History Fridge / Persona4

* Kaguya Hime, the ultimate persona of the Aeon Arcana, has a very futuristic, almost metallic design... and rabbit ears. The latter seems out of place unless you think about the origins of Kaguya Hime. Originally the main character of the famous Japanese folk story ''The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter'', Kaguya Hime is later revealed to belong to a group of celestial beings living on the moon. The designers incorporated this into her design by referencing the MoonRabbit, another famous mythical figure.

** Even if one does follow the interpretation that the investigation team was genuinely drunk, it makes sense why some were more apparent than others. Chie through martial arts, Kanji through biking and general workouts, Naoto through detective training, and (depending on how much one follows the sports team social link) the MC are all pretty physically active people, which raises one's alcoholo tolerance. In contrast, Yukiko runs a traditional inn while Rise was an idol, meaning both probably have especially harsh expectations to remain in shape but not too muscular either giving them higher susceptibility to alcohol, and Teddie is a Shadow who might not have the biology to handle alcohol. Yosuke is the only slgiht outlier, and even that can be explained by men on average handling their alcohol better than women like Yukiko and Rise

** Play the game a second time, and you realize this is a MortonFork that works for the true culprit.

* Ai Ebihara wears a pink choker around her neck against school rules, right? Well... during her Social Link she reveals that she made a LoveConfession to a boy in Middle School only to be cruelly rejected. When she finds out her crush (Kuo or Daisuke) has feelings for Chie / isn't interested in dating, she tries to [[DrivenToSuicide throw herself off the school]]. Who's to say that [[BungledSuicide she didn't]] [[InterruptedSuicide try before?]]

** Even without that, the emotional impact of the death of another person in Inaba may be so emotionally devastating that it will push the town to economic depression and abandonment, Yukiko's death causes the historic inn to close down from the emotional loss of their cherished daughter and the media fallout of her death. Kanji's death would have caused his aging mother to pass away from losing her son and the senior community to mourn her loss. Rise's murder would have created a media firestorm over a famous idol's death in a small town. Mitsuo's death would draw a lot of bad press of a small town killer who is a HateSink already and his room revealing to be filled with creepy stalker material causes the town to be afflicted with the reputation of hiding a twisted teen killer. Naoto's death is a loss to the Shiragane family and a police incident that causes police to be reluctant to investigate in fear of sharing the same fate and finally, Namatame and Nanako's death causes the town to not only be eternally shrouded in fog but the heavy burden of losing a good politician and a Police detective's daughter that ended tragically.

** Teddie can also make TVs appear to exit the TV world remember? It wouldn't be much of a stretch to say he could just magically "poof" new glasses for the investigation team to use anytime he wants.

* A possible case of GameplayAndStoryIntegration- why is Izanagi ([[VideoGame/Persona3 and Orpheus]], [[VideoGame/Persona5 and Arsène]]) so weak? Because Persona is the power of the heart, and "bonds are the true strength-" the point these are all received is at the start of each game, when the MC is still a blank slate with no friends at all.

** Going even further with said legends, the legend of Orpheus trying to save his lover from the Underworld is treated as a tragedy, as she vanishes after he looks back, he can’t attempt to save her again, and he’s eventually killed. The legend of Izanagi and Izanami, on the other hand, is a folktale to explain the cycle of life and death, with Izanami being revealed as a monster after Izanagi looks back at her and the two basically becoming enemies as they are left feuding. These stories, in turn, play with the directions each of their stories go in, with Persona 3 being a tragedy as the main character has to sacrifice his life to protect the worldwhile in Persona 4the main character ends up discovering the “monsters” causing harm to the town of Inaba (Adachi and the Gas Station Attendant/Izanami) and fights back to stop them.
* When you first meet Adachi he's puking at the scene of a murder. Why would he, if he's the one who killed her? More than likely, it's not that she died, it's that she was even ''there''. Think about it. You just defied the laws of time and space to commit what has to be history's most perfect crime, in a place where no-one should be able to even find... only to abruptly discover that the body was ''spat back out'' onto a public street in the middle of town, where even a child can find the victim. After you were the last person not only to speak to her, but to ''touch her''. Adachi must've been certain his prints would be lifted off her.

* The inclusion of Marie in ''The Golden'' actually turns the entire Izanagi and Izanami dichotomy into more than just a Final Boss setpiece, but turns that story into an allegory for the game's entire theme. Think about it: for Shinto mythos, Izanami is very well the first example in human history of someone who averted their eyes to the truth they did not want to see, specifically of what she had become, and even lashed out violently when that truth was exposed -- ''exactly the same as Shadows the day the fog lifts in their world.'' But the Marie addition takes this one step beyond, by creating resolution for the entire legend of the two creator gods. In the case of Marie, i.e. Izanami no Mikoto, the original form of the goddess and Izanagi's wife, Izanagi[[note]]Yu[[/note]] returns to Yomi[[note]]her dungeon[[/note]] in order to save her for good, regardless of and even in the face of the monster she's become; only by accepting herself is she freed. On the flipside, in the case of Izanami no Okami, she's decidedly the rotted ruler of the underworld who swore revenge through the gradual murder of mankind, and Izanagi is returning to Yomi in order to end her threat to his progeny once and for all.

* Unlike [[VideoGame/Persona3 Yukari and Aigis]], fellow long range fighters Yukiko and Naoto sometimes stumble after missing an attack. This seems stupid at first until you realize that also unlike their ''VideoGame/Persona3'' counterparts, both Yukiko and Naoto get up close for their CriticalHit attacks and thus can stumble after missing said attacks - Yukiko makes several melee strikes with her fan at the start of her critical hit, and although Naoto doesn't kick at the enemy until the end of hers, she does walk towards the enemy while firing, making it possible for her to trip.

* It's often wondered both in and out of universe how the Investigation team got drunk from the imaginary booze in the drinks at the Pawlonia Club mall. Well notice during that scene, the first person to start acting drunk is Teddie; Teddie is a Shadow, a cognitive being, and thus it makes sense for him to be able to get drunk off of drinks that people only perceive to have alcohol. As for the rest of the team, it's been shown that if one person in a group is drunk and the others aren't, the others can still feel and act drunk due to a combination of a desire to fit in and the placebo effect.

** This is TruthInTelevision, some of the tourists who come to rustic inns like hers often ask about places where they could get drunk/laid. And the Amagi Inn's influx of entertainers will require her family to have unofficially a good deal of knowledge about such places to stay in business. Or at least keep the amount of sordid affairs to a minimum.
* In ''Persona 3'', the MC seals Nyx to prevent human nihilism, AKA Erebus from contacting Nyx, causing Nyx to grant our wish and kill us all (or something like that). Aigis decides to try to change human nature, so that this is not necessary. in ''Persona 4'' killing Izanami causes humans to stop wishing for false things. This HAD to help Aigis.
** Almost. Izanami didn't die per say, more like her physical form was destroyed, and she swore to stop intervening in human affairs. However, this doesn't invalidate the above point. Thanks to her fog and manipulation, Aigis's goal would have previously been ''impossible''. At the very least, there's now a chance at success.

* This one hit me while I was reading the Protagonist's entry on the character page. I was wondering why Kanji initially trusts and admires the Protagonist more then the other party members, but when you think about it, the Protagonist is the only other party member that knows and embraces RealMenWearPink.
* The reason Rise's breasts appeared too large when she appeared on the Midnight Channel was because her agency added several centimetres to her measurements when they released them, and the public who read this was the source of the image.

* Yosuke learns only a handful of healing spells and Chie learns only three ice spells plus Ice Boost. Teddie learns both healing spells and Ice spells. In another words, Teddie takes the skill types Chie and Yosuke give up - and he joins around the time Yosuke learns Diarama and Chie learns Bufula.
* The party only move from the Fool Arcana to the Judgement if you avoid the false answers of the bad ending, becoming real Seekers of Truth rather than foolish Investigators.
* The background music for Yomotsu Hirasaka is spelt as 回廊 in Japanese; the doors in that dungeon are square shaped, and resemble the first kanji.
* Yukiko has dark hair and pale skin, and is usually associated with the colour red. Her shadow takes the form of a princess because she's constantly waiting for a prince to come. Her name translates as "snow child". She's ''Snow White''.
* It may be pure coincidence but Yu summoning Lucifer against Ameno Sagiri turns quite meaningful when you remember that Lucifer means "light bringer".

* In ''Persona 3'', money seemed to be little object towards the end of the game, and it was quite easy to max out your money on a single playthrough. In ''Persona 4'', however, money is a lot more scarce, and even towards the end you may not have enough to really purchase everything unless you're being frugal. At first, it seems like a simple gameplay mechanic update, but in retrospect, it makes sense. S.E.E.S. is supported by the Kirijo Group, a powerful organization whom Mitsuru is part of. Lots of money can be thrown in their direction since the Dark Hour is a serious threat. The Investigation Team, however, is just a bunch of teenage students trying to solve a mystery. There's no backing or anything, much less anything like the Kirijo Group being aware of the Midnight Channel. All their stuff they have to pay for out of pocket, so it makes sense they both have less money to throw around and they can't earn as much as their ''Persona 3'' counterparts.
* When you really think about it, it's rather easy to figure out who the killer is. Out of all the main and side characters, ''Adachi's the one you know the least about''. The only real fact you know about him is that he was transferred from the city because of a screw up... And other than, that, you know nothing, and you continue to know nothing through the entire year. And until ''Golden'' came out, the fact that he isn't a Social Link despite you seeing him around in the story, should be a big tip off.

** This can be a reason why Rie voices Rise, as in some way, Rise is another side of Rie. To the fans, Rie is known as the Queen of Tsundere.

* During the fight against Kunino-Sagiri, he ends up turning your team mates against you. While fighting this boss in ''Golden'', Rise chose to raise the team's attack the exact turn after they had been turned against MC. Originally it seemed like a glitch, but then it hit me; Rise had been turned against MC too.

** Further more, why does it become the "Hunger" arcana if you don't cover up for him? Hunger for the truth.
*** Another note about the Hunger Arcana: it's numbered 11, same as Strength, but whereas Strength represents power with self-control, Hunger (aka Lust) is about abuse of that power and the feeling of bliss associated with it. Concerning how it fits Adachi, take a look at everything he got away with during the course of the game.

** Furthermore, the evolution into the Hunger Arcana also represents the bond itself. If you choose to cover up for him, the Social Link maxes out as the Jester Arcana, symbolizing the fact that you've solidified a false bond, and Adachi is smug, knowing that he's gotten away with everything. If, on the other hand, you choose to expose his crimes, then not only does it max out as the Hunger Arcana, but the story hints that Adachi might be on his way to genuinely atoning for his crimes. In other words, your once fake bond has become the real deal.
** Alternatively, the presence of the Jester Arcana can represent a bond that isn't necessarily false, but rather corrupt. By covering up for Adachi, the maxing of the Social Link as the Jester Arcana represents the fact that you chose to avert your eyes from the truth, unlike with other true bonds, which through them allow you to reach closer to the truth. Through forging a bond that reaches you closer to the truth, you have changed a person for the better and achieve resolution. However, by covering up for Adachi, you allow his weakness of character to get the better of you, and allow him to go off smugly. If you choose to expose Adachi's crimes and apprehend him, Adachi achieves resolution in his own way like the other people you forged bonds with, and undergoes character development, leading him to rethink his own ways of life, thus finding his answer to life. This is represented as the Social Link maxing as the Hunger (Lust) Arcana. Furthermore, in the Hunger Arcana route, Adachi also gives you a few subtle hints through a letter that ultimately allow you to truly reach out to the truth, and find the mastermind behind the events of the game, thereby bringing you closer to the truth, as most of your bonds do.

* Shadow Teddie's design doesn't seem very symbolic at first, compared to the others. But after you've beaten the game, you might notice something familiar about his eyes -- they're shaped like Ameno-Sagiri's eye, since Ameno-Sagiri is the one who created him, as hinted by Rise.
** You might also notice the giant cracks in his face and that they reveal nothing but black void. He's empty inside.

** One of the harder shadows selves to pin down is the first one you fight, Shadow Yosuke. As it turns out though, its design is based off of the "Frog in the Well" proverb, where a frog refuses to leave its well despite being told there are better things out there. This is meant to mirror Yosuke's feelings of entrapment within Inaba, and his desire to go back to the city. As for the figure on the frog's back, it's meant to represent a twisted version of Yosuke's ideal hero, which in itself represents the idea of him using the murders as an excuse to become a hero, thus alleviating him of his boredom.
* Why do the ''Persona 3'' mooks (and most enemy map-avatars) look like a bunch of pitch-black hands holding a mask, while the ''Persona 4'' mooks look like acid-trip balls with giant tongues? Answer: It's all based on how the people in each city LIE. At school where the battles take place, people talk and yap and push and bully and insult to create an outward appearance; a focused group effort at looking like total Jocks or Libbies. Meanwhile, in the rural television town, most of the lies come from rumors and myths; the shadows take the form of the obnoxious, big headed rumor-spreaders. Oh, and 99% of what you hear from the television is made of two things; smoke and mirrors. And the smoke comes from the wrecked sets.

* The elemental attributes of the Investigation Team's Personae pertain in someway to what each Persona was as a {{Shadow|Archetype}}.

** Another hint crops up as you progress through his dungeon. Check the dialogue boxes closely: A "female announcer" and a "corpse discoverer" are mentioned, obviously meant to be Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi, but are unnamed and "defeated". However, Mooroka is mentioned by name, and "Killed". He knows nothing about victims one and two, but explicitly knows about victim three.

* I didn't notice it before but Namatame's role in the game is a satire on criminal justice in Japan. There is a serious problem in Japan where suspects are automatically judged to be guilty whether or not they actually did the crime, purely because they were arrested on suspicion of the crime, sometimes getting the death sentence. It got so bad that Japanese TV stations have to censor the suspect's hands so viewers can't see the handcuffs which might impair their judgement. In ''Persona 4'', the Investigation Team was about to murder Namatame because the TV told them he was the culprit and half of them weren't even going to bother asking questions if it wasn't for Yu's intervention.
** It's even better when we factor Adachi into the equation. The reason why the Investigation Team didn't even consider Adachi (or Uncle Ryotaro, for that matter) as a possible suspect? Well, it's another nod to Japanese society where there is a tendency to follow authority, sometimes blindly. It's also a criticism from Atlus that Japanese people put too much trust on the authorities - resulting in Namatame's scenario and his possible end as described above - and which is made even more apparent in ''Persona 5''.
* If you romance Chie Satonaka in ''Golden'', on Valentine's Day, you get a scene with her at the beach where she goes on about how surprised she is that you chose her, when you could have had any of the other girls on the Investigation Team. This is actually LeaningOnTheFourthWall; as mentioned on the [[YMMV/{{Persona 4}} YMMV page]], Chie is the least popular romantic choice, especially of the Investigation Team options, amongst the fans. She even engages in some LampshadeHanging as to why; she's a TomboyWithAGirlyStreak, meaning she's not as conventionally feminine as [[YamatoNadeshiko Yukiko]], she's not as exotic as [[{{Bifauxnen}} Nao]][[KidDetective to]], and as for [[IdolSinger Rise]], well, she's pretty much the epitome of desirability to average Japanese guys. It's quite understandable she's so surprised by the player's interest in her, she has every reason, InUniverse, to think she's not anyone's "type".
* Kaguya Hime, the ultimate persona of the Aeon Arcana, has a very futuristic, almost metallic design... and rabbit ears. The latter seem out of place, unless you think about the origins of Kaguya Hime. Originally the main character of the famous Japanese folk story ''The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter'', Kaguya Hime is later revealed to belong to a group of celestial beings living on the moon. The designers incorporated this into her design by referencing the MoonRabbit, another famous mythical figure.

* The BigBad chooses three representatives of humanity, one for hope, one for despair, and one for emptiness. As of ''Golden'', there are also three aspects of Izanami's personality: Ameno-Sagiri, Kunino-Sagiri and Kusumi-no-Okami. Moreover, they correspond to each other: Adachi embraces Ameno-Sagiri's vision and is a key part of his plan, Kunino-Sagiri fights on behalf of Namatame in his attempt to "save" Nanako, and Kusumi-no-Okami is romantically involved with the protagonist as Marie. In this context, the ending makes a lot more sense: Marie absorbs Izanami and becomes the dominant personality corresponds to the protagonist's victory over Adachi and Nametame.
* Why does Magatsu-Izanagi have Magarudyne in its level up skill set? Well, what is its rival, Izanagi, weak to again?

* Something that bugged this troper for a long time was why do shadows counterparts try to kill their doppelgangers? In the Jungian archetype, Shadows represent the feelings denied by the ego out of shame, which tend to be very selfish, negative, and destructive toward others. For Yosuke, Chie, and Yukiko, these manifested as resentment, envy, and anger respectively. It would make sense to assume that they were just mad at being repressed and wanted to get revenge, since they lack self control and would immediately lash out with unchecked aggression. However, Kanji, Rise, and Naoto all had repressed sides that were more about the desire to be accepted for who they are, frustration that they weren't, and fears that they never would. Shadow Naoto even said that Naoto needed to accept that she was a child and there's nothing she can do about it. Why would these shadows lash out and try to kill their other selves? The brilliance part comes when you read into some of their dialogue. Shadow Chie, in the game and animation, said she'd "be the only one left standing" and that she'd "treat Yukiko very well, as her personal punching bag." During the fight with Shadow Kanji, he said that he'd "already made his decision to go through with this." Jung said that denying your shadow gives it more control over you and your actions. The shadows aren't trying to kill them out of anger or revenge. ''They're trying to take control and become the dominant personality.''

* The anime's last episode where Yu is afraid to leave Izanami's prison makes sense on a meta level. The player doesn't want the game to end, and neither does Yu.
* Literal fridge brilliance: Neither Nanako nor Dojima cook that much; Nanako knows how to make sunny-side up-eggs and salad, and Dojima knows how to buy takeout sushi. Yet every time Nanako goes shopping, there just happens to be everything you need for a specific dish, often with ingredients it seems doubtful Nanako would ever use on her own. This isn't serendipity; Nanako is passive-aggressively suggesting that you make dinner for a change. Fridge horror sets in when you realize that, oblivious to the hints, you kept fixing whatever Nanako wanted for dinner as lunch for your friends instead.
* A meta example: When the MC talks to Kanji after the fake culprit is arrested, Kanji expresses his annoyance about how the media takes apart every bit of information about Misuto and tries to make him seem like a born criminal. If you've played the game after you know who the culprit is, then you would be looking for all those hints, wouldn't you? Some of them are documented on this page!

* The TV World represents the collective unconscious of mankind, while the fog represents the illusions held by those who cannot see the truth. Initially, the TV World is bleak and filled with monsters, but as when the fog lifts, it becomes peaceful and beautiful, representing how people appear evil, but for the most part are fundamentally good - even the killer is not beyond redemption.
* The Velvet Room is a limo instead of an elevator in Persona 3. While both stop at the climax of the story, this represents how the Persona 4 protagonist has reached his destination but could return to Inaba some day, while the Persona 3 protagonist, like an elevator at the top floor, [[HeroicSacrifice can go no further]].
* How come that every time you recruit a new member to the Investigation Team, that new member is nearly as, slightly above, or the same level you are? How come Naoto starts off such a higher level than Kanji or Chie for example? They are all high school students, and their physical abilities shouldn't be so far apart from each other, so how come their Personas are? It's because that the strength of the TV-world Personas mirrors the strength of the person's real-life social persona, as in how Carl Jung describes the Persona in his psychology theories. It just so happens that each party member you get has a stronger social Persona than the last.\\

The definition of Carl Jung's theory of the Persona is that the Persona is a mask that the ego uses to interact with the outside world, while keeping the wearer safe from emotional damage and conceal the true self of the wearer. So, the Persona's strength/effectiveness is based on how well a person can interact with the outside world, while also keeping the user from getting emotionally hurt. Now look at how each member of the Investigation Team interacts with the outside world, going in chronological order.\\

Yosuke: He doesn't start off with a strong Persona. He tries to hide his pain and fear of loneliness by seeming optimistic, cheerful and funny. However, when Saki dies, he immediately drops this social Persona and becomes sad, regretful and serious for a while. In fact, when anything serious happens, he completely drops his Persona and instead faces the problem as well as he can. His Persona also doesn't help him connect with others, he basically has no real friends (with the exception of Chie), and can't get new ones because the town hates Junes for ruining the shopping district (despite them shopping there.) This isn't Yosuke's fault, and it's doubtful any Persona would help him connect to other people when they hate him for no good reason. But because of this, he hasn't developed a strong social Persona that won't collapse in stressed situations. Ultimately, this Persona fails in both protecting him emotionally, as well as helping him interact with the outside world. It's not a strong social Persona, no matter how much we might like Yosuke. \\

Chie: She has an interesting Persona, because her entire connection to the outside world and her own emotional strength revolves around her being friends with/being better than Yukiko. By being the one who protects the beautiful and popular heiress to the town's inn, as well as feeling that Yukiko isn't able to doing anything without her help, Chie can feel good about herself and believe that she is 'better' than Yukiko. Everyone likes Yukiko, so by being better than her, Chie feels very confident in who she is. By having Yukiko as a pillar of support to her self-esteem, as well as an outgoing personality that makes it pretty easy to interact with people, Chie's social Persona is actually pretty effective.\\

However, that's also why she freaks out so much when Yukiko disappears. Beside the obvious reasons, it's also because Chie needs Yukiko to have a functioning social Persona. Chie's Shadow outright states that Chie is helpless without Yukiko. Ultimately, Chie has a good social Persona, but it's also rather fragile and completely dependent on the presence of another person to work. This troper would call it effective, not sturdy.\\

Yukiko: Yukiko has practically been gifted a strong Persona by being born into a prominent family and having good looks. Her family is influential, so people respect her as the future inheritor of the inn, and people also mind their matters when speaking to her because she is the most beautiful girl in school. Because of this, Yukiko has not created her own social Persona, but had it crafted for her by circumstance. By not choosing/creating her own Persona, she clearly suffers from it. She wants to run away from home and wishes to not be the inheritor of the inn. It's a strong Persona, but she feels it doesn't fit her, as she didn't choose to 'wear' it.\\

This is also reflected in the fact that her TV-world Persona, Konohana Sakuya, is a Japanese holy tree spirit which uses fire for offensive spells. Her Persona is also inherited/pushed upon her, but she actually uses fire, something that really doesn't fit into what kind of creature/Persona it is. This reflects how her true self is rebellious and different from what the Persona represents. After she gets rescued, she tries to turn her life around, but she discovers she actually does want to inherit the inn and fill the role that was pushed upon her from birth. The difference is that now, she chose it herself. It's a strong Persona that is good at both protecting herself as well as interacting with the outside world. Yukiko is just not sure how she wants to wield it, or if she even wants to wield it at all, and thus it's not as effective for her as later characters' Personas are for them.\\

Kanji: He has made a Persona/image of himself as a tough delinquent that everybody hates, so that no one will come close enough to his heart to hurt him. Unlike Yukiko, Kanji totally owns this social Persona, as it's one he has developed for himself. It protects him from what he fears most: "being rejected", and it does this very well by making everyone hate him. This makes it so that their scorn was something he chose to cultivate, and prevents him from being hurt by someone he trusts. The problem comes when it comes to actually communicating with the outside world; this social Persona leaves him with basically no one to talk to, beside his mother and maybe the cops when they try to lecture Kanji. In actuality, it's a very self-destructive social Persona and would have eventually led him to have a very bad life, if it hadn't been for the Investigation Team.\\

When someone finally accepts him, and he has people from the outside world who actually want to communicate and interact with him, Kanji becomes a lot stronger emotionally. It's clear that he will slowly develop a new social Persona for himself over time, but as for the time-span of the game, it doesn't change. Since he now has solved what used to be the biggest problem with his original social Persona, having people that care for him, it becomes a strong social Persona that he can use proficiently, at least until he naturally develops a new one when he becomes less of a delinquent in the future.\\

Rise: Rise's problem is fascinating, because her problem isn't that she has a weak social Persona, but what social Personas she does have completely rule her life. Rise is an actor, and she is so good at taking on another role different from herself, that she slowly loses track of who she really is. When she works as an idol, she always has to wear/be different Personas to get attention from sponsors, and to simply do her job in general. Spending all her time in the studio, the producers and managers milk her for all she's worth and take up all the free time a high school girl would normally have, and because of it, she doesn't get the chance to interact with other people without her 'masks' on.\\

Rise's social Persona is incredibly strong, as she actually interacts with fans all over the country and establishes a strong connection with them. It's also good at protecting her inner self, it's just that her social Persona takes up so much space in her life that there isn't that much time she simply gets to be Rise, and not "Risette" or "the idol movie star" and so forth. That's also why her TV-world Persona takes the form of a satellite: her true self is one that searches for who she really wants to be. Because of this, it becomes a completely support oriented Persona, who has the power to search for the true selves/presences of other people. More specifically, she is probably searching for their true selves as well, as she needs hints about the person to get anywhere.\\

Rise can't fight on her own, as she just isn't meant to do so. However, she can find other's 'masks', which she can interact with and nurture. Just like how she can't be her true self because she doesn't know which Rise is really her, but can function very well with the world around her by taking on the masks she knows works in the social context she is in. Ultimately, Rise has a very strong Social Persona, she just doesn't know which one she identifies the most with.\\

That is just that: Teddie is just a Shadow. However, he was a Shadow that was curious about humans, but to pursue that fascination he needed fit in with them. Therefore, not only he put on a literal mask (and matching costume and plenty of disarming mannerisms like puns and cowardice), but he deliberately forgot his own memories of actually being a Shadow. Discarding your entire old self and adopting an entire new self, all by choice, is some big dedication. However, the mask is not perfect; Teddie spends most of the game trying to remember who he once was, and then reconciling the differences between his origins and who he is in the present.

Naoto has the strongest Persona of the whole team. For one, Naoto is completely sure of who she wants to be, and how she wants others to see her. Because of this, she can completely fit into her social Persona without having some detrimental effect to her true self, which neither Yukiko, Kanji and even Rise couldn't do. Furthermore, her role as a detective allows her to go about interacting with the outside world and her job in a completely calm and objective manner, without having to establish any lingering emotional connection to anyone she meets through it. This is ideal for Naoto's personality, and she probably couldn't find a job or social Persona that fits her better than this one.\\

Naoto's problem is while that she is very mentally stable, has a good connection to the outer world, and can keep herself from getting hurt emotionally... she feels she doesn't fit her ideal image of a detective physically. She loves this social Persona; it's everything she could ever wish for, the role of being a detective. Yet, society tells her she can't be one because she's a girl. Ironically, Naoto feels like she was born for this job, but her birth as the wrong gender makes it so she normally wouldn't be able to pursue it. Naoto doesn't hate being a girl; she hates that because she is one, society won't accept her for who her true self is. That's why she rejects her gender and tries to be male, because her true self is completely dependent on her being male for being able to do what she wants to be. The presence and friendship of the Investigation Team after she is rescued doesn't even help this aspect of Naoto, which is made clear after she decides to keep wearing the male school uniform even after everyone at school knows she's not a guy. But it's only around Yu and the Investigation Team that she feels it's fine for her to be a girl. Essentially, Naoto has a very strong Persona that couldn't fit her any more perfectly, besides the fact she is not a man, which the Investigation Team balances out by allowing her to be whoever she wants when around them. She is very balanced because of this, and has the highest level Persona because of it.\\

All in all, everyone's level is based of how strong their real life social Personas are in the game, and how well they interact with the outside world. Isn't that cool?

* In some cases, getting the items for quests from the TV might not be a bad excuse. Afterall, it could have been one of those "As Seen on TV" deals.

* There seems to be a consensus that [[IdiotBall Yu was an idiot for not sticking his hand into the TV in front of Uncle Dojima.]] Actually, if we think about it, it was most likely for the best. Firstly, Dojima would raise all sorts of questions towards the Investigation Team as to how they discovered the details of the missing people - which results in a possible risk of them being considered as the killers of Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi, and facing possible arrest. Secondly, even if they somehow managed to convince Dojima and the entire police force that they were actually trying to save people and to stop Adachi, a further risk arises in that Dojima would be worried about Yu (for a different reason) and forbid Yu from entering into the TV World. Even more, being a concerned parent and all, he probably take steps to prevent these ''obviously'' reckless teenagers way over their heads from [[NiceJobBreakingItHero pursuing the killer on their own]]. He would ask the rest of the IT member's parents/guardians to supervise them more, and now everyone in the Investigation team would be more supervised to be made sure that they don't do anything dangerous to themselves. Particularly for Yukiko and Yosuke, the former's parents would have the easy choice of having one of their inn's staff to chaperone Yukiko, while the latter's father (being a manager of Junes Department Store) would have the option to order some staff to keep an eye on the TV sets (and/or on Yosuke himself) to stop Yosuke and co. from entering through one of the [=TVs=]. The risks of the above are admittedly unknown, but it's something that the Investigation Team really would not want on top or everything else.

* Rise's Shadow Self is an AttentionWhore stripper that has a fractal mirror for a face. Her Persona, however, has a ''satellite'' for a face, extending several feet past its head. What's special about this? The fact that because of the shape of its head ''it can never look at itself''. This can be related to how Rise has grown as a person in contrast to her Shadow's traits.

* It makes sense that all of the shadow selves of the Investigation Team are in some way overly sexual or focused on their sex (Shadow Chie being a dominatrix, Shadow Yukiko trying to score a hot stud, Shadow Kanji being CampGay, Shadow Rise being a stripper, Shadow Naoto wanting a sex change operation). Shadows are the aspects of oneself that one denies or is ashamed of. Of course teenagers going through puberty would have repressed sexual desires, especially in a traditional rural town like Inaba.

* Why does Teddie have such... ''inner beauty''? Because so does the Midnight Channel--the passageway into people's hearts. Teddie was a shadow that fought for the truth, and developed a form of conventional beauty for a young man because of it. This is the same for the Shadow World once Izanami is defeated, as it becomes a beautiful and refreshing prairie.
* Out of all the Shadows, Yu's Shadow in the Animation is the weirdest in terms of appearance. Most of the Shadows' appearances can be linked to some desire or issue their originator faces, like Shadow Yukiko looking like a bird trapped in a cage it could easily escape, representing how Yukiko feels trapped in her own life. However, it makes sense as Yu's Shadows appear as a bunch of [=TVs=] with his face on them. It represents his desire to stay in the TV world if it means he won't lose his friends. Furthermore, the fact that it takes the form as a collection of things rather than as one being? It shows him using "multiple faces", which represents his status as a Wild Card being able to use multiple Personas!

* According to Dojima, Namatame couldn't willingly replicate his TV World powers when being interrogated, given that in order for someone to enter the TV World, they need to acquire a Persona or be brought in by someone who does. Although unlike Adachi who was granted Magatsu-Izanagi, Namatame's powers was likely in fact Kunino-Sagiri, who after being destroyed, probably took his powers with it.

** Solution: Adachi may have assisted Namatame indirectly with Naoto and/or Kanji by providing advice and information about the two, to mitigate such risks. As a police officer, he can share both the knowledge in how to subdue people, and prior information about Kanji and Naoto which may further help Namatame's abduction. Also, Adachi said that he had been watching Namatame's actions from the sidelines for the majority of the year (and the "occasional nudge" he mentioned can be anything, considering how Adachi turned out to be less than honest about himself). Together with the tendency of Japanese society being biased in favour of authority figures, Adachi would have an easier time [[PlausibleDeniability denying any sort of involvement]] even should things go south and Namatame gets arrested.

* Once you discover the identity of the killer, you can't help but think of all the times they just stood there, smiling with you, laughing with you, maintaining the facade of humanity. Think back on all the times they were helpful and friendly. Think of how they ''had dinner with you'', and sat directly across from you the entire time. This person casually engineered the murders of almost a dozen people, including a 7 year old girl and ''the son of a bitch just stood there '''smiling'''!'' The [[NewGamePlus second playthrough]] is all the more chilling because you know what's happening but ''can't do anything to stop it...''

* Besides it being implied in the ending, there might be another clue that the Midnight Channel has been around for a LONG time. Remember the paintings of those people on the spiral at the entrance of the Midnight Channel? It could be people who were murdered before. And this painting is there even when you first enter the Midnight Channel. This reinforces the idea that the events of the game has happened before. And by the looks of the numbers of people, it was A LOT.
** Actually, from what Mr Kondo the PE/English Teacher says, the town gets covered in fog every 50 years. Which is rather disturbing...

* At first, Yosuke's Shadow seems to be exaggerating how bored and lonely Yosuke feels deep down. Progressing his Social Link seems support this idea as well. Then you realize that the Shadow is the side we DON'T want people to see and that part of Yosuke really did just see everything as a tool to block out his pain. What makes it worse is that his Shadow tried to kill you, not because you opposed it or invaded its territory, [[AxCrazy BUT BECAUSE YOU BORED IT!]] [[ForWantOfANail Makes you wonder how badly Yosuke would've ended up if the Protagonist wasn't there.]]

*** Who says materials can only be gathered from Shadows? For all we know Teddie could have just went to a glasses shop counterpart in his world.

** Teddie can also make TV's appear to exit the TV world remember? It wouldn't be much of a stretch to say he could just magically "poof" new glasses for the investigation team to use anytime he wants.
* When Nanako is kidnapped, the Investigation Team realizes that the kidnapper is able to snatch up his victims using his deliveryman job as a cover. Naoto specifically notes that Nanako must have opened the door to him because he had often delivered to the house before, and so wasn't a stranger. And what do you think he was delivering all those times? Why, all the things that ''you'' ordered from Tanaka's Commodities. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Nice Job Getting Your Surrogate Sister Kidnapped, Hero.]]

*** Remember the night before Nanako's kidnapping? Where the deliveryman stopped by to ask where someone's house was? [[DevelopersForesight It was probably then]].

* Daidara is a man unfazed by and perfectly willing to accept requests he create bladed weapons, and eventually functioning guns, that schoolchildren can conceal under their uniforms...

* Souji's parents travel around a lot, and [[http://i51.tinypic.com/e9evs9.png the manga]] seems to confirm that there were times when he was younger and all alone in his house. How much déjà vu do you think he feels looking at Nanako?

*** Actually at risk of doing a little bit of WMG: Shadows without specific owners are just amalgamations made from desires, thoughts and emotions of the people as a whole, for example hands represent desire to steal or hoard, cops desire to abuse power etc. every time you kill a shadow you simply disperse them back into the environment. Moreover it is implied that the shadow can only be really destroyed by a direct and honest rejection. So it's not like you create another Mitsuo. It can be theorized that Izanami herself is basically an ultimate concentration of humanity's desire to lie to itself. If that's the case you are doing the world a service as those concentrations can gain the power to greatly influence the real world as a whole. Personal shadows are quite different. They are gatherings of all hidden thoughts, desires and emotions of one person; as such they are unique and quite powerful, but have limited influence on the outside world and manifest themselves fully only if the person is present in the TV world so they are possible to destroy completely because they are open to interaction with their counterpart.

* The school campout. Kanji, having his manliness and sexuality questioned by Yosuke, ends up in the girls tent area to prove his manliness. While it was not a smart move, he was not threatening anyone. Then, he got knocked out by Chie and Yukiko, no questions asked. Now, remember this is the guy who took out an entire biker gang by himself. The more you think about the amount of strength used on him, and considered it would have easily killed your average man, the more the scene reads like an attempted murder. Made even worse by the fact they are actually discussing about committing a murder because the hypothetical victim is snoring. Made more explicit in the anime.

* Not really scary or anything, but Rise remarks that she was supposed to have a gig before in the Port Island Club, but was cancelled due to a power outage. Think about that situation, and replay the Hermit boss fight from the third game.
** Or even better, remember that Rise, two years or so younger at that time, had not yet awakened to the potential even if she does have it. So enjoy the mental image of the Dark Hour coming and Rise being transfigured into a coffin like every other normal human during it.

* Not so much horrific as depressing, but in Rise's Social Link, she mentions a girl who became a fan of hers after Risette took part in an anti-bullying campaign, and that the girl has been sending Rise letters ever since telling her how she's going to try to make friends and that she won't let bullies get to her anymore. Come ''Golden'' & the new epilogues to the Investigation Team's Social Links, Rise tells the protagonist that she received another letter from that girl, telling her that she's not going to be a Risette fan anymore because [[FanHater her friends told they wouldn't be friends anymore unless she stopped liking Risette]]. The poor girl was bullied into abandoning something that clearly meant a lot to her.

* When you do the Athletes social link, you do either Kou or Daisuke depending on which team you joined and if you complete it, you help them through their problems. What that means, of course, is that one of them will be left out in the cold and will still be dealing with their problems.

* Interspersed with all the fantasy elements, the game has some pretty hefty doses of real life AdultFear.
** A well-respected local politician goes through a messy divorce that becomes a media circus and ruins his career completely, reducing him to a broken alcoholic who was enticed by the serial killer to go "save" people for his amusement while working a dead end job. All to the silent delight of the local townspeople who wants the publicity.

* What happens if you fail to save someone who was thrown into the TV World? Well, it's a game over in more ways than one. Not only is the investigation not able to continue because you failed to save someone who could've helped further it, but Namatame may have figured out that putting people into the TV World DOES kill them and that he's basically responsible for their deaths! He would likely either commit suicide, turn himself in or stop and try living with the guilt, but in any case he's no longer part of the "game" that Adachi brought forth. Taking these above ideas into account, it's also plausible that since Namatame stopped doing the kidnappings and the protagonist failed to avert a death, Izanami could've declared that Adachi won and would enact her plans to shroud the world in fog and make everyone into shadows.
** Even without that, the emotional impact of the death of another person in Inaba may be so emotionally devastating that it will push the town to an economic depression and abandonment, Yukiko's death causes the historic inn to close down from the emotional loss of their cherished daughter and the media fallout of her death. Kanji's death would have caused his aging mother to pass away from losing her son and the senior community to mourn her loss. Rise's murder would had created a media firestorm over a famous idol's death in a small town. Mitsuo's death would draw a lot of bad press of a small town killer who is a HateSink already and his room revealing to be filled with creepy stalker material causes the town to be afflicted with the reputation of hiding a twisted teen killer. Naoto's death is a loss to the Shiragane family and a police incident that causes police to be reluctant to investigate in fear of sharing the same fate and finally Namatame and Nanako's death causes the town to not only be eternally shrouded in fog but the heavy burden of losing a good politician and a Police detective's daughter that ended tragically.
* Let's suppose for a moment that the Protagonist does in fact tell Dojima about the TV World and lets say the Protagonist convinces him. Not only would Dojima likely doom the investigation by stonewalling any attempts to investigate in a misguided attempt to protect his nephew, even if he didn't there's no way he (a police detective given a solid lead on the biggest case in his career) wouldn't insist upon going into the TV World himself to help. Just try to imagine the kind of Palace and Shadow a guy like Dojima might have, who is constantly shown to be a really closed off, conflicted, and guilt-ridden person.

** Actually, there is a rather mundane explanation: spicy flavor is created not by heat but rather by a chemical within the food, such as capsaicin found in chili peppers. Now, eating too much capsaicin (roughly 6-8 grams for the average adult) in one sitting can have such [[SarcasmMode lovely]] affects such as nausea (which we see Yukiko have), vomiting, or even death. [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration Yukiko might be resistant to fire, but not to poison effects]].

*** Actually, if you spend some time thinking about it, it makes very good sense in-universe. Yu sticking his hand in [[NiceJobBreakingItHero opens up a whole new can of worms]] as stated in one of the entries for Fridge Brilliance. Firstly, Uncle Ryotaro would be even more suspicious of his involvement in the serial murders. Even should the Investigation Team successfully prove their innocence, Uncle would still be (understandably) frightened about a bunch of teenagers involving themselves in what he considers as dangerous, and he'll clamp down on Yu's investigations, all of which Naoto previously mentioned 1-2 weeks prior as the reason why she did not want Yu to show his first threat letter to Uncle Ryotaro. And Uncle Ryo can be thorough if he needs to be; most damningly, he can talk to Yosuke's parents, who in turn can check on security cameras or extra patrolling staff in the TV section of Junes Department Store.

* Mitsuo Kubo: How did he get in the TV? It's established that he never threw Morooka into the Midnight Channel, so how did he get in? He seemed to be there on his own will, what with the whole "Come find me" deal. Also established above is the fact that he can't have a Persona (or enter the TV willingly), since he had a shadow, so how did he get there in the first place?
** Said inconsistency is actually a bit of FridgeBrilliance and {{Foreshadowing}}. The real killer will later confess that Mitsuo was pushed into the TV World to throw the Investigation Team off the right trail, and so that the 'game' wouldn't come to a premature end by Mitsuo taking all the credit for the killer's crimes. Note that in P4 Ultimax, the killer helps the IT because he doesn't want Sho's actions to lead into deaths that would reopen the case, the only legacy he has. The image of Mitsuo in the Midnight Channel taunting the I.T. came from his desire for notoriety ''and'' as a result of the I.T. wanting to pin the guilt on someone and be over with the murder case. Failing to realize that the Midnight Channel pretty much shows whatever the viewers ''want'' to see can lead the player to pick the wrong choices during December's events.

** To prevent glitches if someone hacked the game to give the MC her persona. IIRC, the MC has unused voice clips for the other character's persona's for the same reason.

** Easy. Because without him, Namatame wouldn't kidnap people (he was tricked into doing it, IIRC) and throw them into the TV. And if there are no people in the TV, the player wouldn't need to save anyone from the shadows. Basically, Adachi starts the game.

* The stories told in Atlus games are usually very tight and coherent, so it was rather disappointing for this troper to realize that the murder mystery actually falls apart into nonsense towards the end. For almost the entire game you operate under the assumption that people who appear as silhouettes on the Midnight Channel are going to get thrown into a TV. Then you find out at the last minute that the Midnight Channel actually shows people that everyone in the town wants to know more about. And the fact that the first two people to appear on the Channel were also the two that were murdered is one hundred percent coincidence. Yet without that coincidence Namatame would never have gone on his kidnapping spree, and the vast majority of the game's plot would never have happened.

** To be fair there was always going to be some coincidence involved, since you'd only work out you can stick a hand into [=TVs=] in a fairly unusual set of circumstances.
** Plots, in any kind of medium, typically start, and are move forward, by coincidences. Isn't it a coincidence that the MC came to Inaba right as the murders started? Isn't it a coincidence that he went to Inaba at all instead of some other town? Isn't it a coincidence that his parents have jobs that necessitate moving around a lot in the first place? Hell, isn't it a coincidence that the parents of any of the in-game characters [[UpToEleven conceived children?!]] Random events that happen to line up in a way that happens make a story, is what makes it a story, and not just a list of events.
** We don't have any reason to believe that Mayumi was the first person to be shown on the Midnight Channel. The rumor of the Midnight Channel was obviously around long before the game started, and, rather than showing someone their "soul mate" it instead showed them people they were interested in. Given that Mayumi was embroiled in controversy at the time, most of the people in town were curious about her. That the Midnight Channel predicts the next victim was just a conclusion that the group comes to after just two examples. Beyond the second attack, it's a self fulfilling prophecy.

* Thought of this while replaying. In the opening scenes in the game, we see Protagonist having a flashback to when he was about to transfer. The entire classroom sounds disappointed so that would suggest that he's already popular. So how come he doesn't have any friends at the start (as in, what would stop him from talking to his old friends if he had any) and why are his social stats so low?
** He could have been one of those super popular people no one really knows in the end. A bunch of acquaintances who surrounded him, said they were friends but really, if the manga is to be believe, he spends all his time travelling. Why would he try to get close to people? Plus, he does quickly make friends in the end.

*** Here's a potential explanation for the Knowledge stat. In October, the team will have a group study session where Yosuke asks Naoto for study help. The latter declined, saying that she being a first year high school student, would know nothing of second year material. That's basically what happened to the main character at the start of the game.

*** Furthermore, that makes him a mirror to the killer. He himself is tailoring personality and emotion to the specific situation in order to behave for goal-oriented means instead of having a particular preferred self that is projected universally. It’s the exact same method sociopaths can use to glide into people’s lives and win their trust, swapping between fake selves and their real self as needed based on the social tasks at hand.

** could be that not the Place but the TV itself is of importance there. Could also be that the whole "same TV" theory is nonsense. Remember, they never actually tried to enter through a different TV, so they dont know if it leads elsewhere.
** It's expressly stated that jumping in from any TV could land you anywhere in the Midnight Channel which is highly dangerous. While there are fixed locations the group refuses to risk going in through any other TV ''but'' the one at Junes because they could land either in a swarm of Shadows or in a dungeon they haven't yet explored. Also, Namatame used the same TV to kidnap all his victims but they all disappeared to different places. He kidnapped Nanako at the house while the TV was now crashed down the mains street of Inaba.

* A possible case of GameplayAndStoryIntegration- why is Izanagi [[VideoGame/Persona3 (and Orpheus]], [[VideoGame/Persona5 and Arsene)]] so weak? Because Persona is the power of the heart, and "bonds are the true strength-" the point these are all received is at the start of each game, when the MC is still a blank slate with no friends at all.

* Izanai's usage of a [[BladeOnAStick naginata]] as his WeaponOfChoice makes sense when you learn that the ''Amenonuhoko'', the weapon he and Izanami used to create ''Onogoro-shima'', is exactly that; a naginata.

* Izanai's usage of a [[BladeOnAStick nagigata]] as his WeaponOfChoice makes sense when you learn that the ''Amenonuhoko'', the weapon he and Izanami used to create ''Onogoro-shima'', is exactly that; a naginata.

* Izanai's usage of a [[BladeOnAStick nagigata]] as his WeaponOfChoice makes sense when you remember that the ''Amenonuhoko'', the weapon he and Izanami used to create ''Onogoro-shima'', is exactly that; a naginata.

* Let's suppose for a moment that the Protagonist does in fact tell Dojima about the TV World and lets say the Protagonist convinices him. Not only would Dojima likely doom the investigation by stonewalling any attempts to investigate in a misguided attempt to protect his nephew, even if he didn't there's no way he wouldn't insist upon going into the TV World himself to help. Just try to imagine the kind of Palace and Shadow a guy like Dojima might have, who is constantly shown to be a really closed off, conflicted, and guilt ridden person.

Interestingly enough, this also makes him NotSoDifferent from the protagonist. Both of them are starting on rough equal terms, which certainly explains why they are able to connect so well and understand each other on a deep emotional level. In fact, in ''Persona Q2''. Yosuke reveals that he had to move quite often when he was young and so when he went to a new school, he often changed himself to fit in with the crowd. This adds another layer of similarity to him and the protagonist; additionally, it also explains why his social Persona is lacking: like the protagonist, he never had a chance to form a proper one because he never got a chance to connect with people.

** Going even further with said legends, the legend of Orpheus trying to save his lover from the Underworld is treated as a tragedy, as she vanishes after he looks back, he can’t attempt to save her again, and he’s eventually killed. The legend of Izanagi and Izanami, on the other hand, is a folktale to explain the cycle of life and death, with Izanami being revealed as a monster after Izanagi looks back at her and the two basically becoming enemies as they are left feuding. These stories, in turn, play with the directions each of their stories go in, with Persona 3 being a tragedy asthe main character has to sacrifice his life to protect the worldwhile in Persona 4the main character ends up discovering the “monsters” causing harm to the town of Inaba (Adachi and the Gas Station Attendant/Izanami) and fights back to stop them.

That is just that: Teddie is just a Shadow. However, he was a Shadow that was curious about humans, but that needed that he fit in with them. Therefore, not only he put on a literal mask (and matching costume and plenty of mannerisms), but he deliberately forgot his own past that said that he was actually a Shadow. Discarding your entire old self and adopting an entire new self, all by choice, is some big dedication. However, the mask was not perfect; Teddie spent most of the game trying to remember who he once was.

Naoto's problem is while that she is very mentally stable, has a good connection to the outer world, and can keep herself from getting hurt emotionally... she feels she doesn't fit her ideal image of a detective physically. She loves this social Persona; it's everything she could ever wish for, the role of being a detective. Yet, society tells her she can't be one because she's a girl. Ironically, Naoto feels like she was born for this job, but her birth as the wrong gender makes it so she normally wouldn't be able to pursue it. Naoto doesn't hate being a girl; she hates that because she is one, society won't accept her for who her true self is. That's why she rejects her gender and tries to be male, because her true self is completely dependent on her being male for being able to do what she wants to be. The presence and friendship of the Investigation Team after she is rescued doesn't even help this aspect of Naoto, which is made clear after she decides to keep wearing the male school uniform even after everyone st school knows she's not a guy. But it's only around Yu and the Investigation Team that she feels it's fine for her to be a girl. Essentially, Naoto has a very strong Persona that couldn't fit her any more perfectly, besides the fact she is not a man, which the Investigation Team balances out by allowing her to be whoever she wants when around them. She is very balanced because of this, and has the highest level Persona because of it.\\

* Inspired by a T-Shirt that says, "I stopped fighting my inner demons. We're on the same side now." That's pretty much exactly what a Persona is: an inner 'demon' that fights for its user. A person's Shadow is the manifestation of everything they won't admit, or in other words, their inner demons. A Shadow becomes a Persona when the user stops fighting it and accepts it. The protagonist can use SMT demons as Personae, and Persona 5 introduces SMT demons as Shadows instead of just Personae.
* There seems to be a consensus that [[IdiotBall Yu was an idiot for not sticking his hand into the TV in front of Uncle Dojima.]] Actually, if we think about it, it was most likely for the best. Firstly, Dojima would raise all sorts of questions towards the Investigation Team as to how they discovered the details of the missing people - which results in a possible risk of them being considered as the killers of Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi, and facing possible arrest. Secondly, even if they somehow managed to convince Dojima and the entire police force that they were actually trying to save people and to stop Adachi, a further risk arises in that Dojima would be worried about Yu (for a different reason) and forbid Yu from entering into the TV World. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Even more, being a concerned parent and all, he probably would ask the rest of the IT member's parents/guardians to supervise the children more, and now everyone in the Investigation team would be more supervised to be made sure that they don't do anything dangerous to themselves. Particularly for Yukiko and Yosuke, the former's parents would have the choice to ask one of their inn's staff to chaperone Yukiko, while the latter's father (being a manager of Junes Department Store) would have the option to order some staff to keep an eye on the TV sets (and/or on Yosuke himself) to stop Yosuke and co from entering through one of the [=TVs=].]] The risks of the above are admittedly unknown, but it's something that the Investigation Team really would not want on top or everything else.

* It makes sense that all of the shadow selves of the Investigation Team are in some way overly sexual or focused on their sex (Shadow Chie being a dominatrix, Shadow Yukiko trying to score a hot stud, Shadow Kanji being CampGay, Shadow Rise being a stripper, Shadow Naoto wanting a sex change operation). Shadows are the aspects of oneself that one denies or is ashamed of. Of course teenagers would have repressed sexual desires.

* Why does Teddie have such...''inner beauty''? Because so does the Midnight Channel--the passageway into people's hearts. Teddie was a shadow that fought for the truth, and developed form of conventional beauty for a young man because of it. This is the same for the Shadow World once Izanami is defeated, as it becomes a beautiful and refreshing prairie.
* Out of all the Shadows, Yu's Shadow in the Animation is the weirdest in terms of appearance. Most of the Shadows appearances can be linked to some desire or issue their originator faces, like Shadow Yukiko looking like a bird trapped in a cage it could easily escape, representing how Yukiko feels trapped in her own life. However, it makes sense as Yu's Shadows appear as a bunch of [=TVs=] with his face on them. It represents his desire to stay in the TV world if it means he won't lose his friends. Furthermore, the fact that it takes the form as a collection of things rather than as one being? It shows him using "multiple faces", which represents his status as a Wild Card being able to use multiple Personas!

** Or his guilt/conscious/realization of what he's done is just then getting to him and making him psychically ill; there's a big line between just saying life is meaningless and actually killing someone, and he was going through StressVomit.

** Speaking of Shadows, carried over from ''VideoGame/Persona3'', there's a type of enemy known as the "Lustful Snake". Its weakness? [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything Ice]]. Also, a Persona by the name of "Mara" appears frequently within Megami Tensei as a [[InnocentInnuendo certain pun on an object, even though its original history has nothing to do with said object.]] What's even weirder is that it, in this game, can naturally get "Makarakarn", [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything a move that reflects Magic]]. Now which is more controversial: this Persona (which, in this game, arrives on a cart), or shooting yourself in the head?

** Another hint crops up as you progress through his dungeon. Check the dialogue boxes closely: A "female announcer" and a "corpse discoverer" are mentioned, obviously meant to be Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi, but are unnamed and "defeated". However, Mooroka is mentioned by name, and "Killed".
* Anybody who played either part of Persona 2 should immediately pick up on something. The villain(s) for those games was The Joker. Adachi's Jester arcana is just a synonym away from being a LateArrivalSpoiler.
* I didn't notice it before but Namatame's role in the game is a satire on criminal justice in Japan. There is a serious problem in Japan where suspects are automatically judged to be guilty whether or not they actually did the crime, sometimes getting the death sentence. It got so bad that Japanese TV stations have to censor the suspect's hands so viewers can't see the handcuffs which might impair their judgement. In Persona 4, the Investigation Team was about to murder Namatame because the TV told them he was the culprit and half of them weren't even going to bother asking questions if it wasn't for Yu's intervention.
** It's even better when we factor Adachi into the equation. The reason why the Investigation Team didn't even consider Adachi (or Uncle Ryotaro, for that matter) as a possible suspect? Well, it's another nod to Japanese society where there is a tendency to follow authority, sometimes blindly. It's also a criticism from Atlus that Japanese people put too much trust on the authorities - resulting in Namatame's scenario and his possible end as described above - and which is made even more apparent in Persona 5.

* The BigBad chooses three representatives of humanity, one for hope, one for despair, and one for emptiness. As of Golden, there are also three aspects of Izanami's personality: Ameno-Sagiri, Kunino-Sagiri and Kusumi-no-Okami. Moreover, they correspond to each other: Adachi embraces Ameno-Sagiri's vision and is a key part of his plan, Kunino-Sagiri fights on behalf of Namatame in his attempt to "save" Nanako, and Kusumi-no-Okami is romantically involved with the protagonist as Marie. In this context, the ending makes a lot more sense: Marie absorbs Izanami and becomes the dominant personality corresponds to the protagonist's victory over Adachi and Nametame.

** It's no coincidence that the first few victims were related to the Yamano affair case: The affair was what brought Ms. Yamano to Adachi's attention in the first place and gave him an opportunity to get close to her by passing himself off as her police detail. The murder was what gave Adachi access to Saki. Her connection to the murder was the reason people were interested enough in Yukiko for her to be on the midnight channel.
** It's no coincidence that the victims all appeared on the midnight channel: Obviously, for all but the first two, Namatame kidnapped them because of the Midnight Channel. For the first two, the same circumstances that made people interested in them (the affair and subsequent murder) and thus made them end up on the midnight channel were the same circumstances that gave Adachi access to them.

** This also explains why Adachi's Persona is so powerful despite being the last to get it. It's an ''extensively'' effective front that has gotten him by thus far and he would've continued it like none was the wise if not the events of the game.

* While there are many evidences that (rightly) pointed Adachi as the killer who duped Namatame, there is one further point that rules out everyone else besides him.
** Problem: Nanatame somehow managed to throw Kanji and Naoto into the TV without his cover being blown, something that is very difficult to do this unassisted and/or untrained. Kanji is tall and tough and single-handedly took out an entire gang, and Naoto surely would have had some self-defense training from Grandpa Shirogane as part of her detective work. Even if Namatame managed to throw both in, there could have been a scuffle between him and Kanji/Naoto - with the risk of Namatame's identity blown and him arrested earlier.
** Solution: Adachi may have assisted Namatame indirectly with Naoto and/or Kanji by providing advice and information about the two, to mitigate such risks. As a police officer, he can share both the knowledge in how to subdue people, and prior information about Kanji and Naoto which may further help Namatame's abduction. Also, Adachi said that he had been watching Namatame's actions from the sidelines for the majority (and the "occasional nudge" he mentioned can be anything, considering how Adachi turned out to be less than honest about himself). Together with the tendency of Japanese society being biased in favour of authority figures, Adachi would have an easier time [[PlausibleDeniability denying any sort of involvement]] even should things go south and Namatame gets arrested.
* So, every character in the game has a shadow form except for the main character. Why? Because he's ''you!'' ''You'' are his shadow! (or vice-versa. Whatever). The original website even labled him as "your alter-ego". The main character is ''supposed'' to be a reflection of yourself (not that it stopped people from role-playing him however they wished).

** This is all TruthInTelevision. Most of the cases involving psychopaths and sociopaths happen because ''[[ParanoiaFuel the killer knew his victims personally]]'', likely as a family member or acquaintance, just as Adachi is a friend of Dojima's. Even if some adaptations make it clearer that [[EvenEvilHasStandards Nanako was the ONE LINE Adachi regretted crossing]], he was still planning to go forward with his plan of bringing Shadows into the real world despite this.
* To be honest the killer can literally be ''anyone'' in real life. Just imagine working hard but getting nothing in return. People pile up unrealistic expectations over you. You were treated as nothing other than a joke and everything you do gets you humiliated. And then you think that you are ''above all humans'' and should not receive that treatment; You wanted success handed to you on a silver platter. To top it all off, you were dropped into a small town with nothing to do for a mistake, just to humiliate you even more. There is no wonder that he would just go onto a murderous rampage to relieve his stress!
** Adding to that is that the possibility that Adachi was being shafted for reasons related to politics, considering what the police and the government turned out to be in Persona 5 four years later. Maybe the higher-ups wanted an excuse to get rid of Adachi for being too good at his job and overstepping an unwritten taboo against a corrupt politician?

* The reason Adachi is reassigned from the city to Inaba is, according to him, some minor screw-up. However, considering his apparent psychosis at that point, just what would he considered a "minor screw-up"?

** Of course, [[FridgeBrilliance considering the state of the town's economy,]] he's probably willing to take any request he gets, regardless of morals.

* A possible case of GameplayAndStoryIntegration- why is Izanagi [[VideoGame/Persona3 (and Orpheus]], [[VideoGame/Persona5 and Arsene)]] so weak? Because Persona is the power of the heart, and "bonds are the true strength-" at this point the MC is still a blank slate with no friends at all.

** As well as that in the Golden Animation even a small,corrupted Yu/Adachi social link powered up Magatsu Izanagi enough to easily defeat almost every one of Yu's highest level personas, ultimately portraying the power of bonds to be the strongest option... or Adachi as being so insanely powerful but usually unable to gain any more power due to rejecting friendship that even that smallest friendship gave him a wild boost to power.
** Alternatively, The reason Magatsu Izanagi is so powerful isn't because of manipulated bonds but because of Adachi selfishly drawing power from himself. Consider that while [[PlayerCharacter You]] have myriad Personas, Adachi has just one. He's eschewing bonds in favor of a self-serving mindset that makes his own Persona stronger at the cost of stunting his own potential. He's in many ways the reverse of You. You draw your power from your bonds of friendship, family and love and are endlessly versatile for it. Adachi on the other hand has ''no'' true bonds, and while his singular Persona is incredibly powerful it's ultimately all he's got.
** A third explanation could be extrapolated from a different explanation below regarding Personas and their strengths. Given how Personas are how one projects themselves, their strength is dependent on how "effective" said Persona is with dealing with others. Given how ''no one'' suspected Adachi of foul play and fooling virtually ''everyone'', that explains why his Persona is so powerful.

* When you first meet Adachi he's puking at the scene of a murder. Why would he, if he's the one who killed her? More than likely, it's not that she died, it's that she was even ''there''. Think about it. You just defied the laws of time and space to commit what has to be history's most perfect crime, in a place where no-one should be able to even find... only to abruptly discover that the body was ''spat back out'' onto a public street in the middle of town. After you were the last person not only to speak to her, but to ''touch her''. Adachi must've been certain his prints would be lifted off her.

** Or his guilt/conscious/realization of what he's done is just then getting to him and making him psychically ill.

* Unlike [[VideoGame/Persona3 Yukari and Aigis]], fellow long range fighters Yukiko and Naoto sometimes stumble after missing an attack. This seems stupid at first until you realize that also unlike their VideoGame/Persona3 counterparts, both Yukiko and Naoto get up close for their CriticalHit attacks and thus can stumble after missing said attacks - Yukiko makes several melee strikes with her fan at the start of her critical hit, and although Naoto doesn't kick at the enemy until the end of hers, she does walk towards the enemy while firing, making it possible for her to trip.
** Actually if you ever watched how every character misses, trips and falls in both P3 and P4, you would see it's because they went out of sequence in doing their Critical Hit attacks (Akihiko doing his uppercut too early, Mitsuru missing with the front kick, etc). Therefore, when Naoto trips, it's because she tried to hit with her punt-kick-the-enemy too early without softening them up first.

* The reason Rise's breasts appeared too large when she appeared on the Midnight Channel was because her agency added several centimetres to her measurements when they released them, and the public who read this them was the source of the image.
** Equally likely is that pictures of Rise were photoshopped to make her look sexier, considering this goes on in real life and it ties into the motivation for Rise quitting - It's another aspect of her life that's being faked for the cameras.

* In ''Persona 3'', money seemed to be little object towards the end of the game, and it was quite easy to max out your money on a single playthrough. In ''Persona 4'', however, money is a lot more scarce, and even towards the end you may not have enough to really purchase everything unless you're being frugal. At first, it seems like a simple gameplay mechanic update, but in retrospect, it makes sense. S.E.E.S. is supported by the Kirijo Group, a powerful organization whom Mitsuru is part of. Lots of money can be thrown in their direction since the Dark Hour is a serious threat. The Investigation Team, however, is just a bunch of teenage students trying to solve a mystery. There's no backing or anything. All their stuff they have to pay for out of pocket, so it makes sense they both have less money to throw around and they can't earn as much as their ''Persona 3'' counterparts.
* When you really think about it, it's rather easy to figure out who the killer is. Out of all the main and side characters, ''Adachi's the one you know the least about''. The only real fact you know about him is that he was transferred from the city because of a screw up... And other than, that, you know nothing. And until ''Golden'' came out, the fact that he isn't a Social Link despite you seeing him around in the story, should be a big tip off.

** Actually, Kanji can be heared screaming in pain along with Teddie and Yosuke, indicating that she probably really casted Hot Lightning (which despite the name, deals [[NonElemental Almighty damage]]).

* Why does Naoto get votes from boys ''and'' girls during the Miss Yasogami paegant? She was the only one who didn't take part in the swimsuit contest, so it's possible that a large number of the girls voted for her because she was the only one who didn't go along with Teddie's game.

** So why are both of them the very first shadows you face in Persona Q? Because the Investigation Team (from the rural town) & SEES (from the city) meet each other. It might also act as a hint that, whichever team you choose, you're not the only group of persona users to enter the Labyrinth.