"Zeus and Odin were bigtime gods. But both of them wanted it all. They were never gonna play nice. So what do you think is gonna happen in your "world of gods"? Endless war. You know these gods will eat each other alive. They won't ever see eye to eye. But here's the thing. If we just let the Creator do His work, everyone'll get their fair share! Don't you get it? How could someone who's all-powerful, all-seeing, all-knowing ever steer us wrong?"
Ichiro Dazai is a character in Shin Megami Tensei V.
Appearances[]
- Shin Megami Tensei V / Vengeance: Major Character, Human Race, Guest Party Member (Vengeance only), Boss (Vengeance only)
Profile[]
Shin Megami Tensei V[]
"Look, I'm borderline useless at school... And I'm always making trouble for other people. But even a guy like me wants to be someone people can turn to!"
Ichiro Dazai is the protagonist's schoolmate of same year. His personality is both cheerful and gauche. His grades are poor and he is seen as useless at school.
After wandering off on his way back home to the dorm to livestream himself in response to lingering rumors of monster sightings around, he is dragged to Da'at after a tunnel collapse incident.
After being rescued by an Angel and safely returning from Da'at to Tokyo along with his other schoolmates, Bethel approaches and asks him to work for them as a demon fighter, to which he agrees in hopes of proving his worth for a noble cause. He is given the Demon Summoning Program by Hayao Koshimizu, and Yuzuru taught him the ropes, though Ichiro is hesitant to use it, as the program can cause the user to act like demons themselves.
Although he joined the cause instantly, Ichiro expresses he actually has little to no confidence, and why he's struggling at school. This issue comes from his parents often arguing and being divided, and he always upsets the other when he takes a side, not knowing what is right anymore. But he assumes that Bethel's cause simply has to be good because of its goal of protecting people from ruin. He quickly develops a friendship with his superior Abdiel, surprised to find that she has a kinder side to her.
Following Bethel's fracture, Ichiro initially remains with the Japanese branch and wanted to help their cause. As Hayao Koshimizu reintroduces himself as Tsukuyomi, he tells Ichiro that he could sense the Knowledge of another with him and told him to wait to see who would respond to it. He later returns to the summit area and tries to convince Abdiel to become a Fallen to uphold God's will, although his initial attempt ends in failure due to the archangel's reluctance, even with Lucifer's reasoning. He also discovers that he is Abdiel's Knowledge, hence why she had been treating him well as she felt a kinship with him from this connection.
When the protagonist arrives at the Taito area, they spot Ichiro, who contemplates what would happen without Bethel's rule. Accepting his flawed nature, he undergoes a slight chance in appearance, although he becomes far more threatening and assertive. He later reappears with Abdiel at the Temple of Eternity as a Nahobino pair as Abdiel embraces her Fallen nature to do so.
Should the protagonist side with Abdiel, Ichiro will greet them alongside her before making their way to the throne. He deduces that he would have to convince Yuzuru Atsuta to stand down and when the two meet, they argue over whose views is correct to no avail. Yuzuru and Hayao then transform into their Nahobino form, killing Ichiro and Abdiel. Should the protagonist side with Tsukuyomi or Nuwa, he and Abdiel transform into their Nahobino form, killing Yuzuru/Tsukuyomi and Shohei Yakumo respectively on their paths and is the first Nahobino pair fought by the protagonist on their trip to the throne, where they are killed by them.
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance[]
Ichiro Dazai's role in the Canon of Vengeance route begins identically to the Canon of Creation route.
When Lahmu invades the school, Dazai's hesitation leads to the capture of Miyazu. Dazai's guilt over this drives him to work alongside Yuzuru to track her down in Shinagawa. The two eventually encounter Eisheth Zenunim and attempt to rescues Miyazu from her, but they are defeated and Dazai retreats to the Fairy Village in order inform the protagonist, Tao and Yoko of the situation. After Yuzuru is defeated, Eisheth tries to kill Miyazu, but Dazai intervenes and attack her with Aitvaras, and thanks to the intervention of a mysterious force, Dazai's attack successfully injures Eisheth while Miyazu is unharmed. After Eisheth retreats, the group returns to the Fairy Village, only to discover that everyone there had been mysteriously turned into salt.
Dazai then goes to Chiyoda in an attempt to help Bethel's forces attack the Demon King's castle. However, the path forward becomes blocked by Surt. Unable to progress, Dazai returns to Bethel HQ where he, the protagonist, Yuzuru, Yoko and Tao are informed that Miyazu has been kidnapped from the hospital by Khonsu and the group proceeds to Odaiba to rescue her, with Dazai joining as a guest party member. While Isis attempts to inform the group that Khonsu wishes no harm on Miyazu, Dazai, distrustful of demons, refuses to listen to her an urges the group to fight both her and Khonsu. After Miyazu reveals herself to be unharmed, the group reluctantly decide that she is safe there and return the Bethel.
Dazai is then sent with the protagonist, Yoko, and Tao to look into Mastema in Shinjuku. After meeting Mastema, he confirms that he is the one who turned the residents of the Fairy Village alongside some people from Tokyo and some other demons from Da'at into salt and that he did so in odrer to prevent the Qadištu from gathering Magatsuhi from them. Mastema then briefly turns Dazai to salt to demonstrate. After the party promises to defeat the Qadištu to make Mastema turn everyone back to normal and also returning Dazai to normal, Mastema offers him the power to fight against evil in the name of God, and Dazai, believing the power would make him as strong as the protagonist, accepts.
After Tiamat is awakened, Dazai and Abdiel, learning of Hayao and Yuzuru's plan to become a Nahobino, confront them and defeat them in battle, killing Yuzuru in the process. They then notice the protagonist, but, realizing that he is no longer a Nahobino, they decide to let him go.
Later on, in the Temple of Eternity, Dazai and Abdiel, having become a Fallen following her defeat by the Nahobino, return, committed to stop anyone from taking the throne and upsetting God's order. The duo confront the protagonist and Tao, but they are defeated. As Dazai dies, he laments that he hasn't really changed from the loser he was before.
The demons that Ichiro Dazai summons to use his skills when he is a guest party member include Aitvaras, Throne, Cironnup, Basilisk, Senri, and Mokoi.
Stats[]
Shin: Megami Tensei V: Vengeance[]
Odaiba (Guest Party Member)[]
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Temple of Eternity (Boss)[]
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Etymology[]
- Ichiro's surname Dazai means "thick, big, great" (太) (ta/da) and "superintend, manager, rule" (宰) (zai).
- "Dazai" also shares pronunciation with the Japanese word for "fall of man." (堕罪*)?
In Other Languages[]
| Language | Title |
|---|---|
 Japanese
|
太宰 イチロウ |
 Korean
|
다자이 이치로 |
  Traditional Chinese
|
太宰 一郎 |
Gallery[]
