Characters / Persona: The Sougawa Files

A list of characters in the Persona fanfic, Persona: The Sougawa Files. For canon characters, only list tropes that appear in the fic.

WARNING: All spoilers are unmarked.

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The Freedom Fighters

A group of people who battle against the Shadow epidemic spreading through Sougawa.

In General

• Achilles' Heel: All of their Personas (except Tamiko's) have weaknesses.
  • Rina's weaknesses vary, but Gilgamesh is weak to fire.
  • Hikaru is weak to ice.
  • Izumi is weak to electricity.
  • Wilma is weak to wind.
  • Ryouichi is weak to nuclear.
  • Kazuki is weak to light.
  • Arata is weak to darkness.
• Action Girl: Rina, Izumi, and Wilma. Heck, Tamiko even gets in on the action sometimes.
• Badass Crew: Hell yes. They slay Shadows together and even go after the biggest crime lord in the city.
• Beneath the Mask: Of course; it's Persona. All of the characters have a hidden side of themselves, which even causes Arata's Shadow to pop up.
  • Rina puts on an elegant and polite face, and is generally closed off, but deep down she's very warm and caring, especially to her friends. She also seems well put together, when in reality she struggles with accepting that she has flaws.
  • Hikaru acts like a dorky, heroic goofball, but in reality is rather jaded with his boring life and feels chained down by the limitations reality puts on him.
  • Izumi seems confident and brash, but is actually rather unsure of herself and how much she can do for her friends.
  • Wilma is shy and seemingly weak, but deep down wants to be strong and is passionate about her friends.
  • Ryouichi seems totally unshakable, but actually hides a comically serious side and a lot of anger issues.
  • Tamiko looks like just a goofy Chuunibyou, but is actually a brilliant manipulator and it's implied she's a lot sadder than she lets on.
  • Kazuki is the perfect picture of a gentleman who seems like he doesn't have a care in the world, but he has a strong sense of justice and an independent nature.
  • Arata acts like the perfect butler, but is a lot more casual and even snarky when with friends.
• Birds of a Feather: All of them bond together out of wanting to break free of problems throughout their lives. Rina wants to break free of her prejudiced status, Hikaru wants to break free of reality's limitations on him being a hero, Izumi wants to break free of her physical limitations, and so on.
• Bond One-Liner: Along the lines of Persona 5, they all have All-Out Attack phrases, posted on Arsene's Tumblr - besides Tamiko.
  Rina: YOUR DOWNFALL WAS INEVITABLE
  Hikaru: THE HERO WINS AGAIN!
  Izumi: STOP FOR NO ONE
  Wilma: I DID MY BEST
  Ryouichi: CRUSHED AND BROKEN
  Kazuki: LET THE BLOOD FLOW
  Arata: I LIVE TO SERVE
• Combat Pragmatist: All of them tend to fall under this at some point, using more than just their Personas to get through fights and taking whatever edge they can get.
• Combination Attack: They do All-Out Attacks together to finish off certain Shadows, though they're not explicitly called such.
• Dark and Troubled Past: While not as bad as The Phantom Thieves of Hearts, all of them don't have particularly comfortable lives.
  • Rina's parents passed away when she was young, and she was transferred to an orphanage. However, things didn't get better there, as almost everyone judged her for her wealth and status and tried to mooch off her, leaving her jaded with people as a whole and desperately seeking some sort of way out. It's only when her sister adopts her that she finally gets her prayers answered.
  • Hikaru's old girlfriend died in a fire, and when Hikaru tried to carry on her heroic tendencies, his parents didn't support him. He spent a long time hating himself because he thought he was unable to save her and that Izumi was just hanging out with him because of her.
  • Izumi probably has it the best out of the Freedom Fighters, but her old coach still passed away from cancer - and even on his deathbed, he was pushing her to exceed her limits.
  • Wilma is so lacking in confidence because she wasn't supposed to win the trip to Sougawa at her old school, but the winner got sick, so she ended up going and felt like everyone resented her because she wasn't the "real" first place winner.
  • Ryouichi's mother was caught having an affair, and abandoned her husband. This led to him distancing himself from Ryouichi out of grief, leading to a lot of pent-up anger issues and Ryouichi growing up with no friends besides Tamiko.
  • Tamiko's parents were overly religious and didn't support Tamiko's fascination with the occult, which led to them burning her studies. No wonder Tamiko abandoned them as soon as she could. But even with that, Ryouichi was her only real friend when she grew up.
  • Kazuki found out that the members of his beloved theater troupe were criminals, but couldn't sell them out to the police or he would lose his dream job. Furthermore, while his parents haven't come up, it's not a good look when they're nowhere to be seen - and he's implied to have a Friendless Background on top of that.
  • Arata never knew his biological parents. Nobuyuki took him in as one of his own, and trained him to be an assassin from birth. He never really grew up with any friends as a result.
• Elemental Powers: Each of their Personas (except Tamiko) specialize in particular elements, with Kazuki specializing in two.
  • While Rina can technically use every element, Gilgamesh is her primary Persona and uses Bufu spells.
  • Hikaru uses Agi spells.
  • Izumi uses Frei spells.
  • Wilma uses Zio spells.
  • Ryouichi uses Garu spells.
  • Kazuki uses both Eiha/Mudo and Psy spells.
  • Arata uses Kouha/Hama spells.
• Escapism: As one of the themes of the fanfiction, it's obvious enough everyone uses this to escape from the problems of their lives. It's most notable for Hikaru - it's the focus of his Social Link.
• Gender-Equal Ensemble: Four girls (Rina, Izumi, Wilma, and Tamiko) and four guys (Hikaru, Ryouichi, Kazuki, and Arata).
• Good Is Not Soft: All of them are genuinely good people who always try to reason with the Shadow Selves, even midfight. However, against the Shadow Syndicate, a group full of genuinely evil people, all of that drops completely, and they don't hold back in the slightest.
• Invisible Parents: The only parent actually seen onscreen is Ryouichi's father, Nori Fukui. Though it also depends on if you count Nobuyuki as Arata's father.
• It's Personal: After Nobuyuki personally attacks Rina's home and sister, the Freedom Fighters decide they have to take him down.
• Jumped at the Call: A number of the Fighters display this. When they get Personas, they pretty much go right into the business. Hikaru, Ryouichi, and Tamiko are the standout examples.
• Ordinary High-School Student: All of them are just high schoolers.
• Named After Somebody Famous: All of their Personas are named after famous figures from epic stories, such as Gilgamesh or Odysseus.
• Parental Abandonment: One stated example, one inverted example, and a few implied ones. As revealed in Ryouichi's Social Link, his mother walked out on him after his father caught her in an affair. Meanwhile, Tamiko's parents pretty much neglected her due to being overly religious and not agreeing with her worldview, leading to her abandoning them, Kazuki lived with a theater troupe and doesn't mention his actual parents, and Arata is abandoned by the closest thing he had to a father, Nobuyuki, after betraying him.
• Public Domain Character: Each of the members have literary characters as their Personas - specifically from epic stories. Gilgamesh, Beowulf, and Odysseus are the standout examples.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The team is made up of high schoolers (with one exception), and includes a rich girl from a noble family, a boy who claims he wants to be a hero, an extremely determined athlete, a shy and awkward foreigner, a huge guy who scares everyone, a Chuunibyou, the former star actor of a theater troupe, and a Battle Butler. Not exactly a team made for fighting demons and a criminal syndicate.
• Tarot Motifs: Of course; it's a Persona fic. Each character has a Major Arcana that relates to their personality, circumstances, and/or challenges.
  • Rina is the Fool, as expected from the protagonist. The card represents new beginnings, potential, and possibilities; as a Wild Card, Rina's powers go in all sorts of directions. Furthermore, her new move to Sougawa is something she views as a fresh start.
  • Hikaru is the Sun. The card represents positivity, success, and optimism in the face of adversity. Hikaru's naturally upbeat, and his charisma makes it easy for him to connect with others; he also succeeds in his desire to become a hero thanks to gaining his powers. He's forced to hold onto his optimism despite his parents and real life going against him.
  • Izumi is the Chariot. The card represents control, willpower, and determination. Izumi is by far the most driven team member, but to the point where it's self-destructive how much she tries to take control of her live; she has to learn how to relax and have balance in her life.
  • Wilma is the Moon. The card represents fear, anxiety, and intuition. Wilma is perpetually nervous and unsure of herself, and needs to learn to trust her emotions and herself.
  • Ryouichi is the Emperor. The card represents authority and responsibility. Thanks to Ryouichi's anger issues and position as the son of the Chief Justice, he has to use his false "authority" responsibly and avoid taking his anger out on the wrong things.
  • Tamiko is the Lovers. The card represents choices, love, and relationships. Tamiko is popular and has many relationships to maintain around school; however, she has to make choices on how to deal with people thanks to being the resident Chuunibyou. Another part of the card is finding agreement with an ordinary friend, which Tamiko must do to maintain friendships with people who don't see her worldview.
  • Kazuki is Justice. The card represents fairness, law, and truth. Kazuki is an upstanding young man who ultimately has to decide whether to turn in his criminal theater troupe or keep going to pursue his dream job, and also has to deal with being honest to himself about what he wants.
  • Arata is the Hanged Man. The card represents new perspectives, self-sacrifice, and letting go. Arata is forced to let go of the life with Nobuyuki he's known for all his life to turn to life as a normal person.
• Thou Shalt Not Kill: An unspoken rule is they don't kill anyone, not even Nobuyuki's grunts. Rina breaking this rule when she accidentally kills Nobuyuki is enough to get her to scream in anguish.
• True Companions: Of course, especially with all the hardship they go through.
• Violence Really Is the Answer: While the Freedom Fighters try to give their opposing Shadows a chance to surrender peacefully, they inevitably have to fight them.

Rina Oshiro

"I refuse to submit!"

Arcana: The Fool

Persona: Gilgamesh, among others

Weapons: Rapiers

"I'd prefer to keep a cool head."

The protagonist. Rina is a second-year high school student who is given the opportunity to move to the bustling town of Sougawa with her sister. While Rina is somewhat distrustful of others, to those who befriend her she proves to be kind and dependable, and is the first one to step into action should Shadows threaten her friends.

As a protagonist, Rina is aligned with the Fool Arcana, and her initial Persona is Gilgamesh, the main character of The Epic of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh was a powerful, semi-divine king who went on a journey to become immortal and truly godlike, though he ultimately learned to be content with what he had. As a Persona, Gilgamesh takes the form of a crystalline knight with a spear and an axe, and no discernible face features due to its helmet.

Rina's ultimate Persona is Rostam, an important character in The Shahnameh. Rostam performed many heroic acts over the course of his life, including battling against the invincible prince Esfandyar, and was ultimately killed by his half-brother Shaghad. Rostam takes the form of a large cloaked spirit with spears stuck in its back, wielding a powerful mace.

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• 11th-Hour Superpower: Gains Rostam shortly after her Darkest Hour thanks to a pep talk from the Velvet Room and visions of her friends.
• The Ace: When she gets back on her feet, she proves to be very skilled, picking up cooking quickly, proving to be the best combatant of the Freedom Fighters, and being very well-read.
• Action Girl: Well, of course.
• An Ice Person: Fittingly enough for the cold rich girl, Gilgamesh's primary element of attack is the Bufu line of spells. Rostam keeps this as well.
• Authority Equals Asskicking: She’s high on the ladder in terms of status and is the strongest of the Freedom Fighters by far.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: She uses clever deduction to figure out Yuudai is the mastermind behind everything as well as his hiding place.
• The Beautiful Elite: Her beauty’s commented on multiple times, and she’s also rich and influential.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: What gets her ultimately to fight back against Shadow Rina is the fact that Hikaru and Izumi being nice to her proved that she can have genuine friends.
• Beware the Quiet Ones: Rina is typically not too talkative unless she’s around friends. That said, do not piss her off, or she will make you regret it.
• Big Sister Instinct: Arsene_Phantom confirmed on her Tumblr that Rina views Wilma as a little sister, though it eventually turns into more than that. She also treats Kouki like a younger sibling.
• Big Sister Worship: She’s very fond of her big sister Furuta, especially since she’s the reason Rina is even in Sougawa. Unfortunately, several villains exploit this - Nobuyuki beats her to near-death as a warning for Rina and Yuudai infests her with Shadows to make sure Rina gives up. However, both of these backfire when they just give Rina even more resolve to defeat them.
• Character Tics: Crossing her legs.
• The Chessmaster: She starts to develops traits of this as the story goes, like making sure to brush against Ryouichi’s hand to test for Shadows.
• Combat Stilettos: She has a habit of kicking downed Shadows sharply.
• Constantly Curious: Downplayed in that she’s able to keep herself under control, but she still gets extremely curious around Igor and the Shadows.
• Crush Blush: When Hikaru asks if she's interested in him, she turns red as she attempts to justify herself.
• Cultured Badass: She’s a capable fighter and also very ladylike.
• Deadpan Snarker: Easily one of the snarkiest of the Freedom Fighters.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: She starts off very cold towards most people, but softens up gradually.
• Determinator: If Rina makes a promise or sets a goal, she’ll go for it, no matter what it takes. This proves crucial in the battle against Nobuyuki, where she has to use all of her willpower to withstand Humbaba's strongest attack so Gilgamesh can land a crucial blow in. She succeeds.
• Even the Girls Want Her: Hikaru makes a joke about this. This Tumblr post confirms that Wilma, at the very least, has a crush on Rina.
• The Gadfly: She tends to tease her friends, though it’s all in good fun.
• Groin Attack: Does this to Nobuyuki's grunts. Twice. Izumi even lampshades it the second time.
• The Hero: The protagonist of the story.
• Heroic BSoD: Has three major ones. She breaks down crying after confessing everything that happened to her sister shortly after finding out about Nobuyuki's attack on her, she outright screams in anguish after she accidentally kills Nobuyuki, and she nearly gives up right then and there after Yuudai defeats her in a brutal Curb-Stomp Battle and infects her sister with Shadows.
• Heroic Mime: Averted. Unlike Persona protagonists in the games, she’s a full-fledged character. Justified, given the fact that this is a fanfiction and not a video game - having her be mute would be somewhat awkward.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: She forms these with most of her female Social Links.
• Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: She’s perfectly willing to fight even with her fancy clothes and does it pretty damn well.
• Lady of War: She always fights gracefully.
• Large Ham: Not Rina herself, but Gilgamesh certainly qualifies.
• The Leader: Both Hikaru and Izumi unanimously agree that she’s a capable leader, and as the protagonist, she plays this.
• Lonely Rich Kid: Thanks to most people trying to befriend her for her influence or to make a buck, she doesn’t really have any true friends until Hikaru comes along.
• Master of All: As a Wild Card, she has tools for basically every situation.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Her reaction when she accidentally shoves Nobuyuki off the Sougawa Clock Tower.
• Nerves of Steel: Gradually develops these. Her first interaction with Ryouichi has her shaking and obviously scared; later on, she separates him and Hikaru when they’re about to fight and shows no fear.
• Not So Above It All: Despite liking to present herself as the rational member of her team, she can be a bit of a goofball herself sometimes and enjoys fighting Shadows.
• Ojou: Deconstructed. She’s elegant and wealthy, and everyone loves her - but only because they can exploit her status. With a few exceptions, of course.
• Oblivious to Love: Interestingly, despite there being obvious signs Wilma is into her, complete with an interrupted confession, Rina dismisses the possibility. She catches on later, though, in part due to her own interest in Wilma.
• The Paragon: She’s the inspiration for most of the Freedom Fighters to battle against the Shadows.
• Precision F-Strike:
  • When she finally gets sick of Hikaru’s antagonistic behavior towards Ryouichi: “Show some damn tact for once.”
  • She gets an even bigger one shortly before the confrontation with Nobuyuki: "I'll never forgive you, you bastard!"
• Proper Tights with a Skirt: She wears black tights with a peach skirt and has an elegant personality.
• Red Baron: Gilgamesh is referred to as “The King of Heroes” several times. He also calls Rina "Queen of Heroes".
• Relationship Upgrade: As of Chapter 91, she and Wilma are officially dating.
• Rich Bitch: Subverted. Initial impressions are that she is a mean rich girl, but she’s really just lonely and tired of people exploiting her kindness. To those who actually get close to her, she proves to be a good person.
• Rousing Speech: Gilgamesh gives her one when she's about to give up against Nobuyuki. It gives her the push she needs to finish his Persona off.
• Royal Rapier: The highest on the social ladder in terms of party members, and the one who wields a rapier.
• Silk Hiding Steel: She’s elegant and ladylike... and not one to piss off, considering her Wild Card abilities and skill with a rapier.
• Skirts and Ladders: In Chapter 17, she refuses to go down the ladder after Hikaru does due to this. Hikaru is understandably flustered. Izumi is just confused.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Towards most people she’s cold and distant, but to those who get close to her she’s gentle and kind.
• Trauma Conga Line: Rina goes through a lot of suffering. To wit:
  • She deals with her close friends being controlled by eldritch beings that reveal how they feel trapped - one of which happens to be a boy she's crushing on at the time and feels a close empathetic connection to due to being in a similar situation as her, and the other happens to be her own butler - who's the child assassin of a crime lord.
  • Nobuyuki directly attacks her apartment and leaves her sister nearly dead, coupled with a threatening note. While she defeats Nobuyuki, she ends up accidentally killing him.
  • Yuudai delivers a painful Curb-Stomp Battle to her combined with a "The Reason You Suck" Speech all topped off with her finding her sister succumbing to the Shadows, who encourages her to give up so she can be with Rina. Ouch.

Hikaru Hayashi

"Heroes together!"

Arcana: The Sun

Personas: Beowulf, Hrothgar

Weapons: Two-Handed Swords

"The name's Hikaru Hayashi! And I'm gonna be a hero someday!"

A student at Okutari High School who Rina meets on the subway. While Hikaru usually maintains a laid-back and relaxed demeanor, he’s quick to perk up when something catches his interest, and has a strong desire to be a hero. However, his issues are far worse than he likes to let on.

Hikaru’s initial Persona is Beowulf, named after the hero of, well, Beowulf. Beowulf killed the demon Grendel and his mother as well, and ruled the Geats until a dragon put an end to his life. Beowulf appears as a golden wolf with large, angelic wings.

Hikaru’s Ultimate Persona is Hrothgar, also from Beowulf. Hrothgar is named after the king who rules over the land, and serves as a father figure to the young Beowulf, maintaining good status as a king until Grendel invades his realm. Hrothgar takes the form of a large, golden gorilla covered in armor and wielding a massive sword.

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• Abusive Parents: His parents tend to put him down. This gets worse in Chapter 36, when his parents find out about what happened to Amano - while it's never seen, Hikaru implies they called him immature and outright says that they just thought he would hurt more people and shouldn't have "stood around like an idiot". That said, Rina suggests that they're just worried about Hikaru and that maybe talking with them will help. Sure enough, it turns out this is ultimately a Subverted Trope. It turns out that they were just worried he would get himself hurt, and once they realize they messed up, they apologize to him, and make up with him.
• all lowercase letters: How he texts, though unlike Izumi he uses punctuation.
• Animal Motifs: Wolves. His shadow is a werewolf, his initial Persona is a wolf, and the art of him on Arsene's Tumblr has him with a wolf on his shirt.
• Beneath the Mask: Underneath that cheery, uncaring exterior is a guy frustrated with real-life responsibilities who just wants an out from the daily grind.
• Calling Your Attacks: He has a habit of shouting his attack names as he uses them.
• Comes Great Responsibility: His motivation for battling Shadows. In his eyes, if he has the power to stop them but does nothing, then it's his fault.
• Driven to Suicide: Dangerously toyed with in the fourth part of his Social Link, where Rina observes him at the edge of the school roof "staring down, looking contemplative". Luckily, she manages to convince them to sit down, and even helps Hikaru get better.
• Escapism: Present in just about every character, but it’s particularly notable for Hikaru as it’s a focus of his Social Link.
• Heroes Prefer Swords: Fittingly enough.
• I Just Want to Be Special: He wants to be a hero - and not just the kind who helps people in mundane manners like a police officer; he wants to be someone who’s admired and revered for their good deeds so that he can inspire other people to be heroes. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the tools to do this until he gets his Persona.
• Keet: When he’s invested in something he’s adorably energetic.
• Kiai: Has a habit of shouting battle cries in fights.
• The Lancer: Effectively Rina’s second in command.
• Large Ham: He has his moments, mostly in combat.
• The Lost Lenore: His old girlfriend, Amano.
• Mellow Fellow: He’s generally pretty laid-back, though he can perk up when something catches his interest.
• Nice Guy: One of his biggest advantages is his kindness and charisma, which makes it easy for him to bond with pretty much anyone.
• Official Couple: Hooks up with Izumi around Chapter 25.
• The Paragon: He aspires to be one.
• Playing with Fire: His element of choice is the Agi line.
• Rousing Speech: Enjoys giving these out when everyone’s feeling down. That said, he does need a couple himself over the course of the story.
• Stealth Pun: Fire is his main element. His Arcana is the Sun.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: He obviously doesn't like Grendel (and the feeling is mutual) but the two work together nonetheless when the situation calls for it, seemingly due to their mutual respect for Rina. This doubles as a Mythology Gag considering both of Hikaru's Personas are from Beowulf, where Grendel is an antagonist.
• Tranquil Fury: When Shadow Kazuki knocks out Izumi, Hikaru returns the favor for her rampage against Shadow Tamiko by calmly, viciously beating him down. Unlike Izumi, though, Shadow Kazuki manages to knock him out.
• Victorious Childhood Friend: Izumi’s his childhood friend, and the two hook up.
• Visual Pun: Beowulf is a literal wolf.

Izumi Akiyama

"Let's chase our goals together."

Arcana: The Chariot

Persona: Aeneas, Helen

Weapons: Brass Knuckles

"Nothing's gonna get in my way this time!"

Hikaru’s closest friend, and another student at Okutari. Izumi tends to be rather offputting at initial interactions, typically being rather loud, hot-blooded, and somewhat brash. However, she proves to be a relentlessly loyal friend, even if she tends to be rather self-destructive with the goals she tries to accomplish.

Izumi’s initial Persona is Aeneas, a hero in The Iliad. Aeneas was one of the fighters in the Trojan War, and was the son of the mortal Anchises and the goddess of beauty Venus. Despite being unhappy with his fate, he follows it nonetheless. Aeneas appears as a large crab-like creature with skin made of rock.

Izumi’s evolved Persona is Helen, referring to Helen of Troy (also in Homer’s Iliad). Helen was supposedly the most beautiful woman in the world, and was the whole reason the Trojan War began in the first place. Helen appears as a woman with a big white dress and angelic wings, dual-wielding two scimitars and having nothing below her torso.

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• all lowercase letters: How she texts, combined with No Punctuation Period.
• Atomic Superpower: Her Personas mainly use the Frei line of spells.
• Berserk Button: Don't mess with Hikaru. Shadow Tamiko finds this out the hard way.
• Determinator: Reconstructed. She pursues her goals relentlessly... at the cost of her own health. She eventually learns to overcome this.
• Face of a Thug: Her muscular and tough stature often makes people afraid of her, but she’s actually a pretty good person.
• Fastball Special: Wiglaf hurls her at Shadow Tamiko to land the finishing blow.
• Go-Getter Girl: She has a variety of goals she tries to accomplish, often with amusing or tragic results.
• Hot-Blooded: Particularly in combat.
• Insecure Love Interest: Hinted at several times. This reaches its peak in Chapter 51, where she's worried her meltdown during the Shadow Tamiko fight is something Hikaru finds freaky and that he'd rather be with someone better than her, like Rina. Thankfully, he talks her out of it.
• Magic Knight: Aeneas uses both Physical and Frei attacks pretty effectively.
• Mighty Glacier: Izumi is strong and can take plenty of hits, but is rather slow.
• No Indoor Voice: She tends to get kinda shouty, especially when flustered.
• No Social Skills: Amusingly, she’s not very good at socializing, and often tends to just say the first thing on her mind.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: After Shadow Tamiko knocks out Hikaru, Izumi loses it.
• Saying Too Much: Tends to do this when embarrassed or flustered.
• Ship Tease: With Hikaru, evident from her very first chapter. Rina enjoys teasing her about it, even when the two eventually hook up.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: She’s got a pretty dirty mouth and is easily the most vulgar of the party members.
• The Unfettered: A particularly bad example of this. She gets better.
• Unlucky Childhood Friend: She starts off as this - Hikaru dated his other childhood friend, Amano, until she died.
• Tomboy: She’s into a lot of typically masculine hobbies.
• Victorious Childhood Friend: In Chapter 24, Rina convinces Hikaru to be true to himself and he finally asks Izumi out.

Wilma Hanley

"S-So... is this all just a bad dream?"

Arcana: The Moon

Persona: Enkidu, Kriemhild

Weapons: Spears

"I-if it means anything, I'll do my best!"

A foreign student who attends Okutari High School. Wilma doesn’t have many friends, which is what leads Rina to reach out to her. While she’s sweet, she’s somewhat innocent and generally very timid, frequently apologizing and always being rather nervous that she’s not fitting in amongst her classmates. She’s the first member to join the Freedom Fighters after their founding, and serves as their smith, creating Persona-powered weapons for them.

Wilma’s initial Persona is Enkidu, named after the character from The Epic of Gilgamesh. Enkidu was a wild man created by the goddess Aruru, but he was eventually made into a civilized man, and became Gilgamesh’s lifelong partner. Enkidu takes the form of a purple-skinned elf with a bow and arrow, long green hair, and steel armor.

Wilma’s evolved persona is Kriemhild, also known as Gudrun. She is the wife of Siegfried, and takes revenge on his murderers by killing them, though this ultimately leads to her own death. Kriemhild takes the form of a large figure with black armor, metal claws, and a gigantic sword.

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• Apologetic Attacker: Eeks out a “sorry!” whenever she attacks Shadows.
• Apologizes a Lot: She tends to say sorry frequently - she apologizes when talking too much, talking too little, fighting Shadows... Thankfully, she gets better.
• Beware the Nice Ones: She may seem soft but she’s actually a pretty competent fighter.
• Closet Geek: She tries super hard to cover for the fact that she's a comic book nerd. Thankfully, she seems a little more comfortable after a few months, if her Halloween costume is any indication.
• The Cutie: She’s easily the cutest of the party in terms of mannerisms. Even her texting is cute and sprinkled with emotes!
• Extreme Doormat: She’s very quick to obey others, to the point where her Shadow is based around it. This is due to her desire to fit in.
• Funny Foreigner: More in the adorable sense, but she still falls under this big time.
• Genius Ditz: She’s very talented (especially in metalcraft) but is rather naive to the region’s culture and is kinda childish.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She has blonde hair and is easily the most innocent party member.
• Interrupted Declaration of Love: At the end of her Social Link, she's about to confess to Rina, but Arata interrupts, having overheard her Persona evolution. Wilma panics enough that she sprints away. Thankfully, things go much better in Chapter 91.
• Naïve Everygirl: Innocent, pure-hearted, and somewhat insecure.
• Nice Girl: Really, the worst thing you can say about her is that she lets people walk all over her. Even then, she grows out of this.
• Shock and Awe: Her Personas primarily use the Zio line of spells.
• Ultimate Blacksmith: After getting her Persona she uses it to help craft powerful weapons for the party.
• Weapon Specialization: She wields spears as her weapon of choice - presumably so she doesn’t have to get too close to Shadows.
• What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: Downplayed example. Arsene_Phantom confirmed on her Tumblr that Wilma has a crush on Rina, but is far too innocent to realize that's what it is. She does, however, seem to realize it at the end of her Social Link.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: A revolving theme of her Social Link; Rina makes these speeches to her regularly. It turns out she's so insecure because she wasn't supposed to be the one who got a trip to Sougawa.

Ryouichi Fukui

"Sometimes, you just have to punch something."

Arcana: The Emperor

Persona: Wiglaf, Arthur

Weapons: Clubs

"Hitting things really hard? I can get behind that."

A student at Okutari High who’s often feared for his intimidating demeanor. Ryouichi is tall and not very talkative, which makes him difficult to interact with; not helped by the fact that he’s usually rather blunt and even sarcastic. He proves to be considerably better around close friends, and is the second member to join the Freedom Fighters.

Ryouichi’s initial Persona is Wiglaf, named after a character from Literature/Beowulf. Wiglaf is Beowulf’s closest friend, and is his only living relative as Beowulf is dying. Wiglaf takes the form of a large humanoid being made of rock with gemstones embedded into various parts of his skin.

Ryouichi's evolved Persona is Arthur, named after the great king of myth. Arthur is the perfect king and the founder of the Knights of the Round Table. Arthur takes the form of a larger humanoid with smooth gray stonelike skin and a massive sword plunged into his back.

---

• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Hikaru refers to his rulebreaking in school like this.

“Skipping school, favoritism from teachers, wearing a hat...”

• Beware the Quiet Ones: He may not talk much, but don’t think for one second he’s a pushover.
• The Comically Serious: Amplified by his sarcastic side. He seems somewhat aware of this.
• Deadpan Snarker: Rivals Rina in terms of sarcasm.
• Face of a Thug: Downplayed. Ryouichi is generally someone people are scared of due to his intimidating factor. While he’s not exactly a nice person, he’s not really all that bad, either.
• Fedora of Asskicking: The only member of the Freedom Fighters with headgear - and a fedora, of all things.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Repressed anger and bluntness aside, he’s actually a pretty good guy, wasting no time in clearing the air between him and Hikaru as soon as he joins the team, and being gentler around Wilma and Tamiko.
• Missing Mom: His mother left him and his dad when said dad caught her in an affair with a rich guy.
• Not So Above It All: There are implications that even Ryouichi enjoys being kind of silly sometimes, considering he gets the idea to hurl Izumi at Shadow Tamiko to finish her off.
• Not So Stoic: He’s normally calm, but has quite a bit of repressed anger underneath.
• Odd Friendship: With Tamiko.
• Rage Against the Mentor: Downplayed example. In Chapter 105, he finally loses patience with what he considers to be empty promises from Rina and calls her out on it. However, he apologizes almost immediately afterwards and admits he went too far, and given how his father apparently succumbed to the Shadows, it makes sense he'd be on edge.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to both Tamiko and Hikaru’s red.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: He tends to casually skip school (and also wears a hat in school) and can get away with it thanks to his dad being the Chief Justice. Zig-Zagged in that while that doesn’t give him that much power, his dad is terrifying enough that people tend to overlook that.
• She Is Not My Girlfriend: At the end of his Social Link, his father calls Tamiko his girlfriend. He denies it, but Rina isn't convinced.
• Ship Tease: Plenty with Tamiko. The two obviously care about each other very much, with Tamiko even grieving when he's possessed.
• The Stoic: He never loses his cool. Even when his anger issues come to light, he’s pretty calm about them.
• Tranquil Fury: He’s never actually seen yelling or raving, but when his anger does show through, it mixes with deadly calm.
• The Quiet One: He barely talks, though he speaks more often around the team when he joins them.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Kazuki, if them reuniting in Chapter 102 is any indication. They both launch jabs at each other before hugging and acknowledging they're glad to see each other.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Izumi mentions that his dad isn't around much, and his Social Link confirms the root of his anger issues is his dad essentially abandoning him out of grief. Thankfully, they patch things up.

Tamiko Maeda

"Shall we make a contract?"

Arcana: The Lovers

Persona: Odysseus, Unferth

Weapons: None

“I have one of the strongest wills on the planet!"

Ryouichi’s best friend, and another student at Okutari High who’s oddly popular. Even if she makes a lot of friends, Tamiko is still a very odd person, believing she’s blessed by the dark powers and often spouting nonsense that people don’t really understand. Despite her eccentricities, she proves to be a valuable asset to the team.

Tamiko's initial Persona is Odysseus, named after the main character of The Odyssey. Odysseus went on a long journey home after sacking Troy and was well-known for his cunning and wit. Odysseus takes the form of a golden, orb-shaped automaton with wings and a single blue eye.

Tamiko's evolved Persona is Unferth, a rival to Literature/Beowulf. Unferth challenges Beowulf's accomplishment despite not having done many great feats himself, and serves as a foil to the great hero. Unferth takes the form of a large, eldritch hooded figure with tentacles for arms and a giant mouth on its face, with a single eye inside.

---

• Badass Boast: She loves giving these out.
• Badass Longcoat: She wears a gray one.
• Badass Pacifist: Her Persona can’t fight, but she's still a valuable team member. And heavens help you if you get her to break her pacifism...
• Beware the Silly Ones: She may be the most outwardly goofy party member, but don’t underestimate her. Especially if you put Ryouichi in mortal peril. Nobuyuki finds this out the hard way.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: At first, she seems very off-putting, but she's actually a pretty good strategist and manipulator - not to the point of Obfuscating Stupidity (she genuinely does believe her “powers” are real) but she’s well aware of how people react to her.
• Chuunibyou: Her whole shtick is that she believes she has supernatural abilities. And this is before she gets a Persona.
• Cloudcuckoolander: She’s easily the most out there of the party.
• Cute and Psycho: She seems just a little kooky, but her enthusiasm is legitimately adorable. The "psycho" part really comes out when fighting Nobuyuki.
• Eldritch Abomination: Unferth is kind of horrific compared to the other Personas. Then again, given Tamiko's interest in the occult, it only makes sense.
• Emerald Power: Her powers manifest primarily as green energy - whether it be shields or laser beams.
• Evil Laugh: She has a habit of doing this. “Kuhuhuhuhu!”
• The Fundamentalist: Not Tamiko herself, as she never forces other people to conform to her beliefs, but her parents, who burned her occult books because they weren't the "one true religion".
• Genki Girl: In casual conditions, she’s pretty energetic and upbeat.
• Guile Hero: Despite her quirkiness, she is a very effective manipulator, which works to her advantage as the party’s intel gatherer and strategist.
• Large Ham: Even more so than Hikaru, to a rather hilarious extent.
• Mission Control: Serves as the party’s version, ala Rise and Futaba.
• No Social Skills: Subverted. At first, it seems like this is definitely the case, given how everyone thinks of her as weird and she tends to babble about her powers. When she joins the party, however, she shows that she can function perfectly well in a normal conversation... albeit with the occasional supernatural term thrown in here and there.
• Odd Friendship: With Ryouichi.
• Only Friend: Prior to joining the Freedom Fighters, Ryouichi was her only real friend.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
  • Rina takes note of the several times Tamiko's usual energy seems off - such as when Tamiko catches the group before their fight with Shadow Ryouichi, or her seeming kind of out of it when she visits her home.
  • The first and only time Tamiko flies into an outright rage is when Nobuyuki nearly murders Ryouichi, which leads to her unloading all of her power onto him.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: "I'M GOING TO DISINTEGRATE YOU!"
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: When Nobuyuki nearly kills Ryouichi, Tamiko loses it and blasts his Persona with all of the beams she can muster. It takes Nobuyuki darting into the fray himself to get her to stop.
• Stalker without a Crush: She tends to stalk people for... occult research.
• Stepford Smiler: Implied with her dungeon. Shadow Tamiko makes some comments that imply she doesn't see a point in living because no one is on the same wavelength as her. Her Social Link makes further comments on this starting at the third chapter, with her believing she's little more than a joke to everyone and only popular because her Chuunibyou shtick is worth a quick laugh. Thankfully, she gets better.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: She and Ryouichi tend to get on each other’s cases frequently, but they’re pretty good friends, as shown with Tamiko grieving over him after he disappears from school.

Kazuki Nakajima

"I will look after you, if you so choose."

Arcana: Justice

Persona: Dante, Achilles

Weapons: Claws

“I'm going to enjoy this more than I should."

A travelling actor who visits Sougawa for a brief time, before leaving his troupe and joining the party after he obtains his Persona. He attends Touzawa High and stays with Rina. Kazuki is very polite and reserved, having a notable charisma to him and a level head despite his fame. He's an excellent liar, though he can be a little too excited when fighting Shadows.

Kazuki's initial Persona is Dante, named after the protagonist and author of The Divine Comedy. Dante travels through Hell, Heaven, and Purgatory to eventually find peace with God. As a Persona, Dante appears as a blood-red vampire with a big black mane.

Kazuki's evolved Persona is Achilles, a legendary hero in The Iliad. Achilles is a powerful hero who is only weak in the heel - and ultimately ends up getting defeated via that weakness. Achilles takes the form of a headless humanoid - though it's holding its head, which is a glowing red skull with black hair.

---

• Beware the Nice Ones: He may be nice, but heavens help you if you're fighting him, considering his weapons are claws and he takes a little too much enjoyment in battle...
• Blood Knight: Not evident until he first joins the party, but he takes... quite some pleasure in fighting Shadows.
• Casting a Shadow: He specializes in the Eiha skill line as his primary attack element.
• Consummate Liar: He’s excellent at lying and masking his true intentions, to the point where no one suspects he has any Shadows at first. He uses this for good on the team as well.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Despite specializing in Dark skills and having a macabre sense of humor, he’s one of the more polite party members and refuses to associate with criminals.
• Gallows Humor: His sense of humor can be a bit twisted at times.
• Gentleman and a Scholar: He’s not only polite, but pretty sharp minded.
• Gentleman Snarker: When people least expect it, he proves to have a good quip.
• Glass Cannon: Combined with Fragile Speedster. He’s fast and hits hard with a variety of magical attacks, but he can't take many hits himself.
• Love Confession: In the 4th chapter of his Social Link, he confesses to Rina that he likes her. Though she turns him down, he takes it in stride, even when she says she's interested in someone else.
• Mind over Matter: Alongside darkness, he learns some Psy spells as well.
• Nerves of Steel: He’s good at keeping cool under pressure.
• Nice Guy: He’s always polite and well-mannered.
• Soul-Sucking Retail Job: Kazuki's Social Link revolves around him trying to get a job, but the only ones available are retail jobs. He can't bring himself to take them due to growing up in a life of privilege, even though he's fully aware he should shut up and get one. Thankfully, he does eventually swallow his pride and takes the plunge.
• Tranquil Fury: Tends to engage in this instead of ranting and raving. One particularly notable example is prior to the fight with Nobuyuki:
  Even though Kazuki's voice was the calmest out of the Freedom Fighters, his claws were twitching ever so slightly.
• Wolverine Claws: His main weapons are gloves with retractable claws.

Arata Kobayashi

"I want to be my own person. You can too."

Arcana: Hanged Man

Persona: Virgil, Sheafson

Weapons: Knives

"If you need assistance of any sort, feel free to ask me. I would like to think I’m quite capable."

Rina's butler, who enters fairly early on and remains a side character until he contracts Shadows. Arata is seemingly a prodigy, as he's hardly older than Rina and yet still serves as her faithful butler, always being polite, composed, and poised. However, when dealing with other people, he proves to be more casual, and even kind of blunt and sarcastic.

Arata's initial Persona is Virgil, a character in The Divine Comedy. Virgil is Dante's guide throughout his journey, and protects him from any dangers. As a Persona, Virgil appears as a black humanoid figure made of smoke, almost like a ghost or wraith, with its only clear feature being a pair of red eyes.

Arata's evolved Persona is Sheafson, a character in Literature/Beowulf. Sheafson is a legendary Danish king; Hrothgar is descended from him. As a Persona, Sheafson appears as a humanoid in a black cloak, with gnarled purple claws and a purple mask.

——

• Accent Relapse: A variant. He speaks far more casually after defecting from Nobuyuki, with the implication that it's his "real voice".
• The Ace: Skilled in pretty much everything. Cooking, cleaning, combat...
• Battle Butler: Promoted to this when he gets his Persona.
• Becoming the Mask: What triggers his Shadow is that he can't decide if he still wants to work with Nobuyuki because he genuinely enjoys Rina's company due to her good heart. He makes the right decision in the end.
• Beyond Redemption: Subverted. Initially, it seems like he believes Nobuyuki to be this. However, his conflict over this is what drives his Social Link, and it ultimately concludes with him deciding that even Nobuyuki had some good parts.
• Chekhov's Gunman: At first he just seems like a goofy side character. Turns out he’s the last party member.
• Child Soldiers: Raised from birth to be an assassin for Nobuyuki.
• Deadpan Snarker: Underneath his polite facade, he's quite snarky, potentially even beating out Rina and Ryouichi.
• Heel–Face Turn: While initially spying on Rina for Nobuyuki, his Shadows are formed from his doubts over working for him.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Initially it doesn’t seem like this, but after he joins the party it's more apparent. He’s a bit rude and not afraid to speak his mind, but definitely a good guy.
• Light Is Good: Wields Kouha spells and is an ally to the Freedom Fighters.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Subverted. Virgil has red eyes, but Arata's ultimately on the side of good.
• Servile Snarker: Plays this to Rina on occasion.
• Teen Genius: Downplayed; he's not a teenager. Still, he’s only about Rina’s age, yet he’s a professional butler.

Social Links

Samon Ishikawa

Arcana: The Magician

The Student Council fundraising officer at Okutari High.

---

• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Sure, he's silly and weird, but he's on Student Council for a reason.
• Know-Nothing Know-It-All: He acts like he's good at reading people, but he's often completely off the mark.
• Large Ham: He's overdramatic and ridiculous.
• Nice Guy: Despite being kind of weird, Samon is ultimately good hearted.
• No Social Skills: He seems to have trouble conversing with Rina.

Chinen Munoto

Arcana: The High Priestess

The Student Council President at Touzawa Private School.

---

• No Social Skills: Not as bad as Samon, but he admits he's not really used to talking to people.
• The Quiet One: He's not very talkative, even having pauses in between what he says.
• The Stoic: He's pretty hard to read.
• Student Council President: He's the president of Touzawa's student council.

Furuta Oshiro

Arcana: The Empress

Rina's sister, who takes her in and acts as her guardian for her time in Sougawa.

---

• Cool Big Sis: Rina certainly seems to think so, and it shows. Furuta is always there when Rina needs help and even took her in.
• Feminine Women Can Cook: Furuta is elegant and ladylike, and is where Rina gets her cooking skills from.
• Promoted to Parent: At the start of the story.
• The Stoic: She’s totally unshakable, which is one of the reasons Rina looks up to her.
• Supreme Chef: Furuta is a really good cook, and even teaches Rina how to cook herself.

Kouki Shimizu

Arcana: The Hermit

Principal Kaii's son, who Rina is sent to check up on.

---

• Badass Adorable: A cute little kid who manages to set up traps that can catch Rina off guard.
• Big Sister Worship: Seems to view Rina as a big sister by the end of their first interaction. Her cooking for him helps.
• Expy: Of Kevin McAllister, obviously. This is even brought up in the comments.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Sets up elaborate traps in case strangers arrive, but doesn't mean any harm to innocent people.
• Shout-Out: He's seen eating Snackoos.
• Trap Master: He sets up traps in case strangers arrive. Amusingly, his dad has never found out about this.

Shizuka Saori

Arcana: Fortune

A worker at Saori Ramen, a shop Rina and her team frequents.

---

• Alliterative Name: Shizuka Saori.
• The Cynic: She tends towards pessimism.
• Deadpan Snarker: Pretty much every other line out of her mouth is a sarcastic quip of some sort.
• Family Business: She’s a worker at one and is next in line to inherit the shop, though she’s not particularly enthusiastic about it.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Snarky and lazy she may be, she’s still good at heart and is just kind of sick of her job.

Komori Raidon

Arcana: Strength

A famous chef who takes Rina in as his apprentice.

---

• Brutal Honesty: He even jokingly lampshades it. "Since when did I mince words, young lady?"
• Expy: Of Gordon Ramsay. Lampshaded in an author's note.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Aggressive and strict, but nonetheless respectful of those with proper discipline.
• Mistakes Are Not the End of the World: He calls out some of Rina's mistakes when she cooks him casserole, but nonetheless praises her work.
• Supreme Chef: His whole shtick. He's an excellent chef that gave Rina her passion for cooking through TV shows.

Rakuyama Kokuo

Arcana: Death

The president of Okutari High's poetry club.

---

• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Downplayed; she has skin that's described as unhealthily pale and has long, choppy black hair, and Rina describes her outfit as eerie, but as she gets to know Rakuyama she notes she's not all that scary.
• Nervous Wreck: Constantly paranoid and jittery.
• The Paranoiac: She's kind of paranoid; when Rina asks to join the poetry club, she assumes it's a trick at first. She also discusses how hackers could steal her data.
• Shrinking Violet: Very timid.

Yori Matsuhita

Arcana: Devil

A conman who mistakes Rina for his apprentice.

---

• Affably Evil: An unashamed conman, but he's friendly to Rina and gives her a pep talk that inspires her to battle Shadow Kazuki.
• The Barnum: He's an unapologetic (but friendly) conman who wants to train an apprentice.
• Loveable Rogue: While he's established to be a lawbreaker, he's pretty charismatic and undoubtedly an ally to Rina.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: Dresses very formally, with a suit and fedora.
• Shout-Out: He says his username is RiverTrouble. Trouble in River City, perhaps?

Hideki Suketsune

Arcana: Tower

A famous retired boxer.

---

• Accidental Truth: He says "Yeesh, kid, you're training for fencing, not monster fighting." Lampshaded by Rina.
• Face of a Thug: He's even scarier than Ryouichi, but isn't too bad.
• Retired Badass: He's a retired boxer.
• Shout-Out: He has a line that alludes to Rocky.
  "Let's just say the boxing business ain't all sunshine and rainbows."
• The Stoic: Never loses his cool.

Asato Nui

Arcana: Star

The person in charge of basically everything at the Museum of History.

---

• Awesomeness by Analysis: According to her, she uses this skill to know more about who would be best suited for her museum. She can even tell Rina is rich.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Not as crazy as Clerval, but she's still very eccentric.
• Genki Girl: By far the most energetic female character in the story, perhaps tied with Tamiko.
• No Sense of Personal Space: She's... fairly physical with Rina. Rina gets used to it, though.
• Perpetual Smiler: Her smile only falters once.

Clerval

Arcana: The Aeon

Igor's latest Velvet Room attendant. Fascinated by humanity.

---

• Badass Boast: When confronting the armored figure:
  "Twisted fiend. Scurry back to your master, lest I allow Mada to uncover your ugly core."
• Big Damn Heroes: The stuff other Velvet Room attendants could only dream of. When the armored figure the group has been tracking down nearly chokes Rina out while she's alone, Clerval interrupts and not only saves Rina's life, but scares off the figure.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Eccentric he may be, he's still a Velvet Room attendant. He provides Rina with valuable advice and even saves her from being choked into unconsciousness.
• Cloudcuckoolander: To a T. When he enjoys some ramen with Rina, he stands up, asks who made it, and then tips the cook a hundred thousand yen.
• Intrigued by Humanity: He's fascinated by humans... perhaps a bit too much so.
• Mad Scientist: Gives off the impression of one with the way he talks about humans.
• Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: He doesn't intend to be as scary as he comes off.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Direct interference is against Velvet Room protocol, apparently, but it didn't stop him from saving Rina's life when she was caught flatfooted by the armored figure. Thankfully, he implies that Rina vouching for him will prevent Igor from punishing him.
• Slasher Smile: When he gets excited, he tends to give one of these. Or when angry, if his reaction to the armored figure is anything to go by.
• Spanner in the Works: Yuudai would have won without a hitch if it wasn't for Clerval.

Shadow Selves

In General

• Bold Inflation: Shadow Selves speak in bold and italics.
• Deconstruction: The Shadows all deconstruct a trope. Their Social Links usually reconstruct it.
  • Rina’s Shadow deconstructs I Just Want to Have Friends, with her not caring if they’re genuine so long as they’re friends.
  • Hikaru’s Shadow deconstructs I Just Want to Be Special, as he finds his limitations and responsibilities prevent him from being a hero.
  • Izumi’s Shadow deconstructs Determinator, with her wanting to plow ahead and not caring about her health.
  • Wilma’s Shadow deconstructs Nice Girl, as she’s so nice she’s willing to let people walk all over her so everyone can be happy.
  • Ryouichi’s Shadow deconstructs The Unfettered, as he’s willing to hurt... pretty much everyone who gets in his way so long as it feels good.
  • Tamiko's Shadow deconstructs the Chuunibyou, as since no one else shares her worldview she's fallen into a deep depression... and is willing to force people to accept her reality.
  • Kazuki's Shadow deconstructs Pursue the Dream Job, as he has the job of his dreams... but happens to be working for criminals, and would lose everything if he exposed them.
  • Arata's Shadow deconstructs Becoming the Mask, as he's begun to genuinely feel admiration and longing for a normal life - and can't figure out what the "real" him is.

Shadow Rina

“It doesn’t matter if these people aren’t true friends. They’re here and that’s all that matters.”

Rina's Shadow, born from her feeling trapped between staying friendless or making new, fake friends that only care about her status.

---

• The Baroness: She’s Rina but without any of the caring and motherly traits.
• The Unfought: Thanks to having the potential to be a Wild Card, Rina is able to fight back against her without a boss battle.

Shadow Hikaru

“How am I supposed to help people with all these responsibilities and burdens? Why even bother?”

Hikaru's Shadow, born from him feeling trapped between his responsibilities and his desire to be a hero.

---

• Despair Event Horizon: Appears to have hit this.
• The Eeyore: He’s perpetually depressed - until combat, that is.
• Irony: He’s weak to fire. Hikaru’s primary element is fire. Not only that, but Shadow Hikaru even uses a fiery laser from his shield. And to top it all off, a fire is what killed his old girlfriend.
• Logical Weakness: Of course his fire-absorbing shield is weak to ice.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: He may be weak to fire, but his shield protects him from that and also shoots out a giant laser in response.
• Mighty Glacier: He’s pretty slow, but extremely strong and can take a decent amount of punishment from Rina before he goes down.
• One-Winged Angel: Takes the form of a black werewolf with a sword and shield.
• Our Werewolves Are Different: This one wields a sword and a shield that shoots fire!
• Playing with Fire: His shield can shoot fiery bursts.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: "If you’re going to keep me chained to my everyday responsibilities, then I’ll just have to cut you down!"
• Tarot Motifs: Reversed Sun - Depression due to lack of success.

Shadow Izumi

“It doesn't matter how much it hurts on the way, so long as I reach my goal, right?”

Izumi's Shadow, born from her feeling trapped between her goals and her personal health.

---

• Achilles' Heel: Magic pierces straight through her healing factor.
• Attack! Attack! Attack!: Shadow Izumi has pretty much no strategy other than bashing people with her fists. And it works pretty darn well.
• Healing Factor: Gilgamesh stabs Shadow Izumi and she heals off the wound within seconds. That said, it doesn’t protect against magic.
• Lightning Bruiser: After she transforms, Shadow Izumi hits hard and fast, and takes a decent amount of punishment before she goes down.
• One-Winged Angel: Takes the form of a large octopus with fists on the ends of its tentacles.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: "Now get out of my way, before I run you over!"
• Tarot Motifs: Reversed Chariot - Lack of control and direction coupled with furious aggression.
• Tentacled Terror: Her berserk form is an octopus with fists.

Shadow Wilma

“All I need to do is obey... and then everyone will be happy.”

Wilma's Shadow, born from her feeling trapped between making others happy and making herself happy.

---

• Arm Cannon: She never actually fires it, but it’s one of her starting weapons.
• Ax-Crazy: She has hints of this, claiming she’ll cut a smile into the party’s face to make them happy if she needs to.
• Berserk Button: Don’t call her pulse blades lightsabers.
• Chainsaw Good: One of the first weapons she uses is a chainsaw. She keeps it for a good portion of the fight, using it to combat Aeneas and Rina.
• "Get Back Here!" Boss: In her sniper phase, she plays out like this. Rina has to position herself so that Shadow Wilma jumps straight into her line of fire when escaping from her teammates.
• Guns Akimbo: She briefly uses two machine guns to spray bullets everywhere.
• Insistent Terminology: They’re not lightsabers, they’re pulse blades!
• Laser Blade: She wields two of them in the final stages of her fight - “pulse blades”, as she calls them.
• Lightning Bruiser: Shadow Wilma can take a lot of punishment from three Persona users, is proficient in both ranged and melee combat, and is fast and acrobatic enough to leap across a giant room with ease.
• Madness Mantra: Shortly before transforming. “KILL! KILL! KILL!”
• One-Winged Angel: Takes the form of a mechanical humanoid with various weapons for arms.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: "I'll make you happy, even if I have to cut a smile into your face!"
• Shock and Awe: She explodes into electricity when Izumi is a little too insistent on punching her.
• Sniper Rifle: She uses one in the early stages of the fight - with some pretty large bullets.
• Stealth Pun: She switches weapons so often because she’s always trying something new to impress people.
• Tarot Motifs: Reversed Moon - Release of fear and distinct unhappiness.
• Walking Armory: She has a variety of weapons she uses to combat the Freedom Fighters.

Shadow Ryouichi

“Tearing down everything in my way makes me feel fantastic. And if I’m happy, why should I care?”

Ryouichi's Shadow, born from him feeling trapped between bottling his anger up and unleashing it on people.

---

• Achilles' Heel: Shadow Ryouichi's berserk form is utterly invincible - except for his core. He gets smart and starts moving it around his body when the Freedom Fighters first find it, but makes the mistake of tiring himself out enough to expose it again.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: The largest Shadow the party has faced up to this point.
• Berserk Button: Don't stand up to him or imply he's not in control.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Really, really beware.
• Exact Words: He says he'll grant the party access to his office if they beat the VIPs. He never said right away.
• Faux Affably Evil: He acts nice, even as he talks about crushing people who get in his way.
• Large Ham: He’s always overenthusiastic and bombastic, a sharp contrast from Ryouichi normally.
• Mighty Glacier: He's not particularly fast after he goes berserk, but he takes a significant amount of punishment (with his weak point being hard to hit in the first place) and is able to nearly knock Rina out with a single punch.
• No Indoor Voice: When he goes berserk, Shadow Ryouichi screams most of his lines at the top of his lungs.
• One-Winged Angel: Takes the form of a massive tornado with a sparking core and an electric face.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: "WHEN I'M DONE WITH YOU, YOU'LL BE NOTHING BUT A BLOODY PULP!"
• Rage Breaking Point: At first he's in his normal form, but that quickly changes as he's beaten down practically effortlessly, and all of his rage is unleashed in his transformation.
• Shielded Core Boss: Plays out like this; the tornado protects the core inside.
• Tarot Motifs: Reversed Emperor - Excessively controlling, dominating, and inflexible.
• Unskilled, but Strong: He doesn't really do anything other than simple physical tactics and the occasional Garula spell, but he proves to be extremely strong, being the first one to actually leave one of the Freedom Fighters incapacitated for a significant amount of time.

Shadow Tamiko

"I don't need anyone to understand! I'll just stay in my little world forever!"

Tamiko's Shadow, born from her being trapped between her magic and, as everyone else calls it, "reality".

---

• Awesomeness by Analysis: She targets the party's weaknesses, and is only thwarted by them intercepting for each other.
• Bond Villain Stupidity: Exploited by Rina; seeing how Tamiko loves to talk, she goads her on into talking at one point, giving Izumi enough time to startle her.
• Breather Episode: Zig-zagged. On the one hand, Tamiko is a much friendlier Shadow than Shadow Ryouichi - she never really does anything out of intentional malice, she actually helps the party against intruders, and she shows no ill will when the party beats her. On the other hand, her issues are by far the most serious of the party.
  • This applies to her actual fight as well. While Tamiko is able to knock out Hikaru, the tables swiftly turn against her as Izumi freaks out. Ultimately, her fight is around a thousand words shorter than Shadow Ryouichi's.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Even more so than normal Tamiko. She has the party follow arbitrarily set rules if they want to get to her.
• Expy: A jester with scythes, huh? She even says "I can do anything!"
• Friendly Enemy: Unlike the previous Shadows, Shadow Tamiko doesn't show any ill will towards others. She outright helps the party when they're battling against Jim and Gerald, and when everyone's exhausted she calls off the battle against her, encouraging them to get rest.
• Glass Cannon: Her eye form only takes a few hits to finish off, but it has access to Dyne spells.
• I Am Not Left-Handed: At first, Shadow Tamiko seems fairly easy - like a breather in comparison to Shadow Ryouichi. Then it turns out the Shadow is the carousel...
• Obliviously Evil: She views everything as just a game.
• One-Winged Angel: Takes the form of a headless jester-like figure carrying a scythe and riding a carousel. Subverted when it turns out that Shadow Tamiko is actually an eye controlling the entire carousel.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: "We're going to have fun forever, whether you like it or not!"
• Sinister Scythe: She wields one, which she uses to fight Nobuyuki's men. Her berserk form also has one. When she goes all-out, she sends energy scythes at the party as one of her moves.
• Tarot Motifs: Reversed Lovers - Imbalance, disharmony, and misaligned values.
• Yandere: She makes her intentions to keep the party with her forever clear.

Shadow Kazuki

"Survival over justice. I simply know my priorities."

Kazuki's Shadow, born between him feeling trapped between exposing the people in his theater troupe for their crimes (which will land him out of a job) or simply bearing with it.

---

• Affably Evil: Very polite and civilized, even when saying he'll execute the party.
• Attack the Tail: Gilgamesh cuts off his tail, giving Rina an advantage against him.
• Beware My Stinger Tail: His tail has a sharp barb on it, which he uses to stab a couple of the Freedom Fighters. It has venom on the tip that causes debilitating migraines.
• Blood Knight: Greatly enjoys fighting, to the point where he relishes when Rina gets the upper hand on him.
• Break Them by Talking: Tries this on Rina as a last resort when she's about to finish him off. It doesn't take.
• Brought Down to Badass: Rina manages to immobilize him by letting him grab her and then nailing him with a Kougaon spell, giving Tamiko a chance to analyze him. This destroys his cover and forces him to fight the Freedom Fighters directly. It does not impede him in the slightest, instead encouraging him to get creative with how he takes down the Freedom Fighters.
• Casting a Shadow: Uses Eigaon frequently.
• Climax Boss: Fought directly after the revelation that Kazuki is working for criminals, and is the longest and most difficult fight yet.
• Foe Romance Subtext: Given Rina and Kazuki's mutual crushes prior to the fight, of course this is present, albeit mostly on one side. Shadow Kazuki calls her his "princess" and makes several comments that could be construed as... beyond simple taunting. Rina isn't impressed.
• Hit-and-Run Tactics: For the first half of the fight, he hides in the shadows, darting at the party and getting quick strikes in before dashing back.
• Lightning Bruiser: By far the fastest Shadow the party faces, able to disappear in the blink of an eye. He takes a fair amount of punishment, too, and is strong enough to take down every Freedom Fighter except Rina and Tamiko.
• Logical Weakness: The bat that hides in the shadows is sensitive to light attacks.
• One-Winged Angel: Takes the form of a vicious bat-like creature, with arachnid-like legs and a barbed tail. The light reveals he's more reptilian than bat, as he's covered in scales.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: "I'll be sure to make your curtain call spectacularly gruesome!"
• Tail Slap: Uses this a couple times in the second part of his fight, mostly to knock people down or away from him.
• Tarot Motifs: Reversed Justice - Dishonesty, unfairness, and lack of accountability.
• Tranquil Fury: When Gilgamesh cuts off his tail, he drops any sense of politeness in favor of quiet rage.
  "You cut off my tail, Princess. You have forfeited your right to a quick death."

Shadow Arata

“Who am I really?! Am I the goody-two-shoes butler? Or the double-crossing traitor? LET ME DECIDE!”

Arata's Shadow, born from him feeling unsure of what his real personality is like due to growing to genuinely admire Rina's resolve.

---

• Body Horror: His true form, by far. It's a massive snake made entirely of flesh, with the face having a massive mouth that has tendrils sprouting out all over and an uncountable amount of teeth. No other facial features, either.
• Break Them by Talking: Briefly taunts Hikaru when he's about to finish him off. Exploited by Kazuki, who gears up for an attack while he's speaking.
• Facial Horror: Dear lord. The Freedom Fighters break both his masks midway through the fight, and what's beneath ain't pretty: neither head has an actual face, just a huge mouth with tendrils sprouting out.
• Light Is Not Good: Specializes in light skills, and is definitely not a good Shadow.
• Mood-Swinger: Crossed over with Jekyll & Hyde. When he's encountered in his office shortly before the fight, he flips between "Arata" and "Kobayashi" in rather drastic ways. However, it's technically two different sides of the same person he's flipping through.
• More Teeth than the Osmond Family: His true form has an uncomfortable amount of teeth inside its mouth.
• One-Hit Kill: Defeats most of the Freedom Fighters in one hit each after he turns into his true, grotesque form.
• One-Winged Angel: Takes the form of a two-bodied black-and-white snake with both halves wearing faceless masks. The black half wields whips, and the white half uses magic. When the masks are torn off to reveal fleshy mounds, he reveals another One-Winged Angel form, his scales peeling off to reveal flesh and both faces fusing together into a tentacle-mouthed serpent head.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: "You'll all feel the disharmony etched into my mind!"
• Tarot Motifs: Reversed Hanged Man - Indecision and delays.
• Unskilled Yet Strong: Even worse than Ryouichi in this regard, to the point where the Freedom Fighters agree the Shadows are getting too strong and they need to strike at the source after regrouping. After his masks are torn off, Arata only uses his mouth to attack, yet he manages to one-shot every Freedom Fighter he manages to actually attack.

The Shadow Syndicate

Nobuyuki Itou

"I may not know what the people of Sougawa want... but I know what they need."

“You will know my name soon enough, Rina Oshiro. Soon your entire team will know the name Nobuyuki Itou. And then you will regret having crossed me.”

Nobuyuki is initially presented as the main antagonist of the fanfiction, and is the sixth major opponent the Freedom Fighters face. He is the leader of the Shadow Syndicate and the one who has been sending The Men in Black against them. Nobuyuki seeks to seize control of Sougawa and has no lines he's unwilling to cross to achieve his goals.

When Nobuyuki is finally confronted, he reveals that he has a Persona of his own, named Humbaba. Humbaba was a giant from The Epic of Gilgamesh, who was slain by the titular character - and similarly, after Nobuyuki attempts to attack Rina despite being out of energy, she accidentally pushes him off the Sougawa Clock Tower, sending him falling to his death.

---

• A God Am I: He refers to himself as "the god of Sougawa" when summoning his Persona. Yuudai exploits this behavior to drive him further off the edge when he proves to be a nuisance.
• Ax-Crazy: He puts on a composed front, but during his battle he proves to be totally nuts.
• Badass Boast: Shortly before summoning Humbaba:
  "Yes, child. Now you understand! You aren't the only ones to have overcome your inner demons! I destroyed mine long ago! You've finally realized the magnitude of the threat you have brought upon your little team! Unfortunately for you, it is far too late for salvation. Did you think I would fall so easily to a band of ruffians? I control the very fate of this city! I am the god of Sougawa itself! Those Shadows you struggled against are my servants! No matter how much you work together, you are still mere insects compared to me! I created this empire from nothing! And I refuse to fall to a group of impudent teenagers! I WILL MAKE THIS CITY REBORN!"
• Badass Longcoat: He wears a black coat - and as a crime lord, you bet he's badass. His coat doesn't impede his combat prowess in the slightest.
• Badass Normal: He's able to keep up with seven (eight if you count Tamiko) Persona users at once with no special abilities. Until he reveals his powers, that is.
• Battle Theme Music: According to Arsene, in the comments of Chapter 88, she picked three different themes for his fight.
  • Initially: Chaos Bergentrückung
  • When he summons Humbaba: Unholy Insurgency
  • Finally, during Gilgamesh's Slow Walk through Humbaba's Holy Flames: Catastrophes Before The Calamity
• Benevolent Boss: He treats his minions fairly well - though they fear him. He even provides medical attention for them after they fail a mission. Despite his annoyance at Yuudai's lack of professionalism, he still keeps him around and treats him fairly well.
• Berserk Button: Betrayal, if his reaction to Arata turning on him is anything to go by, as well as his dismissal towards Rina trying to taunt him about Yuudai running away.
• Big Bad: Built up as the main villain.
• Breath Weapon: Humbaba can breathe fire - AKA Inferno, the highest-tier Fire spell.
• Butterfly of Death and Rebirth: Nobuyuki repeatedly refers to a "new age" in Sougawa and is also the only major character so far to outright die. His Persona, Humbaba, appears as a massive, flaming mechanical butterfly.
• Child Hater: Given the way he refers to the Freedom Fighters as "children" in a rather disdainful manner, it's implied he's not a fan of teenagers.
• Combat Pragmatist: He's able to keep up with the party in combat fairly well by using every dirty trick in the book, along with just a lot of plain Badass Normal moments. He even uses a shard of glass to try to stab Rina when he's out of options. He keeps this up when his Persona is summoned - when Tamiko proves to overwhelm it too much to fight back, he steps into the fray briefly just so he can attack her himself.
• Defiant to the End: Not once does he let up on his antagonistic behavior, even trying to kill Rina at the last minute. Even when falling to his death, he's screaming threats at her.
• Disc-One Final Boss: His fight is extremely long, and he's built up as the main antagonist. However, when he's defeated, there are still over twenty chapters left...
• Disney Villain Death: He dies from falling off the Sougawa Clock Tower.
• Establishing Character Moment: His very first scene is a dialogue-only conversation with Yuudai, where he carefully observes the Freedom Fighters, makes mental notes on them, and chides Yuudai for calling him "buddy".
• Evil Counterpart:
  • He works very well as Rina's evil counterpart. Both of them are individuals that are initially cold and calculating, and high in their status. However, Nobuyuki never grows out of it, and his status is a well-known crime lord, compared to Rina, who grows more emotional and trusting and her status is high up the social ladder.
  • This goes right down to their Personas and fighting styles. They both wield rapiers. However, Gilgamesh specializes in ice, while Humbaba uses fire (and light). Furthermore, in legend, Humbaba was a monstrous giant defeated by Gilgamesh.
• Evil Is Petty: In response to Rina trying to rescue her friends, he has his group attack her and her team several times with killing intent and even launches an assault on her sister and apartment.
• Evil Old Folks: He's described as an elderly man and is the main antagonist.
• Fire Purifies: Villainous example, as Humbaba is a fiery Persona that threatens to "purify" people. Given its Holy Flames, its definition of purification isn't pretty.
• Five-Second Foreshadowing: In the first part of his fight, Rina blasts him with a point-blank Agidyne that does absolutely nothing. It's a hint that Nobuyuki has more supernatural resistances, and confirmed when he summons his Persona shortly after.
• Flaming Sword: Humbaba can summon these; it's how it uses Agidyne.
• Flechette Storm: Humbaba does this, not with knives, but flaming swords.
• Genius Bruiser: Nobuyuki is fairly intelligent (though Yuudai seems to be smarter) and a force to be reckoned with in combat.
• Hate Sink: Virtually nothing positive can be said about him. Sure, he may have "good" intentions (and even that's flimsy), but he's still narcissistic, psychopathic, and willing to attack innocent people just to hurt Rina.
• Hidden Depths: In the April Fools chapter, Arsene states that Nobuyuki has a "cool backstory" that she plans on exploring in bonus chapters. Since it's, well, April Fools, the seriousness of this is debatable, but it's a hint. This is strongly supported by the reveal that Nobuyuki has a Persona. How did he get it? He even says he "overcame his inner demons", implying there's more to him than he lets on.
• Hot Wings: Humbaba has massive flaming wings.
• Hypocrite: He thinks he's doing the best for Sougawa... despite being the biggest crime lord in the city.
• Knight of Cerebus: As one of the only outright antagonistic characters, he’s definitely this. All comedic moments cease when he’s in the story. And that’s not getting into him ransacking Rina’s apartment.
• I Am Not Left-Handed: Reveals himself to have a Persona named Humbaba after the party corners him and promptly proves himself as an even more capable fighter.
• Large and in Charge: A massive man who's in charge of the Shadow Syndicate.
• Large Ham: Nobuyuki has his hammy moments when he summons his Persona, but Humbaba itself is even hammier than Gilgamesh.
  "YOU WILL BE PURIFIED!"
  "THE HOLY FIRES SHALL CLEANSE YOUR SOUL!"
• Light 'em Up: Humbaba can use Kougaon, firing off lances of light to blind the Freedom Fighters.
• Light Is Not Good: Humbaba has Kougaon as one of its moves, and is certainly not the Persona of a good man.
• Narcissist: Pretty much a textbook example, along with The Sociopath - he insists he's "the will of Sougawa" and believes only he can guide it to its "future" that he has dictated is the right path, sees basically everyone as beneath him, doesn't tolerate anyone disagreeing with him or standing in his way, and has zero lines he won't cross to achieve his goals.
• No Indoor Voice: In the same vein as Shadow Ryouichi, Humbaba screams every single one of its lines.
• Not So Stoic:
  • Gets legitimately angry when Arata betrays him; he smashes his cane on the ground hard enough to break it.
  • He gets even more furious when the Freedom Fighters corner him, and proceeds to chew the scenery after Humbaba awakens.
• Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Nobuyuki seems like he legitimately wants what's best for Sougawa and views his leadership as the only path to its salvation. That all goes out the window after he attacks Rina's apartment and after Arata reveals that Nobuyuki simply desires obsessive control over the city.
• Obviously Evil: He dresses in all black and is introduced as an ominous figure keeping surveillance on the Freedom Fighters. Not surprising when he takes the status of Big Bad.
• Orcus on His Throne: Never deals with the Freedom Fighters personally until they attack him directly, presumably due to seeing them as beneath him.
• Pet the Dog: Pretty much the only decent thing he does is give his underlings medical attention after they get beaten up particularly badly - and even then, he calls one of them an imbecile (though, to be fair, he had a point.)
• Playing with Fire: Humbaba primarily uses fire based spells.
• The Power of Friendship: Outright mocks the idea of this, stating you need to make sacrifices to progress in life. This doesn't work out for him in the end.
• Pure Is Not Good: Humbaba seeks to purify all of its opponents.
• The Sociopath: Displays most of the traits of a diagnosed psychopath. He's superficially charming and polite, has an inflated opinion of himself, is cunning and manipulative, has zero remorse or guilt even past his defeat, is impulsive and irresponsible, refuses to accept responsibility for his actions... the list goes on. He also happens to be a Narcissist on top of all that.
• The Stoic: A very cold and dismissive man.
• Sword Cane: His cane doubles as a gun.
• Targeted to Hurt the Hero: Nobuyuki personally attacks Rina's home and beats Furuta to near death, leaving a note beside her for Rina. However, Furuta survives this.
• Tarot Motifs: He fits Reversed Fool to a T. He constantly holds back despite having the potential to go all-out against the Freedom Fighters because he sees them as insignificant, he's rather reckless in how he goes about things, and takes large risks like attacking Rina's house and trying to kill her even after he's lost, the latter of which leads to his death. This helps solidify him as Rina's Evil Counterpart.
• Take Over the City: Nobuyuki's goal is to take over Sougawa and have absolute control over it, making sure everyone's lives conform to his standards.
• Tautological Templar: He sees himself as Sougawa's "guiding light" and therefore views all of his actions as justified. He says a line shortly before his fight that exemplifies his worldview perfectly.
  "Every action I take, no matter how cruel, is for the good of Sougawa. Every kidnapping, every attack, every murder. What do you do when there are bugs tainting your crops? You eliminate them."
• The Unfettered: Nobuyuki is more than willing to break the law and murder people in his way for his goals.
• Unwitting Pawn: Turns out Yuudai was playing him like a fiddle the whole time.
• Villainous Breakdown: Gradually loses it as the Freedom Fighters continue to prove too strong for him to fight. This culminates in him going completely berserk when summoning Humbaba... and it still isn't enough, which leads to him trying to kill Rina in desperation even though he's already lost. This results in his death.
• Walking Spoiler: The final confrontation with Nobuyuki has a number of revelations relating to him (namely the reveal of his Persona, as well as his death) that make it difficult to talk about him freely.
• Wave-Motion Gun: Humbaba's strongest technique, Holy Flames, is a massive laser that rips through everything in its path, though it takes a bit to charge. The only thing that can withstand it is Rina, through sheer willpower channeled into Gilgamesh.
• We Can Rule Together: He gives an offer to Rina to join him shortly before his fight, seeing potential in her as a useful ally. She refuses, understandably.
• Would Hurt a Child: Entirely willing to send his men after the Freedom Fighters with lethal intent, and more than willing to kill them himself if he needs to.

Yuudai Honda

"You all make me proud to be serving such a beautiful city!"

"You're telling me you're willing to rip away everyone's happiness because of something like free will? No more conflict! No more suffering! No more murders! None of that! I don't even want to rule over anything; I just want to make this city the best it can be! If I harnessed the Shadows' power, I could pretty much make the equivalent of world peace! No wars or anything! You're seriously saying no to world peace? You're the worst kind of person!"

Yuudai Honda, at first, appears to be a good-hearted businessman who wants to make the city a better place. He's revealed to be a villain fairly quickly, but despite being Nobuyuki's second in command and inventing the Shadow Syndicate's devices, he seems like a bumbling idiot, even running away when the Freedom Fighters confront him. However, not only is his idiocy an act, but it turns out he's actually the main villain.

As it turns out, Yuudai was sincere about making everyone in Sougawa happy. However, he intends to do so by letting the Shadows infect everyone so they'll be stuck as blissful husks. Furthermore, the armored figure shown briefly earlier in the fanfiction is actually his servant, Satomi. He eventually manages to absorb the power of the Mother Shadow, and becomes the Final Boss of the fanfiction.

---

• 11th-Hour Superpower: A terrifying villainous example, as he absorbs the Mother Shadow's power with only eleven or so chapters left in the story.
• Abusive Parents: Okay, maybe he's not actually Satomi's father, but how does experimenting on your child for fourteen years, calling them "it", and throwing random "girly" material goods at them to keep them satisfied sound for abusive?
• Affably Evil: He's actually very friendly, even after the reveal that he's the main villain. This does not make him any less terrifying. To wit: He's willing to have a friendly conversation with Rina to calmly and rationally explain his viewpoint like an adult, but if she attacks him, he's more than happy to beat her down in a vicious Curb-Stomp Battle and essentially force her to give up.
• A God I Am Not: When Rina accuses him of playing God, he disagrees very quickly.
  "Let's back up, because I wanna clarify I don't think I'm God. Or even a god. I'm just a guy."
• Armor-Piercing Question: Gives one to Rina that gets under her skin, though he gets cut off. He brings it up later, though it doesn't take that time.
  "Do you think total happiness is even possible with free will?"
• Animal Motifs: Insects and arachnids. His combat form is half-human, half-insect and he essentially wants to turn Sougawa into a hive mind. Grendel is a direct result of his experiments and is another insectoid creature. This is further emphasized in the Final Boss fight; he uses webs to connect his severed halves and his Father Shadow form is a gigantic hive.
• As the Good Book Says...: Played with. While he doesn't quote it exactly, Yuudai has a deep fascination with the Bible, using Adam and Eve as a comparison to the Mother Shadow and even using their story as an argument to Rina about why his viewpoint is right. He even summons a Bible by his side just to double-check to make sure he got everything right!
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: The Father Shadow is huge, eclipsing even Humbaba in height.
• Ax-Crazy: He's a total lunatic, made clearest when Izumi interrupts him and he flies into a rage. The exploration of his lab in the following chapters only serves to make this even more clear.
• Badass Boast: At the start of his final battle. Worth noting this is the only time he calls the Freedom Fighters by their correct name.
  "Kyahahahaha... I am Yuudai Honda, the Father Shadow! I have the will of the people on my side! And you WILL join me, Freedom Fighters, no matter what it takes!"
• Badass in a Nice Suit: From start to finish, he has a blue suit.
• Bait-and-Switch: When the Freedom Fighters attack Nobuyuki, Yuudai is contacted via walkie-talkie and says he's getting some sort of device ready that ensures the Freedom Fighters "won't even touch him". They confront him shortly after and it turns out the device is a raygun that he uses to... blast a hole in the wall so he can run away.
• Batman Gambit: His Xanatos Gambit listed below relies on the heroes attempting to befriend Satomi due to her Tragic Villain status. It works.
• Battle in the Center of the Mind: Engages in one with Rina in Chapter 106. Rina doesn't stand a chance.
• Berserk Button: Interrupting him. He goes from friendly and pleasant to losing his shit when Izumi cuts him off.
  "I AM TALKING!"
  • He references this again when Rina attacks him in Chapter 106 mid-sentence: "Rina, don't you remember how I feel about people interrupting me?"
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Introduced as a well-meaning authority figure. Nope.
• Blue-and-Orange Morality: To a terrifying degree. Yuudai's mind is so warped that he believes, since he desires the best for his beloved city, that he's incapable of doing anything wrong. He does, however, have a distinct logic behind his thought process and actions, which he explains to Rina in a surprisingly peaceful conversation with her.
• Body Horror: A comment calls him "so Cronenbergian it hurts". This is not an exaggeration. Yuudai mutilates his body in ridiculous ways during his proper fight, from cutting off his own tail to attacking while being split in half. Not to mention all of the gore due to his healing factor.
• Bond Villain Stupidity: Surprisingly, justified. Yuudai doesn't kill Rina at the end of her Curb-Stomp Battle despite that pretty much ensuring his victory. However, he has a perfectly good reason not to - killing is directly counterproductive to his goal; due to his respect for Rina, he wants to crush her hope so she'll join him.
• Brains and Brawn: He's the brains to Nobuyuki's brawn; Nobuyuki is a capable fighter and is far more personal in how he deals with the Freedom Fighters, while Yuudai is the non-powered brains who schemes behind the scenes.
• Break Them by Talking: He delivers a brutal speech to Rina during his battle with her.
• Bumbling Sidekick: To Nobuyuki. While Nobuyuki seems to ultimately trust him, he slips up several times. However, this turns out to be an act; he's dangerously competent.
• The Chessmaster: Yuudai is a dangerously smart manipulator. To wit: he's well aware that Satomi's Tragic Villain status is something that would endear her to the protagonists, who would no doubt try to empathize with her. What does he do? He deliberately makes her wait for everyone to regroup so that they can all try to befriend her and watches as they cause Satomi to unleash her full power, making her enough of a Shadow magnet that the Mother Shadow awakens. Yuudai almost certainly planned for this, if him grabbing a Shadow Extraction Machine was any indication - coupled with him admitting he's not good with empathy.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: A bumbling businessman who works for a crime boss - and is trying to turn everyone in the city into blissful husks.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Delivers an absolutely brutal one to Rina in Chapter 106. It's not even close; Yuudai is never really in any danger at any point in the fight despite his claims that Rina did well against him.
• Deadpan Snarker: Not too frequently, but he has his moments.
• Dirty Coward: Uses Nobuyuki's grunts to buy time to fire up a device that lets him flee from the Freedom Fighters.
• The Dog Was the Mastermind: Who would have thought Nobuyuki's laughably incompetent lackey was the Big Bad?
• Dragon Ascendant: An odd case. He becomes the Big Bad after Nobuyuki's defeat, but was working behind the scenes the whole time too.
• The Dragon: Appears to be Nobuyuki's second-in-command, despite being kind of silly. That said...
• Empowered Badass Normal: Yuudai has no superpowers, yet is still able to keep up with the Freedom Fighters via clever use of his gadgets and intelligence (with assistance from Satomi on the side). However, then he absorbs the Mother Shadow's power...
• Even Evil Has Standards: He calls out Nobuyuki for trying to rule with an iron fist and not considering the people. Granted, his view of considering the people is... twisted.
• Evil Counterpart: To Rina, unsurprisingly. Both of them are wealthy people of high status who are tired of how people treat others. However, Rina grows out of it and learns to appreciate what she does have, whereas Yuudai tries to force the problem to resolve itself. Essentially, Rina is willing to change to better her life whereas Yuudai seeks to change everything else around him.
• Evil Genius: He designs Nobuyuki's technology; to be specific, he designs the elemental bullets and Shadow controlling remotes as well as Nobuyuki's gun-cane.
• Evil Virtues: Yuudai is ambitious, determined, passionate, and actually has somewhat admirable and even purehearted motives even if he views free will as detrimental to total happiness.
• Fatal Flaw: Pride. While Yuudai isn't arrogant, per se - his confidence is healthy and he adjusts properly for the Freedom Fighters, seeing them as a threat - the few mistakes he makes are based on the assumption that he's going to win, with no contingencies. This not only gets him discovered as the villain and leads to Rina getting her 11th-Hour Superpower, but is what lets Rina finish him off, as he's convinced he's won due to crushing Rina's hope and brings her up to face him - which lets her deliver the final blow with Rostam.
• Foil: To Nobuyuki, in many ways.
  • Their personalities are almost completely opposite. Nobuyuki is cold, calculating, and stoic, with nothing but disrespect for the Freedom Fighters. Yuudai, however, is expressive, bombastic, and cheerful, and genuinely likes Rina. Worth noting both of them view her as a Worthy Opponent.
  • Yuudai has to rely on the Mother Shadow to actually fight and knows when he's beaten, while Nobuyuki has a Persona and is blinded by his sheer arrogance. This leads to Yuudai getting away alive and Nobuyuki dying.
  • Both of them are associated with bugs of various kinds; however, Nobuyuki is associated with butterflies, whereas Yuudai is associated with much nastier-looking bugs like scorpions.
• Foreshadowing: There are a couple major hints that he knows more than he lets on.
  • After Shadow Kazuki's battle, Yuudai states: "If you get enough Shadows gathered together, you could get enough power to control the entire city!" This is a warning that he knows far more about the Shadows than he's indicated so far, and a strong hint towards the Mother Shadow's existence.
  • Speaking of, in Yuudai's first proper villain intermission, he warns Nobuyuki that he shouldn't underestimate the heroes. However, in the post-Shadow Kazuki intermission, he's gone through a sudden about-face in attitude, encouraging Nobuyuki's superiority and downplaying the effectiveness of the Freedom Fighters - a major hint that something's off. On a reread, this comes off as him deciding he doesn't need Nobuyuki anymore and that the Freedom Fighters may be able to grow strong enough to take him out.
• Getting Smilies Painted on Your Soul: His ultimate goal is to force everyone in Sougawa to be happy via possessing everyone with the Shadow disease.
• Graceful Loser: He accepts his defeat pretty well; Rina goes to visit him in prison and he even encourages Rina to keep on fighting the good fight. He makes it clear he hasn't changed his beliefs, though.
• "It" Is Dehumanizing: A very bizarre, sort-of-justified case. He refers to Satomi as "it", and it seems like he's degrading her at first - until it turns out he isn't. He views Satomi as larger than life - a sacrifice for his ultimate goal of making everyone in Sougawa happy, and thus refers to her as "it" because, in his eyes, she's ascended beyond that.
• Karma Houdini: Subverted. He's supposedly gone right back to his usual work after Nobuyuki's downfall, with the public none the wiser to his actions. Rina and Arata do discuss confronting him after they've quelled the Shadow threat for good, but end up confronting him anyway when he turns out to be the final antagonist. He ends up in jail with his reputation shattered - though he can't really stay in jail for long due to lack of evidence, his reputation as a businessman went down the drain, and he has no chance of rising up again.
• Lack of Empathy: Self-admitted!
  "I'll admit I'm not the best people person..."
• Large Ham: Best displayed in his Motive Rant, where he goes into a fantastically bombastic speech about his vision, with rare subdued moments.
• Laughably Evil: In contrast to Nobuyuki, Yuudai is downright hilarious in his eccentricities and bumbling nature. This even stays when he's revealed as the main villain; while he's played far more seriously, he has minor moments of laughs, like mistiming when to call out a Pre-Mortem One-Liner.
• Leitmotif: Inexorable
• Luke, I Might Be Your Father: While Satomi is unambiguously Arata's sister, Yuudai's role in their family tree is unclear. It's discussed in-story that he might even be their father, though never outright confirmed.
• Malicious Misnaming: He refers to the Freedom Fighters by mocking names like "Failure Fighters", "Fire Fighters", and so on. Oddly, this may not be "malicious", as he seems to respect them.
• Manipulative Bastard: He manages to play to Nobuyuki's ego and can even get inside Rina's head and prevent the Freedom Fighters from instantly attacking him so he can stall for time.
• Master of Illusion: Whereas Nobuyuki specialized in brute force in his fight, and Yuudai's no slouch in that department himself, he primarily relies on tricks, manipulating the landscape, and breaking speeches to fight. It sure works against Rina.
• Mind Rape: In Chapter 106, he literally gets inside Rina's head and manages to essentially kill a mental representation of herself. It leaves her unable to summon her Personas until she's summoned to the Velvet Room once more.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: He calls out the heroes for taking down Nobuyuki without considering the consequences. It turns out that despite being the main villain as everyone suspected, he had nothing to do with the Shadows spreading. That was their fault, because Nobuyuki kept the Shadows under control, and now they can breed unchecked.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Yuudai's healthy confidence in himself ultimately proves to be his greatest flaw several times, as he goes through with several moves that end up exposing himself (though, granted, the only reason they didn't work was because of circumstances he couldn't control or had no knowledge of).
  • If he hadn't sent Satomi to kidnap Rina, then the Freedom Fighters would have had more trouble figuring out he was behind everything. Granted, the only reason this kidnapping attempt didn't work was because of Clerval, someone Yuudai had no idea about.
  • Rather than killing Rina when he has the chance, he leaves her alive because he likes her and would rather have her on his side. This gives Rina a chance to recover - though, again, this is with the assistance of the Velvet Room, something Yuudai had no idea existed. If it wasn't for that, Rina could have very well given up right there.
  • Related to the above: him entering Rina's mind and attacking her there, while crucial in breaking her spirit, ultimately proves instrumental in Rina deducing that he's hiding in Satomi's mind thanks to being aware he has that ability.
• Noodle Incident: Apparently, the last time he tried to make light bullets, they exploded.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: He moonlights as Nobuyuki's bumbling lackey and manages to fool everyone into thinking he's just a Bumbling Sidekick. In reality, he's smarter than his boss ever was.
• Obviously Evil: Downplayed, as while he does present himself decently well as a businessman before the minor reveal that he's a villain, there have been jokes out-of-character about his name being pronounced You Die.
• One-Winged Angel:
  • In the battle against Rina, he assumes a form where his top half is normal but his bottom half is some sort of bug-like thing with a scorpion tail. He even gets claws! He uses this form for the majority of the first part of his final fight as well.
  • His final form, the Father Shadow, is a massive hive with tentacles, covered in masks of the people he's infected with Shadows. His head is at the top, too.
• Out-Gambitted: Yuudai is devilishly smart, and his plan to break Rina via taking away all her friends via the Father Shadow almost works. However, he's blinded by his joy that Rina finally sees his way that he drops his guard for a second - and that's enough for Rina to finish him off.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Serves to be a more goofy foil to Nobuyuki's serious moments. Until it turns out he's the main villain, that is.
• Pragmatic Villainy: A centerpiece of Yuudai's behavior as a villain, but interestingly, this is usually only determined after actions that seem like Kick the Dog moments. His poor treatment of Satomi is juxtaposed by him giving her proper food, water, and a place to stay because she needs it. He viciously beats down Rina and corrupts her sister because he views it as the only way to get her to see his viewpoint - after all, if a friendly chat with her didn't work, what else is he supposed to do? And so on.
• Scary Scorpions: His battle form has several insectoid traits, but it's most associated with scorpions - he's got the multiple legs and, most importantly, the barbed tail.
• Shapeshifter Guilt Trip: He transforms into Wilma when Rina stabs him. The shock is enough for her to let her guard down - and for him to land a brutal strike. He tries the same trick later, attacking her under the guise of Wilma, but the rest of her teammates are around this time.
• Slasher Smile: This is pretty much his default expression after The Reveal.
• Smug Snake: Yuudai is devilishly smart and good with technology, but his ego makes him a rather bumbling lackey. Subverted hard, though, as his incompetence was an act; he's actually very good at keeping his ego in check - while he has a healthy dose of confidence that does backfire a couple times, he's never arrogant about it and still manages to one-up the Freedom Fighters several times.
• Smug Super: When he absorbs the Mother Shadow's power, he relishes in it at every second, especially in his one on one fight with Rina.
• The Starscream: Implied. He doesn't get the chance to betray Nobuyuki, but makes it clear he was treacherous enough that he likely would've ditched him given the chance. The logs found in his lab further confirm this, with Yuudai talking about how he'll be "out of the way" eventually.
  Kazuki: So Nobuyuki was just a pawn to you?
  Yuudai: Yeah, pretty much.
  • Arsene confirmed that if Rina wasn't around, Yuudai would have broken his no-killing policy just to murder Nobuyuki.
• Stealth Insult: He apparently gave Nobuyuki a shirt for Christmas that said "World's Worst Crime Lord". Seemed innocent enough, but Arsene confirmed it was Yuudai giving a subtle jab towards Nobuyuki due to his distaste for him.
• Tautological Templar: You thought Nobuyuki was bad in this department? Yuudai is physically incapable of seeing anything he does as wrong because it's for "happiness". At the very least, Nobuyuki seemed to acknowledge that his actions were cruel.
• The Unfought: Subverted. At first, Yuudai seems like he's not going to get a proper fight, as he wisely runs away from the Freedom Fighters rather than actually battling them. However, he's revealed to be the main villain and gets a proper showdown as the Final Boss.
• Übermensch: Yuudai lives entirely by his own moral code; rather than trying to understand Rina's point of view he primarily focuses on getting her to see his. It doesn't work.
• Unskilled, but Strong: Discussed Trope. Rina points out they still stand a chance against Yuudai because while he has an absurd amount of power from the Mother Shadow, it's safe to assume he has no real idea how to use it and his weakness is a lack of finesse. This gives the Freedom Fighters the motivation to rise up against him. He even admits this is the case in Chapter 106.
• Utopia Justifies the Means: He's deluded enough that he thinks his motivations are justified because of "total happiness", and says the Freedom Fighters hate world peace because they oppose him.
  Arata: There's no point to world peace if you can't enjoy it.
  Yuudai: But people will enjoy it. In fact, they won't be able to do anything but enjoy it. Sougawa will be a utopia! Everyone will be free to do as they please, completely guilt-free - it's like heaven on earth!
• Villain with Good Publicity: He’s a well-respected CEO amongst the public, but is actually working for a crime lord - and infecting the city with Shadows.
• Visionary Villain: His twisted worldview extends to the entirety of Sougawa. After his big confrontation in Chapter 101, he goes on a long Motive Rant that details how much he hates the constant crimes and suffering he sees in Sougawa and how he sees total happiness as the ultimate solution.
• Visual Pun: His Father Shadow form is a giant hive covered in masks of the people who have fallen victim to Shadows. It's a literal hive mind.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: His Shadow power lets him reshape his limbs. This can go from changing his hands into claws to larger scale changes like turning his entire lower half into a more insect-looking one. He uses this to great effect in the first part of his fight, even shapeshifting into Wilma once to mess with Rina's head (though it doesn't take this time).
• Walking Spoiler: Even more so than Nobuyuki; he's the reason all spoilers were unmarked on this page.
• We Can Rule Together: He offers Rina join him to save herself from the Shadow disease. She refuses, thankfully.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Discussed in Chapter 92; Arata brings up the possibility Yuudai was working with Nobuyuki because he genuinely sought to make the city a better place. The worst part is, Arata is right.
• Wham Shot: Yuudai's Father Shadow form is a massive, shadowy being with tendrils and masks covering it. Coupled with the name, and suddenly it's scarily familiar.
• Wicked Cultured: This man literally summoned the Bible into existence just so he could read from it. He engages in a discussion with Rina about the story of Adam and Eve and uses it to support his points.
• Worthy Opponent: Considers the Freedom Fighters as such - especially Rina. He admits he respects and likes her and even avoids killing her because he'd rather have her on his side.
• Xanatos Gambit: A scary one relating to Satomi. He sends her to defeat the Freedom Fighters and, presumably, inject them with Shadows. However, he's also banking on them attempting to befriend Satomi, causing her emotions to break through so she can unleash her powers. If they fail, Satomi defeats them all and allows Yuudai to inject them with Shadows, putting the Freedom Fighters out of the way permanently and giving him essentially all the time in the world to find an alternate way to get the Mother Shadow out of hiding. If they succeed, Satomi loses control and her Shadow powers going ballistic summons the Mother Shadow instead - which is exactly what ends up happening.
• You Can't Make an Omelette...: Parodied, as he can't even be bothered to remember the expression correctly.
  Wilma: You're taking away people's free will with Shadows! That's not okay!
  Yuudai: I dunno, ain't there an expression about an omelette and eggs or something?
• You Can't Thwart Stage One: Yuudai manages to get away scot-free from battling against the Freedom Fighters and suffers very few setbacks to his plans, even pulling off a clever Xanatos Gambit mentioned above. The only time the Freedom Fighters have a chance to stop him is when he's completely cornered in Satomi's mind and when he has the full power of the Mother Shadow backing him up.

Satomi Kobayashi

"I'm sorry. But I'm beyond saving."

"You won't be finding him anytime soon."

Satomi is initially introduced as a mysterious armored figure that saves Rina from death. She doesn't show up again until far after Nobuyuki is defeated, where she reveals herself to be a villain via attempting to choke Rina into unconsciousness, only stopped by Clerval. Commanding strange and mysterious powers, Satomi opposes the Freedom Fighters at the end of their trek through Yuudai's laboratory.

The journey through Yuudai's laboratory and the subsequent fight with Satomi reveal several things. First of all, Satomi happens to be Arata's sister, and Yuudai might be their father. Second of all, Satomi's powers were the result of Yuudai experimenting on her for nearly fourteen years. And finally, Yuudai's experimentations eventually granted her a half-Persona half-Shadow being known as Grendel. Due to being a separate entity, his tropes are covered below.

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• Battle in the Center of the Mind: Zig-zagged. The final battle against Yuudai takes place in her head - however, she doesn't take part in this fight.
• Choke Holds: Nearly chokes Rina into unconsciousness. Luckily, Clerval interferes. She uses this move in combat as well, using her Shadow abilities to rip the air out of someone's lungs.
• Cool Sword: A red one.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Oh, boy, where to start? She was separated from her brother at birth and experimented on for fourteen years by Yuudai. He injected Shadow essence into her over a two-week period consistently, until he managed to get her to develop crazy powers. Not only that, he treated her less like a person and more like an idea. And her only company was Grendel.
• The Dragon: To Yuudai.
• Emotionless Girl: Justified, as Yuudai's experiments suppressed her emotions - and seemingly for good reason. When she actually starts to feel things again thanks to the Freedom Fighters persistently trying to befriend her, she loses it.
• Evil All Along: Downplayed; her first action was saving Rina's life, but she's not treated as a good guy necessarily. Still, the Freedom Fighters lean towards her being an ally - until she nearly chokes Rina out.
• Expy: Of Black Mask from Persona 5. She’s the main villain’s obedient puppet, she has a special ability that regular Persona users don’t, and she goes crazy and gets a new outfit after she’s first defeated. However, Satomi’s personality and motivations for being the way she is are significantly different from Black Mask's.
• Hope Is Scary: Enough to drive her completely mad when she first starts feeling it. Grendel exploits this to get her to fight.
• It's Personal with the Dragon: When Arata finds out she's his sister, the group agrees that they'll save her and focuses more on her than Yuudai.
• Laughing Mad: Does this fairly frequently after she goes berserk.
• Long-Lost Relative: As revealed by Yuudai's tapes, she's Arata's sister.
• The Quiet One: Barely talks; she doesn't say a word in her first appearance and barely speaks more than a few sentences in her second and third. She's more talkative in her fight, though, especially when she loses it.
• Sheathe Your Sword: Rina defeats her by refusing to fight her and trying to get her to express her emotions freely. While Satomi's Shadow powers go completely out of control afterwards, she did stop fighting.

Grendel

"Feel it all! Feel everything you've been suppressing! The joy! The loneliness! The RAGE! Let it all come loose, so you can finally SET ME FREE!"

Satomi's Persona... though it's far more of a separate entity than most Personas. Satomi didn't develop it herself, and it was instead forced upon her by Yuudai's experiments, resulting in a half-Persona, half-Shadow monstrosity. Grendel is viciously hungry and craves freedom more than anything, but ultimately proves to be far more loyal than he lets on.

Grendel is named after a character in Beowulf - fittingly enough, he and Hikaru take issue with each other. Grendel is one of the three monsters that Beowulf battles, though he is eventually slain. He takes the form of a black insect-like creature with tentacles sprouting out of his back and mouth, and four red eyes.

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• Anti-Villain: Arsene states she wrote him as such. He's not necessarily evil, he's just radically obsessed with freedom to the point of coming off as a lunatic. He seems to be a reluctant ally to the Freedom Fighters now that Satomi's mellowed out.
• Ax-Crazy: Big time. Grendel is absolutely nuts, made clear starting from his first few lines. However, it's implied this is just because he's spent most of his life trapped inside Satomi's head and the sudden ability to break through drove him crazy. Sure enough, by the next chapter, he's mellowed out a bit.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Grendel uses some darkness spells and initially seems like the most Ax-Crazy Persona, and while he is still vicious, he ultimately just wants to keep Satomi safe.
• Eldritch Abomination: He's on the level of Unferth; he looks like some sort of insect with four red eyes, tentacles sprouting out of his mouth, and more tentacles sprouting out of his back. This presumably ties into Yuudai's insect motif, as Grendel was a product of his experiments.
• Everyone Has Standards: Despite being rude, he cares about people being able to rest undisturbed, as he outright yells at the Freedom Fighters to keep it down. However, this may just be because it's Satomi.
• Extreme Omnivore: Grendel is constantly hungry and will eat pretty much anything to satisfy this urge. This is Played for Laughs in the Halloween chapter, where he finishes off the candy bowl Arata had. Literally.
• Foil: To Gilgamesh, unsurprisingly. Gilgamesh is stalwart, sophisticated, and works in sync with Rina, willingly following her orders. Grendel is conniving, "casual" in his language, and desires nothing more than freedom from Satomi's mind despite being close with her.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Fits into this neatly when he's not in devour mode. He's somewhat snappy and irritable, but ultimately just wants Satomi to be okay and is willing to help the Freedom Fighters... though not without grumpy commentary.
• I'm a Humanitarian: He has an unhealthy obsession with devouring things - including the Freedom Fighters. And Yuudai, apparently, given how he asks the Freedom Fighters to "save some for (him)".
• Large Ham: Grendel's able to keep up with Gilgamesh on the ham scale, best exemplified during their ideological debate.
• Leitmotif: Arrow To The Head
• Morality Pet: Satomi, of course. Even when it's revealed he's not all that bad, he's kind of a jerk, but he treats Satomi very well and expresses concerns over her multiple times.
• Shut Up, Kirk!:
  Gilgamesh: Enough of your blathering, creature! You know nothing about being a warrior! We battle with honor and respect for each other. You have no understanding of EITHER of those concepts! And for that, you will fall by my blade!
  Grendel: Shut... the hell... UP!
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: He and Hikaru do not get along; as mentioned above, this is likely a Mythology Gag. Thankfully, their mutual respect for Rina keeps them from getting in each others' way.

The Syndicate Grunts

Gerald: You kids are something special. No wonder we're supposed to kill you.

The main people in the Shadow Syndicate. Named ones include Jim, Gerald, Chris, Isabelle, Piper, Sylvester, Cathy, and Eduard Dominic Laurin von Junkermann, The Third.

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• Bilingual Bonus: Eduard's one line is entirely in German: "Ich weiß nicht! Ich glaube, er ist auf den Turm! Verletzt mich nicht, bitte!" ^Translation "I don't know! I think he's at the top! Don't hurt me, please!"
• Idiot Ball: Lampshaded in-universe. The grunts usually aren't very smart, and Nobuyuki and Yuudai both get repeatedly irritated over their poor performance.
• Overly Long Name: Eduard Dominic Laurin von Junkermann, The Third. This stands out even more because everyone else has simplistic names like Jim and Chris.
• Smug Snake: Most of them fall under this; they're decently competent and know the weaknesses of the Freedom Fighters, but their egos more often than not get in the way.
• Token Minority: An odd example, as all of the grunts are foreign (due to Sougawa's lack of immigrant support, they're forced to turn to crime) but the only one that's blatantly German is Eduard.
• The Von Trope Family: Eduard Dominic Laurin von Junkermann, The Third.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Mention of them completely ceases after Nobuyuki's defeat - to be fair, the Freedom Fighters did drive all of them out of his hideout. Then again, it stops mattering when Yuudai infects the city with Shadows.

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