History Characters / PersonaAscend

[[caption-width-right:350:''"...I have several questions. Don't answer any of them."'' [[note]]Art by [[https://twitter.com/SnippyAsianGuy SnippyAsianGuy]][[/note]]]]]]

* ActionGirl: Juniper

* CombinationAttack: Fusion Spells, returning from ''VideoGame/Persona2''. The party are able to use their Personas' abilities together to form these moves.
* ConspiracyTheorist: The cover story for the club. As far as the rest of the university knows, they're all just kooky believers in cryptids, aliens and the like.
* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: Compared to the [[KidHero teenage protagonists of the main games]] (with the exception of [[VideoGame/Persona2 Eternal Punishment]]), the main characterss of 'Ascend' are college-age adults.

* RedBaron: Each of the team's Personas have titles given to them.

* TarotMotifs: It's a Persona story, so this is agiven. Each character has one of the Major Arcana based on their personality.
** Shouma, as the protagonist, is The Fool. The card represents beginnings, free-spiritedness and possibility. The story begins with him moving to Los Angeles and a new beginning, as well as his powers as the Wild Card allowing him to use multiple Personas.

** Piers is The Magician, meaning confidence, talent and taking action. It was Piers that helped Shouma track down Daigo, Juniper and Lucas, as well as his eventual decision to help them despite his fear that allowed him to awaken his Persona Anansi.
** Lucas is The Hierophant, meaning authority, wisdom and a relation with the divine. It's still unknown how Lucas fits this.
** Daigo is The Tower. The card represents revelations, sudden change and pride before the fall. Daigo's entire modus operandi had to drastically change when Shouma inserted himself into the Agartha case. And while he clearly loves his brother, he still treats like Shouma like a kid.
* ThreeAmigos: The intitial trio of Daigo, Lucas and Juniper. Also applies to Shouma, Juniper and Piers.

[[caption-width-right:350:''"...I have several questions. Don't answer any of them."'']]

As the story's protagonist, Shouma is aligned with the Fool Arcana. His initial Persona is Musashi: a ronin from the late Sengoku and early Edo period of Japanese history who amassed over 60 wins in as many duels, before retiring as a Buddhist monk, where he would write the Book of Five Rings: a book on various techniques with multiple weapons, as well as a treatise on Buddhist philosophy and Bushido. As a Persona, Musashi appears as a blue-haired swordsman who's lower face is obscured behind a demonic mask, wielding a wooden katana resembling a boat oar and a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jitte jitte]].

* TheAce: Averted. Shouma's first trip to Agartha has him get beaten to a pulp, set on fire and stabbed before passing out from exhaustion at the end.

* TheChainsOfCommanding: As POSC's vice-president and field leader, he often worries about the safety of his the other members of the club.

[[caption-width-right:350:"...I have several questions. Don't answer any of them."]]

[[caption-width-right:350:"I have several questions. Don't answer any of them."]]

** Both Yu and Shouma are [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair white-haired]] protagonists dressed in black investigating a kind of mystery. However, Yu is TheStoic and was instantly respected by the other members of the Investigation Team while trying to solve a murder mystery, while Shouma is [[HotBlooded a hot-head]] that was distrusted by Daigo, Lucas and ''[[UpToEleven especially]]'' Juniper while exploring a lost civilisation. And while both Personas originated from Japan, Izanagi comes from [[UsefulNotes/{{Shinto}} Shinto]], while [[UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi Musashi was a real person who verifiably existed]].

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: White for Shouma, blue for Musashi. [[note]]The latter is actually a case of TruthInTelevision, as the real Musashi was rumoured to dye his hair blue.[[/note]]

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Daigo sports white hair. Same as his brother.

->''"...I have several questions. Don't answer any of them."''

A long-lost ancient civilisation that somehow ended up in the cognitive realm. Agartha is a mysterious place.

->'''Age:''' 22

* TheAce: Daigo is a powerful fighter and Persona-user, a Wild Card, a prodigal archaeology student and popular with his peers. [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter Basically everything Shouma is not]].

* AnimalMotifs: Anansi is the Ashanti god of spiders, and takes on a spider-like form.

* TheGunslinger / RevolversAreJustBetter: Wields a six-chamber revolver in battle.

* SeniorCreep: She somehow manages to scare both Shouma and Daigo just by existing. Shouma in particular
* TarotMotifs: The Sun. Susie remains a cheerful and optimistic woman in the face of everything.

* ActionDad: Averted. Despite being MissionControl while Lucas is gone, he doesn't possess a persona.

Beings related to the lost civilisation of Agartha.

* AdvancedAncientAcropolis: The four towers and the Castle Shambhala fit this well, all being equipped with advanced defense systems and teleportation terminals for quick travel along each tower.

* {{Expy}}: Not in his attitude, but he's named after Joe Ibuki from [[Manga/TomorrowsJoe Ashita no Joe]], is a boxer like his namesake and even performs the cross counter on Shouma.

[[folder:Wataru Tashiro]]
->'''Arcana:''' XX. Judgement
->'''Age:''' 53

Shouma and Daigo's father, chairman of POSC, a researcher of Cognitive Psience and lecturer at the Camus Institute. He moved from Osaka to L.A. with Daigo eleven years before the start of the story, leaving Shouma behind, but is now determined to truly reconnect with his youngest son.

* ActionDad: Averted. Despite being MissionControl while Lucas is gone, he doesn't possess a persona.
* DisappearedDad: Towards Shouma until the start of the story, where he now wishes to spend time with his son.
* GoodParents: Attempts to be this to Shouma.
* MeaningfulName: Wataru's name contains the kanji "渡", meaning to ferry or migrate, as he and Daigo (and later Shouma) are Japanese immigrants to the United States. His surname "Tashiro" is made up of "方", meaning path; and "白", meaning white.
* MyGreatestFailure: According to him: leaving Shouma behind in Japan while he and Daigo lived in the United States.
* ScienceHero: Wataru is a leading researcher of Cognitive Psience that was paid by the American government to move to the US to help them understand the field better, mentioning that he works off the findings of [[VideoGame/Persona3 the Kirijo Group]] and [[VideoGame/Persona5 Wakaba Isshiki]].
* SolomonDivorce: When he left to the US with Daigo, he left Shouma behind with his mother back in Osaka.

!! Other Characters

!! Agartha
Beings related to the lost civilisation of Agartha.

[[folder:In General]]

* AdvancedAncientAcropolis: The four towers and the Castle Shambhala fit this well, all being equipped with advanced defense systems and teleportation terminals for quick travel along each tower.
* EmpathicWeapon: Created several of these, the Guardians for an unknown task. They still protect what's left of Agartha even after all this time.
* MeaningfulName: The civilisation is named in-universe after the fictional civilisation made up by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Steiner Rudolf Steiner]], and each of the Guardians are named after the Four Zoa and their emanations in the works of Creator/WilliamBlake.
* {{Precursors}}: Agartha is an ancient, yet technologically-advanced civilisation that fell millenia ago due to unknown reasons.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Guardian Enion]]
The first Guardian found at the base of Tharmas Tower.

->'''Age:''' 20

->'''Age:''' 20

** Both Yu and Shouma are [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair white-haired]] protagonists dressed in black investigating a kind of mystery. However, Yu is TheStoic and was instantly respected by the other members of the Investigation Team while trying to solve a murder mystery, while Shouma is [[HotBlooded a hot-head]] that was distrusted by Daigo, Lucas and ''[[UpToEleven especially]]'' Juniper while exploring a lost civilisation. And while both Personas originated from Japan Izanagi comes from [[UsefulNotes/{{Shinto}} Shinto]], while [[UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi Musashi was a real person who verifiably existed]].

One of the first members of POSC, a student of Cognitive Psience and a close friend of Daigo's. Describing himself as a "professional slacker", Lucas is a lazy and sarcastic young man who says whatever is on his mind, damn be the consequences, though is far smarter than he lets on.///

* NamedAfterSomeoneFamous: The civilisation is named in-universe after the fictional civilisation made up by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Steiner Rudolf Steiner]].

!! Other Characters

* ThreeAmigos: The intitial trio of Shouma, Piers and Juniper.

The protagonist. Shouma is a college student studying liberal arts that transferred to Los Angeles from Osaka to move in with his father and brother. He's a hot-headed man who acts first and thinks later, and will throw himself into any conflict he thinks he can help solve.

* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: According to WordOfGod, Shouma was designed with the intention of contrasting to [[Characters/Persona3SEES Makoto]], [[Characters/Persona4YuNarukami Yu]] and [[Characters/Persona5Joker Ren]].

** While both Makoto and Shouma are [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold somewhat antisocial]], Makoto is [[SugarAndIcePersonality more reserved and apathetic]], while Shouma is [[{{Tsundere}} angrier and perfectly willing to fight others]]. Makoto also [[TheAloner avoids making friends and takes a while to warm up to them]], while Shouma conversely is quite sociable provided you don't get on his bad side.
** Both Yu and Shouma are [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair white-haired]] protagonists dressed in black investigating a kind of mystery. However, Yu is TheStoic and was instantly respected by the other members of the Investigation Team while trying to solve a murder mystery, while Shouma is [[HotBlooded a hot-head]] that was distrusted by Daigo, Lucas and ''[[UpToEleven especially]]'' Juniper while exploring a lost civilisation. And while both [[UsefulNotes/{{Shinto}} Personas originated]] [[UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi from Japan]] Izanagi comes from Shinto, while Musashi was a real person who verifiably existed.

* TheNicknamer: When he and Daigo met Igor as children, the both named him "Tengu-san".
* RedBaron: Musashi is known as ''"The Sword Saint"''.

Shouma's older brother, president of POSC and a third-year college student of archaeology who moved to L.A. eleven years before the start of the story. Much calmer and more refined than his brother, Daigo is popular with many students at the Camus Institute and has been a Persona-user for far longer than Shouma.

Much like his brother, Daigo is a Wild Card. His initial Persona is Kojiro: a swordsman from the Sengoku and Edo periods of Japan that specialised in the ''[[{{BFS}} Ganryū]]'' or ''"Great Rock style"'' of fighting. He's famous for his rivalry with Miyamoto Musashi and their eventual duel in 1612 on Ganryū island that saw Musashi claim victory against Kojiro in front of both their students.

* RedBaron: Kojiro is known as "The Swallow Swordsman"

A student from Jamaica studying at the Camus Institute who meets Shouma at a terminal. A kind and laid-back, yet playful young man who's traveled the world before finally settling down in L.A. to pursue higher education. He always makes sure to look out for his friends.

His initial Persona is Anansi: the spider-god of trickery and stories from the folklore of the Ashanti people of West Africa and brought to the Carribbean via the North-Atlantic slave trade. Anansi is famous for his ability to defeat and outsmart people, beasts and gods larger and more powerful than him; including the sky-god Nyame, where he took all the stories he was hoarding and gave them to the world. Anansi appears as a slim pitch-black being with six eyes, multicoloured markings on its body and four spider legs behind its back dressed in gold and red garmets.

* AnimalMotifs: Anansi is the Ashanti god of spiders, and takes on a sider-like form.

* BornUnlucky: He's introduced trying to calm a man down after he accidentally spilled his milkshake on him, and later casually mentions how his luck is terrible.

One of the founding members of POSC, a student at the Camus Institute and one of Daigo's closest friends. Juniper is an intelligent woman dedicated to her studies to gaining a lucrative career to the exclusion of most else, and comes across as cold and abbrasive to others; especially Shouma, whom she doesn't trust.

* ArrogantKungFuGuy: Even more than Daigo to some extent. Juniper distrusts people she sees as amatuers, and rather they not get in her way.

!! Social Links

[[folder:Wataru Tashiro]]
->'''Arcana:''' XX. Judgement

Shouma and Daigo's father, chairman of POSC, a researcher of Cognitive Psience and lecturer at the Camus Institute. He moved from Osaka to L.A. with Daigo eleven years before the start of the story, leaving Shouma behind, but is now determined to truly reconnect with his youngest son.

* MyGreatestFailure: Leaving Shouma behind in Japan while he and Daigo lived in the United States.
* ScienceHero: Wataru is a leading researcher of Cognitive Psience that was paid by the American government to move to the US to help them understand the field better, mentioning that he works off the findings of the [[VideoGame/Persona3 Kirijo Group]].

[[/folder]]

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: White for Shouma, blue for Musashi. [[note]]Actually a case of TruthInTelevision, as the real Musashi was rumoured to dye his hair blue.[[/note]]

* Achilles Heel:

* CombinationTechnique: Fusion Spells, returning from ''VideoGame/Persona2''. The party are able to use their Personas' abilities together to form these moves.

* BadassCape: How their Personas manifest while in Agartha.

* FusionTechnique: Mentioned by name, and returning from ''VideoGame/Persona2''. The party are able to use their Personas' abilities together to form these moves.

* TrademarkFavouriteFood: Ginger and Shrimp Okonomiyaki

Much like his brother, Daigo is a Wild Card. His initial Persona is Kojiro: a swordsman from the Sengoku and Edo periods of Japan that specialised in the ''[[{{BFS}} Ganryū]]'' or ''"Great Rock style"'' of fighting. He's famous for his rivalry with Miyamoto Musashi and their eventual duel in 1612 on Ganryū island that saw Musashi claim victory against Kojiro in front of the students of both their styles.

* AnimalMotifs: Anansi is a god of spiders.
* BlackMage: Anansi hits hard with magic skills.

* LightningBruiser:

* BigBrotherInstinct:

* TheGunslinger/RevolversAreJustBetter: Wields a six-chamber revolver in battle.

* Expy: WordOfGod confirms his design and fighting style makes him one towards [[Characters/DevilMayCryVergil Vergil]], [[Characters/FinalFantasyVIISephiroth Sephiroth]], [[Characters/FinalFantasyVIII Seifer Almasy]] and [[UsefulNotes/SasakiKojiro Sasaki Kojiro]].

* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: Daigo dresses in mostly [[LightIsGood white]] compared to Shouma, [[DarkIsNotEvil who's dressed mostly in white]].

* Expy: WordOfGod confirms his design and fighting style makes him one towards [[Characters/DevilMayCryVergil Vergil]], [[Characters/FinalFantasyVIISephiroth Sephiroth]], [[Characters/FinalFantasyVIII Seifer Almasy]] and [[UsefulNotes/SasakiKojiro Kojiro]].

!! The Heroes

* WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld: Downplayed. Everyone is a college student, allowing them greater flexibility with their schedules, but they still have to study and show up to the occasional lecture.

->'''Arcana:''' The Fool

The protagonist. Shouma is a college student that transferred to Los Angeles from Osaka to move in with his father and brother. He's a hot-headed man who acts first and thinks later, and will throw himself into any conflict he thinks he can help solve.

** Both Yu and Shouma are [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair white-haired]] protagonists dressed in black investigating a kind of mystery. However, Yu is TheStoic and was instantly respected by the other members of the Investigation Team, while Shouma is [[HotBlooded a hot-head]] that was distrusted by Daigo, Lucas and ''[[UpToEleven especially]]'' Juniper. And while both [[UsefulNotes/{{Shinto}} Personas originated]] [[UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi from Japan]] Izanagi comes from Shinto, while Musashi was a real person who verifiably existed.

** Played Straight AND subverted with Musashi. Musashi was one of the greatest swordsmen in Japanese history, and pioneered the ''[[DualWielding Niten Ichi-Ryu]]'' style of swordfighting. The Persona based on him wields a [[WoodenKatanasAreJustBetter wooden katana]], though he also uses a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jitte jitte]] in reference to his father, who was a master with the weapon.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: White for Shouma, blue for Musashi. [[note]]Actually a case of TruthInTelevision.[[/note]]

** Shouma's weaknesses vary depending on his equipped Persona, though Musashi is weak to [[BlowEmAway wind]] and [[ShockAndAwe electricity]].