History Characters / Persona5Targets

[[Characters/Persona5Confidants Confidants]] ([[Characters/Persona5SaeNiijima Sae Niijima]]) | '''Targets''' - [[Characters/Persona5PalaceRulers Palace Rulers]] / [[Characters/Persona5EndgameAntagonists Endgame Antagonists]] ([[Characters/Persona5TakutoMaruki The Dreamer]]) / [[Characters/Persona5MinorTargets Minor]] | [[Characters/Persona5OtherCharacters Other Characters]]]]-]]]

* FlatCharacter: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-Zagged.]] A lot of the Targets are so [[HateSink incredibly vile]] and [[EvilIsPetty needlessly cruel]] that there's an inherent Catharsis Factor to want them put down. However, several of the major Targets the Thieves gun for are varying degrees of AntiVillain: namely Shadow Futaba, Okumura, Sae and [[spoiler:Maruki]]. ''Royal'' introduces additional Mementos Targets that are more sympathetic than the norm, such as Ryoko Aino, a CrazyCatLady trying to save every cat she sees.

[[Characters/Persona5Confidants Confidants]] ([[Sandbox/Persona5SaeNiijima Sae Niijima]]) | '''Targets''' - [[Characters/Persona5PalaceRulers Palace Rulers]] / [[Characters/Persona5EndgameAntagonists Endgame Antagonists]] ([[Characters/Persona5TakutoMaruki The Dreamer]]) / [[Characters/Persona5MinorTargets Minor]] | [[Characters/Persona5OtherCharacters Other Characters]]]]-]]]

[[Characters/Persona5Confidants Confidants]] | '''Targets''' - [[Characters/Persona5PalaceRulers Palace Rulers]] / [[Characters/Persona5EndgameAntagonists Endgame Antagonists]] ([[Characters/Persona5TakutoMaruki The Dreamer]]) / [[Characters/Persona5MinorTargets Minor]] | [[Characters/Persona5OtherCharacters Other Characters]]]]-]]]

[[Characters/Persona5ThePhantomThievesOfHearts The Phantom Thieves of Hearts]]\\
[[Characters/Persona5Joker Joker]] | [[Characters/Persona5RyujiSakamoto Ryuji Sakamoto]] | [[Characters/Persona5Morgana Morgana]] | [[Characters/Persona5AnnTakamaki Ann Takamaki]] | [[Characters/Persona5YusukeKitagawa Yusuke Kitagawa]] | [[Characters/Persona5MakotoNiijima Makoto Niijima]] | [[Characters/Persona5FutabaSakura Futaba Sakura]] | [[Characters/Persona5HaruOkumura Haru Okumura]] | [[Characters/Persona5GoroAkechi Goro Akechi]] | [[Characters/Persona5SumireYoshizawa Kasumi Yoshizawa]]\\
[[Characters/Persona5Confidants Confidants]] | '''Targets''' - [[Characters/Persona5PalaceRulers Palace Rulers]] ([[Characters/Persona5SuguruKamoshida Asmodeus]]) / [[Characters/Persona5EndgameAntagonists Endgame Antagonists]] ([[Characters/Persona5MasayoshiShido Samael]] | [[Characters/Persona5Yaldabaoth The Treasure of Mementos]] | [[Characters/Persona5TakutoMaruki The Dreamer]]) / [[Characters/Persona5MinorTargets Minor]] | [[Characters/Persona5OtherCharacters Other Characters]]]]-]]]

[[Characters/Persona5Confidants Confidants]] | '''Targets''' - [[Characters/Persona5PalaceRulers Palace Rulers]] ([[Characters/Persona5SuguruKamoshida Asmodeus]]) / [[Characters/Persona5EndgameAntagonists Endgame Antagonists]] ([[Characters/Persona5MasayoshiShido Samael]] | [[Characters/Persona5TakutoMaruki The Dreamer]]) / [[Characters/Persona5MinorTargets Minor]] | [[Characters/Persona5OtherCharacters Other Characters]]]]-]]]

* FlatCharacter: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-Zagged.]] A lot of the Targets are so [[HateSink incredibly vile]] and [[EvilIsPetty needlessly cruel]] that there's an inherent CatharsisFactor to want them put down. However, several of the major Targets the Thieves gun for are varying degrees of AntiVillain: namely Shadow Futaba, Okumura, Sae and [[spoiler:Maruki]]. ''Royal'' introduces additional Mementos Targets that are more sympathetic than the norm, such as Ryoko Aino, a CrazyCatLady trying to save every cat she sees.

* HateSink: {{Justified|Trope}} in the case of the Shadows themselves--since Shadows ''are'' the darkest parts of humanity given life, it's expected that the Targets' Shadows would be unashamedly evil (or in the case of the Mementos Targets, generally unpleasant). However, the story goes out of its way to present a lot of the Targets in the real world [[spoiler: (ESPECIALLY Shido)]] as thoroughly reprehensible people as well, allowing the player to feel less guilt when it comes to [[HeelFaceBrainwashing stealing their heart away]].

* LaughablyEvil: The Palace-owners lean towards this, as while they do serve as very real and dangerous threats to both society and the Phantom Thieves themselves, their Shadow selves more often than not tend to expose them as [[EvilIsPetty petty]], [[EvilIsHammy over-the-top]], [[BeingEvilSucks pathetic losers]] who have [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex unbelievably fragile egos]] and [[IDidWhatIHadToDo fall back on excuse after excuse]] as to why [[SocietyIsToBlame they're as evil as they are]].

** Zigzagged. It's mostly played straight with the Palace Rulers but subverted a few times with the [[FemalesAreMoreInnocent female Palace Rulers]] [[spoiler:and the TrueFinalBoss]]. The Palace Rulers gradually become of higher social standing and influence as the Thieves progress through them with a few exceptions. The order of their jobs are: [[SadistTeacher A gym teacher who used to be a famous athlete]], [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections a famous and influential artist]], [[TheDon a Yakuza boss that extorts all of Shibuya]], [[SubvertedTrope a depressed teenage hacker]], [[CorruptCorporateExecutive the CEO of a food company that has locations all the way in Hawaii]], [[SubvertedTrope the prosecutor looking into the Phantom Thieves]], [[spoiler:a CorruptPolitician on his way to become [[PresidentEvil the Prime Minister of Japan]], [[AngelicAbomination the robotic God of Control born from humanity's collective unconscious]], and [[SuperiorSuccessor his even stronger replacement]] who used to be the [[SubvertedTrope Shujin student counselor and a cognitive psience researcher]].]] For the exceptions, Futaba requested a Change of Heart to regain the will to live, and Sae was targeted because Akechi blackmailed the Phantom Thieves into doing it, [[spoiler:both to make them look villainous and to trap them]], and the final target [[spoiler:Maruki is not truly evil, and comes from the same social background level as Kamoshida, but it is no longer relevant by the time he becomes an antagonist since he is a RealityWarper by then.]]

* LaughablyEvil: The Palace-owners lean towards this, as while they do serve as very real and dangerous threats to both society and the Phantom Thieves themselves, their Shadow selves more often than not tend to expose them as [[EvilIsPetty petty]], [[EvilIsHammy over-the-top]], [[BeingEvilSucks pathetic losers]] who have [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex unbelievably fragile egos]] and [[IDidWhatIHadToDo fall back on excuse after excuse]] as to why [[SocietyIsToBlame they're as evil as they are]].

* FlatCharacter: [[Zig-Zagging Trope Zig-Zagged.]] A lot of the Targets are so [[HateSink incredibly vile]] and [[EvilIsPetty needlessly cruel]] that there's an inherent CatharsisFactor to want them put down. However, several of the major Targets the Thieves gun for are varying degrees of AntiVillain: namely Shadow Futaba, Okumura, Sae and [[spoiler:Maruki]]. ''Royal'' introduces additional Mementos Targets that are more sympathetic than the norm, such as Ryoko Aino, a CrazyCatLady trying to save every cat she sees.

* FlatCharacter: Most of them are living justifications for the Thieves to venture into Palaces and progress through the story, in that they're often so [[HateSink incredibly vile]] and [[EvilIsPetty needlessly cruel]] that there's an inherent CatharsisFactor to want them put down. Though some are varying levels of AntiVillain, most notably Shadow Futaba, Sae, and [[spoiler:Maruki]]. ''Royal'' also introduces some Mementos Targets that are more sympathetic, such as Ryoko Aino, a CrazyCatLady trying to save every cat she sees.

* HateSink: {{Justified|Trope}} in the case of the Shadows themselves--since Shadows ''are'' the darkest parts of humanity given life, it's expected that the Targets' Shadows would be unashamedly evil (or in the case of the Mementos Targets, generally unpleasant). However, the story goes out of its way to present the mass majority of the Targets in the real world as thoroughly reprehensible people as well, allowing the player to feel less guilt when it comes to [[HeelFaceBrainwashing stealing their heart away]].

* HeelRealization: The response of most Targets to having their Treasure stolen is a sudden feeling of remorse and actively attempting to repent for their crimes. [[spoiler:The only exception is Shido who prefers to commit suicide rather than be changed... though even then, after failing, he too tries to repent for his actions.]]

** Zigzagged. It's mostly played straight with the Palace Rulers but subverted a few times with the [[FemalesAreMoreInnocent female Palace Rulers]] [[spoiler:and the TrueFinalBoss]]. The Palace Rulers gradually become of higher social standing and influence as the Thieves progress through them with a few exceptions. The order of their jobs are: [[SadistTeacher A gym teacher who used to be a famous athlete]], [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections a famous and influential artist]], [[TheDon a Yakuza boss that extorts all of Shibuya]], [[SubvertedTrope a depressed teenage hacker]], [[CorruptCorporateExecutive the CEO of a food company that has locations all the way in Hawaii]], [[SubvertedTrope The prosecutor looking into the Phantom Thieves]], [[spoiler: a CorruptPolitician on his way to become [[PresidentEvil the Prime Minister of Japan]], [[AngelicAbomination the robotic God of Control born from humanity's collective unconscious]], and [[SuperiorSuccessor his even stronger replacement]] who used to be the [[SubvertedTrope Shujin student counselor and a cognitive psience researcher]].]] For the exceptions, Futaba requested a Change of Heart to regain the will to live, and Sae was targeted because Akechi blackmailed the Phantom Thieves into doing it, [[spoiler:both to make them look villainous and to trap them]], and the final target [[spoiler:Maruki is not truly evil, and comes from the same social background level as Kamoshida, but it is no longer relevant by the time he becomes an antagonist since he is a RealityWarper by then.]]

* SlasherSmile: Most of the Palace Rulers have this expression or a PsychoticSmirk, it usually comes out when they're doing something evil. Shadow Kamoshida is particularly prone to making [[NightmareFace twisted expressions]]. This is Averted with Shadow Futaba, who never emotes, the Sphinx who is in a constant state of rage (and thus does not smile), and [[spoiler:Maruki, who according to the ''Persona 5 Royal Official Complete Guide'' was consciously designed to not make mocking or unhinged expressions so the player would feel sympathetic to him.]]

* SingleIssuePsychology: A Treasure is a distilled manifestation of what triggered the Targets' internal distortion. The majority of the Targets' distortions can be traced back to a single reaction they'd gained from a simple object that are either completely worthless to anyone else or are actually valuable objects that can be sold for a huge sum of money.

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: The Targets' tendencies to be so remorselessly cruel to unnecessary lengths only bolsters the Phantom Thieves' resolve to steal their hearts.

** Ring of Lust: ''Champion's Cup''; Summon's Kamoshida's Trophy to restore a medium amount of HP and increases Attack for one ally for 3 turns.
** Ring of Vanity: ''Bleeding Dry Brush''; An inverse of Madarame's ''Artist's Grace'', seven brush strokes forms a barrier that can absorb any one attack except Almighty.
** Ring of Gluttony: ''Vault Guardian''; Summons golden vaults to increases Defense for all allies for 3 turns.
** Ring of Wrath: ''Wings of Wisdom''; Summons the wings of The Sphinx to cure all non-special ailments for all allies.
** Ring of Greed: ''President's Insight''; Summons the Corporobos to multiply one ally's next magical attack damage by 2.5.
** Ring of Envy: ''Gambler's Foresight''; Increases Agility for all allies for 3 turns.
** Ring of Pride: ''Tyrant's Will''; Summons [[spoiler:Beast of Human Sacrifice's head]] to multiply one ally's next Physical or Gun attack damage by 2.5.
** Ring of [[spoiler:Sorrow: ''Guiding Tendril''; Summons with Azathoth's tentacles to down all foes. Only usable during preemptive attack.]]

* EmptyShell: Morgana warns Ryuji and Joker that stealing desires equates to robbing people of the pillars that hold up their world. Without those desires, they could lose the will to live. This happens to all Palace Rulers the Phantom Thieves target, although rather than killing themselves, they are just reduced into weeping husks [[spoiler:completely subservient to the masses.]] This is a part of [[spoiler:Yaldabaoth's plan seemingly as psychological warfare against the Phantom Thieves]], shown by how the people they target in Mementos actually become TheAtoner instead.

* EmptyShell: Morgana warns Ryuji and Joker that stealing desires equates to robbing people of the pillars that hold up their world. Without those desires, they could lose the will to live. [[spoiler:It happens to the Shadows of the Palace Rulers after they are defeated; they are trapped in the Depths of Mementos, content to a life of slavery.]]

*** [[spoiler:Akechi]] is the Thief, being the [[spoiler:primary hitman and spy for the Antisocial Force, who otherwise acts as a normal celebrity detective. Akechi]] operates from the shadows, [[spoiler:his metaverse outfit wears a Black Mask not unlike a Phantom Thief]] and has [[spoiler:Loki, the Norse trickster god himself as his Persona. His]] fighting style is aggressive, has a balance of magical and physical spells, and incorporates KickThemWhileTheyAreDown mechanics [[spoiler:if Loki gets upgraded to Hereward.]]

*** The final antagonist [[spoiler:Maruki]] is the Mage, having a [[spoiler:cerebral line of work as counselor and researcher. Maruki's]] appearance in battle is pretty close to a [[spoiler:standard fantasy RPG representation of a Cleric, with a shawl and holy staff. His]] fighting style is built around a PowerNullifier, elemental spells, status effects, and even the physical spell looks magical. [[spoiler:He]] also fights more exclusively [[spoiler:with his Persona Azathoth that he]] effectively becomes a SupportPartyMember for it in gameplay, not being able to attack on [[spoiler:his]] own if [[spoiler:Azathoth]] is immobilized.
* FlatCharacter: Basically, they are living justifications for the Thieves to venture into Palaces and progress through the story, in that they're all so [[HateSink incredibly vile]] and [[EvilIsPetty needlessly cruel]] that there's an inherent CatharsisFactor to want them put down.