Persona 4/Characters: Difference between revisions

'''The Characters of ''Persona 4''. Spoilers abound!'''

== The Investigation Team ==

* [[Amateur Sleuth|Amateur Sleuths]]s: Every member of the team save for Naoto, who's actually a [[Kid Detective]].

* [[Berserk Button]]: Hurting Nanako is this for all of them because she basically cheered up everyone when they were depressed. When she got hurt, they couldn't forgive the person who did this to her because she was only an innocent child. She had no right to be involved in the cases. {{spoiler|However, it turns out her kidnapper wasn't trying to hurt Nanako, quite the opposite}}.

* [[Reconstruction]]: Thanks to the Midnight Channel, The entire investigation team is painfully aware of the various flaws in their character types. Much of their S-Social Links are spent accepting and overcoming these flaws.

* [[Red Baron]]: The trailers for ''[[Persona 4 Arena (Video Game)|Persona 4 Arena]]'' have the [[Lemony Narrator]] giving insulting nicknames to each of the Team's members in the trailers. [[Interactive Narrator|Naturally, they complain about this]].

* [[Took a Level Inin Badass]]: They transform from a bunch of ordinary teenagers (some who are celebrities) with deep-seated issues to an [[Badass Crew|effective fighting team]] with supernatural powers, that not only solves a murder case, catches the killer, but also {{spoiler|take on a god-like being (and win)}}. Also, when their Personas evolve.

* [[True Companions]]: By the end of the game, the group essentially becomes a family.

* [[Wake Up, Go to School, Save Thethe World]]: In between school and hanging out, they solve a double homicide and multiple kidnappings over the course of slightly less than a year.

=== The Protagonist/[[Canon Name|Yu]] [[Anime of the Game|Naru]][[Persona 4 Arena (Video Game)|kami]] (AKAa.k.a [[Comic Book Adaptation|Souji Seta]]) ===

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Daisuke Namikawa]] (Japanese) and [[Johnny Yong Bosch]] (English)}}

His parents moved a lot from town to town, forcing him to constantly change schools. Then, due to his parents having to work overseas, he has to move to the rural town of Inaba to stay with his uncle, police officer Ryotaro Dojima, and his six-year-old daughter Nanako. In his new school, he quickly made friends with class clown Yosuke Hanamura and kung-fu fangirl Chie Satonaka. Soon enough, he learns about the 'Midnight Channel' and discovers his ability to insert his body to the television. This leads him into a quest to uncover the truth behind a series of inexplicable murders, in the process gaining a lot of friends and, when he has to leave Inaba a year later, lots of fond memories from an otherwise forgettable town. In the [[True Ending]], his ultimate Persona is revealed to be {{spoiler|Izanagi-no-Okami}}.

He's one of the Investigation Team's three founding members (along with Yosuke and Chie) and its de facto leader (unlike the protagonist of ''[[Persona 3]]''). He sets the pace for the investigation, handles finances, and enacts all major decisions before the rest of the Team can act on them; he also leads the forays into the Midnight Channel and commands the group in battle. Also, the team never enters the Channel unless he is present.

* [[Badass]]: ''And how!'' He can reprimand Morooka with "You calling me a loser?", summons Persona not by attacking his card with his [[Weapon of Choice]], but by ''crushing it with his hands'', can score with almost every girl he meets, unravel the mystery behind the murders in the Normal Ending, and {{spoiler|in the [[True Ending]], not only [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|defeat Izanami, but also summon a spell that banishes all deceit and falsehood]]}}.

** It also helps that he's probably the first ''Megami Tensei'' protagonist to get {{spoiler|[[Earn Your Happy Ending|a perfectly happy]] Normal and True ending}}. Thanks to him, the deaths in Inaba were kept to a minimum {{spoiler|(Inin the Normal and True Endings, only three die: Mayumi, before he even returned from his first day at school; Saki, just before he discovered his powers; and Morooka, killed by a random psycho he had no preliminary warning of)}}. In fact, all the casualties are minor characters which, by the franchise's tradition of killing party members (or at least major characters) out of the blue, is a huge difference. It takes a very special kind of [[Badass]] to make that possible.

*** [[Fridge Brilliance]] comes into play when you remember that Yu gets his strength from [[The Power of Friendship]]. If he didn't have the backing of his friends and teammates, he'd be screwed {{spoiler|which is actually shown in episode 12 after getting trapped in a [[Lotus Eater Machine|Lotus-Eater Machine]] set by Shadow Mitsuo.}}.

** [[Badass Longcoat]]: Both his starter Persona, Izanagi, and his ultimate Persona, {{spoiler|Izanagi-no-Ookami}} have one.

* [[Berserk Button]]: In the anime, the only times we have seen him get noticeably angry are: A.) When {{spoiler|Mitsuo}} threatened Nanako (Yu scared him away with a [[Death Glare]]), and B.) When {{spoiler|Shadow Mitsuo}} [[Hannibal Lecture|declared that his bonds with his friends and family were empty and meaningless.]] .

** [[Tranquil Fury]]: How he expresses his anger. Particularly in episode 23 {{spoiler|when he [http://images.wikia.com/megamitensei/images/a/a4/Yu_was_about_to_throw_Namatame_into_the_Tv_world.jpg comes within a hair's breath from tossing Namatame into the TV world] (basically a death-sentence) in retaliation for Nanako's apparent death, and without any hint of emotion on his face}}. It's one of the most chilling scenes in the anime.

* [[Big Brother Instinct]]: Towards Nanako.

** [[Knight Templar Big Brother]]: {{spoiler|You're given the option to throw Namatame in the television in retribution for Nanako's death. [[Downer Ending|Things will only get worse though.]]}}.

*** {{spoiler|Yu nearly DID do this in the anime, but managed to stop himself.}} .

* [[Character Development]]: The personality stats return from ''[[Persona 3]]'', except there are now five attributes rather than three: Knowledge, Courage, Diligence, Understanding, and Expression. Maxing them out opens up new Social Links and gives you more dialogue choices.

** In the anime, Yu starts off as a quiet, reserved, stoic, somewhat shy and unmotivated individual. He gradually begins to open up, showing a kinder, friendlier, yet slighly perverted, but comedic side to his personality. In fact, he eases up on the [[The Stoic|poker face]], smiling more often and showing more reaction to events around him, and takes more initiative in understanding/dealing with the people around him.

** Parodied in the anime at first, as Yu doesn't so much agree to help people as get volunteered to at an almost alarming rate by others. {{spoiler|Bonus points for the fact that Izanami more or less volunteered him to save Inaba on his first day in town}}. However, later episodes play this straight.

* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: Narukami in the anime. ''[[Alternative Character Interpretation|Possibly.]]''. He's a master of [[The Stoic|the poker face]], so it's hard to tell when he's being [[Deadpan Snarker|sarcastic]] or serious.

* [[The Comically Serious]]: The anime ''loves'' doing this with [http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111104041510/megamitensei/images/e/ed/Persona_4_Yu_2.jpg Narukami]{{Dead link}}, as he's amusingly stoic when most people would be either laughing or screaming, such as [[It Makes Sense in Context|when he puts Teddie's head back on his body]]. Yosuke even lampshades it.

{{quote| '''Yosuke''': [[[Sweat Drop]]] Narukami, you're pretty thick-skinned.<br />

'''Narukami''': [[Confused Question Mark|Huh?]] }}

* [[Cool Big Bro]]: Pretty much every socialSocial linkLink with someone who's not older than you, and one you're not romantically interested in.

** In the anime, his response to Shadow Yukiko talking about scoring a hot stud is to remark to Yosuke ([[Deadpan Snarker|coolly]]) that he wished he had taped it. As of Episodeepisode 7, [[Brick Joke|he did start recording it.]].

** It's becoming something of a [[Running Gag]] that Yu and Yosuke will say something equally perverted, [[Butt Monkey|but only Yosuke will get hit for it.]].

{{quote| (Narukami sticks his hand onto the TV, only for Teddie to bite it.)<br />

'''Narukami:''' Something bit me.<br />

'''Chie''' It left marks! Are you alright?!<br />

'''Yu:''' I think I'm going to cry.<br />

'''Chie:''' No you're not. }}

* [[Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!]]: Does this to Yosuke in the [[Manga]] when he meets his Shadow.

** This happens in the anime as well; made more awesome as he decks Yosuke in sync with Izanagi as it lands a good punch to Yosuke's Shadow. Then made [[Mood Whiplash|hilarious]] by Yu's response:

{{quote| '''Yu''': [http://images.wikia.com/megamitensei/images/b/b0/Yu_remark_that_was_an_accident..jpg (completely deadpan)] Oops, wrong guy.}}

** Also, {{spoiler|in the Normal/[[True Ending]], he shouts down the entire team to calm down and make them reconsider avenging Nanako on Namatame, realizing something is off with the situation}}.

* [[Good People Have Good Sex]]: Like in ''[[Persona 3]]'', you are given the opportunity to sleep with almost any of the girls' whose Social Links you've completed. The scenes are not given explicit detail since this isn't an [[Eroge]], but it's heavily implied that both Yu's are very loving and gentle.

* [[Henpecked Husband|Henpecked Boyfriend]]: In Episodeepisode 5, he plays the reluctant rebound-boyfriend for Ai. He's totally whipped.

** [[Katanas Are Just Better]]: His weapon of choice in ''[[Persona 4 Arena (Video Game)|Persona 4 Arena]]''.

* [[Hyperspace Arsenal]]: The other characters have easily concealed weapons, with exception to Kanji who could hide some of his weapons in shopping bags, but not all of them (i.e. a desk). He doesn't, ''and'' he carries all of the Shadow parts and useful things you find. The most common suggestion is that the Velvet Room has something to do with that.

* [[I Just Want to Have Friends]]: {{spoiler|In the anime. Yu's biggest fear is that after the investigation is over, the group will go their seperateseparate ways, and he'll be by himself again. Mitsuo's shadow exploits this fear and causes him to have a ''tremendous'' [[Heroic BSOD]]. It's possible that Yu has not had any lasting friendships before now, which would explain his [[Sugar and Ice Guy|Sugar and Ice personality]].}} .

* [[In-Series Nickname]]: Yosuke calls him "Partner", Teddie calls him "Sensei", Nanako calls him "Big Bro", etc; in fact, most of the important characters have a different nickname for him, to avoid calling him by [[Hello, Insert Name Here|whatever name you gave him.]] .

* [[Japanese Delinquents]]: At first, it was just a [[Fan Nickname]], but is now officially canon, as in ''Arena'', he is described as a "steel siscon banchou!"

* [[Jerkass]]: Most of the dialogue trees in the game have at least one "asshole" option. However, the game discourages you from choosing these, as by doing so, [[You Lose At Zero Trust|it causes your friends to lose their trust in you,]], [[Video Game Cruelty Punishment|resulting in broken Social Links which leads to depowering your character's Persona growth potential.]].

* [[Manly Tears]]: {{spoiler|Shortly after Nanako's death and the ruckus with Namatame in the anime.}}.

* [[Official Couple|Official Love Interest]]: Rise in the [[Manga]].

{{quote| "'''''Calm the hell down!'''''"}}

** In the anime, he -- ashe—as [[Meaningful Name|Yu]] -- is—is portrayed as a calm, composed, and soft-spoken individual.

* [[Red Baron]]: "The [[Big Brother Complex|Sister Complex]] Kingpin of Steel" in trailers for ''[[Persona 4 Arena (Video Game)|Persona 4 Arena]]''.

** Seen here [http://tonkuniverse.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/zero-raws_persona_4_-_01__mbs_1280x720_x264_aac_-mkv_001288412.jpg from episode 1 of the anime.].

* [[Stealth Pun]]/[[Shout-Out]]: This must be what the artists of the manga were thinking when they named the Protagonist after [[Rurouni Kenshin|Seta Soujiro]]. That or just coincidence.

** The anime adaptation also depicts him this way. In contrast to the other cast members, he (as Narukami) is rarely fazed by extraordinary events, and he almost always keeps a straight face (to the point that it's difficult to tell how serious is about some of the things he says - see [[Deadpan Snarker]] above). Taken to absurd levels in the school trip episode, when he has the same serious expression plastered on his face [[Crowning Moment of Funny|as he's tossed over a cliff by Chie and Yukiko]].

** [[Not So Stoic]]: However, there are plenty of moments where he breaks his stoicism. He often shows when he's concerned or surprised about something, rather friendly during conversations with his friends, and there's a distinctively afraid/shocked tone in his voice when he and his friends stumble into Mayumi's Shadow room during the first. episode. He's also smiles at least once an episode. He may be more of a [[Sugar and Ice Guy]] than [[Stoic]].

*** [[Played for Laughs]] in Episodeepisode 20, when Nanako asks if he and Teddie are perverts. Both of them go [[Blue Withwith Shock]].

*** And, in Episodeepisode 21, it's played far more seriously. {{spoiler|He starts to lose it when he sees Nanako on the Midnight Channel and, shorty after, discovers that she's been kidnapped. Then, when they find the kidnapper's truck, but with neither of them at the scene, his reaction pretty much borders on a [[Heroic BSOD]]. Teddie has to physically restrain him as he makes a desperate attempt to dive into the TV in the truck, and it isn't until Rise talks some sense into him that he (only barely) regains his composure.}}.

* [[Stupid Sexy Flanders]]: Boy, does he look good in that schoolgirl uniform and a wig.

* [[Superpower Lottery]]: Let's face it, he's the only character who has access to almost every Persona, {{spoiler|and is the only character who is able to [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|defeat Izanami]] because of his ability to upgrade his own and everyone else's Persona via [[The Power of Friendship]]. Even in comparison to his predecessor's [[Superpower Lottery|Superpower Lotteries]], he won it BIG time, and that's saying something.}}.

*** Episode 9 shows that Origami Cranes is [[Serious Business]] for Narukami.

* {{spoiler|[[Touched Byby Vorlons]]}}: Part of the reason {{spoiler|his [[Superpower Lottery]] payoff was so large is due to having his powers granted to him by Izanami.}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Unwitting Pawn]]}}: {{spoiler|One of the three people to whom Izanami granted the power to enter the TV. He represents "Hope".}}.

** {{spoiler|[[Spanner in Thethe Works]]}}: {{spoiler|Too bad for Izanami, he refuses to accept her gambit and eventually turns his given power on her.}}.

* [[Warrior Therapist]]: Because tailing a serial killer (and incidentally saving the world) doesn't mean you can't save time to deal with the psychological issues of your whole team, your family, half your school and if we consider the Fox path, half the town. The therapy is so good, he can end up [[Chick Magnet|seven-timing]] and somehow convinces his uncle that since he's so great, he can marry ''his own cousin''. And let's not get started on all the [[Even the Guys Want Him|mancrushes]] he can start.

* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: Delivered to the entire Investigation Team in the Normal/True route -- theroute—the only time he gets visibly angry<ref>(Unless you choose a certain option during Yosuke's Social Link).</ref> -- when—when the rest are contemplating {{spoiler|killing Namatame}}.

* [[White-Haired Pretty Boy]]: Well, grey-haired. Also, [[Curtains Match the Window]].

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Showtaro Morikubo]] (Japanese) and [[Yuri Lowenthal]] (English)}}

Yosuke is a second-year student at Yasogami. Because his father is the manager of Junes, the local department store, he is usually treated as an unofficial complaints box, much to his chagrin. He is the Mainmain Charactercharacter's best friend and is often the [[Butt Monkey|butt of his friends' jokes]]. Although typically a bit of a [[Deadpan Snarker]], he has a soft spot for Saki Konishi, a third-year and an employee at Junes, whose murder acts as part of his initial motivation to join the Investigation Team. He [[Dual-Wielding|dual wields various weapons]], and his Persona is Jiraiya of the Magician Arcanum, which later evolves into Susano-O once the Magician Social Link is complete. His Personas cement his role as the party's [[The Red Mage|Red Mage]]: Yosuke can use physical attacks and Garu (Wind) magic fairly effectively, and he also has access to support spells that confuse and debuff enemies, augment accuracy and evasion, and provide minor healing.

During a trip to the Midnight Channel and after witnessing the Protagonist's Persona awakening, Yosuke was faced with the horrible truth: Saki has always hated him. When Yosuke refused to admit this, his Shadow emerges and taunts him that he's only being cheerful as a facade and sees everything, including Saki, as a tool to block out his extreme loneliness. Yosuke angrily retorted, and it caused the Shadow to reveal its true form, but was eventually defeated by the Protagonist. Encouraged by the Protagonist and Teddie, Yosuke painfully accepts that he did feel that way, but he resolves to get better, which causes the Shadow to turn into his Persona. Yosuke later goes to co-found the Investigation team, along with the Protagonist and Chie.

Yosuke is the team's unspoken second-in-command. He helps coordinate the group alongside the protagonist, and will usually be the one to suggest new courses of action. He has good deductive reasoning (which serves well in the case), but is not the most perceptive of individuals and has a tendency to put his foot in his mouth.

His Shadow looks like him in a ridiculous ninja outfit, with a giant frog making up his lower body. It represents his resentment towards Inaba, his boredom and his wish for excitement. Aside from the reference to the original character Jiraiya, the frog theme is also a word play. In Japanese, "frog" is pronounced the same as "return" which plays in to Yosuke's desire to leave Inaba.

In his Social Link, Yosuke revealed that he initially hated Inaba, but has grown to love it and despite being hated by Saki, he did genuinely love her. He later reveals that he is jealous of the Protagonist and used the murder case to play hero and hide his insecurities. Yosuke later asks the him to punch him to get rid of his jealousy, and they end up in a brawl; Yosuke realizes that he can form genuine, close relationships with people regardless of where he is, and resolves to live his life to the fullest. His Persona then evolves into Susano-O.

* [[All Love Is Unrequited]]: Played with --: although he crushes on Saki, she secretly hates him. He's aware, though, that she must have disliked him, though he believes she was a good person at heart and decided that he'll still love her anyway.

* [[Badass]]:

** [[Took a Level Inin Badass]]: Which doubles as [[Character Development]].

* [[Belligerent Sexual Tension]]: According to some fans, he has some early on with Chie in the anime.

** {{spoiler|Hurting Nanako}}.

* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: {{spoiler|Among all the party members, he was the one most determined to kill Namatame after Nanako's apparent death.}}.

* [[Casanova Wannabe]]: Has three crushes throughout the game, all of which don't turn out too well --: Saki outright hated him, Yukiko shot him down, and Rise only has eyes for the Protagonist.

* [[Demoted to Extra]] / [[Flanderization]]: Yosuke in the anime has much less overall importance than he did in the game, and is much more of a comedic character. This is probably the result of the fact that his role as [[Exposition Fairy]] is irrelevant when Narukami can speak for himself.

* [[Dual-Wielding]]: Whether it's knives, kunai, or [[Improbable Weapon User|wrenches]], he will always have one in each hand.

* [[Everything's Better Withwith Spinning]]: His Follow-Up Attack.

* [[Face Palm]]: He does one during the episode 15 of the anime at the nightclub. [[Drunk Onon Milk|The situation called for it]].

* [[Flanderization]]: In the [[Anime]]. In the game, Yosuke acted as the unofficial mouth-piece for the [[Silent Protagonist|Protagonist]], so he was quite talented at deductive reasoning. This aspect of his character was given to Narukami in the anime, so Yosuke's [[Butt Monkey]] and [[Lovable Sex Maniac]] aspects have increased instead.

* [[Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?]]

* [[Jack of All Trades]]/[[The Red Mage]]: Jiraiya has good buffs, physical skills, Garu spells and an odd healing ability. Towards the end of the game, he (and Jiraiya's successor, Susano-O) begins trending toward [[Lightning Bruiser]], especially with good equipment. His [[The Red Mage|Red Mage]] status comes with a solid dose of [[Fridge Brilliance]]: It's a more literal interpretation of "The Magician.".

* [[Small Town Boredom]]: {{spoiler|Ultimately subverted, once he realizes how much he came to love Inaba.}}.

* [[Weapon Twirling]]: He does this while in battle and in the opening animation. It backfires when he nearly drops his dagger in both.

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Yui Horie]] (Japanese), Tracey Rooney (English), [[Erin Fitzgerald]] (English, [[Persona 4 Arena]])}}

An upbeat girl with short light-brown hair who usually wears a green athletic jacket decorated with buttons. Her weapon is a pair of greaves. She has an obsession with kung-fu, and even uses them in battle, similar to [[Persona 2|Lisa Silverman]]. Her obsession goes so far that she even attacks Yosuke over a martial-arts DVD. Most of the time, she is friendly, cheerful, and energetic, but has a short temper, especially with Yosuke. [[Lethal Chef|She, Yukiko and Rise are unskillful cooks, providing normally unpalatable to terribly awful dishes to the crew several times]].

Chie is the third founding member of the Investigation team. While not the smartest of the group, she's very attentive to the discussions and always has her ear to the ground for the latest rumors, gossip, and snippets of info regarding events in Inaba.

Through her Social Link, the Protagonist and Chie become closer through training together at the Samegawa Floodplain. He also learns how Chie and Yukiko first became friends: as children, Chie volunteered to shelter a dog Yukiko found, but was unable to bring to her inn due to her parents' disapproval. Over time, the Protagonist learns of how Chie enjoys creating groups and titles for herself, in hopes of being feared by juvenile delinquents and protecting the weak. Hearing from a police officer that high schoolers have been bullying people in the Central Shopping District, Chie and the Protagonist coincidentally help. They first save Chie's middle school friend, who then calls the police. The second time, Chie makes the hoodlums run off just as they attempt to steal from a little boy. Once this occurs, the Protagonist has the option of beginning an intimate relationship with Chie. Depending on what the player decides, Chie will either go to train with the Mainmain Charactercharacter (friends) or go to his home (romance) and gives him some matching wristbands. Chie's resolve to help others and protect the team, especially the Protagonist, [[Level Up At Intimacy 5|transforms Tomoe Gozen to Suzuka Gongen]]. She also resolves to train as a police officer under Dojima's guidance.

* [[Awesome Yet Practical]]: Her Follow-Up Attack, Galactic Punt, will instantly kill one enemy Shadow and [[A Twinkle in Thethe Sky|literally blow them away]]. It has a 100% chance to hit and even works on mini-bosses.

* [[Badass]]:

* [[Belligerent Sexual Tension]]: According to some fans, she has some with Yosuke early on in the anime.

* [[Big Eater]]:

{{quote| '''Yosuke:''' The Meat Lover's Combo... Just like it says in the name, you really have to love meat to order it.<br />

'''Kanji:''' Oh, you talking about that thing at the food court? I wanna try it, but it's always sold out...<br />

'''Yosuke:''' Don't tell me, did Chie-- D-Don't answer that. I'm not sure I want to know for sure that a friend of mine has the appetite of a starved wolf... }}

* [[Food Asas Bribe]]: Inverted in the anime. When Yu and Yosuke return from their second trip into the TV World in the second episode, she says the only way she'll forgive them is if they buy her [[Big Eater|10 orders of both beefsteak and nikudon]].

** Inverted and played straight in the game. Chie makes Yosuke buy her food as repayment for destroying her DVD, and he bribes her and Yukiko with steak when he and the protagonist devour their noodles.

* [[Glass Cannon]]: Suffers from Physical Skills which [[Cast Fromfrom Hit Points|consume HP]] and mediocre defense. However, she hits like a truck once God's Hand comes along and has a skill that can instantly kill enemies.

* [[Magikarp Power]]: She stops gaining useful Physical and Bufu Skills by the time you get Kanji and Teddie, at least mid-game. She does get pretty powerful when leveled high enough, though, gaining Power Charge, Agneyastra, and God's Hand.

* [[Red Baron]]: "The [[Big Eater|Carnivore]] [[No Guy Wants an Amazon|Whose Discarded Womanhood]]" in trailers for ''[[Persona 4 Arena (Video Game)|Persona 4 Arena]]''.

* [[The Resenter]]: Shadow Chie.

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Ami Koshimizu]] (Japanese) and [[Amanda Winn -Lee]] (English)}}

Yukiko is the only daughter of the owner of the Amagi Inn, and thus the heir to the generations-old family business. Despite that, she is [[Lethal Chef|a terrible cook]]. She is a smart girl, but quite socially awkward, with only Chie as her true friend. She fights with a [[Paper Fan of Doom|fan]], but is most suited for [[Black Mage|heavy magic fighting]]. Her Persona is Konohana Sakuya of the Priestess Arcanum, and later evolves into Amaterasu. Yukiko [[Red Mage|fits the role of both]] the [[White Mage]] and the [[Black Mage]], leaning powerful healing spells (including one that fully restores the entire party's HP!) as well as destructive Agi (Fire) spells.

Yukiko's Shadow looks like a giant, red-feathered bird with her head, kept inside a giant birdcage atop a chandelier --... a literal "bird in a gilded cage", reflecting how Yukiko views her life.

In the the earlier stages of her Social Link, Yukiko still desires to leave Inaba and pursue interior design to learn to fend for herself. However, friendly teasing from the Inn's staff and pestering from an [[Paparazzi|irresponsible TV crew]] who want to make a program that will ruin the reputation of the Inn eventually made her realize that she had a supportive family and friends that she wants to help and defend. She resolves to accept her duty and manage the inn, evolving her Persona. She is also a possible [[Love Interest]] for the Protagonist depending on player actions in the S.Social Link.

* [[Acceptable Feminine Goals]]: Gets a double-helping of this trope. She spends most of her Social Link trying to break free and study to become an interior designer --... until she realizes she's happy to inherit her family's inn, and goes back to her job within the Inn as a hostess and room service waitress.

* [[Armor-Piercing Slap]]: She doesn't take perversion well.

* [[Badass]]: Once she becomes playable.

{{quote| '''Yukiko''': (about Shadow Kanji) The next time he creeps me out, he's toast!<br />

'''Yu''': Sounds good.<br />

'''Chie''': No, it doesn't! That's a no-go!<br />

'''Yukiko''': What? Why? }}

* [[Comically Missing the Point]]: Tends to take gross exaggerations and accidental [[Double Entendre|Double Entendres]]s at face value.

{{quote| '''Yosuke''': (at Junes, with the rest of the gang) Still, don't you feel sorry for Nanako, bringing her here of all places?<br />

'''Yukiko''': (indifferently) Yes, I feel sorry for her.<br />

'''Yosuke''': You didn't have to rub it in! }}

* [[Everything's Better Withwith Princesses]]: ...[[Inverted Trope|Unless they're the malevolent manifestion of your repressed emotions]].

* [[Hot-Blooded]]: In spite of what you might think based on the rest of her characterization, she is quite aggressively enthusiastic about wiping all shadows from existence. This is rather fitting considering her [[Playing Withwith Fire|element]], which can also qualify as her own [[Yamato Nadeshiko|touch of iron]].

* [[The Hyena]]: Her laughing fits can last for several minutes. Chie even calls her this once. [[Hiimdaisy|Shut up. It's an endearing character trait.]].

* [[The Medic]]: This aspect of her Persona alone is going to make her a character you keep in your party for a long time, especially since she learns the mother of all healing spells at level 74. <ref> It restores the HP of all characters ''and'' removes their status ailments.</ref> It also makes a lot of sense given that the Arcana she represents is The Priestess, (i.e. the kind of person you would expect to be a healer).

* [[Meet Cute]]: TechicallyTechnically, their ''second'' meeting, but the Protagonist runs into her when she's wearing a Kimono. Subverted if the player decides not to romance her.

* [[Never Live It Down]]: [[In-Universe]] --: Shadow Yukiko once said she wanted to "score with a hot stud"." Teddie brings it up sporadically throughout the game.

* [[The Ojou]]: Of a generations-old inn.

* [[Proper Tights Withwith a Skirt]]: She's the poster girl.

* [[Red Baron]]: "[[Tall, Dark and Bishoujo|Unconquerable Snow Black]]" in trailers for ''[[Persona 4 Arena (Video Game)|Persona 4 Arena]]''.

* [[The Red Mage]] / [[White Magician Girl]]: In combat, she straddles the line with her powerful [[Playing Withwith Fire|Agi]] skills, but her personaily fits the [[White Magician Girl]] stock character type in addition to being one of the resident Medics.

* [[Saying Too Much]]: {{spoiler|During the King's Game scene, in a moment of drunken silliness, she accidentally spills the beans about the Shadow World and the Personas to Naoto. Then again, she didn't believe it.}} .

* [[Shut UP, Hannibal]]: {{spoiler|Calls out Adachi on his poorly contrived [[Freudian Excuse]] for his actions.}}.

* [[Squishy Wizard]]: Probably the worst character in terms of defensive stats, but boy, does she hit anything not resistant or immune to Agi like a ''truck''.

* [[Tsundere]]: Shows shades of being a Type-B in the game (mainly getting violent when the males act perverted), but is definitely a Type-B in the [[Anime]].

* [[White Magician Girl]]: She's arguably the best healer in the game (only surpassed by the Protagonist given the right Persona), the [[Yamato Nadeshiko|most gentle]] player character, uses a [[Improbable Weapon User|blunt weapon that amplifies her spells ]] and is a potential love interest. The only way she steps outside this trope is her repertoire of hard-hitting Agi spells.

* [[Yamato Nadeshiko]]: Played with. She fits the archetype, then her Shadow deconstructs it and shows its opposite. She ultimately shows a modern version of this trope: [[Proper Lady|softspoken, strongwilled and polite]], yet [[Plucky Girl|not afraid to stand up to herself]] and [[Silk Hiding Steel|get dangerous if necessary]], as an unfortunate group of [[Paparazzi]] discovered.

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Tomokazu Seki]] (Japanese) and [[Troy Baker]] (English)}}

In his Social Link, Kanji meets a boy who lost his doll and to cheer him up, he makes him a doll, which turns out to be so impressive, he orders more. Kanji [[Shrouded in Myth|was later accused of bullying said boy]], but the Protagonist encourages him to tell the truth instead of hiding it. Eventually, Kanji learned to like and take pride of his hobby and opens up his own handicraft class.

* [[Ambiguously Gay]]: [http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=22015 By] [https://web.archive.org/web/20130915235136/http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/sexual-diversity design]. It zigzags during school trips, and then of course there's what happens with Teddie during the King's game. However, he has a crush on Naoto.

* [[Badass]]: He fights off an entire biker gang ''with a shield'' --... all because the noise they made woke his mother up.

* [[Bi the Way]]: Speculated by [[Fanon]], due to his attraction to Naoto Shirogane {{spoiler|before and after he knows she's really a girl.}}.

* [[Disappeared Dad]]: {{spoiler|He's dead, and according to Kanji's mom, Mr. Tatsumi collapsed and died [[Never Got to Say Goodbye|when Kanji wasn't at home]].}}.

* [[Glass Cannon]]/[[Mighty Glacier]]: Depending on how you use him;: Kanji has higher HP and Endurance than Chie, but his [[Cast From HP|Persona's Physical Skills]] burn away through his HP quickly. If you have him stick to basic physical attacks, he'll do less damage but will be very difficult to take down.

* [[Improbable Weapon User]]: Mainly shields and other large bunt objects. His starting weapon is ''a folding chair''.

** [[Shield-Bash]]: How he attacks when using his shields.

** [[Throwing Your Shield Always Works]]: As part of his critical hit, he hurls his shield at a foe.

* [[Jerk Withwith a Heart of Gold]]: The "jerk" side stems more from his temper.

** in Episodeepisode 22 of the anime , {{spoiler|when Nanako is in the hospital, he buys pink wool so they can knit animals together when she's feeling better.}}.

* [[Red Baron]]: "[[Manly Gay|Bloodcurdling Beefcake Emperor]]" in trailers for ''[[Persona 4 Arena (Video Game)|Persona 4 Arena]]''.

* [[Sweet Onon Polly Oliver]]: To Naoto.

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Rie Kugimiya]] (Japanese) and [[Laura Bailey]] (English)}}

Her dungeon in the Midnight Channel is the Marukyu Striptease, wherein her Shadow masquerades as her in a flashy gold bikini and teases a lot about showing off her 'stuff'. This all stems from Rise's fear that everyone stereotypes her as an [[The Ditz|airheaded]], [[Shameless Fanservice Girl|indecent]] pop star, while in truth, she just wants to be loved for who she is. Rise's Shadow possesses analytical skill that allows it to predict the party's every move, making it impossible to defeat; it takes a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] from Teddie to finish it. Rise comes to terms with her Shadow, and it becomes her Persona, but at the same time Teddie's existential doubt comes to a head, and ''his'' Shadow emerges. Rise takes Teddie's place as [[Mission Control]] and helps the party defeat it, then she joins the Investigation Team.

* [[Attention Whore]]: Her Shadow --... [[Fan Disservice]] incarnate. Outside the stage, Rise would ''rather'' just stay away from the public spotlight.

* [[Badass]]:

** [[Badass Damsel]]: Everyone else upon getting their Persona needed some downtime afterwards. {{spoiler|She immediately assumes Teddie's role and handles herself decently with Himiko, despite already being weakened.}}.

** [[Cry Into Chest]]: And when she realizes that {{spoiler|her jealousy over a new idol is because Risette IS a part of her, she breaks down crying. The Protagonist can do this optionally in response, [[Relationship Upgrade|which makes the Social Link romantic.]]}}.

* [[Expy]]: Her appearance resembles [[Mobile Suit Gundam 00|Nena Trinity]], who has the [[Rie Kugimiya|same Japanese voice actress]].

** Like Chie, she is also an expy of [[Persona 2|Lisa Silverman]], taking on most of the personality traits that Chie missed. Some of the earliest concept art of Rise even had her resemble Lisa, but with longer hair, a slightly different hairstyle, and darker eyes.

* [[Girlish Pigtails]]: Which she ditches, at least temporarily, in ''The Golden'' epilogue.

* [[Heads I Win, Tails You Lose]]: Shadow Rise.

* [[Heroes Want Redheads]]: If chosen as the [[Love Interest]]. {{spoiler|The manga looks to be favoring her as well.}}.

* [[I Just Want to Be Normal]]: {{spoiler|Subverted --: she eventually realizes Risette is still a part of her and decides to come back to showbiz come spring.}}.

* [[I Just Want to Have Friends]]: Her biggest desire, as revealed through her Social Link, and her ultimate motivation for becoming an idol singer.

* [[Ink Suit Actor|Ink Suit Actress]]: Debatable, but Rise's name and appearance are too similar to [[Rie Kugimiya]] to be a mere coincidence. Her [[Twin Tails]] and [[Zettai Ryouiki|kneesocks]] may also be an [[Actor Allusion]] to the common appearance of the [[Tsundere]] [[ZeroThe noFamiliar Tsukaimaof (Light Novel)Zero|characters]] [[Shakugan no Shana|Kugimiya]] [[Hayate the Combat Butler (Manga)|is]] [[Toradora (Light Novel)!|usually]] [[Hidan no Aria|associated]] [[Pigeonholed Voice Actor|with]].

* [[It Is Pronounced "Tro -PAY"|It Is Pronounced Ree-Say]]

* [[Kawaiiko]]: Fits both the "need for social acceptance" and "calculated step to stardom" criteria, but in a well-meaning way. She created her "Risette" persona hoping to find genuine friends, having been a bully magnet as a child, only to [[Deconstructed Trope|realize that people gravitate more to "Risette" than her real self]], prompting her early retirement. While she initially passed off as a bit surly when the party first met her in person, once she opened up to them (and joins their [[True Companions]]), she turns out to be a genuinely bubbly [[Nice Girl]].

* [[Mission Control]]: Takes over the role once Teddie joins the active party.

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Kappei Yamaguchi]] (Japanese), [[Dave Wittenberg]] (English), [[Sam Riegel]] (English, [[Persona 4 Arena]])}}

In the real world, he takes the form of a blonde boy who goes by the name "Kumada" (Japanese -- actuallyJapanese—actually a common surname)/"Teddie" (English), and in a certain school event, [[Wholesome Crossdresser|convincingly cosplays]] as [[Alice Allusion|Alice]]. He stays at the Hanamuras and often helps Yosuke with part-time work at Junes, either as a [[Mascot]] handing out balloons, a cook at the food court, or a grocery stocker when in human form.

* {{spoiler|[[Attractive Bent Gender]]: The only guy from the Team who can actually look convincingly female. One of the judges openly even says "I'd hit that".}}.

* [[Badass]]: {{spoiler|Your party is getting beaten up by Shadow Rise. He gives her a [[One-Hit Kill]].}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Bishonen]]: With lots an' lots of [[Bishie Sparkle]].}}.

* [[Captain Ersatz]]: {{spoiler|His human form looks a lot like [[Ouran High School Host Club|Hani]].}}.

* [[Casanova Wannabe]]: {{spoiler|Subverted. Initially, he just comes off as overestimating his charm to the ladies... [[The Charmer|until he gets his]] [[Bishonen|human form]]. He can even [[Stupid Sexy Flanders|charm guys]], if he [[Attractive Bent Gender|needs too]].}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Dark Is Not Evil]]: He's actually a Shadow}}.

* {{spoiler|[[My Species Doth Protest Too Much]]: He's a Shadow who wants to befriend, rather than kill people.}} .

* {{spoiler|[[Naked Onon Arrival]]: Played with,: he arrives in the real world in his [[Mascot]] form; when he complains of being too hot, he removes his head, revealing that he's grown a (naked) human body inside his mascot costume, just so he can score with the girls.}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Nietzsche Wannabe]]: Shadow Teddie. To further drive the point home, Shadow Teddie's Ultimate Move is appropriately named [[Shout-Out|"Nihil]] [[Friedrich Nietzsche|Hand]]".}}.

** Parodied [https://web.archive.org/web/20120615103216/http://hiimdaisy.livejournal.com/26044.html here], slightly more than halfway down the page.

* [[Red Baron|Red]] [[Just for Pun|Bear-on]]: "[[Lovable Sex Maniac|Beast of Libido]]" in ''[[Persona 4 Arena (Video Game)|Persona 4 Arena]]''.

* {{spoiler|[[Wholesome Crossdresser]]: To the point that [[Even the Guys Want Him]], although most of them are just really freaked out that he does it that well (or at least Naoto is that good at dolling him up).}}.

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Romi Park]] (Japanese) and Susan Dalian (English)}}

A [[Bokukko|tomboyish girl]] who is a famous high-school detective, given the glorious title of "[[Born Detective|Detective Prince]]" by the media. Naoto is adept with [[The Gunslinger|revolvers]], and her Persona is summoned by shooting the card. Naoto's initial Persona is Sukuna Hikona of the [Wheel of] Fortune Arcanum, which later becomes Yamato Takeru. They are well-rounded with [[Light the Way|Light]], [[Casting a Shadow|Dark]], [[Non-Elemental|Almighty]] and [[Cast Fromfrom Hit Points|physical skills]] at her disposal.

[[Parental Abandonment|Orphaned at a young age]] [[Raised Byby Grandparents|and raised by her detective grandfather]], she yearns to emulate the cool male sleuths she read in novels, accepting the family tradition and aiding her grandfather in his own cases, eventually creating a favorable reputation for herself. She was sent to Inaba by the prefecture police, to gain insight for the murders happening there.

In her Social Link, Naoto has several of her possessions stolen, and receives taunting riddles from a [[Gentleman Thief]]. The Protagonist helps her retrieve them, and she becomes more comfortable with his assistance. It is eventually revealed that the "thief" is actually her grandfather, who simply did it to help reignite her passion. If the player openly aims so through their choices, she becomes somewhat more feminine, but will keep it mostly just to herself and the Mainmain Charactercharacter; following a series of options, she even dresses in the female school uniform on Christmas.

* [[Badass]]:

** {{spoiler|[[Badass Biker]]: If the cover of the Persona X Detective Naoto spin-off novel is anything to be believed.}}.

* [[Born Detective]]: Her parents were detectives, as was her grandfather.

* [[Breakout Character]]: In the middle of Atlus' [[Spin-Off]] and [[Updated Rerelease]] fanfare for ''Persona 4'', Naoto got a big share of it along with Yosuke. She gets to star in her own story in a [[Light Novel]] where she is [[The Protagonist]]. The light novel takes place during her senior year of high school and isn't set in Inaba, rather a whole different school and city entirely.

* [[Captain Obvious]]: {{spoiler|Tends to explain what's evident at crucial times in the most anticlimactic way.}}.

* [[Chaste Hero]]/[[Celibate Hero]]: Completely oblivious to Kanji's crush, but otherwise writes off advances from other classmates {{spoiler|and Teddie}}.

* [[Closet Key]]: Subverted for Kanji.

* [[Criminal Mind Games]]: Has them played on her by the "Phantom Thief", but this trope gets subverted when it turns out {{spoiler|that there was no criminal. Her grandfather gave her stolen items to Yakushiji, the family secretary and created the riddles to challenge Naoto. His hope was that solving the riddles would convince Naoto to stop solving cases for the sake of her family name and do it because she loved it, the way she used to.}} .

* [[Determinator]] - /[[Plucky Girl]]

* [[Deuteragonist]]: Was already solving the murder case quite well without the police or The Investigation Team, to the point were she was able to come to certain conclusions like {{spoiler|Morooka's murderer being a copycat by noting that, unlike the previous victims who had unknown causes of death, his was due to blunt-force trauma}}, before anyone else. Once she joins the party, she's pretty much necessary to solving the case in full.

* [[Guile Hero]]: {{spoiler|Intentionally gets herself kidnapped, hoping to figure out who the kidnapper was, while at the same time completely expecting the "Investigation Team" to come to her rescue.}}.

** [[More Dakka]]: For P4G''Persona 4: The Golden'', Naoto appears to be adding machine pistols to her arsenal. In ''[[Persona 4 Arena]]'', one of Naoto's attacks has her using a Heckler and Koch MP5 sub-machine gun.

* [[Heroic Self-Deprecation]]: In both the game and the anime, is very rough on herself for asking {{spoiler|Namatame}} too many questions and putting the solution to the case ahead of {{spoiler|Nanako's}} safety.

* [[Late Arrival Spoiler]]: Naoto is a girl. Although the publicity for the upcoming anime is noticeably missing her, despite this being one of the most well known spoilers about the game.

** The game doesn't really try to keep it secret either;: if you wait at the title screen and watch the trailer video, she noticeably uses her "girl" voice when attacking.

* [[Pet the Dog]]: In Episodeepisode 13 of ''Persona 4: The Animation'', Nanako is disheartened about being left alone by her father during the Summer Festival, and considers giving up pursuing the mystery behind Yu's numerous absences and odd activities. However, Naoto discovers her, and tells her that "the case can never be closed if the detective gives up. So don't drop the case until it's over."

** She's called the "2000 IQ [[Captain Obvious|Killjoy Detective]]" in ''[[Persona 4 Arena (Video Game)|Persona 4 Arena]]''.

*** {{spoiler|Also when she enters the Beauty Contest. She's so cute, she wins the contest despite never showing up for the swimsuit portion.}}.

** [[Bifauxnen]]: To the point where Kanji is [[Sweet Onon Polly Oliver|immensely relieved to find out she's a girl]]. She is also the only character who has a Persona of the opposite sex.

** [[One of the Boys]]: She pretty much grew like a boy, never caring for dolls and dresses, but more for action figures and boyish stuff. This is reflected in her dungeon, which is designed like the lair of a tokusatsu villain. (Sheshe doesn't look down on the other girls for being more feminine, though.).

* [[Transfer Student Uniforms]]: Sort of. After transferring to Yasogami, she ''is'' always wearing that school's uniform -- theuniform—the ''male'' version -- evenversion—even after her real gender is made public.

* [[Yin-Yang Bomb]]: Her Persona both high Hama and Mudo skills, which is unique among the characters except for the customisablecustomizable ones, but even with those, it's pretty hard.

== S-Social Links and Major [[NPNon-Player CsCharacter]]s ==

[[File:P3-Igor_5470Igor 5470.jpg|frame]]

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' Isamu Tanonaka (Japanese) and [[Dan Woren]] (English)}}

Igor is the mysterious proprietor of Thethe Velvet Room. His noticeable appearance comes from his [[Youkai|Tengu]]/Pinocchio-like long nose. In ''[[Persona|Megami Ibunroku Persona]]'', Igor has calls himself "a servant of Philemon". He is always found in Thethe Velvet Room, a realm between the conscious and unconscious planes. His function is twofold: he makes cryptic comments that vaguely steer the player in the right direction, and fuses Personas the player collects in the dungeons to create stronger Personas.

* [[Dark Is Not Evil]]: He's one of the good guys. ''Really.''.

* [[Gag Nose]]: Dear God, '''LOOK AT THAT THING.'''.

* [[Misunderstood Loner Withwith a Heart of Gold]]: He certainly looks evil, but he's really a nice guy (though he could be a bit more forthcoming with information).

* [[Tarot Motifs]]: Each Social Link is represented by one of the major tarot arcana, and their personalities and life situations match the arcana accordingly.

[[File:Ryotaro_Dojima_119Ryotaro Dojima 119.jpg|frame]]

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Unsho Ishizuka]] (Japanese) and David Lodge (English)}}

The Hierophant Social Link and the Protagonist's uncle, whom he welcomes into his household while his parents are away. He is the detective assigned to investigate the murders. He is able to make some progress on the case, but without understanding the supernatural element to the case, his progress is limited. He initially suspects the Protagonist as one, but cannot bring himself to arrest his nephew. The long hours he spends at his job frequently keep him from taking care of his daughter Nanako. He is the direct superior to Tohru Adachi.

In his Social Link, Dojima gets a lead on the hit-and-run case that killed his wife, making him stay out even later, to Nanako's distress. Eventually, he admits that he has been avoiding his daughter because she reminds him of his late wife, but vows to get over it and spend more time with her daughter. When the lead does not pan out, he decides to let it go.

* [[Adult Fear]]: Near the end of the game, Nanako is kidnapped by someone he [[Living Withwith the Villain|didn't even consider suspecting]]. That's a nightmare for any parent, especially a widowed workaholic, but [[It Got Worse|it gets even worse]]. {{spoiler|Nanako dies ''anyway'', with Ryotaro bursting in literally seconds after she flat-lines, calling for him with her last breath}}.

* [[Badass Normal]]: Despite working more or less alone with only half the clues, he manages to stay relatively close with the Investigation Team on solving the murders. {{spoiler|After Nanako's kidnapping, he actually manages to discover that Namatame isn't the culprit}}.

* [[Coat Over the Shoulder]]: He never actually seems to wear his jacket, but tends to carry it around draped over his shoulder.

* [[Parents As PeoplePerma-Stubble]]: GoesHe hand-in-handdoesn't withseem theto aboveever tropeshave.

** Somehow subverted: He does {{spoiler|manage to corner Namatame as he is kidnapping Nanako and almost catches him}}.

* [[Revenge Before Reason]]: {{spoiler|Subverted in the Normal/[[True Ending]]. After calming down, he pieces together the clues himself and realizes Namatame couldn't have been the true killer. He even gets angry at Adachi for sending him off to another hospital before he got a chance to interrogate Namatame personally.}}.

* [[Supporting Leader]]: He's had a head start on the murder case investigation, but lost steam when Thethe Investigation Team is formed, and ends up reaching the same conclusions about the case's twists after the party does. The largest effect he has on the plot is {{spoiler|chasing after Nametame to rescue Nanako, a move that forces Nametame to enter the TV Worldworld himself to escape.}}.

[[File:Nanako_Dojima_4393Nanako Dojima 4393.jpg|frame]]

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Akemi Kanda]] (Japanese) and [[Karen Strassman]] (English)}}

The Justice Social Link, Dojima's daughter and the Protagonist's cousin, though she soon sees the Protagonist as an older brother. Because of her father's workaholic tendencies, she has taken upon herself to run the household while going to school, despite being six years old. She is frequently disappointed when her father does not come home, but the Protagonist's friends eventually become a surrogate family for her.

{{spoiler|1=She is kidnapped near the end of the game by Namatame and thrown into the TV world. She is rescued by the party, but is injured and taken to the hospital. If the player makes the wrong choices, the [[Downer Ending]] occurs and she dies. Otherwise, she survives -- though bedridden -- and in the [[Happy Ending]], she gets released from hospital in time to bid her cousin a fond farewell.}}.

** "Welcome home, Big Bro!" {{spoiler|You'll miss that one when she's gone.}}.

* [[Cheerful Child]]: Sadly averted. She has her happy moments, but much of the time her sad, lonely side is more prominent. [[Video Game Caring Potential|You will work like hell to fix that.]].

{{quote| ''Welcome home, Big Bro!''}}

** {{spoiler|[[Kill the Cutie]]}}: {{spoiler|In the worst ending.}}.

* [[Token Mini-MoeLoli]]

* [[Video Game Caring Potential]]: All Social Links have this, but Nanako takes the cake. {{spoiler|In fact, considering what happens to her and what you can do to the one responsible, the game makers almost certainly did it [[Invoked Trope|on purpose]].}}.

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Sayaka Ohara]] (Japanese) and Michelle Ann Dunphy (English)}}

The Empress Social Link, Igor's new assistant and older sister of [[Persona 3|Elizabeth and Theodore]]. She takes over her younger siblings' role of tasking the Protagonist to create certain Persona through fusion. {{spoiler|Upon completion of her S.Social Link, you can challenge her to a fight, but only if you're on your second playthrough.}}.

* [[Adaptation Expansion]]: Gets much more spotlight in the anime due to Igor's role being diminished for reasons already explained.

* {{spoiler|[[Bonus Boss]]}} :

An old fox who lives around the old shrine in the Central Shopping District and serves as The Hermit Social Link for the game. The foxFox initially recruits Thethe Protagonist to help fulfill wishes written on ema left at the shrine, in hopes it will help increase donations to the dilapidated shrine. The foxFox also offers to sell the Investigation Team healing leaves the restore all HP and SP in order to raise money for the shrine. Though the price for the foxFox's services are initially extremely high, they do go down the more requests Yu help's the fox grant.

After granting the various wishes of people around town, Yu and the foxFox succeed in saving the shrine, and eventually, the donations to its offering box are used to build an entirely new shrine next to the old one, now plated in gold. If the Hermit S-Social Link has been completed by the end of the game, it is also revealed during Yu's last day in town that {{spoiler|Thethe Fox has 3 cubs.}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Babies Ever After]]: C-cubbies!3 cubbies}}!

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Daisuke Ono]] (Kou) and [[Tomokazu Sugita]] (Daisuke) (Japanese)}}

Kou and Daisuke are two friends at Yasogami High who are also the unofficial leaders of Yasogami's Basketball and Football teams respectively, and together serve as the Strength Social Link. The focus of their Social Link does, however, depends on which sports team you join.

* [[Heterosexual Life Partners]] - /[[Ho Yay]]: Every so often.

* [[The Last Dance]]: Kou's parents object to his sport, and so he makes it his vow to win his last game. {{spoiler|The team still loses, but by then, he has already decided that at least he went down fighting.}}.

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Tsubasa Yonaga]] (Japanese) and [[Derek Stephen Prince]] (English)}}

* [[Incriminating Indifference]]: A variant in that he's not a suspect, but is accused of being cold and indifferent about her death. {{spoiler|Towards the end of his Social Link, he's finally able to mourn and move on.}}.

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' Ikuko Tani (Japanese) and [[Mary Elizabeth McGlynn]] (English)}}

{{quote| '''Hisano''': ''(on refering to a love letter she sent to her husband)'' I loved him this much and because I loved him, it saddened me when he forgot my love.}}

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Miki Ito]] (Japanese)}}

Eri's story revolves around her stepson, Yuuta. The Protagonist finds out that the two of them are very distant: Eri can't seem to get close to Yuuta, and Yuuta doesn't accept her as his mother. Using really vague tips from TV and magazines, Eri does a rather bad job at getting Yuuta to like her. Through interactions, the Protagonist helps the two of them to become united. At the end of the Social Link, Eri finds out that she never had the strength to face Yuuta directly, so now he and Yuuta recognize each other as a family, and Eri thanks the Protagonist for helping them by giving him a clover bookmark.

* [[Taking the Bullet]]: In the anime, Eri is injured via trying to help Yuuta when he's harrassedharassed by another kid ''and'' his mom in the festival.

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Natsuko Kuwatani]] (Japanese) and [[Wendee Lee]] (English)}}

Flirting with the Protagonist at first, Sayoko opens up to him and reveals her backstory. Because of her behavior, she dated a married doctor that ended up flirting with other girls, even though she left him behind. After dealing with the doctor's wife, things [[It Got Worse|get worse]] for her after hearing that a patient of hers in the last hospital died. She feels extremely saddened by the news that she becomes a workaholic, demanding everyone to do their very best, and eventually collapses. By the end of her Social Link, Sayoko realizes that she was trying to flee from her feelings by working hard, and that she was losing her goal to care for others, and she gives the Protagonist her hospital ID. Before the ending, the Protagonist hears that she joined a medical association and went to Africa {{spoiler|and also finds out the implication that she genuinely held a bit of a crush toward him}}.

* [[Desperately Looking for Aa Purpose In Life]]

* [[May-DecemberMay–December Romance]]: {{spoiler|At the end of her Social Link, she transfers to another hospital, but she still refers to the Protagonist as her "boyfriend".}}.

** Before that, she dated a married doctor older than her. It didn't end well.

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Mitsuhiro Ichiki]] (Japanese)}}

* [[The "B" Grade]]: Fear of getting a B and disappointing his mother is what eventually drives Shu to {{spoiler|cheat on a test}}.

* [[Education Mama]]/[[My Beloved Smother]]: Revealed to be the source of his [[Jerkass]] attitude --: she continually pressures him to study regardless of his misgivings so he can get into a competitive university.

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Kanae Ito]] (Japanese) and [[Julie Ann Taylor]] (English)}}

* [[All Love Is Unrequited]]: She falls in love with either Daisuke or Kou, but then she finds out that they like "nice girls" and Chie, respectively.

* [[Alpha Bitch]]: prePre-[[Character Development]].

** [[Lovable Alpha Bitch]]: More so after some progress on her Social Link.

* [[Compensated Dating]]: Discussed in regards to her. Ai doesn't do it as far as we know, but since she has good looks (especially a nice butt), she's rumored to have a sugar daddy. Kou is rather angry when he hears about it, though, and lectures the tattletales.

* [[Cry Cute]]: In Episodeepisode 5 of the anime (where Narukami joins the Basketball team), after Narukami stops her from jumping off the school's rooftop after overhearing Kou saying he likes Chie, wondering if all her dieting and prettifying were for naught.

* [[Cute Sports Club Manager]]: Unusually for this trope, she didn't become the manager by choice. She was forced into the job to pass due to low attendance, and even then, she does next to nothing of actual managerial work.

* [[Defrosting Ice Queen]]: Acts like a bitch at first, but quickly shows her inner feelings to the main character.

* [[Embarrassing Nickname]]: {{spoiler|"Piggy-Hara"}}.

** [[Suicide Asas Comedy]]: The deal is [[Played for Laughs]]... [[Subverted Trope|Until she reveals her backstory.]].

* [[Tsundere]]: Type A .

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Kanae Ito]] (Japanese), [[Melissa Fahn]] (English)}}

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' Tomoka Endou (Japanese), Michelle Ann Dunphy (English)}}

* [[Expy]]: Of pre-time-skip [[Naruto|Hinata]].

* [[Foil]]: To Yumi.

* [[Shrinking Violet]]: But the point of her S-Social Link is helping her grow out of this.

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Kana Hanazawa]] (Japanese)}}

A new character for the upcoming ''Persona 4 the Golden''. Thus far, very little is known about her besides that she is into fashion. However, several pictures have been released that show her interacting with the main characters, so it seems that she may play a part in the plot. Marie has since been [http://digifreaks.tumblr.com/post/19401627716/persona-4-the-golden-demo-famitsu-first-impressions revealed]{{Dead link}} to be the new Aeon Social Link. {{spoiler|She's speculated to have some sort of connection to the Velvet Room due to the blue accessoires she's seen using, and the stylized "V" displayed on her hat (though this could also be the roman numeral for "5"). She has since been revealed to be [http://digifreaks.tumblr.com/post/19513477844/persona-4-the-golden-demo-spoilers suffering from amnesia] and is trying to contact Igor. In addition, she has appeared in the Velvet Room itself alongside Margaret and Igor in some screenshots.}}.

== Minor [[NPNon-Player CsCharacter]]s ==

[[File:836856-473px_morokin_large_783473px morokin large 783.jpg|framethumb|250px]]

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' Osamu Ryutani (Japansese) and [[Kirk Thornton]] (English)}}

The protagonist's homeroom teacher. He really dislikes unruly students and looks down (or outright curses) any popular trends in the school. [[Dirty Old Man|That doesn't stop him from being a Risette fanatic behind the scenes]]. {{spoiler|Eventually murdered by Mitsuo Kubo.}}.

* [[Only Known Byby Their Nickname]]: Rarely, is he ever called anything other than "King Moron" ("Morokin" in Japanese) by the protagonists.

* [[Sadist Teacher]]: As mentioned above, he's not exactly the nicest guy in the world.

* [[The Scrappy]]: [[In -Universe]], his students don't like him and his foul attitude. The Protagonist can even tell him off when the latter was insultingly introducing him with "You callin' me a loser?".

** {{spoiler|[[Alas, Poor Scrappy]]: In-universe --: after his death, Yosuke expresses pity for him.}}.

[[File:P4-Hanako_1965Hanako 1965.jpg|framethumb|250px]]

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' Ryou Agawa (Japanese) and Jessica Straus (English)}}

** [[Fat Bastard]]: ...a hideously fat, selfish, vain creature with only one redeeming quality: because she secretly has a crush on {{spoiler|the Protagonist, she occasionally leaves useful items as gifts in his shoe locker}}. In the anime, while still somewhat obnoxious, she's noticeably nicer, especially when she shows a degree of reluctance and guilt at having to {{spoiler|reject Kanji after an awkward, accidental, intimate encounter between the two.}}.

* [[Jerkass]]: [[Jerk Withwith a Heart of Gold|Less so]] in the animated adaptation.

[[File:P4-NorikoKashiwagi_2593NorikoKashiwagi 2593.jpg|framethumb|250px]]

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Sayaka Ohara]] (Japanese, game), [[Hitomi Nabatame]] (Japanese, anime) and [[Mary Elizabeth McGlynn]] (English)}}

* [[Christmas Cake]]: [[Exaggerated Trope|An exaggerated version]] --: Kashiwagi-sensei is not only "on the wrong side of 40", says one of the Protagonist's classmates, but continually hits on her male students, and enters a beauty pageant against girls less than half her age. ''And she thinks she'll win.''.

* [[Gag Boobs]]: In the [[Anime]].

* [[Expy]]: She could easily be mistaken for a parallel universe equivalent of [[Dear SDearS|Mitsuka-sensei]].

* [[Hot for Student]]: [[Deconstructed Trope|Deconstructed]] and [[Played for Laughs]]. While this leads to a hilarious scene after the beauty pageant, her [[Christmas Cake]] status left her so bitter and desperate for attention from males, she's willing to settle for anything she can get.

* [[Replacement Scrappy]]: [[In -Universe]] --: the class considers her this compared to Morooka-sensei (which is impressive, considering the latter was a supreme [[Jerkass]]).

* [[Small Name, Big Ego]]: Is earnestly shocked when she loses the beauty pageant, despite being regarded as a creepy old hag by her students. It's also ''the reason'' she's a [[Christmas Cake]]. No wonder [[Birds of a Feather|she and Hanako get along well]].

* [[Unknown Rival]]: Considers herself Rise's rival as school idol. Boy, does she underestimate Rise's popularity (and kindness).

[[File:Chihiro_Fushimi_4264Chihiro Fushimi 4264.jpg|framethumb|250px]]

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Ai Maeda]] (Japanese) and [[Wendee Lee]] (English)}}

* [[Hotter and Sexier]]/[[Older and Wiser]]: She's no longer the [[Shrinking Violet]] from two years ago --... and now she has a new character portrait to give some emphasis.

* [[Student Council President]]: While she was a treasurer in ''Persona 3'', she takes on this role, succeeding Mitsuru.

[[File:2_20111008141557_63012 20111008141557 6301.jpg|framethumb|250px]]

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Aoi Yuki]] (Japanese)}}

** She makes an appearance in the Hagakure near the end of Episodeepisode 15, citing that she's been working there during the trip for temporary training.

* [[Comfort Food]]: In episode 22, Aika offers Yu the infamous beef bowl to cheer him up {{spoiler|after Nanako's "death"}}. Yu ''eats it whole''.

* [[Stealth Mentor]]: In episode 11, the team meet up in the restaurant she works in when they think they are back at square one {{spoiler|because Morooka turned up dead, even though he wasn't on the Midnight Channel}}, she suddenly gives them an enormous beef bowl each for free that they eat for 40 minutes without getting to the rice. They're about to give up when they realize they can get to the bottom of it if they persevere.

[[File:P4-MitsuoKubo_6776MitsuoKubo 6776.jpg|frame]]

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' Tsuyoshi Takahashi (Japanese), [[Kyle Hebert]] (English)}}

* [[Black Eyes of Evil]]:

{{quote| '''Kanji:''' "Looking at those fish eyes really pisses me off!"}}

* [[Creepy Monotone]]/[[Dull Surprise]]: Not so much himself, but his Shadow.

** There is also another large hint: Hishis Shadow has the normal boss battle music, "I'll Face Myself -Battle-". For someone who is claiming to be the main killer, you'd think he'd have a special boss theme, but he does not.

* [[For the Evulz]]: [[No Such Thing Asas Bad Publicity|He only killed Morooka and claimed responsibility for the murders to garner attention]].

* [[From Nobody to Nightmare]]: [[Subverted Trope|Subverted.]]. While he ''did'' kill Morooka, he ultimately never becomes any more dangerous than the next kid. His Shadow then manifests how terrible he can possibly become.

* [[Mythology Gag]]: His Shadow Boss seems similar to the final boss of ''[[Shin Megami Tensei: Ifif...]]'', the game that started this series, which certianly fits with his dungeon theme.

* [[Stalker Withwith a Crush]]: Appears this way towards Yukiko, though nothing really comes of it. In the anime, he tries it while on the end of his power trip from killing Morooka, but gets scared away by Chie and Kanji.

[[File:TaroNamatame_924TaroNamatame 924.jpg|frame]]

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' Koji Haramaki (Japanese) and J. B. Blanc (English)}}

After kidnapping Yukiko, Kanji, Rise, Naoto and Nanako, he becomes the Team's chief suspect. He is confronted and defeated inside a manifestation of Heaven created by his self-delusions of messianic grandeur. He also plays a pivotal role in determining the outcome of the case; should the player take the easy way out and blame him for all of the murders, thus throwing him in the TV world, they will be "rewarded" with the [[Bad Ending]]. If he is spared, and the Protagonist convince his teammates that something still seems off about the case, the game will move the player closer to the Normal and True Endings.

* [[Forced to Watch]]: Sorta. In the anime, he witnessed {{spoiler|Mayumi's death in the Midnight Channel}} and tried to save her {{spoiler|via attempting to take her hand through the TV right before it happened}}, but he failed to {{spoiler|bring her back}}.

* [[Obliviously Evil]]: Subverted oh so very hard.

* [[Unwitting Pawn]]: His original idea to throw people into the Midnight Channel came from {{spoiler|Adachi}}, who would continue to sit back and enjoy the suffering he was obliviously causing. Ultimately, along with the Protagonist and {{spoiler|Adachi}}, he is one of {{spoiler|Izanami's three "game pieces" -- Despair, in his case -- so that she can determine what humanity desires most.}}.

[[File:Tohru_Adachi_2522Tohru Adachi 2522.jpg|frame]]

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Mitsuaki Madono]] (Japanese) and [[Johnny Yong Bosch]] (English)}}

Ultimately, he's nothing but a pawn of Izanami, who wanted to determine humanity's true desire, as expressed by Adachi, Namatame, and the Protagonist. Adachi represents "Emptiness" in the experiment, but because his actions are the most prolific, he unintentionally sentences humanity to an [[Assimilation Plot]].

* [[Butt Monkey]]: Constantly being yelled at by Dojima.

* [[Captain Ersatz]]: Looks and acts like Matsuda from ''[[Death Note (Manga)|Death Note]]''.

* [[Dirty Cop]]: Claims the only reason he became a cop was so he could legally carry a gun --... which is justifiable enough, given Japan's strict gun control laws. Though the veracity of those words is ambiguous, given his immaturity and tendency to run from the truth.

* [[EvillyFaux AffableAffably Evil]]: He's an loopy, [[Ax Crazy]] [[Serial Killer]]. That said, he's pretty funny.

* [[For the Evulz]] / [[It Amused Me]] : Had a hell of a time with all the crap he's stirred up.

* [[Lestrade]]: Justified --: since he was behind the whole scheme, he was always a step ahead of the Team. Therefore, it was imperative for him to play dumb as to not arouse suspicion.

* [[Living Withwith the Villain]]: Your biggest hint to finding the killer is the fact that he's welcome at the Dojima household any time.

* [[Noodle Incident]]: What got him transferred to Inaba. While he claims it was a small slip-up that got blown out of proportion, his crimes in this game imply it was ''much'' more serious.

* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: He is not as dumb as he first appears to be.

* [[Shadow Archetype]]: Persona-wise, to the Protagonist (his being the [[Evil Twin]] of Izanagi);, motive-wise, to Yosuke (both share the same [[Small Town Boredom]]);, but most of all, to the whole Investigation Team --, whereas its members [[Be Yourself|learn to accept themselves and each other for who they are and take responsibility their actions]], Adachi [[Never My Fault|ignores his own faults, blames others for his problems, and keeps running away from the truth]].

** He's actually meant to be a counterpart to the main character in the sense that the MCmain character uses his power to help people, while Adachi uses his power to harm. This is more apparent in the anime where [[Persona 4: The Animation|Yu]] has his own personality.

* [[Stalker Withwith a Crush]]: To Mayumi and, to a lesser extent, Saki (because he thought Namatame, who "stole" Mayumi, was her sugar daddy).

{{quote| "Ahaha! I told you all to come, and you actually came!? Don't you guys have anything better to do? What a bunch of losers... 'Let's find the culprit ourselves!' 'Let's meet up today at the special headquarters today!' Am I right, or am I right? Man, it's embarrassing. How old are you guys? Ahahahahahahaha! Oh crap, my stomach's hurting... C'mon... You're all students, right? Shouldn't you be studying instead of wasting your time with this? Study hard, get into a good college, work at a respectable company, marry a cute girl... Why are you guys so desperate when it comes to something so useless? Won't you regret it once you're adults?"}}

[[File:izanami_3795izanami 3795.jpg|frame]]

{{quote| '''Voiced by:''' [[Daisuke Namikawa]] and [[Romi Park]] (Japanese), [[Ryusei Nakao]] (Japanese, as Ameno-Sagiri, [[Persona 4: The Animation]]), [[Karen Strassman]] (English)}}

An extremely ancient and powerful [[Anthropomorphic Personification|manifestation]] of the [[Carl Jung|collective unconscious]] styled after a goddess from [[Japanese Mythology|traditional Japanese folklore]], [[SchrodingerSchrödinger's Butterfly|or perhaps its basis]]. You initially hear her name during a class lecture midway through the game. The wife of the god Izanagi, she died in childbirth. Saddened by her death, Izanagi visted the underworld, Yomotsu Hirasaka, and persuaded her to return to the living with him. But as they began to leave the darkness of the underworld, Izanagi saw that Izanami's body had become a rotting corpse, and terrified ran from her. Enraged, Izanami sent various creatures that chased after Izanagi as he fled the underworld. However they were unable to catch him, and once he reached the surface again, Izanagi sealed the entrance with a boulder. Now even angrier, Izanami threatened she would curse 1,000 people to die every day unless she was freed, but Izanagi responded that in that case each day he would give life to 1,500 new ones.

While Izanami herself doesn't specify how much of the legend is true, she is the mastermind behind all the events in Inaba. In an attempt to fulfill the desires of humanity, she creates the world inside the TV and grants three [[Unwitting Pawn|Unwitting Pawns]]s, the Protagonist, Namatame, and Adachi, the power to enter. Her plan is to then create a new world for humanity that matches the quality of the pawn whose actions are the most prolific. Because Adachi, who represents Emptiness, has the greatest effect, Izanami deems that humanity wants to live in self-deception and [[Assimilation Plot|plans to slowly turn all of humanity into Shadows]].

In the [[True Ending]], after Adachi and Ameno-Sagiri are defeated, the Protagonist may surmise that something about the case still seems unresolved, and traces the events in Inaba back to Izanami, who has been watching the events in Inaba unfold [[Full-Body Disguise|as the local gas station's attendant]]. She reveals that Ameno-Sagiri was merely an alter-ego that she created long ago, and she still plans on continuing her plan even without Adachi's help.

* [[Assimilation Plot]]: Her plan after determining Adachi was the winner of the [[Humanity Onon Trial|experiment]].

* [[Bifauxnen]]: See [[Doppelganger]] below.

* [[Character Portrait]]: It's worth noting that even though she's the third character you meet and appears on rainy days throughout the entire game, she doesn't get a portrait until ''after'' you've figured out she's the one responsible for everything that happened in Thethe [[True Ending]].

* [[Dark Reprise]]: herHer second theme ''The Genesis'' incorporates an extremely creepy, dirge-like version of the investigation team's main theme ''"I'll Face Myself''".

* [[Doppelganger]]: As seen from her [[Character Portrait]], her goddess form looks disturbingly like the Protagonist, [[A Form You Are Comfortable With|at least from his]] [[Appearance Is in Thethe Eye of Thethe Beholder|point of view]]. This also serves a bit of a [[Call Back]] to ''[[Persona 2|Persona 2: Innocent Sin]]'', {{spoiler|where [[Eldritch Abomination|Philemon's]] own [[Unwitting Pawn]] Tatsuya [[Calling the Old Man Out|punches him]] [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|in the face]], only to find that behind Philemon's mask... [[Appearance Is in Thethe Eye of Thethe Beholder|is Tatsuya's own face]].}}.

* [[Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette]]: As fitting being the dead goddess of the Underworld, she looks like she hasn't had sun for milennia.

* [[Eldritch Abomination]]: Her degraded appearance was so legendarily hideous, this is the best description for it.

* [[Fallen Hero]]: [[SchrodingerSchrödinger's Butterfly|At least in her myth.]].

* [[Hoist Byby His Own Petard|Hoist By Her Own Petard]]: She is defeated by one of her three [[Unwitting Pawn|Unwitting Pawns]]s and his newfound friends, who refused her Adachi-derived judgment on humanity.

* [[One-Winged Angel]]: "Well then... allow me to show you my full splendor..."

* [[Sealed Evil in Aa Can]]: Averted. Her myth makes it sound like she should be sealed away on the other side of the TV. In actuality, [[Villains Out Shopping|she's been working at the gas station all year]].

* [[True Final Boss]]: The boss of the [[True Ending]].

* [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]]: Ameno-sagiri and Izanami just want to give humanity what they've always wanted: everlasting peace. The only problem -- andproblem—and a large one at that -- isthat—is that they [[Blue and Orange Morality|don't quite get humans]]. Because of this, they eventually decide that [[The Sociopath|one crazy killer]]'s actions summed up humanity's true desire the best, and thus the best way to achieve their goal is to turn everyone into Shadows, living mindless, meaningless existences.

[[Category:Shin Megami Tensei (Franchise)/Characters]]