping spree. Korekiyo, Tsumugi, K1-B0, and Tenko were among the first group of students to be kidnapped by Gonta. Shuichi would be a part of the second group of students which also included Angie and Himiko. Meanwhile, Miu, Kaito, Kirumi, Ryoma, and Maki would all be able to avoid Gonta, and would not be present for the meet and greet.

Danganronpa V3 CG - Gonta Gokuhara's Insect Meet and Greet (1)

Everyone panicked as insects began to buzz about and wreck havoc. In order to finally end this absurdity, K1-B0 used his recording function in order to convince Gonta that Kokichi had tricked him, much to the former's anger. With that, Shuichi and everyone else barring Gonta and Kokichi took back their motive videos before immediately leaving Gonta's lab, then heading to bed.

The Amazing Himiko’s Magic Show[]

Danganronpa V3 CG - Himiko Yumeno and Angie Yonaga's Magic Show (English) (14)

The next morning, Shuichi would gather with Angie, Himiko, Kirumi, Miu, Korekiyo, Tenko, K1-B0, Tsumugi, and Gonta in the gymnasium for Himiko’s Underwater Escape Trick. Angie explained the details of Himiko's trick before the Ultimate Magician jumped into the tank, having only a single minute to escape the water tank before the tank would fill with piranhas. Angie closed the curtains, but everyone grew increasingly worried as the timer continued to count down and Himiko had yet to come out. Gonta couldn't take it anymore and stormed onto the stage, wanting to save Himiko before the piranhas would fill the tank, much to Angie's disappointment. Once the timer ran out, the piranhas dropped into the tank along with some other large object, though Himiko had yet to come out of the tank. Tenko begged Angie to open the curtains, a plea that she promptly responded to by revealing the tank, however, no one was prepared for what they were about to see. Ryoma's lifeless, handcuffed body drifted within the tank for only a couple seconds before the piranhas stripped the flesh from his bone, leaving nothing more than a skeleton, the handcuffs, and his belongings behind. With that, the second investigation had begun.

After the body discovery announcement played, the remaining students gathered in the gym. Kokichi playfully urged Gonta to throw K1-B0 against the tank because it would take too long to drain by hand. Tenko helped Gonta use the Ultimate Robot like a battering ram and shattered the tank, flooding the gym with piranha-infested, blood-red water. K1-B0 would gather Ryoma's body and belongings in one place afterwards, seeming dejected that he was used as a mere object.

Shattered Relationships[]

During the fourth class trial, Shuichi ends up taking Kokichi's side and denounces Gonta as Miu's murderer. However, nearly everyone else refuses to believe this truth, even Kaito, who despite constantly praising and encouraging Shuichi after Kaede's death, accuses him of betraying his trust and stubbornly states that Kokichi is trying to ruin their friendship. Gonta meanwhile tearfully begs Shuichi to reconsider and continues to state that he could not be the culprit, but this is simply due to him having no recollection of killing Miu. Despite all the pleas and protests, however, Shuichi's allegation does not change, and with the help of Kokichi and K1-B0, he is able to pin all the evidence on Gonta. Eventually, Gonta and Kaito back down, and the former willingly accepts whatever truth they arrive at, claiming that he himself is too stupid to understand. Despite being completely for the truth, Shuichi is still very saddened to have to condemn someone as kindhearted as Gonta, as well as his and Kaito's friendship seemingly taking a heavy blow.

Following the trial and Gonta's execution, Shuichi becomes agitated with Kokichi but grows concerned when Kaito coughs up blood, hinting at his illness.

Clearing the Death Road of Despair[]

Shuichi, along with the other survivors, used Miu's inventions to cross the Death Road of Despair. They came across a large metal hatch at the end which they open up and discover the apparent state of the outside world. Shortly after, Kokichi Oma appears and proclaims himself as the ringleader behind the killing game and controls the Exisals to take Kaito Momota hostage in the Exisal Hangar.

Confusion and Conclusion[]

Shuichi would later join his fellow classmates in storming the Exisal Hangar, only to find a body crushed beyond recognition underneath the press machine, the only clue as to who the victim could be being Kaito's sleeve hanging out from the press machine, whereas Kokichi is still missing. Shuichi is horrified at the thought of having lost another one of his dear friends as the investigation begins.

During the Class Trial, Shuichi is quick to question whether or not the victim is actually Kaito, much to Maki Harukawa's annoyance. When the missing person arrives riding inside of an Exisal, he pretends to be Kaito before supposedly revealing himself to be Kokichi and showing everyone else a recording of what appears to be Kaito being crushed by the press machine, much to Shuichi's shock.

Later on in the trial, when the person inside of the Exisal pretends to be Kaito again, Shuichi refuses to believe it and confidently declares that there's no way Kaito could be alive, a deduction that Maki agrees with. Upon hearing this, the person inside of the Exisal begins acting like Kokichi once more. However, this deduction is eventually revealed to be incorrect. With thanks to Maki's additional testimony about what happened inside of the hangar, as well as the security system not working when she attempted to break the control panel, Shuichi realizes that no one other than Kaito and Kokichi could have been inside the hangar to pull off the victim identity trick. Upon realizing this, Shuichi notices that he overlooked a critical piece of information and that the one inside of the Exisal had to be Kaito pretending to be Kokichi.

Eventually, thanks to Shuichi's deduction and lie, Kaito is forced to reveal himself from the Exisal and tells Shuichi that he really is amazing for having worked out Kokichi's whole plan. Shuichi could do nothing but be sad at the idea that he was going to lose not just any other friend, but the person who helped him to stand up and encouraged him after Kaede died. Kaito apologizes to Shuichi, claiming that he was jealous of his talent as a detective and that it was his skills that helped them survive this long. Shuichi responds by saying that it was only with his help that he was able to do that, but Kaito could do nothing but cough up blood in response due to his illness, much to Shuichi's horror.

As Kaito was about to be executed, he told Shuichi and everyone else that he wouldn't accept their tears and that they should send him off in style. Shuichi tells him that he won't cry anymore and that he will make the impossible possible. Shuichi and the other students watch as Kaito's execution fails and he dies in the middle of it due to his illness, much to Monokuma's annoyance.

Later, after the trial concluded, Shuichi would go to the courtyard where he and Kaito would train. He was joined by Maki, and the two shared a short, but emotional conversation. They both agreed that the best thing that you could give to someone who had died is not sadness, but gratitude and that they are both thankful to Kaito for everything he had done for them and vowed to carry on his will and end the killing game. They were eventually joined by Himiko Yumeno and Tsumugi Shirogane, who also wanted to keep their promise to Kaito and began training with them, but their moment is cut short by K1-B0, who had lost his "connector" to the outside world and thus; was determined to destroy Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles and end the killing game himself.

Pursuit of Truth[]

During the final investigation, Shuichi along with Himiko went inside Rantaro's Research Lab. At first, the room was ambiguous and was hard to judge what his talent is based on the room's appearance. Later, Shuichi and Himiko managed to find a disc and discovered Rantaro's talent as the Ultimate Survivor via a recording made by Rantaro himself.

Shuichi, along with fellow survivors Himiko, Maki, Tsumugi, and K1-B0 decided to re-open Rantaro's case after discovering new truths related to his murder. Upon revealing Rantaro's talent as the Ultimate Survivor to everyone, and proving that Kaede did in fact not murder him and was executed unjustly much to his anger, Shuichi realized that the mastermind has to be one of them and, by double-checking everyone's alibis during Rantaro's murder, honed in on Tsumugi as the true culprit and mastermind of the Killing School Semester.

Tsumugi denied the claim vehemently whereas the other survivors are confused and shocked that the Ultimate Cosplayer could have gone through with such a plan. Shuichi however, made it very clear that Tsumugi was the only person who could have murdered Rantaro by using the hidden passageway in the girls bathroom, which also led into the hidden room that connected to the library.

Danganronpa V3 Chapter 6 - Closing Argument (11)

Tsumugi also did not give the same order to Motherkuma as the other survivors did (Aside from K1-B0 who was rampaging at the time and thus not present), saying "make" instead of "birth", which would have triggered its voice recognition software and created another Monokuma, proving that she would be the mastermind. Tsumugi continued to deny it, to which Shuichi said that she should refute. He deeply wanted to be wrong and not have to condemn another fellow friend or believe that any one of them could be the mastermind. Unfortunately, Shuichi's words are for nothing as he and the other survivors watch Tsumugi break and reveal herself as "Junko Enoshima the 53rd".

Tsumugi, now cosplaying as Junko, went on to reveal that everyone's memories of being students at Hope's Peak Academy, The Gofer Project, and shouldering their friends and families burdens as mankind's last hope, was all a false memory planted into their brains by the Flashback Light. In reality, everything they remember about attending Hope's Peak Academy and the outside world being destroyed was a lie. What they remember about Kokichi Oma being part of the Remnants of Despair was a lie as well, much to everyone's shock.

In reality, the circumstances behind their killing game are far crueler. After proving her talent fully as the Ultimate Cosplayer by cosplaying as some characters from Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, Tsumugi revealed that everything has been broadcast to a very peaceful world that has been enjoying watching the students of Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles kill each other, essentially revealing everything that they've been through as a reality-TV show and "Extreme Real Fiction". She also revealed that everything that took place in the Hope's Peak Series was nothing more than fictional events from a very popular anime and game franchise known as Danganronpa.

While the other survivors were quick to oppose Tsumugi and Monokuma, they both reveal that the participants of the Killing School Semester are also "fictional characters", whose memory, personality, feelings, and talent were all fabricated in order to provide an exciting setting for the killing game. Shuichi denies this immediately, but Tsumugi reveals herself as working for Team Danganronpa and went a step further and shows Shuichi's, Kaede's, and Kaito's, audition videos for the killing game, showing what sort of people they were prior to participating. Shuichi is considerably shocked upon realizing that his former self willingly participated in a killing game and that everything he had fought for up until now, all the relationships he had made, were all fabricated. Tsumugi chastises him for still being the same, weak detective he was at the beginning of the story as he falls into despair.

K1-B0 however, after hearing what "his inner voice" has to say, reassured everyone to not lose hope. Tsumugi corrected him and says that the voice K1-B0 hears is the voice of the people watching this killing game and that he is nothing more than an interactive communication device and camera for the viewers to interact and participate in the game themselves. Despite this, K1-B0 refused to give up on hope and that the people in the outside world don't want despair. Tsumugi meanwhile refused to give up on despair and stated that a world that enjoys killings could not possibly desire hope. In true Danganronpa fashion, they decide to settle this with one final, special vote where K1-B0 represents hope and Tsumugi represents despair.

Shuichi however, saw through the charade and cuts in, saying that neither choice is correct and that choosing hope would do nothing but cause the killing game to continue. Because of this, he decided to stop playing along and abandons his vote, hoping to end Danganronpa once and for all, much to Tsumugi's and Monokuma's chagrin. Eventually, Shuichi convinces everyone else to abandon their vote as well but K1-B0, in a last-ditch effort to keep Danganronpa going, is hacked by the audience. Tsumugi is proud to show that the audience does not wish for Danganronpa to end and explained that they supposedly deleted K1-B0's personality that kept getting in the way. Despite Tsumugi telling them that what they're doing is pointless, Shuichi refused to give up, still exclaiming that he will end Danganronpa and that their lives are not just show-things for their amusement.

Confident that his voice reached the outside world through K1-B0, Shuichi and everyone else abandoned their vote. Tsumugi however, bends the rules one last time and abandons her vote as well, which she revealed after everyone else did. Everyone is immediately confused and worried as to why she abandoned her vote as well. Tsumugi stated that if they're going to risk their lives to end Danganronpa, then she will risk her life to make it continue. Tsumugi is confident that Danganronpa will continue after abandoning her vote, meaning only K1-B0's vote will have any power as he is still being hacked.

When Monokuma displayed the results of the final voting, Shuichi smiles at seeing that no one had voted, proving that the audience does not want Danganronpa to continue. Tsumugi panicked and tried to make everyone reconsider, but it is no use as the monitors all turn-off, the audience no longer showing any interest. Shuichi tells her that her words are not being heard and that nobody wants a fiction that she created anymore. Tsumugi, upon realizing that Danganronpa was indeed over and done with, promptly loses all of her hope in living as she denied a world without Danganronpa, but had not prepared a proper execution beforehand and as such, leaves it to K1-B0.

K1-B0 does not hesitate and proceeds to execute everything, killing Tsumugi and destroying Monokuma in the process. Shuichi along with his fellow survivors take cover under some rubble during the chaos. K1-B0 eventually self-destructs, creating an opening in the glass dome for his fellow survivors to escape.

Shuichi's Fate[]

Danganronpa V3 CG - The survivors of the execution (1)

Shuichi survived the final execution along with fellow survivors Himiko and Maki by hiding under some rubble. Himiko was in a bit of a bind, but Shuichi helped her up before taking in their surroundings. The Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles had been completely obliterated by K1-B0. The remaining survivors wondered what would become of the fictional world now, but none of them had an idea of what to do now that everything was over. Maki questioned at first why they were still alive, but Himiko and Shuichi both stated that it must have been the outside world's will that let them survive.

Danganronpa V3 CG - The survivors of the execution (8)

To Maki and Himiko's surprise, Shuichi states that what Tsumugi said to them about the outside world may have been a lie and that Hope's Peak Academy and the Remnants of Despair might actually exist, though he has no proof to back up this claim. He also does not think that he would willingly participate in a killing game no matter how mad of a world he was living in, but once again it is mere speculation, though Himiko states that Kaito's insight might be rubbing off on him.

Despite not really knowing what is truth and what is lie, Shuichi along with the two remaining survivors resolve themselves to go out into the outside world and see the truth for themselves, and that if a lie had changed the world, then the story would not end.

Creation and Development[]

Shuichi was developed to be the true main protagonist of Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.

Shuichi's backstory references Shinichi Kudo from Detective Conan/Case Closed, who is also the protagonist and a famous high school detective, and whose parents are a mystery writer and a former movie star living overseas and have a "hands-off" approach to parenting.

His voice actress, Megumi Hayashibara was chosen to have Shuichi's Japanese voice. The main reason why Hayashibara, who rarely voices male characters, was chosen for voicing Shuichi is because she has a deep and vast experience connected to detective characters. Hayashibara helped the Danganronpa team on making Shuichi have more background story to make him more detective-like.[5]

Name[]


His first name kanji, (終一) shūichi, means "last one" while his last name kanji, 最原 Saihara, could mean "prime field" or "conspicuous wilderness".

Shuichi's first name foreshadows his role in the story, as it means "end one" and he was the one who ended the Danganronpa series. His full name, Saihara Shūichi, can also be shortened to Saishū, the Japanese name of the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles.

His name could be possibly unknown as his name showed "X△□●" and "???" for the names from the audition tape though this could have been the Mastermind's lie.


Alternate Fates[]


In Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (Demo Version), Shuichi was first seen at the end of the hallway and shyly introduced himself as the Ultimate Detective to Kaede Akamatsu. He admitted that he doesn't deserve that title. After the murder of Yasuhiro Hagakure occurred, he was seen inside the cafeteria, investigating where the murder weapon originated.

Appearance[]

Danganronpa V3 Shuichi Saihara Fullbody Sprite (Hat) (1)
NDRV3 Art Gallery Shuichi Saihara

Most of the time, Shuichi wears a black cap with three white stripes lining the back of it, and a silver star pinned near the front. Underneath the cap, he has short dark teal hair with a small ahoge. He has very pale skin and a slim figure. His eyes are gambogeish grey, with thick eyelashes.[6]

Shuichi's outfit is double-breasted and pinstripe, thin, grey stripes over a black uniform. His pants match his uniforms design, black with a pinstripe design to accentuate his long legs. His former school's emblem is on the breast pocket of his uniform, the pocket accentuated with a dull golden color to stand out from his generally dark, monotone uniform. His shoes are dark blue loafers that are both fashionable and easy to walk in, making it easy for him to investigate comfortably.

In the prologue, he wears his original school uniform of his original high school. He wears a blazer-style casual uniform with jacket, pants and a striped blue necktie. The collar on the shirt is large, making him look more gorgeous. He never lets go of the cap that blocks his sight, regardless of whether or not it goes well with his uniform.[7]

Personality[]

Shuichi appears to have quite a serious and polite personality. He often has negative remarks, frequently blushes and suffers from a cold sweat. With his unsure demeanor, he has a tendency to assume that other people can do things better than him, and he comes across as quite unreliable at first glance. Among the sixteen students, he is a boy who stands out for his submissiveness but also for his level-headedness.

However, Shuichi can also have a stronger attitude at times when the situation calls for it. He is the first to immediately suggest going after the mastermind during chapter 1 and goes to great lengths to trap them, showing an affinity towards proactivity. His hat is an especially sore subject for him and he dislikes to look at other people's eyes, which is why he wears the hat. When meeting Miu Iruma, she accused him of being a pervert with no reason, causing him to angrily yell at her to leave him alone. She had said that boys wear hats to hide their staring, which is obviously very poor reasoning, and Shuichi angrily told her he doesn't need an excuse to wear a hat.

Even though he is a very skilled detective with superior ability and insight, Shuichi lacks self-confidence, as he claims he hasn't accomplished enough to be called a famous detective. He also feels he doesn't deserve his Ultimate title because he only happened to solve a murder case by chance, frequently referring to himself as "kind of a detective", although Kaede Akamatsu says she doesn't believe something like this is possible.[8] In the bonus mode, he also feels inferior to fellow Ultimate Detective, Kyoko Kirigiri, who possesses far more experience as a detective than him. However, he later reveals to Kaede that his biggest issue with detective work comes from the first murder case he solved, which gave him a fear of uncovering the truth, which is something a real detective would never have in his opinion. He fears the guilt, consequences and the hatred he might receive and the pain he might cause if he reveals the truth.

Whenever Shuichi feels depressed, he tends to stay in his room and doesn't eat nor shower and at times he can even feel suicidal, but he can get moving with his friends' support. With Kaede assuring him that she believes in him and he should be more confident in himself, Shuichi promises he will try although he's not sure if he can. After Kaede decides to put all her thoughts on him and believe in him prior to her execution, and with Kaito's assistance, Shuichi's timid veil breaks considerably and he even stops wearing his hat, feeling that it was "getting in the way". He begins to show more profound confidence in his abilities as a detective and when interacting with other people. He always takes a very large role in every single Class Trial after the first one, choosing not to look away from the truth anymore and keep his promise to Kaede. He also becomes noticeably more vocal than before, displaying immense outrage during the final Class Trial after revealing to his fellow survivors that Kaede was executed unjustly.

Shuichi is also shown to take romantic relationships very seriously. During his Free Time Events, when Kaede asks him if he feels uncomfortable about women and romance due to seeing so many tough adultery cases in his detective work, he fiercely denies this and says he would never be unfaithful. During his Love Suite Event with K1-B0, it's shown that he only feels a bit uncomfortable about the idea of dating the robot because of the fact that he assumes he is asking for a pretense relationship. He tells K1-B0 he doesn't want a relationship based on lies, but gladly agrees to have a romantic relationship with him after he confesses that he truly is in love with Shuichi. In general, Shuichi is shown to be a bit shy about romance, but also very supportive and willing to make the other happy even if it's just dream-like situations like the Love Suite Events. Since he is a bit submissive, some other characters tease him by calling him a masochist in Chapter 4, as he often looks so pleased to obey orders (mostly from Kaito). Miu uses this as an excuse to boss him around and Shuichi looks a bit saddened that everyone thinks of him like that. During one of the conversations beginning Miu's Free Time Events, he even obeys Miu's non-serious suggestion and plays tricks for her like a dog.

It's later revealed that Team Danganronpa created Shuichi's character of the "weakest Ultimate Detective ever", with lots of room for character development. His original personality was shown to be a somewhat nervous and disturbed person, who was a big fan of Danganronpa and its detective characters. He stated that he was willing to do anything to be a part of the show and was shown to excitedly plan ideas for gruesome murders and his own detective-themed execution. Though, it should be noted that it is left unclear whether or not this is true and it could have been a lie made by the mastermind, as pointed out by Shuichi.

However, against Team Danganronpa's expectations, it turns out that while Kaede was the perfect protagonist for Team Danganronpa's plans, Shuichi is actually the type of protagonist needed in order to truly end the Killing Game and the series for good. In the end, he decided to give up both hope and despair, abandoning the game by refusing to vote, and ultimately ending it. While he lacks Kaede's optimism, strength, and charisma, he is also notably smarter than her.

Talent[]

Ultimate Detective[]

Shuichi's talent as the Ultimate Detective is a fabrication made by Team Danganronpa. As shown in the final trial, Shuichi was a normal high school student who has no amazing talent such as Ultimate Detective whatsoever.

Danganronpa V3 Shuuichi Shuichi Saihara Introduction (Demo Version)

Shuichi is a very skilled detective, capable of solving a murder case faster than the police, although he claims he only managed to solve the case by chance. However, Kokichi Oma's secret society is so mysterious that even Shuichi does not seem to know any organization matching up with it.

As a detective, Shuichi has a keen intellect and is a sharp thinker. While he is timid when talking to others, he is seen to be calmer and firmer when analyzing and doing reasoning. He suggests that there might be a "mastermind" among the students simply by Monokuma's claims. By the first trial, he is able to reach the truth faster than anyone else, but is hesitant to say it because of his "fear of revealing the truth". However, he progressively gets more confident within this area as we progress ingame.

In other languages[]

Shuichi's talent as it appears in official translations of Danganronpa material.

Language Talent Translation
日本語 Japanese 超高校級の「探偵」 Super High School Level Detective
中文(臺灣) Chinese (Trad) 超高中級的偵探 Super High School Level Detective *
中文 Chinese (Simp) 超高中级的侦探 Super High School Level Detective *
français French Le Détective Ultime The Ultimate Detective *

Relationships[]

Family:

Uncle[]

Shuichi is very grateful for his uncle for taking him in and taking care of him after his parents moved overseas. To show his gratitude, he worked as his uncle's assistant and learned to be a detective by watching his uncle's example. However, he had no interest in being a detective himself and was simply helping out. While Shuichi feels anxious over being a detective, he does not seem to hold it against his uncle, and they appear quite close.

Parents[]

Shuichi has a negative relationship with his parents, though he tries to hide it by claiming that he doesn't have any sad story concerning them. His parents are a famous actor and a screenwriter, and considered celebrities by most people, though Shuichi does not view them like that. After they went to live overseas for business, they left Shuichi to live with his uncle, and he appears bitter whenever talking about them though he forces a smile. Shuichi's parents are neglectful and prefer to not be involved with him, and Shuichi has stated that their way of being parents is "hands-off parenting".

Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles:

Kaede Akamatsu[]

Shuichi seems to strongly believe in Kaede, reassuring her and telling her that "if it's her, she can do it".[9] His presence appears to put Kaede at ease, due to his status as a detective, although she admits that he seems unreliable. She even attempts to help raise Shuichi's confidence by giving him pep talks.[10]

Shuichi admitted to not having a reason to trust Kaede when murders occur, which disappoints her, although she does learn to accept this since she believes he can solve cases easily if he puts his mind to it.[11] However, this changed when the two began to investigate the school together, as Shuichi came to admire her for her tenacity and determination, putting complete faith in her. He even bowed down to Miu when the two requested her service as an inventor, following suit after Kaede bowed first, which surprises and impresses the pianist.

Because the two spent so much time together, many other students pointed this out, and some more or less jokingly assumed they were dating, with Miu even crudely assuming that they're having a sexual relationship. Kokichi also cheekily asked Kaede about how far she's gone with Shuichi, but then claims that he simply meant how far they've gone investigating the building when she demands what he meant by that.

Relying on each other when the time limit was announced, the two worked together to set up cameras in the library to catch the mastermind by taking photos of whoever shows up. Cooperating together like this strengthens the bond between Shuichi and Kaede, especially after they finish setting them up and keep watch in the classroom. There, Shuichi confesses to Kaede why he's so insecure about his talent and rank as a detective, explaining the murder case he happened to solve, and why the culprit killed the victim. She encourages him, telling him that even if he feels bad, he still brought light to a terrible crime, and he should be more proud of that. Placing her hand on his, she tells him to be more confident and keep his chin up, to which he responds that he'll try his best.

Shuichi was devastated to find out that Kaede had murdered Rantaro, and desperately demanded to know why Kaede cared for others too much, to the point she committed a murder to save everyone. But his anger faded quickly as he was reminded that Kaede would be executed. He was shown to have attempted to save her, however, this failed as she was already out of his reach, and Shuichi was forced to watch helplessly as Kaede was executed.

Although hurt by Kaede's supposed betrayal, Shuichi still cried over her demise. He imagined her playing the piano after the trial, and was suddenly motivated to keep moving and break out of the school for her. He still thinks of her from time to time, such as in Chapter 3, when Korekiyo asks Shuichi if he wants to try speaking to the dead. Shuichi is interested in the idea for a second, thinking that there is only "one girl" that he wants to talk to once again. It's very likely that he was referring to Kaede; however, he quickly disregards the idea because he thinks speaking to the dead is impossible, and he only would've wanted to talk to Kaede after escaping the school anyway, to tell her that they finally did it.

When Maki started to realize her feelings for Kaito and struggled to ask advice from Shuichi, she asked him if he had liked Kaede. Shuichi then thought about Kaede reassuring him and holding his hand, indicating that he believes he did like her. However, Maki then pointed out that it would be weird to develop feelings for someone after you met them just a while ago, which offended Shuichi a bit, especially since Maki then refused to reveal her personal things and what she wanted to talk about.

In chapter 6, when the real case of Rantaro's murder is brought to light, Shuichi is enraged at the injustice Kaede faced, being falsely accused of a crime she didn't commit and therefore was falsely executed. He was later shocked when Tsumugi claimed that Kaede only encouraged him because the mastermind made her like that and that real Kaede would have never said that.

During the Love Suite fantasy event, Shuichi had the role of Kaede's boyfriend and they celebrated their first anniversary. Kaede seemed upset because he didn't call her "sweetheart", but by her name, instead. In the original Japanese, Shuichi was asked to call her with her first name instead of the way he usually refers to her as "Akamatsu-san." However, after Shuichi tried to call her 'sweetheart' for the first time, they both find it hard to regain their composure and especially Kaede is shocked. Slightly worried, Shuichi asked her if she is okay and called her Kaede again by habit, causing her to point out in slight annoyance that he went back to calling her that. Shuichi apologized shyly, but Kaede answers it's fine and a bit shyly admitted that she really likes his passive side. Shuichi blushed at this and became quiet, causing Kaede to tell him not do that and point out that she got very embarrassed too. Out of the blue, Kaede hugged Shuichi and they fell down on the bed. Shuichi began to panic, but Kaede asked him to hug her even tighter. Kaede admits that Shuichi's heartbeat is her favorite tune and that if Shuichi encourages her, she can do anything. Finally, Kaede asks if Shuichi will "do it with her" and he pulls her closer to him without saying a word. It's heavily implied that Kaede and Shuichi had sex afterward.

It should be noted that Shuichi is implied not to be a person other than himself in Kaede's fantasy like in many others, possibly implying that Kaede's ideal partner is Shuichi.

Kaito Momota[]

Kaito quickly becomes Shuichi's closest companion following Kaede's demise, and they come to share a close bond. After Kaede was executed in the first trial, Kaito states how Shuichi pisses him off the most and immediately punched him in the face, saying that he's angry Shuichi didn't do anything to stand up to Monokuma and that it was disrespectful to Kaede's memory to sit there and do nothing. Kaito backs down when the others criticize him for punching Shuichi, though, and when everyone leaves the trial room, he suggests Shuichi visit Kaede's talent lab. He says that although Monokuma made it, it was filled with things Kaede loved. Taking his leave, Shuichi follows his advice and visits Kaede's lab.

The morning after, he visits Shuichi's dorm to apologize for yelling and punching him and tells him that he's there to take Shuichi to breakfast. It was shown that Kaito visits Shuichi often and invites him to hang out with him, and makes him his "sidekick". They investigate together and help one another, Kaito saying that if Shuichi needs support, he'll always be around to help him. When Shuichi's stuck with clues in the Class Trial or feeling unconfident in his abilities, Kaito helps Shuichi by motivating him and staying on his side. In the original Japanese version, Kaito started to call Shuichi by his first name, while calling him "bro" in the English version, proving that the two shared a close bond.

They become distant after Chapter 4 because Shuichi had chosen to doubt Gonta as Miu's killer, which is actually led by Kokichi. Kaito, unwilling to accept the fact that Shuichi had a different opinion as a detective, becomes shocked and starts to distance himself. However, the two manage to mend their friendship during Chapter 5 and Kaito once again tells Shuichi to believe in himself and Kaito, just before the murder happened.

Shuichi was greatly saddened to discover that Kaito was the one who killed Kokichi in Chapter 5. Kaito told Shuichi that he was, actually, jealous of Shuichi for his deduction abilities. Because of his reasoning, they were able to stay alive, passing many Class Trials. Kaito made him promise not to cry, however, Shuichi had immense difficulty following through on this. When asked by Maki if he was lonely with Kaito gone, Shuichi confirmed this and admits that Kaito is the only reason why he is still alive. He was once again motivated by the death of another friend and was determined to keep moving forward. Many of Shuichi's happy memories during the killing game were shown to involve Kaito, showing that he still remembered him as a close friend and companion.

In Chapter 6, Shuichi felt upset when he figured out that his and Kaito's friendship is part of the fabrication along with Kaito's personality. However, Shuichi felt motivated by K1-B0 and believed that their friendship is true.

In general, Shuichi greatly admires Kaito for his honesty and helpfulness, though he does recognize his sillier moments. According to Shuichi, he has never been around someone like Kaito, and he says that his own insecurities and anxiety fade away in his company. He thinks it might be what he has been missing all this time and that "only someone like Kaito could tell him what he needs to hear". During Kaito's Free Time Events, Shuichi even gets a bit flustered by his own thoughts and feelings towards Kaito, considering that he's a boy. During the Love Suite Event, he also gets flustered when Kaito corners him against the wall and thinks it's hard to stay calm with Kaito so close to him in such a place. In Chapter 4, when the other students agree that Shuichi is a masochist, Maki points out seriously that Shuichi always looks so pleased whenever Kaito gives him orders and appears happy as the sidekick, and that he might just be into that sort of thing.

Maki Harukawa[]

Shuichi and Maki got along well after the events of Chapter 2 after Kaito brought Maki to their training regime. This resulted in the three doing exercises together, although Maki outmatched the two boys at everything they did. Shuichi seemed impressed with Maki's skills, and the three began to meet up nightly to do these exercises. As the two grew closer, Maki began to feel more comfortable around Shuichi, although she still had some trouble trusting others. Despite her cold and rather intimidating demeanor, Shuichi is one of the students who trusts Maki despite her status as an assassin.

Although Shuichi initially only trusted Maki because of Kaito, he grows to genuinely care for and believe in her. In Chapter 3, when Maki confides in him about her not feeling "human", Shuichi assured her that he can relate, as he has his own insecurities about his work as a detective. Because of this, Shuichi strongly supported Kaito's decision to take down Maki's "mask", as he believed he is the only one who can help her open up.

During murders, Maki often reminds Shuichi to "get a grip" as he is the detective. She even assisted Shuichi during Chapter 3's investigation, helping him creating hypotheses and finding clues. When on the discussion of Tenko's last moments, Shuichi and Maki work together to lie about Tenko dying instantly, so she wouldn't be able to kill herself inside the cage, despite Maki being the one who suggested this method in the first place. Shuichi told Maki that she helped him a lot with the investigation, although Maki only said that she found him surprisingly reliable during the investigation.

During the events of the virtual world in Chapter 4, Maki did make a point to remind Shuichi that he's a person before he's a detective, which he's touched by, despite her telling him he's more reliable during a murder case than daily life. Nonetheless, it's apparent the two have grown quite close to each other, with her asking if he's okay, making sure if he and Kaito aren't fighting when Shuichi forcibly logged him out to test something.

In Chapter 5, their relationship is slightly strained after Kokichi captured Kaito. When Maki attempted to save him, Shuichi held her back out of fear for her safety, claiming he didn't care if she is upset with his decision, or even wanted to kill him. Although Maki backs down, she angrily calls him a coward, to Shuichi's dismay. During the fifth trial, she repeatedly attempts to steer the crime into her own fault, threatening and insulting Shuichi when said Kaito was the one who survived, claiming that he was getting in her way to defeat Kokichi. Shuichi was visibly saddened by the fact that Maki did not share his belief in Kaito's survival, as he thought she would take his side on the matter. Despite this, he still strongly wanted to believe in Maki when it started to appear as if she was the culprit, and appeared relieved when Maki's testimony turned out to be flawed, proving she was not Kaito's killer. However, the two came to a disagreement again after Shuichi suggested Kaito murdered Kokichi until Kaito came out and confirmed Shuichi's story.

After Kaito's execution in Chapter 5, Maki and Shuichi went to their normal training spot and had a short, but emotional conversation about the events that had transpired, seemingly putting their previous falling out behind them and mending their friendship. Joined by Tsumugi and Himiko, they trained together and mourned Kaito. Shuichi and Maki then resolve to put an end to the Killing Game together along with everyone else.

During Chapter 6, Shuichi and Maki rely on one another as they investigate the school together. Shuichi expressed happiness at the fact that he and Maki have reached the point where he can tell that she's joking. During the last trial, it was partially because of Maki and K1-B0's offer to sacrifice herself that inspired Shuichi to abandon his vote, as he admitted the thought of Maki dying scared him due to what happened to Kaede and Kaito. Shuichi gave Maki courage to end the Killing Game, which resulted in her abandoning her vote as well. The two, along with Himiko, later survived together, escaping to the outside world.

During the Love Suite Event, Shuichi had the role of a kid from the same orphanage of Maki. Maki says that despite Shuichi and her being together for 10 years, she still didn't understand him. Shuichi is confused and Maki explains that he came to the orphanage a little before he entered elementary school. Shuichi agrees absentmindedly. Maki then again says that she really doesn't know everything about Shuichi. He then asks her what makes her think she doesn't know everything about him. She then blushes and Shuichi is confused at this. Maki says that Shuichi before used to play house with the other kids and it became difficult for her. She then asks Shuichi when he wanted to make a real family with her instead of a pretend one. Maki then goes silent and Shuichi asks what's wrong. Maki then gently held Shuichi's hand and says that she knew something was strange. Maki says that she wants to create a real family with Shuichi and not a fake one. Maki then asks Shuichi to promise her that he'll stay with her. Shuichi then nods his head as his answer.

Kokichi Oma[]

Shuichi didn't trust Kokichi due to his lying and unpredictable actions. However, he occasionally felt like he strangely couldn't sense any malice in Kokichi's smile. In turn, Kokichi appeared to be amused by and in some way fond of Shuichi, having stated that the other boy seems "decently not boring", which is a very rare and notable compliment coming from him. It is implied that Kokichi has a crush on Shuichi. He regularly calls him his "beloved Saihara-chan" in the Japanese version, and occasionally calls him "mister detective" or "mister Ultimate Detective". He also once called Shuichi "Shumai", as a parody to Kaito's "Maki Roll" nickname for Maki. Kokichi enjoys his company, finding him one of the most interesting person in the group and praising him at times. He has also more than once mentioned that he is "constantly thinking about" Shuichi, and claims that he is his favorite who he loves the most. On his whiteboard, it's shown that Kokichi has a more positive, though slightly unclear impression of Shuichi, considering him "trustworthy?". Considering his hatred of boredom, it seems Kokichi is intrigued by Shuichi's development. During the trials, he often does not reveal Shuichi's lies even though he notices them. He occasionally made fun of Shuichi's nervous personality, calling his hat "emo hat" and calling him and Tsumugi a "plain pair".

While he enjoys messing with him, Kokichi appears to feel some care for Shuichi and seems to be unwilling to actually harm him. Throughout his free time events, Kokichi tries to "kill" Shuichi and involves him in many of his selfishness and pranks, though he also seems to make sure Shuichi won't be harmed and seems to just mess with him with words. He also invites him to a tea party and suggests Shuichi could join his organization, so he doesn't have to die. In the last event, Kokichi hurts himself by playing the Knife Game and Shuichi takes care of him in worry. Kokichi is pleased by this and tells Shuichi he won, confusing the detective who answers that he wasn't even playing. Kokichi tells him that games can be won without playing them, foreshadowing the end of the killing game. He then claims he never had an intention to actually kill him. Since he has made Shuichi think about him constantly, he claims he has already "killed" him by "stealing his heart".

In the second class trial's back route, Kokichi notices Shuichi's lie, but decides not to say anything about it, instead, he supports Shuichi to present the evidence of Kirumi's crime since she's the only one who can do it. Shuichi thinks of Kokichi's actions as an "unexpected assist".

During Chapter 3, when the students talk about the resurrection ritual, Kokichi claims he'd rather have Kaede over Rantaro to come back to life because it would make Shuichi happy.

During Chapter 4, when everyone is inside the Neo World Program, Kokichi claims he would cry if something happened to Shuichi with a worried expression. When they're alone, he tries to offer his support for Shuichi, saying he wants to use him but also be useful to Shuichi as well. He attempts to separate Shuichi and Kaito, telling Shuichi that he should be his friend instead. Kokichi says he can help Shuichi save everyone, but Shuichi doesn't trust him and leaves without saying a word. Kokichi then mutters to himself about being dumped and rejected by Shuichi, but he says he won't give up that easily. Kokichi then helps Shuichi during the investigation and begins to call himself Shuichi's partner. He also tries to keep Kaito away from Shuichi, claiming that Kaito and his beliefs are a bad influence on Shuichi and that Shuichi is the only one who can save them.

During the fourth class trial, Kokichi keeps making fun of Kaito, especially whenever Kaito and Shuichi have a disagreement. He also keeps praising Shuichi and smugly points out whenever Shuichi agrees with his points and keeps emphasizing how well he and Shuichi work together. Shuichi mostly stays silent during these moments, appearing to feel a bit awkward and unsure of Kokichi's motives, though he does try to tell Kokichi to stop when he claims that Shuichi was "dissing" Kaito during their disagreement even though it wasn't true. Shuichi begins to feel increasingly suspicious of Kokichi and uses a lie against him, which seems to surprise Kokichi. Kokichi appears notably angered by this, saying that Shuichi has some balls lying to him, and then decides to ruin his fun as a detective by revealing the truth behind the case. Kokichi, in general, appears annoyed and angered because the other students hate lies so much, even ones that are harmless and used for good, and mocks them after the truth they love so much turns out to be so painful and hard to believe. After Gonta's execution, Kokichi seems to lose some of his sanity and begins to act exaggeratedly "evil". When he calls Kaito "pathetic", Shuichi speaks back to him by stating that Kaito always has them by his side, but nobody would want to be around Kokichi. He tells Kokichi he is alone and he will always be, which seems to genuinely affect Kokichi, whose face suddenly turns blank and he complains things got boring and he doesn't care anymore. In the end, Shuichi considers Kokichi an "embodiment of lies".

In Kokichi's Love Suite scene, his fantasy involves him being a legendary thief who's been captured by his archenemy, the detective Shuichi Saihara, with the scene including lots of sexual tension. It's revealed that Kokichi let himself be caught on purpose and actually wishes to get tied up and "interrogated" roughly, but Shuichi does not want to hurt him and is confused by the situation, which seems to disappoint Kokichi a bit. Shuichi continues to act very hesitantly and Kokichi says it does not matter how Shuichi feels, though he soon states he was lying about that. Kokichi asks if Shuichi is mad because he feels like Kokichi is playing with his heart and he says his head is always filled with thoughts of Shuichi. He tries to trick Shuichi by claiming that they are surrounded by Kokichi's subordinates, but Shuichi can tell he is lying. Kokichi then confesses he wanted to be caught by Shuichi and wouldn't mind whatever Shuichi would do to him with a deep sensual voice, stating this is the truth while having a blank expression, which is heavily implied to be a sign of honesty in him. Since Shuichi does not make a move, Kokichi says he wants to play with him, do a lot more with him, and pushes him on the bed. Shuichi tries to tell Kokichi to wait, slightly panicking and flustered by the situation, which turns Kokichi very silent and serious. He suddenly claims he was just kidding and suddenly runs off, which confuses Shuichi even more and he shouts after Kokichi. He wishes the other boy would stay but quickly smothers the thought. Right before leaving the room, Kokichi says he wishes to have more fun games with the detective next time they meet.

This is the only fantasy sequence in which Shuichi has his true role as the detective, and surprised Shuichi emphasizes in his thoughts that they're both themselves unlike in most other fantasy sequences, which might hint that Kokichi is indeed attracted to him.

During the bonus mode, Shuichi realizes that he cannot change Kokichi's lying which is a significant part of him and instead should try to understand him and his lies. In the end, Shuichi blushes while admitting to himself that he is intrigued by Kokichi, being drawn in and always wanting to know more about him. Shuichi says they should keep their relationship going after they get out of the academy.

During one event in the bonus mode, Kokichi claims that he truly respects police officers, who fight the bad guys yet get blamed by the public. He then says that the same goes for detectives and he gives Shuichi a somewhat back-handed compliment, saying that he's really amazing for taking such boring and unprofitable job. Interestingly, for once, he does not mention anything about it being the truth or a lie during the conversation.

Tsumugi Shirogane[]

The two were in good terms with each other and actually tried to help with each other with the situation. However, in Chapter 6, Shuichi was furious and horrified when he figured out that Tsumugi was the mastermind behind the whole killing game. Despite this, he still wanted her to argue and prove his deduction as incorrect showing that he doesn't consider her any less of a fellow friend or comrade, nor does he wish to condemn her either.

When she acknowledges his claims that she was the one who killed Rantaro and framed Kaede for Rantaro's death, Shuichi seemed to have broken all former ties with her and resolved himself to stop her and end the killing game. Shuichi became noticeably depressed when Tsumugi told him that his memories, feelings, talent, and personality were all fabricated for the sake of the killing game, but he is brought back to his sense when K1-B0 motivated Shuichi to not give up and lose hope.

During their Free Time Events, the two got along quite well. Shuichi would listen to Tsumugi about what it means to be a cosplayer, how much time and work goes into it, and how she became interested in cosplay in the first place. In the end, Tsumugi believes that Shuichi may have developed an interest in cosplay through their interactions and encourages him to try any costume of his choosing, believing he would look good in just about anything. As they listed off ideas, Tsumugi coincidentally listed off White Kanata as a costume he would look good in, which just so happened to be his favorite hero. Tsumugi became ecstatic upon realizing that she and him shared similar interests, as her friend who got her into cosplay in the first place also dressed as White Kanata. She grabbed his hand and flailed it up and down wildly, but became embarrassed when she realized they were holding hands, apologized, and let go, hinting at some sort of mutual attraction. In the end, Shuichi agreed to go to a con with her and try cosplaying out just once, mentally thinking to himself that they had become true friends. [12]

However, given Tsumugi's role as the Mastermind of the Killing School Semester, and her highly deceptive nature, it's unclear just how genuine this friendship is or if it was ever genuine at all.

In the Love Suite scene, Shuichi had the role of being Tsumugi's stepbrother. Shuichi was surprised when Tsumugi said that she likes him not as a brother. Tsumugi felt uneasy when Shuichi did not call her by her first name. She felt negative and asked Shuichi to encourage her by placing his hand on her cheek and she did to his cheek which he felt embarrassed about. Shuichi realized that they were acting like an actual couple but Tsumugi despite the fact of Shuichi not becoming her lover. In the end, Tsumugi told Shuichi that he loves her and it was implied that they had sex afterward.

Gonta Gokuhara[]

Shuichi generally treats Gonta in a gentle and patient manner, as he understands that Gonta is a very kind and innocent person. However, he can be a bit frightened whenever Gonta loses his temper. He can also be a bit uncomfortable with the way Gonta puts him on a pedestal due to him acting kind towards Gonta or because he seemingly possessed knowledge about gentlemen. During the Free Time Events, Shuichi helps Gonta to appreciate himself more.

During the fourth trial, Shuichi is shocked at the idea of Gonta being the culprit, with him even contemplating for a moment that the error in the virtual world may have somehow changed his gentle personality. However, unlike most other students, he thinks sensibly and wishes to discuss the possibility, because it is his job to find the truth no matter how painful. Even after it becomes more and more clear that Gonta is the culprit, Shuichi continues to treat crying and shocked Gonta with kindness and patience, and stops Kokichi from making him feel even worse. With a gentle but serious manner, he begins to summarize the murder case and tells Gonta that he can just tell him when he's convinced and that they can end it together. After Gonta's execution, he is briefly seen crying, much like Tsumugi and Himiko.

During the Love Suite scene, Shuichi plays along with Gonta's fantasy about having a practice partner for a party, though he is confused at first and isn't particularly fond of playing the lady role despite the fact that its pretense even in the fantasy scenario. Gonta is overwhelmed by Shuichi's kindness and despite Shuichi's attempts to calm him down, he grabs Shuichi's shoulders and they accidentally fall on the bed. Shuichi is intimidated by Gonta's massive body on top of him, and Gonta quickly gets up and is horrified by what he had done, even though it was just an accident. Shuichi tries to tell him it's okay, but Gonta feels very guilty because he noticed Shuichi had been afraid and tells him that he would never want to hurt him. Shuichi appears a bit surprised and touched that Gonta had noticed his fear at the moment, and comforts Gonta with a smile and assures that he's okay and they can continue practicing. Gonta promises to be a perfect companion and take care of Shuichi, which Shuichi believes as he reciprocates to Gonta's manners by offering his hand. Shuichi is convinced that Gonta is a gentleman, though the moment is a bit ruined by Gonta's assumption that "keep you up all night" is a correct gentlemanly response to this situation.

Rantaro Amami[]

When Rantaro met Kaede and Shuichi, Shuichi seemed confused about how Rantaro mentioned about everyone gathering and getting amnesia. He thinks he is some way mysterious and has some clues about his backstory. Rantaro is shown to have strong faith in Shuichi's abilities and considers him a real detective even though Shuichi himself doesn't. Later in Chapter 1, Shuichi became quite hostile towards Rantaro based on his suspicions about him being the mastermind and forgetting his talent.

In the Love Suite event, Rantaro has the role of a private tutor or a teacher of Shuichi. As the situation reflects the relationship between Rantaro and his younger siblings, he treats Shuichi like a child, which makes him a bit uncomfortable. Because of this, Rantaro assumed that Shuichi dislikes him, but Shuichi denies it. Rantaro is relieved that Shuichi doesn't despise him, but he states that he no longer would be his teacher, as he thinks he made Shuichi uneasy and he could be in danger with him. He wishes to protect Shuichi, so he wouldn't lose another person that is very important to him. He mentions the possibility of himself dying and while he claims he was joking, Shuichi doesn't believe him. Shuichi tells Rantaro he would rather hear his story even if it is a risk rather than leave Rantaro to deal with it alone. At the end of the event, Rantaro feels very glad, trusting Shuichi even more and waiting for the time to tell him his story.

During the bonus mode Love Across the Universe, Rantaro slowly warms up to and explains his situation to Shuichi. He is very glad that Shuichi believes in his goal to find his sisters since nobody else does. Shuichi promises to become Rantaro's traveling companion in the search of his sisters, which could even last a lifetime, and Rantaro is motivated to become a real Ultimate Big Brother with his support.

K1-B0[]

At first, Shuichi thought K1-B0 was one of Monokuma's relative which he declined, however, Shuichi was surprised how K1-B0 was a robot and also their classmate.

In general, Shuichi appears to be nicer towards K1-B0 than most of the other students, but he still does occasionally say "robophobic" things that anger K1-B0. K1-B0 appeared especially offended and angered when he was kicked out of the seance and replaced with Shuichi, blaming the detective and telling him that he won't forget this. However, Shuichi does sometimes encourage K1-B0 by telling him that he's fine the way he is, but he also feels a bit awkward whenever the robot shows off his rather unimpressive functions.

During the Bonus Mode, in the Love Suite, K1-B0 wonders about the meaning of love and asks Shuichi to be his lover so he can learn about those emotions. The robot goes overboard with listing typical things lovers do together and Shuichi calms him down by saying that maybe they shouldn't be in a relationship if K1-B0 doesn't truly like him. K1-B0 turns unhappy and assumes he was rejected, but Shuichi tells him it's not like that. K1-B0 then confesses that he might have fallen in love with Shuichi and wishes to exchange warm words and hold hands with him. They both feel nervous, but decide to hold hands, which makes them feel calmer.

If K1-B0 has a good time with Shuichi during the bonus mode Love Across the Universe, he wouldn't like to go back to the dorm and wishes to spend more time with Shuichi. He then explains while blushing shyly that his chest feels warmer when he is with Shuichi and he feels very calm.

Miu Iruma[]

When Shuichi and Kaede first approached Miu, she assumed that Shuichi was staring at her breasts. Miu then called Shuichi a pervert and that was why he wore a hat. However, Shuichi then stands up for himself and Miu gets startled by this as she thought he was a weakling.

Throughout the game, Miu gave Shuichi a lot of nicknames such as Kusaihara, Kuzuhara, Unogahara, Dasaihara, and Hamehara.

During the Love Suite event, Shuichi had the role of Miu's childhood friend. Miu tells Shuichi that she would allow him to sleep with her. Shuichi gets confused and Miu immediately gets annoyed at him. Shuichi asks her what she meant and Miu becomes annoyed and sad and wonders how he could be her childhood friend if he couldn't remember. She explains that when they were younger he always took care of her and still to this day. She says that he is the only one who knows her true self and he helped her become the Ultimate Inventor. Miu then says she wants to have Shuichi's kids and he immediately becomes shocked again. Miu then says how talented their kids would be with both of their talents combined. Shuichi becomes silent and Miu gets upset again as she thinks she's not good enough for him and wants to have his kids so he can't get rid of her. Shuichi begins to stutter as Miu tries to force him into having sex with her. Miu then moves towards Shuichi. It is implied that they slept together afterward.

Kirumi Tojo[]

When they first met, Shuichi realized who Kirumi really is and is surprised how she is popular because of her talent. She seems to care for Shuichi and obey him and the rest of their classmates. She even told Kaito to stop hurting Shuichi after the first trial ended.

Kirumi was really disappointed when Shuichi pointed her out as the culprit in the second trial. She still hadn't accepted her fate and tried to vote Shuichi as the culprit. He was depressed and upset when he got to see another friend getting killed. He seems to be also one of those people who tried to tell Kirumi to run away from her execution.

In the bonus Love Suite scene, Shuichi has a role of being Kirumi's master.

Tenko Chabashira[]

Tenko is extremely defensive of every girl that Shuichi came near in the beginning. She even told Kaede to watch out, since she thought Shuichi must be spending time with her just to harass her. Tenko believes that every boy has perverted fantasies running through their heads, including Shuichi. Even going far as to say his timid and quiet nature is probably a cover-up for how dangerous he really is.

Tenko is unsurprisingly harsh to Shuichi at the start, being a "typical degenerate male." Although she's able to stand his presence, Tenko made numerous attempts to intimidate Shuichi into going away, such as growling and hissing. This only confused him, and she got angry that he won't go away, and accuses him of only hanging around her so he could get rid of her, "so [he] can sexually harass the other girls." She eventually got so worked up that when Shuichi attempted to calm her down, she shrieked and flipped him because he touched her. She only continues to flip him a few more times until he passed out.

It is implied she does, however, feel guilty for hurting people severely, male or not, since she begrudgingly carried Shuichi back to his room after he blacked out.

In her second Free Time Event, she did apologize for making Shuichi black out, but accused him of having a fetish for being thrown around since he came back to talk with her. Tenko insisted she's as calm as calm can be, and told Shuichi of her training rules, like how touching boys will have her never master Aikido, which he's shocked by.

Even if Tenko is cold to him for being a boy, she did gradually manage to trust him more often, telling him that Neo Aikido would accept him for being a male, and she has a semblance of care for the detective. After flipping him, she recognized that he didn't have a lot of confidence, knowing he doubted himself a lot. She knew he lacks self-esteem, so he doubted his true strength. She tells him Neo-Aikido is good for lifting doubt, before proceeding to flip Himiko as well.

Shuichi recognized how gullible Tenko can be, and is concerned about her because of that. He's even the one who points out Tenko's master is a male as well, which managed to blow her mind. He noticed how low her spirit is because of this revelation, and wondered if she'll be okay.

Tenko thanked Shuichi for helping her realizing the truth, and confessed she was grown to trust him to a larger extent nearly on par as she did with her master. She told him that even if he's a boy, she saw him as a good person and proceeded to beg Shuichi to stop being a boy so she could shake his hand, which he vehemently refuses to do so.

Whether it be because she spotted Maki with him or not, Tenko also seemed to rely on Shuichi enough to ask him and Maki to help her convince Angie to stop the ritual in Chapter 3.

During the bonus mode Love Across the Universe, at the Love Suite, Tenko referred to Shuichi as her brother due to him being able to best her in a battle with his strength. She chose to see him as more than a simple blood relative due to him taking the path of Neo Aikido along with her. She organized the mock battle and bet so that whoever lost would be at the mercy of the others command, allowing them to do what they wanted. She plucked up the courage to state the reason why she made such a bet was because she liked Shuichi, revealing her feelings for him and wishing to engage in a relationship. She stated that the offer still stood for him to do whatever he wanted with her if he felt like it.


Korekiyo Shinguji[]

Korekiyo considers Shuichi a good guy but doesn't want him nor any other male to become friends with his sister. During the events of Korekiyo's Free Time Events, he would teach Shuichi any kind of knowledge and questions that he is curious about passionately such as differences among anthropology, history, and archaeology. The mysterious upbringing of Korekiyo intrigued Shuichi's curiosity as well, as he observed eagerly whether Korekiyo will take his mask off when he is eating and even asking him a myth that resonates with him. In Korekiyo's last Free Time Event, Shuichi who fully trusted him happily agreed with him to join on a field trip with him after they escaped the Killing Game as his first disciple.

As the Killing Game continues, Shuichi continues to find Korekiyo a bit creepy but has more trust in him. In Chapter 3, Korekiyo offered his help to let Shuichi communicate with Kaede's spirit, but he politely turned him down as he said that the only thing he wanted to say for the fallen victims is that he and the others finally manage to survive. He was also shown to be very creeped out about the way Korekiyo was talking about the rituals and the dead, and wanted to exit the conversation quickly. After Korekiyo was executed by Monokuma for his wrongdoing for killing Angie and Tenko, Shuichi has conflicted feelings about him. He still trusted him as a friend, yet he doubted Korekiyo would stop killing more victims for his sister even after they survive.

During his Love Suite fantasy event, Korekiyo has accepted to spend a night with Shuichi, though he makes it clear that there would never be love between them. In Korekiyo's fantasy, his partner requested to try BDSM with him, but Shuichi is unaware of this and he feels uncomfortable around Korekiyo, thinking that he is a bit scared of him, but is nevertheless curious about his fantasy. Korekiyo asks if Shuichi is afraid and gives him permission to run. He claims it will be scary only for the first time and pulls out a rope from under the bed, which immediately causes Shuichi to attempt escaping. However, Korekiyo catches his hand and pushes him on the bed, stating that he never said he wouldn't stop Shuichi if he ran. Korekiyo expresses interest in the beauty Shuichi will show, saying he will teach him thoroughly and make him feel the kind of pleasure he has never felt before. Shuichi is afraid of the potentially dangerous situation and can only gulp as he's unable to escape, but then his mind begins to turn blank and he starts to relax, and it's heavily implied that Korekiyo got what he wanted in the end. When Shuichi wakes up in his own bed the next morning, he wonders if it was just a dream, though he still feels quite sore.

During Korekiyo's graduation event in the bonus mode Love Across the Universe, Korekiyo says that he wants to travel with Shuichi and then introduce him to his sister because he is such a good friend, even though he was originally against the idea and doesn't normally allow any males close to her. Shuichi is confused with him talking about his "lover" and "sister", but he now has an unwavering trust in Korekiyo, unaware of the danger the other possesses.

Angie Yonaga[]

At first, Angie considered Shuichi pretty useless, and this is one of the main reasons she never thinks of Shuichi in helping her out. This is most notably shown when Angie never considered Shuichi in helping her out on Himiko's magic show. Like everyone, Shuichi finds Angie a weird person due to her believe in Atua.

In Free Time Events, Shuichi finds Angie's name very unique and seems to find her Island's culture weird due to having a lot of unique elements that not many Island have. Shuichi finds Angie's Art not normal. Apparently, Shuichi is the first person who has gotten mad at Angie, due to this fact, Angie can't get Shuichi out of his mind. In their last Free Time Event, Angie confesses her love to Shuichi without Atua "speaking" for her. Angie states that she wants to stay on Shuichi's side forever and want Shuichi to be her husband towards her own feelings. Shuichi is very happy to see she for one spoke for herself. However, he considers they’re not very close yet.

When she died, Shuichi felt very sorry for Angie, and states she only wanted to end this Killing Game and bring everyone together.

Ryoma Hoshi[]

During the Killing School Semester, Shuichi feels really bad about Ryoma's backstory and wanted to help Ryoma find a reason to live. Before arriving at the Ultimate Academy, Shuichi heard of Ryoma via the news and how he took down the mafia organization with a custom-made steel tennis ball. Ryoma considered Shuichi's talent very good and admired his detective skills during Class Trials and Free Time Events.

In Free Time Events, Shuichi was very interested in Ryoma's Tennis backstory and usually asked him various questions during Free Time Events about his friends from the tennis club, his love interest, and his family. Shuichi wanted Ryoma to play tennis once again and forget the past he ever faced. Ryoma immediately realized that Shuichi wanted him to return to play tennis for his sake and warned Shuichi to not make him play tennis anymore. Even though Ryoma wanted Shuichi to leave him alone, Shuichi didn't intend on throwing out Ryoma's relationship away. Ryoma, happy that Shuichi never left him, decided to teach him how to play tennis and play with him just one more time.

In Love Across the Universe: Dangan Salmon Team, Ryoma talked to Shuichi about a cat he used to have before going to prison and his strong relationship with it. Ryoma worried that the cat has already forgot about him. Shuichi affirms to Ryoma that his cat is being well cared by his new owner and denies to him about being forgotten by the cat.

In the non-canonical bonus mode Ultimate Talent Development Plan, during the Summer Sports Festival, Shuichi and Ryoma are seen playing table tennis twice in a friendly match.

Free Time Events & Bonus Mode Guides[]

The links below are full transcripts and in-depth guides for Shuichi Saihara's relationship routes in Free Time Events, Ultimate Talent Development Plan, and Danganronpa S Development Mode including his MonoMono Machine Present preferences and most effective dialogue options.

DRv3 Present 141 Shuichi's Undergarments Shuichi Saihara Bonus Mode Pixel Icon (1) DRS Development Icon
Free Time Events Ultimate Talent
Development Plan
Danganronpa S
Development Mode

Quotes[]

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (Demo Version) (English)

  • "I'm... Shuichi Saihara. They call me the Ultimate Detective, but..."
  • "We can't rule out suspects that way... We need to look at all the possibilities."

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (English)

Prologue:

  • "Ah, well...some dangers are hidden where you can't see."

Chapter 1:

  • "Kaede...it's not your fault. The underground passage was a trap. It was a trap to get us to think we could work together, then crush our hopes."
  • "Being strong-willed could get you into a lot of trouble around here..."
  • "...I'm not a real detective, Kaede. What kind of stupid detective is afraid of finding the truth?"
  • "For now...we need to trust each other and start a serious investigation. If we all lose our trust in one another because of this...it's all over! We have to believe in each other and investigate this case."
  • "We need to investigate this murder. Not because we don't trust each other, but because we *do*."
  • "You're not going to give up, right? You're...going to save everyone."
  • "I won't let your wish... ...go ungranted."
  • "Kaede wants me to reveal the truth. She trusts me with her wish... So...I can't back down. I need to fulfill her wish! I need to fight for the truth!"
  • "I didn't want to figure it out... I didn't want to know... But... I can't turn away from the truth..."
  • "I said I wouldn't back down. I made a promise!"
  • "...I need to answer! For her sake...I can't turn away from the truth!"
  • "Not at all. My belief in you...is gonna lead me to the truth! I'll show you what's behind all this! I'll show you your truth!"
  • "Kaede...why? Why are you smiling like that...? Why are you still trying to get me to be brave? Why, Kaede!? Why are you thinking about everyone except yourself!? If you had just been less selfless, you wouldn't have had to murder... Why...? Why do you do that?"
  • "I know we can do something! Don't give up until the end!"
  • "Yeah...I'll try. I don't know if I can do it, but... No...I'll do it! I have to believe in myself... I won't be afraid anymore. I will face the truth...for everyone. I promise."

Chapter 2:

  • "It sounds like everyone has taken Kaede's final wish to heart. Even if Kaede is no longer with us... Kaede's wish will never vanish!"
  • "That's not true, it's because of the wish Kaede gave me that I have to keep moving..."
  • "I made a promise...that I won't give up."
  • "I can't stand around doing nothing! I...promised her!"
  • "I'm...scared. I try hard not to be, but I'm scared. I can't stop thinking about...the pain and sadness that comes if I reveal the truth. That's what I'm afraid of..."
  • "Listen... I can't even begin to imagine what your life has been like... And I know that this is going to sound cliche, but... You shouldn't give up on life. If you keep living...I'm sure good things will happen."
  • "This investigation is to save all of our lives...because we're risking our lives in the Class Trial!"
  • "I don't think...you can uncover clues just by thinking about them..."
  • "He's right... I just have to do it. I have to believe in myself. I have to *believe* that I can do it. I'm going to survive. We're going to survive, together. Maybe I don't really understand it, maybe I don't have a reason— No! I want to live! I want to live a long life! I don't want to die! I can't die in a place like this! Never!"
  • "If this is where I find the truth... I won't avert my eyes anymore. This is...the wish she entrusted to me. I *will* find the truth. To get out of here, with everyone. Alive. I'm going to survive. I can't die here. In order to keep my promise to her... I will fight. I will fight for my life in this trial of truth and lies!"
  • "...I'm the Ultimate Detective. So it's up to me."
  • "Heh...it's true. That's not what a Class Trial is about. You're supposed to think logically, you can't let your feelings into it... ...It's absurdity, total absurdity. But then again...that absurdity saved me before, right? If I can trust my logic...maybe I should trust Kaito's feelings, too."
  • "Now you understand why I don't want your charade—I want the truth."
  • "It seems like our opinions are split on this matter...but if we focus on the evidence, the facts will become clear. All I have to do is show them and make them accept it. If I can't get them to see the truth now, my lie would have been for nothing... ...I won't fail."
  • "When we aren't consistent, our position looks weak. We have to work together!"
  • "That's important to remember... It's not as if everyone here *wants* us to find the truth. One of us is trying to sabotage this trial... If we can determine where this all started, we can determine how it ended. Yes, it's much too soon to quit. The trial has only just begun!"
  • "I will solve this mystery and show everyone the truth!"
  • "I...made a promise. As the Ultimate Detective, I made a promise to seek the truth. I made a promise to Kaede! So I'm not turning back now!"
  • "They're scared... They're scared that they have to accuse one of their friends of murder. So it's up to me... I have to do it. I'll use my detective work to prove it!"
  • "I'm doing this *because* I want to protect everyone! Your words aren't going to convince me now. Not when I know the truth."
  • "No more doubts... I'm confident I'm right!"
  • "In the end...I'm just like them. I'm scared of revealing the truth. Because it means that someone has to be sacrificed. But Kaede was scared, too... She didn't let that stop her. She thoughts thing through to the end. I faced the truth, and doubted it, and kept thinking, and kept going... This is where it led me. And I won't turn away from it."
  • "Maybe... Maybe facing the truth isn't enough."

Chapter 3:

  • "Even if it were possible to speak with the dead... I don't have anything to say. Not yet. The only thing I'd want to say is... We escaped. We finally got out of here..."
  • "Perhaps running isn't too bad... Perhaps we aren't strong enough to face it. In order to live until the end..." (About Kirumi's demise)
  • "Ryoma, you wanted to fight with us, didn't you? Was that not enough reason to live? You could've fought with us, we could've fought together...then you could have lived. We...couldn't have been your reason to live?"
  • "Yes, I can't back down now. The power of love in my chest has filled my throbbing heart! Full charge! I have no choice. I *must* go!"
  • "Overthinking things and worrying about what I "need" to do... When I'm with Kaito, I feel like...all of that stuff just fades away."
  • "I never once *wanted* to be a detective. I actually thought it wasn't too great a job. Uncovering people's secrets for money? ...It's the worst. But now, I feel completely different. If it's going to help my friends, I'll do it."
  • "My goal is the same as Kaede's. Get out of here, with everyone. And that means...I need to do something."
  • "The effigies were nearly perfect, but the real bodies still had traces of a soul. A soul desperate to live, struggling, fighting for life... That's something that can never be replicated. No matter what technology you have, you can't fake a soul."
  • "I don't know a lot about this place...but I don't know a lot about anyone either. That could be a good thing...or it could be a bad thing."
  • "In any case, I should focus on what I can do. What the Ultimate Detective can do..."
  • "Tenko's death caught us all off guard... Everyone is panicking. I have to keep it together. I have to work harder. Because I'm...a detective."
  • "I need to find the truth and pin down the culprit. For Tenko...and all of us."
  • "But this is bigger than the killing game. For the sake of the two who died... I need to reveal the truth of *both* their deaths."
  • "In order to live...we have to find the truth! ...And I will fight for it. I will fight with truth and lies in this Class Trial!"
  • "We shouldn't be satisfied with that. And if we keep thinking, we'll find the truth. And that means...we have to believe in Tenko! I'll make them all believe!"
  • "But...we can't give up. We survived. We can't give up, for the sake of everyone who died..."
  • "Live life facing forward." She said that to you, right? If you give up on living...you'd be betraying her memory. We're...all trying to keep our promises to the dead. This trial...it's not just for our lives, it's for everyone who's died as well. That's why we can't give up! This is our responsibility! We live on!"
  • "If implicating Himiko was the plan, then disrupting that plan might teach us something. For that reason...I have to lie!"
  • "I have to pin down the evidence and convince everyone!"
  • "Well...that's why we have to work together, right? Face it together. Our Ultimate talents are the best weapons we have."
  • "The tears we shed... I can't even describe it. We were crying about what we had been through, and what was to come... Sadness, hatred, frustration, discord, anger, love... Tears filled with emotion. But at the very least...they weren't tears of submission. They were tears to push us forward."

Chapter 4:

  • "Tenko... It's not embarrassing to express your feelings, it's only human... Himiko has changed, just like you wanted. She's not so lazy anymore... She's working hard, trying to live well. But...you exchanged your life for that. It's not fair..."
  • "Kiyo, you said... How you come to terms with death determines how you live. Perhaps...I understand what you mean. By facing Kaede's death...I was able to embrace my own talent and move forward. ... But I don't know if I'll ever truly understand your answer."
  • "Angie... You had strange methods, but you rejected the killing game and wanted us to live in harmony. But all that was taken away for some stupid reason. I never knew your Atua, but I will never forget you."
  • "I'm just happy... It's, ah, really nice that you're working with us like this."
  • "There's a fine line between criminal and detective."
  • "The only time I can use my detective talent is after someone dies... A detective...can't save anyone. I'm only useful after it's already too late."
  • "We can't keep going like this... We need to find a way out. I need to solve all of these mysteries."
  • "I need to keep my promise to Kaede. I need to find the truth."
  • "I promise, I'll go right back afterwards. And I'll make sure we stick together." (to Gonta)
  • "I know you want to be positive, but that doesn't mean you have to start sprinting. You don't want to live *too* fast. It makes me worried."
  • "My friends die...and all I can do is solve their murder after it's over. There has to be something more I can do..."
  • "To protect my friends... I need to reveal the truth of this academy. I need to face the truth and reveal it to the world. I have to...to keep my friends alive."
  • "I hope Maki is right. We can learn more about each other after we get out... No. We will become friends! We will definitely get out of here!"
  • "My ability...is to gather evidence and reveal the truth. So I can't run away from this."
  • "...Alright. My talent...is solving mysteries. So that's what I'm going to do."
  • "The fact is, if we don't find out who the culprit is, we'll all be executed. But I won't let that happen. I'll find the culprit so that we can all survive."
  • "Regardless...there's only one thing I can do. I can't be afraid... I can't get lost now. In order to protect everyone, I have to do something."
  • "Yes...I have to keep it together. This is the only time my talent can shine. I'm not just saving my life...everyone's life is on the line. If I can't find the truth here, everyone will be sacrificed... And I will never let that happen—"
  • "There's no way to get used to it, really. The fear of death. We were all fighting it, trying to be courageous. We all felt as though we were going to our own execution. No, not an execution. A test of our will to survive!"
  • "What we have to do is find the culprit who killed Miu. It doesn't matter how many little mysteries we solve, if we can't find the culprit... It would all be for nothing."
  • "I might not like it, but... I have to be aggressive. If we don't get the whole truth now, everyone's lives are in danger."
  • "If we want the truth, we might have to ask uncomfortable questions... I know how important is to believe. But as the Ultimate Detective... ...I know we can't solve this case with belief alone."
  • "But as the Ultimate Detective, I can't turn away from the truth! I need to find the truth!"
  • "We have to face the truth, even if we don't want to. We have to defend that point!"
  • "That's not it at all. I just want the truth. If we're going to survive, I have to find the truth!"
  • "I need to face the truth... Everyone's lives are on the line!"
  • "Kaito, I know how you feel. I know because we all feel it. But...we have to face the truth. No matter how cruel that truth may be, we *need* to face it...to survive."
  • "I can't doubt my detective work. If I want us all to survive, I can't back down!"
  • "Pathetic? Look at yourself, Kokichi. Kaito always has us by his side, see? But no one wants to be around you. You're alone, Kokichi. And you always will be."
  • "I thought... I thought I could help... I wanted us all to survive... And I wanted it so damn bad, I kept fighting for it, figthing for the truth... By trying to survive, we're just playing the stupid game... ...Just like Kokichi."

Chapter 5:

  • "I don't think you need a makeover. You're great just the way you are, Keebo!"
  • "Perhaps Kaito's confidence is baseless... But it's sort of a relief to have someone so confident in a time like this. A hero... He might really be one."
  • "I suppose there's no point worrying about that. Not if I want to focus on moving forward. It's the only thing I can do... Keep moving forward."
  • "That's right... That's exactly right. To keep the promise I made to Kaede... I will never give up! I can't give up!"
  • "Beyond this door is our normal, peaceful, boring lives... We'll be able to go home... To those normal lives..."
  • "Let's fight, together! Against despair!"
  • "We all stood in unison. We each felt the power of hope coursing through us, driving our bodies. The hope born in this academy, a tree of life with roots down deep... It was supporting each and every one of us."
  • "I won't hesitate anymore. Kaito has taught me... I have to do it. To live, to find a reason to live... I will fight."
  • "We need to find the truth here, with our own hands. And reveal that truth in the trial."
  • 'I don't know if we'll find hope or despair...but we have to find the truth. It all starts there."
  • "To solve this mystery and find the truth behind it... I'm going to begin the investigation!"
  • "There are still questions... The truth is still far out of reach."
  • "We had lost the will to live, knowing what we know about the outside world. But somehow...despite that despair, we had found a new reason to live. To win the battle between hope and despair. We don't know what hope means to us anymore. What is hope....? A burden you bear?"
  • "I can't say for certain...but I still believe. But I will fight to prove it. I will fight with everyone. To grasp the hope on the other side of this truth..."
  • "If we keep discussing the case, I'm sure we'll see the truth!"
  • "...I can't look away from the truth."
  • "Maybe we do have the truth now, but this isn't over. We have a choice to make. We don't have to follow where the evidence leads. Kaito told me that only I would be able to grasp what lies beyond the truth. That means finding the truth is not enough. We need to grasp the hope just beyond it."
  • "If you don't tell us the truth right now, you'll be an accomplice to Kokichi's lies. Does that sound like a fair game? Would you say this Class Trial is fair?"
  • "I believe in my own logic... And...I believe in Kaito... From this point on, it's not about logic! It's about how far I'm willing to go! I believe in you, Kaito. Not as a detective...but as Shuichi Saihara."
  • "A lie...or the truth? Even now at the very end, I don't really understand Kokichi... But maybe that's what lying is all about. The truth is in the eye of the beholder, huh? Kokichi...was the very embodiment of a lie."
  • "I don't care if you're sick! I don't care if you're dying! I won't let Monokuma touch you!"
  • "That's...enough! Enough of your bullshit, Monokuma! I made a promise to Kaito! I will end this killing game! And to give Kaito's death meaning, I swear I *will* keep my promise!"
  • "Someone we all trusted, and Someone none of us trusted... We lost the both."
  • "I'm sure that our friends who've passed on...don't want to see us miserable."
  • "Monokuma said that there's no hope anywhere... But he's wrong. There is hope. My friends are my hope."
  • "Kaito said it best... I'm not alone. That's right. I have friends. Not just my friends here, but also friends who have died... They all gave us their hope too. That's why...I'm going to live. I want to live for everyone who died. Despair cannot defeat me. I will hold on, and survive no matter what. Thank you...Kaito."

Chapter 6:

  • "Our hope is...everyone here. Our friends who are still alive."
  • "Because there might still be hope. There might still be a place to call home. If there are still questions to answer, then we haven't found the truth. And that means...we can't give up! We can't give up before we reach the truth!"
  • "...Just as I said before. We need to find the truth in order to end this killing game. To truly end this killing game, we must find this mastermind of despair... and also find hope. But if we look for it, we just might find it. If we don't try...we'll never find anything. So we have to try."
  • "We need to find the hope and despair hidden in this academy... When all is revealed... this killing game will end!"
  • "I have to determine which things he said were the truth and which were lies."
  • "But all mysteries conceal some truth... There is still a truth to find in this killing game. Whether that truth is hope or despair...is another matter entirely."
  • "I'm going to do everything I can... No giving up... I won't give up on hope... I need to keep hope alive..."
  • "We trusted her when she said to leave everything to her. If we just stand around here, we're not respecting her wishes."
  • "If we reveal the whole truth there, we can end this killing game."
  • "I don't want Monokuma to win. *We're* going to win. Our hope is going to end this game of despair! That ending *is* hope for us. ...And we can't give up on hope."
  • "Our final battle! Our hope will defeat your despair!"
  • "...No sense worrying about that now. We've come this far, we just have to do it. To end this killing game, we have to follow his rules one last time... and win this Class Trial."
  • "There's no point in worrying anymore. Right now...we only need to think about getting out of here alive."
  • "I'm sure...this is the end of despair. And the beginning of hope. Everything ends here. Everything."
  • "Reaching the truth *together* is what cooperation means to me!"
  • "Although we were forced into these class trials by the mastermind, that's how we survived! It was the only way... It was the only way we could survive!"
  • "No matter how many false memories we've been implanted with, *we* aren't fictional!"
  • "The reason we're all here right now is because of them... Because of them... I was able to change. That's why I was trying to live for them, too... I was trying so hard to stay positive... But...if even that's a lie..."
  • "I can't fight...for a lie, can I?"
  • "Everything's a lie... Everything's meaningless... Everything we've done, everything we've faced together... ...All of our feelings..."
  • "We got this far...and you're telling us to sacrifice more of our friends?"
  • "It's because of hope that this whole thing is happening! I reject that hope!"
  • "The people watching probably feel the same way... They want hope, too. Even if it's fiction, everyone wants to feel hope... It gives them...courage. And this killing game continues because we keep giving them the hope they want. While they ignore all the tragedies that we had to suffer to get there!"
  • "Don't you see? If hope wins, the killing won't stop! It's *because* hope wins that the killing never stops! That's why I'm going to reject that hope."
  • "No, you don't get it! It's not going to end, it's going to keep happening! Over and over!"
  • "When Maki said she was going to sacrifice herself just now, I thought... Why? So many of our friends have sacrificed their lives. Why Maki? Why now? Why do we have to go through it again...? The sorrow of losing Kaede...and Kaito... Why do we have to feel that sadness over and over and over again...? Why do we have to bear that burden...? Well, I don't care how much the audience wants it, I'm not gonna feel that way anymore! I don't want anyone to feel that way anymore!"
  • "Even if this is fiction, even if we're all fictional... The pain in my heart is real! The sadness I feel when I lose the people I love is real! I won't forgive this game that treats us like toys. And if this is what the world wants...then I reject that world! I'll fight the world that inflicts suffering for entertainment!"
  • "Then I'll fight the outside world from within this fiction."
  • "I reject both hope and despair!"
  • "I don't give a damn. This killing game is over anyway. New characters are created just to show the outside world a fictional hope. They get written into these killing games, forced to betray one another... And at the end of the slaughter...the tragedy, the despair...hope always wins. Well I've had enough of it. We're going to end this right now! We won't let it end the way they want! We won't make a good ending or a bad one! To end this killing game...and end it forever... We will reject Danganronpa!"
  • "Tsumugi...you were right. I'm weak. I'm weaker than everyone else... If I didn't have my friends, I'd be useless. That's true even now! If Keebo and Maki didn't stand up... I would have ended it all right then. But it's because I'm weak and because I lost my way...that I finally realized. I finally realized how cruel this "hope" really is."
  • "Himiko, we can put an end to this insane killing game. But, Himiko...you have to choose, okay? You can't look away. You can't back down. You have to choose. Only those who have found the truth can choose their destiny!"
  • "Our lives are our strongest weapons! And with these weapons, we revolt against the outside world!"
  • "It's okay, Maki. Believe in me. And believe in yourself, just like you believed in Kaito. That's why you have to fight, even if you're scared. Because you have that strength. Come on, it'd be a lousy story if the hero gave up so easily!"
  • "Even if it is fiction! It's because of everyone's sacrifices that we've come this far! Their deaths have to be more than just fiction... There must be something we can do! We're going to use this fiction to change reality! We're going to end Danganronpa!"
  • "It's not that I want to die! We fought so hard to survive... Of course we don't want to die. But it's not just about us. Everyone who died in the killing games felt the same way. They were all desperate to live. They wanted to survive. For themselves...and for someone else. That desire...isn't fictional to us! That pain isn't fictional to us! To us, the killing game is real tragedy! That's why we have to stop it! We won't let this happen ever again!"
  • "We reject hope and despair! We refuse to bow to the demands of the outside world!"
  • "Fine, be bored... We're not here for your entertainment. We're trying to survive! You're the ones who want us to be entertaining! If you're going to complain...perhaps you should just stop watching. Even if we have to make the entire audience hate us, we're not going to stop. We're going to end our tragedy here."
  • "I know we can change the world! We owe it to Keebo to try! The impossible is possible! All you gotta do is make it so! You can even...change the world. No, we *will* change the world. For ourselves, and everyone who died."
  • "Even if we die, it's not the end! Our friends who died...gave us their love. And we changed because of that. If we can inspire change in others, then that love will live on. That love will tear down the wall between fiction and reality, and it will live on...forever. That's why...I'm going to change the world. As long as I have their love, I will change it! Even if this whole story is a lie... I will use that lie to change the world!"
  • "You never appreciated us... And it looks like you didn't appreciate the power of fiction! No one wants you anymore! No one wants to hear your sick, twisted stories anymore!"
  • "Come one, everyone! We should be proud! We were able to change the world in the end. If this is all just fiction, then everything we've achieved up till now might be a lie. But those lies... They changed the world. Even if we are just fictional characters someone made up. We were able to change the world."

Epilogue:

  • "The killing game is over... The class trials are over... And the fictional world...is over. So then...where are we? Another fictional world after the fiction has ended? What's left for us here?"
  • "53 times, hope moved forward. 53 times, the suffering continued. The world on the other side of the fiction, the real world."
  • "But we survived. ...And that's the truth."
  • "So, come on, everyone. Let's head outside. With confidence. The outside world is waiting."
  • "Yeah...but I feel like...there's not too much meaning in truth and lies... I mean that...even if something is a lie, even if it's fiction... If it has the power to change the world, then it must contain some kind of truth. Aren't we proof of that? In this fictional world, we overcame all these fictional struggles... But those things changed us. And we were able to change the world. So it doesn't really matter where the truth ends and where the lies begin. If lies can change the world just as well as the truth can... Then lies...are just another way of telling the truth. Some lies can lead the world to hope... Some truths can lead the world to despair... So I don't think anyone can really say which is more right in the end."
  • "We stand with one foot in fiction, and one foot in reality..."
  • "Yeah. Let's go. We'll see what this world gained, and what it lost, and all the rest. Let's find out, together. To other side of this world... To the other side of fiction... Let's find out, together. It's what we could accomplish."
  • "The story lives on. I'm sure, even now... Even on the other side... It lives on there, as well. And thus, the story lives on. Was this lie able to change something? Was this lie able to change someone? Was this lie...able to change the world? If it was able to change even the smallest thing... ...Then the story isn't over."

As Pre-Killing Game Shuichi:

  • "I've always been such a huge fan of Danganronpa and...always wanted to be in one... If I were a contestant, I would want to be...an Ultimate Detective. I know there've been a few in the past, and I've always loved those characters... So I would want to be one of them. Ah, but, I don't *have* to be a detective. I'll be anything to be part of the show. And I mean that, anything. I'd do... anything to be a part of Danganronpa. I promise, if I get selected... I will work as hard as I can! I will come up with the best, most gruesome murders, I promise! Everyone will love it! And an Ultimate Detective hasn't been the blackened yet, so I'm sure I can do that! I'm also thinking about...the perfect punishment for an Ultimate Detective..."

Class Trial Interjections:

  • "THAT'S WRONG!"
  • "I AGREE!"
  • "I'LL REVEAL THE TRUTH!"
  • "I'LL CUT THROUGH YOUR WORDS!"
  • "I HEARD IT!"
  • "IT HAS TO BE YOU!"
  • "IT'S YOU!"
  • "THAT'S IT!"
  • "THIS IS IT!"
  • "THERE!"
  • "I SEE NOW!"
  • "IT CONNECTS!"
  • "I SEE IT!"
  • "THIS IS OUR ANSWER!"
  • "IT ENDS HERE!"
  • "THIS IS THE TRUTH OF THE CASE!"
  • "I REJECT THAT HOPE!"
  • "FICTION HAS THE POWER TO CHANGE REALITY!"
  • "I WON'T LET YOU USE OUR LIVES FOR ENTERTAINMENT!"
  • "IT'S NOT POINTLESS, WE'RE GONNA USE OUR LIVES TO CHANGE THE WORLD!"
  • "TOGETHER, WE'RE GONNA END DANGANRONPA!"

Free Time Events:

  • "Well, perhaps not all detectives do that... but it was my uncle's policy. And it's a policy I agree with. People have reasons for running away...so the case is only closed when all parties are happy."
  • "The knowledge it took to solve that case... became the foundation for my detective work. And...I was so happy to be of use to someone. I can still hear her "thank you" to this day."
  • "I'll never forget this moment. I'll be able to believe in myself and be proud of being a detective." (to Kaede)
  • "I know that Ryoma hasn't lost his passion for tennis. After listening to the way he talks about his old tennis friends, I'm sure of it. Maybe I can help Ryoma accept his feelings!"
  • "I don't think it's so easy to throw away the burdens we carry. It's hard to see what you're carrying on your own back. Even if you wanted to throw it all away, I'm sure some is still there, clinging to you. Something you can't quite get rid of, like a coffee stain on your shirt. Ah, well... My uncle used to say that all the time... He taught me that detectives always look for the "stain" on people. That’s how you find the truth. That’s how my uncle did it, anyway." (to Ryoma)
  • "I've been told not to get involved countless times before. But... I don't intend on throwing our relationship away, Ryoma. And I won't let you, either. You knew the consequences but stuck to your feelings anyway. I respect that. I don't want someone I respect to tell me that they have nothing. That's why I want to stay by your side...as your classmate, and your friend."
  • "Our fierce battle began... Over the course of the match, I realized why Ryoma test me like this. ...Because that's just Ryoma's way."
  • "Ryoma hasn't lost his passion for tennis. I'm so glad that I could help him face that side of himself... That's what this was all about, right? I helped him find the fun of the game again, because of our bond as friends. As long as we have that bond, no opponent will ever beat us."
  • "I know myself better than anyone. I know I'm not special."
  • "I choose my own path. I'll be just fine, even without your help."
  • "No, that's not true! If that's what's bothering you... Asking for help and solving problems faster will help your master, too...won't it?"
  • "If I think about it as an investment for my future, it's not so expensive. And most importantly... you get to keep your honor."
  • "Honestly, I feel like Kirumi would be totally wasted on me, but... I want to see...the same potential that Kirumi sees in me."
  • "Art sure is difficult to understand..."
  • "But choosing a husband is an important decision, you need to think about it more!"
  • "But you can't pick a groom so casually like that. You're going to be with them for the rest of your life..."
  • "I think I'm regretting this a little bit... I want to ask my past self why he thought it was a good idea to hang out with Tenko."
  • "The notorious misandrist is actually accepting me... I suppose the distance between us has closed somewhat. We understand each other. Perhaps that's not much of a "bond," but it will do."
  • "But I'm sure that, as long as you're working hard, she'll be just fine."
  • "Watching her little brother work hard and succeed is the best medicine."
  • "I would like to go with you, Kiyo. We'd have fun no matter where we went."
  • "Yeah! I think it's good that...you have so much fun with your inventions."
  • "It doesn't matter if you're augmented or not. You're a living, breathing human being, Miu. So you can't hurt yourself like this!"
  • "Gonta is brimming with positivity... Gonta really is pure."
  • "A friendship born from battle... I suppose that can happen."
  • "You should think about what constitutes a gentleman more carefully, Gonta."
  • "You know, Gonta, you say that, but... I know how truly amazing you are. I don't think you need to work so hard to be a gentleman. You're already incredible. The reason you developed your Ultimate Entomologist talent... was *because* your forest family taught you so much about insects and animals, right? So you should be proud of that, Gonta. No matter what anyone says. Your forest family helped you develop into the talented man you are today!"
  • "That's plenty, Gonta. From now on,as long as you work hard as the Ultimate Entomologist, your family will accept you."
  • "Gonta...you're a more amazing person than you think you are."
  • "No one likes being tricked, Kokichi."
  • "He's putting a lot of effort into messing with me..."
  • "That's true. Even if it's just one person... anyone would be encouraged by that. But that one person has to be special. It has to be someone like Kaito..."
  • "Kaito is always so honest and approachable. He's willing to help you with anything... Only someone like Kaito could help me. Only someone like him could tell me what I need to hear. ...Ah, n-never mind. I shouldn't be talking about another boy like that..."
  • "You're right. Being a detective is a trivial job... You dig up dirty secrets for money. That's the whole job."
  • "Alright, so he's foolhardy. But he supports me and expects nothing in return... He does so much for me... I could never turn my back on that. I will never betray his support and trust. I will never break my bond with Kaito!"
  • "Kaito's smile was as bright as starlight. I couldn't help but smile back... Everything is going to be okay. As long as we have this, we can move forward. Sometimes I feel as though I'm dragging him down, but I know I'll catch up one day. I bet he'd laugh and tell me I have a lot of nerve for a sidekick."
  • "I have nothing to say... Toying with me would be putting it lightly. I don't think there will ever come a day when I truly understand Kokichi. I reach out to him... But he doesn't take my hand. But in his own way...I think that helps me understand him a little."
  • "A promise... A promise that we'd make it out of here. Tsumugi and I will keep that promise. We have that bond now. But...cosplay, huh? I suppose it doesn't hurt to try."
  • "Ah, well... How do I put this? I was just thinking...you really are the Ultimate Robot. To Professor Idabashi, Keebo is more than just a robot."
  • "I've said this before, but...you really are the Ultimate Robot, Keebo. You shouldn't think of yourself as merely "ordinary."
  • "Yes, that's true, but if you keep getting more business experience... I think it will help you learn new emotions as well. That's why I want to help you, Keebo. As your friend."
  • "We shook hands, one human, one robot. But that's not what's important. There's a real connection here. A true bond between me and Keebo!"
  • "Himiko and I are both focused on the same goal. Getting out of here. It's because of our bond that we can stand together like this... If I put my trust in this bond, I know we can overcome anything!"
  • "How much is Maki carrying on her shoulders? Such small shoulders..."
  • "Maki, you're a normal girl at heart. I want you to live a normal life."
  • "Maki faced me with a sly grin. I grinned back. I didn't think it was possible. The two of us, smiling together. But I know...it's because Maki and I share a special bond. And I swear on that bond, we will escape together!"
  • "If the environment is harsh, perhaps the culture developed that way as well."
  • "Ah, well, regardless...you don't have to face this alone. We can do it together."
  • "When I get out of here, I'm going to travel the world with Rantaro...maybe for a lifetime. I never expected this would happen... But Rantaro trusts me. And I want to keep my promise. I want to keep this bond between me and Rantaro...forever."
  • "A piano duet... Two people playing piano together. When I was first learning, I didn't quite get it. But now...it feels nice. I played the low notes while Kaede played the high. Together, we played a melody. Of course, my playing didn't compare, but Kaede carried me. Perhaps that's what gave it a magical sense of unity. At first, I was so focused on Kaede sitting next to me that I couldn't focus... But as we kept playing, it got easier. It felt perfectly natural. It's like Kaede and I... have become one."
  • "I was only able to have this great experience because I met you, Kaede. I know that this is an... abnormal situation... But I'm still so glad that I met you."
  • "I kind of understood what Kaede was trying to say. I think that's because we have such a strong bond between us. But when we get out of here... I might want to take this even further..."

Love Suite Events:

  • "I wonder what kind of ideal Ryoma is picturing. He seems...embarrassed."
  • "...I'm not only seeing you because I get something out of it, Ryoma."
  • "At least tell me why you don't want to see me anymore. I deserve an answer. I'm not trying to make this hard, just... I won't believe it until I hear you say it."
  • "I don't know what will happen in the future. But I know I'm happy now. It's alright...I won't run away. Ryoma...please, don't run away either."
  • "I wonder how it will be with Kirumi. I don't know if she has any weird fantasies."
  • "Your feelings of respect and love for me can never be a bad thing! I won't let you talk that way, Kirumi!"
  • "I wonder what Angie's fantasy is, with her head always full of Atua..."
  • "But Tenko hates men... What am I getting myself into?"
  • "Tenko, I...can't do anything to you... And besides, if I can do "anything," that means I can do nothing, right?"
  • "Kiyo's fantasy... I'm a little scared of him... But I won't deny I'm curious."
  • "Miu's fantasy... I am prepared for total absurdity."
  • "What kind of fantasy will Gonta have? Something heartwarming, perhaps?"
  • "Inspired by Gonta's impeccable manners, I reciprocated and offered my hand. He may not look the part, but I am convinced Gonta is polite and kind. A gentleman."
  • "Kokichi's fantasy... I can only imagine how insane this will get."
  • "No...wait a minute. We shouldn't be arguing... I'm in Kokichi's fantasy. I should calm down and play along."
  • "...I'm not gonna do anything to ya. From here out, you're the cops' problem. If you're tryin' to rile me up to give yourself a chance to escape... No dice, Kokichi."
  • "What kind of fantasy does Kaito have in mind? I'm nervous... but I want to know."
  • "What if we kept racing forever? I'm sure some races would be fun, others bad... but somehow I know that... we would always enjoy them. Together. I...feel the same way, Kaito. I love flying with you."
  • "I was so caught up in the fantasy that I forgot where I was for a minute. But with Kaito so close to me, in a place like this... It's hard to stay calm."
  • "What kind of fantasy does Tsumugi have...?"
  • "She batted her eyelashes at me in a way that was impossible to misinterpret. Her eyes, her lips, her body... They begged me to take her. Her lips a smile, she sauntered toward me. She spoke slowly, letting every syllable sink in. I felt like her voice had wrapped around my brain, caressing it. I couldn't help it... She had me."
  • "But...do robots have fantasies...?" (About K1-B0's fantasy)
  • "I don't have a plan for the future... but I know I want to help you, Keebo."
  • "I may not have much experience with love, but I know I can't turn him down..."
  • "What kind of fantasies could Himiko have? Her whole life is a fantasy."
  • "Maki's ideal fantasy... I wonder what that could be like..."
  • "What kind of fantasies does Rantaro have? Honestly, I have no idea..."
  • "Protect me... from what!? I can't keep up with this fantasy... Rantaro is an enigma, I suppose it makes sense that his fantasies are too."
  • "That... That hurts me, Rantaro. Thinking about you carrying this burden all by yourself hurts me. Rantaro is just trying to keep me safe, but I can't let him go... Maybe you see me as just a student, so you don't think I can protect you... But I don't *want* to be sheltered and oblivious to everything. Rantaro, you're going to quit being my tutor, right? So I'm not just your student. I'm your *friend*. You can tell me anything. I know I can help you."
  • "What kind of fantasies does Kaede think about...?"

Love Across the Universe:

  • "The memory you have of your cat is helping you get by in here... And I'm positive that your cat wouldn't forget about such a kind owner. Cats are smart, they know these things."
  • "It's true that when I first met him, he wasn't thinking about the future at all. Now, he's always looking forward. Knowing that I helped him change... Nothing makes me happier."
  • "Even if it is too late, perhaps your time here gave you a new important thing."
  • "I discovered how calloused and strong his hands were... I am certain that these hands can find what he threw away. I can't prove it, but I believe it."
  • "Maybe you're right, maybe you won't ever be able to cut it correctly... But if you embrace the truth...you may be able to develop a countermeasure."
  • "Having a weakness makes you a bit more...approachable. Cute, even. If you cover all of your weaknesses, you'll lose that bit of charm."
  • "It's true, you have to work to overcome your weaknesses."
  • "Some things aren't worth thinking about."
  • "Our eyes met as we exchanged promises. I know that we won't have to break them. I know it. And I know that Kirumi feels the same way."
  • "Love is a tough subject... It might not be something to discuss with others."
  • "Intelligence isn't the most important quality."
  • "Some gentlemen may indeed be smart, but there are others whose gift is kindness. You just have to find the best way to be a gentleman for *you*."
  • "Gonta's hand was much bigger than I anticipated... These hands...can reach any goal they want to. I'm sure that he will get his families to reconcile. I can say that with conviction. I am Gonta's best friend, after all. "
  • "I can't imagine a Kokichi Oma that isn't a liar..."
  • "...Kokichi is right. I want... I want to know more about him. Where do the lies end and the truth begins? What about him is true? What about him is not true? To find all that out...I shook the hand extended to me. He can lie about a lot of things... But he can't hide the warmth of his hand."
  • "I'm your sidekick...but I'm also your friend, Kaito. Maybe you don't show weakness to your sidekick. But you can to your friend. If you don't want to open up to your sidekick... maybe you'll open up to your best friend. How about it, Kaito?"
  • "I'm really glad I met Kaito. So in at least *one* way, I'm thankful to Monokuma. I'm sure Kaito feels the same way. But we don't have to tell each other that. We don't need words. I know exactly how Kaito feels, without them. This bond might just be the special something I acquired here."
  • "I don't think popularity matters when it comes to picking a cosplay..."
  • "I'm positive that the modification will go smoothly. And if something goes wrong, and you're not Keebo anymore... I would still want to be friends, Keebo. So you don't need to worry about that."
  • "Keebo is a robot. I am human. But that difference doesn't matter. We're best friends, no matter what. No matter how many times Keebo is modified... Even if Keebo isn't Keebo anymore, he will always be my friend!"
  • "I imagine Himiko having so much fun... She's smiling, crying tears of joy... And I wish from the bottom of my heart that that day comes sooner rather than later. My wish... Her wish...will definitely come true. I will do everything I can to see that wish granted."
  • "Even if you killed *me*, I don't think I could blame you for that... Isn't that part of being friends?"
  • "Some things are better to forget. The memories...are too painful."
  • "If it's going to help you, Maki, I'll do it. No matter how tough it gets. No, I'll go even further! I'll make it so that you have no choice but to quit being an assassin!"
  • "I will never give up, Maki. I swear it."
  • "I know that you love piano, Kaede. I would never tell you to stop thinking about the thing you love."
  • "Ah, I was just thinking about how happy I was to meet you, Kaede. If I never met you, I never would have found the beauty of piano... I would never know how much fun it is to play or the richness of its sound... I'm so happy that you showed me those things, Kaede."
  • "We have all the time in the world. Once we're free. And I want to spend every second of it with you. There might be bad times, sure... I know it won't always be easy. But I know...that I'm looking forward to my future with Kaede. And I know that she feels the same way. We may not have said it in words, but... I feel like we didn't need to."

Ultimate Talent Development Plan:

  • "Ah...okay. I don't know what I'm supposed to do, but...I'll try."
  • "It's fun, isn't it? Thinking about the person being happy..."
  • "It's alright to depend on others when you need to. I'll give you some advice someone gave me. Don't try to do everything by yourself. Sometimes, asking for help is exactly what you need. Even if it's something small."
  • "But aren't there times that make you think...you want to really trust someone? Even if you might get hurt?"
  • "If I ever find myself in trouble, I can look back at my time with your inspiration, Kaito."
  • "We're already this close to graduating. I think you can be more confident."

List of Appearances[]

Trivia[]

  • It's implied that he can have romantic feelings for a person regardless of gender.
    • He is fine with accompanying both female and male characters during the non-canon Love Suite Events, with him only appearing uncomfortable with untrustworthy individuals. Even when he's afraid of Korekiyo, he "[...] won't deny I'm curious.". Despite the fact that he doesn't trust Kokichi, he wishes Kokichi would stay after he suddenly starts to leave (and after Kokichi pushed him against a bed), but he quickly smothers the thought. He also agrees to a romantic relationship with K1-B0 during his Love Suite Event.
    • During his Fourth Free Time Event with Kaito, he thinks to himself "Kaito is always so honest and approachable. He's willing to help you with anything... Only someone like Kaito could help me. Only someone like him could tell me what I need to hear." He then gets a bit flustered at his own thoughts, and thinks "[...] I shouldn't be talking about another boy like that... ".
  • Interestingly, Shuichi's clothes somewhat resemble that of Kiyotaka Ishimaru's early design.
  • Shuichi's appearance has similarities with the character from Persona 4, Naoto Shirogane. Furthermore, both characters are precocious ‎detectives.
  • According to Shuichi's audition tape, there's never been an execution for an Ultimate Detective which means that an Ultimate Detective has either been a victim or a survivor in the previous killing games before V3 but has never been a culprit.
  • In the English localization, Shuichi is the only protagonist in the Danganronpa franchise who does not use the line "No, that's wrong!" for Counters during class trials (he instead uses the more direct "That's wrong!").
  • The official English website mistook Shuichi's uncle as his grandfather. They later fixed this error.
  • Oddly, in the NIS America localization and Steam version of the game, Shuichi's pixel head icon during the Chapter 1 post-trial verdict is hatless, while it does show his hat in the original Japanese PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita versions.
  • Shuichi's English voice actor, Grant George, also voices Leon Kuwata in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc.
  • On Shuichi's birthday in 2017, Kazutaka Kodaka tweeted an "in-character" birthday message to celebrate it.[13]
    • The tweet translates into this:
Saihara: "Huh? This is... for my birthday? R-really? This many people are congratulating me? Wow, I'm a little bit embarrassed but… thank you! But that's much more than what I can eat by myself, so I guess I should... invite someone? Yeah, I know who to invite!"[14]
  • In a poll hosted by MyNavi, fans voted Shuichi the most popular Danganronpa V3 student out of sixteen students in Danganronpa V3.[15]
  • Japanese gaming magazine Dengeki from April 27th, 2017 to May 22nd, 2017 held two popularity polls, one that was voted electronically and the other via postcards. Shuichi was voted the 2nd most popular student in the electronic poll, and 12th through postcards.[16]

References[]


Navigation[]

v  e
GAME CHARACTERS
Monokuma Units MonokumaMonomiShirokumaKurokumaMonokuma Kubs (Monotaro, Monosuke, Monophanie, Monokid, Monodam)
Danganronpa:
Trigger Happy Havoc
Makoto NaegiAoi AsahinaAlter EgoByakuya TogamiCelestia LudenbergChihiro FujisakiGenocide JackHifumi YamadaJin KirigiriJunko EnoshimaKiyotaka IshimaruKyoko KirigiriLeon KuwataMondo OwadaMukuro IkusabaSakura OgamiSayaka MaizonoToko FukawaYasuhiro Hagakure
Danganronpa 2:
Goodbye Despair
Hajime HinataAkane OwariByakuya TogamiChiaki NanamiFour Dark Devas of DestructionFuyuhiko KuzuryuGundham TanakaHiyoko SaionjiIbuki MiodaJunko EnoshimaKazuichi SodaMahiru KoizumiMikan TsumikiMonobeastsNagito KomaedaNatsumi KuzuryuNekomaru NidaiPeko PekoyamaSonia NevermindSatoTeruteru Hanamura
Danganronpa
Another Episode:
Ultra Despair Girls
Komaru NaegiToko FukawaGenocide JackJataro KemuriKotoko UtsugiMasaru DaimonMonaca TowaNagisa ShingetsuHaiji TowaHiroko HagakureHit List TargetsIzuru KamukuraThe ServantTaichi FujisakiYuta Asahina
Danganronpa V3:
Killing Harmony
Kaede AkamatsuAngie YonagaExisalsGonta GokuharaHimiko YumenoKaito MomotaK1-B0Kirumi TojoKokichi OmaKorekiyo ShingujiMaki HarukawaMiu IrumaRantaro AmamiRyoma HoshiShuichi SaiharaTenko ChabashiraTsumugi Shirogane
For minor characters, see: Minor Characters
Advertisement