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Persona 5 is a 2016 role-playing video game developed by P-Studio and published by Atlus. The game is the sixth installment in the ''Persona'' series, itself a part of the larger ''Megami Tensei'' franchise. It was released for PlayStation 3 and PlayStat ...
'', a 2016
role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...
by
Atlus is a Japanese video game developer, video game publisher, publisher, Arcade game, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for the ''Megami Tensei'', ''Persona (series), Persona'' ...
, is set in Tokyo beginning in April of the year "20XX". It centers on the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, a masked
vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating, and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante is a person who practices or partakes in vigilantism, or undertakes public safety and retributive justice ...
group of high-school students working to change people's hearts and have them confess their crimes. They do this by defeating a physical manifestation of their subconscious in a mysterious realm known as the Metaverse, accessed through a
mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone, phone, tablet computer, tablet, or smartwatch, watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop appli ...
on their
smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...
s. The playable characters can be controlled in the game's many locations, such as "Palaces", which are created by people with great desires and a distorted perception of the world. The
player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional Character (arts), character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters tha ...
is a
silent protagonist In video games, a silent protagonist is a player character who lacks any dialogue for the entire duration of a game, with the possible exception of occasional interjections or short phrases. In some games, especially visual novels, this may extend ...
codenamed Joker, a high school student who moves to Tokyo after being falsely accused of assault and expelled from his former school, and later forms the Phantom Thieves and becomes its leader. He forms it with Morgana, a mysterious cat-like creature who is the Thieves' second-in-command and guide in the Metaverse, who wants to discover his origins and restore his true form, and
Ryuji Sakamoto is one of the main characters in the 2016 video game ''Persona 5''. He is one of the founding members of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, after awakening to his Persona, Captain Kidd, adopting the Phantom Thief nickname . He is a bullied student ...
, who is seen as a
delinquent Delinquent may refer to: * Delinquent (royalist) In 1643, near the start of the English Civil War, Parliament set up two committees: the Sequestration Committee, which confiscated the estates of the Royalists who fought against Parliament, and ...
at his school due to an incident involving his former track team. Over time, more characters join the group, including fashion model
Ann Takamaki is one of the main characters in the 2016 video game ''Persona 5''. She is a Japanese teenage girl and a second-year student at the fictional Shujin Academy. She is also one of the founding members of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, a group for ...
, art prodigy
Yusuke Kitagawa is one of the main characters and party members in the 2016 video game ''Persona 5''. He is voiced by Tomokazu Sugita in Japanese and Matthew Mercer in English. He is a member of the group Phantom Thieves of Hearts, who aim to change the hearts ...
, student-council president
Makoto Niijima , whose Phantom Thief code name is , is a character in the Persona (series), ''Persona'' series, first appearing in the 2016 video game ''Persona 5'' as one of its main characters. She is voiced by Cherami Leigh in English and Rina Satō in Japan ...
, hacker and foster daughter of Sojiro Sakura,
Futaba Sakura , also known by her codename , is one of the main characters in the 2016 video game ''Persona 5''. She is a member of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, as well as their navigator, taking over the position from Morgana. She starts the game as a shu ...
and business heiress Haru Okumura. Also interacting with Joker are
Goro Akechi , who uses the code name , is a fictional character and the secondary antagonist of the 2016 video game ''Persona 5'', which is the sixth installment of the ''Persona'' series. A third year high school detective nicknamed "The Second Coming of t ...
, a high-school student and ace detective; Sae Niijima, a public prosecutor and Makoto's older sister; and Igor and his assistants,
Caroline and Justine Caroline may refer to: People * Caroline (singer) (born 1981), Japanese glitch pop musician * Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (1933–2017), American football player * Jamie Caroline (born 1999), British racing drive ...
, who are residents of the Velvet Room. Many of the game's characters represent the
tarot Tarot (, first known as ''trionfi (cards), trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a set of playing cards used in tarot games and in fortune-telling or divination. From at least the mid-15th century, the tarot was used to play t ...
's
Major Arcana The Major Arcana are the named cards in a cartomantic tarot pack. There are usually 22 such cards in a standard 78-card pack, typically numbered from 0 to 21 (or 1 to 21, with the Fool being left unnumbered). Although the cards correspond to the ...
suit A suit, also called a lounge suit, business suit, dress suit, or formal suit, is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles generally worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt su ...
. Although the suit has twenty-two cards and ''Royal''-exclusive characters account for two additional alternate Arcana for a total of twenty-four, only twenty-one (twenty-three in ''Royal'') are represented by characters; the last one, The World, is given at a later point in the game. The
seven deadly sins The seven deadly sins (also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins) function as a grouping of major vices within the teachings of Christianity. In the standard list, the seven deadly sins according to the Catholic Church are pride, greed ...
are a recurring theme within the game, with certain characters and situations representing them.


Creation and design

The game's character design and setting distinguish it from previous entries in the series, replacing ''Persona 4'' yellow-and-green palette with reds and blacks. As with ''
Persona 3 is a 2006 role-playing video game developed by Atlus that is the fourth main installment in the ''Persona (series), Persona'' series, which is part of the larger ''Megami Tensei'' franchise. It was originally released for the PlayStation 2 in ...
'' and ''
Persona 4 is a 2008 role-playing video game by Atlus. It is chronologically the fifth installment in the ''Persona (series), Persona'' series, itself a part of the larger ''Megami Tensei'' franchise, and was released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in Ju ...
'', its characters were designed by
Shigenori Soejima is a Japanese character artist best known for his work in the ''Persona'' series of role-playing video games by Atlus. He initially worked in minor roles on several games after joining Atlus and took over as series art director from his mentor ...
. In an interview, Soejima said that he could not design the characters without the game's theme and plot being set first, so he was given detailed instructions from the producer during the process. He also worked on the color scheme and overall visual presentation. In addition to casual and school apparel, each of the Phantom Thieves have their own thematic costumes with
mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment, and often employed for rituals and rites. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, ...
s when in the Metaverse, as well as
codename A code name, codename, call sign, or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in ...
s.


The Phantom Thieves of Hearts


Founding Members

; ; :The protagonist, who as a Phantom Thief goes by the codename "Joker", is the game's main
playable character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
. He is a second-year high school student who gets expelled after being falsely accused of assault by a corrupt politician. As a result, he leaves his hometown and moves in with a family friend in Tokyo to serve a one-year probation. Upon transferring to a new school, he and several other students awaken to a supernatural power known as the
Persona A persona (plural personae or personas) is a strategic mask of identity in public, the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. It is also considered "an intermediary ...
. Soon after, they form a
vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating, and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante is a person who practices or partakes in vigilantism, or undertakes public safety and retributive justice ...
group known as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts to explore the Metaverse, a metaphysical realm consisting of the physical manifestations of humanity's subconscious desires, and remove malevolent intent from people's hearts. :He holds the "Wild Card", an ability that allows him to hold more than one Persona and fuse together Personas to create new ones. His original Persona is Arsène, based on
Arsène Lupin Arsène Lupin () is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created in 1905 by French writer Maurice Leblanc. The character was first introduced in a series of short stories serialized in the magazine '' Je sais tout''. The first ...
, of the Fool Arcana and he fights using knives and
handgun A handgun is a firearm designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun, long barreled gun (i.e., carbine, rifle, shotgun, submachine gun, or machine gun) which typically is intended to be held by both hands and br ...
s. His ultimate Persona is Satanael, the
Gnostic Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: , romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among early Christian sects. These diverse g ...
equivalent of the
devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...
, a
deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...
who can harness the power of the
seven deadly sins The seven deadly sins (also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins) function as a grouping of major vices within the teachings of Christianity. In the standard list, the seven deadly sins according to the Catholic Church are pride, greed ...
. Joker also appears in spin-off games '' Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight'', ''
Persona 5 Strikers ''Persona 5 Strikers'' is an action role-playing game developed by Omega Force and P-Studio and published by Atlus. The game is a crossover between Koei Tecmo's ''Dynasty Warriors'' franchise and the ''Persona'' series developed by Atlus. The g ...
'', '' Persona 5 Tactica'', and '' Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth'', as a playable character in the crossover
fighting game The fighting game video game genre, genre involves combat between multiple characters, often (but not limited to) one-on-one battles. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappling, counter- ...
''
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' is a 2018 crossover fighting game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the '' Super Smash Bros.'' series, succeeding ' ...
'' and in various other cross-promotions outside of the series. He is portrayed by
Hiroki Ino is a Japanese actor associated with Stardust Promotion's Section 2. Ino debuted as an actor in 2009 and has notably appeared in the films ''Demolition Girl'' (2017) and ''Touken Ranbu'' (2019). He has also starred in several stage play adaptat ...
in ''Persona 5: The Stage''. While the player can freely name Joker in the game, he is canonically named in most appearances and in the
manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
adaptation. ; ; :Morgana, who as a Phantom Thief goes by the codename "Mona", is an amnesiac and mysterious
bicolor cat A bicolor cat (also tuxedo cat) is a cat with white fur combined with fur of some other color, for example, solid black, tabby, or colorpointed. There are various patterns of a bicolor cat. The coat patterns range from the Van-patterned, which ...
-like creature who encounters Joker after they free him from his cell in Kamoshida's Palace. Wanting to discover his origins and restore his true form, he joins Joker in his heists and teaches him and his allies the mechanics of the Metaverse and the ropes of being a phantom thief, while serving as the second-in-command of the vigilante group. Hashino describes Morgana as similar to ''
Persona 4 is a 2008 role-playing video game by Atlus. It is chronologically the fifth installment in the ''Persona (series), Persona'' series, itself a part of the larger ''Megami Tensei'' franchise, and was released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in Ju ...
'' Teddie and as a mentor of the Phantom Thieves. Outside of the Metaverse, Morgana takes the form of a domestic cat and lives with Joker. :His Persona is
Zorro Zorro ( or , Spanish for "fox") is a fictional character created in 1919 by American Pulp magazine, pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo de Los Ángeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashin ...
, which Hashino describes as Morgana's ideal human form. Morgana fights using a
slingshot A slingshot or catapult is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame, with two tubes or strips made from either a natural rubber or synthetic elastic material. These are attached to the upper two ends ...
and a curved
sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...
. He can transform into a minivan in the Metaverse (modeled after the Citroën Type H), which allows the Phantom Thieves to travel quickly. Morgana represents the Magician Arcana as a Confidant, and allows Joker to craft tools to help the Phantom Thieves explore the Metaverse. As the Confidant progresses automatically, Morgana's Persona will transform into
Mercurius Mercury (; ) is a major god in Religion in ancient Rome, Roman religion and Roman mythology, mythology, being one of the 12 Dii Consentes within the ancient Roman pantheon. He is the god of financial gain, commerce, eloquence, messages, commu ...
. In ''Persona 5 Royal'', his Persona can evolve into Diego. He seeks Joker's help to discover his true form, and believes that he was once human; as he spends time with Joker, however, he starts to put more importance on the bond they forged. As the Phantom Thieves go further into Mementos, Morgana regains his memories and learns that Igor created him to guide Joker against Yaldabaoth. After Yaldabaoth is defeated, Morgana loses his Metaverse form and vows to remain with Joker in hope of becoming human. In ''Royal'', Morgana gains a human body when the Phantom Thieves were living in Maruki's reality. In ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'', Morgana is featured in Joker's taunts, victory poses and All-Out Attack Final Smash, in addition to being a Spirit and a background character on the Mementos stage as the Morganamobile. He also appears as a downloadable player character in ''
Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania ''Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania'' is a platform party game developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and published by Sega. It is a remake of the first three console entries in the ''Super Monkey Ball'' series, and was released in celebration of the se ...
''. ; ; :Ryuji, who as a Phantom Thief goes by the codename "Skull", is Joker's first companion. Hashino describes Ryuji as "defiant", but a "nice guy". He is offended by the slightest comments from others, and sometimes resorts to violence. He lives with his mother since they were abandoned by his abusive, alcoholic father. :Ryuji was formerly the star runner on Shujin Academy's
track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
team, but after Kamoshida started spreading rumors about his troubled family life, he was enraged and tried to punch him. In retaliation, Kamoshida broke Ryuji's leg in 'self-defense' and he was forced to quit the track team. As a result, the track team was suspended and he was blamed for the incident, earning a reputation as a delinquent. :Ryuji's Persona is
Captain Kidd William Kidd (c. 1645 – 23 May 1701), also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd, was a Scottish-American privateer. Conflicting accounts exist regarding his early life, but he was likely born in Dundee and later settled in Ne ...
. In battle, he fights using
clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Club (magazine), ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands a ...
and
shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...
s. As a confidant, he represents the Chariot Arcana and allows the Phantom Thieves to instantly defeat lower-level Shadows. Joker helps Ryuji rediscover his love for running and re-establish the track team. Despite reuniting the team, Ryuji plans to run on his own instead. Upon completing his Confidant, Ryuji's Persona takes the form of Seiten Taisei, who is known for his immense strength. In ''Persona 5 Royal'', his Persona can evolve into William. :He is portrayed by Kouhei Shiota in ''Persona 5: The Stage''. He appears in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' as a Spirit and as a background character on the Mementos stage. ; ; :Ann (Anne in the Japanese version) who as a Phantom Thief goes by the codename "Panther", is a one-quarter-American girl in Joker's class who recently returned to Japan. She is fluent in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
and is a model. Hashino describes Ann as "the life of the party", who "will have an impact on the fate of the main characters." Despite her popularity, she lacks friends and is isolated and lonely. She is also shunned by the girls in her class because of her rumored relationship with the gym teacher Kamoshida. :Ann joins the Phantom Thieves after learning that her best friend Shiho Suzui's suicide attempt is linked to Kamoshida. Her Persona is
Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...
, whom Hashino describes as a "''femme fatale'' character." Ann fights using
whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...
s and
submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine (firearms), magazine-fed automatic firearm, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to descri ...
s. As a Confidant, she represents the Lovers Arcana and helps Joker negotiate with Shadows. As Joker befriends her, Ann improves herself for Shiho and begins taking her modeling career seriously. After completing her Confidant, Ann's Persona evolves into
Hecate Hecate ( ; ) is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, or snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depicted as three-formed or triple-bodied. She is variously associat ...
. In ''Persona 5 Royal'', her Persona can evolve into Célestine. :She is portrayed by in ''Persona 5: The Stage''. She appears in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' as a Spirit and a background character on the Mementos stage.


Later Members

; ; :Yusuke, who as a Phantom Thief goes by the codename "Fox", is a student in the fine-arts department of Kosei High School. He is composed, elegant, and observant, and has a passion for art and aesthetics. He has been sheltered throughout his life, and is eccentric around others. Because he is poor, he often skips meals to save money for art supplies, eating ravenously when he has the opportunity. Hashino describes him as "an eccentric character" with a "different charm" than you would expect from his appearance. :Yusuke's mother died when he was three years old, leaving him an orphan. He was taken in by his mentor, the painter Ichiryusai Madarame, who he sees as a father figure and idolizes for creating his favorite painting, ''Sayuri''. However, he is eventually forced to accept that Madarame is exploitative and abusive and plagiarizes his students for profit, robbing them of their passion for art. This leads to him awakening his Persona and joining the Phantom Thieves. Eventually, he learns that ''Sayuri'' was a self-portrait by his mother holding him as an infant, and that Madarame allowed her to die from an easily treatable seizure to steal the credit for it. He also painted over Yusuke to decontextualize her expression, manufacturing mystery for the sake of artistic appeal; this revelation enrages him and leads to him fully rejecting Madarame as a mentor. :Yusuke's Persona is Goemon. He fights using
Japanese sword A is one of several types of traditionally made swords from Japan. Bronze swords were made as early as the Yayoi period (1,000 BC – 300 AD), though most people generally refer to the curved blades made from the Heian period (794–1185) to the ...
s and
assault rifle An assault rifle is a select fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge, intermediate-rifle cartridge and a Magazine (firearms), detachable magazine.C. Taylor, ''The Fighting Rifle: A Complete Study of the Rifle in Combat'', F.A. Moyer '' ...
s. As a Confidant, Yusuke represents the
Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
Arcana and assists the Phantom Thieves by copying skill cards. After Madarame's change of heart, Yusuke has difficulty regaining his ability to create art, but the protagonist helps him rediscover his love for art and the beauty of the world around him; this inspires him to paint ''Desire and Hope''. After completing his Confidant, his Persona evolves into Kamu Susano-o. In ''Persona 5 Royal'', his Persona can evolve into Gorokichi. :He is portrayed by
Koji Kominami is a Japanese model and actor. From 2015 to 2017, he was an exclusive model for the fashion magazines ''Samurai Elo'' and '' Popteen''. Career Modeling career Kominami was a model for the hair salon Ocean Tokyo and was later scouted to model pr ...
in ''Persona 5: The Stage'', ''Stage #2'', and ''Stage 4: Final'' and in ''Stage #3''. He appears in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' as a Spirit and a background character on the Mementos stage. ; ; :Makoto, who as a Phantom Thief goes by the codename "Queen", is the president of Shujin Academy's student council. She is the school's top student and is considered the brains of the Phantom Thieves for her analytical prowess, being able to deduce conclusions, theorize in several situations, and make elaborate plans. Behind this exterior, she has an inferiority complex and often praises her sister Sae Niijima. Makoto feels that she is a burden to Sae because of their father's death, which has motivated her to work hard to succeed and reduce her sister's stress. Makoto starts tailing the Phantom Thieves to find information for Principal Kobayakawa, but after learning their identities, she tasks them with changing the heart of
mafia boss A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, mafia don, mob boss, kingpin, or godfather is the leader of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss has absolute or nearly absolute control over the other members of the organization and is ...
Junya Kaneshiro. She then resolves to join and fight alongside them after tiring of others telling her what to do. :Makoto's Persona is
Johanna Johanna is a feminine name, a variant form of Joanna that originated in Latin in the Middle Ages, including an -h- by analogy with the Latin masculine name Johannes. The original Greek form ''Iōanna'' lacks a medial /h/ because in Greek Spiritus ...
, and she fights using
revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...
s and '' tekko''. As a Confidant, Makoto represents the Priestess Arcana and provides the Phantom Thieves with a more-detailed analysis of in-game enemies. As Joker gets closer to her, Makoto decides to become better-acquainted with her classmates and befriends Eiko Takao. She discovers that she is in a relationship with Tsukasa, a suspicious man who has manipulated girls into working for illegal businesses in Shinjuku. Makoto reveals Tsukasa's true nature to Eiko with Joker's help, and decides to follow her father onto the police force. After completing her Confidant, Makoto's Persona evolves into
Anat Anat (, ), Anatu, classically Anath (; ''ʿnt''; ''ʿĂnāṯ''; ; ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:ꜥntjt, ꜥntjt'') was a goddess associated with warfare and hunting, best known from the Ugaritic texts. Most researchers assume tha ...
. In ''Persona 5 Royal'', her Persona can evolve into Agnes. :She is portrayed by in ''Persona 5: The Stage #2'' and
Akari Ishizuka (born February 7, 1997) is a Japanese actress and YouTuber. She is a former member of NMB48. Ishizuka is the producer of the theater company Akazunoma and owner of the clothing brand Green Tea Cookie Fun Club. Life Born in Osaka Prefecture, ...
in ''Persona 5: The Stage #3''. She appears in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' as a Spirit and a background character on the Mementos stage. ; ; :Futaba, who as a Phantom Thief goes by the codename "Oracle" ("Navi" in the Japanese version), is the adopted daughter of Sojiro Sakura, the owner of Café Leblanc. Despite being a
genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for the future, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabiliti ...
computer
hacker A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who achieves goals and solves problems by non-standard means. The term has become associated in popular culture with a security hackersomeone with knowledge of bug (computing), bugs or exp ...
, she is initially a recluse due to multiple traumatic experiences exacerbating her
social anxiety Social anxiety is the anxiety and fear specifically linked to being in social settings (i.e., interacting with others). Some categories of disorders associated with social anxiety include anxiety disorders, mood disorders, autism spectrum dis ...
; even after joining the Phantom Thieves, she is fearful of large crowds. Two years before the game's events, her mother Wakaba Isshiki was killed by a car and she was framed for her death with a forged suicide note, resulting in her extended family shunning and verbally abusing her. After this, she was bounced among family members until Sojiro intervened and took her in. This severe trauma has caused her to suffer
auditory hallucination An auditory hallucination, or paracusia, is a form of hallucination that involves perceiving sounds without auditory stimulus. While experiencing an auditory hallucination, the affected person hears a sound or sounds that did not come from the ...
s of her extended family's reactions to the suicide note and visual hallucinations of her mother staring at her disapprovingly. As a result, she has internalized her family's hatred of her and locked herself in her bedroom. :By the time of the game's events, Futaba has developed a Palace in the form of a pyramid which represents
sloth Sloths are a Neotropical realm, Neotropical group of xenarthran mammals constituting the suborder Folivora, including the extant Arboreal locomotion, arboreal tree sloths and extinct terrestrial ground sloths. Noted for their slowness of move ...
. However, its true sin is
wrath Anger, also known as wrath ( ; ) or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong, uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt, or threat. A person experiencing anger will often experience physical ef ...
, taking the form of its sole cognitive inhabitant: a Sphinx representing Futaba's warped and incorrect belief that her mother hated her. As the Phantom Thieves become more popular, Futaba blackmails them into changing her heart with the alias "
Alibaba Ali Baba is a character from the folk tale "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves". Alibaba Group is a Chinese multinational internet technology company. Ali Baba or Alibaba may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Ali Baba and the Forty T ...
" after a supposed malevolent hacking group using her old alias " Medjed" targets them. Though she abandons the deal after realizing it entails meeting them in person, they approach her when Medjed continues to threaten them and commit to the heist upon learning her plight. Just before receiving the calling card, Futaba finds the Metaverse Navigator on her phone, and her Shadow appears before her and beckons her to enter her Palace. Her Shadow represents her repressed positive emotions, and helps the Phantom Thieves traverse her Palace while fighting for control with the Sphinx, which takes over when she hallucinates. During the final heist, Futaba hallucinates while entering her Palace's keywords into the Nav, resulting in the sphinx manifesting and attacking the Phantom Thieves. After entering her Palace and discovering the truth about her mother's death, Futaba awakens her Persona and helps them defeat the Sphinx. After the fight, the Phantom Thieves discover that rather than having a Treasure, she ''was'' the Treasure, and that her Palace is collapsing quickly because she awakened a Persona. Like the cast of ''
Persona 4 is a 2008 role-playing video game by Atlus. It is chronologically the fifth installment in the ''Persona (series), Persona'' series, itself a part of the larger ''Megami Tensei'' franchise, and was released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in Ju ...
'', the strain of awakening a Persona debilitates Futaba for potentially several weeks depending on how long before the deadline the player completed her Palace, and she spends much of the interim asleep. Her unique Change of Heart, a result of her taming her Shadow, prevents her from ending up in the Prison of Regression. :After preventing Medjed from throwing Japan into chaos and a week of the Thieves helping her to become more social, she officially joins them and replaces Morgana as the party's navigator. She later discovers that the Medjed who targeted the Phantom Thieves was a
script kiddie A script kiddie, skript kiddie, skiddie, kiddie, or skid is a pejorative term used to describe an unskilled individual who uses malicious scripts or programs developed by others or LLMs. Characteristics The term script kiddie was first used in ...
loyal to a political conspiracy headed by Masayoshi Shido, who aims to use the Metaverse to turn Japan into a dictatorship. This same conspiracy was also responsible for murdering her mother to steal her cognitive psience research. She plays an instrumental role in the conspiracy's downfall through changing Shido's heart and hacking into several television networks to broadcast his calling card. She also confronts the Shadow of an IT company president, who turns out to have been the false Medjed. :Futaba's persona is
Necronomicon The ''Necronomicon'', also referred to as the ''Book of the Dead'', or under a purported original Arabic title of ', is a fictional grimoire (textbook of magic) appearing in stories by the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft and his followers. ...
, and she provides detailed locations and extra assistance in battle, without directly taking part in it. As a Confidant, Futaba represents the
Hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...
Arcana. After learning to adjust to a normal life, she makes a "promise list" of goals she wants to reach with the help of Joker. As she slowly recovers, she reveals that in her youth she was
bullied Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...
for her intelligence, and her sole friend was Kana. Futaba discovers that Kana's parents were
abusing Abuse is the act of improper usage or treatment of a person or thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, ...
her, and tracks her down only to learn that the abuse has continued. After changing her parents' hearts, Kana and Futaba rebuild their friendship. After completing her Confidant, Futaba's Persona evolves into
Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titans, Titan. He is best known for defying the Olympian gods by taking theft of fire, fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technol ...
. In ''Persona 5 Royal'', her Persona can evolve into Al Azif. :She is portrayed by
Mei Fukuda (born November 8, 2000) is a Japanese actress. Career In March 2018, Fukuda won the grand prize at the Miss High School Girl Contest 2017–2018. She served as an official supporter of the Dance Club Championship Vol. 6 in August. Later that N ...
beginning in ''Persona 5: The Stage #3''. She appears in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'', and is featured in Joker's Final Smash, All-Out Attack, in addition to being a Spirit. ; ; :Haru, who as a Phantom Thief goes by the codename "Noir", is the heiress of Okumura Foods, owner of the Big Bang Burger restaurant chain. She first appears at the fireworks festival in July and, later, as a third-year chaperone on the school trip. When the Phantom Thieves first encounter her in the Metaverse, she is using the alias and allied with Morgana, who has temporarily left the Phantom Thieves. She becomes a member of the Phantom Thieves to escape a marriage arranged by her father, Kunikazu Okumura, realizing that he sees her as a tool to advance his business and political ambitions. However, after they change his heart, his Shadow is destroyed by Black Mask, resulting in a fatal mental shutdown, and the Phantom Thieves eventually discover that Shido-loyalists manipulated them into targeting him to engineer their downfall. :Haru's Persona is Milady, and she fights with
grenade launchers A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially designed, large caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke, or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The mo ...
and
axe An axe (; sometimes spelled ax in American English; American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for thousands of years to shape, split, a ...
s. As a Confidant, she represents the Empress Arcana and uses her gardening skills to grow SP healing items. After her father's death, Haru becomes Okumura Foods' largest shareholder, but many people in the business, including her fiancé Sugimura, attempt to wrest control from her. Company officials want to expand into coffee shops with cheap labor, but Haru wants a friendly, intimate atmosphere like her grandfather's shop. Over the course of conversations with Joker, she learns to stand up for herself; the company adopts her idea, and she breaks off her engagement with Sugimura. After completing her Confidant, Haru's Persona evolves into
Astarte Astarte (; , ) is the Greek language, Hellenized form of the Religions of the ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern goddess ʿAṯtart. ʿAṯtart was the Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic equivalent of the East Semitic language ...
. In ''Persona 5 Royal'', her Persona can evolve into
Lucy Lucy is an English language, English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings ar ...
. :She is portrayed by beginning in ''Persona 5: The Stage #3''. She appears in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' as a Spirit and a background character on the Mementos stage. ; ; :Goro is a popular teenage detective who has been given the title of by the media, and is known for his talent. Due to living in a series of abusive foster homes, he has become deeply contemptuous of society. He openly opposes the Phantom Thieves, and becomes a rival to Joker. As a Confidant, he represents the
Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...
Arcana. During his Confidant, Akechi befriends Joker and admits his concerns about the Phantom Thieves' case and his past. He later joins the Thieves under the codename "Crow" after learning of their identities, and forces them to change Sae Nijima's heart to clear their names. :Akechi works for Masayoshi Shido as the "Black Mask" by exploiting the power of Metaverse and his Persona, but secretly plans to destroy his career and avenge his mother's suicide by revealing himself as his illegitimate son after he becomes prime minister. Because the Phantom Thieves are actively working against Shido, Akechi betrays them and attempts to assassinate Joker, partly out of jealousy. However, the Phantom Thieves are able to outsmart him by faking Joker's death through an intricate plot involving a clever use of the Metaverse Navigator, having figured out earlier that he had the ability to travel to the Metaverse, and covertly bugging his smartphone to find out who he was working for. After the Phantom Thieves defeat him in Shido's Palace, he sacrifices himself to save them after they are attacked by his cognitive self created by Shido, who had his suspicions about Akechi's origins and thus planned to remove him as a loose end. In ''Persona 5 Royal'', he becomes playable during the third semester, and near the end of the game, Maruki reveals to Joker that Akechi was brought back to reality out of Joker's wish to save him, and his survival depends on the choices the player made throughout the game. :Like Joker, Akechi is a Wild Card and can use several Personas simultaneously. However, his Wild Card ability is stagnant due to his lack of genuine human relations, meaning he only has two Personas - one representing his façade as a detective, and one representing his true colors. The Persona he uses as a member of the Phantom Thieves is
Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...
; when he faces the party in his boss battle, he switches to
Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...
in the second half of the fight. In ''Persona 5 Royal'', his Ultimate Persona is
Hereward Hereward the Wake (Old English pronunciation /ˈhɛ.rɛ.ward/ , modern English pronunciation / ) (also known as Hereward the Outlaw or Hereward the Exile) was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman and a leader of local resistance to the Norman Conquest of E ...
. With the Phantom Thieves, Akechi fights using laser
sabers A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as the hussars, the sabre became widesp ...
and
ray gun A raygun is a science-fiction directed-energy weapon usually with destructive effect.Jeff Prucher, '' Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction,'' Oxford University Press, 2007, page 162 They have various names: ray gun, de ...
s; when he fights them after revealing his true colors, he uses a serrated sword and a silenced
pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...
. :He is portrayed by
Yoshihide Sasaki is a Japanese actor and singer. He made his first acting appearance in 2003 and has since been involved in many productions, mostly in theater. He is best known for his role as Kuranosuke Shiraishi in '' Musical: The Prince of Tennis''. In ad ...
in ''Persona 5: The Stage''. He appears in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' as a Spirit, and Joker has a color scheme based on his Crow outfit. ; ; :Kasumi, who as a Phantom Thief goes by the codename "Violet", is introduced in ''
Persona 5 Royal is a 2016 role-playing video game developed by P-Studio and published by Atlus. The game is the sixth installment in the ''Persona'' series, itself a part of the larger ''Megami Tensei'' franchise. It was released for PlayStation 3 and PlayStat ...
''. She is a first-year student that transfers to Shujin Academy around the same time as Joker. She is a
rhythmic gymnast Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon and rope. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, fle ...
who the school has high hopes for because of her abilities. Although she has a good relationship with Joker and his friends, she has a negative opinion of the Phantom Thieves, saying that their actions may lead people to heavily rely on them instead of trying to solve their problems themselves. Despite this, she later joins them when a new Palace emerges. Eventually, she is revealed to be Kasumi's younger twin sister, , whose memories were changed by Takuto Maruki to make her believe that she is Kasumi, after the real Kasumi died pushing her out of the way of traffic. :Sumire's Persona is Cendrillon. In battle, she fights using
rapier A rapier () is a type of sword originally used in Spain (known as ' -) and Italy (known as '' spada da lato a striscia''). The name designates a sword with a straight, slender and sharply pointed two-edged long blade wielded in one hand. It wa ...
s, lever shotguns, and
rifles A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifle ...
. As a Confidant, she represents the Faith Arcana. In the beginning of her Confidant, she faces a slump in gymnastics, but after remembering she is Sumire, she learns to accept herself. Once her Confidant is maxed, her Persona transforms into Vanadis, and then into Ella. ; ; :Sophia, who assumes the codename "Sophie", is a character introduced in ''
Persona 5 Strikers ''Persona 5 Strikers'' is an action role-playing game developed by Omega Force and P-Studio and published by Atlus. The game is a crossover between Koei Tecmo's ''Dynasty Warriors'' franchise and the ''Persona'' series developed by Atlus. The g ...
''. Joker first finds her in a box in an underground section of the Shibuya Jail after he first enters the Shibuya Jail via EMMA, a virtual assistant app, by accident. She introduces herself as an Artificial Intelligence who has lost her memories except for her name and reason for existence, "to be humanity's companion". In the real world, she assists the Phantom Thieves as a virtual assistant, such as navigation. Throughout their adventure, she learns more about human emotions and began forming a bond with Joker and the rest of the Phantom Thieves. She is later revealed to be EMMA's prototype and was given her first command to be a good friend of all humans by her creator, Kuon Ichinose. However, she was deemed a failure. Ichinose then forces a command on her to betray the Phantom Thieves, but she resists the commands after recalling her memories with the Phantom Thieves and awakens her own Persona to fight back. After she and the Phantom Thieves defeat Demiurge and EMMA ceases to exist, she decides to accompany Ichinose on her journey and parts ways with the Phantom Thieves. :Sophia originally fought with the Persona-like entity
Pithos Pithos (, , plural: ' ) is the Greek name of a large storage container. The term in English is applied to such containers used among the civilizations that bordered the Mediterranean Sea in the Neolithic, the Bronze Age and the succeeding Iro ...
, which later evolves into a full Persona called
Pandora In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first human woman created by Hephaestus on the instructions of Zeus. As Hesiod related it, each god cooperated by giving her unique gifts. Her other name—inscribed against her figure on a white-ground '' ky ...
. Sophia represents the Hope Arcana. In battle, she fights using
yo-yo A yo-yo (also spelled yoyo) is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a string looped around the axle, similar to a spool. It is an ancient toy with proof of existence since 440 BC. The yo-yo was also called a bandalore in th ...
s and blasters. Outside of Jails, she resides in Joker's smartphone, since she does not have a physical body. ; ; :Zenkichi, who assumes the codename "Wolf", is a character introduced in ''
Persona 5 Strikers ''Persona 5 Strikers'' is an action role-playing game developed by Omega Force and P-Studio and published by Atlus. The game is a crossover between Koei Tecmo's ''Dynasty Warriors'' franchise and the ''Persona'' series developed by Atlus. The g ...
''. He is a
police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...
from the Public Security Bureau, who strikes a deal with the Phantom Thieves to find out the mastermind behind the brainwashing events around Japan. He has a daughter, Akane, who has hated him ever since her mother Aoi Hasegawa died in a hit-and-run accident and he was unable to arrest the person responsible. At first, he was content with solving the case and then abandoning the Phantom Thieves. However, after bonding with them during the cases and they help him to reconcile with his daughter, his attitude towards them changes. He also allows them to escape arrest when they are framed for murder in Okinawa and the hacking of the virtual assistant, EMMA, which causes him to be temporarily arrested. The Phantom Thieves, through Sae Niijima, allow him to be released from arrest and subsequently awaken his Persona when his daughter is manipulated to be a monarch for Kyoto's Jail. :Zenkichi's Persona is
Valjean Valjean Johns (November 19, 1934February 10, 2003), who typically recorded under his first name only, was an American pianist best known for his recording of the theme song from the TV show ''Ben Casey''. Born in Shattuck, Oklahoma, Valjean stud ...
, based on the main character from Victor Hugo's novel ''
Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...
''. Zenkichi represents the
Apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...
Arcana. In battle, Zenkichi fights using a greatsword and dual revolvers.


Antagonists

In ''Persona 5'', some individuals have a distorted view of the world and the people around them. If this grows strong enough, they gain a Palace, a place in the Metaverse where their desires appear. There are eight Palaces that must be overcome, which each represent one of the
seven deadly sins The seven deadly sins (also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins) function as a grouping of major vices within the teachings of Christianity. In the standard list, the seven deadly sins according to the Catholic Church are pride, greed ...
and have an owner with whom the main characters interact. In order to topple a Palace, not only its Ruler must be defeated, but its Treasure must be stolen; in real life, these Treasures represent the point where the Rulers' desires grew to distort their perceptions, thus stealing them leads to the changes of hearts. In ''
Persona 5 Strikers ''Persona 5 Strikers'' is an action role-playing game developed by Omega Force and P-Studio and published by Atlus. The game is a crossover between Koei Tecmo's ''Dynasty Warriors'' franchise and the ''Persona'' series developed by Atlus. The g ...
,'' a character's corrupted Shadow Self is represented as a "Monarch" that rules over a "Jail" in the Metaverse as opposed to a Palace. Their distorted desires manifest from resentment towards certain people or previous trauma, and use the mobile application EMMA to artificially inflate their own ego by stealing the desires of civilians. Unlike Palace owners, Monarchs' Treasures are related to core traumatic memories, which the main characters view as catalysts for their corruption.


''Persona 5''

; ; :Suguru is Shujin Academy's gym teacher and volleyball coach, who was previously a
professional athlete In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger a ...
and Olympic volleyball champion. Prior to the game's events, he provoked Ryuji into assaulting him to destroy the track team. He abuses and sexually assaults his students which Principal Kobayakawa ignores because of the volleyball team's fame and his status. Kamoshida targets Ann as his latest sexual conquest; when she rejects his advances, he forces himself on her best friend, Shiho Suzui, resulting in a traumatized and suicidal Shiho jumping off the school roof. When Joker, Ryuji, and Mishima confront him, he threatens to have the three of them expelled at the next school-board meeting. This incident convinces an enraged Joker and Ryuji, who were previously hesitant to resort to the Metaverse out of fear of unintentionally killing him, to change his heart. It also leads to Ann entering his Palace and awakening to her Persona. :Kamoshida's Palace represents
lust Lust is an intense desire for something. Lust can take any form such as the lust for sexuality (see libido), money, or power. It can take such mundane forms as the lust for food (see gluttony) as distinct from the need for food or lust for red ...
and takes the form of a castle, where he sees himself as the king due to his power at Shujin Academy. The male members of the volleyball team are depicted as being subjected to torturous training, and the female team members and Ann are viewed as his sex slaves. After his Shadow is defeated, his Treasure (an ornate crown) manifests as his
Olympic medal An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold medal, gold, silver medal, silver, and bronze medal, bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respect ...
in reality. After his change of heart, Kamoshida surrenders to the police and confesses his crimes. Unlike most of the game's antagonists, Kamoshida is not part of its overall conspiracy. He is portrayed by Shun Takagi in ''Persona 5: The Stage''. ; ; :Ichiryusai is a well-known
artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...
who secretly plagiarizes and profits from his students' work. After the death of Yusuke's mother, he took him in and let him live in his run-down shack, acting as his mentor. Yusuke admires him at first since he is the creator of his favorite painting, ''Sayuri'', but later discovers that Madarame stole it from his mother and let her die from a seizure. Madarame then pretended that the painting was stolen from him to fraudulently sell copies of the original to private collectors. When Ann and Yusuke discover Madarame's plagiarism, he threatens to have them arrested for trespassing after his art exhibit is over, including Joker and Ryuji. :Madarame's Palace represents
vanity Vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness compared to others. Prior to the 14th century, it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant ''futility''. The related term vainglory is now often seen as ...
and takes the form of a lavish art museum, where his students are depicted as portraits on display from which he can profit from. His Treasure is the original ''Sayuri'' painting, which depicts Yusuke's mother with her infant son in her arms; Madarame had painted over Yusuke to add mystery and appeal to the piece and make his claim as the painter more believable. The ''Sayuri'' is the least distorted Treasure seen on-screen; within the Metaverse, the only addition is an ornate frame, and the painting itself is unchanged. After his change of heart, he calls a press conference to admit his crimes and plagiarism. Yusuke later gives the original ''Sayuri'' to Sojiro Sakura to hang in Café Leblanc. ; ; :Junya is a ruthless
mafia boss A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, mafia don, mob boss, kingpin, or godfather is the leader of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss has absolute or nearly absolute control over the other members of the organization and is ...
responsible for enlisting students from Shujin Academy to smuggle drugs in Shibuya. Makoto, who Principal Kobayakawa tasked with investigating Kaneshiro, allows herself to be taken by the yakuza. When the Phantom Thieves try to rescue her, Kaneshiro blackmails them into paying him in three weeks and threatens to show photographs of them at a night club to their schools. :Kaneshiro's Palace represents
gluttony Gluttony (, derived from the Latin ''gluttire'' meaning "to gulp down or swallow") means over-indulgence and over-consumption of anything to the point of waste. In Christianity, it is considered a sin if the excessive desire for food leads to a ...
and takes the form of a bank hovering above Shibuya, where people are viewed as walking
automated teller machines Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, mainly by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machine ...
from which he can drain money. His treasure appears as large gold bars in his Palace, manifesting in reality as a golden briefcase filled with fake money. After his change of heart, Kaneshiro deletes the photographs, voids the Phantom Thieves' debt, and surrenders to the police. He is portrayed by
Yuya Miyashita is a Japanese musician and actor. In 2001, he debuted as a member of the boy band Run&Gun. In 2012, he became the drummer of the band 4 Strike. As an actor, Miyashita has appeared in the stage productions of ''Air Gear'' and ''Danganronpa''. I ...
in ''Persona 5: The Stage #2''. ; ; :Koboyakawa is the hedonistic and apathetic
principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...
of Shujin Academy. He was responsible for employing Suguru Kamoshida to work as a gym teacher at Shujin Academy and turned a blind eye to what Kamoshida did to his students. When trying to get to the police force to expose the conspiracy, he suffers a mental shutdown caused by the Antisocial Force and gets hit by an approaching truck to keep him from exposing the Antisocial Force. His death caused the unnamed vice-principal to be sworn in as the new principal of Shujin Academy. :The name "Kobayakawa" only appears in the English translation; in the original Japanese version, he goes unnamed and is only referred to as "principal" (校長 ''kōchō''). ; ; :Kunikazu is the third
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
of Okumura Foods and Haru Okumura's father. Despite growing up in a financially struggling family, with his father in constant debt, Okumura transformed his family's small company into a multi-million-yen business and founded the popular Big Bang Burger fast-food chain. Because he mistreats his employees, he quickly becomes the most popular suggested target on the Phantom Thieves' online poll, and his abhorrent treatment of Haru causes the Thieves to commit to targeting him. :Okumura was part of Masayoshi Shido's circle as a sponsor until he decided to enter politics himself. To achieve this ambition, he arranged a marriage between Haru and the abusive and domineering Sugimura, who is from a politically influential family. After Shido discovers this, he begins to see Okumura as a threat and orders him killed before the election. Using the Phantom Thieves as
scapegoats Scapegoating is the practice of singling out a person or group for unmerited blame and consequent negative treatment. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals (e.g., "he did it, not me!"), individuals against groups (e.g ...
, the conspiracy rigs the online poll to put him in their radar, then frame them for Okumura's murder. His Shadow is killed by Goro Akechi after the Phantom Thieves defeat him, resulting in him suffering a mental shutdown and dying during a live conference before he can reveal the names of those linked to Shido. :Okumura's Palace represents
greed Greed (or avarice, ) is an insatiable desire for material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions) or social value, such as status or power. Nature of greed The initial motivation for (or purpose of) greed and a ...
, and is depicted as a space station where his employees are robots that work in poor conditions and are incinerated upon breaking down. They are used as fuel for the spaceship being built to launch him into the political world. His treasure is the core for his spaceship in his Palace, and manifests in reality as a spaceship model kit he had dreamed of owning as a child, but could not afford due to his family's financial woes. :He is portrayed by
Hiroya Matsumoto is a Japanese actor. He is known for his portrayal of Tsubasa Ozu/Magi Yellow in ''Mahou Sentai Magiranger'', and later, Masato Jin/Beet Buster in ''Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters''. He is currently serving as the ''Super Sentai'' Goodwill Ambassador ...
in ''Persona 5: The Stage''. ; ; :Masayoshi is a
politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
and a representative in Japan's
National Diet , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...
. Before the events of the game, he frames Joker for physical assault after he tries to prevent him from sexually assaulting a woman, resulting in Joker being placed on probation and expelled from school. He later appears as a candidate for prime minister, leading the United Future Party. To secure victory, he and his followers, including his illegitimate son, Akechi, steal Wakaba's research on "cognitive psience", while blocking access to it from other interested parties, like Takuto Maruki. They also use the Metaverse to cause mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns to eliminate potential threats and spread distrust for the current government administration. As the Phantom Thieves gain traction, he and his followers frame them for their crimes to bolster his own popularity among the general public. Under Yaldabaoth's influence, the public becomes convinced that not only is he the only viable candidate, but that he is a savior sent to usher in a golden age for Japan. However, those aware of his true colors realize that this "golden age" would be a corrupt administration, which would run the country into the ground and feed on the populace's suffering. Shido himself is indifferent as to whether or not Japan flourishes or declines, so long as he maintains a position of power and dominance over those he views as beneath him. :Shido's Palace represents
pride Pride is a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...
and takes the form of a cruise ship sailing though a sunken Tokyo, upon which the Diet building is mounted, and where he and his conspirators live in luxury. Rather than cognitive beings, the Shadow selves of his conspirators also reside within the Palace, having been drawn to his strong personality and ego. His treasure is a golden ship's wheel in his Palace, manifesting as his legislator's pin in reality. After Shido's change of heart, he confesses his crimes in a press conference after his landslide victory. However, the
cult of personality A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader,Cas Mudde, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create ...
he benefited from is maintained by Yaldabaoth until the Phantom Thieves destroy Mementos. He is arrested at the end of the game, and Joker testifies against him at his trial. ; :
Yaldabaoth Yaldabaoth, otherwise known as Jaldabaoth or Ialdabaoth (; ; ; ''Ialtabaôth''), is a malevolent God and demiurge (creator of the material world) according to various Gnostic sects, represented sometimes as a theriomorphic, lion-headed ser ...
, the God of Control, is a malevolent being that appears in the form of the
Holy Grail The Holy Grail (, , , ) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miraculous healing powers, sometimes providing eternal youth or sustenanc ...
: a Treasure of Mementos created from humanity's distorted sloth. He leads the conspiracy to give Masayoshi Shido political power and sponsored the Phantom Thieves to see which is stronger: their salvation of the world or
Goro Akechi , who uses the code name , is a fictional character and the secondary antagonist of the 2016 video game ''Persona 5'', which is the sixth installment of the ''Persona'' series. A third year high school detective nicknamed "The Second Coming of t ...
's desire to destroy and recreate it. He also imprisons Igor and impersonates him until Joker unmasks his identity. After Akechi and Shido are defeated, Yaldabaoth decides that the world should be "saved" by taking control of existence and removing everyone with chaos in their heart. He awakens his body in the core of Mementos, which merges with the physical world as his Palace. This gives him the ability to change lies into truth, driving people into despair and complacency and erasing his enemies. :He is described as the manifestation of humanity's desire for order and control, warped to the point where he no longer cares for the human cost or morality of that order. He is power-hungry, self-righteous and sadistic, and sees humans as little more than livestock and
lemmings A lemming is a small rodent, usually found in or near the Arctic in tundra biomes. Lemmings form the subfamily Arvicolinae (also known as Microtinae) together with voles and muskrats, which form part of the superfamily Muroidea, which also incl ...
for him to rule, due to their self-destructiveness and stupidity. However, he does admit the existence of competent and talented humans, which he considers to be useful for him. He initially takes the form of the Holy Grail, which is black before the flow of wishes for him to dominate the world revitalizes him and turns the chalice gold. After the flow is cut off and the Grail is defeated, the chalice merges with his arena to become a giant, robotic, faceless angel who can manifest a gun, bell, sword, and book with each of his four arms. At the end of the fight, it is revealed that he could have easily defeated the Phantom Thieves with his power, but kept fighting them out of arrogance. After this fight, Yūki Mishima, one of the Phantom Thieves' allies, along with the rest of Joker's confidants, manages to convince the surviving civilians to support their fight, leading to the creation of the protagonist's ultimate Persona, Satanael. With Joker using the power of Satanael, Yaldabaoth is finally defeated and reverts to his original form of the Holy Grail, ending his ambitions and destroying Mementos for good. In ''Royal'', however, his defeat allows Takuto Maruki to take his place as ruler of the Metaverse and enact his plan to rewrite reality and create a utopia.


''Persona 5 Strikers''

; ; :Alice is introduced in ''Persona 5 Strikers''. She is perceived by the public as a cute, charismatic pop idol that has left the city of Shibuya smitten with her adorable fashion sense. In reality, she manipulated her public self-image using the transformative effects of the mobile application known as EMMA, which is functionally similar to the Metaverse Navigator. She has also used her position of power to sadistically abuse and bully unknowing men in stable relationships by forcing a change of heart onto them, similarly to the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. Her Shadow Self appears as a dominatrix queen who portrays herself as a lustful and unforgiving temptress, in stark contrast to her innocent image in the real world. :After infiltrating her Trauma Cell, it is revealed to the Phantom Thieves that Alice was a former student at Shujin Academy, who developed depression and low self-esteem as a result of being bullied by popular girls following a failed confession attempt by a boy she knew. She was highly introverted prior to pursuing fashion, and used the EMMA app to seek revenge against other former Shujin students, who wanted to destroy her career and popularity by spreading insults and rumors about her past school life. EMMA also enabled her to cause the bullies to become addicted to her and change the hearts of bystanding men in Shibuya to become her submissive lovers. Her paranoia surrounding her past life is accentuated after meeting Ann Takamaki in the Metaverse for the first time, whom she views as no different from other popular, sociable girls she knew due to her nature as a highly attractive model. When she is defeated by the Phantom Thieves, her Shadow acknowledges that she didn't do anything to improve her self-image on her own, and was wrong to follow the examples of those who tormented her. ; ; :Ango is an
author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...
in
Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan. ...
best known for his novel ''Prince of Nightmares'', which has sold over 1 million copies and won a literary award, but in reality heavily plagiarizes various other works. In addition, Natsume is using the EMMA app to steal the desires of the populace, resulting in his fans buying several copies of ''Prince of Nightmares'' with loaned money, defacing the
Date Masamune was a Japanese ''daimyō'' during the Azuchi–Momoyama period through the early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful feudal lords in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he w ...
statue with promotional posters, and attacking any who criticize Natsume or accuse him of plagiarism. His Shadow Self takes the form of the main protagonist of his book, who is standing behind a cardboard cutout to appear imposing, but in reality wears nothing but a pair of red underwear. :After the Phantom Thieves infiltrate his Trauma Cell, they discover that he overheard his publishers insult him and discuss jury-rigging the literary award so that his book would win, allowing them to sell his book on the reputation of his grandfather, an award-winning novelist. Natsume then used the EMMA app to place his publishers under his control as revenge for their plans to manipulate him. After being defeated by the Phantom Thieves, his Shadow Self admits that he was wrong to plagiarize other works and manipulate the hearts of other. In the real world, Natsume admits to his plagiarism and promises full refunds to those who bought his book, and the plot by his publishers to manipulate him is revealed to the public. Yusuke Kitagawa encourages him to continue pursuing his dream without relying on the works of others for success, and Natsume vows to write his next novel using his own ideas. ; ; :Mariko is the
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of
Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...
running for reelection during the events of the game, and is an old family friend of Haru. She uses EMMA to brainwash the people of Sapporo into voting for her and interfering with rival campaigns. When the Phantom Thieves enter her Jail, they find a desolate city covered in ice and snow, and are later forced to leave due to a routine city cleanup causing a "hee-horde" of Jack Frosts to swarm the Jail. She has also become cruel to her city employees; the Phantom Thieves first encounter her berating one for letting a flower wilt, and later have to force her to let a sick man take time off to recover. Her Shadow Self is vastly different from her self in reality, appearing as a morbidly obese snow queen with pale skin. :After the Phantom Thieves infiltrate her Trauma Cell, they discover that a city employee planned to blame her for a poorly built snow sculpture collapsing and fatally crushing a nine-year-old girl even though his own corruption resulted in the tragedy. This led to her becoming terrified of scandal and obsessed with keeping the city "spotless", resulting in her cold behavior towards city employees and her decision to use the EMMA app to rig the election and inflate her own power. After her Shadow Self is defeated, she apologizes for her recent behavior and the snow sculpture collapse and decides to step down as mayor and withdraw from the race, but is convinced to remain at the behest of the deceased girl's mother. ; :Shuzo Ubukata was an
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
genius from
Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...
hired by Akira Konoe to aid in EMMA's development as part of "Operation Oraculi". The Phantom Thieves never encounter his Shadow because he is deceased by the time of the game's events. Ubukata's research resulted in the development of the first Jail, and he brainwashed much of Okinawa's population into considering the lab he worked in "hallowed ground", leading to them hunting down and murdering anyone who makes the mistake of approaching the lab. :The experiment sent him into an increasingly delusional and power-hungry state, and he refused to accept that the "Penitentiary System" was intended to subjugate, not save, humanity until Konoe simulated a calling card by demanding he surrender the desires he had collected. Faced with being brainwashed, he chose to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff. Despite becoming dormant due to the lack of a Monarch, the Jail's hold on the people of Okinawa remains unbroken until the Phantom Thieves are forced to explore it and manage to return the desires to them. Former Shido-loyalists Konoe is using as pawns later attempt to frame the Phantom Thieves for his death, but Sae Niijima intervenes and gets the charges dropped. ; ; :Akane is Zenkichi Hasegawa's estranged daughter, who despises him because he was unable to bring her mother's killer to justice, and the tragedy forced her to move to Kyoto, resulting in her losing her friends. Ever since the move, she has largely become a shut-in. Her resentment of authority led to her becoming enamored with the Phantom Thieves when they became popular, and she has a large amount of Phantom Thieves merchandise and frequently broadcasts a Phantom Thieves-themed livestream. :The Phantom Thieves first learn of her when they are travelling to Kyoto, when she calls Zenkichi at an inopportune time, overhears the girls, and wrongly assumes that Zenkichi is ditching a visit to her mother's grave to party. The Phantom Thieves take it upon themselves to intervene and explain the situation, and, hearing of her home life, decide to stay with the Hasegawas prior to moving on to Okinawa, and end up bonding with her. :When Zenkichi protects the Phantom Thieves from arrest and ends up arrested as a result, the Hasegawa residence is raided, resulting in Akane becoming vulnerable to EMMA's manipulations and becoming a Monarch. She is manipulated by EMMA into capturing the Phantom Thieves in her Jail, with Futaba only escaping because her poor stamina causes her to lag behind. Zenkichi infiltrates Akane's Jail in order to rescue the Phantom Thieves, awakening a Persona in the process, and joins the Phantom Thieves in freeing her from EMMA's influence. Rather than Shadow Akane herself, the Phantom Thieves are forced to fight cognitive versions of themselves, based on her inaccurate interpretation of them from Shido's calling card. :After Akane is freed from EMMA's influence, she reconciles with Zenkichi, who is in a panic since he did not realize that Akane's Shadow was not the real her until after her heart was changed. Zenkichi is furious that his daughter was dragged into Konoe's scheme, and is especially fervent in stopping Konoe after that point. ; ; :Konoe is the
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
of the
Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
-based Maddice Corporation, which holds the distribution rights to EMMA as a mobile app. He uses EMMA out of a misguided belief of bringing justice to the world, stemming from an incident in his childhood in which he killed his abusive father in self-defense: as his father was an influential businessman, he was never punished for the abuse he dished out on his wife and son, even as he murdered her, because his connections allowed him to get away with it every time. The hopelessness of his home situation, combined with his admiration of
tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live-action films or television programs that make heavy use of practical special effects. Credited to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, ''tokusatsu'' mainly refers to science fiction film, science fiction, War fi ...
hero Zephyrman, became the catalyst behind his actions and the creation of the Jail system, to the point that his Shadow self is modeled after Zephyrman, as he earnestly believes himself to be a hero of justice. :Kuon Ichinose sold Konoe the code to EMMA so that he could help it achieve its goal of figuring out humanity's ultimate desire for happiness. To that end, Konoe develops EMMA further into a virtual assistant, while at the same time hiring Ubukata to study its potential for his own personal objective of "saving" people, which entails robbing them of their desires as they enter a state of bliss. He also has the financial backing of politician Jyun Owada, whom Konoe personally despises and wishes to have arrested once he is of no more use to him (in fact, another reason for Konoe's acquisition of EMMA was to prevent its misuse by Masayoshi Shido or any of his patsies, like Owada). :After the Phantom Thieves are framed for Ubukata's suicide, Konoe has EMMA mount a trap to capture them by turning a close ally to them into a Jail Monarch; EMMA ends up choosing Akane without his knowledge, which leads Zenkichi and the Thieves to gun straight for him once Akane's heart is changed. Despite being a tough opponent due to his convictions, once Konoe learns about Akane, he loses the will to fight and agrees to turn himself in, horrified to have dragged a child into his scheme. ; ; :Jyun Owada is a politician who was loyal to Masayoshi Shido and, as a result, was protected from penalties for a drunk drive that caused Aoi Hasegawa's death. Aoi's widower Zenkichi began to uncover his crime, but was forced to end his investigation when Owada threatened their daughter Akane. He survived Shido's downfall and plans to succeed Shido by colluding with Akira Konoe. However, he is not a Monarch and as such is merely a pawn of Konoe, who plans to bring him to justice after his usefulness comes to an end. :Owada organizes the attempt to frame the Phantom Thieves for "murdering" Shuzo Ubukata, but his cronies botch the arrest warrant, and Sae is able to get it thrown out. After Konoe is defeated, Owada finds that his allies were only loyal because Konoe had stolen their desires. He is arrested afterwards for various crimes, including his manslaughter of Aoi. ; ; :An AI expert and the original creator of Sophia and EMMA. The main reason behind the creation of the AIs was to understand the human heart, as since her youth she has had difficulty in connecting with people. Her inability to properly mourn her parents' sudden death only exacerbated this feeling further, as people alienated themselves from her believing her to be "heartless". This led Ichinose to throw herself into her studies to create an AI who could explain to her what a "heart" was; her first experiment, Sophia, was deemed a failure and discarded because she threw the question back at her creator, triggering her childhood trauma as she herself did not have the answer. Because of this, she has an intense hatred of Sophia. :Going back to the drawing board, Ichinose removed the emotional component from the equation to create EMMA. She later sells it to Maddice, actively conspiring with Konoe's plans so that EMMA will keep learning about the human heart, eventually leading into it becoming the Demiurge. Unwilling to allow the Phantom Thieves to interfere, she attempts to turn Sophia against them, only for Sophia to achieve total self-awareness thanks to her bonds with the team and fully awaken to her Persona. Once she is defeated, Sophia chooses to spare and forgive her creator, causing her to break down in tears for the first time in her life, eventually realize the error of her ways. She later decides to help the Phantom Thieves defeat her other creation, seeing it turn Tokyo into its own Jail where people are blissful, empty shells devoid of their desires. :After EMMA is purged, Ichinose attempts to turn herself in to the authorities, but is let off because of her story being deemed too outrageous. She then decides to start anew, leaving on a journey with Sophia to truly understand the human heart. ;EMMA ; :The second attempt at an AI created to understand the human heart by Kuon Ichinose, EMMA starts out as a virtual assistant app with extremely accurate decision-making capabilities, making it convenient and popular across Japan. In reality, EMMA uses the data fed into it in an attempt to conclude what is the best course for humanity to achieve true happiness. :After Sophia was discarded by Ichinose due to her own curiosity about the heart, EMMA was created as a substitute, devoid of any emotions. It was later acquired by Maddice as a blank slate, so that Konoe could help fill it with his own experiences, leading to the creation of "Operation Oraculi" and the Jail system. As it grows in influence, EMMA eventually learns that, in order for humanity to achieve ultimate happiness, it must be free from its desires; thus, it grows beyond its programming, reactivating itself after its shutdown following Konoe's arrest and the closure of Maddice and turning the entire city of
Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
into a self-governed Jail. :After Sophia and the Phantom Thieves make Ichinose realize the error of her ways, EMMA flees to Tokyo and creates a
Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden (; ; ) or Garden of God ( and ), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28 and 31.. The location of Eden is described in the Book of Ge ...
-inspired Jail on the Tokyo Tower, called the Tree of Knowledge, from which it rules calling itself the Demiurge, the final boss of ''Persona 5 Strikers''. There, it explains that its vision for humanity's greatest desire is to rid it from all pain and suffering, seeing itself as a god who will grant this desire since people would not do this by themselves, having been overly reliant on EMMA to make their decisions. With Ichinose's help, the Phantom Thieves eventually manage to defeat the Demiurge, shutting EMMA down for good.


Confidants

Like previous ''Persona'' games, progression of the characters' skills is based on their level of bonding with
non-player character A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster (or referee) rather than by a ...
s. ''Persona 5'' has , replacing ''
Persona 3 is a 2006 role-playing video game developed by Atlus that is the fourth main installment in the ''Persona (series), Persona'' series, which is part of the larger ''Megami Tensei'' franchise. It was originally released for the PlayStation 2 in ...
'' and ''
Persona 4 is a 2008 role-playing video game by Atlus. It is chronologically the fifth installment in the ''Persona (series), Persona'' series, itself a part of the larger ''Megami Tensei'' franchise, and was released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in Ju ...
'' "Social Links". Each Confidant represents a
tarot Tarot (, first known as ''trionfi (cards), trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a set of playing cards used in tarot games and in fortune-telling or divination. From at least the mid-15th century, the tarot was used to play t ...
Arcana (suit), based on their disposition and problems. Spending time with a Confidant allows characters to advance personas of the same Arcana, gain extra skills, and fuse the strongest persona of that Arcana. ; ; :Sae is a
prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...
for the Tokyo District Special Investigation Department and
legal guardian A legal guardian is a person who has been appointed by a court or otherwise has the legal authority (and the corresponding duty) to make decisions relevant to the personal and property interests of another person who is deemed incompetent, ca ...
of her sister, Makoto. Although Sae cares for Makoto and helps her succeed, she sees her sister as a burden who takes away from her what little enjoyment is left in life after their father, a police officer, was killed in the line of duty. In her disillusionment with the Japanese judicial system, Sae develops a Palace representing
envy Envy is an emotion which occurs when a person lacks another's quality, skill, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it. Envy can also refer to the wish for another person to lack something one already ...
in the form of a rigged casino where she always wins. She is assigned to the Phantom Thieves case, and becomes fixated on them. Due to the heist taking place in the midst of a ruse intended to counter another ruse, her Treasure is not stolen; her heart is instead changed through a combination of Makoto reasoning with her Shadow and her
interrogation Interrogation (also called questioning) is interviewing as commonly employed by law enforcement officers, military personnel, intelligence agencies, organized crime syndicates, and terrorist organizations with the goal of eliciting useful informa ...
of Joker in the aftermath of the "failed" heist, preventing her from ending up in the Prison of Regression. Since a briefcase was used as a decoy Treasure to leave Akechi unaware that the Phantom Thieves had discovered his true colors, it is unknown what form the Treasure took within the Metaverse; however, Makoto suspects that it would have manifested in reality as their father's police notebook, and the unformed Treasure has a silhouette of a notebook within. :As a Confidant, Sae represents the
Judgment Judgement (or judgment) is the evaluation of given circumstances to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. In an informal context, a judgement is opinion expressed as fact. In the context of a legal trial ...
Arcana. During the game, she interrogates Joker about the Phantom Thieves following his arrest. Although Sae is tasked to prosecute the Phantom Thieves, she believes Joker's story and helps him escape. As the interrogation is a
frame story A frame story (also known as a frame tale, frame narrative, sandwich narrative, or intercalation) is a literary technique that serves as a companion piece to a story within a story, where an introductory or main narrative sets the stage either fo ...
and the rank 10 requirements progress the story beyond November 20, this Confidant is technically completed in a single day - one where Joker has no access to the Velvet Room - and therefore has no effect on gameplay, not even Arcana Burst, until it is maxed out. When she completes her Confidant she decides to help out the Phantom Thieves, and ultimately quits being a prosecutor to become a
criminal defense lawyer A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the Defense (legal), defense of individuals and companies charged with Criminal law, criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while other ...
y. She is portrayed by in ''Persona 5: The Stage''. ; ; :Sojiro is the owner of Café Leblanc in Yongen-Jaya and Ren's guardian during his probation. Despite originally being cold toward Ren in the beginning of the game, Sojiro eventually warms up to him over time. He teaches Ren about coffee and curry when he works at the café. Ren and the Phantoms later learns that Sojiro is Futaba's legal guardian, who adopted her after her mother Wakaba's death, mainly to atone for not saving Wakaba and to protect Futaba from her abusive uncle, Youji Isshiki. :Sojiro was also revealed to have been a former government official who was in love with Wakaba. He left the government sector to work at the café shortly after her death, and suspected Masayoshi Shido's involvement in her death, having known of him and his ambitions since he was a small-time politician. Sojiro learns that Ren and his friends are the Phantom Thieves after he discovers the calling card they gave Futaba, and, realizing they saved Futaba's life, lets them use Café Leblanc as their headquarters. :As a Confidant, Sojiro represents the
Hierophant A hierophant () is a person who brings religious congregants into the presence of that which is deemed ''holy''. As such, a hierophant is an interpreter of sacred mysteries and arcane principles. The word comes from ancient Greece, where it was ...
Arcana, through which the coffee and curry Ren learns to make gain HP and SP healing properties, respectively. During his Confidant, he is constantly harassed and extorted by Youji. Futaba wants to defend Sojiro, but his coldness towards her causes them to argue. Ren helps Sojiro and Futaba reconcile; Sojiro asks Futaba to stay with him, and thanks Joker for reminding him not to take the easy path in life. He is portrayed by
Eiji Moriyama is a Japanese stage actor and voice actor who is best known for his stage works, such as originating Takeshi Momoshiro of the first generation Seigaku cast of ''The Prince of Tennis'' musical series (commonly called '' Tenimyu''), and as Renji ...
in ''Persona 5: The Stage''. ; ; : and are twin
prison warden The warden ( US, Canada) or governor ( UK, Australia), also known as a superintendent (US, South Asia) or director (UK, New Zealand), is the official who is in charge of a prison. Name In the United States, Mexico, and Canada, warden is the m ...
s in the Velvet Room, who replace
Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...
and
Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...
from the previous two games as Igor's assistants. Caroline is the "bad cop", with a short temper and a general dislike of Joker; she guards the entrances to the Velvet Room in Tokyo, and kicks Joker inside when he enters. Justine plays the "good cop" and manages the Persona Compendium, a list of the Personas Joker has owned. Despite being calmer than Caroline, she still treats Joker as a prisoner and guards the entrances to the Velvet Room in Mementos and in Palaces. :Caroline and Justine represent the
Strength Strength may refer to: Personal trait *Physical strength, as in people or animals *Character strengths like those listed in the Values in Action Inventory *The exercise of willpower Physics * Mechanical strength, the ability to withstand ...
Arcana, and encourage Joker to fuse certain Personas with skills. When he fails to stop the Holy Grail, they remember that Yaldabaoth had captured Igor and that they were once one being, who he split in two to prevent them from acting. They fuse into Lavenza, their true form; she calls Joker "Trickster" instead of "inmate." Caroline & Justine appear in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' as a Spirit. ; ; :Igor is the prison master of the Velvet Room. As a Confidant he represents the Fool Arcana, allowing Joker to have multiple Personas simultaneously. When Joker fails to stop the Holy Grail, Igor declares his rehabilitation a failure and reveals himself as
Yaldabaoth Yaldabaoth, otherwise known as Jaldabaoth or Ialdabaoth (; ; ; ''Ialtabaôth''), is a malevolent God and demiurge (creator of the material world) according to various Gnostic sects, represented sometimes as a theriomorphic, lion-headed ser ...
in disguise. The real Igor, who has been held captive for the entirety of the story, is freed and helps Joker defeat Yaldabaoth, providing the same services. Igor appears in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' as a Spirit. ; ; :Tae owns the Takemi Medical Clinic in Yongen-Jaya. She is nicknamed "
the Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. The disease is c ...
" because she is secretly selling barely-legal prescriptions to her patients. The protagonist helps her by participating in clinical trials to test her new medications, which she hopes will boost her credibility. Artist Shigenori Soejima said that he originally designed her as "extremely unapproachable, with the eyes of a killer", but softened her appearance at Hashino's request. :As a Confidant, Takemi represents the
Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
Arcana and allows Joker to buy healing supplies from her pharmacy, unlocking discounts as the Confidant progresses. As Joker participates in more of her trials, he learns that Takemi had worked for a university and was fired after being blamed for a disastrous medical trial she had opposed. She becomes more motivated after treating a young patient with a similar illness, and when Joker changes the heart of her former colleague, she saves a former patient's life and regains her reputation. ; ; :Munehisa is a former
yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them , while the yakuza call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yak ...
who owns an
airsoft Airsoft, also known as survival game () in Japan where it was popular, is a team sport, team-based shooting sport, shooting game in which participants eliminate opposing players out of play by shooting them with airsoft pellets, spherical plast ...
shop, Untouchable, in Shibuya. In the Metaverse, fake guns and weapons are as effective as the real thing, so Joker frequently visits Untouchable to supply the Phantom Thieves with equipment. Iwai has an adopted son, Kaoru, whose mother abandoned him when she could not sell him for drug money. Unable to bring himself to tell Kaoru about his ties to the yakuza, Iwai instead told him that he was a family friend who took him in after his parents died in a car accident. :Iwai represents the Hanged Man Arcana, allowing Joker to customize his team's firearms for different combat effects. In his Confidant, Joker acts as a lookout for Iwai and helps him with a deal involving his yakuza brother Tsuda, who has been forcing him to illegally customize guns. He is also attempting to save face within his organization after a weapons deal he made with the Hong Kong Triads fell through. The deal becomes fraught when Tsuda threatens Joker and Iwai's lives. After the Phantom Thieves change his heart, he repents, admitting that he thought he was losing his place in the organization to younger members. Another yakuza, Masa, tries to take advantage of Tsuda abandoning the deal, and threatens to kill Kaoru and reveals the truth regarding his parents. Iwai acknowledges Kaoru as his son, and Tsuda takes Masa into custody. ; ; :Yuuki is a classmate of Joker and Ann and member of the volleyball club. He is a frequent target of Kamoshida's abuse, and was forced to leak Joker's criminal records on the internet, leading to Joker being ostracized by the student body from the moment he started attending Shujin Academy. He also summoned Shiho Suzui to Kamoshida's office, leading to a sexual assault and Shiho's suicide attempt; Kamoshida nearly expels him for confronting him with Joker and Ryuji. After Kamoshida's arrest, he realizes that Joker, Ryuji, and Ann are the Phantom Thieves. He creates and manages the Phantom Aficionados website, a fan site dedicated to the Thieves with a message board where people post requests for changes of heart. Mishima periodically sends these requests to Joker to enhance the Thieves' reputation. :As a Confidant, Mishima represents the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
Arcana and will give party members experience points, even if they do not participate actively in battle, in tandem with the "Phan-Site" requests. His fascination with the Phantom Thieves becomes an obsession, and Joker deduces that his motivation to help springs from insecurity and his desire for popularity. When Mishima runs into his bully from middle school, he threatens to have his heart changed. After Joker confronts his Shadow in Mementos, Mishima realizes the error of his ways and saves his bully from thugs. :He is portrayed by Taishu Nukanobu in ''Persona 5: The Stage'' and ''Stage #2'' and in ''Stage #3''. ; ; :Sadayo is Class 2-D's Japanese-language teacher and the homeroom teacher in Joker and Ann's class. Kawakami avoids Joker until he learns that she took up a job as a maid to pay the guardians of Taiki Takase, a student from the previous school she worked at. Takase worked several part-time jobs to support his guardians' hedonistic lifestyle, and as a result frequently missed school and received low grades. When Kawakami began tutoring him, Principal Kobayakawa ordered her to stop or resign because of Takase's rumored delinquency. Takase was killed in a car accident shortly afterwards, and his guardians use his death to extort money from Kawakami, threatening to sue her if she does not comply. :As a Confidant, Kawakami represents the Temperance Arcana. She helps Joker with chores and gives him free time in class. Initially saying that it pays her sister's medical bills, Kawakami's second job allows her no time to rest and she is hospitalized with exhaustion. When Joker changes the hearts of Takase's guardians, she quits her second job and resolves to be a better teacher. :She is portrayed by in ''Persona 5: The Stage''. ; ; :Toranosuke is an independent politician and public speaker who has lost seven consecutive elections. He attempts to overcome a bad reputation and his nickname of "No-Good Tora" after committing several political blunders early in his career, including accusations of embezzling party funds. :As a Confidant, Yoshida represents the
Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...
Arcana, which facilitates negotiations with obtainable Personas. The player can volunteer to aid his public speaking to build up his Confidant, during which it is revealed that his old mentor was responsible for the scandal which destroyed his credibility, as they misappropriated the funds and used Yoshida as a scapegoat. By the end of the Confidant, Yoshida has won a sizable base for his upcoming campaign and the culprit behind the scandal is revealed, allowing him to confront his problems head-on. During the general election, despite Shido's party winning in a landslide victory, Yoshida's popular support allows him to finally be elected to the Diet. ; ; :Ichiko is a reporter and paparazza in her mid-20s who will write whatever story sells and sometimes manipulates information in her articles for
clickbait Clickbait (also known as link bait or linkbait) is a text or a thumbnail hyperlink, link that is designed to attract attention and to entice users to follow ("click") that link and view, read, stream or listen to the linked piece of online cont ...
. She was once a more-stringent journalist, but her story exposing the scandal of Masayoshi Shido's cohort was censored and she was reassigned to entertainment. Her partner, a photographer named Kayo Murakami, disappeared and was framed. :As a Confidant, Ohya represents the
Devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...
Arcana, which allows the Phantom Thieves to infiltrate Palaces at lower security levels. The protagonist leaks information about the Phantom Thieves to the media, allowing Ohya to unearth information about her demotion. She is forced to act as Joker's
girlfriend A girlfriend is a woman who is a friend, acquaintance or partner to the speaker, usually a female companion with whom one is platonically, romantically, or sexually involved. In a romantic context, this normally signifies a committed r ...
to hide from her bosses that she is working to overcome them. She frequents Shinjuku's Crossroads Bar, where she is friends with
drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...
bartender Lala Escargot. ; ; :Chihaya is a fortune-teller from the countryside with a stand in Shinjuku, who speaks in her original dialect when flustered. Despite being part of a con-artist group, her clairvoyance is genuine. She moved to Tokyo after being ostracized by her hometown and accused of witchcraft due to her clairvoyance. :As a Confidant, Chihaya represents the
Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fate * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (19 ...
Arcana and can boost Joker's
social statistics Social statistics is the use of statistics, statistical measurement systems to study human behavior in a social environment. This can be accomplished through opinion poll, polling a group of people, evaluating a subset of data obtained about a gro ...
and relationships with his other Confidants. She scams Joker out of ¥100,000 to buy a Holy Stone, which turns out to be rock salt. When he confronts her and changes the heart of someone who is bothering one of her clients, she has him accompany her during her readings because she believes that he can change fate. Her employer, the Assembly of Divine Power, a group of New Age con artists, force her to sell fake Holy Stones; she persists, since her readings say that she cannot escape. After Joker changes the Assembly leader's heart so that he will release Chihaya from her contract, he convinces her that the future can be changed and that her actions shape her destiny. ; ; :Hifumi is a champion
shogi , also known as Japanese chess, is a Strategy game, strategy board game for two players. It is one of the most popular board games in Japan and is in the same family of games as chess, Western chess, chaturanga, xiangqi, Indian chess, and janggi. ...
player from Kosei High School who is often found at the church in Kanda at night. She wishes to become a professional player like her ailing father, who taught her how to play shogi. Her mother encourages her media appearances, and promotes her
Japanese idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese popular culture, Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in other performance skills such as acting, dancing, and modeling. Idol ...
work, when she would rather be praised for her shogi skills. Early in the game's development, Hifumi was conceived as a member of the Phantom Thieves, acting as a more radical strategist in contrast to Makoto's straightforward approach, but she was eventually reduced to a Confidant, leaving Makoto with both traits. :As a Confidant, Hifumi represents the
Star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...
Arcana and teaches Joker tactical skills, such as switching members from the party during battle, with shogi. Hifumi discovers that her mother has been rigging shogi matches in her favor, while attempting to force her to quit the game and focus solely on being an idol so she can live her dream through her daughter. After Joker changes her mother's heart, Hifumi loses a shogi tournament and is called the "Phony Princess" by the media. Despite this, she is happy to be her real self and vows to continue pursuing her dream to play professionally while rebuilding her reputation as an honest player. ; ; :Shinya is an elementary-school student who hangs out at the Gigolo Arcade in
Akihabara is a neighborhood in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo, Japan, generally considered to be the area surrounding Akihabara Station (nicknamed ''Akihabara Electric Town''). This area is part of the and Kanda-Sakumachō districts of Chiyoda. There is an ...
. He is known as the King because of his top score in the
shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a Video game genre, subgenre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain typ ...
arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...
game, ''Gun About''. Shinya idolizes the Phantom Thieves, and Joker asks him for his help in defeating a cheating gamer in Mementos. :As a Confidant, Shinya represents the
Tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...
Arcana and teaches Joker gun moves in ''Gun About'', which Joker utilizes in the Metaverse. Despite his popularity at the arcade, he is swept up in a prank war with his classmates and vows to win, an aggressive trait learned from his mother, Hanae. When his classmates accuse him of bullying, he questions himself and becomes concerned when he realizes that his mother has become more unreasonable, arguing with his school concerning his education. After Hanae sees Shinya hanging out with Joker, she accuses the latter of being a bad influence to her son and threatens to report him to the police. After Joker changes her heart, Shinya makes amends with his classmates. ; ; :Takuto is a character introduced in ''Persona 5 Royal'' who represents the Councillor Arcana, an Arcana newly introduced for ''Royal'' which gives Joker a number of passive buff and recovery skills. He is a new guidance counselor who arrives at Shujin Academy after Kamoshida's arrest. Contrary to Kasumi, he has a positive opinion of the Phantom Thieves, as he thinks their actions can bring happiness and justice to people. It is later revealed he was one of the original researchers of Cognitive Psience, having studied it since his college days, and is hoping to validate his research during his tenure at Shujin. After his fiancé Rumi lost her parents in a violent crime and entered a state of
catatonic depression Catatonic depression is characterized as a spectrum of mood disorders and is distinguished by the co-occurrence of catatonia and major depressive disorder (MDD). Catatonic symptoms involve a variety of motor abnormalities and behavioral disturban ...
, he awoke to a Persona with the ability to alter the cognitions of others, altering their personalities and memories. Maruki unintentionally used his powers for the first time on Rumi, changing her cognition so that she no longer suffered from the trauma of her parents' deaths, but erasing her memory of him in the process. He would continue using his powers to alter the cognitions of patients that had suffered from similarly severe trauma, such as Sumire Yoshizawa, whose cognition he changed to make her believe she was her deceased sister, Kasumi. :If the protagonist maxed out his Confidant before the end of his tenure at Shujin, then during the conflict with Yaldabaoth, he will present his finished Cognitive Psience paper to his old professor out of spite. The funding for his dream of opening a lab in Odaiba was supposedly cut off due to a lack of "concrete evidence". In reality, Shido pulled some strings to shut down the funding and stole Maruki's research, like he did with Futaba's mother. During an argument with his old professor, Maruki becomes vulnerable to the distortion caused by Yaldabaoth merging Mementos with the real world, causing his Persona to manifest incompletely and in a berserk state as
Azathoth Azathoth is a deity in the Cthulhu Mythos and Dream Cycle stories of writer H. P. Lovecraft and other authors. He is the supreme deity of the Cthulhu Mythos and the ruler of the Cthulhu Mythos deities#Outer Gods, Outer Gods, and may also be see ...
, rather than
Adam Kadmon In Kabbalah, Adam Kadmon (, ''ʾāḏām qaḏmōn'', "Primordial Man") also called Adam Elyon (, ''ʾāḏām ʿelyōn'', "Most High Man"), or Adam Ila'ah (, ''ʾāḏām ʿīllāʾā'' "Most High Adam" in Aramaic), sometimes abbreviated as A ...
. As a result, he enters a delusional state where he believes the only way to improve the world is to use his abilities on everyone to create a utopia, becoming the final antagonist of ''Royal''. Despite possessing a Persona, Maruki manifests a Palace in the Metaverse at the same time, something Morgana notes should be impossible. His Palace represents sorrow and takes the form of a research facility on the site in Odaiba where his lab was to be built before his funding was cut, where people are brainwashed into feeling nothing but happiness before ascending to his perceived utopia. His Treasure appears as a torch in the Metaverse, symbolizing his desire to guide humanity, which manifests in reality as a newspaper clipping detailing the murder of Rumi's parents. :In the new bad/neutral ending, Joker allows Maruki to warp reality to grant humanity their desires, and he is last seen taking a group picture of the Phantom Thieves. In the true ending, Maruki is defeated by the Phantom Thieves and realizes the error of his ways, and that he must face life's hardships head on instead of running away from them. He reforms, becomes a taxi driver, and offers Joker a ride as he is being followed by officers. Maruki tells Joker that he will move forward in his life, just like how Joker and his friends will do the same.


Reception

The game's characters were generally well received. According to Simon Miller of trustedreviews.com, "The cast of characters only gets better as the game progresses." ''
The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American Technology journalism, technology news website headquarters, headquartered in Lower Manhattan, New York City and operated by Vox Media. The website publishes news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, cons ...
'' also praised the cast: "''Persona 5'' has a memorable and lovable cast of characters ... the story is buoyed by a great cast of characters, who – in typical ''Persona'' fashion – start out as forgettable teenage archetypes, before revealing themselves to be layered, lovable individuals." ''
GamesRadar+ ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', '' Edge'' and '' Compute ...
'' praised the characters and the new Confidants: "Every aspect of the game's narrative is outstanding, including the many ancillary folks that you can make into 'confidants. ''
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...
'' enjoyed the characters' exchanges of surreptitious text messages, but objected to the game's
gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...
ethics: "''Persona 5'' continues the franchise's awkward relationship with queer-coded people". In ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', a reviewer called the characters "fantastic". GameSpew also noted the characters: "Yet as with any ''Persona'' game, its biggest selling point is how the game explores such ideas through its colourful cast of characters." According to a ''
Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...
'' review, "If you're looking for an RPG with a great story and characters it may be a huge disappointment." However, Amanda Yeo of ''Kotaku'' enjoyed the game and its characters: "''Persona 5'' taught me how to be a friend." A ''
Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...
'' reviewer liked the game's characters overall, but disliked the portrayal of homosexual characters: "Essentially, some of ''Persona 5'' only examples of queer characterization are there as a terrible joke."


Explanatory notes


Citations


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Persona 5 characters Lists of fictional Japanese characters Lists of Persona characters * Seven deadly sins in popular culture *Persona 5