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jenivi · 3 years

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Top 5 Persona Characters?

oh i’m so glad you sent this ask!! for this, i’ll try not to include any of the protagonists because they technically don’t have a canon personality; their personalities are mostly widely known fan inferences rooting from their dialogue options and overall attitude (which i also believe as well,, but yeah we’ll just not include them in. plus let’s just have the other characters shine!). keep in mind, i really am not the best with putting my thoughts into words, so some sentences might seem kinda funky lol. and everything here is my opinion :]

1) yosuke hanamura (persona 4)

sometimes, it saddens me that people view his character from the surface level and are quick to renounce him as homophobic and pervy. to add fuel to the flame, atlus kind of flanderizes yosuke’s character in golden and the animation (trust me, i love the animation and they did add some parts for yosuke that i love, but you gotta admit they could’ve done his character a bit more justice). of course yosuke’s flaws should be recognized and be critiqued, but honestly, these flaws are what make yosuke yosuke. removing those things, in ways, takes away from the 3 dimensional-ness of his character.

i feel that it was made clear what his “stereotypical role” was going to be in the story from his easily perceived surface personality traits. some of these traits were his recklessness, competitiveness and the fact that he was constantly being dunked on by the other characters, making him seem like just the comic relief. but throughout the story, you find out he’s more than that (which i will talk more in detail a little later). most prominently known by fans, there is the “bro” aspect to him. in this game, yu is the one who has to walk up to people and ask them to hang out, but yosuke is the only one of all the characters who takes the initiative to get to know yu. he nicknames you partner, constantly calls you on the phone at night, and always kind of asks you questions and says things to get a reaction out of you. from this, a natural friendship between blossoms and you feel like you get know really know yosuke personally. you learn that he’s actually very strategic and intelligent, incredibly loyal and cares deeply about his friends, and is overwhelmingly insecure and repressed. okay, we have to talk about this part. he seems closeted, and that can be the reasoning on why he sometimes makes homophobic remarks. i do think it’s a shame that his romance route was scrapped when it obviously was far in development. for some, the bro aspect can super fixated on and might be one of the only reasons why someone likes yosuke. this sadly kind of subconsciously fetishizes their relationship. of course that’s not the case all the time! but it’s something to be mindful of. even looking past the souyo ship (which i love deeply!), they are such great friends platonically, and yosuke himself is such a great character. throughout the story, he matures and develops into someone more humble, thoughtful and appreciative. from the moment he first showed up on screen, i kind of had a feeling he was going to be my favorite. and it’s kind of crazy how much i grew fond of him over time and realized the impact his character made on me.

2) elizabeth (persona 3)

elizabeth is so underrated, and i speak that from the bottom of my heart. she is so hilariously naive and funky, while also being one of the most powerful and intelligent persona characters. the way you are first introduced to her are through fulfilling her requests in the velvet room. as you fulfill her requests, you’re kind like, “you want me to do that,, really?” she tells you to bring her oil?? for some reason? and to feed a cat so it can prosper forever and ever? those are just some things i can think of at the top of my head. from these requests, you kind of get a peak at her funny weirdness and you’re just like “okay you’re weird but i like you.” and when you get to take her on dates (but i just see them as hangouts :]), you are essentially helping her make new experiences of the world outside of the velvet room and get into a lot of wacky hijinks. with this, her endearing weirdness and naivety really starts to shine, making you fall in love with the character. so now you’re like “wow, you’re really weird i love you lol.” her funny weirdness also translates to her dance style in persona 3 dancing, which i absolutely love. it really encapsulates that side of her character accurately (and you gotta admit she’s got some cool funky moves).

beyond the funny side of her, you find out how truly powerful she is as a being. she can wield thanatos, which was only previously held by someone with the universe arcana), and is unfathomably strong as she is one of the harder boss fights in the entire series. it is also important to note that she is also very determined and i found it bittersweetly heartwarming that she is still mourning over makoto/minato(i nicknamed him virgin walk)’s death years afterward (as seen in persona 4 arena) and that she is dedicating herself to free his soul that is bound to the door of death. she misses her dear friend, and i just really love that she threw caution to the wind and went on this journey to try to find a way to resolve something that is seemingly impossible. and she is still doing it to this day, into the persona 5 timeline (because persona 5 royal shows that minato/makoto/virginwalk is still bound to the door). persona 3 happens in 2009 and persona 5 happens in 20XX (which is assumed to be 2016). it has almost been a decade. i truly think it’s in her character to keep searching for a way to free him no matter how long it takes. with all aspects of her personality in mind, i love her character with my whole heart.

3) yukiko amagi (persona 4)

if i’m completely honest, yukiko was not one of my favorite characters at the time i played persona 4. i was one of the many people who overlooked her character because the others pretty much outshine her. because she is introduced in the beginning as the first dungeon, you start to put her towards the background once kanji, rise and naoto are introduced. from the surface, the first impression of her is “okay, i guess her quirk is that she laughs a lot?” i initially thought this too, but thinking more about it, i began liking that about her, and with more thought, i realized that i liked other things about her character as well. her sense of humor is so dumb? she laughs at lame stuff and fixates on things in conversation that just make you go “uhh okay,,, yukiko??” i think i opened my eyes to this when i was playing her story in persona 4 arena. i found it so hilarious that she fixated on the quality of the box lunch she prepared for everyone out of all the things happening, and that her whole arc in that game revolved around how bad it was (putting it into simpler terms). i also really think its funny how blunt she is too. she’s ready to shoot people down, and most of the time, it’s unintentional.

and other than her quirks, i kind of like how her arc developed in the game. i know that many people saw that the end of her arc as “wrong” because they were expecting the usual resolution to problems similar to hers. they expected her to “follow her heart and pick freedom” if she feels trapped in her role as an innkeeper when she inherits her family’s inn in the future. but that wasn’t the point. i actually kind of like that she ultimately chooses to stay. in her social link, she decides to stay in inaba and to run the inn because it’s her own choice. she chose this out of her own will and that’s the only thing that mattered; no one else is forcing her to inherit the business and she decides that’s what she wants. i also really like that the animation showed the responsibilities and hard work she has to go through at the inn; it was a nice touch and really displayed how responsible she was and how much she prioritizes and dedicates her time at the inn. although she is responsible, she is not necessarily the “mom-friend” of the group. she can be a bit crazy like everyone else too. honestly the whole investigation team runs rabid because there is no mom-friend to keep them in check (persona 3 has mitsuru and persona 5 has makoto). anyway, really taking the time to think about yukiko’s character made me love her.

4) yusuke kitagawa (persona 5)

okay, this is going to be very straightforward, but i think that yusuke was one of the most enjoyable parts of persona 5. i loved whenever he was on screen,, he’s super eccentric and i find it so funny to see the whole starving-artist thing taken literally. he’s definitely awkward but is trying his best! he definitely has the most stage presence compared to the other phantom thieves. the other members are pushed to the background whenever he speaks. he’s dramatic and over the top, but somehow this hilarious absurdity is relatable.

other than the tendency to steal the show, his social link is more focused on his own development and his own personal growth. whereas, with the other characters, it kind of focuses on the character and the people they associate with outside the phantom thieves. for yusuke, in comparison, it’s much more personal. you travel around with him to help him to figure out what the aspects of the human heart are and to help him get out of his artistic slump after opening his eyes to the abuse he went through with madarame. he originally had a narrow perspective but overtime he learns to broaden it. i just really like how the social link plays out, it was really satisfying. and i just love how genuine and sincere he is as he is always doing things out of pure intentions. it’s also so admirable to see how much passion he has for the things he loves. yusuke, with certainty, is one of my favorite phantom theives.

5) yuuki mishima (persona 5)

mishima is such an important and underrated character in persona 5. mishima throughout the whole game has been nothing but nice to you, even with akira/ren’s reputation. sure, he can be awkward and can be seen as overbearing to some, but he’s always had his heart in the right place. i’ve kind of always liked his dumb awkwardness and seeing how he’s trying hard to be our friend (it’s a shame our dialogue options toward him are always kinda mean but hopefully he sees it as teasing). he is so crucial to the story because honestly, he’s the one who got the ball rolling by creating the phansite, and that phansite actually helped so many people. he, himself, doesn’t even get recognition for making the site, he just really believed in the phantom thieves and wanted to help them in the ways he could. he did have an arc to humble himself after getting hungry for fame, but in the end he changed his own heart with his own will (and is the only character to do that!) which is pretty powerful.

i also love that he’s always been a supporter of the phantom thieves no matter what happens and what other people think. when the phantom thieves were being trashed on, he still held onto hope and believed they were doing the right thing (plus him supporting them in those times just proves he wasn’t just doing the phansite for fame!!). another moment that screams this most is toward the end, when everything was in destruction and people were forgetting about the phantom theives in the time literally needed someone to believe in them most. mishima was the only one who still had faith in them and knocked some sense into everyone else. without him there, things could have turned out pretty badly. and i know i’ve heard that some fans wanting him to be a phantom thief himself, but it would just mess with a major part of his character. there’s something about him not completely knowing who the members of the phantom thieves are and him deciding to help with the phansite despite this, you know? yeah i like mishima a lot :))

some honorable mentions are kanji tatsumi (persona 4) and aigis (persona 3)! some of the honorable mentions are characters i like over some others that are on the list but i wanted to make sure i included people from persona 3, 4, 5 (because honestly this list would be persona 4 dominated if i didnt lol).

#i'm sure everyone already saw this coming #im sorry i had too much to say about everyone this post got too long so i tried not to ramble toooo much #i wouldve put yu and virgin walk in a heartbeat but i said no protags soooo #long post #persona 3 #persona 4 #yosuke hanamura #elizabeth #yukiko amagi #yusuke kitagawa #yuuki mishima #persona #i wonder whos gonna read the whole thing.....if u do im so thankful and appreciative that u did #sorry if some stuff seems shallow or doesnt make sense? i did what i could #OK YEAH i realized how long this is IM SO SORRY #jenivi ask #jenivi rant #my post

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eatingfireflies · 5 years

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I can’t believe we’re doing this in 2019 AD, but I rise back from the dead because I heard shit-talking about my boy.

Yosuke’s character development--the ones covered in his social link and not counting how he grows with the rest of the IT as a group--is imo one of the best-written progressions in P4 and I won’t stand for this. P4 has its flaws and one of the themes that didn’t sit quite so well for me when I first played it was how the characters seem to have gone a full 360 when it came to their plans for their futures. Yukiko, for example, has gone from the independent girl who wants to live on her own back to accepting that she has to take over the Amagi Inn someday. Not exactly the best message, is it?

But sometimes, it’s what people need to hear. After all, the main point of P4 is acceptance and in the same way adults accept and make the best of a situation they don’t necessarily like, so did our P4 protags.

Unlike the others though, Yosuke’s problem didn’t come from the outside pressures of society so much as himself.

Which isn’t to say there’s no pressure coming from outside. There’s a lot he has to deal with just being the Junes kid in Inaba. He’s also a teenager on the brink of manhood who had been recently transplanted into the countryside. Come on man, his problem isn’t just that he wants to be interesting. And even if it were, what’s wrong with that? How hard is it to admit you’re mediocre? Is it weak to admit you’re scared of having zero reason to be in this world because you have no connections with other people and no place in society?

Buckle up, I have 100 screencaps and I’m not sure if it would all fit in one post but would we try. Pics taken from here and here.

One of the things we keep seeing in Yosuke’s social link is how good he is at PR. He’s a good kid. He has to be: he’s the Junes kid, the son of the manager. What he says and does will reflect on his family and the business.

This even though almost everyone in Inaba distrusts him because of his connection to the department store that’s killing the local business. Above, we hear women implying Yosuke is a brazen shithead for showing his face in the shopping district when his classmates’ family businesses are failing because of Junes. And still he ‘minds his manners’.

Here he finally loses his temper with the part-timers who kept bugging him about weekend work and talking shit about Saki, and it’s only because the girls told Yu to shut up. Otherwise? I bet he’d just take it all in. He’s ignored them before and there are other things to worry about:

‘Sorry dad, they said some bad things about our murdered schoolmate, kept missing work, and yelled at my best friend, but I shouldn’t have lost my temper because that’s not what the Junes kid does.’

He admits as much in the P4G additional scene. So there’s that: people expect Yosuke to be polite because of his connection to Junes even though they treat him like shit because Junes is bad for the economy. (Which it is, but they worked around that in the end.)

But that’s not the only reason Yosuke tries to be nice. There’s also what his shadow said: he’s terrified of being alone and his move to Inaba has made him more aware of how shallow his bonds with people are:

He says so when he talked about how he hasn’t changed his email address because he's hoping his friends from the city would keep in touch. Spoiler: they don’t.

Had he not moved to Inaba he probably wouldn’t have thought different, but I guess having no excitement in the countryside and no friends to spend time with, he has a lot of free time to ponder on his loneliness and mediocrity.

Again, it’s hard to accept mediocrity. It hurts knowing we don’t mean anything to the people around us, that we could vanish and nothing would change. He’s 17, for pete’s sake. He’s trying to figure things out while dealing with his loneliness. And he thinks the reason he has no friends is because he’s not good enough. He pretends to be nice and carefree like his shadow said, because he thinks showing people the real him (the loneliness and insecurity) would drive them away. He also has to be nice because Junes kid, remember? And in the case of getting along with his friends, he overcompensates and gets annoying/oversteps his boundaries because he’s scared and it’s all bravado. And also he’s a bit of a shit, but that’s okay Yu is also a bit of a shit and they deserve each other.

Can I just take this moment as SouYo trash to point out that Yu walks him home and that is probably one of the gayest things ever. Especially coming after the hug which is like P4 code for ‘we’re dating now’.

Did I mention Yosuke has a lot of free time to think about his mediocrity? Not really. Like every kid on the brink of adulthood worrying about their future--college? Work? Career? What? Yosuke is worried too. Except his path has sort of been decided because of his family.

He’s good at PR, he does the whole Junes kid shtick well, but is that what he really wants?

Ofc he usually changes the subject after bringing that up--again, he’s so scared of you thinking he’s boring and that he only complains when you hang out that he does a 180 and starts talking about the goods under your futon.

But also can I just say Yosuke is so busy? I see Chie and Yukiko chatting in the classroom after classes and I’m like ‘Hey I have a best friend right? Why don’t I have anyone to chat with?’

He’s a busy pal. You know I always thought Yosuke might make more friends if he joined some clubs and met people outside of the Junes thing, but he has to work part-time so.

How does Yosuke deal with this? Well he accepts that while working for Junes is tiring and maybe not what he actually wants to do with his life, there are actually some good things about it: he likes being needed.

Is it what he wants to do for the rest of his life? He doesn’t answer that. What’s important is that, right now, he’s happy where he is.

He realised that he doesn’t have to overcompensate for being boring or being a loser. That he can show people the ‘bad’ side of him without them hating him for it. That even if he is mediocre, it doesn’t mean people don’t need his support or his company. He didn’t have to try so hard. He just had to have a bit more confidence in himself.

And tbh he went from this:

To this:

I think there was a reason we couldn’t date Yosuke in game: it was too soon, it would feel like Yu is a rebound, that Yosuke latched onto the first person to show him kindness and interest since Saki’s death. And perhaps for the hugging scene (social link 8?) it was too early. But after social link 10? I think that would be a good time. Ofc, the game doesn’t work that way so I can see why they took it out, and yet. And still.

But none of that takes away from the fact that he grew from being an insecure kid who wants to prove himself into someone you can trust and count on. There’s a reason the games keep giving you the option to thank Yosuke: he’s your partner and he has your back.

I know I’m biased af because I’m like

whenever I talk to Yosuke, but he’s just as complex as the other characters, come on man. He’s a top notch bro and this is the hill I choose to die on.

#d metas #persona 4 #yosuke hanamura #souyo #i'm back with my shenanigans #many screencaps

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