Saizo

Saizo
Game Data
Game	Fire Emblem Fates
First Seen	Birthright Chapter 7: A Vow Upheld Chapter 12: Bitter Intrigue Revelation Chapter 8 Traitor's Brand (Joins in Chapter 11: Mutual Enemies)
Starting Class	Ninja
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“I am Lord Ryoma’s retainer, Saizo. Behold my mastery of explosives!”
—Saizo, Conquest Chapter 12: Bitter Intrigue

Saizo (サイゾウ Saizō) is a playable character in Fire Emblem Fates on the Birthright and Revelation routes. One of Ryoma's personal retainers and the twin brother of Kaze, Saizo is a Hoshidan Ninja and is the fifth to carry the Saizo family name. If Saizo achieves an S support, he will bear a son named Asugi with his spouse.

Saizo is voiced by Tarusuke Shingaki in the Japanese version and Benjamin Diskin in the English version.

Profile

Saizo and Kaze are members of a ninja clan from Igasato that has proudly served the Hoshidan royal family for several generations. Their father, Saizo the Fourth, was killed by Kotaro in an unexplained incident, causing Saizo to inherit the family name and assume the leadership of the clan. At an unstated point of time, he travelled to Mokushu in search of his father's killer. Although he managed to locate the culprit, he failed to assassinate him and was instead captured by the Mokushujin. Presumably tortured during his captivity, Saizo barely managed to escape with a scar imprinted on his face and his right eye lost.

Similar to Kaze, Saizo is endowed with good looks that are considered attractive by women. Disliking the attention that his facial features can potentially attract, Saizo thus conceals his face with a mask.

In Saizo's supports with his fellow retainer Kagero, it is revealed that the pair were once lovers at one point in the past. However, as they were unable to reconcile their differences, they thus chose to give up their relationship and instead dedicate themselves to serving Hoshido.

Birthright

Following the conclusion of a battle waged between the Avatar and a band of Nohrians led by Silas in Chapter 7, Saizo and Orochi enter the scene bearing dire tidings. Having sustained a number of injuries from a battle that had broken out away from Fort Jinya, they reveal that Ryoma and Takumi have both gone missing. He then learns of the Avatar's decision to allow Silas to enlist in their army, to which he expresses suspicion, believing Silas to be a spy for Nohr. After much persuasion from his allies, Saizo begrudgingly approves of Silas' enlistment.

Saizo is directly involved in the plot once more in Chapter 10 if he is deployed in the battle waged against the Mokushujin ninja. When directed to attack Kotaro, Saizo will engage him in conversation, during which Kotaro remorselessly admits to his crime before taunting him. If Saizo manages to land the killing blow on Kotaro, he will, in a state of satisfaction, consider his father's grievance avenged.

Saizo subsequently aids the Avatar's effort to put an end to the age-old conflict shared between Hoshido and Nohr.

Conquest

Saizo makes his first appearance in Chapter 12, where he and Kagero accompany Ryoma to Palace Macarath to lay an ambush for the Avatar's unsuspecting army. When faced by the Avatar in battle, Saizo will openly challenge to them to a fair fight, establishing that it is destiny for him to encounter them a second time. He will also converse with Kaze when he engages him in battle, during which he blandly accuses his brother of being a traitor, before vowing to show him the error of his ways. Despite the best efforts of the Hoshidan army, they are eventually defeated and forced to make their retreat.

Saizo next appears in Chapter 17, where he encounters the Avatar and the Nohrian army in a cavernous labyrinth. He attempts to attack the Avatar, but his attack is blocked by his brother Kaze. Saizo wonders what the two are doing here, and Kaze tells him that they are here to help Kotaro, who is a Nohrian ally. Saizo is enraged that his brother is helping their father's killer. Saizo reveals to them that Kotaro had captured Kagero in hopes of having the Hoshidan army halt their attacks. Kotaro later appears and applauds the Avatar for catching Saizo. The Avatar later asks to search Kotaro's jail cells, not fully believing Kotaro. Kotaro reveals that he had captured Kagero, and states that he does not really care and decides to kill the Nohrian royal family so his goals can be achieved. Saizo helps the Avatar fight Mokushujin forces that had arrived. If Saizo manages to land the killing blow on Kotaro, he will, in a state of satisfaction, consider his father's grievance avenged.

At the end of the battle, the Avatar finds and frees Kagero. Kagero is surprised that he would steep so low to free her. Saizo responds that the Avatar's army had arrived by chance. If Saizo survived the ensuing battle, Kaze will give the player a Speedwing that he had given him, a sign of his thanks but also a sign that their fight is not over yet.

Saizo appears one final time in Chapter 25, where he, Kagero and several other members of the Hoshidan army reinforce Ryoma's effort to halt the advance of the Nohrians in the reception hall of Castle Shirasagi. Should he be defeated in this chapter, Saizo will perish alongside a good number of his other allies. If he is spared, his whereabouts following the end of the battle are unknown.

Revelation

Saizo makes his first appearance in Chapter 8, where he, Orochi and Yukimura are stationed at Fort Jinya after the battle between Hoshido and Nohr in the Plains of Hoshido concludes. The Avatar eventually arrives at the fort in hopes of gaining support from Hoshido, but they are instead viciously branded a traitor and attacked on sight. Despite the best efforts of the Hoshidan army, they are eventually defeated. Refusing to give up, Saizo decides to blow himself up in hopes of killing the Avatar, but Kaze and Sakura intervene in the nick of time to stop him. The Avatar then attempts to carefully explain the situation to Saizo, only for him to continue suspecting them due to the cryptic nature of their account. When Kaze and Sakura follow up by resolving to accompany the Avatar, Saizo begrudgingly allows them to depart from Fort Jinya without any further conflict.

Saizo next appears in Chapter 11, where he sends up a smoke signal to warn any nearby allies to keep away from the forest of Mokushu. Accompanied by Orochi and Reina, Saizo had, prior to the chapter's events, embarked on a mission to rescue Kagero, who had been captured by the Mokushujin ninja. While in the midst of their search for Kagero, the band stumble upon the Avatar's army, who have entered the forest to locate Saizo. Saizo chooses to believe in the Avatar's goodwill at this point and decides to aid their cause. Much like in Birthright and Conquest, if Saizo is directed to attack Kotaro, the two will engage in conversation, during which Kotaro remorselessly admits to his crime before taunting Saizo. If Saizo manages to land the killing blow on Kotaro, he will, in a state of satisfaction, consider his father's grievance avenged.

Saizo subsequently aids the Avatar's effort to put an end to Anankos' machinations.

Paralogue

In Paralogue 9, as Saizo passes through the Thieves' Den to reach his son Asugi's Deeprealm, he will pause to converse with Subaki when the latter remarks on the pronounced look of surliness that he is wearing. He then reveals his heartfelt concern for Asugi's training, where he is worried that his son will not be able to live up to the name of Saizo. Their conversation is abruptly cut short when Asugi unexpectedly appears in the scene with Funke and loudly proclaims his refusal to aid the latter in a burglary and murder attempt. Saizo, enraged that Asugi had changed his name, proceeds to admonish him, whereupon Asugi retaliates by engaging him in a heated argument. Asugi storms off shortly after refusing to take orders from Saizo, prompting Funke to turn hostile against Saizo for driving off his best underling. The ensuing battle sees Asugi attempting to flee from both Saizo and Funke, but his plan is eventually foiled when his father manages to stop his escape. The father and son then resume their argument, during which Asugi succeeds in convincing Saizo to accept him after he reveals his refusal to aid Funke is due to his personal sense of honour. Asugi then insists on joining the Avatar's army in the hopes of improving his relationship with his father.

Personality

In contrast to his brother Kaze, who is very calm, Saizo is brash and temperamental. He also becomes very frenetic when provoked, experiencing tremendous surges of passion that compel him to behave irrationally. This fact is made particularly evident in Chapter 17 on the Conquest route, where Saizo, guided by his feelings of seething hatred towards Kotaro, blindly throws himself into the heat of battle in a bid to exact vengeance on the man responsible for his father's demise.

Saizo has also been portrayed to be extremely cold and unfriendly towards people whom he is unfamiliar with, a fact that extends towards his allies. This is not without a cause, however; given his occupation as both a spy and one of two personal bodyguards of Ryoma, it is thus important for him to maintain a hostile attitude as a measure of caution. Saizo's careful vigilance is made especially evident through his initial support conversations with people like Azura and the Avatar, where his inability to trust anyone with a Nohrian background causes him to constantly keep a close eye on their actions under the justification that they could be plotting something sinister. However, he will acknowledge them properly if they have proven themselves to be friendly; in his supports with Azura, for one, she gains his trust by healing him while he is wounded and with Laslow when he protects Ryoma.

In contrast to Saizo's anti-social behavior is the fact that he becomes exceedingly shy to the point of embarrassed and flustered when he is teased or shown affection. Through his supports with Sakura, for one, he becomes visibly agitated when she light-heartedly remarks that it is hard to imagine him purchasing candies, dropping his usual facade of cool levelheadedness as he stutters uncontrollably before hastily departing from her side.

Saizo is also known to have a caring heart, although he goes to great lengths to disguise it. This is demonstrated in a support where the Avatar is carrying heavy things and Saizo goes out of his way to help. He tries to mask the good deed as only having done it because of his "honor", but quickly gets embarrassed for showing his soft, caring side.

He hates sweets the most out of everyone in the army. His birthday is October 2, the same as Kaze.

In-Game

Base Stats

• Birthright Chapter 7 - A Vow Upheld
• Revelation Chapter 11 - Mutual Enemies

Starting Class
Ninja
Level	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov
7	23	11	3	14	11	9	9	7	5
Skills			Weapon			Starting Items
Pyrotechnics Locktouch			Shuriken - C			Steel Shuriken Brass Shuriken

Starting Class
Ninja
Level	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov
9	23	11	3	15	12	9	9	8	5
Skills			Weapon			Starting Items
Pyrotechnics Locktouch			Shuriken - C			Steel Shuriken Vulnerary

As an Enemy

Conquest Chapter 12 - Bitter Intrigue

• Normal
• Hard
• Lunatic

Starting Class
Ninja
Level	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov
13	29	11	7	17	12+2	11	10	6	5
Skills			Weapon			Starting Items
Pyrotechnics Seal Strength			Shuriken - C			Flame Shuriken (Dropped)

Starting Class
Ninja
Level	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov
13	30	13	8	20 (?)	20 (?)	13	11	8	5
Skills			Weapon			Starting Items
Pyrotechnics Seal Strength Countermagic			Shuriken - C			Flame Shuriken (Dropped) Steel Shuriken

Starting Class
Ninja
Level	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov
13	30	13	8	20 (?)	20 (?)	13	11	8	5
Skills			Weapon			Starting Items
Pyrotechnics Seal Strength Countermagic			Shuriken - B			Flame Shuriken (Dropped) Steel Shuriken

• In Guard Stance with Kagero. Guard Stance: +1 Move.

Conquest Chapter 25 - Ryoma

• Normal
• Hard
• Lunatic

Starting Class
Master Ninja
Level	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov
17	44	23	18	32	25+2	23	21	17	-
Skills			Weapon			Starting Items
Pyrotechnics Shurikenfaire			Sword - C Shuriken - A			Silver Shuriken Flame Shuriken

Starting Class
Master Ninja
Level	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov
17	47	26	20	38	29+2	25	23	19	-
Skills			Weapon			Starting Items
Pyrotechnics Luna Aegis Shurikenfaire			Sword - C Shuriken - A			Silver Shuriken Flame Shuriken

Starting Class
Master Ninja
Level	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov
17	47	26	20	38	29+2	25	23	19	-
Skills			Weapon			Starting Items
Pyrotechnics Luna Aegis Shurikenfaire Inevitable End			Sword - B Shuriken - S			Silver Shuriken Flame Shuriken

Revelation Chapter 8 - Traitor's Brand

• Normal
• Hard
• Lunatic

Starting Class
Ninja
Level	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov
7	23	10	3	14	11+2	9	8	7	5
Skills			Weapon			Starting Items
Pyrotechnics Locktouch			Shuriken - C			Iron Shuriken

Starting Class
Ninja
Level	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov
7	23	10	3	14	11+2	9	8	7	5
Skills			Weapon			Starting Items
Pyrotechnics Locktouch			Shuriken - C			Iron Shuriken

Starting Class
Ninja
Level	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov
7	23	10	3	14	11+2	9	8	7	5
Skills			Weapon			Starting Items
Pyrotechnics Locktouch			Shuriken - B			Iron Shuriken

Xenologue 20 - Heirs of Fate 6: Lost in the Waves

• Normal
• Hard
• Lunatic

Starting Class
Master Ninja
Level	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov
20	33	23	15	37	30+2	5	18	18	6
Skills			Weapon			Starting Items
Pyrotechnics Poison Strike Locktouch			Sword - E Shuriken - S			Silver Shuriken Flame Shuriken

Starting Class
Master Ninja
Level	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov
20	33	25	16	38	29+2	11	22	19	6
Skills			Weapon			Starting Items
Pyrotechnics Shurikenfaire Poison Strike Locktouch			Sword - E Shuriken - S			Silver Shuriken Flame Shuriken

Starting Class
Master Ninja
Level	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov
20	33	25	16	38	29+2	11	22	19	6
Skills			Weapon			Starting Items
Pyrotechnics Shurikenfaire Poison Strike Locktouch			Sword - E Shuriken - S			Silver Shuriken Flame Shuriken

As an NPC

Conquest Chapter 17: Den of Betrayal

• Hard

Starting Class
Master Ninja
Level	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov
2	40	22	13	27	23	19	16	14	6
Skills			Weapon			Starting Items
Pyrotechnics Poison Strike Locktouch Immune Status			Sword - C Shuriken - B			Steel Shuriken Flame Shuriken Concoction

Growth Rates

Class:

1

HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res
45%	55%	45%	80%	50%	55%	50%	25%

2

HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res
45%	55%	45%	80%	50%	55%	50%	30%

3

HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res
50%	60%	45%	75%	40%	60%	50%	25%

Max Stat Modifiers

Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Luk	Def	Res
+1	0	+3	-2	0	+1	-2

Class Sets

Standard Sets

Base Classes	Promoted Classes
Ninja	Master Ninja
	Mechanist
Samurai	Swordmaster
	Master of Arms

Friendship Sets

• All Routes
• Birthright/Revelation
• Revelation

Buddy Sets

Possible Candidates	Base Classes	Possible Promotions
Kaze	None	None
		None

Buddy Sets

Possible Candidates	Base Classes	Possible Promotions
Subaki	Sky Knight	Falcon Knight
		Kinshi Knight
Ryoma	None	None
		None

Buddy Sets

Possible Candidates	Base Classes	Possible Promotions
Laslow	Mercenary	Hero
		Bow Knight

Partner Sets

• All Routes
• Birthright/Revelation
• Revelation

Marriage Sets

Possible Candidates	Base Classes	Possible Promotions
Avatar (F)	Varies	Varies
		Varies
Azura	Sky Knight	Falcon Knight
		Kinshi Knight
Felicia	Troubadour	Strategist
		Butler
Mozu	Archer	Sniper
		Kinshi Knight

Marriage Sets

Possible Candidates	Base Classes	Possible Promotions
Hinoka	Sky Knight	Falcon Knight
		Kinshi Knight
Sakura	Monk	Great Master
		Onmyoji
Orochi Kagero	Diviner	Onmyoji
		Basara
Rinkah	Oni Savage	Oni Chieftain
		Blacksmith
Oboro	Spear Fighter	Spear Master
		Basara
Setsuna	Archer	Sniper
		Kinshi Knight
Hana	None	None
		None

Marriage Sets

Possible Candidates	Base Classes	Possible Promotions
Charlotte	Fighter	Berserker
		Hero
Beruka	Wyvern Rider	Wyvern Lord
		Malig Knight

Special Classes

Base Classes	Promoted Classes
Dread Fighter (Dread Scroll required)	-
	-
Dark Falcon (Ebon Wing required)	-
	-
Ballistician (Sighting Lens required)	-
	-
Lodestar (Hero's Brand required)	-
	-
Grandmaster (Fell Brand required)	-
	-
Vanguard (Vanguard Brand required)	-
	-

Supports

See also: Saizo/Supports

Romantic Supports

• The Avatar (Female)
• Azura
• Felicia
• Mozu

Hoshido

• Hinoka
• Sakura
• Kagero
• Setsuna
• Oboro
• Hana
• Rinkah
• Orochi

Nohr (Revelation)

• Beruka
• Charlotte

Other Supports

• The Avatar (Male)
• Kaze
• Ryoma
• Subaki
• Laslow (Revelation)
• Asugi
• Shigure (if Saizo is his father)
• Kana (if Saizo is his father)

Overview

Base Class

Saizo is the second ninja available for recruitment in Birthright and Revelation. Of the three ninjas, Saizo is the closest to Cain in the Cain and Abel archetype, with his brother Kaze acting most similar to Abel. When compared to the other two playable ninjas, Saizo possesses lower Speed and Resistance, a fact that is offset by him having the highest Skill, Luck and Defense. In addition to this, Saizo's HP and Strength are considered to be midway between the other two ninjas. Unlike the other ninjas, he also has a solid Magic growth, allowing him to use Flame Shurikens and Felicia's Plate without sacrificing much attack power and better evade the effects of status-inflicting staves. Saizo's good Defense also allows him to deal with evasion penalty better than the other ninjas, a fact that increases his combat reliability. His personal skill is Pyrotechnics, which lowers the HP of adjacent enemies and Saizo himself by 20% if he is under 50% HP upon ending the battle. While the effect can be useful, it carries tremendous risk to Saizo and he will need immediate healing should he activate it. As a Ninja, Saizo starts with Locktouch as one of his default skills, allowing him to unlock doors and chests without the need of keys. He will later learn Poison Strike, a skill that lowers the HP of targeted enemies by 20%, which can prove very useful when killing bosses Saizo is unable to touch otherwise or when using the Spy's Shuriken.

Saizo has access to two immediate promotions: the Master Ninja and Mechanist classes. As a Master Ninja, he is essentially a Ninja with higher base stats and the additional ability to wield Swords and Katana. Lethality is one of the skills he can learn, and which is one that has the potential to activate more often with Saizo's high skill growth. Shurikenfaire is the other skill he can learn in this class, and is one that complements Saizo's natural proficiency in Shuriken by increasing his damage output with them equipped. As a Mechanist, Saizo sacrifices some Skill and Speed to boost his HP, Strength and Luck growths. Golembane is one of the skills he can learn, and is one that has very little use to him due to the perpetual lack of Stoneborn and puppet-based enemies appearing in the game. Replicate is the other skill that he stands to learn, and is one that allows Saizo to create a clone of himself in battle, effectively allowing him to be deployed in two different positions at once. Careful planning will be needed to avoid him being slain, as Pyrotechnics may cause him to lose even more HP in battles than ever before.

Secondary Class

Saizo's secondary class set is the Samurai, entailing the Swordmaster and Master of Arms promotions. As a Samurai, the first skill he can learn is Duelist's Blow, which boosts his Avoid by 30 when attacking, making it much safer to try and utilize his personal skill in situations where enemies are to be weakened. Vantage is the other skill he can learn, and is one that lets Saizo potentially make the first move on enemy phases when his HP is below half.

As a Swordmaster, Saizo gains access to Astra, a powerful offensive skill that lets Saizo increase his damage output significantly, alongside allowing him to be almost guaranteed to inflict stat debuffs when facing against evasive enemies. The skill also synergizes well with Saizo's high Skill, as it means Saizo can initiate the skill roughly 20% of the time, given the fact that he has a high chance of capping this stat. Swordfaire is the other skill he can learn, but is one that mostly sees use when he is kept in a Samurai-related class.

As a Master of Arms, Saizo can learn Seal Strength, a skill that cripples high Strength units such as Generals and Berserkers. When used in tandem with the stat debuffing Shuriken, such foes could find their Strength reduced to values that are almost negligent. Life and Death is the other skill learnt, but is a rather risky one due to it increasing the damage inflicted against Saizo just as much as it increases his own. This issue can be remedied with the usage of Spy's Shurikens, where range manipulation will let Saizo initiate combat safely and reap the benefits of the skill. He does, however, need to continue being cautious of enemies who can exploit the skill.

Buddy Class

Saizo has two Buddy Classes from Subaki and Laslow.

• Subaki: Subaki provides Saizo with the Sky Knight class set, entailing the Falcon Knight and Kinshi Knight promotions. As a Sky Knight, Saizo's growths excel beyond or meet Subaki's in almost every category, with him only trailing behind minutely in his Health growth. His unnaturally high Magic growth is carried into this class, too, so you can give him a Bolt Naginata to make effective use of it. The first skill he stands to learn, Darting Blow, is a great skill for him to equip, even if you reclass him again, since his mediocre Speed growth means that enemies will double him rather often. His second skill, Camaraderie, is his only accessible health-regenerative skill (minus Partner Classes), and can be made use of to keep his health high when there are allies around; however, due to it's lacklustre potency, it can be traded for a more powerful skill. From the two promotions, Falcon Knight doesn't change Saizo's playstyle in this class too much, allowing his skill with the Bolt Naginata to become slightly more proficient due to his boost to his Magic growth; on the other hand, Kinshi Knight offers a minor increase to his Skill growth, making it even closer to his base Ninja one; as a downfall, his Strength, Luck and Resistance growths take a slight plummet. This means that his reliance on Skill-based skills becomes even more important, which is a gamble; if you want Saizo to be a more balanced unit, choose Falcon Knight, for a more skill-oriented Saizo, choose Kinshi Knight. Falcon Knight first offers the Rally Speed skill to Saizo, creating more opportunity for him to be a support unit, but the skill itself doesn't benefit him or his Speed, so it can easily be switched for a more ideal skill; secondly, he learns Warding Blow, a decent enough skill to patch up his shaky Resistance growth when he attacks, and can be brought back to other classes if you want to give him an anti-mage playstyle. From Kinshi Knight, he first learns Air Superiority, a skill that can make him a decent anti-flying unit, especially if put in a bow-wielding class; secondly, he learns Amaterasu, a passive healing skill that isn't that useful due to Saizo's playstyle being more offensive-leaning.
• Laslow: Laslow provides Saizo with the Mercenary class set, entailing the Hero and Bow Knight promotions.

Partner Class

• Hinoka / Azura - Both Hinoka and Azura give the Sky Knight class, which has it's benefits explained under his friendship with Subaki above.

• Sakura - Sakura grants Saizo access to the Monk class set, entailing the Great Master and Onmyoji promotions. This can grant Saizo the opportunity to utilize his unnaturally high Magic growth, although it will likely come at the expense of a lower Speed growth. As a Monk, Saizo can learn Miracle, a skill that can save him from being defeated too easily; given that his Luck growth rate is above average, he may wind up activating it more often as compared to other characters. Rally Luck is a support skill that is better suited to non-combat-oriented units, and should thus not be bequeathed to Saizo. As a Great Master, Saizo can learn Renewal, which allows him to replenish some of his HP at the start of each turn. Countermagic works well with Saizo's shaky Resistance, as it allows him to deflect the attacks of magic users. From the Onmyoji class, Saizo can learn Rally Magic, which is again another support skill that should not be wasted on him. Tomefaire only sees use if Saizo plans to stay in an offensive magic class, as it will only boost his attack strength if he wields Tomes and Scrolls in battle.

• Rinkah - Rinkah grants Saizo access to the Oni Savage class set, entailing the Oni Chieftain and Blacksmith promotions. Compared to Rinkah, he will be superior in almost every way except for the fact that he will slightly less sturdy than her against physical attacks due to his lower Defense growth, meaning that he'll have to dodge more than her, which is easy due to his high Speed growth; from Oni Savage, Seal Resistance is not very noteworthy unless you plan to use him as a magic user in the Oni Chieftain class, but Shove is useful if there are any frail or healer units in the vicinity of an enemy attack since you can push them back out of danger; out of the two promotions, he is more balanced towards an Oni Chieftain build due to his Strength and Magic growths being very similar; Death Blow is a useful skill all around, even to bring back to his base class set or secondary class set, since it makes critical hits extremely frequent (as long as he initiates the battle); Counter is also useful as a defensive skill, since it will soften up any enemies that attack Saizo and manage to hit him. From Blacksmith, Salvage Blow can be useful due to his slightly above average Luck growth, but can be abandoned for better skills as iron weapons lose usefulness later in the game, and Profiteer is a better skill to earn gold; Lancebreaker is quite useful, as if you make Saizo use swords, this can turn the tables on the weapon triangle disadvantage.

• Orochi / Kagero - Both Orochi and Kagero grant Saizo access to the Diviner class set, entailing the Onmyoji and Basara promotions. Saizo's mediocre Magic growth, despite it being rather high for a Ninja, leaves him stunted in this class, for the most part; from Diviner, he can access Magic +2, which can benefit him if you give him a tome/scroll, but loses usefulness later on, and Future Sight, which can help with grinding levels to boost his stats; from the Onmyoji and Basara promotions, he works well as a Lance-wielding Basara, due to his slightly above average Strength growth; Rend Heaven is a great attacking skill, since it will trigger frequently due to his extremely high Skill growth, but Quixotic is a dangerous skill to equip on him; while the boost of Hit Rate and skill activation is extremely useful, it also benefits the enemy, and due to his lacklustre Resistance and average Defense, it can turn the tables on him; also, due to his high Skill, his Hit Rate and skill activation shouldn't need to be boosted. The benefits to Onmyoji are explained above under an S rank with Sakura.

• Setsuna / Mozu - Both Setsuna and Mozu grant Saizo access to the Archer class set, entailing the Sniper and Kinshi Knight promotions. Saizo's Speed and Skill growths make him able to stay in this class without too much trouble, with the exception of a shaky HP, Defense and Resistance growth; from Archer, Skill +2 is not too useful due to it already having an extremely high growth, but Quick Draw can be useful to benefit his average Strength growth (when he initiates the battle). From the two promotions, he can benefit from either one; from Sniper, Certain Blow can help if you give him a less accurate weapon like the Spy's Yumi, and Bowfaire can be useful if you decide to keep him in a bow-wielding class like the Mechanist. Kinshi Knight also benefits his high Skill nicely, but you need to keep him away from Beast Killer-wielding enemies and bow users; Air Superiority can be useful for dealing with other Kinshi Knights, and Amaterasu can turn Saizo into a semi-efficient support unit, healing a minor amount of health to the people nearby.

• Oboro -

• Felicia - Felicia grants Saizo access to the Troubadour class set, entailing the Strategist and Butler promotions. While Saizo has enough Magic to effectively use Staves and Rods, he still relies on the growth rates from his base class set to keep his Speed growth from falling too much. However, as a frontline unit, the skills from the class set can be of use. As a Troubadour, he can learn Resistance +2, which will prove a boon to Saizo's poor Resistance, although it will very likely fall out favor once he gains additional skills. Gentilhomme also sees some use, as he is often on the frontlines and can thus support his female allies by reducing the damage that they sustain. As a Strategist, Saizo is given the opportunity to continue utilising his Magic offensively, although the innate Speed growth of the class is still very risky for him to gain levels in. The Butler class is considered to be more viable for Saizo, as it retains his Shuriken ranks and allows him to channel his Magic towards the usage of Staves and Rod. While class's Speed is not very ideal, it may take some time before Saizo can build his Magic sufficiently to be an effective healer, and if an additional healer is required, the player can consider reclassing him into a Butler at an earlier level. Live to Serve is one of the skills he can learn as a Butler, and should only be considered if he remains in a staff-using class. Tomebreaker, conversely, is useful regardless of the class he assumes, as his low Resistance will definitely benefit from the upper edge that this skill gives him when facing against magic users.

• Charlotte -

• Beruka - Beruka grants Saizo access to the Wyvern Rider class set. The 1st skill Saizo gets in this class, Strength +2, is quite debatable on its usefullness, and almost always end up being replaced later on. Lunge is, however, a skill that can be, depending on the skills Saizo have, rather anyoing to face, as it alows Saizo to keep on the move, even if trapped, and walls wont stop him from doing so. The Wyvern Lord class doesn't grant anything usefull, other than Swordbreaker, as Rally Defense isn't a skill Saizo should have equipped in the 1st place (nor any other "Rally" skills, for that matter). The Malig Knight, however, gives both Savage Blow and Trample. Trample is just like a 2nd Shurikenfaire / Swordfaire and stacks addictivelly with both, as well as with Life and Death, granting Saizo up to +20 damage vs non-mounted units (and using either a shuriken/dagger or a sword/katana). Savage Blow is like Saizo's own passive Pyrotechnics, however, it don't requires Saizo to be bellow 50%HP, nor does it hurts Saizo then it activates. It does however stacks with both Pyrotechnics (if bellow 50%HP) and with Poison Strike, meaning that for 20% of Saizo current HP, he can deal up to 60% max HP damage to his primary target (unless using a Spy's Shuriken) , and (even if is primary target dies) up to 40% max HP damage to units in 2 squares of Saizo if those units don't have received damage before. On a final note, if Saizo has Lunge and both/either Pyrotechnics and Savage Blow, the damaged units will be the ones around Saizo "starting" position, even if his new position would have more units to be damaged this way.

Quotes

Refer to Saizo/Quotes.

Possible Endings

Saizo - Angry Ninja (爆炎使い Bakuen Tsukai lit. Explosive Flame User)

While no official records of Saizo the Fifth exist from after the war, later scholars agreed that he most likely stayed in Hoshido, working covertly for the Hoshidan royal family. What else would he do?

Saizo and Felicia

Saizo disappeared from official records after the war, but no doubt he served the royal family forever. Felicia gave up her career in the service industry for the military, ultimately becoming a commander.

Saizo and Hinoka

Saizo disappeared from official records after the war, but no doubt he served the royal family forever. His wife, Hinoka, became general of the Hoshidan royal army, and the two remained together always.

Saizo and Kagero

Saizo disappeared from official records after the war, but no doubt he served the royal family forever. Kagero remained a ninja. It is said that the couple got along, but didn't have much time together.

Saizo and Mozu

Saizo disappeared from official records after the war, but no doubt he served the royal family forever. His wife, Mozu, meanwhile, was a constant source of support and a humanitarian in her own right.

Saizo and Orochi

Saizo disappeared from official records after the war, but no doubt he served the royal family forever. His wife, Orochi, was completely indispensable, both through her intelligence and her future sight.

Saizo and Rinkah

Saizo disappeared from official records after the war, but no doubt he served the royal family forever. Rinkah's fiery personality ensured her husband's life was not boring, and they loved one another well.

Saizo and Beruka

Saizo disappeared from official records after the war, but no doubt he served the royal family forever. Beruka was torn about leaving Camilla but enjoyed having enough emotions for them to conflict.

Non-Canon Appearances

Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)

Saizo is illustrated in the trading card game Fire Emblem Cipher with the following cards:

• B02-014R

  
• B02-015N

  
• B07-060R

  
• B07-060R+

  
• B07-061N

  

Etymology

Saizo possibly shares his name with a member of the legendary Ten Braves, Kirigakure Saizō.

In the Japanese version, his A-support conversation with his son, Gray (or Asugi in the English version), reveals his name can potentially be 彩造 (彩: color; 造: make), not 才蔵, like the legendary Kirigakure Saizō. In their conversation, Saizo asked him why he named himself "Gray", while he said that choose "Gray" as a way to both differentiate himself, and alluded himself to the Saizo name.

Trivia

• Saizo shares his English voice actor, Benjamin Diskin, with Jakob and Hayato.
  • He also shares his Japanese voice actor, Tarusuke Shingaki, with Stahl and Gerome from Fire Emblem Awakening.
• Kaze and Saizo are the first members of the Cain/Abel archetype whose base classes are not Cavalier-based.
• Saizo placed 15th for males in the official character popularity poll.
• In the NA version of Saizo and Oboro's C Support, there is a typo where Saizo says "I'm a solder" instead of "soldier".
• Saizo's artwork from the 4koma Book depicts him wielding a Barb Shuriken.

Gallery

Artwork of Oboro and Saizo.

Artwork of Saizo and Kaze from Yusuke Kozaki's Twitter account.

Saizo as a Ninja in Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher).

Saizo as a Master Ninja in Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher).

Saizo as a Master Ninja in Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher).

Saizo's confession scene.

Saizo's portrait.

Saizouavatar.png

Saizo's official Twitter icon.

Saizo's battle model as a Ninja.

Saizo's battle model as a Master Ninja.

Saizo's battle model as a Basara.

Saizo's Private Quarters model.

Saizo's maskless Private Quarters model.