Saiouma

Saiouma is the slash ship between Kokichi Oma and Shuichi Saihara from the Danganronpa fandom.

Danganronpa V3/Main Story
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, and when Ryoma introduced himself as an Ultimate Tennis Pro. However, when Kokichi revealed his Ultimate Talent as the Ultimate Supreme Leader, Shuichi got curious and almost immediately asked about his organization. As Shuichi is a detective, he found it strange that he had never heard of Kokichi’s organization. Kokichi kept telling him that his organization is secret so it’s normal if Shuichi doesn’t know about it, while claiming that he might be lying.

Multiple times in the game, Shuichi thinks of “how innocent Kokichi” 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, saying, “he’s lying about lying…”

Kokichi appears to be amused by and in some way fond of Shuichi, having stated that the other boy seems “decently not boring”, which is a very rare and notable compliment coming from him. Although Kokichi didn’t seem to have a lot of interest in Shuichi at first, their relationship started to grow after Chapter 1, as Shuichi became the new protagonist after Kaede Akamatsu. He regularly calls him “大好きな最原ちゃん” 'Daisukina Saihara-chan' translated to “My beloved Saihara-chan” in the Japanese version, even if it can be a way to tease him as he already did with others.

Kokichi occasionally calls Shuichi “Mister Detective” or “Mister Ultimate Detective”. In Chapter 6 Class Trial, when Shuichi said, "So that's why Kokichi had to die?" Tsumugi, cosplaying as Junko, responded with, "Hmmm. Good job, Mr. Detective... You got it." As if she was trying to mimic Kokichi. Even if it's evident that Tsumugi said this line with Junko's voice, this line would definitely fit well as Kokichi's, even having that sassy and somewhat flirtatious tone he'll usually have. Tsumugi does this as if he was trying to taunt Shuichi.

In the Class Trial of Chapter 4, when Shuichi made a deduction of the culprit using the sloped roof as a slide for Miu's avatar, Kaito disagreed, saying it wouldn't have slid even with the slope and the snow. Maki follows along with him, saying the avatars can generate friction, assuming it wouldn't have that much momentum. Kokichi cuts them both off and sides with Shuichi by saying that it would have slid. When Kaito took Maki's side saying "It wouldn't slide! Just like 'Maki Roll' said!", Kokichi also cuts him off by saying "It would slide! Just like 'Shumai' said!" 'Shumai', which translates to "Chinese Steamed Dumplings" is a parody to Kaito's “Maki Roll” nickname for Maki, "Harumaki", which translates to "Japanese Spring Rolls".

Kokichi enjoys his company, finding him one of the most interesting person in the group and praises him often. He has also more than once mentioned that he is “constantly thinking about him”, and claims that he is his favorite whom he loves the most. On his whiteboard, it's shown that Kokichi has a more positive, though slightly unclear, impression of Shuichi, considering him “trustworthy?”. Kokichi is a paranoid character, who is very afraid to open up and trust others, so considering Shuichi “trustworthy” indicates that he was the only person Kokichi could, or thought he could rely on.

However, Kokichi referred to him in the Japanese version as "油断ならない" (yudan naranai), a play on words that means "tricky," which is simply Kokichi's way of expressing "can't figure him out." This may have been due to Kokichi's perception of Shuichi as being 'unpredictable'. The Class Trial in Chapter 2 provides evidence to support this claim. Shuichi defied Kokichi's seeming prediction, when he decides to trust Maki, defying what the case's logic would seem to do at the time. Kokichi is surprised by this, as he probably assumed the detective would just pursue reasoning to its logical conclusion because, well, he's a detective. And when Shuichi behaves differently than what Kokichi had predicted, that thought seemed to fascinate him. For someone like Kokichi, who has an ability to predict what the cast could've said in Chapter 5, and even going as far as doing branching routes, just incase someone doesn't follow what he had predicted, and finds much of life boring, the inability to predict Shuichi's behavior to such an extent interested him. This would seem to support all the FTEs he had said on how fascinating and unpredictable he found Shuichi. Other translations of this seem to mean "stay cautious," as though he perceived Shuichi's unpredictable nature as a danger. However, he didn't seem to believe Shuichi was the mastermind as much as he simply couldn't come up with any other things to write other than that, which seems too hard to believe.

During the trials, he often does not reveal Shuichi’s lies even though he notices them. He occasionally made fun of Shuichi’s nervous personality, calling his hat “emo hat” and calling him and Tsumugi a “plain pair”. Although the "emo hat" was nothing more than an unnecessary mistranslation, along with Kokichi "mocking" Kaede's death. In the English version, he says, "You finally got rid of your 'emo hat'! Is this 'cuz Kaede died or whatever?" However, In the Japanese version, Kokichi says, "You aren't wearing that 'gloomy hat' anymore? Is it because of the impact Akamatsu-chan left on you after she died?"

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. In Chapter 2, when Shuichi wakes up from unconciousness after Gonta's "rampage", he's greeted with Kokichi waking him up and saying he's in hell. It's unknown why Kokichi was staring at Shuichi like that while Shuichi was unconcious, nor how long he was on top of Shuichi until he woke up. Kokichi appeared to be sitting off to the side and simply leaning in very closely with little regard for personal space, judging from the camera perspective. He didn't have his face so near the entire time, ostensibly, or Shuichi wouldn't have been unconscious for that long. In Chapter 3, Kokichi falls through the floorboard that was intended 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.

During Chapter 4, when everyone is inside Neo World Program, Kokichi claims he would cry if something happened to Shuichi with a worried expression. When they’re alone, he tries to offer his support for Shuichi, saying he wants to use him but also be useful to Shuichi as well. He attempts to separate Shuichi and Kaito, telling Shuichi that he should be his friend instead. Kokichi says he can help Shuichi save everyone, saying “And you wanna save everyone... riiiight?” referring to Kaede’s last wish, which offends Shuichi who takes it as a joke from Kokichi, in addition to having spoken badly of Kaito. Shuichi then leaves without saying a word, and Kokichi mutters to himself about being dumped and rejected by Shuichi, but he says he won’t give up that easily. Darkly, he states that if he grows to like someone, he makes them notice him even if it means strangle them. It’s very likely that he was referring to Shuichi. In the original Japanese version, the phrasing he used, translated as to “like someone”, is nearly always used in a romantic context and can be more accurately translated as calling Shuichi his "好きになった人" (“suki ni natta hitto”), “the person I fell in love with.”

The same phrasing is used by Maki Harukawa to describe her feelings for Kaito Momota, which are canonically romantic in nature. Kokichi was also alone in the Neo World Program when he said these words, which makes the chances that he lied almost impossible. So it would be logical to say that his words and therefore his feelings are genuine, since Kokichi has no one to lie to (except the player and himself).

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, his 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. In the fourth Class Trial, Kokichi is surprised to see Shuichi had lied to him. He claims he is frustrated and then decides to bother with his reasoning. He then says the whole thing is getting boring and he doesn’t care anymore. After the execution of Gonta Gokuhara, Kokichi punches Kaito in the face, and Shuichi tells Kokichi that he is alone and always will be, while Kaito has people on his side. However, in the Japanese version, Shuichi says "Momota-kun has people on his side, [...] You... That’s all you are." However, this does not seem to affect how Shuichi felt after Kokichi’s death, internally thinking that he has trouble forgetting Kaito’s death as well, but not only, also Kokichi’s. It should also be noted that during the trial, Kokichi had abused. He killed Gonta and hit Kaito in the face, so Shuichi reacting like that to Kokichi should be defensible. When Shuichi calls him “lame” and says he is meant to be the kind of person who doesn’t have anyone for him, Kokichi’s boastful attitude changes and he seems genuinely upset.

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. At the very end, Shuichi really did understand Kokichi as a person. The answer he reached, about how there is no correct answer between truth and lies, 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.

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 the anti-hero is wearing white, and Shuichi, the protagonist who everyone believes in wearing black. Perhaps to represent ying-yang, when there's good in bad and there's bad in good, creating a balance.

Free Time Events/Love Across the Universe
While he enjoys to mess with him, Kokichi appears to feel some care for Shuichi and seems to be unwilling to actually harm him. Throughout his Free Time Events, Kokichi tries to "kill" Shuichi and involves him in many of his selfishness and pranks, though he also seems to make sure Shuichi won't be harmed and seems to just mess with him with words. 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. He also invites him to a tea party and suggests Shuichi could join his organization, so he doesn't have to die. In the last event, Kokichi hurts himself by playing the Knife Game and Shuichi takes care of him in worry. Kokichi is pleased by this and tells Shuichi he won, confusing the detective who answers that he wasn't even playing. Kokichi tells him that games can be won without playing them, foreshadowing the end of the killing game. He then claims he never had an intention to actually kill him. Since he has made Shuichi think about him constantly, he claims he has already “killed” him by “stealing his heart”.

During the bonus mode Love Across the Universe, Shuichi realizes that he cannot change Kokichi's lying which is a significant part of him and instead should try to understand him and his lies. After his Harmonious Heart scene, Kokichi says ''“I'm so glad I met someone who can truly understand me. Wow. maybe I was born into this world only to meet you, Shuichi.”'', a reference to the infamous line spoken by Kaworu Nagisa from Evangelion, a character with a same-sex crush on the protagonist. He also at one points suggests they may have been lovers in a past life.

When Shuichi expressed genuine interest in getting to know the “real Kokichi” in Kokichi's Salmon Team Graduation Event, 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 can lie a lot, sure can’t lie about the warmth of his hand. Shuichi also blushed during this event, admitted that he’s intrigued by him and wants to know more about him.

Love Hotel Event
In Kokichi’s Love Hotel scene, his fantasy involves him being a legendary thief who’s been captured by his archenemy, the detective Shuichi Saihara, with the scene including lots of sexual tension. It’s revealed that Kokichi let himself to be caught on purpose and actually wishes to get tied up and “interrogated“ roughly, but Shuichi does not want to hurt him and is confused by the situation. This disappoints Kokichi a bit and he states he wouldn’t mind whatever Shuichi would do to him. Shuichi continues to act very hesitant and Kokichi says it does not matter how Shuichi feels, though he soon states he was lying about that. Kokichi asks if Shuichi is mad because he feels like Kokichi is playing with his heart and he says his head is always filled with thoughts of Shuichi. He tries to trick Shuichi by claiming that they are surrounded by Kokichi’s subordinates, but Shuichi can tell he is lying. Since Shuichi does not make a move, Kokichi says he wants to play with him more and pushes him on the bed. However, he suddenly runs off, which confuses Shuichi even more and he shouts after Kokichi. Right before leaving the room, Kokichi says he wishes to have more fun games with the detective next time they meet.

Fanon

 * Dynasty| Miia

The song is often associated with Kokichi and Shuichi, mainly because of this edit by KitsukiFox.


 * The King| Conan Gray

"This is a song where Conan Gray strongly believes that his love interest is ignoring her affections for him despite how obvious it is. Although he portrays himself as ‘the King’ or a guy who is worth it all in the lyrics, he is actually hoping that his love interest soon realizes that what she is looking for in a guy is right under her nose."

The meaning of the song has a lot of similarities between the SaiOuma dynamic, and is mostly associated on Kokichi's perspective with his attempts to try and get Shuichi's attention by the fandom.

As the lyrics goes:


 * "You like me, oh, obviously"

So why you trying to leave when you know that I'm the king? (Can be interpreted as Kokichi calls himself "The King of Gifted Juveniles" at Chapter 5, after his mastermind reveal.)


 * (You'll see)

'Cause I'm supreme! (This line can be interpreted as mentioning Kokichi's Ultimate Talent, "Ultimate *Supreme* Leader")


 * (Choose me)

Quotes
"I'm the type of person who, if I fell in love with someone, would choke them to get them to turn their head."

- Kokichi's confession scene, talking about Shuichi.

"You have pretty bad taste, Shuichi. I thought we were of one heart and soul !"

- Kokichi's reaction if he is okay with the gift Shuichi gives him.

"Hmm...I guess this isn't *that* boring. You have pretty good taste, Shuichi. Well, not as good as mine. I'll surprise you with a gift one of these days, Shuichi!"

- Kokichi's reaction if he likes the gift Shuichi gives him.

"Now you'll never *ever* forget me for the rest of your life. I stole your heart, so now i'm satisfied! I don't need to steal your life anymore!"

- Kokichi to Shuichi during their last FTE. ㅤ

Fanon
sailed as a typical Foe Yay ship between the protagonist and his rival. Their interactions throughout Chapter 4, where Kokichi is determined to team up with Shuichi against the latter's best friend, Kaito, have also helped to fuel the ship even further. So did Kokichi being the investigation partner for Shuichi in this chapter. The fact that both characters are implied to be bisexual also helped make it a fan favourite. It has overshadowed many other Shuichi ships. In some parts of the fandom, it has even surpassed the popularity of Shuichi's heavily teased ship with Kaede Akamatsu, which is its main rival.

On AO3, Saiouma is the most written Danganronpa ship. It currently has over 6000 works.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Kokichi/Shuichi tag on FanFiction.net
 * Kokichi/Shuichi tag on FanFiction.net

FAN ART

TUMBLR

WIKIS
 * on
 * on

Variations

 * Amasaiibouma refers to the ship between Rantaro Amami, K1-B0, Kokichi and Shuichi
 * Amasaioumatsu refers to the ship between Rantaro Amami, Kaede Akamatsu, Kokichi and Shuichi
 * Amasaioumota refers to the ship between Rantaro Amami, Kaito Momota, Kokichi and Shuichi
 * Oumamasai refers to the ship between Rantaro Amami, Kokichi and Shuichi
 * Saiibouma refers to the ship between K1-B0, Kokichi and Shuichi
 * Saioumatsu refers to the ship between Kaede Akamatsu, Kokichi and Shuichi
 * Saioumota refers to the ship between Kaito Momota, Kokichi and Shuichi
 * Shuichi x Maki x Kaito x Kokichi refers to the ship between Maki Harukawa, Kaito Momota, Kokichi and Shuichi