History NightmareFuel / Persona5

* Kamoshida may just be the StarterVillain, but he's easily one of the ''vilest'' villains possible in a ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' game (or its spinoffs). He's the coach of a high school co-ed volleyball team who blatantly abuses his male athletes physically and psychologically and does the same for his female students, except he also ''sexually abuses'' them in his office. Additionally, he blackmails students he doesn't like and ends their athletic careers over petty issues, and is heavily implied to be a SerialRapist with at least one victim attempting suicide over the trauma. The guy is to the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' franchise like what [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 Chief Brian Irons]] is to ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'', both being villains who are nightmarish because they are completely ''grounded'' in a series where the heroes face the apocalypse every other game because they represent [[{{Mundanger}} the most evil actions demonstrated by everyday, mundane humans]], and [[RealismInducedHorror people like him are not uncommon in real life]].

* Kamoshida may just be the StarterVillain, but he's easily one of the ''vilest'' villains possible in a ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' game (or its spinoffs). He's the coach of a high school co-ed volleyball team who blatantly abuses his male athletes physically and psychologically and does the same for his female students, except he also ''sexually abuses'' them in his office. Additionally, he blackmails students he doesn't like and ends their athletic careers over petty issues, and is heavily implied to be a SerialRapist with at least one victim attempting suicide over the trauma. The guy is to the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' franchise like what [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 Chief Brian Irons]] is to ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'', both being villains who are nightmarish because they are completely ''grounded'' in a series where the heroes face the apocalypse every other game. The horror imposed to the characters and the player by Kamoshida is nothing short of [[{{Mundanger}} the most evil actions demonstrated by everyday, mundane humans]], and [[RealismInducedHorror people like him are not uncommon in real life]].

* Igor's [[BassoProfundo new voice]] will ''definitely'' catch you off guard if you aren't expecting it, especially with his new introduction of "Welcome to '''my''' Velvet Room". Of course, both of these things are meant to foreshadow that there is something '''''very wrong''''' going on underneath all this.

** It should be also noted that if either Akechi or the Shido Cabinet won, ''this will very likely be their fate''. The Grail doesn't even care about who wins anymore; his pawns are not getting what they think will get. While you might think that they deserved it, understand that Akechi is just hapless prey in front of the Grail, and the entire Shido cabinet suddenly writhing in pain is '''much more disturbing''' visually than in words.

* After defeating Shido and getting him to confess his crimes, the masses ''still'' want him to lead their country while completely forgetting that the Phantom Thieves even exist. Supposedly, this happens because those in authority - the remnants of the Conspiracy - are lying to the public that Shido will pull a comeback and he's just feeling "mentally unwell", and it's just so much ''easier'' for the public-at-large to believe what those in authority say, no matter how absurd or contradictory it is, [[FreedomFromChoice than it is to think for themselves and voice their own opinions]]... aside that the conspiracy lacks the resources or competence to insantly ''brainwash'' every single person in Tokyo with just propaganda, suggesting that something ''even worse'' is rearing its ugly head. Surely enough, it's the first signs of the true leader of the Conspiracy springing directly into action, having seen Joker successfully taking down the Conspiracy on the surface. It's not actually the authorities brainwashing the masses, but a literal GodOfEvil is exerting full-blown brainwashing upon the public. And the reason why he's doing this? ''[[ControlFreak Purely out of a desire to toy with Joker and the other Phantom Thieves.]]''

* After defeating Shido and getting him to confess his crimes, the masses ''still'' want him to lead their country while completely forgetting that the Phantom Thieves even exist. And the whole reason they're doing so is simply because those in authority - the remnants of the Conspiracy - are stating both these fabricated perceptions; to the public at large, it's so much ''easier'' to believe what those in authority say, no matter how absurd or contradictory it is, [[FreedomFromChoice than it is to think for themselves and voice their own opinions]]. The Phantom Thieves are rightfully disturbed when they see this reaction. The party later learns that this is something even worse - it's the first signs of the true leader of the Conspiracy rearing his ugly head and springing directly into action, having seen the protagonist had successfully took down the Conspiracy on the surface. It's not actually the authorities brainwashing the masses, but the conductor himself is exerting full-blown brainwashing upon the public. And the reason why he's doing this? ''[[ControlFreak Purely out of a desire to toy with Joker and the other Phantom Thieves.]]''

** What makes Shiho's rape even worse is that Kamoshida did it out of spite and anger. Earlier in the game, Kamoshida told Ann to come to his place after school and submit to him, promising to keep Shiho in the starting line-up in exchange, therefore giving Shiho an athletic future after graduation. When Ann failed to do so (due to the playable character convincing her not to), a cutscene is shown the next day of Mishima regretfully telling Shiho that Kamoshida would like to see her in his office. After being beaten and raped, Shiho then tries to commit suicide. Kamoshida's Shadow tells Ann that when she refused to come to his place, he took out his sexual anger and frustration on Shiho and adds that he wouldn't have done it had Ann just sexually submitted to him like he asked.

*** After you defeat him for the first time, he goes completely psychotic, [[FreakOut freaking out]] while screaming at the protagonist that he doesn't care about the BigBad's plan to begin with and just wants everyone dead. Conspiracy or Thieves? It doesn't matter, he will ruin and destroy everything. He then proceeds to summon his true persona, Loki, all while screaming and LaughingMad, complete with a SlasherSmile and EvilCostumeSwitch via his persona... and his eyes seem to be ''bloodshot'' Not to mention how as the battle goes on his screams become [[SanitySlippage more and more deranged]]. The sheer rage and madness in his voice when he loses it is terrifying, especially compared to how he acted when you first met him. And then there's what he says prior to going berserk, which is just ''chilling'':

* Kamoshida may just be the StarterVillain, but he's easily one of the ''vilest'' villains possible in a ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' game (or its spinoffs). He's the coach of a high school co-ed volleyball team who blatantly abuses his male athletes physically and psychologically and does the same for his female students, except he also ''sexually abuses'' them in his office. Additionally, he blackmails students he doesn't like and ends their athletic careers over petty issues, and is a SerialRapist with at least one victim attempting suicide over the trauma. The guy is to the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' franchise like what [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 Chief Brian Irons]] is to ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'', both being villains who are nightmarish because they are completely ''grounded'' in a series where the heroes face the apocalypse every other game. The horror imposed to the characters and the player by Kamoshida is nothing short of [[{{Mundanger}} the most evil actions demonstrated by everyday, mundane humans]], and [[RealismInducedHorror people like him are not uncommon in real life]].
** The infamous offscreen rape of Shiho that drove her into attempting suicide? The volleyball team all knew what had happened to her. According to some students that you eavesdrop on the way to school the day after the Volleyball Rally, they hear screams coming from Kamoshida's office when he's in there with a student. Oh, and a student saying that they hear other weird sounds indicates those are the sounds of sexual abuse. Additional dialogue reveals that some parents are even aware of what happens to their children, but that they turn a blind eye to it, as they believe that Kamoshida's recommendations will allow their children to have bright futures as an adult, and for the parents of daughters who had been raped, they keep silent because they fear they will face public shame and stigma if it comes out that their daughter was involved in anything sexual, even if it was against their will. Shiho's parents, while sympathetic to what their daughter endured, relocated her to another city citing this exact reason, believing that Shiho would have a better future if she moves to where no one knows what she was subjected to.

** There's an utterly horrible Mementos target in Sojiro's confidant who apparently abused Futaba by not letting her take a bath or even have a proper bed, was heavily implied to have been beaten her, and forced a debt on Sojiro for taking him away from this abusive man. His motivation was also to ''get back at Wakaba'' (his sister) because he was jealous for her talent and he wanted some gambling money. To him, Wakaba's death in the hands of Shido was the best way to get his revenge through tearing down her already depressed daughter more. Oh and the first time you meet this guy personally, he's seen trying to visibly punch Futaba only to fall into the floor and blame Sojiro for "assaulting him". In fact, he's so horrific that when you go change his heart in Mementos, Futaba asked only Joker to go with her because she does not want anyone else to know the horrible things he put her through.

** There's an utterly horrible Mementos target in Sojiro's confidant who apparently abused Futaba by not letting her take a bath or even have a proper bed, was heavily implied to have been beaten her, and forced a debt on Sojiro for taking him away from this abusive man. His motivation was also to ''get back at Wakaba'' (his sister) because he was jealous for her talent and he wanted some gambling money. To him, Wakaba's death in the hands of Shido was the best way to get his revenge through tearing down her already depressed daughter more. Oh and the first time you meet this guy personally, he's seen trying to visibly punch Futaba only to fall into the floor and blame Sojiro for "assaulting him". In fact, he's so horrific that when you go change his heart in Mementos, Futaba asked only Joker to go with her because she does not want anyone else to know the horrible things he put through him.

** The infamous offscreen rape of Shiho that drove her into attempting suicide? The volleyball team all knew what had happened to her. According to some students that you eavesdrop on the way to school the day after the Volleyball Rally, they hear screams coming from Kamoshida's office when he's in there with a student. Oh, and a student saying that they hear other weird sounds indicates those are the sounds of sexual abuse. Additional dialogue reveals that some parents are even aware of what happens to their children, but that they turn a blind eye to it, as they believe that Kamoshida's academic recommendations will allow their children to have bright futures as an adult, and for the parents of daughters who had been raped, they keep silent because they fear they will face public shame and stigma if it comes out that their daughter was involved in anything sexual, even if it was against their will. Shiho's parents, while sympathetic to what their daughter endured, relocated her to another city citing this exact reason, believing that Shiho would have a better future if she moves to where no one knows what she was subjected to.
** What makes Shiho's rape even worse is that Shadow Kamoshida did it out of spite and anger. Earlier in the game, the real Kamoshida told Ann to come to his place after school and submit to him, promising to keep Shiho in the starting line-up in exchange, therefore giving Shiho an athletic future after graduation. When Ann failed to do so (due to the playable character convincing her not to), a cutscene is shown the next day of Mishima regretfully telling Shiho that Kamoshida would like to see her in his office. After being beaten and raped, Shiho then tries to commit suicide, and Kamoshida's Shadow merely tells Ann that he wouldn't have used Shiho "in that manner" if Ann had just sexually submitted to him like he asked.

** The infamous offscreen rape of Shiho that drove her into attempting suicide? The volleyball team all knew what had happened to her. According to some students that you eavesdrop on the way to school the day after the Volleyball Rally, they hear screams coming from Kamoshida's office when he's in there with a student. Oh, and the student saying it implies that there are other weird sounds, which implies those are the sounds of sexual abuse. Additional dialogue reveals that some parents are even aware of what happens to their children, but that they turn a blind eye to it, as they believe that Kamoshida's academic recommendations will allow their children to have bright futures as an adult, and for the parents of daughters who had been raped, they keep silent because they fear they will face public shame and stigma if it comes out that their daughter was involved in anything sexual, even if it was against their will. Shiho's parents, while sympathetic to what their daughter endured, relocated her to another city citing this exact reason, believing that Shiho would have a better future if she moves to where no one knows what she was subjected to.

** The infamous offscreen rape of Shiho that drove her into committing suicide? It's ''not'' the first time something like that happened. According to some students that you eavesdrop on the way to school the day after the Volleyball Rally, it's implied that when he abuses a student in his office, you can hear them scream when you're near it. Oh, and the student saying it implies that there are other weird sounds, hinting that they might be ''raped''. Additional dialogue reveals that some parents are even aware of what happens to their children, but that they turn a blind eye to it, as they believe that Kamoshida's academic recommendations will allow their children to have bright futures as an adult, and for the parents of daughters who had been raped, they keep silent because they fear they will face public shame and stigma if it comes out that their daughter was involved in anything sexual, even if it was against their will. Shiho's parents, while sympathetic to what their daughter endured, relocated her to another city citing this exact reason, believing that Shiho would have a better future if she moves to where no one knows what she was subjected to.

* Kamoshida may just be the StarterVillain, but he's easily one of the ''vilest'' villains possible in a ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' game (or its spinoffs). He blatantly abuses his male athletes physically and psychologically and does the same for his female students, except he also ''sexually abuses'' them. Additionally, he blackmails students he doesn't like and ends their athletic careers over petty issues, and is a SerialRapist with at least one victim attempting suicide over the trauma. The guy is to the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' franchise like what [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 Chief Brian Irons]] is to ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'', both being villains who are nightmarish because they are completely ''grounded'' in a series where the heroes face the apocalypse every other game. The horror imposed to the characters and the player by Kamoshida is nothing short of [[{{Mundanger}} the most evil actions demonstrated by everyday, mundane humans]], and [[RealismInducedHorror people like him are not uncommon in real life]].
** The infamous offscreen rape of Shiho that drove her into committing suicide? It's ''not'' the first time something like that happened. According to some students that you eavesdrop on the way to school the day after the Volleyball Rally, it's implied that when he abuses a student in his office, you can hear them scream when you're near it. Oh, and the student saying it implies that there are other weird sounds, hinting that they might be ''raped''. Additional dialogue reveals that some parents are even aware of what happens to their daughters but a, believe that Kamoshida's recommendation will allow their children to have bright futures as an adult, and b, that they will face public shame and stigma if it comes out that their daughter was involved in anything sexual, even if it was against their will.
** What makes Shiho's rape even worse is that Shadow Kamoshida blames it on Ann; earlier in the game, the real Kamoshida told Ann to come to his place after school and submit to him, promising to keep Shiho in the starting line-up in exchange, therefore giving Shiho an athletic future after graduation. When Ann failed to do so (due to the playable character convincing her not to), a cutscene is shown the next day of Mishima regretfully telling Shiho that Kamoshida would like to see her in his office. After being beaten and raped, Shiho then tries to commit suicide, and Kamoshida's Shadow merely tells Ann that he wouldn't have used Shiho "in that manner" if Ann had just sexually submitted to him like he asked.

* We [[NothingIsScarier never see Okumura's cognition of his daughter]]. Morgana has a few theories as to why this might be, but comments that Haru probably wouldn't like them. The most obvious answer is that Haru just isn't important to him. What matters to him is what Haru can get him - namely, political power through an arranged marriage to the aforementioned sexual predator. That's why he gets a cognition and she doesn't. The fact that the deadline states "days until Haru is ''[[MadeASlave sold off]]''" (the Japanese version even flat out saying her ''[[SexSlave body]]'' being sold) implies that even the team are well aware of the horrible fate that awaits her.

* Failing Kaneshiro's palace takes the results of your potential failure to even greater heights than with the previous two palaces: failing that dungeon will lead to Makoto being ''kidnapped, drugged, raped and pimped out as a SexSlave'' before thankfully being found by the police, where her delirious muttering of ''your name'' gives the police enough reason to incarcerate you, believing that you were the one who made her this way. Jesus Christ... and for even [[SarcasmMode more fun]], this Bad End becomes even ''worse'' when you realize the potential implications of it: imagine being in Makoto's shoes: you are kidnapped in the middle of the night, drugged, raped repeatedly by several unknown men, and no matter how much you cry out for your friends or CoolBigSis to save you, ''they aren't coming to rescue you.'' Thankfully for Makoto's sanity, this scenario never actually happened, but it's still horrific, because it could've ''very well have'' had Joker and co. failed to take Kaneshiro's heart. This isn't just the product of Joker's drug-addled mind, either; Kaneshiro's Shadow makes it ''abundantly clear'' what he's going to do if the Thieves screw up, indulging in EvilGloating about how he'll [[BreakTheCutie break Makoto]] and [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty make Sae his personal slave]], making it a ''very'' possible consequence if you missed the deadline. Thankfully, this ''is'' just the product of Joker's addled mind.

* In Okumura and Sae's Bad Endings, the police receive a tip that identifies the protagonist as the ringleader of the Phantom Thieves, leading to his arrest. It's heavily implied it comes from Akechi, as he was present when the Phantom Thieves first entered Okumura's Palace and was part of the team during their venture into Sae's Palace. Even worse, the Bad Ending for Okumura leaves Haru to deal with an arranged marriage to a potential domestic abuser.

* Kamoshida may just be the StarterVillain, but he's easily one of the ''vilest'' villains possible in a ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' game (or its spinoffs). He blatantly abuses his athletes physically, psychologically ''and'' sexually, blackmails students he doesn't like and ends their athletic careers over petty issues, and is implied to be a SerialRapist with at least one victim attempting suicide over the trauma. The guy is to the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' franchise like what [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 Chief Brian Irons]] is to ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'', both being villains who are nightmarish because they are completely ''grounded'' in a series where the heroes face the apocalypse every other game. The horror imposed to the characters and the player by Kamoshida is nothing short of [[{{Mundanger}} the most evil actions demonstrated by everyday, mundane humans]], and [[RealismInducedHorror people like him are not uncommon in real life]].
** The infamous offscreen molestation of Shiho that drove her into committing suicide? It's implied that's likely ''not'' the first time something like that happened. According to some students that you eavesdrop on the way to school the day after the Volleyball Rally, it's implied that when he abuses a student in his office, you can hear them scream when you're near it. Oh, and the student saying it implies that there are other weird sounds, hinting that they might be ''raped''.

** The last Mementos request you get that isn't tied to a Confidant is for Shiro Asakura, a corrupt idol manager who is by far the most wretched of your non-storyline targets, putting some of the Palace rulers to shame. How, you ask? He's been molesting his charges, succeeding where Kamoshida failed for god knows how long. His Shadow's transformation only reinforces the heinousness of his crimes, as he turns into none other than ''[[{{Squick}} Mara]].'' You may find yourself thinking how the hell this guy didn't create a Palace of his own by the time you beat him into submission. In fact, he's the only Mementos target with an S rank![[note]]''[[UpdatedRerelease Royal]]'' downgrades him to an A rank[[/note]]
*** An easy-to-miss fact about this man: ''[[DevilInPlainSight you can find him in the overworld]]''. Unlike [[StalkerWithACrush Yumeko]] [[{{Yandere}} Mogami]] and [[RetiredMonster Yohei]] [[JekyllAndHyde Kiritani]], who are [[ObviouslyEvil very much out of place]] in the locations you find them, Asakura is just one of many sleazy men in Shinjuku. This means the player isn't going to blink twice when they see him talking up a woman who's interested in a potential singing career. You can walk past the two for months on end while visiting Confidants, yet it's only when the woman runs away from him in humiliation that Mishima gives you the quest to hunt him down.

* The new Bad Ending for accepting Maruki's ideal world is the epitome of DissonantSerenity. It seems like a GoldenEnding at first and would be easily so in any other context. In actuality, this is that ''VideoGame/Persona3'' sort of bad ending where something is ''eerily wrong'' taking the context in mind. It's not even that different, aside that instead of buying everyone one more month of peace before everything gets utterly obliterated, everyone gets to live forever, as in ''forever'' devoid of the trauma required for them to undergo CharacterDevelopment. They all become nothing, as they don't actually feel anything but happiness and are technically still alive, but they no longer feel pain, terror or suffering, nor do they have any potential to move forward or have any sort of development, effectively making them spiritual husks that aren't different from being dead. To put, Morgana is now a human and dating Ann, Shiho has became a volleyball ace and returned to being close friends with Ann as Kamoshida was out of the picture, Madarame reconciles with Yusuke and becomes a kind mentor rather than a fraudulent hack, Makoto's Father was back alive and thus Sae no longer needs to raise her alone, reconciling their one-strained relationship, Futaba will be attending Shujin Academy during the next school year and her family is back, Okumura is BackFromTheDead and is the caring father Haru considered him as, Sumire outright ''becomes'' Kasumi Yoshizawa as she wishes in her depressed and unstable mental state, Sojiro offers Joker to take over Cafe Leblanc when he graduates from high school, and Akechi is unambiguously alive and is best friends with the other Phantom Thieves...but just like Aigis on the promised day where Nyx kills everyone with all of them no longer remembering that a certain death is around the corner, Joker is the only one seemingly devoid of RippleEffectProofMemory and is aware that everything is too good to be true. In fact, he's [[https://imgur.com/Uh5o2dk not even smiling]] in the photo that Maruki takes for the Phantom Thieves, seems to express remorse that Sumire's true self is dead after she walks past him and everybody no longer recognizes him. On top of all of this, Mementos fuses with reality to make everyone's wholesome desires come true with Maruki himself being reduced into a nameless man. The true meaning of the ending is that not only you had failed the spirit of the Phantom Thieves, you had doomed people to eternal stagnation and nobody can or will do anything against it.

** While Wakaba's death is [[KilledOffscreen completely offscreen]] (and it's better off that way), she didn't simply run into traffic right when she was crossing the road with Futaba. If the other Mental Shutdown victims were to go by, she dies ''gruesomely''. It's likely that her eyes are rolled back, black liquid spilled from her mouth and she's in excruciating pain as she mindlessly throws herself to be ran over by a car. All the while when a ''thirteen year-old'' Futaba watches the grisly scene happen right in front of her, and later gets viciously blamed for it because of a false suicide note. Is there any wonder Futaba is traumatized enough that she generates a ''literal Palace''?

** When you walk into his Cruiser Palace, it turns out he's somehow become so close to four fellow conspirators that their cognitive versions have been replaced by true Shadow Selves... and then his conversations with them after you mean them heavily implies that he plans to ''[[EtTuBrute kill them anyway]]'' as soon as [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness they are either of no use]], or [[TheDogBitesBack have displayed themselves to be anything but his mere bootlickers]] even by the slightest bit. Non-issues or fleeting issues in his way, such as competing premiership with him or half-hearted intents to rat him out irritate him enough to kill people within his circle. To say nothing of Akechi, who was basically the only person who was even halfway competent in his arsenal; [[note]]"halfway competent" is actually an understatement considering that Akechi is one of ''the'' most competent characters in the game![[/note]] Shido plans to kill the younger man once he becomes Prime Minister because he already knows the guy was never an obedient lapdog from the start, even if he was the ''de facto'' asset to his path of conquest. It doesn't matter if you're his best friend, his backer, or even his only useful minion, the moment that you have served your purpose and/or he sees you as someone even remotely capable of disloyalty, Shido will toss you aside to keep as few loose ends around as possible.

* The OneWingedAngel form that Sae Niijima's Shadow takes on in its boss fight. Unlike the previous demons (a comical long-tongued devil, a man hiding behind a [[SpookyPainting series of paintings]], and a comical, rapping [[BigCreepyCrawlies fly man]]), Leviathan is a giant BlackKnight wearing spiked armor and wielding a combination rocket launcher/tommy gun/bazooka/etc. in its right hand and a huge, rusty, bloodstained sword in its left that would put [[VideoGame/SilentHill2 Pyramid Head's]] to shame. See Leviathan [[http://imgur.com/a/RLS8z here]]. Her voice becoming even more distorted doesn't help matters either.

* The OneWingedAngel form that Sae Niijima's Shadow takes on in its boss fight. Unlike the previous demons (a comical long-tongued devil, a [[SpookyPainting series of paintings]], and a [[BigCreepyCrawlies fly man]]), Leviathan is a giant BlackKnight wearing spiked armor and wielding a combination rocket launcher/tommy gun/bazooka/etc. in its right hand and a huge, rusty, bloodstained sword in its left that would put [[VideoGame/SilentHill2 Pyramid Head's]] to shame. See Leviathan [[http://imgur.com/a/RLS8z here]]. Her voice becoming even more distorted doesn't help matters either.

** Take note Akechi's voice in this ending, namely the fact that it sounds ''nothing'' like Akechi. It's not his 'fake-nice' performance from earlier in the game; it's just an... unexpectedly nice voice, to match his personality in this world. As if it isn't just Sumire's personality that you murdered for real...

* The new Bad Ending for accepting Maruki's ideal world is the epitome of DissonantSerenity. It seems like a GoldenEnding at first and would be easily so in any other context. In actuality, this is that ''VideoGame/Persona3'' sort of bad ending where something is ''eerily wrong'' taking the context in mind. It's not even that different, aside that instead of buying everyone one more month of peace before everything gets utterly obliterated, everyone gets to live forever, as in ''forever'' devoid of the trauma required for them to undergo CharacterDevelopment. They all become nothing, as they don't actually feel anything but happiness and are technically still alive, but they no longer feel pain, terror or suffering, nor do they have any potential to move forward or have any sort of development, effectively making them spiritual husks that aren't different from being dead. To put, Morgana is now a human and dating Ann, Shiho has became a volleyball ace and returned to being close friends with Ann as Kamoshida was out of the picture, Madarame reconciles with Yusuke and becomes a kind mentor rather than a fraudulent hack, Makoto's Father was back alive and thus Sae no longer needs to raise her alone, reconciling their one-strained relationship, Futaba will be attending Shujin Academy during the next school year and her family is back, Okumura is BackFromTheDead and is the caring father Haru considered him as, Sumire outright ''becomes'' Kasumi Yoshizawa as she wishes in her depressed and unstable mental state, Sojiro offers Joker to take over Cafe Leblanc when he graduates from high school, and Akechi is unambiguously alive and is best friends with the other Phantom Thieves...but just like Aigis on the promised day where Nyx kills everyone with everyone being none the wiser, Joker is the only one seemingly devoid of RippleEffectProofMemory and is aware that everything is too good to be true. In fact, he's [[https://imgur.com/Uh5o2dk not even smiling]] in the photo that Maruki takes for the Phantom Thieves, seems to express remorse that Sumire's true self is dead after she walks past him and everybody no longer recognizes him. On top of all of this, Mementos fuses with reality to make everyone's wholesome desires come true with Maruki being reduced into a nameless man. The true meaning of the ending is that not only you had failed the spirit of the Phantom Thieves, you had doomed people to eternal stagnation and nobody can or will do anything against it.

* The new Bad Ending for accepting Maruki's ideal world is the epitome of DissonantSerenity. It seems like a GoldenEnding at first and would be easily so in any other context. In actuality, this is that ''VideoGame/Persona3'' sort of bad ending where something is ''eerily wrong'' taking the context in mind. It's not even that different, aside that instead of buying everyone one more month of peace before everything gets utterly obliterated, everyone gets to live forever, as in ''forever'' devoid of the trauma required for them to undergo CharacterDevelopment. They all become nothing, as they don't actually feel anything but happiness and are technically still alive, but they no longer feel pain, terror or suffering, nor do they have any potential to move forward or have any sort of development, effectively making them spiritual husks that aren't different from being dead. To put, Morgana is now a human and dating Ann, Shiho has became a volleyball ace and returned to being close friends with Ann as Kamoshida was out of the picture, Madarame reconciles with Yusuke and becomes a kind mentor rather than a fraudulent hack, Makoto's Father was back alive and thus Sae no longer needs to raise her alone, reconciling their one-strained relationship, Futaba will be attending Shujin Academy during the next school year and her family is back, Okumura is BackFromTheDead and is the caring father Haru considered him as, Sumire outright ''becomes'' Kasumi Yoshizawa as she wishes in her depressed and unstable mental state, Sojiro offers Joker to take over Cafe Leblanc when he graduates from high school, and Akechi is unambiguously alive and is best friends with the other Phantom Thieves...but just like Aigis on the promised day where Nyx kills everyone with everyone being none the wiser, Joker is seemingly devoid of RippleEffectProofMemory, is aware that everything is too good to be true. In fact, he's [[https://imgur.com/Uh5o2dk not even smiling]] in the photo that Maruki takes for the Phantom Thieves, seems to express remorse that Sumire's true self is dead after she walks past him and everybody no longer recognizes him. On top of all of this, Mementos fuses with reality to make everyone's wholesome desires come true with Maruki being reduced into a nameless man. The true meaning of the ending is that not only you had failed the spirit of the Phantom Thieves, you had agreed with the creation of an unremovable Mementos in the real world and doomed people to eternal stagnation.

** Oh and the manipulation with Sumire is just a ''warning''. In other words, Maruki can do ''much worse'' than this if he were truly evil. However...
* [[AntiVillain Maruki isn't evil at all.]] It was later revealed that his Persona was originally just an invisible mechanism that he can't even activate on his own volition, but only on very specific situations such as Sumire or Rumi where someone can't possibly get away from the trauma on their own. It's not until Shido placing an embargo on his cognitive psience research career - combined with Yaldabaoth advancing his plans to rig society against the Thieves - caused him to awaken his persona's true power and turning him into the DarkMessiah he is in the Third Term.

* The new Bad Ending for accepting Maruki's ideal world is the epitome DissonantSerenity. It seems like a good ending at first -- Akechi is unambiguously alive and is best friends with the other Phantom Thieves; Futaba will be attending Shujin Academy during the next school year, with Morgana and Yusuke considering attending as well; and Sojiro offers Joker to take over Cafe Leblanc when he graduates from high school. However, only Joker is aware that everything is too good to be true, and seems to express remorse that Sumire's true self is dead after she walks past him. In fact, he's [[https://imgur.com/Uh5o2dk not even smiling]] in the photo that Maruki takes for the Phantom Thieves. Not only you had failed the spirit of the Phantom Thieves, you had agreed with the creation of an unremovable Mementos in the real world and doomed people to eternal stagnation.
** Perhaps the ending itself is also contextually not very different from outright nihilism, since the former Phantom Thieves bar the protagonist had now became ''nothing''; they don't actually feel anything but happiness and are technically still alive, but they no longer feel pain, terror or suffering, nor do they have any potential to move forward or have any sort of development, effectively making them spiritual husks that aren't different from being dead.
** The reversion of Sumire into "Kasumi" has [[FridgeHorror much, more severe consequences]] behind it. In this instance, Sumire isn't only brainwashed into thinking that she is Kasumi, she ''is'' Kasumi with all of her abilities and talent, and none of her holes that exist within the fake Kasumi are there anymore. In other words, by accepting Maruki's reality, you [[KilledOffForReal murdered Sumire for real]].

** Take note of Creator/RobbieDaymond's performance as Akechi in this scene, namely the fact that it sounds ''nothing'' like Akechi. It's not his 'fake-nice' performance from earlier in the game; it's just an... unexpectedly nice voice, to match his personality in this world. As if it isn't just Sumire's personality that you murdered for real...
** The final snapshot for this ending [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/5/59/Finale.png/revision/latest?cb=20200516152038 seems perfectly normal at first]]... until you look at Joker and Akechi. They're looking at you. Yes, you. '''''[[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou They know that this is a bad ending, and they know that you are probably aware of what's going on]]'''''. [[AndIMustScream And all they can do is look knowingly at you]]... When played in the ending itself, this snapshot also fades in a way as if it's burning from the protagonist, Akechi and Sumire's direction, further proving that you have unleashed what amounts to nothing short of The Fall 2.0. [[note]]The bad ending from ''Persona 3'' where you agree to kill Ryoji/Nyx, and thus carry out the Fall, which also involves a similar post-credits where the protagonist and his friends can be seen having fun in the karaoke before the scene freezes and fades to black.[[/note]]

** While Wakaba's death is [[KilledOffscreen completely offscreen]] (and it's better off that way), she didn't simply run into traffic right when she was crossing the road with Futaba. If the other Mental Shutdown victims were to go by, she dies ''gruesomely''. It's likely that her eyes are rolled back, black liquid spilled from her mouth and she's in excruciating pain as she mindlessly throws herself to be ran over by a car. All the while when a ''thirteen year-old'' Futaba watches the grisly scene happen right in front of her. Is there any wonder Futaba is traumatized enough that she generates a ''literal Palace''?

----> "I just realized how much it makes sense that Shujin Academy, [[SuckySchool the ones who half ass literally everything that involves their students]] and couldn't care less about their wellbeing, would hire a researcher as the councilor. Ya know, instead of a licensed and practiced one. Those probably cost a lot more money than a researcher."

* While the on-screen victims [[AssholeVictim arguably more-or-less deserved it]], the Mental Shutdown deaths are still horrifying to watch. Wakaba's unseen death is just as bad, considering it's clear that she died in the ''exact same manner'' as said on-screen victims.