The Investigation Team | Shadow Operatives | Unaffiliated Fighters | Allied NPCs | Antagonists
More tropes about some of these characters outside their appearances in Arena can be found in the character sheets of Persona 3 and Persona 4. For a full character index of the whole Persona series, see this page.
WARNING: The descriptions within these sheets assume that the reader has played Persona 3 and Persona 4. As such, it contains UNMARKED SPOILERS regarding the stories of both games. Viewer discretion is advised.
Allied NPCs
Unit #24
Persona: None
Main Weapon: Broadsword
One of the multiple functioning robots during the 1999 Kirijo Group Testing. A skilled performer in combat, but she now performs out of spite than of worth to the scientists. While she doesn't have a Persona (or it might not have activated during the events of Labrys' time), she has a strong set of emotions, favoring nature and even befriended a pet dog.
She's one of the first contacts, and ultimately the last fought in the arena, Labrys had within the island facility. The time off the facility grants allows Labrys to spend every day with her, but even then, every day the robots are fighting off against each other.
- BFS: The weapon she is equipped with is a 1.5 meter long broadsword.
- Brain Uploading: On both ends in this; she received the combat data and memories of every other unit she defeated, and all of that was uploaded to Labrys after her own demise.
- Broken Ace: Heavily implied. Her backstory makes her one of the best robots in the arena before Labrys, but once she found out their true nature and later about Labrys' origins, she decided to fight as minimally as allowed.
- Final Boss: To fully test the emotions of Labrys, #24 was eventually set up as this. Labrys had already defeated every major opponent before this battle, but this fight caused her Persona (and Shadow) to form.
- Foregone Conclusion: She only appears in Labrys' story. No points for guessing what happens to her…
- Grand Theft Me: After Labrys non-lethally defeats her, the scientists body-jack her to make her continue fighting, and force Labrys to destroy her.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Blonde and nuturing, she makes an effort to befriend Labrys the moment she sees her, is full of words of wisdom for the younger unit, and is clearly dreading the day when the two will inevitably have to cross swords.
- Speaks Fluent Animal: Subverted; she can't actually understand Snowy's barks, but she is good enough at picking up on other cues to know what he wants. It's even how she learned his name.
- Stepford Smiler: Always tries to put on a smile for Labrys and treat her like a little sister, despite knowing that Labrys will in all likelihood be, and eventually is, the death of her.
Detective Kurosawa
A member of the Shadow Operatives, operating as a regular detective of the local forces around Japan. His title is a "detective", but he has worked previously as a police officer and investigator.
Between the events of Persona 4 and Arena, he was over at Inaba's local police station investigation unit on the serial killer there working as a detective. Initially, he dismissed the topic as too extreme and nonsensical, but the manner of the report and how strange it was followed along with the Shadow Operative's motives. He gives his report to Mitsuru, who then kicks off why she and her friends are a part of Arena.
- Friend on the Force: For the Persona 3 cast. Somewhat Deconstructed because this doesn't make him a popular man among his peers in the Arena timeframe. The reason is that the police as a whole has suspected the Kirijo Group to be dirty since the "industrial accident" in Tatsumi Port Island around the turn of the century that killed 50 people, but the paranormal nature of the incident has kept them from finding any hard evidence to prove otherwise, becoming something of an institutional example of That One Case.
- Rank Up: He was an officer stationed in a mall police box back in P3, but he has since become a plain clothes detective.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Like before, he helps the Persona users in any way he can despite not knowing the complete story.
- Understatement: He mentions that the report of the serial killer was too strange and was "done by a new guy" of the force. Aigis remarks that said person might be eccentric, unaware that it was likely Adachi, the serial killer himself, who wrote the report in an intentionally outlandish way to keep serious investigators off the case.
- Vindicated by History: In-Universe. It's stated during the story paths of Naoto & the Shadow Operatives that Kurosawa was promoted from Officer to a plain clothes Detective as a result of his aiding S.E.E.S during the events of Persona 3. Granted, he also got in trouble at first (according to Mitsuru's storyline in Arena) for being a Cowboy Cop, but got - well, vindicated, after the formation of the Shadow Operatives.
Public Safety Officer
A member of Public Safety who shows up in both Mitsuru and Naoto's storylines, who is investigating the Kirijo Group for the past actions of Koutetsu Kirijo.
After a freak accident involving a portable device that can somehow generate a mini-Dark Hour inside the Evidence and Research unit, he was ensnared into the investigation of Dark Hour, Shadows, and many other events that involved the Kirijo Group. While he worked before as part of an investigation unit exposing the Kirijo Group's true motives, he now works with said group on the premise of defeating Shadows.
- Friend on the Force: Played with. Initially, he was only interested in working with the Kirijo Group to prove they were dirty, but after an impromptu demonstration that the Shadows they were researching do in fact exist, he decided to help form the Shadow Operatives - with that said, he also hires Naoto later to investigate them further.
- Jerkass Has a Point: While trusting the Kirijo Group might be the right move in the present day, since Mitsuru is now their leader, he is completely correct in his suspicions that Kouetsu Kirijo and Ergo Research were responsible for numerous inhuman experiments - despite being long dead, Kouetsu and Ergo Labs are directly or indirectly responsible for the plot of both Arena games, and Persona 3, and the Dark and Troubled Past of numerous characters in all three games (The P3 protagonist, Labrys, Yukari Takeba, Ken Amada indirectly, Strega, Sho Minazuki...)
- No Name Given: Is only known as "Public Safety Officer" in the dialogue.
- Wouldn't Hurt a Child: He hired Naoto partially because of the rumors about SEES being formed, and appeared to be disgusted by the idea of the Kirijo Group recruiting high schoolers to clean up their own mess.
Fuuka Yamagishi
- "Oh no, it's all right. I was on vacation too, after all..."
Persona: Juno
The former Mission Control of the S.E.E.S team in their battle against Nyx, Fuuka is now a student in college occasionally consulting with Mitsuru's new group the "Shadow Operatives". Much like Rise and Mitsuru, her Persona, Juno (formerly Lucia), is able to analyze the weaknesses of Shadows and establish psychic links with other Persona users to communicate with them. While not a fighter in the "P-1 Grand Prix", Fuuka can serve as one of the many optional Combat Commentators, calling out and providing info during battles.
- Badass in Distress: Is kidnapped in Ultimax alongside Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Aigis.
- Big Damn Heroes: Shows up at the end of the Shadow Operatives' scenarios to break the Malevolent Entity's control over Labrys.
- Blush Sticker: A faint splotch of pink on both cheeks.
- Combat Commentator: An unlockable option.
- I Choose to Stay: Despite having the opportunity to study abroad, she chooses to stay in Japan for the sake of the Shadow Operatives.
- Mission Control: For the Shadow Operatives.
- Non-Player Character: Much to the frustration of fans. Justified though, in that it's evident that her ability as a navigator trumps Rise's in comparison, kicking off Rise's desire to want to fight in the first place.
- Undying Loyalty: She initially doesn't want to join in the Shadow Operatives but chooses to remain as a member in order to help Mitsuru until the organization becomes more secure.
- Unlockable Content: In both Arena games, she can be unlocked as a commentator
- Weak, but Skilled: She still doesn't take part in any frontline operations, preferring to use her Persona for support, but she is currently the only character (ignoring P1 and P2) who can easily summon her Persona in the real world without an Evoker.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Downplayed. She doesn't let her parents' desire for her to become a doctor like the rest of their extended family dissuade her from taking engineering in college, but she does admit that the possibility of impressing them by studying abroad at a prestigious college is a tempting one (albeit one she politely refuses).
- Worthy Opponent: The Malevolent Entity, of all people, compliments her for being able to identify its true form despite not being in the TV World.
Kikuno Saikawa
Mitsuru Kirijo's personal assistant. Kikuno is a member of the Shadow Operatives, but since she cannot use a Persona, she does not get involved in the action as much. She appears first in the Drama CD New Moon and Full Moon, but she doesn't get a portrait until Ultimax where she transports the reserve members to Inaba.
- All There in the Manual: Kikuno's first appearance was in an audio drama, which explained how she is a childhood friend of Mitsuru.
- Awful Truth: Kikuno was not initially aware that her parents sold her to the Kirijo Group. Learning this particular fact led to her swearing loyalty to Mitsuru.
- Badass Normal: She does a lot more stuff than a usual maid, all without having a Persona like the rest of the Shadow Operatives.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Why she's so loyal to Mitsuru - after suffering Parental Abandonment, Kikuno pretty much shut out the whole world until she met Mitsuru in the hospital she was staying in.
- Continuity Cameo: Kikuno appears briefly in the fourth and final installment of Persona 3: The Movie.
- Crazy-Prepared: Kikuno actually can remain functional during the Dark Hour without her Ring of Power, but insists on wearing it just in case she could need to deceive someone into thinking she will lose her memories of the Dark Hour if the ring is destroyed.
- Empowered Badass Normal: Subverted. Her only supernatural ability is to remain active during the Dark Hour, and it comes in a pinch when she needs to fly the backup Shadow Operatives via helicopter into Inaba.
- First-Name Basis: She's one of the few people Mitsuru calls by their first name. In Ultimax, when Labrys addresses her as "Saikawa-san," Kikuno insists that Labrys use her first name instead.
- The Fixer: She procures everything; music playlists, state-of-the-art weaponry, and rural school uniforms.
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: Mitsuru's personal assistant/maid Kikuno takes care of most of the logistics for the Shadow Operatives, single-handedly locates and retrieves the auxiliary team when Mitsuru goes missing, and is trained in piloting a military-grade helicopter.Labrys: It seems that being a "maid" is a very serious and very difficult occupation.
- Irony: Her parents sold her to the Kirijo Group, implicitly while Koutetsu was still in charge, but later in life, Kikuno became utterly loyal to Koutetsu's granddaughter, Mitsuru.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Wears a Ring of Power developed by the Kirijo Group that allows her to experience the Dark Hour. If the ring is destroyed instead of properly removed, all her six years worth of memories of the Dark Hour will go away with it. Or not. See Crazy-Prepared above.
- Lethal Chef: She may be a Hypercompetent Sidekick as far as combat is concerned, but her cooking skills leave a lot to be desired.
- Ninja Maid: Subverted. She's actually a bodyguard (referred as "Security Police" or "SP" in the Japanese dialogue) with enough training to operate an attack helicopter, and thus isn't expected to do any real housekeeping (not that you'd want her to). She only dresses the part to remain close to her charge without drawing much attention to herself.
- Parental Abandonment: Of the worst kind. Kikuno's parents sold her to the Kirijo Group, likely as a specimen for human experimentation. She was left in a hospital after that, likely for years, before she met Mitsuru. This, along with Mitsuru being one of the first people to interact with her, led to her swearing her loyalty to Mitsuru after she learned it.
- Phlebotinum Rebel: Subverted. Kikuno was one of many kids the Kirijo Group used for human experimentation in the Ergo Lab projects, but she's pretty much utterly loyal to Mitsuru, since Mitsuru was possibly the first person to ever reach out to her and treat her kindly.
- Ring of Power: She's worn one that allows her to function during the Dark Hour since she was 12. She is in fact the living test subject that the Kirijo Group used to make sure the technology was safe for others to use.
- The Team Normal: Kikuno cannot use a Persona, so she has to use other means to help the team.
- Undying Loyalty: To Mitsuru. She's not, however, blindly obedient to her. If Kikuno thinks Mitsuru is better off if she acts against her orders or even if she slips her a sleeping pill so she won't get involved in the dirty business of the Kirijo Group, she will.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: She has a long history of creatively interpreting orders, a history that involves spying on employees and sabotaging an artifact handover to PubSec.
Theodore
Another inhabitant of the Velvet Room and the younger brother of Elizabeth and Margaret. During the events of Ultimax, Theodore starts to ask questions about the outside world and wonders why Elizabeth left, so Margaret sends him out to pick up one hundred cans of "cola". Along the way he runs into the cast several times.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Due to not knowing much about the world outside of the Velvet Room, and lot of what he says comes off as odd.
- The Fool: He wanders in and out of the story, talking to the cast but not getting involved, then leaves to go back to his errand.
- Snipe Hunt: Theodore is not really supposed to find cola, it's just a way to learn more about the world.
The Blue-Haired Boy
The late field leader of S.E.E.S. and a former wielder of the Wild Card, whom Aigis inherited following his death. Three years ago, he sacrificed himself to become the Great Seal, to prevent the Fall. To honor him, his friends decided to live their lives to the fullest.
- Cutting Off the Branches: In P3P, there exists a female protagonist, who replaces the Blue-Haired Boy as the leader of S.E.E.S. As the Shadow Operatives refer to their former friend as male, the female protagonist is non-canon.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Three years ago, at the time when the world was about to come to an end, the Blue-Haired Boy sacrificed himself by becoming the Great Seal, in order to prevent humanity's grief and sorrow from calling upon Death.
- Late-Arrival Spoiler: It's hard not to know that he died at the end of his Journey when everyone mentions his death.
- Lost Lenore: To the present, his death greatly affects his friends, especially Aigis and Elizabeth, the latter of whom has been trying to find a way to rescue him from his fate ever since.
- No Name Given: He is only referred to as "Leader" or the "Blue-Haired Boy" by the other characters.
- Posthumous Character: It's been three years since he sacrificed himself yet he still holds a special place within the hearts of the Shadow Operatives.
- You Remind Me of X: The Shadow Operatives often compare him with Yu, not just because they share the same power, but also because of their ability to form bonds with others.
