Saigiri

Saigiri is the friendship between Kyoko Kirigiri and Shuichi Saihara from the Danganronpa fandom.

Canon
Kyoko is a character from Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc, and Shuichi is a character from New Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony. As such, the characters do not share a "canon" and do not interact. As they come from different games in the franchise, they would be considered a crossover ship, or a cross-game ship. In the world of Danganronpa v3, Kyoko is a fictional character so she and Shuichi could never truly meet. It is likely that Shuichi is a fan of the character of Kyoko, as he chose the same Ultimate talent as her to enter the 53rd season of Danganronpa.

Kyoko and Shuichi are both Ultimate Detectives, and are the implied love interests for the protagonists of their respective games. They are both survivors of their respective Killing Games, and are often seen as the most knowledgeable members of their respective Class Trials. Shuichi and Kyoko are both are implied to have absent fathers and were raised by family members other than their own parents. It was these family members -- Kyoko's grandfather and Shuichi's uncle -- that helped them become detectives.

Kyoko and Shuichi share a number of interactions in the non-canonical  Ultimate Talent Development Plan and Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp. In these games they both go to Hope's Peak Academy at the same time. In one interaction, Shuichi questions Kyoko about her history as a detective. When she reveals that she's been in the line of work for a number of years, Shuichi displays his insecurity about his own title as "Ultimate Detective". Kyoko encourages him, reminding Shuichi that Hope's Peak chose him for a reason. She reminds him that it's important to help people that rely on him, and Shuichi agrees. Their second event occurs during their final year at Hope's Peak. Shuichi finds Kyoko early on the morning before the Closing Ceremony. She explains that she has to leave on urgent business and will need to miss the ceremony. Shuichi offers to tell Makoto Naegi for her, and then offers to take her place in their required cleaning for the day. Kyoko agrees, although somewhat reluctantly. Shuichi reminds her that she shouldn't do everything by herself, and that asking for help from others is important.

In Danganronpa S, Kyoko and Shuichi meet to have tea and discuss detective work. Makoto arrives and asks if he's interrupting anything. Kyoko explains that she just finished telling Shuichi a story of an old detective friend, then says that a detective's work is "adjacent to death". Makoto asks if that's because the work is dangerous, or because they often deal with corpses. Kyoko replies that it's a bit of both. Kyoko says that the pursuit of truth can cost a detective their life, then reminds Shuichi that there are many who would miss him if that were to happen. Makoto tells Kyoko that the same is true for her. Their second event occurs at the Summer Festival. Kyoko spots Shuichi with handheld fireworks in his bag, which he explains are for Kaito. He invites Kyoko to join Kaito's barbecue on the beach, telling her that Makoto and Aoi Asahina will be there. Kyoko comments on the fact that Shuichi always tries to make everyone happy.

Quotes
"I apologize for having such a negative attitude earlier. Thank you for encouraging me."

- Shuichi to Kyoko in the Ultimate Talent Develpoment Plan.

"I thought *I* was young to start working as a detective... You're incredible, Kirigiri-san."

- Shuichi to Kyoko in the Ultimate Talent Development Plan.

Fanon
With both Kyoko and Shuichi never interacting in the main plot, the ship is a rarepair within the Danganronpa fandom and doesn't have a big fanbase. The two are mostly shipped together because both Shuichi and Kyoko are known as Ultimate Detective in their respective games. Another reason Saigiri is shipped is because Kyoko is very confident in herself, while Shuichi isn't very confident, which led to some people headcanoning that Kyoko would help Shuichi with his self-confidence problems. This is a popular theme in fanfictions about the two.

The Danganronpa fandom also jokes about Shuichi being Makoto and Kyoko's child. Although this is non-canon and most likely impossible to be true, some people still believe it is a true theory and are critical against the ship being a romantic one. Despite the ship being such a minor one, there is quite a bit of fanart including Kyoko and Shuichi, mostly of Kyoko and Shuichi solving a case together. Sometimes they are drawn with the other protagonists and implied love interests of the other Danganronpa games.

Saigiri is one of the most popular platonic pairings for Kyoko, second only to the platonic pairing of Makoto and Kyoko. Shuichi has many more popular platonic pairings, such as his friendship with Kaito and the Training Trio. Still, it proves to be one of the most popular cross-game ships in the fandom, platonic or otherwise.

On AO3, Saigiri currently has over 65 platonic works and over 15 romantic works.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

TUMBLR

Trivia

 * Both of them have a body part that they try their best to hide. In the first chapter of V3, Shuichi wears a hat to hide his eyes after a previous case made him hesitant to look people in the eyes, and Kyoko wears gloves to hide her scarred hands.