#mari madarame

[tiftifbee]

P5: DICE Rollcall

One of my favourite pics I did last year of a P5 oc group I made with @simonouma! Some characters are based on certain characters from Danganronpa and Fire Emblem

Members are as follows:

Kokichi Ouma/Adachi aka Supreme (Jester/Hunger Arcana) Chiaki Yukizome aka Heart (Fool Arcana) Mari Madarame aka Maiden (Strength Arcana) Shumai Okumura aka Sheriff (Hanged Man Arcana) Ayumu Mizuki aka Echo (Moon Arcana) Haruki Mishima aka Solaris (Sun Arcana) Takara Kaburagi aka Guardian (Justice Arcana) Nori Mitsuo aka Pharaoh (Judgement Arcana) Izumi/Takehiko Yoshizawa aka Indigo (Death Arcana) Nagito Sakura aka Servant (Hope Arcana) Akasuki Fukuda aka Beacon (Temperance Arcana) Dimitri Hinata aka the Warden of Kokichi and Chiaki (Faith Arcana)

Persona 5 (c) Atlus

Original versions of Kokichi Adachi (Kokichi Ouma), Chiaki Yukizome (Chiaki Nanami), Shumai Okumaru (Shuichi Saihara) and Nagito Sakura (Nagito Komaeda), DICE logo from Danganronpa (c) Spike Chunsoft

Original version of Dimitri Hinata (Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd) and Fire Emblem (c) Nintendo

P5 versions of Kokichi, Nagito, Shumai and Dimitri, Nori Mitsuo, Izumi/Takehiko Yoshizawa, and Ayumu Mizuki (c) @simonouma

P5 version of Chiaki, Akasuki Fukuda, Haruki Mishima, Mari Madarame and Takara Kaburagi (c) Me

[whorutora]

Y’all… Shion Madarame is that chill ass uncle who never keeps a job, smokes weed and drinks with his nieces and nephews, has a different bitch every other week, then proceeds to bring whoever bitch he’s with at the family gatherings, blasts explicit rap music loud asf in the car or in the house around the little kids, burns the food at the cook out, makes up stories about how hard he was in his teenage years to impress his nieces and nephews, occasionally pulls out the yearbook to talk about how fine the bitches he went to high school with was, IN FRONT of his current girlfriend, man the list can go on.

Another one of my weird ass late night thoughts… idk…

[yusuke-of-valla]

The thing about conflicting headcanons re: Yusuke's financial situation post Madarame (ie is he actually poor, does he make money but spends it all on art because he has poor impulse control, is Kosei a money laundering scheme etc.) is that like Yusuke's financial situation is written to facilitate a running gag so it's not consistent.

The school gives him an allowance, but he's also being charged for utilities despite being on a scholarship and so showers in the cold and works in the dark and worries about the electricity bill.

We know he bought those lobsters that one time but realistically how much of his money is being spent on supplies for class vs non-necessities he feels inspired by? Because canvases are expensive and if there's a certain size expectation/requirement you can't save by getting a smaller canvas. So when someone says "he just spends all his money on art" what are we really talking about?

By Strikers he's very excited to have money from an art contest to spend on his friends but was that true during the course of the base game when he was in his slump? Because I have a hard time believing he was even entering competitions

The details don't really make sense because most of these details come from jokes that are never elaborated on into cohesive worldbuilding.

And even if you want to say the issue is just he's got bad spending habits, that's still a situation that would require intervention by an adult probably because uh, no shit?

Yeah of COURSE Yusuke is completely unprepared to live on his own and is incidentally starving himself, he was raised by a dude who convinced him that the only purpose he served was helping his Sensei. In what way would it have benefitted Madarame to prepare Yusuke in any way to live on his own or know how to balance finances, he actively wanted Yusuke reliant on him, because that's how abuse works.

I'm pretty sure Yusuke has never even conceptualized living on his own, and that's not even adding in the detail of Nakanohara being concerned he'd commit suicide if he stayed with Madarame. NO SHIT HE'D BE BAD AT IT? People don't just emerge from the womb capable of money management

In that situation is the proper response really "oh that Yusuke, he just doesn't understand money, it's not a big deal"?

And like regardless, he IS still starving. Like the extent to which you think it's self inflicted aside, he's a 16 year old who will constantly talk about skipping meals and eating sprouts from the park and that sucks. Someone should maybe like talk to him about the root cause of that!

TL;DR: Yusuke's financial situation doesn't make sense because it's not supposed to, so it kind of doesn't matter to me how people headcanon the nature of it, and I fundamentally think it's incorrect to say one option of "poor vs has bad impulse spending habits" is more correct than the other because arguably they both raise the question of "holy shit why is no one stepping in here" if you think about it all the way through

PS. Also I wrote this whole thing because I saw a tweet that was like "one big misconception i see about yusukes character and how he’s treated is people saying “Why doesn’t Joker/Haru give him money when he’s poor?” and the real fact is that he’s not poor (post madarame). He’s just EXTREMELY irresponsible with his spending and spends it all on art," and I was like "idk if that's a misconception really I think a case can be made for both because it doesn't make sense" and then AFTER I wrote it I remebered that I have repository of every Yusuke scene uploaded into my brain and was like "wait if you call Yusuke poor in PQ2 during the Akihiko/Shinjiro/Yusuke quest he'll agree" and then there's also the scene in Tactica where Marie calls him dirt poor and he doesn't disagree with the poor part, just that she insulted dirt

So like my point still stands but I'd ESPECIALLY not call it a misconception to say he's poor when canon material supports it.

[department-of-landing-strategies]

I made a tier list of Persona 3 to Persona 5 characters that I could remember my opion of them.

Featuring notes under the cut:

I probably shouldn't be surprised at every P3-P5 moon arcana member being a part of the "My Beloveds" category, yet I am.

I'm also surprised how few P4 characters are in "My Beloveds" compared to P3 and P5

Joker receives the award for being the only protag to not get put on the tier list at all out of the protag options the tier list provides. More sround 8 uk time.

"Favourite party members not a part of the beloveds" got done with favourite navigator, favourite in-game female party member, and favourite in-game male party member, so ignoring gender headcanons. For P5, though, my favourite navigator and in-game female party member is Futaba by a mile. Meanwhile, Yusuke and Ryuji are tied for my favourite in-game male party member, which leaves Ryuji as the only P5 party member in that category.

The ability to save Chidori for me is what guarantees her a place in "I really like you as a character" though I think there's a chance she still ends up in this category even if you couldn't considering she's probably the most fleshed out member of Strega

I am willing to fight Eri haters. I'm also willing to fight Sayoko haters, though I can get why her link can make someone uncomfortable. The start of both of their links is why they aren't higher than they are.

I really wish Ann and Haru were higher, but Ann not always having her more fanservicy (there's better ways to put that I can't think of rn) moments be on her own terms and Morgana taking moments away from Haru in her dad's palace mean I don't think it would be honest to put them higher.

I'm pretty sure I've reblogged more Saki stuff than Shiho stuff, but I like both of them roughly equally. My main wish surrounding them is that the player got to interact more with them before their main part in the main story of their respective games.

A full disguise of a Scooby Doo villain is better than a magazine or a pair of sunglasses, and that's all I'm saying on that tier

Yosukue gets saved from the getting punched tiers through fanfic and me semi liking his character in the main game outside the parts of the game that make me uncomfortable that's usually started by him

Teddie, I love your arc but the more perverse in game actions makes me really want to punch you

Marie feels like an obvious addition to the game, and the way the game keeps her relevant makes me want to punch Marie and makes me interested in her character at the same time

Early game Dojima I really want to punch and the more his arc goes on, the smaller the urge gets

I have no reason for wanting to punch Igor beyond I want to do it. He's interesting enough to me as a Velvet Room member to make hesitate tho

To no one's surprise the punch on site tier is mostly P5 palace rulers. Between all the Palace rulers, Yusuke's social link makes the urge to punch Madarame slightly less (only by 5 millimetres) and Sae's connections to Makoto keep her put of the punching tiers

[gayest-persona-character]

Round 1!

Rules

Vote for who you think is more queer/gay (doesn't matter if you think they're bi, pan, gay, lesbian, etc. Who's the most not straight!)

I will allow propaganda in the form of asks or notes (tags and comments)

Be nice and respectful. Not everyone has the same headcanons.

Remember, this is mostly just for fun! We have a few submitted characters for this exact purpose, so don't take things too seriously. (It doesn't matter what the results are, most persona characters will be queer-coded in my heart)

The list of polls is as follows:

Labrys vs. Daisuke Todoroki

Principal Kobayakawa vs. Yukiko Amagi

Mayumi Yamano vs. Suguru Kamoshida

Bebe vs. Sho Minazuki

Isako Toriumi (Maya) vs. Ann Takamaki

Ichiryusai Madarame vs. Ichiko Ohya

Chihiro Fushimi vs. Ai Ebihara

Philemon vs.Shibusawa

Kou Ichijo vs. Fuuka Yamagishi

Munehisa Iwai vs. Miyabi Hanakouji

President Tanaka vs. Akihiko Sanada

Ryuji Sakamoto vs. Taro Namatame

Kanami Mashita vs. Haru Okumura

Nozomi Suemitsu vs. Angel and Julian

Ryotaro Dojima vs. Rio Iwasaki

Sadayo Kawakami vs. Maya Amano

Nagi vs. Saori Hasegawa

Cashier from Peace Diner vs. Junpei Iori

Chizuru Ishigami vs. Minoru Inoue

Chihaya Mifune vs. Mamoru Hayase

Misuzu Hiiragi vs. Lala Escargot

Setsuko Sonomura vs. Junko Kurosu

Eri Minami vs. Tae Takemi

Zen vs. Kenji Tomochika

Eriko Kirishima vs. Takeharu Kirijo

Mika vs. Metis

Junya Kaneshiro vs. Takuto Maruki

Moel Gas Station Attendant vs. Hanako Ohtani

Maya Okamura vs. Igor

Sayoko Uehara vs. Makoto Yuki

Lesbian Student from P3 vs. Mami Shibata

Shunsuke Fujii vs. Saki Konishi

Tatsuya Suou vs. Akinari Kashihara

Miho Ogishima vs. Kinshiro Morooka

Hisano Kuroda vs. Ayane Matsunaga

Kanji Tatsumi vs. Makoto Nijiima

Marie vs. Tatsuya Sudou

SIU Director vs. Reiji Kido

Baofu vs. Takahisa Kandori

Yuuki Mishima vs. Tamaki Uchida

Zenkichi Hasegawa vs. Yosuke Hanamura

Mitsuo Kubo vs. Aigis

Kei Nanjo vs. Margaret

Masao Inaba vs. Noriko Katayama

Yukino Mayuzumi vs. Saeko Takami

Tadashi Satomi vs. Chidori Yoshino

Yumi Ozawa vs. Gay Demons P2

Kasumi Yoshizawa vs. Yuka Ayase

Hidetoshi Odagiri vs. Mutatsu

Shinjiro Aragaki vs. Kazushi Miyamoto

Localized version of Naoya vs. Ren Amamiya

Coach Hiraguchi vs. Chie Satonaka

Shuji Ikutsuki vs. Shiho Suzui

Futaba Sakura vs. Naoto Shirogane

Jin Shirato vs. Hifumi Togo

Keisuke Hiraga vs. Eikichi Mishina

Maki Sonomura vs. Toranosuke Yoshida

Rise Kujikawa vs. Elizabeth

Goro Akechi vs. Yuko Nishiwaki

Noriko Kashiwagi vs. Ulala Serizawa

Yuko Himeno vs. Anna Yoshizaka

Hikari vs. Joker (IS)

Mitsuru Kirijo vs. Hidehiko Uesugi

Masayoshi Shido vs. Youichi Makimura

[nirvanaida]

you should say the p5 take out loud

okay. it’s not gonna be what you think though. p5 mutuals please don’t kill me but here’s the take:

in general, what makes the characters of persona 5 and persona 5 royal so interesting is how they all try to shatter the status quo. this is the main theme of the game – people realising the injustices in their society and rising up against it, rejecting the idea of “this is just how it is”. the characters embody a desire to break free from the unbalanced conventions of society, from the protagonist to the minor social links. however, there is one character who fails to live up to the standard set by the other characters; they have a weak arc, are unreflective, serve no real purpose that couldn’t be replaced by another character, and ultimately undermine the themes that persona 5 tries so hard to emphasise. a lot of people might think they know who i’m talking about here, but i might surprise you. i am not talking akechi goro.

i’m talking about makoto nijima.

makoto is hands down the worst character in the game, in my opinion, because of the above reasons. now, most people who dislike her do not do so for fair reasons – let’s be honest, it usually boils down to misogny. but i’d like to present my ideas around why makoto is such an affront to the rest of the cast in a more fair manner, without focusing on the aspects of her character (like her attitude, her interestin more “masculine” activities, her mary-sueishness, etc) that the afformentioned people focus on.

spoilers under the cut

first, when compared to the other characters in the game, makoto contributes nothing to the narrative. morgana is the link between the velvet room and the metaverse. ann and ryuji are joker’s first comrades. yusuke is the first non-shujin phantom thief. futaba has practical functions as the navigator, a link to the mental shutdowns through wakaba, and explores the idea of a palace soawning from non-evil desire. haru is used to explore goodness through selfishness as well as emphasising okumura’s death, sumire cements the ideas of the third semester, and akechi is joker’s foil. makoto’s role is supposed to be that of the tactician – the “brains of the team”. however, unlike the other characters who actively fulfill their respective jobs in the story, makoto’s “necessity” is a forced contrivance. she never displays any intelligent or deductive reasoning besides pointing out the obvious. in order to make makoto’s input seem useful, the previously competent pts are suddenly made out to be so dumb that they are amazed when makoto suggests the basic idea of forming a strategy. it’s also worth noting that after futaba’s palace or so, makoto accomplishes nothing within infiltrations. the game insists that she is a brilliant mind, but never does anything to indicate to us that this is true.

in addition to their practical roles, the pts are also used to thematically delve into the various flaws of japanese society, all of them eventually coming to the conclusion that they must reject the idea of continuing on in complacancy. in their respective awakenings, ann and ryuji work up the courage to defy kamoshida, as does yusuke madarame, haru her father, futaba her delusions, and sumire her grief. when akechi dies in the engine room, he has a similar experience in that he comes to terms with the fact that his violent spiral has lead to his death. however, makoto’s awakening is a rejection of kaneshiro, which is hardly something that radical for her character. it could have had more effect if it were someone like kobayakawa and sae who she was defying, a respected figure of authority in her life. she’s not overcoming anything when she calls out kaneshiro for extorting children. in general, makoto is all over the place when it comes to theming. it seems like they want her to realise that complacent in the suffering of others by not calling out authority figures, but again, neither her awakening nor her later actions reflect this. similarly, they focus on her trying to be “useful”, which is completely dissonant from the rest of the characters’ motivations. i ask this: what does makoto’s awakening add to the themes of the game?

if your answer is indeed to focus on how sometimes we must disobey authority to do what’s right, i would like to point out that the game does not manage to convey this theme it refuses to explore the consequences of makoto’s noncompliance. Yes, she refuses to name the phantom thieves in her report to kobayakawa, but her life continues on as normal despite this. she keeps her high grades, her student council presidency, her university prospects, and we see no effect of her abandonment of the reference letter having a strain on makoto and sae’s relationship. yes, she champions the idea of changing sae’s heart (although… not really, akechi suggests it first), but there is no confronttion between the two sisters in the end. she has overcome a non-difficulty, so how has she overcome anything at all? when we compare this to what the other pts lose for their refusal of society – a working leg, a best friend, a guardian, a safety net, a father, vengence, peace of mind – makoto’s arc pales in comparison. so the fact that the narrative treats it with the same gravitas as the others’ is a travesty.

furthermore, in some ways makoto undermines the themes of the game. reflecting on oneself is something that is emphasised by the narrative – most of the character at somempoint realise that they have been lacking in some regard, both in the complacency to society and within their social link. makoto never really reflects on herself, however. she is an incredibly flawed character, but the game and herself refuse to acknowledge this. for example she appears as a character who finds satisfaction in being better than others. she is incredibly demeaning towards ryuji, she wishes to solve kaneshiro’s case by herself (or at least be the one to provide the crucial evidence), she emphasises her “mental superiority” at every chance possible, she is desperate to prove that she knows better than eiko in her social link, she delights in one-upping akechi in the interrogation room, etc. most attrociously, when ann suggests that makoto, as student council president and thus one responsible for student wellbeing, may share some blame for kamoshida’s abuse, makoto turns the blame on ann, saying that she should have known shiho would attempt suicide. most people say that makoto’s decision to become a cop is out of character, but it’s sadly not. makoto’s refusal to reflect on how the pts ended up where they were, her refusal to actually examine herself as a character, her insistence in her superiority that she can fix a broken system… it all leads to the same place. now, none of this makes makoto a “bad” character (aside from the cop part /hj) – if anything, it makes her more interesting. however, makoto is more often than not portrayed as in the right for her actions. aside from at the very beginning, she is never challenged, never reflects, never acknowledges her flaws.

makoto could so easily be replaced by a variety/combination of characters, and the game would be better. akechi would have been a better it for the kaneshiro arc, even if it may have been more difficult to incorporate. futaba or morgana could handle affinities. akechi could work as the connection to sae, or sae herself. and i wish it was different! i wish that makoto contributed something, i wish she was interesting, i wish she was more than what she is. but she’s not. and it annoys me when people insist otherwise.

[princess-of-the-corner]

I was thinking about the P5 AU, if we had it somewhat in line with the cabin P5, with a conspiracy to take over the country. Here are what I feel would be the palaces in that. I’ll go more in depth later

Kamoshida-> Dargencourt

Awakenings: Mari, Alya, Nino, Kim

Madarame -> Bob Roth

Awakening: Luka (or XY for lulz)

Kaneshiro -> Roger

Awakening: Sabrina

Futaba -> Adrien (or Gabriel if we don’t want to keep that exact plot thread of a PT having their palace + if we don’t care about Maruki)

Awakenkng: Adrien

Okumura -> Audrey

Awakening: Chloe

Sae -> Nathalie (Best Person I Could Think Of)

Awakening: Felix

Shido -> Colt Fathom

No New Teammates

And if we do Royal, Then

Maruki -> Gabriel

Awakening: Lila/Cerise

Okay so like!

While the AU is based on Persona 5, it's not an exact 1=1 of each character and Palace.

This gets a little fuzzy at first because D'Argencourt and Kamoshida are very similar for this AU. A sports coach who sees himself as king of the castle and pushes his students like hell, getting away with abusive behavior. Though D'Argencourt isn't doing anything sexual with his students.

But that's more just coincidence rather than intentional.

[queersrus]

HII KIRA KIRA looks at you :] persona names maybe... (feel free to choose from all games, but obviously 5 is the one I know :D)

yeye!! (nick)names from persona 5!!!

Aka, Akan, Akane, Aki, Akim, Akimi, Akimitsu, Akira, Al, Ali, Alice, Ang, Ango, An/Ann/Anne, Aoi, Ama, Amami, Amamiya, Ake, Akechi, Ara, Arai

Car, Caro, Carol, Caroli, Carolin/Carolyn, Caroline, Chi, Chiha, Chihay, Chihaya, Coach

Dem, Demi, Demiu, Demiur, Demiurge, Di, Dir/Dire, Director

En, Ena, Esc, Esca, Escar, Escargo/Escargot

Fu, Futa, Futaba, Fuji, Fujikawa

Go, Goro

Haru, Hi, Hif, Hifu, Hifumi, Has, Hase, Hasega, Hasegawa, Hi/Hii, Hiir, Hiira/Hira, Hiiragi, Hiraguchi, Hy, Hyo, Hyodo

Ichi, Ichiko, Ichiryu, Ichiryusa, Ichiryusai, Igo, Igor, Iss, Isshi, Isshiki, Ichino, Ichinose, Iwa, Iwai

Jo, Jose, Jun, Juny, Junya, Jyu, Jyun, Jul/Jule, Juli/Julie, Julia, Julian, Just, Justi, Justin, Justine

Kas, Kasu, Kasumi, Kaz, Kazu, Kazuya, Ko, Kob, Koba, Kobaya, Kobayaka, Kobayakawa, Koto, Kotone, Kumi, Kun, Kuni, Kunik, Kunika, Kunikaz, Kunikazu, Kuo, Kuon, Kiu, Kiuchi, Kita, Kitaga, Kitagawa, Kamo, Kamoshi, Kamoshida, Kawa, Kawakami, Konoe, Kage, Kageya, Kageyama, Kane, Kaneshi, Kaneshiro, Kat, Kata, Kataya, Katayama, Kabu, Kabura, Kaburagi

Lala

Mak, Mako, Makoto, Mari, Mariko, Masa, Masayo, Masayoshi, Mer, Mero, Merope, Mi, Mika, Miya, Miyako, Morg, Morga, Morgan, Morgana, Moto/Motoh, Motoha, Mune, Munehi, Munehis/Munehise, Munehisa, Mish, Mishi, Mishima, Maru, Maruki, Maki, Makigami, Mifu, Mifune, Mada, Madara, Madarame, Mon, Mont, Monta, Montag, Montagne

Nao, Naoya, Nat, Nats, Natsu/Natsuh, Natsuhi, Natsuhiko, Noge, Nii, Niiji, Niijima, Naka, Nakano, Nakanohara, Natsume

Od, Oda, Oku, Okumu, Okumura, Ohya, Owa, Owada

Pres, Presi, President

Ren, Ru, Rufe, Rufer, Ruferu, Rumi, Ry, Ryu, Ryuji

Sada, Sadayo, Sae, Sei, Seiji, Shadow, Shi, Shibu, Shibus, Shibusa, Shibusawa, Shiho, Shin, Shini, Shinichi, Shiny, Shinya, Shu, Shuz, Shuzo, Si, Siu, So, Soji, Sojiro, Soph, Sophi/Sophie/Sofi/Sofie, Sophia/Sofia, Sugi, Sugimura, Suguru, Sumi, Sumir, Sumire, Saku, Sakura, Su, Suz, Suzu, Suzui, Shira, Shirato, Shiratori, Saka, Sakamo, Sakamoto, Shido

Tae, Tak, Taku, Takuto, Tom, Tomoko, Tor, Tora, Torano, Toranosuke, Take, Takemi, Tan, Tana, Tanaka, Tsu, Tsuda, Taka, Takama, Takamaki, Togo

Ubu, Ubuka, Ubukata

Wakaba

Yu, Yuki/Yuuki, Yukimi, Yusu, Yusuke, Yuji/Yuuji, Yosh, Yoshi, Yoshida, Yoshiza, Yoshizawa

Zen, Zenki, Zenkichi

[brokenhardies]

13, 15, 20 for Madoka

13. Do they enjoy poetry?

Poetry's another aspect of songwriting, so yes, she does! (and no this is not a Marie reference lol)

15. What kind of sense of humor do they have? Or do they have one at all?

Very deadpan, dry humor, but also... lots of yelling about things. And puns, lots and lots of puns!

20. Do they have a strong connection to their culture?

Not nearly as strong as Yusuke - who was kind of forced into doing that due to Madarame - but she does have a pretty close connection to Japanese culture, complete with wearing yukatas to important festivals or events!

[weaverlings]

anyway yeah finally gave into the impulse that's been creeping up on me since like. finishing madarame's palace: if i'm going to be subjecting myself to a persona game, i'd rather it be 4

more words than necessary on this specific subject

the bigotry in p4 is more tightly wound up in the story and that's indefensible. but for some reason p5 was bothering me more and i finally figured out why. it's bc p5 claims to have that whole message of rebellion while dropping in those insidious bits of homophobia?

and in terms of the narrative stuff and p5 is just so. shallow. like i've actually come to like it LESS through the experience of playing it. there is too much to do. the writing falls apart like wet paper and the confidants...

i guess they were going for like, showing how growing relationships with people change ren's cognition and thus give those additional advantages. but so many of them feel rushed, there's no breathing room, and it ends up like you're just getting new toys more than anything to do with building relationships. and even the entire "confidant" idea - these relationships are FOUNDED in the story as something that's more about being a better thief than anything to do with any characters??? and i guess you're supposed to get to know them as you go etc but it just doesn't pan out for me

also the aspect that ties it into mementos... okay i have some ideas of the 3rd semester and maybe that would improve things? but being able to go in and change the heart of a specific person and having THAT be a key component of resolution for each confidant, again just, feels like such a shallow thing. okay, problem solved! yeah i know it doesn't necessarily make everything instantly perfect for those involved but i feel like it undercuts any meaningful, non-supernatural opportunities for growth

in persona 4 there's definitely the issue of like, there's only so much you can develop a relationship over the course of 10 relatively brief cutscenes. but they're relationships that pop up relatively organically - only the party members have any supernatural advantages (that i know of. i didn't do margaret's bc i am bad at fusion and idk anything about marie or adachi yet). but mostly it's like. fellow club members, family, people met through the part time jobs? it's arbitrary perhaps, but for me it just. feels better. makes it feel more about a plainer kind of strength you get through community connections?

and p4 is just a much tighter narrative. it doesn't spiral out of control, really. it's smaller and that's fine. it works. it holds together. like it's not GOOD either but i'm not comparing these two persona games with other games, just each other. persona 4 has a story it wants to tell about a group of conflicted teenagers in a small town struggling with questions of identity as they try to solve a supernatural murder case. does it handle this well? no. it can be deeply uncomfortable even when it's not being actively bigoted.

but p4 does... handle it. unlike p5, which says sexual harassment is wrong while one of its protagonists is regularly harassed and uncomfortable in HER OWN SPECIAL COSTUME TIED TO THE MANIFESTATIONS OF HER TRUE SELF? which talks specifically about rebellion and pushing back against harmful systems and abuses of power - important themes! Themes that did come through in places, you can see someone cared somewhere in writing this - while also sprinkling in bigotry and ultimately kind of. defanging itself?

persona 4 though is just so much more consistent. it's got its themes of identity, of the internal vs external and how other people and wider social pressure can affect you?? it's got a message of how, even when this feels overpowering, it's important not to give in to apathy. like it's clumsy for sure but it's coherent. the story has a core and elements that work together and characters that fit into it.

persona 5 had strong characters who deserved better writing than they got, and a few interesting and/or fun story beats and everything else is just. so thin. persona 4 has strong characters who deserved better writing than they got, and like... a story with some substance to it. themes followed through on. it's not at all subtle but it is quieter, more relaxed. or like.... it just DOES have some breathing room??? the mundane aspects have more weight and that helps it be a more balanced experience

basically p4 has many flaws. i think p5 has all of those flaws but makes them worse due to a lot of padding and lack of consistency in its message. p4 is a bad game but p5 is so much scope so little substance

[justasmallbloginabigklainefandom]

So after I finished Persona 5 Royal I looked up the VAs and what other roles they did and I was shook by some. Now that I've finished Persona 4 Golden I can finally look up stuff and here we go.

Yu and Adachi SHARE THE SAME VA. Honestly... that one surprised me A LOT.

Yusuke's resume is STACKED. He was in Nick dub Winx Club as Ogron. Neat. Oh and I did know he played Makoto in P3, but I didn't know he had another role as well. And he returned for P3R as someone else. And he's Spider-Man!

I am looking up Chie's Golden VA, not Vanilla. SHE WAS ALSO IN P5R??? WAKABA????? (Oops. I didn't like Wakaba's VA in P5R... but I also didn't particulary like Chie's in P4G...)

YUKIKO WAS ALSO IN P5R??? OHYA??? Which, to be fair to me, was the Confidant I spent the least time with. I see she also voiced someone in P2 but like P3, I haven't played it.

Okay hot diggity dog, Kanji has two VAs and unlike Teddie, Rise and Chie where one did more than the other, both of them did a lot. One of them is Matthew Mercer, aka Ganon in TOTK, and Yusuke in P5G. But I played Golden and damn this dude's resume is also stacked, but I know him best as Apollo from Stray Gods.

I know that Rise also does P3P Fem Protag. I mean, guys, it's Laura Bailey. Her resume is also stacked. I know she's in Critical Role and I see she played Spider-Woman as well, but I know her best as Grace from Stray Gods.

OKAY TEDDIE IS RIVEN IN WINX CLUB. Wikipedia doesn't say which dub, though. And huh, he's also Shu. I actually recognised his name as well, because he's in Critical Role, and recently revealed some shocking news. I hope his recovery continues!

Ah. Margaret and Ayane also share a VA?

Nanako is Nebula in Winx Club Nick dub which amuses me, since Nebula is so serious. And, huh, she's Aegis in P3F. OH AND SHE'S ALSO IZANAMI IN P4???

Oh Naoki was in P3 too.

Hisano is Persephone in Stray Gods! She's also that weird sexy teacher in P4.

I've never even seen Yumi in my entire playthrough, but her VA was on Broadway in Wicked, which feels fitting for a drama club member.

Okay Eri's VA is Naoto's VA in some games (not Golden, though) and she's the Nav in P5A, so that's neat. She's also in P3. Oh and she also voices Mayumi.

AH. Marie is Hifumi in P5.

Saki and Hanako share a VA.

Huh, Mitsuo is Madarame in P5.

King Moron is Igor in P3R. Neat.

Daidara is Okumura in P5. And also Mewtwo in Detective Pikachu.

What a list.

[starrulet]

Opening Line Tag Meme

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. Then tag 10 of your favorite authors!

I wasn't tagged, but I saw the post by @iesnoth eons ago and wanted to do this too.

Ceosung (original fiction) "Taylor, wake up."

2. To the Tragedy Born (original fiction) It all had happened so fast.

3. Tricksters in Tandem (fanfiction, Persona 5) It's been a day since Madarame's heart was changed and he made his public confession.

4. The Rise of Sons and Snakes (fanfiction, Ninjago) Brad was annoyed with Lloyd.

5. Narospel (video game) Congratulations, it's your birthday!

6. Everything's great! (Lasers & Feelings Game) You are receiving an SOS from the Research Spaceship the Marie Curie.

7. The Meta is Unfolding (original fiction) Oakland was a peaceful, green world, with one single kingdom living within its verdancy.

8. The Family Relish (original fiction) Edevane blinked.

9. The Crescent Affair (original fiction, the one I'm pushing for publication, so why does it have such a weak opening line-) Everyone under the sun knew that the Quinnish police had once been thoroughly corrupt.

10. Mirran Phantom Thieves (original fiction) It was a rainy Sunday evening when they met.

11. Cyber Society (original fiction) Corder Neander woke up to flashes of amber light.

12. Changelings (original fiction) Basil Kerr was late to class.

13. Poppy (original fiction) Even from a distance, the village was visibly dreary and miserable.

14. Colour Red (original fiction) He climbed the ladder as fast as he could, ignoring the licks of flame at his heels.

15. The Called but Unwanted (original fiction) I've gotta be honest.

16. Conqueror Cate (original fiction) So, here's the deal.

17. The Bar With No Name (fanfiction, Spider-Man (comics)) If Gwen had to describe the noise Peter was making, she would say it sounded roughly like a whimpering dog right after being caught in a terrible storm.

18. These Things we Have (original fiction) With great difficulty, Eleanor managed to remove the lipstick lid with an unsatisfying plop.

19. Soulful Seagulls (original fiction) Eluned was standing in front of a door.

20. Quests & Coin (video game) Aquestia, kingdom of adventure!

Favourite Opening Line: The Bar With No Name

Pattern #1: About 50% of my stories have a non-gendered opening line.

Pattern#2: Of the other 50% that start explicitly gendered, only ~15% are clearly female (6%). Which is interesting, since 13 of the 20 stories actually have a female character as protagonist or deuteragonist.

Pattern #3: Opening lines are either exposition or passive action. Very few start in the heat of the moment (ca. 6% of stories).

I don't have favourite writers. So if any of you write and are interested in doing this, go for it!

[whorutora]

My toxic trait is thinking I can win a fight AGAINST Shion Madarame…

[sonichkkaaascreams]

The single most popular squad of the entire bleach series is here:

1. Captain of squad 11 and the current Kenpachi:

Kenpachi Moriko Akumako

Member of the devil clan (not actually devils but they look like that - if we can have a beast clan than I declare that there is a devil clan living in the mountains)

Cleopatra hair

The 18th Kenpachi

As per custom to her clan she broke off a horn and burried it with the one person she had a deep emotional connection with ( in this case the 17th Kenpachi)

I wanted her to be the 12th Kenpachi and the one to kill Kenny but I love him too much.

The jewels hanging from tail and horns are honorary decorations for those who achieved greatness ( not necessarily in battle)

She is wearing a lil slirt

The black spots are in fact spots and birth marks

What is more terrifying than a Kenpachi?

A Kenpachi in her rebellious teen faze

She is also an edgy teen

Basically her bankai is that she is a teenager

Six eyes and each canove individually like a lil lizard

Goat hoofs - she can climb very very steep mountains.

She does lil goaty tap dance

Her kicks hurt. A lot.

She is always eating honey.

Not sweets

Not candy

Honey

Just honey

And tea

And for someone who drinks tea, she is very temperamental

Accidentally became the Kenpachi

Stayed and took responsibility

Whip tail with sharp edges

Sarcastic queen

Again, she is a moody teenager

Trans icon - maybe the first openly trans at seireitei?

Has some body image issues. Cries about them sometimes.

If you see her crying she will kill you

With her help more women are being encouraged to join the 11th squad

She is everyone's teenage daughter and their evil lil sister

Worst wingman ever

Will embarrasse you in front of your crush

Not subtle at all

Don't ever ask her to help you talk to your crush

Not only your crush will run away screaming

She will get you beaten by her parents

Deadpan face

Is she joking? Is she serious?

You never know

Melancholy face ™

Living her best protagonist life

Bathes in the blood of her enemies

And drinks the blood of fallen oponents

And dances on the cross of unfortunate people in her way

Likes to go shopping

Fancy long nails

She has a professional manicure her hoofs

They were introduced to her by the head of the kuchiki clan

She used to sprint her ankles a lot

Once she charged at the lieutenant of 8th and her horns got stuck in the wall

They had troubled helping her because whenever anyone would go behind her she would start kicking

2. Lieutenant of squad 11:

Akihiro Sumida

Another member of the devilmen clan

Blue skin, white hair.

The devil clan's equivalent of an Albino

Wide bull horns that get stuck in doorways

Has to tilt himself to pass most doors

Beauty surgery for the tailcracked and bearly hanging on horns

Bad sense of humor

Cring Lord

Snorts and ugly laughs

Booty man

Slurpong noodles

Eats woth hand

Two of his eyes are blinded

Bad depth perception but is working on it

He looks good but it's actually waaaay older than you think

Not old man Yama levels of old but he's aged a bit

He's a grandfather

He has 8 kids, 11 grandchildren

Best cook

Cooks for the entire squad

And almost all of other squads as well

Himbo

Aged distinguished himbo

He has 2 wives and they are queens ( literally his wife's are the clan leader and the clan chief of defense respectively)

The an is basically an a candy after character growth

Goes barefoot everywhere

Toe nails are too long for any shoes

Joining the Shinigami was his midlife crisis

The man never shits up about his wives

You'd think he's am asshole for having two wibes bit no

He's a total sweety

It's actually a nice story.

Two badass boss ladies wanted to revolutionize their clan and built it anew. Change the laws and everything. But they were dismissed as young girl who were too childish and how could they know about the hardships of leadership if they can't even lead a life as a wife.

He proposed they can matty him, to get the elders off their backs

It was a political marriage of mutual agreement based on respect and understanding.

After marriage, not even in their wedding beds yet, they kill the old chief and perform a cue de ta

When confronted by some people to 'control the wives' he said that they wear the pants and he's busy cooking for when they come home victories

They don't exactly fall on love over time, but they have a practice loving relationship with each other that led to kids and grandkids.

When he grew older he decided to go and have his Vagabond days as a lone old fighter than he met young Moriko who wanted to become a Shinigami

After his wives said yes he also enrolled.

He's not a wussy or anything despite what people say about him. He just genuinely love you be around strong women. Not just to have a romantic relationship with them bit just follow them and watch them

Himpm always said "look out for strong women and if you can help them one day they will either be your only army or lead your army."

Needless to say the devil clan is a , matriarchal society.

Not for any wierd reason, simply because they have less sons than daughters and the sons usually die young because of war, fin and bad weather.

Which is why having multiple wives is normal. It's actually more like multiple women having the same husband.

Men are valued on the clan simply because they are rare. Something about the genes.

Anyways.

He loves sun bathing. ( home clan is very snowy)

Perfect vision on the dark

Understands bit can't speak Japanese

(Only speaks in native devil clan language)

Purrs like a cat

Hisses like a cat

Is strangly very flexible like a cat

Accused of being boneless

Makes really bad cheesy haiku about his wives and kids.

Makes really bad bit also creative haiku about every random things. (Like socks, forks, rags, branches, a wierdly shaped rock etc.)

Good with kids

Often seen playing with captains of squad 13

Believes in ghosts and unicorns

But believes the grimm reaper is a myth

He is a grimm reaper

Makes cute adorable bento lunch boxes for younger Shinigami

Do not forget her is still the lieutenant of squad 11 and he lives up to the expectations

Doesn't fight fair at all (he is honest in that way. He won't hide behind useless notions of honor and grandeur. He will fight and he will win. Through any means necessary.)

Cat person.

[kingjinxii]

Now that I can breathe again, let’s talk about P5R’s trailer!

Now that my hype is out of the way, I want to put my thoughts on the trailer down coherently.

So, let’s jump right in!

The trailer starts with Akira in the interrogation room, being confronted by Goro, aka the traitor. This is very reminiscent of the E3 2016 trailer for vanilla P5, but Sae is not present, and the questions being asked are more personal than a simple interrogation.

Goro: You think you know it all. You think that sparing you here is going to make me happy? I have no need for such pity. I have no need for such hesitation!

Now, this is the iconic scene where Goro “kills” the protagonist. And honestly, a lot of people had problems with it, Goro fans and Anti-Goros alike. The angry and vindictive way he killed Akira seemed...bizarrely out of character if he’s meant to seem sympathetic, and seemed out of touch with the “true self” we see later on Shido’s ship.

Here, he seems conflicted, he says he has “no need for hesitation” but he never hesitated in vanilla P5, so why call attention to it here?

I’ll get more into it later.

Following that scene, we find ourselves back in a frozen Shibuya crossing, just like when Akira first received the Metaverse app, and saw Arsene. While in that first scene, he seemed...apathetic if a bit confused, in this one, he’s outright scared, and worried.

That doesn’t go away when the screen lights up behind him.

Mysterious Voice: I...stole a dream.

It sounds like everyone’s new boo Kasumi has some secrets she’s hiding. This appears to be a late game Palace, possibly replacing the Bottom of Mementos as the December Palace.

Dreams and ideal versions of people keep popping up in all the promo imagery. But let’s continue on.

We get a previous of our stylish new OP featuring (nearly) everyone. It’s very reminiscent of comic books, very flashy and colorful.

Also it’s a bop.

Kichijoji opens up! It’s famous for its shops. Inokashira Park, a place already in the game, is also in Kichijoji.

Palace exploration has been expanded. We have a grappling hook now, allowing us to move at a Z axis! No more just sneaking around.

What I really hope this means is a lack of “Safe Room skips”, aka just skipping to your last Safe Room before the final boss. Maybe this time, you’ll really have to secure a route without the use of safe rooms.

The dialogue is much more interesting though.

Futaba: With this you can...rewrite cognition?

Makoto: Can we really do that?

Cognitive Pscience was brought up in Futaba’s Palace. It’s what her mother, Wakaba, was researching. However, it never actually affected anything, other that Shido learning about the Metaverse. It looks like it will play a bigger role in the story of Royal.

Kamoshida: Didn’t I tell you already? This school is full of students you’d be better off turning a blind eye to.

Morgana: Don’t you think something’s off here?

In practice, these are probably two unrelated pieces of dialogue referring to 1. Kamoshida being a dick and telling you to stay out of trouble, and 2. a Palace puzzle. But the fact they are used against this shot of Kasumi has me thinking that she isn’t all she appears to be.

The current theory is that she is like Marie from P4 Golden, some sort of supernatural entity spying on us in the real world.

But that’s a post for another time.

FINALLY these kids are getting THERAPY.

Also he’s cute.

Not much to say here, but let me touch on Ann’s line.

Ann: Lately, I’ve been feeling like someone’s watching me.

Ann: Like someone’s tailing you?

I’m fairly certain these two lined are unrelated. I think the first is referring to Yusuke’s stalking, and the second referring to Makoto’s stalking the protagonist or possible Kasumi or Goro stalking. Nothing new to note.

Futaba finally going to get her AOA!

Combo attacks from P4 are back! Haru/Morgana and Ryuji/Makoto are in the trailer. My money is on Ann/Yusuke having one, and possible Kasumi/Goro too

Yu never got one, so I’m assuming it’ll be the same with Joker.

Kasumi gets some dialogue!

Kasumi: Senpai, are you continuing on as Phantom Thieves? Wouldn’t it be best to stay out of trouble?

I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that Kasumi knows the protagonist is a Phantom Thief early. Like, possibly even Mishima early (as in Rank 1 Confidant). She showed opposition to the Thieves before, so I wouldn’t put it past Atlus to have her Confidant be debates between you and her on your methods.

This staticky figure is shown. I’m guessing it’s Kasumi, as this appears to be the same screen as was in Shibuya. The shape is indistinct though.

More school events, and Makoto and Haru are introduced early. Makoto even has a new portrait! To be honest, I prefer her old one, but maybe it will grow on me.

I’m worried the game will be too text-heavy though. I had a major problem with how much reading was in vanilla P5, especially conversations about nothing, that ended up leading to you being unable to go out at night. I hope let you go out after story events now.

Kasumi is possibly being abused/hurt by this man, but I’m unsure. We’ll need more information.

This cutscene scares me. She looks like she’s been betrayed. Possibly by the protagonist being a Phantom Thief? I don’t know.

“Self-suggestion” is also mentioned here. Maybe more Cog-Psci stuff?

New hangout: Penguin Sniper! Home of darts and billiards. Inviting your friends here might raise your relationship with them, and maybe raise your stats? We’ll see.

Phantom Thief Kasumi confirmed! Her HP and SP pool has me thinking she’ll be a primarily physical attacker, which is an interesting thought.

I love her Thief outfit. She’s wearing a leotard, which emphasizes her skill as a dancer and gymnast.

Place your bets for her Thief name. Maybe Princess or Rose?

Yusuke has a brief line.

Yusuke: I ran away. Forgive me.

I’m thinking this may be added dialogue about Madarame, but I’m uncertain. It ties into another point I’ll discuss later though.

Here’s the more spoilery part of the trailer!

Take a look at the lower right corner. Do those stripes look familiar?

It seems that Goro is alive and well, helping out the Phantom Thieves with Loki as Black Mask!

SO why did he hesitate in the interrogation room?

It’s because he genuinely cares for the Thieves and Akira. My prediction is he spares Akira, and joins there, instead of being a boss fight.

We’re getting a new Palace. That’s obvious. In vanilla P5′s opening, all the sins are overlaid over Morgana.

They are

Acedia - Sloth (The People’s Mementos)

Avaritia - Greed (Okumura Spaceport)

Gula - Gluttony (Kaneshiro’s Bank)

Luxuria - Lust (Kamoshida’s Castle)

Invidia - Envy (Sae’s Casino)

Ira - Wrath (Futaba’s Pyramid)

Superbia - Pride (Shido’s Ship)

Irritum - Vanity (Madarame’s Museum)

However the last one, Cavum or Emptiness, goes unused.

This Palace must be Cavum.

The question is whose Palace is it.

Old theories had it be Goro’s, but considering he’s in the Monamobile, I’m guessing it’s Kasumi’s.

Kasumi a cute!!

Also, Ryuji.

Ryuji: What’s right and what’s wrong...You have to decide that for yourself. Don’t just run away to keep yourself safe.

See, I told you that quote would fit in later!

I’m going to take a guess at P5R’s theme: Escapism.

Vanilla P5 is all about standing up for what you believe. Royal is going to tell you why you need to do it, instead of indulging in your own fantasies to escape your reality.

Finally, Joker drops from a great height towards the ground. Or those weird stairs.

I’m getting serious Ryuji sacrifice vibes here. If Joker survives this, whatever he’s dropping down to face, he’ll have to face alone.

No more running.

So there you have it! My coherent thoughts on the P5R trailer? What do you think? Do you have your own opinions and observations? Let me know!

[imagine-the-phantom-thieves]

since you've beaten p5r, any thoughts regarding kasumi and maruki? and new content in general?

get ready fellas I’m about to pop off

Also? There’s gonna be some spoilers, yikes.

Okay so for starters, I find it totally worth what I paid, and this is coming from someone who has technically paid full price for Persona 5 on four different occasions now, and played probably well over 500 hours of vanilla.

I like the changes made to the palaces to help veterans have a fresh experience for all of them so it doesn’t feel like you’re just going through the motions for more times than you’d like to admit, and tweaks to the bosses are fun and help them come together into something more complete feeling. Except for Kaneshiro. 

Also apparently everyone hated the old Madarame boss fight? I didn’t know this but apparently it was super frustrating? Personally I find the new one more annoying but I onno, maybe I’m dumb.

I like that you can see a lot of later introduced characters like Haru and Ohya just hanging around before they’re properly brought to the player so things like Haru being abruptly shoved in the story aren’t nearly as left-turny. 

And something I have endless amounts of love for are things like the darts minigame, and how we have more times where the thieves just hang out together that aren’t obnoxious, intrusive and boring. Not that I’m trying to throw shade at other remakes of Persona games.

Why would I do that?

No, I don’t have a blind hatred for a certain other remake of a Persona game, you’re projecting. 

Speaking of things that are obnoxious, intrusive and boring, which, as a way to compact the phrase, I’ll just use the word ‘Marie’. No particular reason, but, y’know. So, speaking of Marie, you know what isn’t? Kasumi.

Kasumi is so not Marie, it was the best surprise to me. Like, when I found out she wasn’t going to be an MC, which made me sadder than it would and why I just decided to do it myself I couldn’t help but dread she’d just be Marie. Like, bro?? Bro??? She’s so pleasant and sweet, she isn’t an ‘endearing’ tsundere, she’s just a girl with a completely understandable conflict. Also? Her abilities are good. Unless you want to make good on using Ryuji’s new instakill. Then Chaines Hook kinda sucks.

Her actual character arc about not only trying to cope with her sister’s death, but also trying to force herself to accept that she is Sumire and the feeling of survivors guilt that spawns from her feeling of inferiority toward her sister is also really compelling, and really reminds me of Beat’s character arc from The World Ends With You? This isn’t a bad thing, Beat’s the best character in TWEWY and that’s a hill I’ll die on. 

But seeing her go from ‘Well, I hope I can win, but I’m not much without Kasumi’ to ‘Yeah, I will win internationals, for both of us!’ is one of the most heartwarming things in a game chock full of ‘em. 

Also she’s real cute

Although what I don’t like about Sumire is how late in the game you get her. Like, let’s think for a minute. She awakens to her Persona during the Okumura arc, but she has other things she needs to do. Yeah, okay, fine. Sae arc? She’s just kinda hanging out, even follows you into the palace. Still doesn’t join. Okay, whatever, it’s annoying, but I’ll deal.

Except then Morgana just kinda cans her during the Shido arc for no actual reason. I can only assume they didn’t want to try during the Shido arc which is why the Ruse Cruise is still one of the worst dungeons in the game, second only to ‘Padding: The Dungeon’, also known as Kaneshiro’s bank.

Oh also??? The reworked confidant abilities?? Fucking yummy. The most notable ones I can think of off top my head is Ryuji’s instakill actually being worth it, Ann’s sexy technique actually being pretty useful, the Velvet Room privlages  being shuffled around so if you want to do the whole Strength confidant in the middle of July, you can, and also Akechi has them now.

Also this so isn’t important, but I like how each Thief’s ‘talk’ ability affects different types of Shadows. Like, it’s cool.

Jose is also a fun addition. Do I know what he is? No. I’ve just been calling him the egg child, so he’s just,,, egg. Egg does sippy sippy on some flowers, is adorable, and makes Mementos tolerable. Egg good.

Probably the best actually change from vanilla though is probably the fact that the song. Y’know... that song. The Mementos song? It’s almost completely gone, and that’s great because the Mementos song makes me wanna die, and it mostly gets replaced by bops. 

Now, you may be going, “Maruki, aren’t you forgetting someone? Like, I onno, your namesake?” 

Yeah bud, time to shift the spotlight to the star.

Takuto Maruki is the absolute highlight of Royal, and if he was the only change that was made, I’d recommend it anyway. One of the best things about him is that his presence makes it so there’s more than like, two adults that all of the thieves can have a degree of trust with. The fact that he’s so pleasant to interact with doesn’t hurt either. Also? Those confidant abilities? Good shit. 

Although it’s probably just good game design to have some of the best confidant abilities go to the people you need to max out to get the best ending...

That didn’t stop ‘The Mishima incident’ but oh well

Anyway, spoiler time. Again.

Maruki being the final boss, in retrospect, really shouldn’t have been surprising. Although I was kinda expecting Sumire to inexplicably be God, but like, sad angsty God because that’s how low my standards got pegged for no reason in particular. 

But Maruki’s character motivations are real good? Which is weird, because normally ‘guy who tries to control the world because his loved one is dead/traumatized’ is a gross and also boring plot, but something about him just... makes it work? Mostly because he isn’t on a brutal murder rampage and literally just wants it so everyone at all is happy without a worry.

Which is apparently a bad thing?

And while you can argue that the final boss is kind of an ‘anti-climax boss’, may I guide you to why I defended the vanilla Okumura fight- 

Boss fights don’t need to be epic, and some of the best ones are just appropriate. 

Am I saying I wasn’t dissapointed that Adam Kadmon wasn’t an actual boss fight and was just another ‘press X to win’? No, I totally was. I was really mad. But the ‘fight’ afterward, one on one against Maruki, is a weirdly satisfying conclusion, with the cutscene afterwards also striking a chord with me.

But basically, Takuto Maruki is the best character in Persona 5. I would say in the whole Persona series, but I haven’t played 3 in a while, so Junpei may still have that crown, but I also haven’t played one or either version of 2, so series veterans are gonna call me a loser.

Those were my scattered thoughts on Persona 5 Royal, and I’m 80% sure I’m forgetting something, but oh well, I’ve been here for over an hour.