Shuichi Saihara

Shuichi Saihara is the master of Saber in the ??? Holy Grail war, and the protagonist of Fate/Deus Ex.

"*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.*" - Shuichi Saihara

## Profile

### Background

Shuichi Saihara 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.

### Personality

Shuichi appears to have quite a serious and polite personality. However, he is also stated to have a weak personality, and he is abnormally timid when it comes to speaking. 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. Miu even calls him Kaede's "beta little boy toy" during the first trial.

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.

### Relationships

#### **2B**

For the early stages of the war, 2B was coldly professional towards him, making him feel awkward trying to make conversations with her. Deep down, he reminded her greatly of her old partner 9S, and because of this, warmed up to him. Through him, she experienced firsthand the daily lives of the humans she had previously fought to reclaim Earth for.

## Role

### Fate/Deus Ex

Shuichi becomes the unwitting master of Saber in the ??? Holy Grail War. On an initial scouting mission to look for more Masters and Servants. they find a lead that ultimately ends up being a trap set by Rider. Saber tries to hold him off as they barley escape with their lives.

Later, he and Saber began looking into a series of murders committed by one of the War's participants. the search for the killer leads them to ally with Keith Kazama Flick and Lancer, whose own search into the case led him to becoming a part of the war. Together, they formed a team to track down and apprehend the culprits.

Following the initial murder case, the team look into Yagiri Pharmaceuticals suspected to be involved in dubious activities connected to the War.

Shuichi found himself kidnapped by Rider with an army of drones, who tortured him to goad Saber into a duel. He desperately tries to warn her it was clearly a trap before being silenced by an electro shock. Saber would join with Keith and Lancer to find a way to rescue him from Rider's clutches.

After being rescued, he and the team discover both Rider and Yagiri Pharmaceuticals were pawns of Archer, who plans to control the Grail's power to restore his home world as a universal empire and terraform Earth into a colony world to be exploited.

## Abilities

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".

# References

https://danganronpa.fandom.com/wiki/Shuichi\_Saihara