Shiren:Shiren the Wanderer

Shiren the Wanderer (Japanese: シレン, Shiren) is the main character for the majority of the Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer franchise.

General Information

Description

Shiren has varied in appearance throughout his games and in media with different outfits and physical appearances from time to time. However he does maintain certain iconic "trademarks" that help our favorite protagonist stand out in each of his different incarnations. There are two iconic features that seem to hold true for all of Shiren's appearances. His first iconic feature being that he always wears a patterned cape that shares his primary coloration of grey and blue. His cape normally has straight lines of stripes but can feature slightly more intricate abstract markings akin to a zebra pattern. His second notable feature is that he always wears a kasa, which is a type of Japanese straw hat that also varies in appearance from game to game though usually features a lot of open slits around the brim. Lastly is Shiren's footwear. While not really being a steadfast rule or as iconic as his other two features; whether he dons boots or waraji (Japanese sandals popular during the edo period,) his leg wear usually features large staffs or flaps in their design, though this actually was not the case for his latest incarnation in Shiren the Wanderer 5.

Along with Shiren's typical outfit styles changing appearance throughout his history, so has Shiren's physical appearance. Shiren underwent a semi major design change with the release of Shiren the Wanderer 4. Before that game, his natural eye color used to be brown and his hair color was a deep purple. With Shiren the Wanderer 4 however, his eye color has been changed to a purple instead, similar to his old hair color. His current hair color also changed to a deep red burgundy. It is not known why he was given these changes to his character design, though we can surmise it was done to make his over all design stand out further with his new modernized style.

Lastly, we can not go without mentioning that Shiren is always joined by his ever reliable partner and travel companion Koppa.

Name

[If we can find any details regarding the conception or origin of Shiren's name from his designers/developers.]

Personality

Shiren is a silent protagonist type of character. This means that his true personality is very open to each person's own interpretation for how he may truly be. We can however definitely gleam likely traits that he exhibits based on other characters interactions with Shiren, as well as his own motives and actions. Shiren is at heart an adventurer. His given title as wanderer is not only a mere description, but his lifestyle and profession as well. As a wanderer, Shiren wanders the mysterious dungeons in search of treasure. Wanderers pray to the travel god, Kron and pursue one of mankind's rarest undertakings. They brave countless life threatening circumstances for the sheer exhilaration. Shiren is often quick to come to the aid of those in need, and though we can optimistically suggest that he does this of his own accord, his assistance is often preceded by the whims of Koppa as he is often pulled into helping out with various situations because Koppa wishes to.

List of Appearances

Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer

^{(a.k.a. Shiren 1, Shiren 1 DS)}

BS Shiren the Wanderer: Save Surala

^{(a.k.a. Shiren BS1)}

A modified version of Shiren 1.

Moonlight-Village Monster

^{(a.k.a. Shiren GB)}

Demon Invasion! Shiren Castle!

^{(a.k.a. Shiren 2)}

Magic Castle of the Desert

^{(a.k.a. Shiren GB2, Shiren DS2)}

The Sleeping Princess of the Karakuri Mansion

^{(a.k.a. Shiren 3)}

Though still relatively young, he has survived through countless adventures. With his trademark bamboo kasa (Japanese: 笠) and vertical-striped cape, he sets out towards the Karakuri Mansion for a brand new adventure.

The Eye of God and the Devil's Navel

^{(a.k.a. Shiren 4)}

The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate

^{(a.k.a. Shiren 5)}

The Rainbow Labyrinth

^{(a.k.a. Discontinued mobile game)}

In other media

Mystery Chronicle: One Way Heroics

Shiren appears as a DLC character in the game.

Crypt of the NecroDancer

In an issue of Weekly Famitsu column on November 26, 2015, a free update for Crypt of the NecroDancer (Japanese: クリプト・オブ・ネクロダンサー) was announced then released in Japan on January 18, 2016 and Worldwide on August 22, 2017 on Steam and later released for PS4 and PS Vita on September 5, 2017. It features characters from the Danganronpa, Kenka Bancho and Shiren the Wanderer series. Both Shiren the Wanderer and Asuka were made available as character skins. The update works even if you don't own any DLC.

Crypt of the NecroDancer Gallery

• 

  Shiren Sprite.

• 

  Shiren in-game.

• 

  Change skin menu.

• 

  Famitsu promo ad featuring Shiren and Monokuma.

• 

  Promo art featuring Shiren and Monokuma.

Etrian Mystery Dungeon 2

A costume based on the protagonist is available in the game as the Wanderer class.

Katanakami

Announced on November 20, 2019 via 4gamer, a DLC pack for the game Katanakami entitled 風来人セット (English: Wanderer Set) was announced for first-print copies. The DLC includes blueprints for both weapons. It will be released with the game on February 20, 2020.

The DLC consists of:

• 風来人の衣装と刀を追加 (English: Wanderer Costume)
  • 風来人の三度笠（装飾品） (English: Template:Translation Needed)
  • 風来人の道中合羽（装飾品） (English: Template:Translation Needed)
  • 風来人のイタチ（装飾品） (English: Template:Translation Needed)
• マンジカブラ（刀） (English: Kabra's Blade)
• カブラステギ（刀） (English: Kabra Reborn)

Katanakami Gallery

• 

  Katanakami Shiren the Wanderer DLC promo.

Trivia

• While Koppa self-describes himself as a talking weasel in Shiren 1, the Shiren 3 official English manual refers to hum as a ferret.

Gallery

• Shiren 5 Character art - Shiren and Koppa.png

  Official artwork from The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate.

External Sources

Information and description taken from the English Shiren 3 game manual.
Huge FREE Chipzel and Danganronpa update!
Katanakami DLC information.