#as proof that fate is predetermined and can't be changed

[spydertrans]

what butterfly do i have to go back in time for to steer in the right direction in order for 7-11 to crank that 7 up two digits higher

[queen-of-bel]

Okay, I’ve been talking about writing this up for a while, so I’m finally going to do it.

It’s no surprise to my followers that I’m a hardcore Kandori fan and I wanted to list out the reasons why he’s so interesting to me.

Persona 1, Persona 2: Innocent Sin, and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment spoilers

Above all, Kandori is a very prideful man who focused so much on external accomplishments that he gave himself an identity crisis. He used other people’s achievements to secure his position as president of the Mikage-cho SEBEC branch, and made great strides by taking advantage of illegal dealings through Takeda. 

However, he’s always been aware that he can’t take credit for these accomplishments, and he feels a sense of emptiness once he’s at the top. Here’s a snippet from his monologue in Deva Yuga:

Everyone wants something. No matter how small the desire… it gives them the strength to carry on. But… if every desire is fulfilled, what’s left to strive for? When one’s wishes have been granted, the only thing that awaits… is a bottomless solitude; an eternal emptiness…

At this point in his life, he’s absolutely bitter. He’s scared that his life has no meaning. Nanjo even points this out to Kandori by saying:

You despair at your inability to live any other way. It stems from one's anxiety for the future. "I want to risk it… But I can't… If only I could disappear…

Kandori is suffering, but is too prideful to ask for help. After all, why would a young and successful branch president have any reason to be discontent?

As a result, he stews in resentment. Instead of placing the blame on himself, he faults the world around him. This selfishness leads him to hate his surroundings and wish for its destruction.

Evidence of Kandori’s anxiety can also be found in a pretty obscure place. In the 2nd track of the first disc of the Megami Ibunroku Persona OST & Arrange Album, there is a song called Deva Yuga (Arranged Version), where the lyrics are actually supposed to represent Kandori and Maki talking to each other. Here are a few quotes from Kandori that I think are really interesting:

Being alive is a mere illusion.

Why are we born?

Why are we even alive?

No one has the answers.

It's an endless labyrinth for the soul.

The heavy cross that we bear goes by the name of 'karma'.

No one can escape it.

We surrender our bodies to fleeting pleasures and try to forget,

but the eternal doubt still remains, shimmering deep in our souls.

When Kandori talks about no one being able to escape karma, this is proof that he feels that he cannot change his situation. To him, even if he were able to change a situation, there's always going to be another one to have to deal with. This is evident in his conversation with Maki (Kandori's dialogue is bolded):

"I want to change."

"That's a waste of time."

"I can't change..."

"There's no meaning in life, you should know that."

"I don't want to be alone! Someone get me out of here! It's so dark in here!"

"You and I are the same."

Kandori laments that he doesn't know why he's alive and has no reason to live. Maki expresses the desire to change, but Kandori tells her it's a waste of time to try and do that. Maki also expresses her fear of being alone, and that she wants to escape, to which Kandori responds that he feels the same.

So now, we can paint a clear picture of the type of person Kandori is.

Kandori is highly ambitious in the sense that he seeks achievements which publicly make him look good, and he'll do anything it takes to achieve that goal. He thinks that if he were to become successful, he will find that his life has meaning. However, he's self-aware in knowing that he can't actually take credit for his accomplishments and instead of rectifying it, he becomes fiercely in denial-- insisting that life has no meaning at all.

He's gotten to the top, but still feels empty. He's scared that if he tries to do anything else, he won't get the satisfaction he's looking for. He believes that people's futures are predetermined, and if he's destined to feel empty and miserable, then so be it.

Now, this is where things start to get interesting.

We know that the next goal Kandori had was to become God and annihilate humanity.

Obviously, there are some red flags in that logic. Wanting to make the jump from a branch president to God is… extreme. So I think we can safely say that this is where Nyarlathotep began influencing Kandori.

As we see in Persona 2, if Nyarlathotep decides he wants to take advantage of you, then you’re kind of fucked. The only person we’ve seen break free is Jun, but that was because of Jun’s immensely strong desire to protect Maya.

Kandori, on the other hand, had nothing that he felt that strongly about. He had nobody that he cared about, his parents are dead, and he was frustrated at his standing in life.

It’s also been stated that Nyarlathotep is the reason behind the entire Mikage-cho incident. As a result, we can assume that Nyarlathotep came into the picture after Kandori became branch president, but before the development of the DEVA system.

Another thing that points to Nyarlathotep being involved with the development of the Deva system is something Kandori mentions in the chamber of the Deva system.

Nothing else will be hurt. Only mankind will be wiped from this planet.

It’s weird that Kandori would make this distinction. What’s the difference to him if the world disappears or just humanity is destroyed?

This ties back into Nyarlathotep’s bet with Philemon– that humanity will inevitably destroy itself.

Now, of course, there is the argument that Maki also wished for mankind specifically to be destroyed, and she wasn't influenced by Nyarlathotep. But there is an important distinction between Maki and Kandori. 

Maki held a grudge against humanity as a whole. Her nihilistic outlook stemmed from jealousy that other people were able to enjoy life while she was stuck in a hospital room. She had a specific reason to want mankind and mankind alone to be destroyed. 

Kandori, on the other hand, had no grudge against other people. His nihilistic outlook was simply because he was a miserable person. He wallowed in his own suffering, yet refused to take the blame for any of it. For someone with that level of detachment, it shouldn't matter to him if only humanity was destroyed, or if the entire world was.

If we take a look at the Deva Yuga lyrics again, Kandori says:

"Grief and joy, anger and sadness... it's all an illusion.

Who needs such transience in life? That's why I'm going to…"

So, Kandori isn't frustrated at humanity, he just thinks everything around him is a pain. Emotions are just fleeting uselessness. He doesn't particularly hate mankind, he just has no need for anything in life.

And yet, his plan specifically targeted people, and he was very conscious in making sure nothing else was harmed. This doesn't sound like the Kandori we know so far. This sounds like Nyarlathotep. 

When we take all of these points into consideration, I think it's safe to assume that Nyarlathotep became involved with Kandori before the development of the Deva system, and Kandori developed his god complex after that.

I want to stress that I'm not claiming Kandori is an innocent person. He was a shady businessman who ran the Mikage-cho branch like a mafia. But his ego hadn't ascended to a point where he believed he had transcended humanity. I firmly believe that was Nyarlathotep's doing.

Even though his detachment was what led to this whole mess, he ironically formed a genuine connection with Maki throughout the Deva system's development. He certainly bonded with Aki over their nihilistic desires.

In Deva Yuga, he knew that Naoya and the others came to fight him. Aki has the power to take them down easily (I’ll touch more on that later), and yet he sent Aki away. 

Aki tells the group "You guys are so aggravating! I won't let you get in my Daddy's way!"

Kandori then counters by saying "...That's enough, Aki. Stay back. Wait in the other room. I'll be with you soon."

The reason for Kandori's reaction is simple– he didn’t want Aki to fight and, more importantly, he didn’t want Maki to become like him. Take a look at what he says after the battle with Naoya:

Maki Sonomura… she needs to discover her true self. If she doesn't, she'll share my fate… Go to her… Don't let her go down that lonely path.

At this point, Kandori is literally dying. He doesn’t have to care about anything, but he uses his last breaths to ask for Maki to be saved. He knows his life is miserable, and doesn’t want her to experience the same thing.

Another time that points to Kandori’s care for Maki is in the Mana Castle.

Mark, Nanjo, Maki, and the optional party member (I’m using Reiji as this example) all express their anger and disgust at what Kandori is planning. Kandori uses Aki to strike down Reiji, Nanjo, and Mark.

Interestingly, he spares Maki, despite her attempt to turn Aki against him by telling Aki that Kandori isn't her real Daddy.

If he truly was a nihilistic god who wants to destroy humanity, shouldn’t he have attacked Maki for speaking against God, too?

So not only is Kandori showing signs of weakness around Maki, he also hints at times that he doesn't totally buy into the authoritarian god complex he touts. He's very insecure, and has doubts about the path he's chosen. 

A big indication of these doubts is when he crowd-sourced ideas of the meaning of life from a bunch of random high school kids. He tells Naoya

Boy… I allowed you to come here in order to ask you this: Why do you cling to life?

Kandori has achieved his ultimate goal– to become God. And yet, he still feels the same emptiness he felt when he became the president of the Mikage-cho branch. At this point, he was truly desperate for his life to have any meaning. 

Later, Kandori was goaded into fighting by when Nanjo bluntly pointed out all of Kandori's shortcomings. Kandori says his retaliation is punishment for speaking against God, but the next thing he says is very interesting.

Can you defeat me? Can you protect the things you claim are precious? Then prove it before god's throne!

This hints that his true reason for fighting isn't to preserve his ego, but he wants to see what a person can accomplish if they have meaning in life.

However, his mind so jumbled and his logic is contradictory that he can't seem to decide what he wants. He does still have his god complex, and as such, still believes that he can win the battle. When he is faced with the truth, though  he is shocked that he lost to a bunch of high school kids:

Ngh… I refuse to accept this! I'm supposed to have transcended man!

However, despite what he says, he is ready to admit defeat. Until Nyarlathotep directly intervenes.

Kandori says that something is forcing itself into him, and Nyarlathotep responds by saying "I shall give you the power you desire." Kandori pleads with Nyarlathotep to stop, but is ignored.

If Kandori truly wanted to win the battle, he wouldn’t have refused Nyarlathotep’s help. However, it’s clear that Kandori was ready to concede to Naoya, despite his initial denial.

Of course, Nyarlathotep says that Kandori desired this power, but we also know that Nyarlathotep is a liar (see the shadow selves in P2). Looking at Kandori's explicit plea to stop, and the fact that Nyarlathotep is forcing himself to fuse with Kandori, it's pretty obvious that Kandori didn't want to continue the fight.

Another time in the game that points to Kandori’s true feelings is when he summons Saurva to fight the group before leaving for Deva Yuga.

Objects of one's desire cannot be easily obtained. But the joy of overcoming obstacles to obtaining them is the highest bliss.

This is very interesting because he admits that achieving your dream isn’t what makes people happy, but the greatest satisfaction occurs when you overcome the obstacles in your path to your dream.

(Side note, this ties in very nicely with P2:IS as a point of why Jun's wish fulfillment isn't a good thing, but that's for another post)

Because he views himself as God, he's not saying this as a piece of advice to the youth. He's stating this as an absolute fact of life. This is something he truly believes in, and also believes that other people should accept as well.

In some sense, it feels like he's trying to do them a favor in some twisted way. Of course, by summoning Saurva, there's a chance that Naoya would die, but remember, Kandori initially had no intention to fight Naoya. Kandori allowed Naoya to reach him in order to ask what he was living for. By giving Naoya the satisfaction of defeating Saurva, it felt like Kandori wanted to give Naoya and his friends a sense of happiness and feeling of accomplishment. 

Another time where Kandori shows his contradictory behavior is in the undersea ruins after he is revived by Nyarlathotep. 

He tells Maya that Tatsuzou has already headed to Torifune, and says "I'd like to tell you to chase them, but… I'm just a peon… I can't let you return."

In saying this, he implies that he, too, wants Tatsuzou's plans to be stopped.

After the fight, he tells the group to hurry and save themselves. Depending on who is in your party, Nanjo or Eriko will plead Kandori to escape with them, but Kandori fires a warning shot, and says he would rather die.

Clearly, Kandori didn't learn his lesson from his first life. Nanjo commented in Deva Yuga that Kandori despairs at his inability to change the situations that cause him suffering, and Kandori's false belief in the concept of fate was the crux of his downfall. 

Despite seeming like an ambitious person, Kandori is actually very weak-willed, and is too scared to make any meaningful changes in his life. This is why he allows himself to be Nyarlathotep's pawn, as Tatsuya notes by saying

Guido is aware of [Nyarlathotep's] existence. But why is he aiding the New World Order…? Can it be he's willing to be a pawn…?

Another thing that hadn't changed between Kandori's lives is his desire to hear another person say something that gives him hope. I already talked about him wanting to see what Naoya and his friends are capable of when they feel they have a reason to live. 

Additionally, when he's dying in Deva Yuga, he admits to Nanjo that he had been waiting for somebody to see the true him and say that aloud to him.

Maybe I summoned you here because I wanted to hear someone say it… Hah. I must seem a fool… but I feel remarkably content.

In both the research lab and the undersea ruins, he implies that he feels he can't escape Nyarlathotep's grasp. 

When Nanjo questions Kandori's motives, Kandori merely replies by saying 

Hmph… "The fate of those who are enchanted by the shadows"... I'll leave it at that…

It's a small comment, but what I find really interesting is the part in quotes. This means that somebody else told this to him. Remember, Kandori's biggest weakness is believing that fate is inescapable. 

In case it isn't obvious, this "somebody" is clearly Nyarlathotep. Kandori knows about the existence of the Other Side, and who Nyarlathotep exactly is, so Nyarlathotep is clearly directly involved. Kandori isn't choosing this path of his own volition, but is doing so because somebody took advantage of his weakness and told him that this is what he is destined to do.

This point is reiterated in the undersea ruins when Kandori says

Light has its role… Shadows have their role… That's just how it is...

I think it's pretty obvious that Kandori doesn't feel a desire to fight Tatsuya or Maya, but he doesn't feel that he has the power to refuse the role that Nyarlathotep and the New World Order had demanded of him. This is again apparent after being defeated in the undersea ruins. He tells Tatsuya

Magnificent… But… it is not easy for one embraced by the shadows to escape from its grasp… Can you break the chains of fate?

To which Tatsuya replies:

That's why I came… I'll never let that sadness happen again...

This is what Kandori wanted to hear. Remember, he actually wanted Maya to stop Tatsuzou, but felt that he was fated to prevent her from doing so. Chizuru even points this out herself by saying "You wanted to hear the words… from the boy?" Kandori, probably too caught up in his pride, doesn't explicitly confirm this, but doesn't deny it either. Instead, he apologizes to Chizuru for leading her to her death. 

I really liked this part because it shows that Kandori is still capable of caring for others, no matter how far he has gone. He is aware that what he is doing is evil, but he doesn't want to see the people he cares for to be dragged down to his depths.

Clearly Kandori is a very contradictory person. As I stated earlier, he is certainly not a "good" person, and yet, we can't write him off as a bad person either. Maki, who should be the person who hates Kandori the most, becomes upset to hear that Kandori was revived, only to die again. She says that she doesn't believe Kandori was a bad person, and wishes she had the opportunity to meet with him again.

Kandori is really interesting to me because he clearly has a proper moral compass, but once he strayed from that, he feels he is too weak to realign himself. He wants external validation from others, but feels too prideful to follow their lead. Overall, Nanjo said it best-- Kandori is a very pitiful man.