Fanfic / Persona 5 Going The Distance

Persona 5: Going the Distance is a Persona 5 fanfic, written by Kupow. The story follows the plot of the game, with the added element that Ren Amamiya is a boxer prodigy, and that his parents (who love him very much) actually appear though out the story.

The story is completed at January 2020 with side stories connected to the Going the Distance verse getting released. The story has two sequels, "Going the Distance: Extra Rounds" centering on the thieves third year of high school and "Going the Distance: The Hands and The Heart" which focuses on Ren's college years and his story on the way to becoming Pro.

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Persona 5: Going the Distance provides example of:

• Adaptational Deviation:
  • Kaneshiro's Palace takes the form of a Wild West-inspired bank rather than a futuristic one. Kupow's notes state that the change originates from their disappointment that the Phantom Thieves never staged a train robbery in the canon game.
  • Ren's main melee weapon are not the canonical dagger he wields, but fists with invisible blades to match his background as a boxer in this story.
  • Due to Ren dating Ann at an early point of the story, several of the "confidant" events were done differently. For example, Ryuji is the one to pose as Makoto's fake boyfriend instead.
• Adaptation Expansion:
  • Ren's life before being arrested is greatly expanded upon here. Here he's given the backstory of being a high school level boxer, whose parents run a Inn in their hometown of Kamakura. The people Ren interacted with at his hometown are also explored on such as his ex-girlfriend Reiko.
  • Kobayakawa's involvement with the conspiracy was expanded on that he recruits and send accomplished students to an university that indoctrinates the conspiracy's beliefs while those who are useless are sent to become Kaneshiro's victims.
  • The story gives a view to how the rest of the conspiracy are exposed and captured in the months when Ren is arrested and put in solitary confinement.
• Adaptational Karma: Sugimura, in canon, had his fate left vague beyond how his engagement with Haru is officially broken off. In this story, Sugimura is arrested and exposed as a member of Shido's conspiracy.
• Adapted Out: Due to the story being written before Royal was released, any elements from Royal didn't make it to the main scenario with Jose being a non-entity. Though Maruki and Sumire appears in the sequel, the author mentions that their Character Development will move forward without the Metaverse to catalyze it. Strikers and Tactica by extension also got Adapted Out due to the two games being released after the main story was completed.
• Affectionate Nickname: Ren and Ann have one for each other: "Wildcard" for Ren (which doubles as his ring name) and "Songbird" for Ann.
• Age Lift: Sumire as she appears in The Hands and the Heart is stated to be a year younger than Kaoru and Futaba, instead of being Futaba's age like she was in canon.
• Amicable Exes: Ren and his ex girlfriend Reiko. Even though she was pressured into breaking up with him after his arrest by her father, which she didn't want to, Ren forgives her.
• The Atoner: In The Hands and the Heart, Goro works behind the scenes and implied to be joining the Shadow Operatives, secretly applying the Phantom Thieves methods in real life situations and help to atone for the lives he ended when he still worked for Shido.
• Babies Ever After: The main story ends with an epilogue of Ren and Ann's son starting his own story in Shujin. A side story later reveals that Ren and Ann had two children, a son and a daughter.
• Chick Magnet: Ren, just like his canonical counterpart. He has his ex girlfriend and a sister figure who used to have a Precocious Crush on her back in his hometown and then there's Ann. The Extra Rounds sequel reveals that since his name was cleared, Ren grew even more popular.
• Cutting Off the Branches: The story follows the original game's setting rather than Royal due to the story being published before Royal was released globally.
• Deadpan Snarker: In GTD, Ren is this and then some.
• Interrupted Suicide: Happens twice. First with Shiho, and then a few chapters later with Ren, when he finds out Shido is causing trouble for his parents business, so he plans to hang himself so he won't be a burden, but is interrupted by Ann before he can.
• Invisible Parents: Averted in this fic. Ren's parents, Kenji and Inoue, actually appear at the start of the story and regularly appear through, whether it be them visiting him, or calling him, unlike in canon where the protagonist's parents never called.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Though Ren does remark that Kaname was unnecessarily hostile towards Ann when his surrogate sister meets Ann during the summer vacation to prove her point, she was right and legitimately concerned that Ren and Ann's relationship developed a lot too quickly and skipped over several phases that the two went straight to getting intimate for the first several weeks they got to know each other. Though she doesn't know about the intricacies of the cognitive world being part of how Ren and Ann got to meet and get along at the time, she noted and points out that the way their relationship develop too quickly, on top of being together through the danger and stress of their life would make it quickly fall apart. Fortunately, Ren and Ann talked it out and try to do better to make their relationship work.
• Meet Cute: The main story ends with a fast-forward to the future years later, where Ren and Ann's son has one with a newly arrived transfer student and start their own love story.
• Metaphorically True: In the sequels, Ren and co only tells the non-Metaverse related version of Ren's story when prompted, such as Ren telling his old rival back in his hometown when they reunite how he was sent to Shujin as a victim of the conspiracy after his false accusation since Kobayakawa is involved with Shido, and how Shido tried to pin the blame of all his crimes on Ren at the end of the year.
• The Missus and the Ex: When Reiko ends up coming to Tokyo and reuniting with Ren at the end of Chapter 10, she spends time with Ann, who is unable to dislike Reiko, since Reiko is generally sorry for abounding Ren.
• My Sister Is Off-Limits: Kaname, the adoptive daughter of Ren's boxing teacher and Ren's surrogate sister is protective and had hard standards on who gets to be the one that could make Ren happy. Ren notes that it took a while for Kaname to warm up to Reiko until the false arrest by Shido ruined it with Reiko being forced to break up with Ren by her father, and Kaname was similarly hostile to Ann when she meets Ren's new friends and had her own concerns to how Ren and Ann's relationship developed too quickly and don't want Ren to be just as ruined and devastated like how he was when Reiko broke up with him.
• The Nicknamer: Shiho. Most of the main cast gets a nickname from her at some point. Notably, because she's already given Yusuke one by the time Futaba is introduced (that being "Da Vinci"), his canon nickname "Inari" is never coined.
• Official Couple: Ren/Ann is the main couple. The story also had hints to Ryuji/Makoto and Yusuke/Haru.
• One Degree of Separation: Reiko, Ren's ex from his hometown, is cousins with Nakanohara Natsuhiko.
• Original Character: A good portion of the supporting casts are characters that expand the world and that of Ren's hometown.
• Refuge in Audacity: How Ren managed to strike a deal with Takemi. He claimed the Phantom Thieves plan to scout and infiltrate Kamoshida's Palace while in a medical check-up. Takemi bought it and agreed because Ren came over to his clinic beaten up and making up a crazy story to get them.
• Retired Badass: One side story centering on Ren and Ann's children reveals that Ren eventually retires from being a pro-boxer and becomes a househusband taking care of the house and his children with Ann, but he still trained his son as best as he can.
• Shown Their Work: The author has done a great deal of research to the boxing references and shout-outs done throughout the story and shows it in the narrative. The author has also practiced martial arts in real life and showcased what they know.
• Slice of Life: The sequels are a mix of this genre and a Sports Shounen manga in contrast to the initially action-packed tale of Persona 5 canon.
• Small Reference Pools: Every chapter title is a reference to a boxing move, famous match or person in boxing, with an explanation to what it means, as a nod to Ren's history as a boxer.
• Spared by the Adaptation:
  • Ryuji is able to rescue Shiho before Kamoshida can force himself on her, but she's still threatened by him over text and attempts suicide from the roof as a result. Thankfully, Ren is able to recognize the signs thanks to personal experience and manages to talk her down before she jumps.
  • Akechi escapes from his canonical Uncertain Doom and gets to live to eventually testify against Shido in Ren's stead.
• Troll:
  • Ren does this from to time, though its usually to people who are in positions of power to wide them up.
  • Shiho is a fiend when she's in the mind to tease someone (which is often).
• Uptown Girl: Before their break up due to Ren's false arrest, Reiko was this to Ren as her family is wealthy.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Reiko is described as such. Justified Trope, however, as Reiko is stated to be from a rich family.