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APPLICATION FOR EMPATHEIAS
Player: Ichi
Contact:
Age: 24
Current Characters: N/A
Character: Shuichi Saihara
Age: ~17 · canon is never clear
Canon: Danganronpa V3
Canon Point: Chapter 1 · setting the cameras in the library (before the first murder)
Background: Danganronpa V3 · Shuichi Saihara
Personality:
In the final chapter of Danganronpa V3, it was revealed that all the characters in the game were given fake memories, new personalities, and even new names in order to create the story of the game. Due to this, very little is known about Shuichi prior to the game's events and whether or not he was anything similar to who he in the game before it occurred. The little that we do know is that Shuichi was a big fan of the Danganronpa series and that he willingly auditioned to be part of a real-life murder game, agreeing to wipe out everything about him in order to become a character specifically for the game and to either kill or be killed within it. Further details about Shuichi prior to V3 is unknown and although Shuichi knows at the end of the game that his new identity was fabricated, he chooses to continue living his life as the person he has grown into: as the person who survived through the events of V3 with all its hardships. As a result, this personality section will not focus on the person that Shuichi was before the game but rather the person that Shuichi became for V3 and after it.
To understand the beginning of Shuichi's character, it is important to understand the motivations behind the V3 team selecting Shuichi as a participant in the game. Shuichi was originally selected to become the weakest detective that the series has ever seen. They were interested in creating a detective who would not have the same strengths that previous detectives have had, such as Kyouko Kirigiri in the first Danganronpa. Unlike Kyouko who was unafraid to reveal the truth no matter the costs and was confident in her skills as a detective, Shuichi was originally terrified to seek out the truth.
In his fabricated backstory, Shuichi managed to solve a murder case by sheer chance. He was able to spot out a key piece of evidence that the police didn't notice and as a result, the culprit was caught. However, he soon learned that the murderer had a justifiable reason for committing the crime and the murderer showed nothing but pure hatred towards Shuichi for capturing them. Shuichi says that he can still "remember" those hateful eyes and as a result, he has been afraid to unravel the truth since that case. He becomes terrified by the consequences of revealing the truth and as a result, he doesn't believe that he deserves the title of the Ultimate Detective. He thinks he's a poor excuse of a detective and his extremely low self-confidence results in him doubting his abilities, refusing his title, and having a tendency to believe that others are better than him. He even uses his hat to hide away from others, becoming afraid to look anyone in the eye after he solved that one murder case. He tries to be polite around his classmates and has a serious demeanour, he can be quite pessimistic as throughout the first chapter, he constantly puts himself down and often says things like Kaede is a stronger person than he is. This extremely low self-confidence is a key example of being the "weakest Ultimate Detective" that the V3 hosts wanted, but it's also the beginning of the character development that the hosts also desired.
After the death of Kaede, Shuichi becomes someone who begins to overcome his low self-esteem. Being entrusted with Kaede's wish of ending the killing game and becoming friends with everyone, he continues his days by trying to become the person that she wanted him to be. He abandons the hat in his room, saying that it was getting in his way, and he begins to reach out to others. At first, he still struggles with thoughts of being incompetent but with the encouragement of Kaito, one of his closest friends in the game, he begins to trust in his abilities. He no longer starts to put himself down and he realizes that his skills as a detective are essential to the game. He becomes confident in his abilities and begins to take charge in the trials, leading his classmates to the truth. It's a drastic change from the first trial when he would hardly say anything and would even keep his mouth closed in order to avoid the consequences of fingering Kaede as the murderer (even if it meant that he would be falsely accused as the killer). Now he realizes that he can't run away from the truth and even though it might not be something he or anyone else wants to hear, he needs to uncover it. Even though he had difficulties believing that Gonta was the murderer in the fourth case and even when everyone was against his theory, he still pushed forward because he learnt that the truth was more important than anything else. Shuichi learnt that he can no longer go into these trials with the same mentality that he originally had with Kaede's case and pushes through whatever consequences he might receive from revealing the truth, a fear that he originally had. Even if he has to go against Kaito and be given the cold shoulder for the majority of the next chapter, he knows that it's more important to pursue the truth, even if it's something that no one might like. This is what he learnt from the first chapter and how far he has come from that trial.
Furthermore, Shuichi's newfound strength could be found in the final chapter and how he chooses to handle the revelation that his memories, identity, and everything around him were falsified. Although he understandably had difficulty coming to terms with this truth, he eventually decides to act on it and sacrifice himself if it means to end the game. Rather than choosing to move forward with hope and blindly trust that this killing game would one day end, he chooses to sacrifice himself and refuse to give the audience and game hosts what they want. Even if it results in his own death, he stood his ground and repeatedly refused to engage in any of the activities that the trial forced him to do. Although that Shuichi doesn't die at the end, the fact that he was more than willing to give up his life just so there wouldn't be any more future games speaks volumes about his strength and how far he had come from the first chapter. Compared to the first chapter when Shuichi was willing to look the other way, to refuse to say anything because he was afraid to face the consequences of the truth, it's a sharp contrast.
However, even after he gains this new self-confidence within himself, he still finds himself being a bit of a pushover. He goes along with his friends' crazy antics even if they insult him at the same time. The best example of this is when he speaks to Tenko, who calls him a "degenerate male" and orders him to put up a parasol by the pool for her. Rather than arguing this, Shuichi figures that it's not "too much trouble" and goes ahead to do this regardless. Another example is how he easily accepts the title of Kaito's sidekick, even though Kaito comes up with this idea and pushed it upon him without any Shuichi's own thoughts and feelings. Throughout the rest of the game while Kaito is still alive, Shuichi allows himself to get ordered around to look for clues and Maki even calls him out on it, saying that it seems like he almost enjoys being bossed around. It could be a leftover remnant of the weaker personality he had from the beginning of the game but in reality, it seems like Shuichi really doesn't mind doing these sorts of things for his friends. Of course, if things are to get too far, he is willing to stand up for himself and call bullshit on things, especially with Kokichi in the later chapters when he's fed up with his lies and refusal to properly interact with the group. However, it seems like most of the time, Shuichi is happy enough to go with the flow and do things if his friends are happy.
Finally, it's important to note that though Shuichi originally said that he was not a true detective at the beginning of the game, he possesses the skills that easily prove him to be one. Although he seems quite unreliable with his weak personality in the first chapter, he's quite perceptive and capable when it comes to solving mysteries or coming up with plans. He was the only one in his class to realize that there was a secret door behind a shelf in the library and to come up with a plan to see if anyone could go through it or not. He also figured out that Kaede was the murderer and how she managed to kill Rantaro far before the rest of the class did. The class only realized this once Kaede pushed Shuichi to reveal the truth. In the later trials, Shuichi nearly singlehandedly solves each case and his classmates outrightly say that they depend on him and his skills to reveal the truth. Despite this initial appearance of being undependable, Shuichi proves to be quite the opposite when it comes to keeping a calm head and assessing a situation.
Overall, Shuichi is a character whose identity was completely fabricated for V3 but who has learnt to accept and grow from it. In the beginning, he felt comfortable putting himself down and not believing in his skills, almost insultingly declining Kaede's praise. He was timid and afraid to look at the truth because it might be something that he didn't want to look at or deal with. However, after the push from Kaede, Kaito, and his friends, he turned himself around. He has chosen to abandon who he was before to become someone who could stand proud of his abilities and no longer hide behind his hat and look away. He begins to realize that he possesses great deductive skills that can benefit everyone and works his hardest to assist his classmates. He no longer keeps his head down and actively reaches out for others, expressing his thoughts and feelings without the same reservedness that he originally had. He becomes the stronger person that Kaede wanted him to be and in the end, he manages to fulfil Kaede's wish by putting an end to the Danganronpa series.
By embracing his strengths and his new determination to move forward, he is able to become more than what the creators of V3 wanted. No longer a character in their game, he becomes Shuichi Saihara who chooses to live the rest of his life without ever running away again.
Important note: as Shuichi is being pulled from an earlier canon point before his development, he will act in Empatheias in a way that aligns with who he was in chapter one: someone with an extremely low self-esteem and is more reserved with his thoughts and feelings. He would have difficulties looking people in the eye and would easily put himself down if he feels like he made a mistake. He will appear unreliable due to these weak traits and although he would still have an outstanding ability for deductive reasoning, he would be hesitant to use it if he feels like it could lead to an unpleasant truth that he does not want to face. Furthermore, he will also keep the trait of being a pushover and be swayed into doing things for others without fighting it that much.
While it may seem like the later part of the application (Shuichi's post-chapter one development) may not apply to Shuichi in this canon point, it is important to note these developments as it shows the potential of who Shuichi can become when he is given the proper push and support from his friends. If the circumstances are right, Shuichi can become the person that he is in the later parts of V3. As a result, it is necessary to outline this development, especially if Shuichi were to be canon updated to a later point in the game.
Alignment: Piphron - as a detective, it is not surprising that Shuichi deals a lot incidents that involve trust and distrust. Throughout V3, Shuichi finds himself having to decide whether or not to trust his friends and whatever truth is placed before him. In addition, a lot of his character development stems from learning to trust in his own abilities and the expectations that other characters have put in him.
Other: N/A
General Sample: TDM top-level
Emotion Sample: TDM thread
Questions: N/A