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 everyone's own interpretation for how he may truly be. We can however gleam likely traits that he exhibits based on other characters interactions with Shiren, as well as his own motives and actions. Shiren is at his core 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 are known to pray to the travel god, Kron and pursue one of mankind's rarest undertakings. They brave countless life threatening circumstances for the sheer exhilaration. Along with seeking out adventure, Shiren is often quick to come to the aid of those in need. Though we can optimistically suggest that he does this of his own accord, his assistance is often preceded by the whims of Koppa. Shiren is often pulled into helping out with various situations because Koppa wishes to. Shiren most likely doesn't mind this all too much, as Koppa has been his long time traveling companion since his youth.

We can infer that Shiren is a very determined individual. This comes directly from the game play loop of this video game franchise. Anytime Shiren fails, he gets back on his feet ready to set out and try again until he accomplishes his ultimate goal. Along with his determination, there is a lot of evidence that suggests Shiren has a calm demeanor and a level head. He has been forced into a handful of unfavorable situations where lives were being threatened. Shiren will hold himself back from doing anything rash in order to try and keep people safe. Allowing his enemies to have whichever advantage they seek by standing down so long as they promise not to harm his friends or allies. His caring nature can put him in some odd situations, but so far Shiren has always managed to persevere through them.

Shiren is also likely to be extremely intelligent. Even in his youth, Shiren was already wandering with Koppa on his own and took it upon himself to single-handedly defend a village from a tribe of demons. His young accomplishments aside, his intelligence shows through within the game play of this franchise. Shiren has to make optimum use of his gear, items, and the environment in order to survive and accomplish the many great feats that he does. His tactical prowess and ability to assess different situations in order to make favorable outcomes and persevere is genuinely impressive. This can be further reinforced as often times on Shiren's adventures, local villagers and other wanderers tend to mention how nobody has done certain feats or accomplishments before, and many times they are trying to make a name for themselves by being the first to do so. Shiren is then usually the first person to achieve these great accomplishments, which often ends up leaving him with quite the reputation for himself afterwards.

One more thing to mention about Shiren, though not exactly a personality trait he himself expresses. Shiren appears to be a "chosen one" type of character. Shiren is the favored patron of the travel god, Kron. Shiren is confirmed to have a long lineage spanning thousands of years. His lineage includes past versions of himself and Koppa, which suggests that both Koppa and Shiren seem to be capable of some form of reincarnation. This is not confirmed to be the actual case within any official sources, though it is highly suggested to be the case as revealed in Shiren 3: The Sleeping Princess of the Karakuri Mansion. Whether his bloodline is predestined or not, one thing is for sure. Often times where Shiren ends up in the world is directly due to Kron guiding him on his travels. This can be inferred from the fact that should Shiren ever try to leave any location, he will mysteriously find his way back to that location if he has some sort of unfinished business there. Though the business may not be known to him, it is known to Kron. Kron is highly suggested through dialogue within various games to be the guiding force for Shiren, and likewise Shiren appears to be Kron's personal envoy within this world. Whatever the case may actually be, they certainly have a very deep connection to each other.

History

Shiren's earliest history is shrouded in mystery to the fan base. His exact birth origins remain unknown to us as well as his birth mother's exact name. What we do know is that Shiren is the son of Gimensha and Sensei's Sister. Sensei being Shiren's Uncle and Gimensha's brother-in-law. Some period of time after his birth, Shiren had encountered his lifetime friend and companion Koppa the talking weasel. It is not exactly clear to us for how long he had known Koppa before their first big adventure together when Shiren was 10 years old. After traveling through the mountains, the pair stumbled upon Natane Village. They decided to stop there to eat some food. While they were eating food, the village was attacked by a tribe of demons. Shiren decided then to build a castle for the village to help protect the villagers and defend them from the demon's raids. This starts the events of Demon Invasion! Shiren Castle!.

Following this event, Koppa and Shiren part ways with each other for a short period of time. During this period of time it is unknown what Shiren is up to, though Koppa meets with Asuka who is a childhood friend of Shiren. The two have an adventure with each other, which begins the events of Fushigi no Dungeon: Fūrai no Shiren Gaiden: Onna Kenshi Asuka Kenzan. The only thing we do know regarding Shiren during these events is that they take place one year after the first game, as Shiren is 11 years old during this time.

After those events, we now experience a largely unexplored period of time for Shiren, as his next major adventure will not happen until he is 18 years old. This also marks the first point of some confusion or major revisions that had occurred in the franchise. The next major events that occur are told within Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer, the original game in the franchise. Koppa informs us that about 6 months prior to this game, he had run into Shiren and became fast friends with him. Shiren had been traveling around apparently in memory of his friend, and the duo decided to check out some rumors that they had been hearing regarding the divine bird of legend, The Golden Condor. Apparently this beast resides within the lost city of gold, atop the plains of the sun high above Kobami Valley at the top of Table Mountain. The duo begins their adventure and manages to succeed in what no other wanderer has achieved thus far. They climbed to the top of Table Mountain where they found the lost city of gold, Amteca. It turns out that the city and its citizens have been destroyed and devoured by a vicious creature known as the Tainted Insect, that fed on the very Gold the city was composed of. Shortly after discovering the lost city, Shiren and Koppa do encounter a Tainted Insect and proceed to dispatch it. With the creature destroyed, they are able to actually save the divine bird of legend itself, as it was trapped in a cocoon made by the Tainted Insect. After saving the Golden Condor, it grants Shiren a ride back down to the base of the mountain where they return to the Canyon Hamlet for a short period of time, as their business here is not yet finished.

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.