Summary
The world ofPersonais one fraught with danger and intrigue, as creatures known as shadows pose a threat to the world, leaving it up to a group of plucky high-schoolers who can summon personas to fight them. Each game offers a unique and engaging plot, new locations, and a brand-new cast of characters the protagonist can befriend or kindle a romantic relationship with.
The diverse cast of eachPersonagame helps the series feel alive, as each is crafted with care to ensure they have disparate and believable personalities, even if Atlus aren’t immune to including a few anime tropes. Among the cast, fans can expect to meet those with a mature mind, class clowns, the resident badass, as well as some characters who are kind and always put the needs of others above their own.
Nanako Dojima is the daughter of police detective Ryotaro Dojima and cousin to the protagonist, who moves in with the two of them in the sleepy town of Inaba. Ryotara’s work often pulls him away from home, leaving Nanako alone a lot of the time, resulting in her learning to look after herself and be mature beyond her years.
Despite her somewhat lonely lifestyle, Nanako is still a cheery and happy young girl for the most part, exhibiting selflessness in her desire to get along with everyone around her and avoid hurting their feelings. An example of this is evident through how she eats all the omelettes the girls make despite them not being to her taste. Though her judgment can still sometimes beclouded by childhood innocence, she is still one of themost selfless characters inPersona 4.
After playing a dangerous occult game called Persona, similar to Bloody Mary, demons begin roaming the streets of the town, leaving the safety of the city and its inhabitants to the students all involved in the game.
Masao Inaba was one such student,acting as the class-clownof Lunarvale. Despite his tendencies as a troublemaker, Masao is not wholly self-serving, nor is he a bad kid. He cares deeply about their hospitalized friend Maki Sonomura, frequently visiting her and acting as her protector. He is even understanding of the police that he often has run-ins with while pursuing his hobby of street art, knowing they are only looking out for him.
Haru is one of the persona-users who joins later in the game, and she first appears working alongside Morgana after he abandoned the Phantom Thieves. Dubbed the ‘Beauty Thief,’ she is clearly not that much of a threat to the group and is only awkwardly going along with Morgana’s script. Eventually, she joins the Phantom Thieves properly to change her greedy and selfish father’s heart.
Despite her very formal demeanor and embarrassing introduction to the group, Haru is a very kindhearted girl who speaks affectionately to the other members. She is the daughter ofa rich and controlling man, yet she manages to avoid falling into the rich and spoiled trope. Instead, she embraces a kind and selfless nature. She wants to be someone who fights for justice, holding those who fight the good fight in high esteem.
5Maya Amano (Persona 2: Innocent Sin)
Strives To Lift The Spirits Of Those Around Her
The second entry in the series was split into two parts:Innocent SinandEternal Punishment. In the former, Maya works as a writer for a teen magazine and is an integral member of the main cast. Despite asomewhat traumatic childoodthat led to her developing a phobia of fire, Maya’s trauma doesn’t define her, and it certainly doesn’t dampen her spirits.
Ever the cheery optimist, Maya is always there for her friends, doing her best to make them share in her optimism and look on the bright side of things. She often does this with her cherished stuffed toy known as Mr Bun-Bun, an adorable habit that evokes memories of her beloved father. Maya maintains some of this cheery and selfless personality inEternal Sin, but she can also be partially influenced by the player.
4Yukiko Amagi (Persona 4)
Always Polite, Even to Those Who Disparage Her
The small town of Inaba has become gripped by fear and unease after a string of grizzly murders, which occur at the same time as the rising of a local urban legend that says those who watch a turned-off TV on a rainy night will see their soulmate. The protagonist and his classmates don’t quite see their soulmates; instead, they see the next victims and discover they can actually enter the TV set, leading to a world known as the Midnight Channel.
Yukiko is one of the classmates the player will quickly become acquainted with. She is a prim and proper lady and also the heiress of one of Inaba’s few attractions. Her reputation often puts her at odds with other students, but she maintains a calm and polite exterior, never letting her stress show, as she doesn’t wish to burden anyone with her problems. She is also one of themost caring friendssomeone could hope to have, which is evident through her close relationship with Chie.
Persona 5 Royalwas a re-release ofPersona 5that was mostly the same but with the inclusion of a new term at school, an additional Palace, and new Phantom Thief member, Sumire, who joins the group later in the game.
Players will encounter her numerous times throughout the story before they fight together and will witness first-hand what a caring and sweet soul she is. Small acts of kindness such as offering her seat on public transport to an elderly passenger might not seem like much, but it shows she is willing to do good when no one else is.
Persona 3saw the SEES group, a select group of Gekkoukan High School students with the power of persona, tasked with exploring Tartarus, the shadow hunting-ground the school becomes during a hidden hour at night. While balancing their lives as students and shadow hunters, players will eventually hear of Fuuka Yamagishi, an introverted and soft-spoken junior who ends up trapped in Tartarus after her high-school bully locks her in the gym.
Yuuka has reason enough to be a bitter and hateful person, as those who are bullied oftenbecome bullies themselves. However, this is not the case here, as Fuuka’s kind heart shines through her hardships. She speaks to everyone with kindness and remains selfless enough to risk her own life to protect Natsuki, the girl who bullies her. Anyone wanting to be a better person should take a note from Fuuka’s book.
1Yuki Makoto (Persona 3)
Makes the Ultimate Sacrifice
In everyPersonagame, players will controla mostly silent protagonistthat they themselves can directly influence the personality of through dialogue choices. They are often seen as cool, collected, yet heroic in their exploits against shadows. InPersona 3,Yuki Makoto, or whichever name players give him, is a strong leader, a characteristic often praised by Mitsuru. He never leads his team astray and eventually makes the ultimate sacrifice for them and the world.
He gives his own life in order to seal Nyx out of a selfless desire to protect his friends. In the “Answer” epilogue, his altruism is further evidenced by his wish for his friends to lead good and happy lives even after he has left them, which might just make him themost selfless character in thePersonaseries.
