Please watch Pom Poko! A total love letter to all things Japanese folklore/tales (focusing on tanuki especially), while also conveying a deeply moving environmentalist story. It's one of my favorite childhood movies and a super underrated one from Studio Ghibli! Also likes, comments, shares, all that stuff really helps with the algo and is always appreciated if you're so inclined ^^ But above all, thank you for watching! It was my absolute pleasure focusing on all things Chie and Yukiko in this LONG video 😂The poll for the next P4 character analysis will be up on Patreon! (Sorry my heater can be heard in parts of the Yukiko's shadow section!) 🎮TWITCH: www.twitch.tv/ladyvirgilia 🐤TWITTER: @VirgiliaLady twitter.com/VirgiliaLady 🌟PATREON: www.patreon.com/LadyVirgilia
I've come to appreciate Chie design and character wise after hearing what Lead Game Artist Shigenori Soejima had to say about her: “Chie pays an average amount of attention to her fashion, and she dyes her hair. In order to preserve a certain level of believability, all of the characters in 'Persona 4’ were given relatively natural hair colors that you would expect to see regularly in real life.” “The concept for Chie’s design was ‘a cute girl who could actually exist in real life.’. Trying to design a game character who seems like someone you could meet in real life meant I needed to pay close attention to her appearance. The hardest part was probably getting the right balance between her features like her creased double eyelids set over appealingly large eyes, and her slightly duck-like mouth. Another tricky balancing act was the shape of her head, as it couldn’t be too long or too round. Once I had the shape of her head the way I wanted it, I still had to figure out how to put her hair on it. I was so picky that I convinced myself that I needed to rework her design quite a few times. One of the things that defines Chie as a character is her love of cheap, retro things like pins and other accessories. In some ways, Chie was the turning point that defined the overall design flavor of the entire game. I wanted to exaggerate the fact that the story takes place in a rural town, and one of the best ways to do that is to have someone running around in a jersey jacket. Unfortunately, the colors of a school jersey just didn’t look very nice within the context of the game, so I had to think of something else. That’s when I decided to try taking a retro-style approach to Chie’s jersey. That was a real light bulb moment for me, when I realized that anytime I needed to put something ‘utterly lame’ in to bring out the rural vibe, I could add a retro flavor to it to make it cool and in sync with the game’s atmosphere. This is how Chie single-handedly set the design foundation for the rest of the game. For this reason, I think it’s quite fair to say that Chie Satonaka truly embodies the identity of ‘Persona 4’, which may be why the game’s theme color (yellow) looks so darn good on her.” - Soejima Shiganori "Persona 4: Official Design Works" (2012)
Thank you for sharing this. I never knew about this, but it all makes sense now. It makes me appreciate both the game as a whole and Chie as a character a lot more with all the care behind certain decisions.
That's cute. I like the down-to-earth design of Chie. A bit sad her English VA gave her such an over-the-top treatment in Golden. Also funny is the implication that Yu dyes his hair silver gray.
I don’t think it’s hidden, the Persona games are about Japanese culture and societal issues, it’s the main focus. But Lady does a great job explaining it for us.
Yeah agreed, it’s an issue of Americans having a very narrow view of culture rather than Persona being subtle. Cause Persona isn’t subtle if you know what you’re looking at. I mean just look at the way Americans approach Pokémon.
I always figured that Yukiko's issue was less running the inn itself, and more that she didn't get a say in the matter. The bird may have been caged, but the door wasn't locked. She could've opened it and flew out whenever she wanted.
She says that almost word for word at Rank 9. It's also implied that she would feel guilty about leaving the inn, as she briefly hopes it will shut down(so she won't have to actively choose to abandon it), and states that she will never be able to return to Inaba if she leaves. Her getting offended when the shady reporter calls Inaba a "dump" also shows how much she values her town.
That kind of resentment is common among the young. They'd come to resent their parent's instruction/protection, but that is just an excuse to cover up the fact that they are actually afraid to strike out on their own. Instead of addressing their own weakness, they instead blame their parents. (or blame their circumstance, blame this blame that, blame anything except themselves) overcoming this "making excuses" stage is crucial if a child is to truly grow into an adult.
Persona 4 is achingly beautiful. It's potently poignant and has a strength of character that evokes a powerful sense of inexplicable nostalgia. It made me believe there really could have been a sweet, simple girl like Yukiko waiting for me in a sleepy, quiet, mountain-side town like Inaba. I haven't been made to feel nostalgic about something I never experienced like this since the original Macross.
8:45 Fun fact about the tanuki and fortune relationship in mythology: At one point in ancient Japan, gold paper was highly coveted since it could be used to decorate artwork. The problem was that the raw gold is very soft and needed to be hammered until paper thin. Goldsmiths would try, but their tools would easily tear through the paper. They discovered that using a bit of tanuki hide could protect the paper gold while hammering. So by investing in a tanuki's hide and a small bit of gold, a person could turn a huge profit by "stretching" that bit of gold into decorative paper gold and amass a fortune. Combine this investment advice into the Japanese love for a good ol' pun and we get stretchy scrotums protecting the valuable "kintama" (gold balls/ testicles) imagery and their association with financial success.
This supported theory was proposed by researcher Shigeo Owaku studying the methods of metal workers in the Kanazawa Prefecture and the rise of tanuki related artwork during the Edo period (early 17th century).
It could be because I'm also part Mexicain, but the whole bit about the Yamato Nadeshiko trope reminds me a lot of the "Marianismo" trope as well. Women who resemble Marianismo are demeanor, submissive, pure hearted, doesn't speak her mind and are virginal until marriage. Except in Latin America they were more valued for being like the Virgin Mary instead of Confucian Values and idealizing women like this is much more of a thing of the past for the most part.
@@BigKlingy Not that surprised. We share a lot of cultural similarities with you guys thanks to a lot of countries in Latin America and the Philippines being colonized by the Spanish at different points.
One thing that I'm suspired that isn't brought as munch in persona 4's theme is dealing with femininity. Almost all the main character struggled with stuff that seen as traditional feminine traits, I mean Chie's insecurity, Yukiko's thing going with her family business, Rise's idol stuff in which her feminine is a selling point. Kanji's hobbies , Naoto being a female in a male dominated job/professions. this is my interpterion but the kitsune vs tanuki could be mythical representation of the 2 Caine species (red fox and racoon dog) inhabiting Japan's ecosystem and having a similar role (generalist omnivores that are scavengers Caines)
It really is interesting to see how cultural differences in games can affect our perception on how we view certain characters. I’ve always liked both Chie and Yukiko.
Yukiko is one of my favourite video game characters ever... when I played Persona 4 in like 2011, I related soo much with her... wanting to be saved by someone.. wanting to be taken away from my real life situation.. and I'm not kidding when I say towards the end of her storyline it literally affected my life.. I decided to make the most of what I have.. and my life improved for the better. Her story is nothing too special, but the impact it had on me is undeniable. Also her voice is just so cute, Konohana Sakuya is one of the most beautiful Personas in the series, Yukiko's abilities can slap too, she's the best girl in the series imo. This was such a fantastic video!
To be honest, I never considered Chie or Yukiko separately..They are like a coin - solid, where one side complements the other🪙 And I have always considered the Castle as the Palace of Yukiko AND Chie. 🐦🔥🏰🍌❄️ That's why I'm so pleased to see the analysis of these characters together. 🙏☺️
It's finally here! Let's do this! I'd actually never known about the tanuki-kitsune rivalry until now, but Tom Nook and Red makes so much more sense now. Heck, in some games Luigi gets a kitsune transformation as a counterpart to Mario's tanuki. It's only 11 minutes in and I already feel like I've learned so much. Interesting how while foxes were a boon to farmers in Japan, they were the exact opposite in the west, breaking into hen-houses and eating livestock. That might've influenced their depictions in culture too, with foxes in the west typically being "chaotic neutral" tricksters at best and villains at worst. But then, as you said, Japan has evil foxes too. 20:58 Unfortunately I can't see this scene without thinking of "[monotone voice] Yukiko Amagi is wearing a kimono because she's filling in for her mom at the inn they run." Regarding the harassment angle, it's always been my theory that the Charming Prince in the Shadow Yukiko fight represents all the guys who hit on her, or are superficially obsessed with her beauty. According to Yusuke, asking Yukiko out has become a RITUAL for new male students, imagine how she must feel about that? The Charming Prince seems like he's there to protect her, but once he or Shadow Yukiko's HP is low, he runs away and doesn't return. He's not in this for a long-term relationship with challenges. And another part of her Shadow's symbolism I still love: the lock on the cage door was ALWAYS open. She just needed to realize this. Not a whole lot to add on Chie, you pretty much said everything I would. Although I never considered how she's the only party member besides Teddie without their own dungeon. Part of me thinks this is just to fast-track another early-game party member, since going through a whole dungeon with just Yu and Yosuke would suck. Chie's whole deal of being "the normal one" and her insecurities about her femininity are a big part of why her romance route is one of my favourites in P4. To quote her Valantines scene: "I'm so... ordinary, compared to Yukiko, or Rise-chan, or Naoto-kun... Yet you picked me." Nice ending. Overall, Yukiko is still a character I'm "eh" on, but she does do a good job of lifting others up. Chie is a weird one for me, she swings between horrible comedy scenes and surprisingly well-written (and underrated) everywhere else. To those who don't like her in spinoffs, I'd encourage going back to the original P4 and seeing hoe grounded she can be most of the time. Thanks for the video as always, and please get some rest now that it's done.
Actually the funny thing is that the meaner/sinister kitsune folklore started after Chinese tales of foxes were imported. It seems like Japan was largely one of the only cultures with a more positive look on foxes at the start haha. And I can definitely see that point about the Prince Charming! Many women who are hit on constantly like that know vast majority of people only see them as a "prize" based on looks. It's easy to see why it develops this mentality of "how could it be anything but that when they don't even know a single thing about who I am as a person/personality?" Yes the fact that the cage is legit already open the entire time lol! Chie being a fast-track party member is a good point I hadn't thought about! Definitely would make sense given how difficult it would be to get through that whole place with only one other party member. And I didn't see any of the date scenes (aside from some of Naoto's 3rd semester ones), so that's sweet to know! I still haven't played the spin-offs aside from P4D and P5S, so I still have yet to see how flanderized Akihiko, Chie, and the like have truly become lol... Thanks always for the thoughtful comment Klingy!
@@LadyVirgilia I didn't think Chie was that bad in Q, but Ahikiko, OH BOY. He's practically a different character. (And P3 implied he didn't like the taste of protein, he just had it occasionally as part of training...) At first I thought "Oh, Fox McCloud is a heroic fox!" and then realized that was Japanese. Though the Sly Cooper series, which is western, is a heist story with anthropomorphic animals where the fox is the police officer chasing down the protagonist, who has the typical "sly" fox traits but is a racoon. That "not knowing the real me" comment reminds me of how much I like the scene where Yukiko has a laughing fit for the first time, and Chie's like "this happens all the time but she's never done it in front on anyone but me before". Then you had the ass in Chie's Social Link who doesn't even know about that and is like "I preferred Yukiko when she was depressed." P4 in general is a study in not judging people before you get to know them, in more ways than one. (Even the antagonists work this way: Mitsuo wasn't the killer despite his creepiness, Namatame's motives weren't what you thought, Adachi wasn't the bumbling goofball he seemed, Izanami was there all along)
Oh wow, I can kind of see so much of my past self in Chie... I used to dress pretty much like Chie, but I would talk about love and would roleplay as a mother in preschool. 🙈 Thank you so much for the video! I love videos that talk about femininity 🤭 there's just something that makes me feel really happy, somehow 🤭
To me , tankui have a lower class to middle class and urban vibe given they associate with merchants and many raccoons/tankuis like to live in urban areas. While Kitsune have a more upper class and rural vibe given they help with killing rats and help the crops for farmers/serf and to the lords that control the rice lands.
I think that "popular" opinion results from either A) backlash to the fact she's popular in-universe, or B) many players falling into the same pitfalls her in-game suitors do: they only see Yukiko's demure outer persona (which, from a western perspective, is unappealing) and not her true fun-loving, goofy, and strong-willed self.
I felt so seen while playing P4. I look and have almost identical experiences as Chie, and I've consciously tried my best to love all of her in order to love all of myself. I am kinda sad she became more feminine eventually, but, to be fair, so have I
18:05 - "ongoing unalive case" XD I cracked up laughing when I realized what you were censoring there XD I find word-switch censorship much more entertaining than the beep-noise type, and I thank you for it!
I love how this just incidentally answered something that has confused me about Persona 5 for years without even trying to: why does Morgana find it so funny that Ryuji suggests the codename Abura-age for Yusuke? Thank you! These videos are fantastic.
I really enjoyed this video! I was already aware of Yukiko being the Yamato Nadeshiko trope turned on its head, and the mythology for Yukiko and Chie’s personas, and how Chie is her own trope, but this added a lot of depth to characters I already thought had a lot of care and effort put into them. A lot of western fans don’t care for Yukiko much, but I always defended her. And while I see why Chie would be popular due to her personality and gameplay, I did think she was a flatter character in comparison to the rest of the cast due to her social link being a lot about other people and not herself, although I would defend her emotional intelligence and how she wasn’t as dumb as she thought. This analysis really brought Chie to a new light in my eyes, I guess more got lost in translation than I thought! You work so hard on these! Thank you for the wonderful cultural lens that can be lost on non-Japanese players. ❤
Chie's link not about herself? Is it because some links have some other characters in it? I really don't understand this. I think it's a really surface level view on it. I've seen the same thing said for Makoto from P5 too. Chie's link still mainly revolves around her insecurities of being a "not-so-feminine" woman and about just being enough as she is, learning self appreciation. The main themes of her awakening. Social links having other people is not a negative thing. In fact it's more realistic to me than having just everything depend on mc and one-on-one social links. This is why I always appreciate P3's way of doing things more. Everything revolving around mc becomes boring and repetitive after a while imo...
@@y2m3e.45 Agreed. Plus it also highlights a good trait of hers as well. Willing to protect those in need, that little boy and even that pussy ass ex of hers. Having multiple characters in her SL actually helped highlight her insecurities and traits more effectively, and imo the character interactions made it more interesting and more engaging than just an average 1 on 1. Just because there's multiple characters in a SL =/= having their spot light taken over.
One of the reasons I like p4 so much is because I was in high school when I played it and the first 3 party members reminded me so much of people I knew in school. Yosuke was part every guy I knew, I knew atleast one Yukiko (instead of laughing she had a goofy sense of humor and cursed like a sailor in text but not in person) and Chie was several tomboysih girls are knew who still seemed really girly despite everything.
Kitsune and Tanuki are both very cool and hold some certain significance to my self, but I kinda have to go with Kitsune since I've always kind of been followed by foxes in my younger years. Now days though, I mostly just see rabbits, which also pretty cool.
omg i'm definitely intrigued with the layers of japanese cultural context in persona that I don't know about and i'm happy to find this kind of content! i've always been interested in how their shadows (Chie's particularly) depict two sides of femininity that I've struggled with. i'll be binge watching a bunch of your videos
Ohhhh, I learned SO MUCH in just the first 15 minutes of this video! I am SO GLAD I found your channel and subscribed! It is just SUCH a "stars aligned" sort of moment, that your exploration of your own Japanese background and your ability to make great YT videos about games, combine to let all of us see these great deep-dives, teaching us all these details that people like me (white JRPG fans) will miss in Japanese media. And as a semi-outside, you're able to show the good and the bad, the challenges and the history that explains how this all came to be, the details that interleave to make the whole. I know that being a walker between worlds can be hard, but BOY is the work you produce just SO illuminating! THAT'S the word I was looking for - illuminating! There are some things I cannot see, that you do, and you being able to point them out like a guide thru a misty forest is just SO helpful and gawd, every word I can think of to describe it is too little! Valuable, helpful, illuminating, even that fancy word is too small! So I'll just keep trying, knowing I will fail, to describe how much these words and stories mean to me, and how much MORE I get out of them, how much more I learn and grow, from watching your videos about them! Fan communities, man, they're just the best things on Earth! :,)
Srsly. The biggest drawback of your video is that when I press the like button twice it doesn't give it an extra push. Your work is phenomenal and I look forward to what comes next ☺️
These are absolutely top-tier video essays! Chie might be my favourite Persona character, and 4 is by far my favourite Persona game. This video basically helped to explain why that is. Your familiarity with traditional Japanese culture is definitely bringing a whole new angle to these games!
This popped up on my recommended. Where has this channel been all my life?? I love Inazuma, I study history, I've cosplayed as Naoto in her Dancing All Night outfit AND I heard FISHY AROMA from Umineko...wow
I got a probably-accidental visual pun at the end with you talking about "fuzzy feelings" and showing tanuki right at that point, lol. I don't really have any preference in folklore between kitsune and tanuki, though. In terms of outright mythical creatures, I just like Youko more due to liking the concept of magic and foxes being some of my favorite animals, lol.
I haven't even started the video yet but I wanted to thank you so much for making this😭😭😭 I'm a butch, lesbian and Persona 4 was my intro to the persona series and I had really, really resonated with Chie personality wise but I also LOVED Yukiko (for lesbian reasons lmao) and for the fact that her story with her family greatly parallels my own. I often feel that most people don't even think about these two (which are in my opinion two of the BEST GIRLS in the persona series) within the context of Persona 4 bc everyone else is obsessing over Rise (which I get, don't get me wrong I like her too but I loved these two girls a million times more). Anyways, so glad I found your channel💕
Just discovered the channel, and with a video of my two favorite persona characters to boot! I was on a razor's edge trying to decide which of them to romance and which to keep just friends. Finally decided to go for Chie. Then When P4 Arena came out, I mostly used Yukiko to make up for the snub. Now there's Blaz Blue Tag, and I don't have to choose anymore, and it's awesome to see them have each other's back in a fight. Cool to see context for them I hadn't known before. Still think it's kinda funny that Yukiko's name means snow, but she has fire magic.
I really love your work! I've learned a lot of the japanese culture and its role on the games and characters. More importanty, to understad even more everything inside and outside this "japanese context" that involves Persona games.
I really liked this deep dive, I've played this game so many times over the last 10-11 years that seeing characters from a new perspective is always nice.
I'm not a huge Persona fan, but P4 has always had a special place in my heart. As did its cast. You did an amazing job on this! Love seeing the cultural context. Only just recognised the tanuki/kitsune dynamic as a recurring thing though I've seen it around a fair bit. But I did know of the tanuki's depicted large package, thanks to a bit of trivia I saw about Gaara's sandbag in Naruto as a kid 😅 I might just prefer the Tanuki folklore for that fun fact alone. The friendship between the I.T girls is also something I love. Tearing each other down to fit to an ideal or proving we're different for the sake of it instead of embracing our true dentities and hobbies is just so prevalent in our spaces. Seeing the P4 girls just vibe is a treat. I love them all. Already loved Chie and Yukiko, but I've walked away with even more appreciation. See you've done some other P4 discussion here and there, and am excited to see Rise's coming up. Naoto and Kanji are my favourites, but I think Rise gets a lot of flack. I understand how people might not gel with her personality, but personally her SL was one of the best. There's a lot of sensitive material you can get into with the stuff the Inaba crew have to work through, idol culture included. It wasn't always perfectly handled, but I'm glad we have something made in 2000s Japan to analyse and take apart nowadays. Like having insight into this stuff, and it helps seeing someone who has taken the time to research and has the cultural know-how to go deep into things. Thank you!
This is a wonderful and incredibly interesting video, definitely well worth the wait!! Learning about the tanuki and kitsune imagery was fascinating, and your explanations make it all very easy to understand! I definitely have some new perspectives on the arcs of both characters. Chie was already in my top 3 p4 characters, but this video has given me a newfound appreciation for yukiko especially! Great job as always Lady, I'm already looking forward to your next p4 analysis! Take care! 💞
Love this, I genuinely enjoyed Chie the most as a character when I played the original P4 and even tho Golden made her a bit too overt at times for me I still liked her a lot exactly because of that deep seated confidence issues she had and how despite that she still wanted to be friends with Yukiko and do her best for her. I do think that she was made a lot more boisterous in P4G (maybe its just her new VA?) and its a bit to her detriment but at the end of the day she will always be one of my favorites, innitially she struck me as the girl next door type and being very cool to hang out with, I also found her worries about not being feminine quite adorable as she is exuding charm the whole time. I didnt really notice the subversions of the tomboy trope as such, but its certainly why she is so likeable. I also think Yukiko is somewhat underappreciated, tho it has been getting better in recent years, her troubles at the inn are often overlookad and it certainly explains a lot about her, making her more belieavable and sympathetic, my mind immidiately went to some sleazy dude making comments to her when she mentioned the odd visitors, but while it hopefully wasnt anything this forward its obvious that at least getting "compliments" is something she got used to, around her friends and Yu whom she presumably always likes she is much more comfortable showing her more flirty side but obviously at work she is as straight laced and proper as possible to discourage any "compliments" she might get. Just thinking about how messed up these situations can be in japan makes me ill. Btw It was a great idea to make their analysis together, they are such great foils to each other. And please lets not get into patriarchy debate or neo feminism like how unfair it is that women products concentrate on making women more attractive and how that is all mens fault etc., cmon anyone with half a brain knows how complicated these issues are and it isnt because of some inate patriarchy that we all live in. Of course some of the absolutely BS that happens in Japan and more severely in many other less developed countries is obviously just straight up evil and inhuman, but those are two completely different things.
Thank you so much for your perspective! It's really valuable, I haven't seen such an insightful look at these characters before, I'm excited to watch the other ones!
answer for the last question about Tanuki and Kitsune , I would answer Kitsune , since the folk lore about Nine Tail fox can likely trace back to both Chinese and India . Tamamo no Mae , Hulijing , Daji/Dakki or Gumiho , it's all very similar to each other yet also different . It's very fascinating to see such mythology spreading through out region and have their own spin . like how "Dragon" is know all through out the entire world .
Despite the bad cooking gag not being as funny as I thought it was then, I still love the idea that the female characters in P4 G are breaking the mold for traditional roles for women, but they really do make a great team. Is it possible that you can do these videos in a 2-character basis? I am thinking there should be one for Kanji and Naoto and how they broke traditional gender roles regarding hobbies. But seriously, thank you for the video.
I literally know almost nothing about Persona, but I've been binging your videos on the Japanese context in this series because I've spent so long studying Japanese culture to the point I can't really exist in English speaking anime fandom spaces without wanting to pull my hair out on a regular basis. It's refreshing to see videos that explain the lost context and thematic stuff us westerners don't know since we didn't grow up surrounded by it. Thank you for making these videos and sharing your culture and studies with us. They make me want to finally sit down and play the Persona series!
Good video and coincidentally came out after I watched a few episodes of the P4 anime. Chie and Yukiko's story are a sort of double episode in the anime
I just finished my first P4G play through on switch, and I loved it so much. As much or even more than I loved P5R, which I can actually say changed my outlook on life when I played it last year. This was such a great video! I loved Chie and Yukiko so much. All the characters, really. But I learned so much cultural context and heard so many new and interesting ideas from this video. Can’t wait to watch the rest of your videos!! I’ll definitely be going through the backlog, hehe Anyway, thanks for sharing this awesome analysis 🥰
This is interesting since I've been following the tokusatsu show Kamen Rider Geats where this relationship between the kitsune and the tanuki is front and center. The main protagonist is named Geats from 'gitsune' and has a fox motive with a typical fox mask design incorporated into his helmet. His character is described as secretive, cunning and sometimes manipulative though it doesn't appear that he does this out of malice. The other main character is Kamen Rider Tycoon and his design is based on the tanuki. He is described as a naive, idealistic young man who dreams of world peace and other such things that most adults would find unrealistic. While always trying to believe in the best of people he often find himself getting tricked by Geats even though he has an exceptionally good luck. His secondary theme is a ninja, which plays on the mythical tanuki's ability to shape shift and play tricks such as creating illusionary decoys out of small wooden logs. The other main character is Kamen Rider Na-Go, a girl whose cat themed costume may be inspired by the nekomata or the demon cat. Her main weapon is an electric guitar which is consistent with some of the most popular images of the nekomata playing a shamisen. Her character is described as bubbly and cat like but holds a certain darkness inside her as she yearns for freedom from her strict parents.
This is a great video! The cultural context was really interesting and gave a much greater understanding of the background behind the characters. I still find the writing of Yukiko and Chie's relationship to be a heavily rooted in casual sexism, as it seems the writers had no clue how to write a female friendship that didn't have something to do with male attention, and Chie and Yukiko's parallels don't feel like the conclusion is that women shouldn't be stuffed into two boxes "tomboys and yamato-nadeshiko" and instead they can be just who they are. It instead felt like Chie got more reliant on others, and therefore feminine, and Yukiko got more self-assured, and therefore masculine. It's even worse when the game allows you to date both girls at the same time which has barely any consequence despite how shitty that is to do, and how much attention the game (and especially Golden) puts on sexualizing the two characters against their will which seems to be the exact opposite message their stories, especially Yukiko's, are trying to convey. Also yea Pom Poko fuckin' slaps.
another amazing video absolutely love them so much and make me realise how little i know about these characters keep up the incredible work you do and hope you have a wonderful future with everything you do :)
The kitsune/tanuki rivalry has shown up in the currently airing Kamen Rider Geats. The main rider is clearly a fox, while the secondary rider is Tycoon, is a tanuki. They even share a conversation evoking their animal rivalry when Tycoon tricks Geats in one episode.
*COMPLETLY* unrelated but is that a hint of the kansai accent I'm hearing? Being from the Tohoku region we essentially have the train wreck known as the tsugaru dialect going on, but I stg some of the accents remind me of how a friend from Kyoto sounded.
My ideal woman... Hell, my ideal PERSON is one steeped in strength. Strength of will, strength of character, strength of body and strength of mind. I like people who are strong enough to admit they're weak and then work on those weaknesses to turn them into, if not strengths, at least not detriments. Also, Naoto and Makoto are best girls in the Personas I've played. At least for me.
Nice job! it's nice to hear a nuanced take on this game, I think a lot of people are too black and white about it, without even understanding the culture or era.
Knowing about the Tanuki's massive balls and the relation to golden balls, I'll never think about Persona 4 'Golden' the same way again. Out with Golden Week, and in with Tanuki Balls. Excellent video!
seems like giving girls over there a hammer and free license to respond to sh and sa with a hammer blow to the bollocks would be a better solution than segregated train cars alone
God looking at the P4 girls and calling them IT girls confused me for like a solid 30 secs like "what? I seriously doubt any of them even own a laptop"
I've definitely been that friend who was jealous of how pretty their best friend was. The twist for me is that I am AMAB and was presenting as male back then and it took me nearly two decades of our close friendship to realize my jealousy of her looks was because I was transgender so now we're both the pretty one lol
Low key impossible in todays day and age to service without being in STEM. idk I am not familiar with the topic but in Cali if your not in a relationship with both partners being bread winners then its low key impossible to make rent. Also Fukka giga chad for going into CS before it was popular lol
Please watch Pom Poko! A total love letter to all things Japanese folklore/tales (focusing on tanuki especially), while also conveying a deeply moving environmentalist story. It's one of my favorite childhood movies and a super underrated one from Studio Ghibli!
Also likes, comments, shares, all that stuff really helps with the algo and is always appreciated if you're so inclined ^^ But above all, thank you for watching!
It was my absolute pleasure focusing on all things Chie and Yukiko in this LONG video 😂The poll for the next P4 character analysis will be up on Patreon!
(Sorry my heater can be heard in parts of the Yukiko's shadow section!)
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I hate to be that guy but I misread pom
when are we getting that idol industry video?
Uh, Lady, I can't find the video when I searched up your channel, may I please have some advice?
I've come to appreciate Chie design and character wise after hearing what Lead Game Artist Shigenori Soejima had to say about her:
“Chie pays an average amount of attention to her fashion, and she dyes her hair. In order to preserve a certain level of believability, all of the characters in 'Persona 4’ were given relatively natural hair colors that you would expect to see regularly in real life.”
“The concept for Chie’s design was ‘a cute girl who could actually exist in real life.’. Trying to design a game character who seems like someone you could meet in real life meant I needed to pay close attention to her appearance. The hardest part was probably getting the right balance between her features like her creased double eyelids set over appealingly large eyes, and her slightly duck-like mouth. Another tricky balancing act was the shape of her head, as it couldn’t be too long or too round. Once I had the shape of her head the way I wanted it, I still had to figure out how to put her hair on it. I was so picky that I convinced myself that I needed to rework her design quite a few times.
One of the things that defines Chie as a character is her love of cheap, retro things like pins and other accessories. In some ways, Chie was the turning point that defined the overall design flavor of the entire game. I wanted to exaggerate the fact that the story takes place in a rural town, and one of the best ways to do that is to have someone running around in a jersey jacket. Unfortunately, the colors of a school jersey just didn’t look very nice within the context of the game, so I had to think of something else. That’s when I decided to try taking a retro-style approach to Chie’s jersey.
That was a real light bulb moment for me, when I realized that anytime I needed to put something ‘utterly lame’ in to bring out the rural vibe, I could add a retro flavor to it to make it cool and in sync with the game’s atmosphere. This is how Chie single-handedly set the design foundation for the rest of the game. For this reason, I think it’s quite fair to say that Chie Satonaka truly embodies the identity of ‘Persona 4’, which may be why the game’s theme color (yellow) looks so darn good on her.”
- Soejima Shiganori
"Persona 4: Official Design Works" (2012)
Interesting!
I didn't realize that she dyed her hair. It was definitely nowhere near as obvious as it is with Ryuji
Thank you for sharing this. I never knew about this, but it all makes sense now. It makes me appreciate both the game as a whole and Chie as a character a lot more with all the care behind certain decisions.
That's cute. I like the down-to-earth design of Chie. A bit sad her English VA gave her such an over-the-top treatment in Golden.
Also funny is the implication that Yu dyes his hair silver gray.
that explains a lot, she really screams "P4"
This video series is criminally underrated. I really underestimated how many layers of Japanese culture was hidden in the persona games.
Thanks so much! 😭
Glad people can learn more about Japan via these videos!
Based and nippilled
I don’t think it’s hidden, the Persona games are about Japanese culture and societal issues, it’s the main focus. But Lady does a great job explaining it for us.
@@CyrussNP 🤔 ...
Fair point, I should have said unknown to me instead of hidden.
Yeah agreed, it’s an issue of Americans having a very narrow view of culture rather than Persona being subtle. Cause Persona isn’t subtle if you know what you’re looking at. I mean just look at the way Americans approach Pokémon.
I always figured that Yukiko's issue was less running the inn itself, and more that she didn't get a say in the matter.
The bird may have been caged, but the door wasn't locked. She could've opened it and flew out whenever she wanted.
That's not how filial piety works tho.
She says that almost word for word at Rank 9. It's also implied that she would feel guilty about leaving the inn, as she briefly hopes it will shut down(so she won't have to actively choose to abandon it), and states that she will never be able to return to Inaba if she leaves. Her getting offended when the shady reporter calls Inaba a "dump" also shows how much she values her town.
it's a sort of learned helplessness
@@yucheung5853 I'm not sure I'd agree with that. To me it reads more like an extreme version of "shouganai" thinking.
That kind of resentment is common among the young.
They'd come to resent their parent's instruction/protection, but that is just an excuse to cover up the fact that they are actually afraid to strike out on their own. Instead of addressing their own weakness, they instead blame their parents. (or blame their circumstance, blame this blame that, blame anything except themselves)
overcoming this "making excuses" stage is crucial if a child is to truly grow into an adult.
Persona 4 is achingly beautiful. It's potently poignant and has a strength of character that evokes a powerful sense of inexplicable nostalgia. It made me believe there really could have been a sweet, simple girl like Yukiko waiting for me in a sleepy, quiet, mountain-side town like Inaba.
I haven't been made to feel nostalgic about something I never experienced like this since the original Macross.
8:45 Fun fact about the tanuki and fortune relationship in mythology:
At one point in ancient Japan, gold paper was highly coveted since it could be used to decorate artwork.
The problem was that the raw gold is very soft and needed to be hammered until paper thin. Goldsmiths would try, but their tools would easily tear through the paper. They discovered that using a bit of tanuki hide could protect the paper gold while hammering. So by investing in a tanuki's hide and a small bit of gold, a person could turn a huge profit by "stretching" that bit of gold into decorative paper gold and amass a fortune.
Combine this investment advice into the Japanese love for a good ol' pun and we get stretchy scrotums protecting the valuable "kintama" (gold balls/ testicles) imagery and their association with financial success.
This supported theory was proposed by researcher Shigeo Owaku studying the methods of metal workers in the Kanazawa Prefecture and the rise of tanuki related artwork during the Edo period (early 17th century).
😮
It could be because I'm also part Mexicain, but the whole bit about the Yamato Nadeshiko trope reminds me a lot of the "Marianismo" trope as well. Women who resemble Marianismo are demeanor, submissive, pure hearted, doesn't speak her mind and are virginal until marriage. Except in Latin America they were more valued for being like the Virgin Mary instead of Confucian Values and idealizing women like this is much more of a thing of the past for the most part.
I've heard the Philippines has a similar concept.
@@BigKlingy Not that surprised. We share a lot of cultural similarities with you guys thanks to a lot of countries in Latin America and the Philippines being colonized by the Spanish at different points.
One thing that I'm suspired that isn't brought as munch in persona 4's theme is dealing with femininity. Almost all the main character struggled with stuff that seen as traditional feminine traits, I mean Chie's insecurity, Yukiko's thing going with her family business, Rise's idol stuff in which her feminine is a selling point. Kanji's hobbies , Naoto being a female in a male dominated job/professions.
this is my interpterion but the kitsune vs tanuki could be mythical representation of the 2 Caine species (red fox and racoon dog) inhabiting Japan's ecosystem and having a similar role (generalist omnivores that are scavengers Caines)
It really is interesting to see how cultural differences in games can affect our perception on how we view certain characters. I’ve always liked both Chie and Yukiko.
Yukiko is one of my favourite video game characters ever... when I played Persona 4 in like 2011, I related soo much with her... wanting to be saved by someone.. wanting to be taken away from my real life situation.. and I'm not kidding when I say towards the end of her storyline it literally affected my life.. I decided to make the most of what I have.. and my life improved for the better. Her story is nothing too special, but the impact it had on me is undeniable. Also her voice is just so cute, Konohana Sakuya is one of the most beautiful Personas in the series, Yukiko's abilities can slap too, she's the best girl in the series imo. This was such a fantastic video!
To be honest, I never considered Chie or Yukiko separately..They are like a coin - solid, where one side complements the other🪙
And I have always considered the Castle as the Palace of Yukiko AND Chie.
🐦🔥🏰🍌❄️
That's why I'm so pleased to see the analysis of these characters together.
🙏☺️
It's finally here! Let's do this!
I'd actually never known about the tanuki-kitsune rivalry until now, but Tom Nook and Red makes so much more sense now. Heck, in some games Luigi gets a kitsune transformation as a counterpart to Mario's tanuki.
It's only 11 minutes in and I already feel like I've learned so much.
Interesting how while foxes were a boon to farmers in Japan, they were the exact opposite in the west, breaking into hen-houses and eating livestock. That might've influenced their depictions in culture too, with foxes in the west typically being "chaotic neutral" tricksters at best and villains at worst. But then, as you said, Japan has evil foxes too.
20:58 Unfortunately I can't see this scene without thinking of "[monotone voice] Yukiko Amagi is wearing a kimono because she's filling in for her mom at the inn they run."
Regarding the harassment angle, it's always been my theory that the Charming Prince in the Shadow Yukiko fight represents all the guys who hit on her, or are superficially obsessed with her beauty. According to Yusuke, asking Yukiko out has become a RITUAL for new male students, imagine how she must feel about that? The Charming Prince seems like he's there to protect her, but once he or Shadow Yukiko's HP is low, he runs away and doesn't return. He's not in this for a long-term relationship with challenges.
And another part of her Shadow's symbolism I still love: the lock on the cage door was ALWAYS open. She just needed to realize this.
Not a whole lot to add on Chie, you pretty much said everything I would. Although I never considered how she's the only party member besides Teddie without their own dungeon. Part of me thinks this is just to fast-track another early-game party member, since going through a whole dungeon with just Yu and Yosuke would suck.
Chie's whole deal of being "the normal one" and her insecurities about her femininity are a big part of why her romance route is one of my favourites in P4. To quote her Valantines scene: "I'm so... ordinary, compared to Yukiko, or Rise-chan, or Naoto-kun... Yet you picked me."
Nice ending. Overall, Yukiko is still a character I'm "eh" on, but she does do a good job of lifting others up. Chie is a weird one for me, she swings between horrible comedy scenes and surprisingly well-written (and underrated) everywhere else. To those who don't like her in spinoffs, I'd encourage going back to the original P4 and seeing hoe grounded she can be most of the time.
Thanks for the video as always, and please get some rest now that it's done.
Actually the funny thing is that the meaner/sinister kitsune folklore started after Chinese tales of foxes were imported. It seems like Japan was largely one of the only cultures with a more positive look on foxes at the start haha.
And I can definitely see that point about the Prince Charming! Many women who are hit on constantly like that know vast majority of people only see them as a "prize" based on looks. It's easy to see why it develops this mentality of "how could it be anything but that when they don't even know a single thing about who I am as a person/personality?"
Yes the fact that the cage is legit already open the entire time lol!
Chie being a fast-track party member is a good point I hadn't thought about! Definitely would make sense given how difficult it would be to get through that whole place with only one other party member.
And I didn't see any of the date scenes (aside from some of Naoto's 3rd semester ones), so that's sweet to know!
I still haven't played the spin-offs aside from P4D and P5S, so I still have yet to see how flanderized Akihiko, Chie, and the like have truly become lol...
Thanks always for the thoughtful comment Klingy!
@@LadyVirgilia I didn't think Chie was that bad in Q, but Ahikiko, OH BOY. He's practically a different character. (And P3 implied he didn't like the taste of protein, he just had it occasionally as part of training...)
At first I thought "Oh, Fox McCloud is a heroic fox!" and then realized that was Japanese. Though the Sly Cooper series, which is western, is a heist story with anthropomorphic animals where the fox is the police officer chasing down the protagonist, who has the typical "sly" fox traits but is a racoon.
That "not knowing the real me" comment reminds me of how much I like the scene where Yukiko has a laughing fit for the first time, and Chie's like "this happens all the time but she's never done it in front on anyone but me before". Then you had the ass in Chie's Social Link who doesn't even know about that and is like "I preferred Yukiko when she was depressed." P4 in general is a study in not judging people before you get to know them, in more ways than one. (Even the antagonists work this way: Mitsuo wasn't the killer despite his creepiness, Namatame's motives weren't what you thought, Adachi wasn't the bumbling goofball he seemed, Izanami was there all along)
Oh wow, I can kind of see so much of my past self in Chie... I used to dress pretty much like Chie, but I would talk about love and would roleplay as a mother in preschool. 🙈
Thank you so much for the video! I love videos that talk about femininity 🤭 there's just something that makes me feel really happy, somehow 🤭
To me , tankui have a lower class to middle class and urban vibe given they associate with merchants and many raccoons/tankuis like to live in urban areas.
While Kitsune have a more upper class and rural vibe given they help with killing rats and help the crops for farmers/serf and to the lords that control the rice lands.
Yukiko clapping back at the reports is the reason I like her so much. I was shocked to find out the Fandom mostly find her boring.
I think that "popular" opinion results from either A) backlash to the fact she's popular in-universe, or B) many players falling into the same pitfalls her in-game suitors do: they only see Yukiko's demure outer persona (which, from a western perspective, is unappealing) and not her true fun-loving, goofy, and strong-willed self.
33:21 - As a UK viewer it neat to know that Japan has Asa Dora (morning dramas) which seems similar to our UK soap operas (daytime dramas)
But do they have they the "duff duff" that Eastenders has?
Love how the collar on chie's jacket makes her head look even more rounded
I never really considered this. The Tanuki Mario and Kitsune Luigi poweups match their appearances and personalities.
I felt so seen while playing P4. I look and have almost identical experiences as Chie, and I've consciously tried my best to love all of her in order to love all of myself. I am kinda sad she became more feminine eventually, but, to be fair, so have I
18:05 - "ongoing unalive case" XD I cracked up laughing when I realized what you were censoring there XD I find word-switch censorship much more entertaining than the beep-noise type, and I thank you for it!
I love how this just incidentally answered something that has confused me about Persona 5 for years without even trying to: why does Morgana find it so funny that Ryuji suggests the codename Abura-age for Yusuke? Thank you! These videos are fantastic.
God, I love Chie. And I think this analysis made me love her even more!
I really enjoyed this video! I was already aware of Yukiko being the Yamato Nadeshiko trope turned on its head, and the mythology for Yukiko and Chie’s personas, and how Chie is her own trope, but this added a lot of depth to characters I already thought had a lot of care and effort put into them. A lot of western fans don’t care for Yukiko much, but I always defended her. And while I see why Chie would be popular due to her personality and gameplay, I did think she was a flatter character in comparison to the rest of the cast due to her social link being a lot about other people and not herself, although I would defend her emotional intelligence and how she wasn’t as dumb as she thought. This analysis really brought Chie to a new light in my eyes, I guess more got lost in translation than I thought! You work so hard on these! Thank you for the wonderful cultural lens that can be lost on non-Japanese players. ❤
Chie's link not about herself? Is it because some links have some other characters in it? I really don't understand this.
I think it's a really surface level view on it. I've seen the same thing said for Makoto from P5 too.
Chie's link still mainly revolves around her insecurities of being a "not-so-feminine" woman and about just being enough as she is, learning self appreciation. The main themes of her awakening.
Social links having other people is not a negative thing. In fact it's more realistic to me than having just everything depend on mc and one-on-one social links.
This is why I always appreciate P3's way of doing things more. Everything revolving around mc becomes boring and repetitive after a while imo...
@@y2m3e.45 Agreed. Plus it also highlights a good trait of hers as well. Willing to protect those in need, that little boy and even that pussy ass ex of hers. Having multiple characters in her SL actually helped highlight her insecurities and traits more effectively, and imo the character interactions made it more interesting and more engaging than just an average 1 on 1. Just because there's multiple characters in a SL =/= having their spot light taken over.
Somehow never noticed they were a Tanuki/Kitsune pair until you pointed it out.
One of the reasons I like p4 so much is because I was in high school when I played it and the first 3 party members reminded me so much of people I knew in school. Yosuke was part every guy I knew, I knew atleast one Yukiko (instead of laughing she had a goofy sense of humor and cursed like a sailor in text but not in person) and Chie was several tomboysih girls are knew who still seemed really girly despite everything.
Kitsune and Tanuki are both very cool and hold some certain significance to my self, but I kinda have to go with Kitsune since I've always kind of been followed by foxes in my younger years.
Now days though, I mostly just see rabbits, which also pretty cool.
omg i'm definitely intrigued with the layers of japanese cultural context in persona that I don't know about and i'm happy to find this kind of content! i've always been interested in how their shadows (Chie's particularly) depict two sides of femininity that I've struggled with. i'll be binge watching a bunch of your videos
Ohhhh, I learned SO MUCH in just the first 15 minutes of this video! I am SO GLAD I found your channel and subscribed! It is just SUCH a "stars aligned" sort of moment, that your exploration of your own Japanese background and your ability to make great YT videos about games, combine to let all of us see these great deep-dives, teaching us all these details that people like me (white JRPG fans) will miss in Japanese media. And as a semi-outside, you're able to show the good and the bad, the challenges and the history that explains how this all came to be, the details that interleave to make the whole. I know that being a walker between worlds can be hard, but BOY is the work you produce just SO illuminating! THAT'S the word I was looking for - illuminating! There are some things I cannot see, that you do, and you being able to point them out like a guide thru a misty forest is just SO helpful and gawd, every word I can think of to describe it is too little! Valuable, helpful, illuminating, even that fancy word is too small! So I'll just keep trying, knowing I will fail, to describe how much these words and stories mean to me, and how much MORE I get out of them, how much more I learn and grow, from watching your videos about them! Fan communities, man, they're just the best things on Earth! :,)
Thank you so much!! 😭🙏 So glad to see this kind of analysis resonating with people!
I'll do my absolute best to keep it up!
Srsly. The biggest drawback of your video is that when I press the like button twice it doesn't give it an extra push. Your work is phenomenal and I look forward to what comes next ☺️
God… Some of the stuff you talked about.. Nearly made me shed a tear learning about it…
These are absolutely top-tier video essays! Chie might be my favourite Persona character, and 4 is by far my favourite Persona game. This video basically helped to explain why that is. Your familiarity with traditional Japanese culture is definitely bringing a whole new angle to these games!
I cant stop applying everything to Futaba and Inari.
This is such a joy to learn about.
This popped up on my recommended. Where has this channel been all my life?? I love Inazuma, I study history, I've cosplayed as Naoto in her Dancing All Night outfit AND I heard FISHY AROMA from Umineko...wow
This video was a great watch!
I love how you use Genshin music in your persona videos
I got a probably-accidental visual pun at the end with you talking about "fuzzy feelings" and showing tanuki right at that point, lol.
I don't really have any preference in folklore between kitsune and tanuki, though. In terms of outright mythical creatures, I just like Youko more due to liking the concept of magic and foxes being some of my favorite animals, lol.
I haven't even started the video yet but I wanted to thank you so much for making this😭😭😭 I'm a butch, lesbian and Persona 4 was my intro to the persona series and I had really, really resonated with Chie personality wise but I also LOVED Yukiko (for lesbian reasons lmao) and for the fact that her story with her family greatly parallels my own. I often feel that most people don't even think about these two (which are in my opinion two of the BEST GIRLS in the persona series) within the context of Persona 4 bc everyone else is obsessing over Rise (which I get, don't get me wrong I like her too but I loved these two girls a million times more). Anyways, so glad I found your channel💕
Chie and I would ABSOLUTELY be friends and knock down some beef together! #carnivorelife
Umineko music in a Persona analysis video? We are so up
Just discovered the channel, and with a video of my two favorite persona characters to boot! I was on a razor's edge trying to decide which of them to romance and which to keep just friends. Finally decided to go for Chie. Then When P4 Arena came out, I mostly used Yukiko to make up for the snub. Now there's Blaz Blue Tag, and I don't have to choose anymore, and it's awesome to see them have each other's back in a fight.
Cool to see context for them I hadn't known before. Still think it's kinda funny that Yukiko's name means snow, but she has fire magic.
Me and my best friend love chie to death so thanks for this I can’t wait to show my homie this video
Being the tanuki obsessed person I am, I'm so mad I've never made these connections before.
I’m too poor to be a patron but I’m hoping for Kanji! He’s my favorite and the whole reason I got into Persona in the first place!
Samee! Kanji's my childhood crush 😩
I really love your work! I've learned a lot of the japanese culture and its role on the games and characters.
More importanty, to understad even more everything inside and outside this "japanese context" that involves Persona games.
So glad that I finished my first P4G playthrough just in time to watch this video. Your job is amazing!! Thanks so much for the high quality videos!
I really liked this deep dive, I've played this game so many times over the last 10-11 years that seeing characters from a new perspective is always nice.
"You may have been wondering if I was going to bring these up. DEEZ!"
Yes, ma'am, in fact I was. And you indeed have slain me. 😂
I'm not a huge Persona fan, but P4 has always had a special place in my heart. As did its cast. You did an amazing job on this! Love seeing the cultural context.
Only just recognised the tanuki/kitsune dynamic as a recurring thing though I've seen it around a fair bit. But I did know of the tanuki's depicted large package, thanks to a bit of trivia I saw about Gaara's sandbag in Naruto as a kid 😅 I might just prefer the Tanuki folklore for that fun fact alone.
The friendship between the I.T girls is also something I love. Tearing each other down to fit to an ideal or proving we're different for the sake of it instead of embracing our true dentities and hobbies is just so prevalent in our spaces. Seeing the P4 girls just vibe is a treat. I love them all.
Already loved Chie and Yukiko, but I've walked away with even more appreciation. See you've done some other P4 discussion here and there, and am excited to see Rise's coming up. Naoto and Kanji are my favourites, but I think Rise gets a lot of flack. I understand how people might not gel with her personality, but personally her SL was one of the best.
There's a lot of sensitive material you can get into with the stuff the Inaba crew have to work through, idol culture included. It wasn't always perfectly handled, but I'm glad we have something made in 2000s Japan to analyse and take apart nowadays. Like having insight into this stuff, and it helps seeing someone who has taken the time to research and has the cultural know-how to go deep into things. Thank you!
This is a wonderful and incredibly interesting video, definitely well worth the wait!! Learning about the tanuki and kitsune imagery was fascinating, and your explanations make it all very easy to understand! I definitely have some new perspectives on the arcs of both characters. Chie was already in my top 3 p4 characters, but this video has given me a newfound appreciation for yukiko especially! Great job as always Lady, I'm already looking forward to your next p4 analysis! Take care! 💞
Excellent video, thanks! You really made me appreciate Yukiko's character so much more than I did.
Love this, I genuinely enjoyed Chie the most as a character when I played the original P4 and even tho Golden made her a bit too overt at times for me I still liked her a lot exactly because of that deep seated confidence issues she had and how despite that she still wanted to be friends with Yukiko and do her best for her. I do think that she was made a lot more boisterous in P4G (maybe its just her new VA?) and its a bit to her detriment but at the end of the day she will always be one of my favorites, innitially she struck me as the girl next door type and being very cool to hang out with, I also found her worries about not being feminine quite adorable as she is exuding charm the whole time. I didnt really notice the subversions of the tomboy trope as such, but its certainly why she is so likeable.
I also think Yukiko is somewhat underappreciated, tho it has been getting better in recent years, her troubles at the inn are often overlookad and it certainly explains a lot about her, making her more belieavable and sympathetic, my mind immidiately went to some sleazy dude making comments to her when she mentioned the odd visitors, but while it hopefully wasnt anything this forward its obvious that at least getting "compliments" is something she got used to, around her friends and Yu whom she presumably always likes she is much more comfortable showing her more flirty side but obviously at work she is as straight laced and proper as possible to discourage any "compliments" she might get. Just thinking about how messed up these situations can be in japan makes me ill.
Btw It was a great idea to make their analysis together, they are such great foils to each other.
And please lets not get into patriarchy debate or neo feminism like how unfair it is that women products concentrate on making women more attractive and how that is all mens fault etc., cmon anyone with half a brain knows how complicated these issues are and it isnt because of some inate patriarchy that we all live in. Of course some of the absolutely BS that happens in Japan and more severely in many other less developed countries is obviously just straight up evil and inhuman, but those are two completely different things.
this video made me love chie even more 🥺
Thank you so much for your perspective! It's really valuable, I haven't seen such an insightful look at these characters before, I'm excited to watch the other ones!
This is exactly the kind of long form analysis i love.
answer for the last question about Tanuki and Kitsune , I would answer Kitsune , since the folk lore about Nine Tail fox can likely trace back to both Chinese and India .
Tamamo no Mae , Hulijing , Daji/Dakki or Gumiho , it's all very similar to each other yet also different .
It's very fascinating to see such mythology spreading through out region and have their own spin .
like how "Dragon" is know all through out the entire world .
Despite the bad cooking gag not being as funny as I thought it was then, I still love the idea that the female characters in P4 G are breaking the mold for traditional roles for women, but they really do make a great team.
Is it possible that you can do these videos in a 2-character basis?
I am thinking there should be one for Kanji and Naoto and how they broke traditional gender roles regarding hobbies.
But seriously, thank you for the video.
Thanks for puttin so much effort into these videos. Maybe they’ll randomly blow up one day, you never know with TH-cam lol
I literally know almost nothing about Persona, but I've been binging your videos on the Japanese context in this series because I've spent so long studying Japanese culture to the point I can't really exist in English speaking anime fandom spaces without wanting to pull my hair out on a regular basis.
It's refreshing to see videos that explain the lost context and thematic stuff us westerners don't know since we didn't grow up surrounded by it. Thank you for making these videos and sharing your culture and studies with us. They make me want to finally sit down and play the Persona series!
One of my fav tropes is when a woman laughs hysterically, while covering her month xD.
[a.k.a. Naga's laughther]
Good video and coincidentally came out after I watched a few episodes of the P4 anime. Chie and Yukiko's story are a sort of double episode in the anime
I just finished my first P4G play through on switch, and I loved it so much. As much or even more than I loved P5R, which I can actually say changed my outlook on life when I played it last year.
This was such a great video! I loved Chie and Yukiko so much. All the characters, really. But I learned so much cultural context and heard so many new and interesting ideas from this video.
Can’t wait to watch the rest of your videos!! I’ll definitely be going through the backlog, hehe
Anyway, thanks for sharing this awesome analysis 🥰
This has been a really fun video to watch, thanks for all of the added context! Great job!
No wonder why I like Yukiko so much. The kitsune is my favorite yokai lol.
This is interesting since I've been following the tokusatsu show Kamen Rider Geats where this relationship between the kitsune and the tanuki is front and center. The main protagonist is named Geats from 'gitsune' and has a fox motive with a typical fox mask design incorporated into his helmet. His character is described as secretive, cunning and sometimes manipulative though it doesn't appear that he does this out of malice. The other main character is Kamen Rider Tycoon and his design is based on the tanuki. He is described as a naive, idealistic young man who dreams of world peace and other such things that most adults would find unrealistic. While always trying to believe in the best of people he often find himself getting tricked by Geats even though he has an exceptionally good luck. His secondary theme is a ninja, which plays on the mythical tanuki's ability to shape shift and play tricks such as creating illusionary decoys out of small wooden logs. The other main character is Kamen Rider Na-Go, a girl whose cat themed costume may be inspired by the nekomata or the demon cat. Her main weapon is an electric guitar which is consistent with some of the most popular images of the nekomata playing a shamisen. Her character is described as bubbly and cat like but holds a certain darkness inside her as she yearns for freedom from her strict parents.
Yay it's here! 🎉 Been so excited for this one!
This is a great video! The cultural context was really interesting and gave a much greater understanding of the background behind the characters. I still find the writing of Yukiko and Chie's relationship to be a heavily rooted in casual sexism, as it seems the writers had no clue how to write a female friendship that didn't have something to do with male attention, and Chie and Yukiko's parallels don't feel like the conclusion is that women shouldn't be stuffed into two boxes "tomboys and yamato-nadeshiko" and instead they can be just who they are. It instead felt like Chie got more reliant on others, and therefore feminine, and Yukiko got more self-assured, and therefore masculine. It's even worse when the game allows you to date both girls at the same time which has barely any consequence despite how shitty that is to do, and how much attention the game (and especially Golden) puts on sexualizing the two characters against their will which seems to be the exact opposite message their stories, especially Yukiko's, are trying to convey. Also yea Pom Poko fuckin' slaps.
I want art of Keiwa and Ace (from Kamen Rider Geats) meeting Chie and Yukiko
another amazing video absolutely love them so much and make me realise how little i know about these characters keep up the incredible work you do and hope you have a wonderful future with everything you do :)
The kitsune/tanuki rivalry has shown up in the currently airing Kamen Rider Geats. The main rider is clearly a fox, while the secondary rider is Tycoon, is a tanuki. They even share a conversation evoking their animal rivalry when Tycoon tricks Geats in one episode.
It’s interesting to see how cultural differences in gamers can affect how we view characters.
I'm all on board with tunuki. But pom poke plays into that. Lol
*COMPLETLY* unrelated but is that a hint of the kansai accent I'm hearing?
Being from the Tohoku region we essentially have the train wreck known as the tsugaru dialect going on, but I stg some of the accents remind me of how a friend from Kyoto sounded.
I would say the Kitsune, as they are one of the fav.
YAY, PERSONA 4 CONTENT!!!
team Kitsune in this house.
for a variety of reasons.
Chie, best girl… period.
My ideal woman... Hell, my ideal PERSON is one steeped in strength. Strength of will, strength of character, strength of body and strength of mind. I like people who are strong enough to admit they're weak and then work on those weaknesses to turn them into, if not strengths, at least not detriments.
Also, Naoto and Makoto are best girls in the Personas I've played. At least for me.
ur doing gods work
Nice job! it's nice to hear a nuanced take on this game, I think a lot of people are too black and white about it, without even understanding the culture or era.
Can you do a video on how nauto fits in Japanese contested
Knowing about the Tanuki's massive balls and the relation to golden balls, I'll never think about Persona 4 'Golden' the same way again. Out with Golden Week, and in with Tanuki Balls.
Excellent video!
can't watch this yet bc I still have to finish the gammee😭😭😭
16:19 bna!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
I love these two
seems like giving girls over there a hammer and free license to respond to sh and sa with a hammer blow to the bollocks would be a better solution than segregated train cars alone
Thanks!
Thanks so much always! 🙏
Going to miss the P3 vids. @LadyVirgilia are you going to make any more vids about P3 in the future?
this will be an interesting watch
as a westerner, everyone i know dislikes yukiko and find her totally bland
i wonder how different it is in japan
Out of the two which one do you like more Chie or Yukiko?
God looking at the P4 girls and calling them IT girls confused me for like a solid 30 secs like "what? I seriously doubt any of them even own a laptop"
Thanks, now Kamen Rider Geats makes more sense to me!!!
Nice video. While Chie was never a top tier Persona character for me I have always enjoyed Yukikos presence in the investigation squad
Kitsune udon slaps fr
Ah yes, it all makes sense! Chie has no balls, perfectly explaining why she is unable to shapeshift!
Where does Chie fit in that group? Best girl. She fits in as best girl
I've definitely been that friend who was jealous of how pretty their best friend was. The twist for me is that I am AMAB and was presenting as male back then and it took me nearly two decades of our close friendship to realize my jealousy of her looks was because I was transgender so now we're both the pretty one lol
lol ywnbaw
Is Naoto getting a video?
Tanuki have the better folklore because they canonically have balls
My bday is April 12 if anyone cares.
Low key impossible in todays day and age to service without being in STEM. idk I am not familiar with the topic but in Cali if your not in a relationship with both partners being bread winners then its low key impossible to make rent.
Also Fukka giga chad for going into CS before it was popular lol