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Shuichi Saihara Reveals the Truth! The Ultimate Detective’s Support Thread

DetectiveSS

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Mar 11, 2020
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41
Shuichi Saihara from the Danganronpa Series!






Warning: Spoilers for the Danganronpa series ahead. If you intend to play it or are in the middle of playing it, I suggest you stop reading.


Who is this handsome young lad?

This is Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective. He hails from a popular game series called Danganronpa, and made his debut in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony which is the third game and most recent game in the series. In Danganronpa, everyone has an “Ultimate Talent,” which essentially means that they’re the best of the best in their particular field.



Shuichi finds himself stuck in an academy with fifteen other students, to which they’re told that the only way to escape is to kill someone and get away with it. A bear named Monokuma runs this “Killing Game,” enforcing rules and making punishments.



As the protagonist, we see this game through Shuichi’s eyes. He’s a shy, timid person with a keen eye for details. He has talent, but he doesn’t have the confidence to believe in himself. As the game progresses and he makes friendships, he slowly gains the confidence he needs to speak his mind. Since he’s a detective, he’s great at investigating crime scenes and basically runs the class trials, exposing the guilty and finding the truth beyond the lies.


What Is Danganronpa?

Danganronpa began in 2010 with the release of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. The game was praised for it’s unique concept and interesting story, and it was successful enough to spawn a franchise. Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair followed soon after in 2012 and then came Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony in 2017.

Danganronpa has a very special concept that is usually the thing that gets players interested in the games. In each game sixteen students are kidnapped and placed in some sort of inescapable location, with the only way out being betraying a fellow student and creating the perfect crime. Once a body has been discovered, the students are allowed to investigate the crime scene for clues that could lead them to the culprit. Afterwards a “class trial” is held, where they attempt to discuss with each other to find whodunnit. If they’re able to, the blackened gets punished. If they don’t, everyone except the blackened gets punished and they’re free to leave.

The gameplay is split into two distinct parts: Daily Life and Deadly Life.

Daily Life consists of interacting with your fellow students, exploring new areas you have access to, choosing who you want to hang out with, and giving them gifts. It’s similar to confidants in Persona. If you reach max relationship status with another student you can even get some rewards.

Deadly Life is where things get real. It starts after a body is discovered, where you go into investigation mode. You have to scour the crime scene for clues, and every time you find something of value it becomes a “truth bullet,” which is basically your evidence in weaponized form. After investigation is over, the class trial begins. This is the part the game is most known for. In the class trial, you’re trying to find the killer. However, with sixteen immature teenagers yelling at each other in panic, things get heated. It’s your job to block out all the nonsense and find the contradictions in people’s statements, shooting right through their words with your truth bullets. There are multiple mini games that occur to help you do this, each one having their own style.




Okay, but why Shuichi and why Smash?

Danganronpa is pretty popular, especially in Japan. The series mascot, Monokuma, is very recognizable and dare I say iconic. It’s had three games, two shows and a couple of novels all released within seven years. That proves just how popular it is and why it earns a place in Smash.

As stated earlier, Shuichi is the protagonist of the latest game in the franchise, Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony. Not only is he more recent than the other protagonists, but he also has way more to work with in terms of a move set. Unlike the others, Shuichi is a proper detective and there hasn’t been any of those in Smash yet. He could have an extraordinarily unique move set you really can’t get much of anywhere else. There could also be alts of the other protagonists, sort of like Hero where the most recent one is the default.

Visual novels haven’t been represented at all in Smash despite still being a big part of gaming, and the best way to make that happen is to put one of the most well known ones in there.

Plus, it’s a well known fact that Sakurai himself is a big fan of the series, even going as far as to send a congratulation letter to the developers. I think we all know how much Sakurai’s opinion...tips the scales. Furthermore, while Danganronpa hasn’t had a game on Nintendo consoles yet, the possibility is definitely there. The games are developed by Spike Chunsoft, the same company that works closely with Nintendo and Gamefreak to make the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games. They’re even working on one right now.

To add one more thing, while the games themselves haven’t been on Nintendo hardware, Monokuma has as an easter egg, so it’s not entirely foreign.


Moveset Potential

Contrary to popular belief, the Danganronpa characters are actually rich with moveset potential. You just have to know where to look. Here’s an example:


Smash Attacks: Electrohammer
For Shuichi’s Smash Attacks, he wields the Electrohammer, invented by the Ultimate Inventor Miu Iruma.




Forward Smash: Shuichi swings the Electrohammer in front of him. Somewhat fast, moderate damage and an electricity effect.




Down Smash: Shuichi swings the hammer in a circle around his feet. Slow but a good kill move.




Up Smash: Shuichi swings the hammer in an upwards arc over his head. Has a lot of range.


Neutral Special: Truth/Lie Bullet
Words will appear in front of Shuichi and he’ll point in front of him, sending a truth bullet projectile through them doing moderate damage. If the button is held down, Shuichi’s colours will turn inverse and the truth bullet will become a lie bullet, stunning enemies upon impact for a short period of time.




Side Special: Truth Blade/Cross Swords
Some words appear in front of Shuichi and he slices through them with a Truth Blade. This attack has a special property where, if someone attacks Shuichi at the same time of this attack, instead of canceling out Shuichi will cut through their attack and do a follow up slash.


Down Special: V Counter/No, That’s Wrong!
Shuichi will put his hand on his chin and start focusing. If someone attacks him during this state, he will counter the attack by pointing back at the opponent while a small popup appears on screen. He will also say the iconic line “No, That’s Wrong!”



Up Special: Kiibo Gun
Shuichi uses this special gun to summon Kiibo, the Ultimate Robot.



If Shuichi is in the air, Kiibo will carry Shuichi upwards using his jetpack.



If Shuichi is on the ground, Kiibo will appear in front of him and fire a laser shot ahead.





Final Smash Option 1: Closing Argument
Monokuma appears in front of Shuichi, banging a gavel on a big red button. If an opponent is hit by it, a small cutscene will play where Shuichi will explain how they’re the true “blackened.”







Final Smash Option 2: Scrum Debate

Shuichi will point in front of him, anyone who’s caught in it will get dragged into a cutscene. Shuichi will be standing in line with some of his fellow students, while the opponents who were caught in the Final Smash will be caught in the middle.



Shuichi and company will then proceed to make quick arguments at the opposing side, going back and forth while the fighters stuck in the middle take damage.





Finally, it will end with a “Full Counter” when Shuichi’s side wins, doing massive damage.



Music

Danganronpa has no shortage of amazing tracks to choose from. In fact, it’s one of the best parts of the series. Go ahead and have a listen to some of them:

Danganronpa V3 Main Theme

Scrum Debate

Box 15

Ekoroshia

Hope Searching

Heat Up

Class Trial Solar Edition

Class Trial Universal Edition

Trigger Happy Havoc Main Theme

Mr. Monokuma’s Lesson

Mass Panic Debate

New World Order

Climax Return


Stage

There are lots of locations to choose from in this series, it could honestly be anything. However, I think that the best way to represent all three games is the Class Trial.



This stage is mostly flat with a ring of podiums in the middle and stairs on the side, making the layout somewhat similar to the Boxing Ring. Monokuma will sit in the throne at the back watching the fighters duke it out. Sometimes students from the Danganronpa series will appear at the podiums having a debate. They will throw words at each other and you’ll be damaged if you’re hit by them.

Every so often Monokuma will press the big red button in front of him with his gavel, starting Punishment Time. Long chains will extend from the ceiling and grab fighters if they come into contact with them, pulling them off screen.





Alts



Shuichi’s alts from left to right are as follows;

Shuichi (Default)
Shuichi (Hatless)
Shuichi (Prologue)
Shuichi (Maki Colour Scheme)
Shuichi (Kaito Colour Scheme)
Shuichi (Monokuma Colour Scheme)
Kaede Akamatsu (Default)
Kaede Akamatsu (Prologue)


Kaede Akamatsu is the secondary protagonist of Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, so naturally she’s one of Shuichi’s alts. She can do pretty much anything Shuichi can do.


Misc.

Stock Icon:


Series Icon:









 
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Silo777

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461B4AF7-1E21-48D7-B556-3169DDCABEDD.jpeg


A pipe dream, but I’d be lying through my teeth if I said I wouldn’t by hyped for this if it did end up happening.

I’m surprised a Shuichi thread didn’t already exist until now, considering that he’s probably the most likely Danganronpa candidate. I doubt they’d choose Monokuma, even if he is the mascot. Not only has Nintendo never picked the antagonist as the first rep of a new series (not saying that can’t happen, but still) but he also doesn’t really represent what you’re actually doing when you play these games. Monokuma just sorta shows up from time to time to remind you that someone’s gotta get killed to escape, not too much else. He doesn’t at all contribute to the gameplay. I don’t think Makoto is a better rep either, since Shuichi has recency on his side like you said and is just generally more interesting and has more to work with.

You also have to consider that Shuichi is
the “true hero” of Danganronpa, since he pretty much single handedly put an end to the Killing Games as a whole.
 

Cadillac

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He has an actual weapon. That's new.
If we were to get a Danganronoa rep, please be either him or Kaede. I can't stand Monokuma.
 

zferolie

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no offense but I hated how they psyched us out on the female being the lead just to make this guy the lead. almost ruined the series for me
 

DetectiveSS

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no offense but I hated how they psyched us out on the female being the lead just to make this guy the lead. almost ruined the series for me
To each their own, but that seems a bit...drastic. It’s not like they did it just because, Shuichi was always meant to be the lead. He fits the theme of truth vs lies perfectly and genuinely has great character progression because of this moment. I thought it was actually pretty cool, not many games pull a bait and switch like that.
 
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zferolie

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To each their own, but that seems a bit...drastic. It’s not like they did it just because, Shuichi was always meant to be the lead. He fits the theme of truth vs lies perfectly and genuinely has great character progression because of this moment. I thought it was actually pretty cool, not many games pull a bait and switch like that.
I suppose, but after trigger happy spin off I was hoping to have a main game with a female lead. leading people in with the promoise of a big shake up with a female lead but then doing the bait and switch back to a male felt like a wasted opertunity
 

Cadillac

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I never played any Danganronpa before, but it would've been cool seeing Kaede as the main protagonist for the whole game. Her ultimate something is actually normal.
Or we could've had Amami as the main protagonist and the game is about finding his lost memories.
 

Silo777

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I never played any Danganronpa before, but it would've been cool seeing Kaede as the main protagonist for the whole game. Her ultimate something is actually normal.
Or we could've had Amami as the main protagonist and the game is about finding his lost memories.
I’m still hoping for an Amami spin-off of some kind. Don’t know how plausible that is, but I think they could do some really cool things with it.
 

Cadillac

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For alts, instead of 6 Shuichi and 2 Kaede, maybe 4 and 4.
1. Shuichi
2. Prologue Shuichi
3. Oma
4. Momota
5. Kaede
6. Prologue Kaede
7. Maki
8. Himiko
 

DetectiveSS

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For alts, instead of 6 Shuichi and 2 Kaede, maybe 4 and 4.
1. Shuichi
2. Prologue Shuichi
3. Oma
4. Momota
5. Kaede
6. Prologue Kaede
7. Maki
8. Himiko
Yeah, that could work too. Maybe Shuichi can have a taunt that puts on/takes off his hat so that doesn’t take up alt space.
 
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Goombaic

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I would rather have the main protagonists all in one character ala Hero, but if only one had to be picked, Shuichi would be the one.
 

DetectiveSS

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I would rather have the main protagonists all in one character ala Hero, but if only one had to be picked, Shuichi would be the one.
I think that’s what they’d end up doing, with Shuichi as the default like Dragon Quest XI’s protag.
 

Clumsyzephyr

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I'd be pretty hyped if this were to happen, I've always been against the idea of monokuma seeing as he doesn't really represent the gameplay and honestly I find him to be really annoying. But yeah a Danganronpa protagonist is definitely one of my most wanted characters, and Shuichi is the best one imo.
 

DetectiveSS

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I'd be pretty hyped if this were to happen, I've always been against the idea of monokuma seeing as he doesn't really represent the gameplay and honestly I find him to be really annoying. But yeah a Danganronpa protagonist is definitely one of my most wanted characters, and Shuichi is the best one imo.
I share the same thoughts. I don’t particularly dislike Monokuma, I think he works at what he’s meant to be: a driving force for the player and story. I feel like people won’t actually get to see what the series is actually like to play if he got in, as opposed to someone like Shuichi or any other main character. To me, that’s more important that recognizability.
 
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recordagger

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You know how Pokemon Trainer can change their starting Pokemon by pressing Y? We can have Shuichi take off or put on his hat the same way
 

TooBadWaluigiTime

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You know, this is a thread I didn't expect at all. I like it though! Personally, I'm more of a Monokuma person if Danganronpa ever got in Smash, but I'm open to anything!
 

amageish

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I support! Like plenty of others have said, I would much rather see DR represented by a protagonist doing protagonist-y things then the mascot character being generically violent...

That said, I don't see why Kaede wouldn't be the official character. She's treated as the protagonist in all of the promotional material. I think it'd be much easier to justify her as the primary character (even if she's using Shuichi-exclusive moves) with Shuichi being in "as an alt" in press releases and such (i.e., "Kaede is the protagonist of V3... Suichi is her good friend with similar abilities and therefore we put him in too!"). The series isn't currently on Switch. so it'd be nice to let people go in unspoiled...
 
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ninjahmos

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I support this! I’d love to see some visual novel representation in Smash, especially Danganronpa. Although, my first choice would actually be Phoenix Wright, but I digress. Count me in!
 

TheSmashShane2021

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I support this as well! I've been helping out on a fan project, and Shuichi's playable! And even Kaede is his alternate costume!

But I do have a question on the Trial Grounds. Since it's a staple to the series, is it possible we'll see every classmate voice their testimonies from every game?
 

amageish

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I support this as well! I've been helping out on a fan project, and Shuichi's playable! And even Kaede is his alternate costume!

But I do have a question on the Trial Grounds. Since it's a staple to the series, is it possible we'll see every classmate voice their testimonies from every game?
Ooooh, what's the fan project?

I'm not OP, but I imagine they wouldn't use actual testimonies for... somewhat obvious reasons. I guess I could see them using demo stuff or recording new things? People arguing in the background could be funny, if they did audio mixing to make it not distract too much from the music...
 

ninjahmos

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I may have said this before, but they could add music from the Danganronpa series, especially V3, and maybe even Ultra Despair Girls. Both originals and new remixes. I wonder if they’d get Masafumi Takada to do a Danganronpa Smash remix?
 
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TheSmashShane2021

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Ooooh, what's the fan project?

I'm not OP, but I imagine they wouldn't use actual testimonies for... somewhat obvious reasons. I guess I could see them using demo stuff or recording new things? People arguing in the background could be funny, if they did audio mixing to make it not distract too much from the music...

It's called Ultra Smash Bros! The primary roster contains 1000 different fighters. The base roster is 99.8% complete. We're just waiting on the final two. Once they're all revealed, we can get this project in full swing. Hopefully.





Here's the primary roster in alphabetical order. There are extra characters that consist of Sony and Jump characters as well.

I hope you like what's on there. No, this project isn't mine. I only contributed to this piece.
 

TheSmashShane2021

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But about the other question, if there are multiple tracks from different games, would that mean the cast changes too?
 

amageish

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It's called Ultra Smash Bros! The primary roster contains 1000 different fighters. The base roster is 99.8% complete. We're just waiting on the final two. Once they're all revealed, we can get this project in full swing. Hopefully.





Here's the primary roster in alphabetical order. There are extra characters that consist of Sony and Jump characters as well.

I hope you like what's on there. No, this project isn't mine. I only contributed to this piece.
That is an absurdly large amount of fighters, but an interestingly absurdly large amount of fighters lol. That's the kind of project that reminds me that we will never run out of Smash Bros roster possibilities...

Also it has Tsubasa, Phantom R, and a bunch of others I like, so I won't complain haha.

But about the other question, if there are multiple tracks from different games, would that mean the cast changes too?
FYI, posting twice in a row in a short timespan is against the rules of SmashBoards; you can just edit your additional thought into your earlier post.

I could see them having multiple DR casts cameoing, depending on the style the stage takes. There's a lack of 3D models to work with for DR if they wanted to modifying the existing ones...
 

TheSmashShane2021

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Messages
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That is an absurdly large amount of fighters, but an interestingly absurdly large amount of fighters lol. That's the kind of project that reminds me that we will never run out of Smash Bros roster possibilities...

Also it has Tsubasa, Phantom R, and a bunch of others I like, so I won't complain haha.



FYI, posting twice in a row in a short timespan is against the rules of SmashBoards; you can just edit your additional thought into your earlier post.

I could see them having multiple DR casts cameoing, depending on the style the stage takes. There's a lack of 3D models to work with for DR if they wanted to modifying the existing ones...

I'm glad you like what we have going on. Tak's there as well. He may be a nickelodeon character, but he did start off as a video game character as well as sharing a history with Nintendo. Therefore, he qualified.


Sorry about that other post. I'll wait to leave out more posts at more suitable times from now on.

Edit: I posted my own comment twice on a short time span by mistake! I'm sorry! Is there a way I can delete that?
 
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ninjahmos

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I may have said this before, but they could add music from the Danganronpa series, especially V3, and maybe even Ultra Despair Girls. Both originals and new remixes. I wonder if they’d get Masafumi Takada to do a Danganronpa Smash remix?
I think some nice picks for Danganronpa music would be not only the Main Theme and the Monokuma themes, but also Distrust, BOX 15, Trial Underground, New World Order, Ikoroshia, Monomi's Theme, A Dead End to the Ocean's Aroma, Absolute Despair Girl, Monokubs Theme, Beautiful Lie, and many others. What do you guys think?
 
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