22 | Shuichi Saihara

Height 171 cm Weight 58 kg Birth Date ♍ September 7 Blood Type AB Likes Novels Dislikes Gossip Family Unnamed uncle Unnamed parents Previous Affiliation Spring Field Academy Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles 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. 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. 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.

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. 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. Appearance: 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. 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.

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.

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. 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. 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.

Relationships: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". Kaede Akamatsu: Shuichi seems to strongly believe in Kaede, reassuring her and telling her that "if it's her, she can do it". 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. 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. 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 had a flashback of an infamous scene where Kaede was reassuring him, holding his hand in Chapter 1. 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.

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.

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.

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.