History ShoutOut / Persona5

* One of the wrong answers in class to "what is the phenomenon that causes humans to believe a second hand stops moving on a clock?" is "The World", a reference to the time-stopping stand from ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure''.

* Haru's father's Shadow outfit is a cross between [[Franchise/StarWars Darth Vader]], ComicBook/DoctorDoom, and [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory Buzz Lightyear]], with some generic sci-fi bits to avoid copyrights. Furthermore, his shadow minions take the form of mini Death Stars and [[Series/DoctorWho Daleks]] with the SerialNumbersFiledOff.

** Futaba's casual winter appearance is heavily inspired by the default female Inkling in ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'', with long orange hair, a white t-shirt, black short-shorts, and oversized headphones. Her T-shirt even has an [[VisualPun ink splat]] on the front. And to top it all off, after Sojiro finally confronts Ren and Futaba about the Phantom Thieves, Morgana comments that "the chief really did have an '''inkling''' all along."

* Akechi's [[spoiler:Black Mask outfit 'greatly'' resembles the [[Manga/{{Berserk}} Berserker Armor]], especially noticeable with their helm designs. [[TheBerserker Fitting given how he fights in that form]], as well as his power to make people psychotic.]]

** Futaba's casual winter appearance is heavily inspired by the default female Inkling in ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'', with long orange hair, a white t-shirt, black [[WhoWearsShortShorts short-shorts]], and oversized headphones. Her T-shirt even has an [[VisualPun ink splat]] on the front. And to top it all off, after Sojiro finally confronts Ren and Futaba about the Phantom Thieves, Morgana comments that "the chief really did have an '''inkling''' all along."

* In ''Royal'', [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Persona5/comments/98xf0n/for_the_simpsons_fans/ one online conversation]] between the Phantom Thieves references the famous "frogurt" scene in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' Halloween special "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E5TreehouseOfHorrorIII Treehouse of Horror III]]".

* Shido's final Shadow form references Senator Steven Armstrong from ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'', another glasses and dress suit wearing ambitious politician who transforms into a giant shirtless man in dress pants with massive veiny muscles. In fact, Shido in general seems to have a notable basis from Armstrong, as a ''lot'' of their aspects can describe both of them if one leaves their names out of the description[[note]]A CorruptPolitician who wears glasses and dress suit that transforms into a giant shirtless man in dress pants with massive veiny muscles to fight the protagonist, who's a MarathonBoss that will kick the ''ever-living shit'' out of you if you're unprepared, that has extreme patriotism towards his country, and also extreme ''rage'' towards the state of his country at the present, that has ambitions of leading his country at the head of government to a new future where he decides how it progresses and eventually gracefully loses to the protagonist, acknowledges their strengths (this last one is more for Shido's Shadow than Shido himself). ''Royal'' adds an extra phase where Shido fights Joker one-on-one in an arena surrounded by fire and debris, much like the final boss arena in ''Revengeance''). Finally, both start out fighting you from a large mecha, the Chariot of the Masses for Shido and Metal Gear Excelsus for Armstrong[[/note]].

** Futaba's [[DubNameChange original]] CodeName is Navi, an abbreviation of her role as team navigator and a reference to the MissionControl in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', which similarly took the form of a glowing, floating... thing with a GenkiGirl voice that accompanies you on your explorations. Her English codename, meanwhile, along with her red hair, glasses, and non-combat nature, is a direct reference to [[ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} Barbara Gordon / Oracle]]. UnfortunateNames come into play regarding the protagonist's moniker of "Joker" and how the Batman villain tortured Barbara Gordon.

** Her leather ensemble also brings to mind ''Film/MadMax'', which is lampshaded by Ryuji's nickname "Ms. Post-Apocalyptic Raider".

* When deciding who should [[spoiler:look around the school for students who are being blackmailed by Kaneshiro]], you're granted with three dialogue options; "I'll go", "Ryuji, it's up to you", and "[[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Morgana, I choose you]]!". Doubles as an ActorAllusion--Morgana is voiced by Pikachu's VA Creator/IkueOhtani in the Japanese version.

''VideoGame/Persona5'' has a large number of references to works by creators other than Creator/{{Atlus}}.

''VideoGame/Persona5'' has a large number of references to works by creators other than Creator/{{Atlus}}:

* Checking the inventory after buying the retro game console shows it's named the Famidrive, a mash-up of the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]] and [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Mega Drive]]. The console physically resembles an American [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super Nintendo]].

* When she plays a pair in Tycoon in ''Royal'', Futaba will sometimes say "Shall I give you this pair?", a reference to an often mondegreened line from Sephiroth in ''Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren''. (The more common mondegreen is "Shall I give you dis pear?")
* In ''Royal,'' the trophy unlocked by officially forming the Phantom Thieves of Hearts is [[ComicBook/TheAvengers Phantom Thieves: Assemble.]] And to be fair, they "avenging" themselves and others in a way.

** Joker and Violet: [[Film/DancesWithWolves Dances With Thieves]]

* Movies titles you wan watch in theaters also reference other works both with their names and sound clips as you watch them:

** [[spoiler:Goro's true/ultimate Persona]] is the TricksterGod Loki from Myth/NorseMythology, a god/jotunn who alternates between helping and antagonizing the Aesir. Loki not only ties to the "stealing from the gods" motif that the others follow (one particular story involves him cutting off and stealing the hair of Thor's wife Sif), but his trouble-making ways [[TheFriendNobodyLikes make him an eyesore for the rest of the gods]], tying to the fact that the rest of the thieves [[spoiler:dislike him and suspect him being TheMole the second he joins them,]] as well as the "Gods" of Tokyo, [[spoiler:TheConspiracy also suspect him as TheMole for themselves]]. Loki was also fated to help bring about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt from the time of his birth, similar to how [[spoiler:Goro winning Yaldabaoth's "game"]] would mean the destruction of the world. Unlike how modern fiction usually depicts him as, Loki is not an inherently ''evil'' entity, only chaotic, [[spoiler:much like Akechi is not really on the side of anyone, but himself]]. Finally, Loki is often made as an analogue to {{Satan}}, further paralleling him to the [[spoiler:protagonist's own Satanael.]] [[spoiler:Akechi's third-tier Persona, Hereward (based on Hereward the Wake, a real-life figure which might have inspired the Robin Hood stories), echoes Robin Hood in its design but also takes visual cues from ComicBook/{{Batman}} instead of Superman.]]

* The most obvious reference is Ann's codename being a reference to ''Franchise/ThePinkPanther'' about a valuable diamond being stolen by a Gentleman thief aptly named "The Phantom".

* Various [=DVDs=] you can rent in Shibuya reference other works:

* In theatre movies also reference other works both with their names and sound clips as you watch them:

** "Love, Probably" is a reference to British RomCom ''Film/LoveActually''.
* The tune that plays Munehisa Iwai's shop is called "Film/LayerCake".

* The simple option would be to say Ann's codename Panther is a reference to ''Franchise/ThePinkPanther'' but the Pink Panther in that franchise was the name of a diamond and the series mascot, not any thieves involved. At the same time there is the more suitable modern [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Panthers Pink Panthers]] network of jewel thieves named after a jewel heist they pulled that emulated a theft in the second Pink Panther film.

* Iwai Munehisa, the game's ArmsDealer, is styled after Creator/JasonStatham. At one point in production, he was even wearing the clothes of Statham's character in the 2013 film ''Hummingbird''.

* Morgana's vehicle form is a cat themed Citroën H Van, and the scene this ability is shown includes a near-explicit reference to [[Anime/MyNeighborTotoro another more literal Catbus]].
** Plus, while transforming into a bus, Morgana's arm gestures are similar to the ones of [[Franchise/KamenRider Kamen Rider]].

** Futaba's [[DubNameChange original]] CodeName is Navi, an abbreviation of her role as team navigator and a reference to the MissionControl in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', which similarly took the form of a glowing, floating... thing with a GenkiGirl voice that accompanies you on your explorations. Her English codename, meanwhile, along with her red hair, glasses, and non-combat nature, is a direct reference to [[ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} Barbara Gordon / Oracle]], which makes for some rather UnfortunateNames, considering that protagonist is codenamed "Joker, " and what the Batman villain of the same moniker did to Barbra Gordon.
* The protagonist shares a moniker with the sworn enemy of the Franchise/{{Batman}}, with the protagonist being a name-it-yourself entity as well as dialogue options to craft his personality tying into the MultipleChoicePast of the clown prince of crime. This also makes for some very UnfortunateNames with Futaba Sakura aka Oracle, especially considering what the Joker did to Barabra Gordon.

* The Protagonist lives above a coffee shop named "Cafe Leblanc", a reference to Literature/ArseneLupin creator Maurice Leblanc.

* Maruki's ultimate Adam Kadmon is named for the biblical Adam. But its metallic skin, head fin, light powers and towering size actually make it a reference to the original UltraSeries hero, Ultraman. This contrasts with the Phantom Thieves being themed after various western and eastern superheroes and antagonists.

* Hifumi Togou's entire character concept as a stunningly beautiful high school-aged professional shogi player is based off of [[http://en.goodtimes.my/2017/12/22/japanese-shogi-player-manao-kagawa-acted-little-boy-grown-appearance-changed-completely-netizens-said-star-4/ the gorgeous Manao]] [[http://journal.rikunabi.com/english/students/hyper-students/column_vol35.html Kagawa]], who has been a professional shogi player since age 14.

* When Okumura runs out of enemies to throw at you and tries to summon more, the battle text reads: [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} "But nobody came..."]]

* The overall plot and themes of the game bears many similarities to ''Film/TheMatrix''. Both works feature a BadassLongcoat-wearing protagonist who leads a group of rebels in traveling between the real world and another where they have special powers in order to fight an oppressive system. The subterranean Mementos even resembles the real world from ''The Matrix'', [[spoiler:especially the Prison of Regression in the Depths of Mementos where Holy Grail draws power from the masses imprisoned there, similar to how the machines harvest energy from the humans. The UsefulNotes/{{Gnostic|ism}} themes present in the game's ending also invite comparisons between the two]]. That said, this could also be attributed to shared influences, rather than homage.

* Shido's final Shadow form references Senator Steven Armstrong from ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'', another glasses and dress suit wearing ambitious politician who transforms into a giant shirtless man in dress pants with massive veiny muscles. In fact, Shido in general seems to have a notable basis from Armstrong, as a ''lot'' of their aspects can describe both of them if one leaves their names out of the description[[note]]A CorruptPolitician who wears glasses and dress suit that transforms into a giant shirtless man in dress pants with massive veiny muscles to fight the protagonist, who's a MarathonBoss that will kick the ''ever-living shit'' out of you if you're unprepared, that has extreme patriotism towards his country, and also extreme ''rage'' towards the state of his country at the present, that has ambitions of leading his country at the head of government to a new future where he decides how it progresses and eventually gracefully loses to the protagonist, acknowledges their strengths (this last one is more for Shido's Shadow than Shido himself). ''Royal'' adds an extra phase where Shido fights Joker one-on-one in an arena surrounded by fire and debris, much like the final boss arena in ''Revengeance'')[[/note]].