do you happen to know who the blue haired short kid that appears on a lot of the danganronpa kirigiri covers is? he seems super important but he doesn't have a page on the wiki and im confused
That’s not too surprising since Lico doesn’t show up til DRK3 and I think the Wiki more or less stopped around 2.
@transmukuroikusaba I know you guys are prioritizing V3 stuff, but when you get around to it you can just borrow anything in this answer for Lico’s Wiki page. (Feel free to reverse the names into Western order if you like.)
Lico (short for Licorne, or “unicorn” in French) is a character introduced in DR Kirigiri Vol. 3. He is a triple-zero level detective, one of four registered in the Detective Library, the others being Ryuuzouji Gekka, Johnny Arp, and Shinsen Mikado. No one knows his true identity, and he has several aliases, the most famous of which is Mikagami Rei or “The Ghost in the Mirror”.
Lico is a short preteen who by his own estimation is about twelve years old. His longish blue hair, cherubic face, and nostalgic scent all render him androgynous. He has never revealed his gender, though does not seem bothered when people assume he’s a boy. He always wears a vest, tie, white collared shirt, dress shorts, dress shoes, and knee socks. His tie contains a wire that he can use to combat opponents much larger and stronger than himself, such as former SHSL Rock Climber Hitomoshi Tsurugi in DRK3.
Despite his young age, Lico is a genius detective. Even as a child, he shot up through the detective ranks after joining when he was about 8 or 9 (iirc, will have to double-check this). He claims he sincerely loves solving mysteries, much more than “setting them up like exam questions” which is why he decides to not join The Committee. However, he states he holds a deep respect for Ryuuzouji.
One of Lico’s most famous cases was catching the Zodiac Killer, after which he conducted an interview with the American media. He refused to show his face, instead interviewing from behind a one-way mirror and using a voice changer. This is how he came to be named Mikagami Rei, or Ghost in the Mirror, which is how he is registered in the Detective Library.
At the end of DRK3, Lico leaves Samidare notes about the five Duel Noirs he’s solved within a single night. He was able to apprehend all of the culprits before the murders even took place, as well as deduce their motives and personal information. He states he will take his time and enjoy the sixth case (a death game on a cruise ship, possibly a 999 reference) but apparently can only bear it for about a single day since he appears in a helicoptor to rescue Salvadore Yadorigi Fukurou and the Kareobana Academy case suspects in the early morning at the end of DRK4. He is able to tell who the culprit is within moments of meeting the suspects.
Lico’s skills are not only restricted to deductive reasoning. He is also a capable fighter, able to flashstep and use just about any item as a weapon. In DRK3, he incapacitates The Night Flyer, a professional assassin, by throwing an umbrella into the muzzle of his gun and then physically maiming him via breaking his limbs. He uses the poisoned wire in his tie to subdue another professional assassin, Hitomoshi, as well.
Despite (or perhaps thanks to) his nebulous past that Samidare suspects might be the result of homelessness, Lico is incredibly knowledgable. He can fluently speak an obscure European language Samidare cannot even identify in order to catch pro assassin Copycat off guard.
Lico’s personality is mysterious and mischevious. He often acts childish yet as if he knows something Samidare and Kirigiri don’t. He likes to play jokes, like when he demanded Samidare kiss him in order to gain his help with the 12 Duel Noir challenge, only to rescind at the last second. Despite this, he has a ruthless side as well, getting frustrated when Samidare asks him not to kill Night Flyer or permanently disfigure him. Lico struggles to understand why--this man tried to kill them and kills people for money, he wouldn't be missed.
Samidare gets easily frustrated with Lico but appreciates his help, and she carries fondness for him. Kirigiri does not like Lico much at all and states that she cannot trust him.
Samidare first meets Lico in the Detective Library while Kirigiri is missing at the start of DRK3. Their first few encounters they don’t directly speak. Lico leads Samidare into Ryuuzouji’s limosine and then rejoins her after she leaves Ryuuzouji’s office at his castle. Ryuuzouji assigns Lico to help Samidare, and they speak for the first time when Lico asks if Samidare agreed to join the Committee or not.
They go their separate ways, meeting up again after Samidare and Kirigiri decide to try and use his help to catch Mikagami Rei for help with the 12 Duel Noirs. Following an encounter with three assassins, it is revealed that Lico is Mikagami Rei. He explains that he was infiltrating Ryuuzouji’s palace in order to gather intel on the Committee and decide if he wanted to join. Since it wasn’t very interesting to him, he agrees to help Samidare and Kirigiri instead.
The three of them split up the cases: 6 for Lico and 6 for Samidare and Kirigiri. Lico sets off for his cases and solves 5 of them before the night is over–when Samidare and Kirigiri return to Samidare’s dorm room, they find that Lico has broken in somehow and pinned 5 of the six Duel Noir summons to the wall with darts, having written in the solutions and personal details of the culprits.
Lico only appears at the very end of DRK4, 24 hours after the end of DRK3, piloting a helicopter and rescuing Yadorigi, Columbo, Ellory, Kyousuke, and Tooru from freezing to death at Kareobana Academy. He quickly deduces that Tooru is the culprit, and piques the interest of Yadorigi.
Lico is a pretty blatant reference to the Edogawa Ranpo character Kobayashi Yoshio, leader of the Boys’ Detective Club and master of disguise, especially skilled at posing as young women. It’s worth noting that Kobayashi Yoshio’s fictional mentor, Akechi Kogoro, seems to be the inspiration for Shinsen.
MoreAssortedLico Facts.
People who read the DRK novels (so myself and Monica basically) theorize that Lico’s true identity could be someone important to the story, for example Samidare’s presumed dead younger sister, or another younger sister who sometimes crops up in things in this series.
Also reminder that I have a side novel summary page.
