Persona 5, a 2016 role-playing video game by Atlus, is set in Tokyo beginning in April of the year "20XX". It centers on the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, a masked vigilante group of high-school students working to change people's hearts and have them confess their crimes. They do this by defeating a physical manifestation of their subconscious in a mysterious realm known as the Metaverse, accessed through a mobile app on their smartphones. The playable characters can be controlled in the game's many locations, such as "Palaces", which are created by people with great desires and a distorted perception of the world.
The player character is a silent protagonist codenamed Joker, a high school student who moves to Tokyo after being falsely accused of assault and expelled from his former school, and later forms the Phantom Thieves and becomes its leader. He forms it with Morgana, a mysterious cat-like creature who is the Thieves' second-in-command and guide in the Metaverse, who wants to discover his origins and restore his true form, and Ryuji Sakamoto, who is seen as a delinquent at his school due to an incident involving his former track team.[1] Over time, more characters join the group, including fashion model Ann Takamaki, art prodigy Yusuke Kitagawa, student-council president Makoto Niijima, hacker and foster daughter of Sojiro Sakura, Futaba Sakura and business heiress Haru Okumura. Also interacting with Joker are Goro Akechi, a high-school student and ace detective; Sae Niijima, a public prosecutor and Makoto's older sister; and Igor and his assistants, Caroline and Justine, who are residents of the Velvet Room.
Many of the game's characters represent the tarot's Major Arcana suit. Although the suit has twenty-two cards and Royal-exclusive characters account for two additional alternate Arcana for a total of twenty-four, only twenty-one (twenty-three in Royal) are represented by characters; the last one, The World, is given at a later point in the game. The seven deadly sins are a recurring theme within the game, with certain characters and situations representing them.
The game's character design and setting distinguish it from previous entries in the series, replacing Persona 4 yellow-and-green palette with reds and blacks. As with Persona 3 and Persona 4, its characters were designed by Shigenori Soejima.[2] In an interview, Soejima said that he could not design the characters without the game's theme and plot being set first, so he was given detailed instructions from the producer during the process. He also worked on the color scheme and overall visual presentation.[3] In addition to casual and school apparel, each of the Phantom Thieves have their own thematic costumes with masks when in the Metaverse, as well as codenames.[4]
He holds the "Wild Card", an ability that allows him to hold more than one Persona and fuse together Personas to create new ones. His original Persona is Arsène, based on Arsène Lupin, of the Fool Arcana and he fights using knives and handguns.[6] His ultimate Persona is Satanael, the Gnostic equivalent of the devil,[7] a deity who can harness the power of the seven deadly sins. Joker also appears in spin-off games , Persona 5 Strikers, Persona 5 Tactica, and , as a playable character in the crossover fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and in various other cross-promotions outside of the series. He is portrayed by Hiroki Ino in Persona 5: The Stage.[8] While the player can freely name Joker in the game, he is canonically named in most appearances and in the manga adaptation.[9]
His Persona is Zorro, which Hashino describes as Morgana's ideal human form. Morgana fights using a slingshot and a curved sword. He can transform into a minivan in the Metaverse, which allows the Phantom Thieves to travel quickly. Morgana represents the Magician Arcana as a Confidant,[12] and allows Joker to craft tools to help the Phantom Thieves explore the Metaverse. As the Confidant progresses automatically, Morgana's Persona will transform into Mercurius. In Persona 5 Royal, his Persona can evolve into Diego.[13] He seeks Joker's help to discover his true form, and believes that he was once human. As the Phantom Thieves go further into Mementos, Morgana regains his memories and learns that Igor created him to guide Joker against Yaldabaoth.[14] After Yaldabaoth is defeated, Morgana loses his Metaverse form and vows to remain with Joker in hope of becoming human. In Royal, Morgana gains a human body when the Phantom Thieves were living in Maruki's reality. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Morgana is featured in Joker's taunts, victory poses and All-Out Attack Final Smash, in addition to being a Spirit and a background character on the Mementos stage as the Morganamobile. He also appears as a downloadable player character in Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania.[15] [16]
Ryuji was formerly the star runner on Shujin Academy's track and field team, but after Kamoshida started spreading rumors about his troubled family life, he was enraged and tried to punch him. In retaliation, Kamoshida broke Ryuji's leg in 'self-defense', and he was forced to quit the track team. As a result, the track team was suspended and he was blamed for the incident, earning a reputation as a delinquent.[17]
Ryuji's Persona is Captain Kidd.[18] In battle, he fights using clubs and shotguns. As a confidant, he represents the Chariot[19] Arcana and allows the Phantom Thieves to instantly defeat lower-level Shadows. Joker helps Ryuji rediscover his love for running and re-establish the track team. Despite reuniting the team, Ryuji plans to run on his own instead. Upon completing his Confidant, Ryuji's Persona takes the form of Seiten Taisei, who is known for his immense strength. In Persona 5 Royal, his Persona can evolve into William.[20]
He is portrayed by Kouhei Shiota in Persona 5: The Stage.[8] He appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a Spirit and as a background character on the Mementos stage.
Ann joins the Phantom Thieves after learning that her best friend Shiho Suzui's suicide attempt is linked to Kamoshida. Her Persona is Carmen,[18] whom Hashino describes as a "femme fatale character."[10] Ann fights using whips and submachine guns. As a Confidant, she represents the Lovers[23] Arcana and helps Joker negotiate with Shadows. As Joker befriends her, Ann improves herself for Shiho and begins taking her modeling career seriously. After completing her Confidant, Ann's Persona evolves into Hecate. In Persona 5 Royal, her Persona can evolve into Célestine.[20]
She is portrayed by in Persona 5: The Stage.[8] She appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a Spirit and a background character on the Mementos stage.
Yusuke's mother died when he was three years old, leaving him an orphan. He was taken in by his mentor, the painter Ichiryusai Madarame, who he sees as a father figure and idolizes for creating his favorite painting, Sayuri. However, he is eventually forced to accept that Madarame is exploitative and abusive and plagiarizes his students for profit, robbing them of their passion for art. This leads to him awakening his Persona and joining the Phantom Thieves. Eventually, he learns that Sayuri was a self-portrait by his mother holding him as an infant, and that Madarame allowed her to die from an easily treatable seizure to steal the credit for it. He also painted over Yusuke to decontextualize her expression, manufacturing mystery for the sake of artistic appeal; this revelation enrages him and leads to him fully rejecting Madarame as a mentor.
Yusuke's Persona is Goemon.[18] He fights using Japanese swords and assault rifles. As a Confidant, Yusuke represents the Emperor Arcana and assists the Phantom Thieves by copying skill cards. After Madarame's change of heart, Yusuke has difficulty regaining his ability to create art, but the protagonist helps him rediscover his love for art and the beauty of the world around him; this inspires him to paint Desire and Hope. After completing his Confidant, his Persona evolves into Kamu Susano-o. In Persona 5 Royal, his Persona can evolve into Gorokichi.[20]
He is portrayed by Koji Kominami in Persona 5: The Stage, Stage #2, and Stage 4: Final[8] and in Stage #3. He appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a Spirit and a background character on the Mementos stage.
Makoto's Persona is Johanna,[18] and she fights using revolvers and tekko. As a Confidant, Makoto represents the Priestess Arcana and provides the Phantom Thieves with a more-detailed analysis of in-game enemies. As Joker gets closer to her, Makoto decides to become better-acquainted with her classmates and befriends Eiko Takao. She discovers that she is in a relationship with Tsukasa, a suspicious man who has manipulated girls into working for illegal businesses in Shinjuku. Makoto reveals Tsukasa's true nature to Eiko with Joker's help, and decides to follow her father onto the police force. After completing her Confidant, Makoto's Persona evolves into Anat. In Persona 5 Royal, her Persona can evolve into Agnes.[24]
She is portrayed by in Persona 5: The Stage #2 and in Persona 5: The Stage #3. She appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a Spirit and a background character on the Mementos stage.
By the time of the game's events, Futaba has developed a Palace in the form of a pyramid which represents sloth. However, its true sin is wrath, taking the form of its sole cognitive inhabitant: a sphinx representing Futaba's warped and incorrect belief that her mother hated her. As the Phantom Thieves become more popular, Futaba blackmails them into changing her heart with the alias "Alibaba" after a supposed malevolent hacking group using her old alias "Medjed" targets them. Though she abandons the deal after realizing it entails meeting them in person, they approach her when Medjed continues to threaten them and commit to the heist upon learning her plight. Just before receiving the calling card, Futaba finds the Metaverse Navigator on her phone, and her Shadow appears before her and beckons her to enter her Palace. Her Shadow represents her repressed positive emotions, and helps the Phantom Thieves traverse her Palace while fighting for control with the sphinx, which takes over when she hallucinates. During the final heist, Futaba hallucinates while entering her Palace's keywords into the Nav, resulting in the sphinx manifesting and attacking the Phantom Thieves. After entering her Palace and discovering the truth about her mother's death, Futaba awakens her Persona and helps them defeat the sphinx. After the fight, the Phantom Thieves discover that rather than having a Treasure, she was the Treasure, and that her Palace is collapsing quickly because she awakened a Persona. Like the cast of Persona 4, the strain of awakening a Persona debilitates Futaba for potentially several weeks depending on how long before the deadline the player completed her Palace, and she spends much of the interim asleep. Her unique Change of Heart, a result of her taming her Shadow, prevents her from ending up in the Prison of Regression.
After preventing Medjed from throwing Japan into chaos and a week of the Thieves helping her to become more social, she officially joins them and replaces Morgana as the party's navigator. She later discovers that the Medjed who targeted the Phantom Thieves was a script kiddie loyal to a political conspiracy headed by Masayoshi Shido, who aims to use the Metaverse to turn Japan into a dictatorship. This same conspiracy was also responsible for murdering her mother to steal her cognitive psience research. She plays an instrumental role in the conspiracy's downfall through changing Shido's heart and hacking into several television networks to broadcast his calling card. She also confronts the Shadow of an IT company president, who turns out to have been the false Medjed.
Futaba's persona is Necronomicon, and she provides detailed locations and extra assistance in battle. As a Confidant, Futaba represents the Hermit Arcana. After learning to adjust to a normal life, she makes a "promise list" of goals she wants to reach with the help of Joker. As she slowly recovers, she reveals that in her youth she was bullied for her intelligence, and her sole friend was Kana. Futaba discovers that Kana's parents were abusing her, and tracks her down only to learn that the abuse has continued. After changing her parents' hearts, Kana and Futaba rebuild their friendship. After completing her Confidant, Futaba's Persona evolves into Prometheus. In Persona 5 Royal, her Persona can evolve into Al Azif.[24]
She is portrayed by beginning in Persona 5: The Stage #3. She appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and is featured in Joker's Final Smash, All-Out Attack, in addition to being a Spirit.
Haru's Persona is Milady,[18] and she fights with grenade launchers and axes. As a Confidant, she represents the Empress Arcana and uses her gardening skills to grow SP healing items. After her father's death, Haru becomes Okumura Foods' largest shareholder, but many people in the business, including her fiancé Sugimura, attempt to wrest control from her. Company officials want to expand into coffee shops with cheap labor, but Haru wants a friendly, intimate atmosphere like her grandfather's shop. Over the course of conversations with Joker, she learns to stand up for herself; the company adopts her idea, and she breaks off her engagement with Sugimura. After completing her Confidant, Haru's Persona evolves into Astarte. In Persona 5 Royal, her Persona can evolve into Lucy.
She is portrayed by beginning in Persona 5: The Stage #3. She appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a Spirit and a background character on the Mementos stage.
Akechi works for Masayoshi Shido as the "Black Mask" by exploiting the power of Metaverse and his Persona, but secretly plans to destroy his career and avenge his mother's suicide by revealing himself as his illegitimate son after he becomes prime minister. Because the Phantom Thieves are actively working against Shido, Akechi betrays them and attempts to assassinate Joker, partly out of jealousy.[26] After the Phantom Thieves defeat him in Shido's Palace, he sacrifices himself to save them after they are attacked by his cognitive self-created by Shido. In Persona 5 Royal, he becomes playable during the third semester, and near the end of the game, Maruki reveals to Joker that Akechi was brought back to reality out of Joker's wish to save him, and his survival depends on the choices the player made throughout the game.
Like Joker, Akechi is a Wild Card and can use several Personas simultaneously. However, his Wild Card ability is stagnant due to his lack of genuine human relations, meaning he only has two Personas - one representing his façade as a detective, and one representing his true colors.[27] The Persona he uses as a member of the Phantom Thieves is Robin Hood; when he faces the party in his boss battle, he switches to Loki in the second half of the fight. In Persona 5 Royal, his Ultimate Persona is Hereward. With the Phantom Thieves, Akechi fights using laser sabers and ray guns; when he fights them after revealing his true colors, he uses a serrated sword and a silenced pistol.
He is portrayed by Yoshihide Sasaki in Persona 5: The Stage.[8] He appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a Spirit, and Joker has a color scheme based on his Crow outfit.
Sumire's Persona is Cendrillon. In battle, she fights using rapiers, lever shotguns, and rifles. As a Confidant, she represents the Faith Arcana. In the beginning of her Confidant, she faces a slump in gymnastics, but after remembering she is Sumire, she learns to accept herself. Once her Confidant is maxed, her Persona transforms into Vanadis, and then into Ella.
Sophia, who assumes the codename "Sophie", is a character introduced in Persona 5 Strikers. Joker first finds her in a box in an underground section of the Shibuya Jail after he first enters the Shibuya Jail via EMMA, a virtual assistant app, by accident. She introduces herself as an Artificial Intelligence who has lost her memories except for her name and reason for existence, "to be humanity's companion". In the real world, she assists the Phantom Thieves as a virtual assistant, such as navigation. Throughout their adventure, she learns more about human emotions and began forming a bond with Joker and the rest of the Phantom Thieves. She is later revealed to be EMMA's prototype and was given her first command to be a good friend of all humans by her creator, Kuon Ichinose. However, she was deemed a failure. Ichinose then forces a command on her to betray the Phantom Thieves, but she resists the commands after recalling her memories with the Phantom Thieves and awakens her own Persona to fight back. After she and the Phantom Thieves defeat Demiurge and EMMA ceases to exist, she decides to accompany Ichinose on her journey and parts ways with the Phantom Thieves.
Sophia originally fought with the Persona-like entity Pithos, which later evolves into a full Persona called Pandora. Sophia represents the Hope Arcana. In battle, she fights using yo-yos and blasters. Outside of Jails, she resides in Joker's smartphone, since she does not have a physical body.
Zenkichi's Persona is Valjean, based on the main character from Victor Hugo's novel Les Misérables. Zenkichi represents the Apostle Arcana. In battle, Zenkichi fights using a greatsword and dual revolvers.
In Persona 5, some individuals have a distorted view of the world and the people around them. If this grows strong enough, they gain a Palace, a place in the Metaverse where their desires appear. There are eight Palaces that must be overcome, which each represent one of the seven deadly sins and have an owner with whom the main characters interact. In Persona 5 Strikers, a character's corrupted Shadow Self is represented as a "Monarch" that rules over a "Jail" in the Metaverse as opposed to a Palace. Their distorted desires manifest from resentment towards certain people or previous trauma, and use the mobile application EMMA to artificially inflate their own ego by stealing the desires of civilians. Unlike Palace owners, Monarchs' Treasures are related to core traumatic memories, which the main characters view as catalysts for their corruption.
Kamoshida's Palace represents lust and takes the form of a castle, where he sees himself as the king due to his power at Shujin Academy. The male members of the volleyball team are depicted as being subjected to torturous training, and the female team members and Ann are viewed as his sex slaves. After his Shadow is defeated, his Treasure (an ornate crown) manifests as his Olympic medal in reality. After his change of heart, Kamoshida surrenders to the police and confesses his crimes. Unlike most of the game's antagonists, Kamoshida is not part of its overall conspiracy. He is portrayed by Shun Takagi in Persona 5: The Stage.[8]
Madarame's Palace represents vanity and takes the form of a lavish art museum, where his students are depicted as portraits on display from which he can profit from. His Treasure is the original Sayuri painting, which depicts Yusuke's mother with her infant son in her arms; Madarame had painted over Yusuke to add mystery and appeal to the piece and make his claim as the painter more believable. The Sayuri is the least distorted Treasure seen on-screen; within the Metaverse, the only addition is an ornate frame, and the painting itself is unchanged. After his change of heart, he calls a press conference to admit his crimes and plagiarism. Yusuke later gives the original Sayuri to Sojiro Sakura to hang in Café Leblanc.
Kaneshiro's Palace represents gluttony and takes the form of a bank hovering above Shibuya, where people are viewed as walking automated teller machines from which he can drain money. His treasure appears as large gold bars in his Palace, manifesting in reality as a golden briefcase filled with fake money. After his change of heart, Kaneshiro deletes the photographs, voids the Phantom Thieves' debt, and surrenders to the police. He is portrayed by Yuya Miyashita in Persona 5: The Stage #2.
Okumura was part of Masayoshi Shido's circle as a sponsor until he decided to enter politics himself. To achieve this ambition, he arranged a marriage between Haru and the abusive and domineering Sugimura, who is from a politically influential family. After Shido discovers this, he begins to see Okumura as a threat and orders him killed before the election. Using the Phantom Thieves as scapegoats, the conspiracy rigs the online poll to frame them for Okumura's murder. His Shadow is killed by Goro Akechi after the Phantom Thieves defeat him, resulting in him suffering a mental shutdown and dying during a live conference before he can reveal the names of those linked to Shido.
Okumura's Palace represents greed, and is depicted as a space station where his employees are robots that work in poor conditions and are incinerated upon breaking down. They are used as fuel for the spaceship being built to launch him into the political world. His treasure is the core for his spaceship in his Palace, and manifests in reality as a spaceship model kit he had dreamed of owning as a child, but could not afford due to his family's financial woes.
He is portrayed by Hiroya Matsumoto in Persona 5: The Stage.
Shido's Palace represents pride and takes the form of a cruise ship sailing though a sunken Tokyo, where he and his conspirators live in luxury. Rather than cognitive beings, the Shadow selves of his conspirators also reside within the Palace, having been drawn to his strong personality and ego. His treasure is a golden ship's wheel in his Palace, manifesting as his legislator's pin in reality. After Shido's change of heart, he confesses his crimes in a press conference after his landslide victory. However, the cult of personality he benefited from is maintained by Yaldabaoth until the Phantom Thieves destroy Mementos. He is arrested at the end of the game, and Joker testifies against him at his trial.
He is described as the manifestation of humanity's desire for order and control, warped to the point where he no longer cares for the human cost or morality of that order. He is power-hungry, self-righteous and sadistic, and sees humans as little more than livestock and lemmings for him to rule, due to their self-destructiveness and stupidity. However, he does admit the existence of competent and talented humans, which he considers to be useful for him. He initially takes the form of the Holy Grail, which is black before the flow of wishes for him to dominate the world revitalizes him and turns the chalice gold. After the flow is cut off and the Grail is defeated, the chalice merges with his arena to become a giant, robotic, faceless angel who can manifest a gun, bell, sword, and book with each of his four arms. At the end of the fight, it is revealed that he could have easily defeated the Phantom Thieves with his power, but kept fighting them out of arrogance. After this fight, Yūki Mishima, one of the Phantom Thieves' allies, along with the rest of Joker's confidants, manages to convince the surviving civilians to support their fight, leading to the creation of the protagonist's ultimate Persona, Satanael. With Joker using the power of Satanael, Yaldabaoth is finally defeated and reverts to his original form of the Holy Grail, ending his ambitions and destroying Mementos for good. In Royal, however, his defeat allows Takuto Maruki to take his place as ruler of the Metaverse and enact his plan to rewrite reality and create a utopia.
After infiltrating her Trauma Cell, it is revealed to the Phantom Thieves that Alice was a former student at Shujin Academy, who developed depression and low self-esteem as a result of being bullied by popular girls following a failed confession attempt by a boy she knew. She was highly introverted prior to pursuing fashion, and used the EMMA app to seek revenge against other former Shujin students, who wanted to destroy her career and popularity by spreading insults and rumors about her past school life. EMMA also enabled her to cause the bullies to become addicted to her and change the hearts of bystanding men in Shibuya to become her submissive lovers. Her paranoia surrounding her past life is accentuated after meeting Ann Takamaki in the Metaverse for the first time, whom she views as no different from other popular, sociable girls she knew due to her nature as a highly attractive model. When she is defeated by the Phantom Thieves, her Shadow acknowledges that she didn't do anything to improve her self-image on her own, and was wrong to follow the examples of those who tormented her.
After the Phantom Thieves infiltrate his Trauma Cell, they discover that he overheard his publishers insult him and discuss jury-rigging the literary award so that his book would win, allowing them to sell his book on the reputation of his grandfather, an award-winning novelist. Natsume then used the EMMA app to place his publishers under his control as revenge for their plans to manipulate him. After being defeated by the Phantom Thieves, his Shadow Self admits that he was wrong to plagiarize other works and manipulate the hearts of other. In the real world, Natsume admits to his plagiarism and promises full refunds to those who bought his book, and the plot by his publishers to manipulate him is revealed to the public. Yusuke Kitagawa encourages him to continue pursuing his dream without relying on the works of others for success, and Natsume vows to write his next novel using his own ideas.
After the Phantom Thieves infiltrate her Trauma Cell, they discover that a city employee planned to blame her for a poorly-built snow sculpture collapsing and fatally crushing a nine-year-old girl even though his own corruption resulted in the tragedy. This led to her becoming terrified of scandal and obsessed with keeping the city "spotless", resulting in her cold behavior towards city employees and her decision to use the EMMA app to rig the election and inflate her own power. After her Shadow Self is defeated, she apologizes for her recent behavior and the snow sculpture collapse and decides to step down as mayor and withdraw from the race, but is convinced to remain at the behest of the deceased girl's mother.
The experiment sent him into an increasingly delusional and power-hungry state, and he refused to accept that the "Penitentiary System" was intended to subjugate, not save, humanity until Konoe simulated a calling card by demanding he surrender the desires he had collected. Faced with being brainwashed, he chose to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff. Despite becoming dormant due to the lack of a Monarch, the Jail's hold on the people of Okinawa remains unbroken until the Phantom Thieves are forced to explore it and manage to return the desires to them. Former Shido-loyalists Konoe is using as pawns later attempt to frame the Phantom Thieves for his death, but Sae Niijima intervenes and gets the charges dropped.
The Phantom Thieves first learn of her when they are travelling to Kyoto, when she calls Zenkichi at an inopportune time, overhears the girls, and wrongly assumes that Zenkichi is ditching a visit to her mother's grave to party. The Phantom Thieves take it upon themselves to intervene and explain the situation, and, hearing of her home life, decide to stay with the Hasegawas prior to moving on to Okinawa, and end up bonding with her.
When Zenkichi protects the Phantom Thieves from arrest and ends up arrested as a result, the Hasegawa residence is raided, resulting in Akane becoming vulnerable to EMMA's manipulations and becoming a Monarch. She is manipulated by EMMA into capturing the Phantom Thieves in her Jail, with Futaba only escaping because her poor stamina causes her to lag behind. Zenkichi infiltrates Akane's Jail in order to rescue the Phantom Thieves, awakening a Persona in the process, and joins the Phantom Thieves in freeing her from EMMA's influence. Rather than Shadow Akane herself, the Phantom Thieves are forced to fight cognitive versions of themselves, based on her inaccurate interpretation of them from Shido's calling card.
After Akane is freed from EMMA's influence, she reconciles with Zenkichi, who is in a panic since he did not realize that Akane's Shadow was not the real her until after her heart was changed. Zenkichi is furious that his daughter was dragged into Konoe's scheme, and is especially fervent in stopping Konoe after that point.
Owada organizes the attempt to frame the Phantom Thieves for "murdering" Shuzo Ubukata, but his cronies botch the arrest warrant, and Sae is able to get it thrown out. After Konoe is defeated, Owada finds that his allies were only loyal because Konoe had stolen their desires. He is arrested afterwards for various crimes, including his manslaughter of Aoi.
Like previous Persona games, progression of the characters' skills is based on their level of bonding with non-player characters. Persona 5 has,[28] replacing Persona 3 and Persona 4 "Social Links". Each Confidant represents a tarot Arcana (suit), based on their disposition and problems. Spending time with a Confidant allows characters to advance personas of the same Arcana, gain extra skills, and fuse the strongest persona of that Arcana.
As a Confidant, Sae represents the Judgment Arcana. During the game, she interrogates Joker about the Phantom Thieves following his arrest. Although Sae is tasked to prosecute the Phantom Thieves, she believes Joker's story and helps him escape. As the interrogation is a frame story and the rank 10 requirements progress the story beyond November 20, this Confidant is technically completed in a single day - one where Joker has no access to the Velvet Room - and therefore has no effect on gameplay, not even Arcana Burst, until it is maxed out. When she completes her Confidant she decides to help out the Phantom Thieves, and ultimately quits being a prosecutor to become a defense attorney. She is portrayed by in Persona 5: The Stage.[8]
Sojiro was a former government official who was in love with Wakaba, Futaba's mother. He left the government sector to work at the café shortly after her death, and suspects Masayoshi Shido's involvement in her death. Sojiro learns that Joker and his friends are the Phantom Thieves after he discovers the calling card they gave Futaba, and, realizing they saved Futaba's life, lets them use Café Leblanc as their headquarters.
As a Confidant, Sojiro represents the Hierophant Arcana. During his Confidant, he is harassed and extorted by Futaba's abusive uncle, Youji Isshiki. Futaba wants to defend Sojiro, but his coolness towards her causes them to argue. The protagonist helps Sojiro and Futaba reconcile; Sojiro asks Futaba to stay with him, and thanks Joker for reminding him not to take the easy path in life. He is portrayed by Eiji Moriyama in Persona 5: The Stage.[8]
Caroline and Justine represent the Strength Arcana, and encourage Joker to fuse certain Personas with skills. When he fails to stop the Holy Grail, they remember that Yaldabaoth had captured Igor and that they were once one being, who he split in two to prevent them from acting. They fuse into Lavenza, their true form; she calls Joker "Trickster" instead of "inmate." Caroline & Justine appear in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a Spirit.
As a Confidant, Takemi represents the Death Arcana and gives Joker discounted supplies from her pharmacy. As Joker participates in more of her trials, he learns that Takemi had worked for a university and was fired after being blamed for a disastrous medical trial she had opposed. She becomes more motivated after treating a young patient with a similar illness, and when Joker changes the heart of her former colleague, she saves a former patient's life and regains her reputation.
Iwai represents the Hanged Man Arcana. In his Confidant, Joker acts as a lookout for Iwai and helps him with a deal involving his yakuza brother Tsuda, who has been forcing him to illegally customize guns. He is also attempting to save face within his organization after a weapons deal he made with the Hong Kong Triads fell through. The deal becomes fraught when Tsuda threatens Joker and Iwai's lives. After the Phantom Thieves change his heart, he repents, admitting that he thought he was losing his place in the organization to younger members. Another yakuza, Masa, tries to take advantage of Tsuda abandoning the deal, and threatens to kill Kaoru and reveals the truth regarding his parents. Iwai acknowledges Kaoru as his son, and Tsuda takes Masa into custody.
As a Confidant, Mishima represents the Moon Arcana and will give party members experience points. His fascination with the Phantom Thieves becomes an obsession, and Joker deduces that his motivation to help springs from insecurity and his desire for popularity. When Mishima runs into his bully from middle school, he threatens to have his heart changed. After Joker confronts his Shadow in Mementos, Mishima realizes the error of his ways and saves his bully from thugs.
He is portrayed by Taishu Nukanobu in Persona 5: The Stage and Stage #2[8] and in Stage #3.
As a Confidant, Kawakami represents the Temperance Arcana.[12] She helps Joker with chores and gives him free time in class. Initially saying that it pays her sister's medical bills, Kawakami's second job allows her no time to rest and she is hospitalized with exhaustion. When Joker changes the hearts of Takase's guardians, she quits her second job and resolves to be a better teacher.
She is portrayed by in Persona 5: The Stage.
As a Confidant, Yoshida represents the Sun Arcana. The player can volunteer to aid his public speaking to build up his Confidant, during which it is revealed that his old mentor was responsible for the scandal which destroyed his credibility, as they misappropriated the funds and used Yoshida as a scapegoat. By the end of the Confidant, Yoshida has won a sizable base for his upcoming campaign and the culprit behind the scandal is revealed, allowing him to confront his problems head-on. During the general election, despite Shido's party winning in a landslide victory, Yoshida's popular support allows him to finally be elected to the Diet.
As a Confidant, Ohya represents the Devil Arcana.[37] The protagonist leaks information about the Phantom Thieves to the media, allowing Ohya to unearth information about her demotion.[38] She is forced to act as Joker's girlfriend to hide from her bosses that she is working to overcome them. She frequents Shinjuku's Crossroads Bar, where she is friends with drag queen bartender Lala Escargot.[39]
As a Confidant, Chihaya represents the Fortune Arcana and can boost Joker's social statistics and relationships with his other Confidants. She scams Joker out of ¥100,000 to buy a Holy Stone, which turns out to be rock salt. When he confronts her and changes the heart of someone who is bothering one of her clients, she has him accompany her during her readings because she believes that he can change fate. Her employer, the Assembly of Divine Power, a group of New Age con artists, force her to sell fake Holy Stones; she persists, since her readings say that she cannot escape. After Joker changes the Assembly leader's heart so that he will release Chihaya from her contract, he convinces her that the future can be changed and that her actions shape her destiny.
As a Confidant, Hifumi represents the Star Arcana and teaches Joker tactical skills, such as switching members from the party during battle, with shogi. Hifumi discovers that her mother has been rigging shogi matches in her favor, while attempting to force her to quit the game and focus solely on being an idol so she can live her dream through her daughter. After Joker changes her mother's heart, Hifumi loses a shogi tournament and is called the "Phony Princess" by the media. Despite this, she is happy to be her real self and vows to continue pursuing her dream to play professionally while rebuilding her reputation as an honest player.
As a Confidant, Shinya represents the Tower Arcana and teaches Joker gun moves in Gun About, which Joker utilizes in the Metaverse. Despite his popularity at the arcade, he is swept up in a prank war with his classmates and vows to win, an aggressive trait learned from his mother, Hanae. When his classmates accuse him of bullying, he questions himself and becomes concerned when he realizes that his mother has become more unreasonable, arguing with his school concerning his education. After Hanae sees Shinya hanging out with Joker, she accuses the latter of being a bad influence to her son and threatens to report him to the police. After Joker changes her heart, Shinya makes amends with his classmates.
If the protagonist maxed out his Confidant before the end of his tenure at Shujin, then during the conflict with Yaldabaoth, he will present his finished Cognitive Psience paper to his old professor out of spite. The funding for his dream of opening a lab in Odaiba was supposedly cut off due to a lack of "concrete evidence". In reality, Shido pulled the strings to shut down the funding and stole Maruki's research, like he did with Futaba's mother. During an argument with his old professor, Maruki becomes vulnerable to the distortion caused by Yaldabaoth merging Mementos with the real world, causing his Persona to manifest incompletely and in a berserk state as Azathoth, rather than Adam Kadmon. As a result, he enters a delusional state where he believes the only way to improve the world is to use his abilities on everyone to create a utopia, becoming the final antagonist of Royal. Despite possessing a Persona, Maruki manifests a Palace in the Metaverse at the same time, something Morgana notes should be impossible. His Palace represents sorrow and takes the form of a research facility on the site in Odaiba where his lab was to be built before his funding was cut, where people are brainwashed into feeling nothing but happiness before ascending to his perceived utopia. His Treasure appears as a torch in the Metaverse, symbolizing his desire to guide humanity, which manifests in reality as a newspaper clipping detailing the murder of Rumi's parents.
In the new bad/neutral ending, Joker allows Maruki to warp reality to grant humanity their desires, and he is last seen taking a group picture of the Phantom Thieves. In the true ending, Maruki is defeated by the Phantom Thieves and realizes the error of his ways, and that he must face life's hardships head on instead of running away from them. He reforms, becomes a taxi driver, and offers Joker a ride as he is being followed by officers. Maruki tells Joker that he will move forward in his life, just like how Joker and his friends will do the same.
The game's characters were generally well received. According to Simon Miller of trustedreviews.com, "The cast of characters only gets better as the game progresses."[43] The Verge also praised the cast: "Persona 5 has a memorable and lovable cast of characters ... the story is buoyed by a great cast of characters, who – in typical Persona fashion – start out as forgettable teenage archetypes, before revealing themselves to be layered, lovable individuals."[44]
GamesRadar+ praised the characters and the new Confidants: "Every aspect of the game's narrative is outstanding, including the many ancillary folks that you can make into 'confidants.[45] Eurogamer enjoyed the characters' exchanges of surreptitious text messages, but objected to the game's gender ethics: "Persona 5 continues the franchise's awkward relationship with queer-coded people".[46] In The Independent, a reviewer called the characters "fantastic".[47]
GameSpew also noted the characters: "Yet as with any Persona game, its biggest selling point is how the game explores such ideas through its colourful cast of characters."[48] According to a Kotaku review, "If you're looking for an RPG with a great story and characters it may be a huge disappointment."[49] However, Amanda Yeo of Kotaku enjoyed the game and its characters: "Persona 5 taught me how to be a friend."[22] A Polygon reviewer liked the game's characters overall, but disliked the portrayal of homosexual characters: "Essentially, some of Persona 5 only examples of queer characterization are there as a terrible joke."[50]