Persona series

Wow that is like the exact opposite of how most mottos go.

They are doing good though? Like, I'm honestly not sure what the problem is. They act outside of the law to take down truly horrendous criminals the law can't or won't touch but they're still inarguably good people.

edited 6th Jun '17 12:33:31 PM by LordVatek

It seems he has a persona hang-up no one here can help with. Not to mention how his personal model can be applicable to any kind of social injustice past and present.

edited 6th Jun '17 12:35:53 PM by VeryMelon

That is like the complete antithesis to Persona 5's theme lol. Doing nothing is exactly why the conflict of the game exists. The main characters are the only ones who are willing to stand up and do something about the shitty system they all live in.

But hey, if that's not your cup of tea. Just avoid the game then, it doesn't sound like you'd like it.

edited 6th Jun '17 12:36:41 PM by BlackYakuzu94

They're not even criminals. Pretty sure you have to break the law for that which they aren't actually doing.

Ha, right. I was like so dissapointed when I found out I couldn't break into some random schmo's house to rob him blind, haha.

Technically speaking, they're essentially brainwashing people against their will, and one of their members is an international hacker.

But yea, they're not actual criminals like the Antagonists are.

The whole heart-stealing thing is just being supernaturally persuasive. Ain't no law against that.

@Zero Point: I think you're operating on some erroneous information here, mate. What crimes do you think the characters are committing? How much of the premise do you know?

I really hate the trope of having the glamor of being a pirate or thief without actually doing anything morally reprehensible.

It's like those anime where kids wave guns around and talk big about killing people but never actually shoot anything that isn't a monster or something.

Indeed.

I mean I like the Thieves but I wish I had to option to pick-pocket someone or do something bad.

edited 6th Jun '17 1:43:59 PM by slimcoder

Well then you run into the problem of the characters being truly just or not. I mean, we're supposed to be rooting for these characters going up against a corrupt system. Kind of defeats the purpose if they're resorting to similar crimes.

So, imo, they shouldn't be themed after thieves. Since they're not, really, they're just kids wearing costumes spouting one liners and anime cliches.

Yeah, the "Phantom Thieves" are pretty much The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything in terms of actually thieving. They "steal hearts", but that's just a poetic turn of phrase — what they're actually doing is inspiring a My God, What Have I Done? by making people confront the evil of their ways via a supernatural method that literally can't even be attempted if the person's ways aren't actually evil.

That said, it's very much a story about working outside the system because the system has failed, so if that idea bothers you, then Persona 5 isn't going to be your cup of tea. Actually, if what you're looking for is a story about The Rightful Authorities confronting and overcoming The Bad People, then none of the Persona games are probably going to sit well with you, because they're all about a Rag Tag Bunch of high school kids coming together and deciding to take on a problem that "the authorities" either can't or won't deal with, even though they're risking their lives by doing so.

This is why the Phantom Thieves use the Phantom Thieves imagery, incidentally. They've been screwed by an unjust system, so they decide to take matters into their own hands. If the system is corrupt, then you work outside the system. If the laws are wrong, then you break the laws. But breaking the law doesn't mean doing harm — which is why they pattern themselves after gentleman thieves, heroic rebels, and other noble troublemakers.

edited 6th Jun '17 2:14:09 PM by NativeJovian

I'm quite fine with The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything as a trope.

They're themed after thieves to represent how they're rebelling against society, and "stealing the hearts of the wicked". So yea, I can believe they mostly went with the thief theme because it looked cool. Ryuji was the one who came up with it and the others just rolled with it.

There more modern day Robin Hoods really.

Though I'd like to think Akira is not adverse to certain well-deserved luxuries such as fine wine especially if its for a big date, heheh.

I thought it was Morgana who came up with the whole 'thieves' thing. He calls himself a phantom thief because he thinks it's dashing and romantic. Which is perhaps fitting, because his Persona is lorewise probably the closest to the Thieves in mentality:

EDIT: Also, I wouldn't say they're not getting material gains. Aside from the hundreds of thousands of yen you get from shaking down Shadows, they also sell off three of the Treasures they steal.

edited 6th Jun '17 2:43:46 PM by asterism

Arsene would like to have a word with you

Arsene may have created the whole Gentleman Thief trope he was solidly still a bad guy, What the Hell, Hero? style.

Isn't he also the inspiration for the Lupin III series?

Yes, it doesn't get mentioned often but the character in question is actually Arsene Lupin III, and he's supposed to be the grandson of the original.

Yeah, Lupin the third is a lot like his grandfather just more flashy and a bit higher on the morality spectrum.

edited 6th Jun '17 9:57:36 PM by Memers

Anime version, at least. Manga Lupin has no morals that I'm aware of.

There is also Fujiko Mine, who seems to either have her own agenda or team up with Lupin III.

edited 7th Jun '17 3:07:19 AM by CybranGeneralSturm

Do y'all remember the Persona Shadows Tumblr? Well they finally finished Persona fandesigns for the rest of 4's cast.

Sayoko
The Fox
Nanako
Dojima
Hanako