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Saiouma carrd

A guide made for the purpose of clearing up misconceptions around the ship, as well as explaining the dynamic to non-saiouma shippers.

Please remember that you don't have to like saiouma, this carrd is for the purpose of explaining their relationship and the potential of both characters as a couple, romantically or platonically! (Though this carrd will mostly focuses on the romantic side)

This carrd is written by someone who has done some research and played the Japanese version of the game due to lots of mistranslation in the english version (as well as some other shippers).

(Last Updated on 03/16/22)

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Saiouma is a ship between Kokichi Ouma and Shuichi Saihara from Danganronpa V3.

This ship is quite popular in the fandom, proven by them having over 70k fanfictions on Wattpad and (at the time being) 5713 fanfictions on Archive Of Our Own.

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[Keep in mind that this is just a general information about the ship.]

Saiouma (Also known as
Lie Detector, Oumasai, Ousai and Saiou) is the slash ship between Kokichi Ouma, Super High School Level Supreme Leader and Shuichi Saihara, Super High School Level Detective, two characters from a visual novel game, Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.

People tend to use 最王 (SaiOu) for Shuichi-Dominant relationship and 王最 (OuSai) for Kokichi-Dominant relationship. Keep in mind that the order of their ship name do affect people's perception of their dynamic, even though Saiouma is a more commonly used ship name among the fandom. All we can do is to respect it.

Kokichi has a childish personality and lies a lot, while Shuichi is a kind and awkward character (who builds confidence throughout the game).

Kokichi shows interest in Shuichi, often calling him his "Beloved Saihara-chan" whom he loved the most, and also trusts Shuichi, despite having sworn to not trust anyone in the killing game. Shuichi, as a detective, sees Kokichi as a "puzzle" that he has to solve, leading to him wanting to know more about Kokichi.

This ship is widely known for being one of the protagonist x antagonist ships (others including naegami and komahina.)

March 10 is stated as Saiouma Day, and 310 as Saiouma number. Since 3 is San (sa), 1 is ichi (i) and 0 is ou (o).

310 is March 10 which is why it's Saiouma day.

Click on the arrow for ship analysis made by the creator!

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[WARNING: Spoiler for the entire Danganronpa V3 below. do not scroll further if you haven't finished the game.]

At the beginning of the game, Shuichi was portrayed as a quiet and awkward person, showed by how he didn’t talk much during the introductions, and the only major emotion he expressed was when Miu insulted him as a "pervert" for wearing a hat to avoid eye contact (at that time he snapped a little) But when Kokichi revealed his ultimate talent as a supreme leader, Shuichi got curious and almost immediately asked about his organization. Kokichi was also interested in him, at first because he was the ultimate detective, but then got attached to him.

Multiple times in the game, Shuichi thinks of "how innocent Kokichi looks" compared to how he acts, admitted that he can’t get mad at him because he looks like he means no harm, but then says “but that might just be another lie…” Shuichi is also the only one who thinks twice about Kokichi’s lies. He says, “he’s lying about lying…”

During trials and investigations, whenever Kokichi has any kind of evidence, the one he always reaches out to is Shuichi. Shuichi acknowledged him for how much of a help he is. One time he thought “maybe I should thank him later” but then backtracked. Kokichi also never exposed Shuichi's lies (except for chapter 4) even though he knows he's lying.

In Chapter 3, Kokichi falls through the floorboard that was intented to help with Korekiyo's murder plan. At that time, Shuichi showed no major reaction to the shorter boy being bloody and possibly getting concussion which affected how he acted throughout trial 3. But it's possible that he just didn't know what's going on, since it looked like Kokichi was just pulling pranks on them. He might have thought he was just lying.
And in the same chapter, if you decided to talk to Kokichi before checking on Kaito, there is a really interesting conversation between them. Kokichi says that he would rather have Kaede come back to life because it would make Shuichi happy, even though bringing Rantaro back would be a smarter option. Rantaro was also important to Kokichi, since he got attached to him in the first chapter, having him being the first person Kokichi called "beloved" and despite that, Kokichi was willing to leave him dead to make Shuichi happy.

Their relationship is not the main focus of the game, so it's kind of hard to understand. The real interaction between them that explains their whole relationship begun in Chapter 4. Shuichi does genuinely try to be patient with Kokichi, but in chapter 4, Shuichi's patience reaches its limit.

Kokichi crossed the line with his behavior, because he was trying way too hard to make Shuichi his ally. It’s clear that Shuichi couldn’t trust everyone blindly, his job as the detective required him to doubt and suspect everyone.
But Kokichi was also extremely paranoid after knowing that Miu was attempting to kill him in the virtual world.

Kokichi was trying to teach the group that the "truth", the outside world they all craved and wanted so badly, is all horrible and just a big lie. Shuichi getting mad and telling kokichi to snap out of it at the end of the chapter 4 trial is well deserved. Kokichi punched Kaito, the closest person to shuichi during the killing game. He did it intentionally cause if he wanted to catch the true mastermind, he needed to cut his ties with everyone so nobody would be sad if he died. So when he did with Shuichi, probably the only one he can trust and Gonta, his (arguably) best friend in the killing game who got killed, It became too much for him. But still, if you put yourself on Shuichi's shoes, you should be able to feel how furious, or exactly, how disappointed Shuichi was with Kokichi.

His infamous line in chapter 4, "You're alone, Kokichi. And you always will be.", was not even actually in the game and is completely made up by the English version (The actual line says: "You're....that kind of guy.", referring to his evil persona).
But if we look at the context, that line is not to express his hatred, but to make Kokichi realize that his plan was now an utter mess and now that Gonta, Kokichi's only "friend" has died, nobody would trust him anymore, including Shuichi.

Him calling Kokichi out on his behavior and saying that he was acting pathetically impacted Kokichi. He cared about Shuichi because he had become someone he had fallen for (which will be talked more about later on), and that’s precisely why he was very disappointed at the end of chapter 4 and 5. Because he thought Shuichi would be able to see through his facade, but he couldn't.

Yes, Shuichi's lack of attemp at trying to understand Kokichi is frustrating as hell, but it’s also necessary to the plot. It really wouldn't make sense for shuichi to still care for Kokichi after what he has done, indirectly caused the death of two people and saying undeniably cruel thing towards the rest of the remaining cast. Plus, it’s not entirely Shuichi's fault that he couldn't see through him and that he view him as a malicious villain, when Kokichi intentionally put that persona on himself and make it difficult to crack.

In chapter 6, or more exactly in Kokichi's dorm room, his "will" is directed towards Shuichi. Even Maki knew that because she went to Shuichi and gave it to him saying "I think this is for you".

After that, in trial 6, Shuichi realizes that Kokichi was never actually evil, that he in fact was the most responsible for keeping them alive, how deep down Kokichi absolutely hated the killing game with all of his guts, and that he sacrificed himself for their sake of others when he didn't have to, but it was all too late.

That's what making their relationship interesting. Kodaka, the creator, took the chance and made almost everything about Kokichi a mystery so the player can figure it out themselves. If Shuichi knows all of Kokichi's intentions and revealed everything about him by chapter 6, there would be no need for the player to go back and replay the game themselves to figure things out. V3 was a game with a very vague ending that challenges the players to theorize as much as they can. It would destroy spike chunsoft's original plan if the protagonist exposed every mystery about the characters.

At the very end, Shuichi really did understand Kokichi as a person. The answer he reached, about how there’s no correct answer between truth and lies (hope and despair), about how lies can be good the same way truth can be bad, is exactly what Kokichi wanted them all to realize so badly. This is why Shuichi's character development is extremely tied to Kokichi's character.

On the other hand, lies were Kokichi's personal source of comfort. Something he had to rely on. He doesn't lie for "fun", but instead because he couldn’t trust almost anything about himself nor the others. He was way too cautious and paranoid to open up to anyone in the killing game, and including many factors preventing Kokichi from reaching out to someone or letting himself be reached out to.

Which is why saiouma really popped up as a ship in the bonus mode, where there was no killing game. Kokichi didn't have to put an act there, while he was still full of doubt and was suspicious of others, but he let his guard down a bit, at least around Shuichi.

Kokichi’s free time events were one big scheme to make Shuichi think about him. His FTE with Shuichi ended in a heartwarming way because Shuichi was patient and actually cared for him.

When Shuichi expressed genuine interest in getting to know the "Real Kokichi" in Kokichi's prison mode ending, Kokichi admitted that he wants him to "stay by his side" even after they leave the academy. And Shuichi thought to himself that, even if Kokichi needed to rely on lies (cause that’s the kind of person he is), he’s sure that Kokichi can’t lie about the warmth of his hand.
There is just so much potential between them, so much talk about reaching out and being reached out to. In the main plot of ndrv3, reaching out was an impossibility, but it could work so well under other, better circumstances.

At the end of Kokichi's FTE, as mentioned earlier, Shuichi says "I reach out to him, but he doesn’t take my hands" but then at the end of the salmon team ending he says "I reach out and shook the hand extended to me". That parallel is quite important.

Kokichi's interest & the confession scene

Kokichi often calls Shuichi his "大好きな最原ちゃん" translated to "My beloved Saihara-chan". But that can be taken as a way of teasing if you'd like to.

In chapter 4, or more exactly when Shuichi was about to exit from the virtual world, Kokichi calls Shuichi and talks about how "useful he is" and how he wants to form alliance with him, at the same time trash-talking Kaito. Shuichi, naturally got mad then exit without saying anything. Kokichi mumbles to himself about being "rejected" but then says that he won't give up that easily. He stated that "When I find someone I like, I'd do anything to them to notice me...even strangle them."

Kokichi was constantly worried about Kaito influencing Shuichi negatively and tried to tell him multiple times that sometimes, believing in each other and working together might get them all killed.

Even though what he's saying could just be just a dark joke about Miu's death, Kokichi's crush is actually, explicitly stated.

(Note in mind that I took this directly from the Japanese ver) He said, "オレって…好きになった人は、首を絞めてでも振り向かせちゃうタイプなんだよね。"

He uses the word "好き" which is, even though can be used to express interest in a platonic friendly way, is very common among high school students to use when confessing their love.

Furthermore, what he's actually saying in this scene was "好きになった人", or "suki ni natta hito" which has an even deeper meaning than just "suki". It translates to "the person I fell in love with", that if you don't know, is explicitly romantic and cannot be used in a casual conversation. it was used to describe the process of falling in love with someone, or realizing that they have feelings for their love interest. Either way, “suki ni natta hito” has no platonic implications, unlike “suki” on its own.

"Suki ni natta" is also a phrase used by Maki in chapter 5 after the trial to describe her feelings for Kaito. The line she says was "私が…誰かを好きになったのなんて。". Just a few lines before this one, she talks about how it’s the very first time she had feelings like this or fallen in love with someone. Her line is taken romantically by all the other cast. Which is why it's kind of unfair to say Kokichi's crush on Shuichi was just a lie or jokes, though it's stated explicitly just like Maki's romantic feelings for Kaito.

While alone and while thinking about Shuichi, he uses a phrase with romantic implication in this context. It was unskipabble too. Even though there's no Shuichi, the protagonist around at that time, so it is THAT important and plot-relevant to his character.

There's some indications in canon that Kokichi doesn't lie to himself when he’s alone, so it didn't make sense to interpret a scene where he’s by himself and not even talking to anyone as a lie, because there’s no one for him to lie to. It's kind of brushing off a part of Kokichi's character too..

There's a lot more things that hints at Kokichi's crush , such as:

1. The "Maybe I was born into this world just to meet you, Shuichi." Line is a reference to Kaworu's "I really was born to this world just to meet you" in Evangelion.

2. Kokichi, the embodiment of lies, considered to stop lying because he wanted to get closer to Shuichi in the Harmonious Heart scene. He says "What should I do… If I wanna become closer to Shuichi… I probably shouldn’t lie so much…" and "Maybe I should stop lying altogether...." But then he got happy when he realized that Shuichi would accept him for who he is.

3. (This happened in chapter 3) Kokichi says that he loves Shuichi and is always thinking about him, but then admitted that it was a lie. The thing is, in the love hotel he actually says the exact same thing. and he has no control over the love hotel, everything there is genuine.

*Design & Parallel

Kokichi mostly wears white with a little bit of black and Shuichi mostly wears black with a bit white. Normally, white represent the pure, good characters while black is normally given to represent the dark, evil characters. but here, kokichi is trusted by absolutely no one and is arguably the anti-hero is wearing white, and Shuichi, the protagonist who everyone believes in wearing black. Probably to represent ying-yang, when there's good in bad and there's bad in good, creating a balance.

Also the dark blue and purple aesthetic... It's very much obvious that their characters were meant to parallel each other with the truth and lies theme. but sometimes, Shuichi has to lie at least once in every trial to progress, and Kokichi has hid a LOT of truths inside his lies to make everyone confused and not trust him.

In conclusion, their relationship is focused on them trying their best to understand each other, and that they will stay together and learn more about each other after they graduate just like both of them wanted to but couldn’t do in the killing game.

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(All of these are official)

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Disclaimers:
The following contains Danganronpa V3 spoilers. Do not scroll further if you haven't finished the game.Again, we are in no way is forcing this ship to you, if you have personal reasons to dislike it, you're totally valid!
1. "You’re Alone Kokichi, And You Always Will Be." Line

If you didn't know, at the end of Trial 4, Kokichi punched Kaito and started to put on his "mask", fooling everyone by saying that he didn't care about Gonta's death in the slightest. After that, Shuichi says this line. (go here if you want a more detailed explanation.)

First off, this line isn't even actually said in the Japanese version. It was completely made up by the English translator, since they have the freedom to change some lines as their heart desires. (The original line says "You are...that kind of guy." referring to his evil persona.) Second, this is taken VERY out of context. I know it's a bit harsh to say that even to someone like Kokichi, but he literally punched Shuichi's best friend. How do you think Shuichi's gonna react? Of course he’s not gonna be nice to him, and he might have just said that without thinking. Also, Kokichi was trying to make everyone hate him, he acted as if he didn't care and Shuichi was already stressed enough by watching his friend dying and the class trial possibly took HOURS, so he easily snapped.

Plus, at the end of Chapter 5 in Japanese version, Shuichi calls Kokichi a friend he trusted the least, and even though he didn't trust him, he still considers Kokichi as friend, means that he doesn't think Kokichi will be alone forever.

2. "Shuichi wanted to k/ll himself because of Kokichi"

This argument is just. Plain wrong. Shuichi had s*icidal thoughts because of the secret of the outside world, not because of Kokichi. He would have felt the same if he found out about the secret himself, or if anybody that isn’t Kokichi showed him the outside world.

Reminder that Kokichi has good intentions when he showed the outside world to everyone and he didn’t think Shuichi would react like that, he just wanted everyone to lose their hope so they wouldn'tt continue the game anymore. And they're literally in a killing game where people have to kill each other. That's why Alternate Universes (AUs) exist.

3. Kokichi doesn't care about Shuichi’s mental health and made fun of Kaede’s death"

He didn’t make fun of Kaede’s death. He just said at the beginning of Chapter 2 that Shuichi got rid of his hat because of her death, which is, in fact, true. And no, Shuichi wasn’t affected by that, he showed no reaction to what Kokichi said.

And Kokichi claims in chapter 3 that he doesn't want Rantaro to come back to life even though he think it's the smartest option, because he'd rather have Shuichi's wish to have Kaede come back true, just to make Shuichi happy.

Plus, in the FTE and LHE (I know they aren’t exactly canon, but they do reflect how the character would have acted in canon) Kokichi is first shown to be really careful when it comes to Shuichi being hurt, since he stabbed himself in his last FTE just so Shuichi could win. And in the love hotel, it shows that Kokichi wants consent because he’s the ONLY one out of the whole cast who exits the room when he sees Shuichi being uncomfortable.

4. "Shuichi doesn't care about/hates Kokichi"

Shuichi, in fact, does try to know more about Kokichi. He wonders pretty frequently what his true intentions are, what he’s up to, and what he’s thinking.

But after all, it's Kokichi. He obviously doesn't want to be fooled by him. That's why he doesn't seem to be caring. If he genuinely didn’t care about Kokichi, he wouldn't have tried to tolerate Kokichi's lies in the harmonious heart event. And again, Shuichi called Kokichi a friend even after everything he did, which proves that he does care about him deep down.

Not to mention that he blushed during Kokichi's graduation event, admitted that he's intrigued by him and wants to know more about him.

5. "Kokichi doesn’t have a canon crush on Shuichi, the shippers only says that to make their ship seems more valid."

This point is very easily debunkable but well, his crush is indeed canon.

In the Japanese version (aka the original game), Kokichi stated that he’s in love with Shuichi. Do you remember the "When I find someone I like, I'd do anything to them to notice me...even strangle them." Line? In the Japanese ver, his line about Shuichi is undeniably romantic, regardless of context. Unlike bonus mode content such as the Salmon mode or LHE or even FTE which is also optional, his interest in Shuichi comes up canonically in chapter 4 no matter what the player does.

He said, and i quote,「オレって…好きになった人は、首を絞めてでも振り向かせちゃうタイプなんだよね。」

" 好き " is pronounced "Suki", it means like, affection and fondness, commonly used to confess love to someone in Japanese.

Thinking his words in that scene was a lie doesn’t add up with his actions or fixation on Shuichi, considering how he put him as "someone he can't figure out" in JPN ver and even "trustworthy?" In the ENG ver. Remember that "trustworthy" is a big thing coming from Kokichi, considering his trust issues.

And in the harmonious heart event, Kokichi wants to stop lying entirely just so he can be closer to Shuichi. He is willing to stop doing something that makes him himself just to be with him. And remember he can't exactly lie there since it's inside of his thoughts.

Kokichi's feelings are explicit, and trying to brush them by saying that they’re not intended romantically when they very clearly are is sort of removing part of Kokichi's character. Just because the English version has a lot of mistranslation, doesn't mean that Kokichi doesn't have a canon crush.

6. "It’s a one-sided ship."

Why is it such a problem to you whether or not a pair is canon? A one sided ship is only toxic if someone has a crush on someone that hates them/is with someone else, which isn’t the case. Kaede and Shuichi aren't dating in canon, and the "Shuichi hates Kokichi" argument was already debunked earlier. It’s like saying having a crush on someone is unhealthy and that you’ll never have a good relationship with that person.

And again, in the love hotel scene, Shuichi wanted Kokichi to stay in the room. In a love hotel room.

To completely ignore them because they "don't contribute to the storyline" is ridiculous because just like the FTE, it's another way to explore a certain characters actions/personality.

7. "Saiouma is the same as Tsumionji / Bakudeku."

So you’re comparing a teasing with literal bullying? a literal abuse?? Kokichi and Shuichi's relationship is WAY more healthy than either Hiyoko and Mikan's or Bakugo and Deku's, they’re literally incomparable.

First, Hiyoko is Mikan's literal bully, she makes fun of her by calling her rude names like "dumb pigshit" etc. I know it's possibly her way to cope, but that doesn't make their relationship any better.

And Bakugo told Izuku to jump off a building just so he can gain a quirk. He literally told him to kys.

8. "People just ship them because it's a mlm ship."

As someone who analyzed saiouma for weeks before shipping them, i'd be very offended if anyone say this. If you check out this section or ask people for their reasons of liking saiouma, them being both men won't even be mentioned.

And yeah, that's all false arguments I've heard about this ship.

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