Saioumatsu

Saioumatsu is the poly ship between Shuichi Saihara, Kokichi Oma and Kaede Akamatsu from the Danganronpa fandom.

Game
Kaede, Shuichi and Kokichi are 3 of the main characters in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony. Kaede and Shuichi are mutual supports, Shuichi being Kaede's, before she becomes Shuichi's support when you play as Shuichi. Kokichi, the antagonist, is shown as Kaede's rival at first, then becomes Shuichi's rival after Chapter 1. Kaede is more optimistic in nature, Kokichi is realistic and Shuichi is pessimistic.

Kaede and Shuichi are introduced as the main duo from the beginning of the game. They first meet in the prologue, where the protagonist, Kaede, wakes up in a locker without remembering how she ended up here. That's where she meets Shuichi, who falls on the floor after waking up in the locker next to hers. They both introduce themselves as Ultimate Pianist for Kaede, and Ultimate Detective for Shuichi. In a skippable dialogue, Shuichi tells Kaede that he's worried and hopes that someone here knows what is happening to them, but Kaede comforts him; Kaede has gradually become a source of comfort for Shuichi, just as Kaede feels safe with him thanks to his status as a detective. The duo stays together for the entirety of the prologue, investigating the school, the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles. During their investigations, Kaede seems intrigued by Shuichi, often trying to guess what he is up to. She once assumed that he was a neat-freak - which he denied. She attempts to help raise Shuichi's confidence by giving him pep talks, for example when she told him “Geez... Not “suppose”, you *are* the Ultimate Detective, okay?” when Shuichi told Maki that he supposed he was the Ultimate Detective. Shuichi then blushed and said that maybe she was right.

While investigating the school in the prologue, Kaede and Shuichi met a strange boy claiming to be the "Ultimate Supreme Leader" of an organization with over 10,000 members. Kaede's first impression of Kokichi is that of a child messing around on purpose for attention, which was revealed to be true later on in Kokichi's Free Time Events with Kaede. Kaede and Shuichi questioned Kokichi about his organization, but he wasn't very responsive, claiming that it was a lie and that it's normal for a liar to lie. Although this didn't take away their curiosity, they became suspicious of Kokichi and then left to continue investigating the school.

During the game, it is revealed that Kokichi thinks highly of Kaede, and later Shuichi, them being the only ones he trusted in the killing game. Shuichi and Kokichi are shown to somehow admire and respect Kaede because of her optimism and her habit of moving forward, although Kokichi tends to question this nature because he thinks that Kaede's personality will get her killed in the situation they are in. Shuichi on the other hand, thinks this personality is Kaede's quality, and that she shouldn't stop trying to protect everyone with that strength.

Chapter 1 focuses on Kaede and Shuichi's relationship. When they are not with the rest of the group, they are always together. It started because Kaede is the person Shuichi trusts the most, since they woke up at the same time. It is reciprocal on Kaede's side, she trusts Shuichi and his detective skills above all when it comes to reasoning. As Shuichi was often seen blushing when Kaede complimented him and being one of the only ones he really trusted, this strongly suggests that he had a crush on her. Because the two spent so much time together, many other students pointed this out and some more or less jokingly assumed they were dating. Kokichi has noted that Kaede and Shuichi are “pretty buddy-buddy with each other” in chapter one's class trial. He also cheekily asked Kaede about how far she's gone with Shuichi, but then claims that he simply meant how far they've gone investigating the building. During the investigation of Rantaro's crime scene, he jokes at Kaede and Shuichi for investigating the scene together and points out how awfully chummy the two have gotten.

Kaede is the person who helped Shuichi to face the truth, and it is in her memory that he will face the truth in every trial, to honor the promise he made to her. After Chapter 1, Kaede will be the protagonist through her final wish which will be from Chapter 2 on carried by Shuichi, the new main playable character who will continue to move forward in her honor, continuing to spread her will and final wish among the group as asked by Kaede. However, Shuichi didn't particularly look for a way to escape or stop the killing game after Chapter 1, although that had been Kaede's wish. He did solve all the crimes in each chapter and uncovered the truth in her honor, but the only person who really looked for a way to stop the murders from Chapter 2 onwards was Kokichi, showing that he may have taken Kaede's wish to heart more than Shuichi.

When the class goes into the Death Road of Despair supported by Kaede's optimism, Kokichi tries to encourage everyone with her, helping her with her pep talks. Shuichi is quite admiring of Kaede, not willing to give up in this situation. Kokichi, on the other hand, finally opens Kaede's eyes to her actions, and makes her understand that pushing people without giving them the right to give up is torture, and that everyone around her, including Shuichi, are mentally and physically drained, which enabled everyone to make up the next day, thanks to the conflict Kokichi had created to make Kaede realize that not everyone thinks like her. After everyone leaves the Death Road of Despair, Shuichi reassures Kaede, telling her that she shouldn't worry about what Kokichi said, and that he doesn't think Kaede was pressuring them. Still, Kaede reconsiders, realizing that Kokichi was right.

During Kaede's first free time of the game, she has a personalized line when she speaks to Kokichi when he's sad, thinking "Is Kokichi going to be okay? Maybe I should stay by his side..." instead of the usual "should I spend time with (...)?". Kaede also didn't question Kokichi's sadness even though she knows he's a liar. During Kaede and Kokichi's Free Time Events, Kokichi flirts with her, telling her that he'd "never turn down an invitation from her", "was thinking about her this whole time" when he claims to remember Kaede before the killing game, and "is saying this because he only cares about her." Although Kaede is shown irritated by Kokichi's words, she still stays with him when she knows he just wants attention, thus giving him the attention he's trying to have. Kaede falls for Kokichi's lies plenty of times, showing that she trusts him even if he's a liar. Kokichi also asks Kaede for a favor, which is to join his organization after they graduate to rule the world together, but Kaede refuses because she thinks he's lying about that organization of his, claiming it's "common sense." Kokichi then questions Kaede's common sense, saying that to each its own, and that common sense is defined by people. Kaede becomes offended and leaves Kokichi after he questions her way of thinking once more. While they have the same interests (the harmony of the group), they have a completely opposite ideology. Kokichi thinks that, for the group to survive and live, they should all work alone and choose carefully the people they'll trust. Kaede is the exact opposite, she wants to believe in everyone, chooses to bond with everyone, and tries to get along with everyone, to escape with them. She intentionally chooses to see the good in people, just because she can. And that's something Kokichi doesn't do, and doesn't agree because he's shown gradually in the game to suffer from trust issues.

More into Chapter 1, Shuichi finds a hidden passageway in the library and informs Kaede about it, asking her to promise him that she will keep "what he wants to show her" secret. She then promises him, and Shuichi smiles before starting to "talk like a great detective" according to Kaede. After talking to Kaede about the possibility of someone cooperating with Monokuma is hiding among them, Shuichi adds that he doesn't expect Kaede to believe him, and says he just wanted to tell her, no matter what. When they go to the library for the second time, Shuichi confides to Kaede that he has a new hypothesis, and that he thinks that the mastermind of the killing game is hiding among them. The two of them agree to create together a trap to reveal the mastermind and stop the killing game, Kaede telling Shuichi that she will take this risk with him, and adds ''“You told me about this, so that must mean you trust me, right, Shuichi? Then...I'll trust you, too.”'' Shuichi then blushes and Kaede continues by telling Shuichi "let's expose the mastermind together, Shuichi." and Shuichi thanks her by telling her that she encouraged him a lot, showing that he is slowly gaining confidence thanks to her. Shuichi blushes once again after Kaede's words, ''“And when this all is behind us, we're gonna stay good friends! It's a promise, okay!?” answering “R-Right...”'' Kaede and Shuichi agree to set up a trap to capture the mastermind.

Once everything is set up days later, Kaede and Shuichi quickly run out of the library, then decide to go straight up to the classroom they had prepared. To pass the time, Kaede starts to ask Shuichi some questions, saying that he should be a little more confident and tries to comfort him by telling him the Ultimate Initiative has chosen him as the Ultimate Detective, so he shouldn't doubt his skills. Shuichi answers, head down, that he does not deserve his title and that he is not even a real detective, adding that he never really wanted to be a detective in the first place. He continues by telling Kaede about his past in details, and that the case he solved to become the Ultimate Detective was just chance; he solved the crime before the police, and people started calling him the "boy detective". Kaede encourages him by saying that it's still amazing that he was able to solve a murder case and that most people can't do that. Shuichi opens up to Kaede, wondering if it was really a good thing he solved that case. Kaede listened carefully before answering that it was not as if he took sides, and that he uncovered the truth, because that is what detectives do. Shuichi, still head down under his hat, answers that yes, it was his fault because he uncovered the truth, and he still suffers the consequences. He ends up saying that since "that one stupid case", he has been so afraid to uncovering the truth, and that this is why he sometimes have trouble looking people in the eyes. Kaede understands this is why he wears that hat, and makes a remark on how she noticed Shuichi's hands were trembling at that moment. She kindly reached out and held his hand, and thanked him for being with her, because she was giving him the courage she needs to take on the mastermind. She also asked him to be more confident, because she believes in him. After letting go of his hand, Kaede compliments Shuichi, telling him that he would look way cooler if he wasn't wearing that hat. Shuichi blushes while asking her what she was talking about, and Kaede assures him that she was serious, and she would like Shuichi to show her what he looks like without his hat when they leave this place. Shuichi doesn't answer, but blushes as he looks down.

During the Chapter 1's first Class Trial, Shuichi was shown trying to cooperate with others, but soon became silent, internally thinking. When Kaede pointed this out, Shuichi often replied things like ''“What? Ah, um... yeah.”'' Even until the trial, Kaede has been shown to care deeply for Shuichi, like when she attempted to desperately steer suspicion away from him after the other students begin to accuse him. Kaede also fought against Kokichi to defend Shuichi, but thought that Kokichi's arguments were convincing. Kokichi was shown to trust Kaede's words during the trial, and he never suspected she would be the culprit, unlike Shuichi, whom he immediately accused. After and during the Scrum Debate where Kaede's side (with Shuichi) is debating against Kokichi's side, Kokichi points out that Kaede has been lying to protect Shuichi. After a long time of silence where Shuichi didn't speak anymore, Kaede understood that he had discovered everything, but was afraid to uncover the truth. Somehow, Kaede and Shuichi shared a moment apart from the others that will serve as a transition to switch the main character from Kaede to Shuichi. Shuichi promised Kaede that he won't let her wish go ungranted and revealed the truth behind her lies, making it clear to everyone that the person who killed Rantaro is in fact her. Kokichi seemed a little taken aback and saddened by this revelation, and immediately tried to defend Kaede from Shuichi's accusations, saying that Kaede would never do such a thing after preaching about teamwork. Shuichi refuted Kokichi's arguments, and Kokichi fell silent, accepting that Kaede was the culprit. Shuichi proved to everyone that Kaede is the culprit, while making them understand that she did all this to kill the mastermind, and that her target was never Rantaro.

After Kaede was found guilty for the murder of Rantaro, Kokichi explained her why she fell right into Monokuma's trap, and that even if it was to protect everyone, she started the killing game the second she "allowed murder to fill her heart". Even though he knows that what Kaede did was bad, he still seemed grateful to her for saving them from the time limit, saying that if she hadn't done anything, everyone would have died. Although hurt by Kaede's supposed betrayal, Shuichi still cried over her demise. The two shared a tearful moment, and both were driven to tears while Shuichi angrily asked Kaede why she had murdered Rantaro, although he stopped immediately when he was reminded that she would be executed. Shuichi tried to stand up to Monokuma but Kaede told him not to worry and that she was ready to be punished. Kaede then said she knows that as long as Shuichi is with them, her wish will remain among the group. When Kaede's execution was about to begin, Shuichi didn't want to accept that Kaede was about to die, but Kokichi did. He looked her calmly in the eyes and told her "Well, Kaede...you definitely weren't boring." as a mark of respect to tell her that what she did to the group was something they won't forget, making Kaede the first person Kokichi told this rare compliment. Shuichi was seen trying to rescue her in the beginning of her execution, in which he was shown trying to reach Kaede's hand but his attempt failed. Shuichi and Kokichi were then forced to watch Kaede's punishment with the remaining students.

After Kaede's death, Shuichi broke down on the floor in tears, thinking that everything had just ended. Kokichi also started crying, saying "I can't believe this happened to Kaede...I liked her so much...". In the Japanese Version of the game, "I liked her so much" actually translates to "my beloved Akamatsu-chan." When they both calmed down, Kokichi told Shuichi "Just hit the reset buttons on your feelings and you'll feel happy and cheerful in no time." to cheer him up after Kaede's death.

The rest of the game is played as Shuichi, giving Shuichi and Kokichi their own separate moments. Kokichi has notable moments where he's shown to tell Shuichi the same things he used to tell Kaede. He once greeted Shuichi saying "Good mooorning, Shuichi!" after saying "Good mooorning, Kaede!" in Chapter 1, as well as generally trusting Shuichi the same way he used to trust Kaede despite having trust issues. He also asked Shuichi to join his organization, just like he did with Kaede. Kaede also told Shuichi in a Free Time Event that if he offers his hand to people, they'll reach for it. In his last Free Time Event with Kokichi, Shuichi "reaches out to him", the same way Kaede described her act as "reaching out to Kokichi" during their first FTE. Kokichi also regularly calls Shuichi his "大好きな最原ちゃん" translated to "my beloved Saihara-chan", the same way he called Kaede his "大好きな赤松ちゃん" "beloved Akamatsu-chan" after her execution. In his Graduation Event, Kokichi admits he wants Shuichi to stay by his side after they leave the academy, just like he tried to make Kaede stay by his side by joining his organization after they graduate.

Kaede's death is an important event that devastated Shuichi, and is the main reason for his character development. After Chapter 1, he took off his hat in Kaede's honor, and was suddenly motivated to keep moving. The same goes for Kokichi, who was never shown working to put an end to the killing game during Chapter 1, but suddenly tried to prevent the murders from resuming directly in Chapter 2.

They both still think about Kaede from time to time. When Shuichi is asked if he liked Kaede by Maki, he doesn't respond but has a flashback of Kaede holding his hand. In Chapter 2, Kokichi asked Shuichi if he got rid of his hat because of the effect Kaede's death had left on him. During Chapter 3, Kokichi told him that he would have preferred Kaede to come back to life instead of Rantaro, then added that it's because it would make Shuichi happy, before saying it was a lie. Since Kokichi is known to choose logic over emotions, this is an unsual thing for him to say. In Chapter 4, Kokichi tries to team up with Shuichi to "save everyone." In Chapter 6, Shuichi proved that Kaede being wrongly executed was rule-breaking thanks to Kokichi's plan.

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 that he only told Kaede at that moment, and Kaito later in the game. Kokichi also gave Shuichi nicknames like "Mister Detective" or "Mister Ultimate Detective", and once called him "Shumai" as a parody to Kaito's "Harumaki" nickname for Maki. Kokichi enjoys his company, finding him one of the most interesting person in the group and praises him often. On his whiteboard, it's shown that Kokichi has a more positive, though slightly unclear, impression of Shuichi, considering him "trustworthy?" (only in the English Version of the game). He occasionally made fun of Shuichi’s nervous personality, calling his hat "emo hat" and calling him and Tsumugi a "plain pair". 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.

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 FTEs with Shuichi ended in a heartwarming way because Shuichi was patient and actually cared for him. He also invited him to a tea party and suggests Shuichi could join his organization, so he doesn't have to die. In Kokichi's last Free Time Event with Shuichi, the protagonist is shown to care about Kokichi, as he immediately goes to tend his small wound once he got hurt by the Knife Game. Kokichi is pleased by this and tells Shuichi that 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. Kokichi explains that since he has made Shuichi think about him constantly because he was scared that Kokichi might kill him, he claims he has already "killed" him by "stealing his heart"? He tells Shuichi that "now he won't ever forget him for the rest of his life", thus explaining why Kokichi always messes with people to catch their attention; so they remember him. He did exactly the same thing with Kaede in Chapter 1. When Shuichi tries to take his hand, Kokichi refuses to. This is a parallel to their gradutation event, where Shuichi does take his hand, and make a comment about how warm his hand is.

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, 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" “the person I fell in love with.” The same phrasing is used by Maki to describe her feelings for Kaito, which are canonically romantic in nature. As much as Kokichi's "My beloved Akamatsu-chan" for Kaede, he told himself that Shuichi was the person he'd fallen in love with, making the chances of him lying almost impossible in both cases, since he was adressing to himself.

In Chapter 4, Shuichi's patience towards Kokichi reaches its limit. 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, 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, but no one wants to be around you. You... That's all you are.", meaning he never told him he'd be alone forever and doesn't think it. 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.

However, this does not seem to affect how Shuichi felt after Kokichi's death, internally thinking that he has trouble forgetting Kaito's death, but not only, also Kokichi's. Shuichi thought to himself that "they lost the most trusted friend and the least trusted friend of them", considering Kokichi a friend even after everything he's done. Kokichi's final words in the game, "At least I wasn't boring, right?" he said to Kaito were also similar to the last words he said to Kaede, "Well, you definitely weren't boring." Kaede also unintentionally started the killing game while trying to end it, and Kokichi indirectly ended it while participating, making them die for the same purpose.

In Chapter 6, Shuichi finds Kokichi's Motive Video, in which he learns that Kokichi considered D.I.C.E., his secret organization, to be "the most important people in his life", which means that he asked Kaede and Shuichi to join the most important people in his life. Kokichi is never shown to ask anybody to join his organization other than them. Later during the investigation, Shuichi recovers a fragment of his memory thanks to the Flashback Light, in which we see a scene in the Gofer Project where Kaede says that everyone is friend from here on out. Kokichi then asks her confused, "even though you just met us and don't even know what we're like?", to which Kaede makes him understand that she's willing to accept him and everyone else as they are, even if she doesn't know them. During the 6th trial, Shuichi cleans his "Remnant of Despair" image Kokichi made up, proving to the group that he was actually never a bad guy. He also shouts several times that he will never forgive the mastermind for breaking the rules and killing Kaede, promising to avenge her.

In the end, Kaede, Kokichi and Shuichi have always needed each other to work properly, despite never interacting as a trio directly. Kaede taught Shuichi how to face the truth even though Shuichi was completely afraid of uncovering the truth after years, thus starting his character development, while Kokichi has helped Shuichi understand that lies are not a bad thing, and that truth and lies are on an equal footing. In the end, Shuichi understood that "lies are just another way of telling the truth" thanks to what Kaede and Kokichi taught him. Kaede and Kokichi represent the game's Truth VS Lies theme, and are therefore parallel in what they teach the main protagonist in order to understand the outside world. Kaede and Shuichi were the only ones able to figure Kokichi out, to different levels. Kaede understood that it was his habit of lying and playing with people that made him Kokichi, and so never told him to stop lying, and even gave him the attention he wanted on purpose. Shuichi realized after their Free Time Events that Kokichi only wanted to be remembered and understood that Kokichi's lies were an important part of his personality, which also gave him the attention was hoping to get from Shuichi. Kokichi and Shuichi were the only ones with whom Kaede behaved differently, acting like a tsundere with Kokichi (and Shuichi in Dating Simulator) because she didn't know how to cope with his confusing behavior, and was naturally closer to Shuichi than to the rest of the group. Even though they wanted the same thing, Kaede was seen as the "Truth" and the good person in the eyes of the group, while Kokichi was seen as the bad guy because he was always lying. The only one who saw Kaede lying and Kokichi telling the truth is Shuichi.

In Shuichi's Relationship Chart, Kaede comments "Let's do our best together!", and Kokichi comments "Won't you cooperate with me?". In Kaede's, Kokichi says "What a shame!" (the same thing he said when Kaede refused to join his organization), and Shuichi says "Clair de Lune...", the song he listened to in Kaede's lab after her death. In Kokichi's, Kaede comments "Let's work together!" and Shuichi says "How is he having fun...?"

Bonus Modes
In Kokichi's non-canon Love Suite, his fantasy involves him being a legendary thief who's been captured by his enemy (played by Shuichi), with the scene including lots of sexual tension. During Kaede's Love Suite, Shuichi had the role of Kaede's boyfriend and they celebrated their first anniversary. Kaede seemed upset because he didn't call her by her first name and tried to make him call her 'Kaede' (or "sweetheart" in the English version instead of Kaede) instead of 'Akamatsu-san'. It's heavily implied that Kaede and Shuichi had sex in the end of their Love Suite. It should be noted that Shuichi does not seem to be another person than himself in both Kaede and Kokichi's fantasies, implying that their ideal partner is Shuichi.

During Kaede's last Free Time Event with Shuichi in the Salmon Mode, they are shown to be having a piano duet, after they had trained together in the previous Free Time Events. Kaede also wants Shuichi to practice the duet with her in her own personal piano after they escape. They seem to be blushing, and Kaede makes him promise that they'll keep this relationship even after they get out of the academy. Kaede also took notes on Shuichi during the previous FTEs, wanting to find out more about him. During their Graduation Event, Shuichi said that he can't wait to live "his future" with Kaede.

During the same bonus mode, Shuichi realizes that he cannot change Kokichi's lies 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 just 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 and admitted that he's intrigued by him and wants to know more about him.

In Danganronpa S, Kaede has an event where she talks with Hifumi about writing a romance/shoujo manga between a pianist (that is represented by Kaede) and an "evil leader." The pianist of the fanfiction is stated to fight against her feelings for the leader, although it's never stated that the "evil leader" is Kokichi. Though, Kokichi does often refer to himself as "leader of evil."

In the Ultimate Death Card Machine from Ultimate Talent Development Plan and Danganronpa S, Shuichi and Kokichi's U Rarity cards are shown to quote a line that they said to Kaede. Shuichi's card says "I will face the truth...for everyone." and Kokichi's says "Well...you definitely weren't boring." What most of U Rarity Death Cards have in common is that they quote an important line for the characters, usually the one that led to their character development.

Fanon
Saioumatsu sailed for the same purposes as Naegamigiri and Komahinanami did - because their dynamic consists of the protagonist, his implied love interest, and his rival. Sometimes, it was because fans were stumped on whether to ship Saiouma or Saimatsu. The fandom often portrays Saioumatsu as a "Shuichi has two hands" for both Kaede and Kokichi. As a result of such dynamics, the polyship is among more recognizable ones in the fandom, although it's not as huge in popularity. Some fanarts will show Kaede and Kokichi flirting with Shuichi, with him being flustered.

However, some fans of the ship perceive their relationship as the most important of Danganronpa V3, since Shuichi wouldn't have ended the killing game if Kaede and Kokichi didn't teach him the Truth VS Lies theme through their ideals, making them as a kind of "Sun (Kaede), Moon (Kokichi), Eclipse (Shuichi)." People also like Saioumatsu because all the three of them are the only ones who understand each other, and because Kaede started Shuichi's character development, while Kokichi ended it.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

Trivia

 * The trio shares the "male protagonist, his implied love interest and his rival" dynamics with Naegamigiri and Komahinanami.
 * Like in Komahinanami's case, the love interest and the rival die, leaving the protagonist as the only survivor of the group. Furthermore, the rival dies as a victim in Chapter 5.

Variations

 * Amasaioumatsu refers to the ship between the three and Rantaro Amami
 * Saimatsu refers to the ship just between Shuichi and Kaede
 * Saiouma refers to the ship just between Shuichi and Kokichi
 * Oumatsu refers to the ship just between Kokichi and Kaede