Symbolism in Persona 4 - Shadow Boss Forms
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ส.ค. 2024
- When the shadow versions of the main cast turns into an enemy, design elements are used to symbolize aspects of that character's personality. This is an exploration of how these symbols are used in Persona 4.
Artwork by
oh!miso
www.pixiv.net/...
ShinigamiRukia
www.zerochan.ne...
Music by
Jake "Ryan" Smith and Gina "Leigh" Smith
/ ryan-and-leigh
Clips were taken from the following channels
KillScottKill
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JohneAwesome
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RandomPl0x
channel/UCLoi_W-lFhvRvtsSwdi9kWg
BuffMaister
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ultimate Sunky Narukami
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Allen The Ultimate Gamer
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Katsumi Kenshiro
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BuffMaister
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The Keef Crew
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Also, about Shadow Yukiko... they obviously went for a "bird in a golden cage"-theme with it, but what really stands out is how the cage is open and she's sitting at the exit. She's not trapped, she can fly away anytime, she's even got her wings spread already! But she doesn't. She keeps sitting there, waiting for someone else to "free" her from a cage that isn't actually trapping her.
SolvNia whoah
It could also represent Yukiko not having the willpower to leave. In other words, the only thing keeping Yukiko from leaving her life is herself.
Dang. Also when Shadow Yukiko attacks, she closes the door on herself then opens it again, showing her frustration with the things "holding her back" yet hesitates to leave it all behind.
Her Social Link Scenes also reveal that everyone around her are actually fine with her doing her own thing. They don't try to stop her, instead they help her and offer to teach her how to cook. Yukiko really is the only one holding herself back.
Wow just realise it
I'd like to point out that Shadow Yukiko actually can't summon multiple princes. She'll try, but she'll fail the second time and freak out over it
lol technically true
A small detail I noticed while fighting Shadow Kanji is that if you look at the positioning of the roses just right, it almost forms a question mark, (with Shadow Kanji being in the middle) likely continuing his "confusion" for what's manly and what's not.
I realize that
LinkTheSniper interesting 🤔
Or it could be about how he's uncertain on his sexuality.
@@olly_lmao It's not, the game makes it pretty clear that the entire thing is about what he feels a man truly is.
I see it now
The shadow of yosuke also looks like a wacky inflatable guy, A flailing contraption set outside of stores to draw in business.
Yosuke tries to bring business to Junes, and works there, even though he'd rather be doing other things.
I noticed that shadow’s tend to incorporate elements of the different Arcanas that the characters represent but in a warped and twisted way. For example Chie’s shadow wants other to depend on her in order to feel superior which is a warped version of the chariot Arcana’s supportive nature.
The only exception to this is Teddies shadow who represents the opposite of the star Arcana instead of a warped version. This is shown in the shadows nihilistic personality and constant insistence that things are hopeless which is the exact opposite of what Star Arcana represents,hope.
I agree. The Star Arcana in Reverse appears to represent despair. Nothing matters, nothing at all.
I really don't like how much I relate to the reversed star
@@OriginalGameteer despair is easy, most people fall into despair. What is hard is to pull yourself out of that shit and live a good life despite it.
I would like to add to your comment that Teddie's shadow, is, in fact, the moon arcana, not the star!
Seeing as how that arcana represents mystery and stuff i guess that its because even teddie dosen't know what he is at the beggining of the game and stuff but it could also be because ameno-sagiri stuff
Ordinary Tree and that's why shadow teddie in a hole
Yosuke - Amuse me
Chie - Submit to me
Yukiko - Save me
Kanji - Accept me
Rise - Look at me
Teddie - Fight with me
Naoto - Fix me
Adachi - ??? (edit: Die with me)
Adachi intention is die for me (Alice skill name)
@@syarifzaki1878 I mean, I looked up the Persona 4 musical songs and I heard "die with me" but if you heard "die for me" then I guess we're both built different
A lot of design elements of shadows and personas also represent things from their mythology.
Like Shadow Yosuke's frog, it's probably in reference to Jiraya's famous ability to transform into a frog.
Jiraya's design, and it's evolutions, all have major connections to music, most likely in reference to Yosuke's apparent love for it, as he wears his headphones around his neck constantly.
According to the wiki, he's apparently listening to Nickelback x_x
and the main battle theme "reach out to the truth" lol
LOOK AT THIS TAROT CARD
Jiraiya is also depicted in most stories, or pop culture, riding a toad.
What if he’s listening to a jojo reference? I love both shows and having a music based persona makes me love Josuke’s persona even more
Here's another fact about Shadow Teddie: it's not just an empty space. Given those glowing eyes, SOMEthing's inside the suit, and given that it's shadowed out, the mind reels at what horrid thing it could be. Further showing Teddie's uncertainty, or perhaps insecurity, over being a Shadow hidden in a mascot costume.
2 years late but that "something" is actually implied to be Ameno-Sagiri, the eye thing that posesses Adachi. If you analyze Shadow Teddie, he's classified as the Moon arcana, associated with ilusions and lies, when Teddie himself is the Star.
And thats just info from in the game. In the anime its downright confirmed.
Something else that might be significant with Kanji's Shadow is the whole black and white theme with Shadow Kanji, Nice Guy and Tough Guy. It might further reflect how he thinks society defines masculinity very strictly with his traditionally feminine interests being out of that "Black and white" definition of what it means to be manly.
I think the black and white split represent how he thinks liking men and women are a sorta black and white, with no grey area. You either like men or women.
I agree with this, but I interpret it more as the black and white colour scheme referencing both Tough Guy and Nice Guy. Kanji isn't only one of those things, hence why his Shadow self is bursting out of the black-and-white ideal male form with lots of colour and roses, showing the real him. Another neat touch is how when Shadow Kanji uses certain abilities, he catches the Male symbols on his wrists and they land pointing down, representing shackles to refer to how he feels constrained and confused by the cultural ideal of "manly".
As for Take-Mikazuchi, his Persona, notice how it's an artificial robot or mech of some kind - there are wires and metal parts at the joints - which could tie in to how he still hasn't properly broken out of his shell and that he still relies on it to protect him like a mecha suit would. The skeleton motif painted on it could be reference to him still keeping up the tough guy act.
This comments thread is very interesting. Very thought provoking.
I like it. :).
@@a.rustici1972 I like it! Another! *Smashes comment on the floor*
If I recall well, in psychology there is this this term (Derivating from the word Splitting if I'm not wrong) that defines when someone splits those that are close to them between Positive and Negative as a cope mechanism. I don't know if this works with other themes more that the Pos/Neg one, but if it does I think Kanji shadows represents how he tended to split between what he considers Manly and Feminine, without understanding that you can have both personality traits.
I always felt that shadow teddy more so represented emptiness and futility, while kintoki doji repped emptiness and fulfillment. Shadow teddy is sinking in a hole, and his insides look like a void. His eyes are even concentric (you can view it as holes in holes). Kintoki doji is a vault. Yes it is empty, but you can choose what you want to fill it with. Teddy accepts he has/is nothing which is how his shadow turns into a persona, but he knows he can gain much more.
I really like this interpretation
Because all of this takes place inside a TV, and because many shadows look like things on TV (I can’t remember who figured that out again), I started thinking about everything through the lens of somebody watching TV. And when you think about it, excluding spoilers near the end of the game, each shadow boss is a sort of stereotype. Like Chie and Yukiko represent how women on TV either mooch off of others, hence the dominatrix and villain subtext, or are damsels to be saved, hence caged bird. Kanji’s represents how if men have the slightest femininity about them, they’re considered gay. Rise represents how people view some “airhead” celebrities. Naoto is a detective at a very young age, something unexpected, which people might think is something made up, like a robot from a laboratory. They all fit cliches in media and in real life.
Plus, they are all exagerations of the traits, which not only matches the TV idea but also the concept that when you repress a side of yourself, you are just strenghtening it
What about Yosuke and Mitsuo?
@@alexanderthomas3187 Yosuke wasn’t really known all that well, and I’m guessing people weren’t interested in him as much as Saki and everyone else.
As for Mitsuo, I’m guessing they thought he was a introverted kid obsessed with games and murderer. That is, in fact, how he was portrayed in his dungeon.
I think Chie figured that out
@@Jessica_Schweser You’re right. On day 10/12, she does mention stereotypes, and why they are similar to the shows and shadows.
Actually, if I could suggest something for why the shadow's eyes are yellow, I'd say it could be because yellow also represents fear and the character's shadows are the parts they don't accept. In other words, they *fear* others wouldn’t accept that side.
@Ghost_Troupe shadow and persona are psychological terms. There is some explanation in P4G Mr. Edogawa's TV classroom. And his definitions don't match yours.
While not persona related but dc has a dinero lantern corp are yellow and are reading by fear since the weirder uses fear of the people who don't have a yellow ring and uses the fear and forms the the fear of the victim
The yellow eyes for Shadow Selves has been a trait since Persona 2 Innocent Sin.
The Beastball design is sick!!
@@demi-femme4821 persona 2 had red eyed shadows
omfg that "It's Symbolic" part caught me off-guard so hard i laughed like crazy.
Where from? Comic dub?
@@Ramsey276one Yes, definitely watch it if you havent already. It's pretty great.
Same.
If you search “Hiimdaisy” into the search bar the comic dub should pop up pretty quickly
1:18
If you want to go even farther in depth with the conclusion that Mitsuo became his own shadow, when you face the boss it says "I am a shadow" cutting out "the true self" all other characters had, meaning he already became one with, and is portraying the shadow. It would also explain why his eyes are all black.
I thought the reason Kanji had the strong guy skeleton was because it’s not what is outside that is strong but what’s on the inside. Being true to yourself and not hiding what you are, and that was his skeleton
Is very interesting how shadow rise's colour scheme in her body is similar to dionysius (greek god of wine ,fertility and orgys) design in the shin megami tensei series
I always find it weird as her shadow is literally a dyonisious dancing exotically, and thought maybe it had a relation¿¿, I never knew honestly
Here one I thougth about (I'm proud of this one) :
You see that in Yosuke's Persona, the camouflage motif is still there but, washed up by white. It means (I think) that he still think of himself a plain kid but, he is now being recognized by others, the members of the Investigation Team.
White is the color of innocence and purity, but Yosuke being kind of a pervert means that it means something else.
White and all of it's shade is also the main color of Izanagi, Yu's main and First Persona and it's owner. It could represent that Yu washed his plain life and camouflage by being friends with him, and like I said before, white is the color of purity, showing that Yosuke think of his friendship with Yu has pure without tricks or abuse of trust, and since Yosuke's the expert on bad and fragile friendship (he lost contact with his old friends and stuff) it could also mean that Yosuke's feeling of friendship are more genuine.
For those asking the source about the songs that play between bios, there was a TH-cam channel that made them. And unfortunately does not exist anymore as Atlus struck them down. :/
THERE. Saved everyone from having to dig through the comments. This should probably get pinned to the top just in case.
th-cam.com/users/Persona4Musical
The youtube channel is back. Atlus got a little less strict with it.
Zamkusen it gone again
Well-Mannered Nate thanks dude
Zamkusen yeah about that...
Well-Mannered Nate o
The gender identity bit is actually incorrect for Naoto (though there are reasons to see it that way from the Western perspective). Naoto struggles with being a woman in a "male job" in a situation where "femininity" is considering weak and not wanted. Consider Sae in P5 who is a repeat of similar themes with an older and more cynical character.
Basically being a woman is a "weakness" in the police and law enforcement; it has to do more with sexism and misogyny in society than gender identity. Gender roles in society verses actual gender.
(you do focus on this more than the gender identity bit but you still brought it up so i kinda had to comment a bit)
MemoryPhaseStudios both that and the fact that in the anime its seen that when yosuke, yu and Teddy get hit by the Shadows ray gun it turns them old this may show that she also wants to grow up not change her body from one gender to another but more to become an adult I will agree that the whole female in a male-dominated job environment has Merit as well -O
The Undying no it's funny why would I hate you
Justine and caroline oh I just remembeared, I can bearcome young again
BRING ON THE HATE
But i also believe gender identity is still a thing with Naoto
Bishimgay, she _does,_ just not in the way where it's interpreted as her being a trans man. People can have headcanons of Naoto being that way, it's just that, in truth, she felt the need to act like a man to get over a steel wall in the profession that she loves (while having to put up with yet another in regards to her age).
one small thing, it should also be noted now chie and yukiko's persona's look like the other with the hair (chie's has long flowing black hair while yukiko's has the short cut) showing the true reliance and friendship they have for one and the other
quick question the singing bits, where are they from?
2:36 yosuke
4:06 chie
5:55 yukiko
8:25 kanji
10:56 rise
12:24 teddie
14:34 naoto
Don't worry people I have save you from wasting time from trying to find the song
Terry Nguyen thanks!!
Terry Nguyen thx dud
Marwan Zakaria your welcome bro
16:19 for mitsuo
Monokuma thanks
0:16 I just love how while you're talking about the "introspective psychological elements" the background footage is freaking Chad Narukami bustin' a move. absolutely beautiful.
While he stares with those souls eyes
Lmao yep Persona 4 in a nutshell 🤣
introspective psychological elements 🕺🕺🕺🕺
The reason why Take-Mikazuchi wields a lightning bolt is because the real Takemikazuchi is a Japanese deity of lightning and thunder.
and sumo wrestling according to P3
So is it a different form for Raijin? Or does Shinto have multiple thunder gods
@@bishop6881 Shinto has a god for pebbles and shit, do you really think they wouldn't have multiple gods? There's 7 fortune gods.
@@bishop6881 Raijin and Fujin are sometimes thought to be yokai since they are mischievous are they tend to play tricks that lead to the death of lots of people. Also, all-weather Kami are under the hand of Susanoo no Mikoto which the god of the storm and raging sea.
Another thing is that Japan doesn't have gods, Kami are similar to gods but they lack a very defining aspect which is omnipotence (unlimited power)
Muhammad Barakat
Izunagi, Amaterasu, Tsysukumi are definitely more than just Kami
I don't know if it's just me, but to me Chie's persona kinda looks like a more masculine version of Yukiko, while Yukiko's persona looks like a more feminine version of Chie. Does anyone else see it or is it just me?
Silver_Wing15 I defiantly see it for Tomoe, and I can sort of see it with Konohona-Sakuya
Silver_Wing15 i
I saw it after I read this
I kinda see it in their hairstyles. Tomoe has Yukiko's long straight hair, and Konohana Sakuya has Chie's short cut hair.
This just blew my mind
*Yosuke* (Magician Arcana): resourcefulness, willpower, intentions channeled into the right pursuits --> *Shadow Yosuke* (Reversed Magician): trickery, selfishness, misfocused intention.
*Chie* (Chariot Arcana): competence, self-discipline, seeking control over worldly aspects, determination --> *Shadow Chie* (Reversed Chariot): lack of control over worldly aspects/control freak (control issues).
*Yukiko* (High Priestess Arcana): inner resolve, intuition, receptivity, feminine mystique and appeal, purity --> *Shadow Yukiko* (Reversed High Priestess): lack of belief in oneself, blocked intuition, lust, corruption and manipulation.
*Kanji* (Emperor Arcana): masculinity, authority, stability --> *Shadow Kanji* (Reversed Emperor): toxic masculinity/chauvinism/masculinity issues, authoritarianism, rigidness.
*Rise* (Lovers Arcana): love, sexuality, values aligned --> *Shadow Rise* (Reversed Lovers): incompatible values, cognitive dissonance, identity crisis, disharmony in oneself.
*Teddie* (Star Arcana): hope, promises, truth, peace with life, boundlessness, renewal --> *Shadow Teddie* (Reversed Star): despair, broken promises, following a lie, disharmony and dissatisfaction with life, seeing the limitations.
*Naoto* (Wheel of Fortune Arcana): taking action to improve what you can control, changing, expanding your life, finding meaning in what you can't control --> *Shadow Naoto* (Reversed Wheel of Fortune): lacking control and being unhappy about it, confusion, ongoing struggle, bad luck.
*Mitsuo* (Hermit Arcana): peace in solitude, introspection, meditation, perspective, guidance --> *Shadow Mitsuo* (Reversed Hermit): loneliness, antisocial attitudes, self-absorption. [Mitsuo's personality has become so warped that he has essentially become his Shadow].
My favorite Shadows were Shadow Chie, Shadow Yukiko, and Shadow Rise. But actually, I could relate to all of them, especially Shadow Mitsuo. -using videogames to escape the real world-
Shadow Chie is a triumphant-looking dominatrix figure propped up by what seem to be three struggling, chained Yasogami High students (which all resemble Chie), probably representing how Chie willingly plays the martyr in supporting and fortifying Yukiko's low self-esteem, yet secretly enjoys being useful to someone beautiful and popular like Yukiko (because Chie wants to be like her, as evidenced by the dominatrix's long black hair).
Shadow Rise has a satellite dish head, which probably represents how Risette is forced to appeal to the fads and the wishes of the masses. Her featureless multicolored body may stand for the multiple personas that Rise's fans assign to her.
Guess there's a reason why I got the Magician Arcana after all.
since we already have a hermit character we can't give mitsuo a persona so we can only have his reversed shadow i guess - persona 4
How about Narukami’s arcana, The Chad
Kidding aside, I love this comment of yours
Kenneth Jose wouldn’t yu’s shadow be like Adachi
@@dirtkiller23 His personality lines up with what the Hermit Arcana represents, as well as the actual real-life definition for Hermit.
I will say that it would be interesting if Mitsuo became a playable character with a social link. But I also like the fox, sooooo
Since Naoto has the shortest shadow I alway thought that was because she was the shortest character in the investigation team
Nah, just really pushing that still wants to be a kid thing
I thought that too like the girl even rolls up her pants and wears thick soles and is still really short
Shadow Naoto's robotic form can also represent her wish to be taken seriously regardless of age and gender, since robots lack either.
Yukiko doesn't want to leave. She resents the fact that her life has been laid out for her to take over the inn. She knows it's a good life and that she's lucky to inherit it, but she doesn't feel like she's earned it. She also wants to prove that she doesn't have to take over the inn, that she has other options but chooses to take it over. That's why much of her social link is about her trying to become self-sufficient (cooking for herself, getting a job). Leaving isn't her goal, despite what her shadow says. She just wants to know that she can.
The shadows sort of manifest as symptoms of characters' deeper issues. The social links are where we get to dig deeper and recontextualize what the shadow is actually telling us for a fuller understanding of the characters.
This is why many players misread what the shadows represent and assume that Kanji is gay, for example. The shadows present the issues, not the answers.
Something I noticed on kanji and shadow kanji’s design:
Kanji’s outfit completely covers him, he even has a second coat floating behind him like a cape, while shadow kanji is butt naked except a loincloth for legal reasons probably, this could show how kanji hides his feminine nature and quite slim, but still jacked, body, and shadow kanji spills out his feminine nature in the drop of a hat. Also, kanji is literally the name of a japanese writing style, which could represent his artistic talents
Kanji's shadow has an emphasis on the skeleton, something usually inside metaphorical closets
You know what else is in a metaphorical closet? Kanji
I have to admit Naoto has a great voice to sing
@@unimportant6837 u good?
@@yodagaming5905 yeah, sorry I didn't even know or remember I comment that
Naoto's voice actress sang for Silent Hill games before.
I am surprised no one mentions the prince running away during the fight (and then being unable to be summoned but that has been mentioned). That obviously symbolized to me that there is no such prince for her. If she wants a future, she has to pave the way herself.
I disagree about Chie’s shadow. While it is true that she wants Yukiko to be reliant on her I always saw it as being the other way around. I saw the shadow with the black hair as Yukiko and the smaller ones holding her up looking like Chie. I interpreted it as Chie being silently resentful that Yukiko was more liked than her.
Chie’s shadow also calls herself worthless implying that she sees herself as only useful in the way she props up someone she views as superior to her due to her popularity.
I always associated it with a desire to keep Yukiko simply because she was the only one reliant on Chie rather than Chie getting a kick out of Yukiko becoming vulnerable around her.
It's an interesting theory, but it's disproven by Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, which allows you to play as Shadow Chie. Right at the start of a battle, one of Shadow Chie's pre-battle animations is her being held by several faceless schoolgirls. I took the liberty of taking a picture of it.
imgur.com/GhuUPkZ
"when the bad times come . . .
*looks at date in game*
Yup . . .
Love the detailed and accurate research you found between yaoi and bara lol
A detail from Shadow Chie is her long black hair has tentacle appendages, like how a jellyfish uses its tendrils to constrict prey.
How does this fantastic channel not have more views?! My goodness was this great! Haven't seen another video quite like it, rather ironic considering the fanbase considers itself "deep," but have never seen an in-depth review of it's themes or symbolism like this.
Subscribed and liked.
Could you do an episode like this on the Full Moon Shadows of P3 (and how they're an inversion of what each tarot card means)? Those bosses don't get enough attention, despite the thought put into their designs (designs are really cool, I personally prefer them to the P4 bosses).
Actually...about shadow yosuke's frog body.
i think it comes from the japanese word "kaeru" with translates to frog...but it also has another meaning "kaeru" also means "to return" or "to go back" simbolizing how yosuke wanted to go back to the city.
14:30 "an empty space that protects" sounds absolutely awesome, it's been stuck in my mind for a while. The Teddie segment definitely made me appreciate him a lot more. Fantastic video.
A few other meanings the color Yellow holds is that of Cowardice, Deception, and Egotism. Cowardice, because the shadow is the very thing we want to hide. Deception, because the fog quite literally covers up anything in front or around you. And Egotism, you stated that the characters much prefer death over facing themselves, which shows that their Ego is so high they would rather end it all than admit fault.
What I like about the evolution of Kanji’s persona as you max his social link and as you achieve his third-tier persona in Golden is that it goes from Kanji’s ridiculously homoerotic and muscular shadow to what’s basically a skeleton, albeit a really buff skeleton robot. As it evolves into Rokuten Maoh, it returns to a muscular-looking dude. Kanji is re-forming who he is. Take-Mikazuchi is him starting over from square one, so to speak. He’s going from a belligerent punk afraid of who he is in his shadow form, to someone unsure of who he is but willing to change in Take-Mikazuchi, to someone who is truly “manly” in Rokuten Maoh. Takeji Zaiten is an extension of that as it gains a primarily white design, white representing purity, as Kanji acknowledges the fact that he can live life as a tough guy who likes cute things and lives as himself, a “pure man” at this point.
One mistake with shadow yukiko: she cant repeatetly summok the prince. After the first one flees, she cant summon one anymore. I think this represents one of two things:
1. All the boys that attempt the amagi challenge but only care about themselves
2. Chie, her original prince, leaving her (in yukikos eyes) and not saving her
I think we can also look at some of the status effects/attacks the Shadows hand out during battle too, Kanji's element is lightening/Zio, but during his boss fight he inflicts the status of Rage and Poison, (rather than say something like paralysis) Which I think are a jab at how "Toxic" masculinity can be and how Anger is a common release for these frustrations.
The Persona 5 videos were amazing. I'm really happy that you are now focusing on Persona 4. I really hope to see more content like this, it's just too good and I can't get enough of it! Your analyses are clever and the comments session is always full of even more different interpretations. Congratulations for your videos!
Here’s the thing that I found about Yosuke’s shadow self, the frog part of the shadow is a direct reference to Jiraiya because in Japanese folklore Jiraiya uses shapeshifting magic to transform into massive toad/frog
It all ties back into the same core theme of the game itself, having to fight forced change by others (whether real or perceived) so you can instead be comfortable as your true self and find acceptance. Even the real villain (Izanami) just wants to change the world into something she mistakenly believes humans will find more acceptable than our current reality. Thus our heroes must fight so the world will remain it's true self, as represented by the World Arcana at the end.
There's also a heavy theme of growing up and improving. Through their social links the characters improve themselves and even enhance their Personas. There's even a strong message that we should accept the World itself, warts and all, and continue fighting to improve the future of the World itself.
The alternative is to reject reality and fall into a delusional fantasy, which only leads to madness, such as what happened to Mitsuo. Even Izanami has fallen into this very madness herself. The Orb of Sight (created by the shared bonds we've formed with everyone over the course of the game) reveals her true ugliness. Defeating her reveals how beautiful the other world actually was the whole time, we just couldn't see it.
Had she won, she wouldn't have really created an utopia. She would've just created an illusion (the fog) that would've covered the World's true beauty, stagnated any real growth, and eventually would've led the World itself into falling into disrepair.
The ultimate message of the game is that we can only improve ourselves and the World by working together. A common Philosophy in most Eastern cultures. Meanwhile, most Western cultures believe in the individual having the power to change things if they're just strong enough. In that regard this game is sort of the ultimate expression of that core Philosophy difference.
The individual, Izanami, isn't actually powerful enough to truly change the world on her own, she's just delusional to the point of even fooling herself. Her decayed form the result of living a lie rather than taking care of herself, the same decay we'd all unknowingly suffer had she won. Only the community (our Heroes) have the true ability to expose her lies and create any real lasting improvements to both themselves and the World itself.
Or at least that was what I took away after beating the game. What do the rest of you think?
Rise's persona is representing a telescope, not a dish the head looks like the James Web Space telescope.
"For I am a shadow, the truest face of all" God, I love this quote
Yellow eyes have been a characteristic of shadows since Revelations: Persona on the PS1 in 1996.
Shadow People have been a mythical, demon-like entity in human history (continuing the demon theme carried over by the SMT series), things that some people see that others typically can't see. These creatures, when depicted by an artist's rendition of the victim's recollection, usually depicts them with glowing yellow eyes, and this has become a cultural norm for shadowy figures, as most are now depicted with yellow eyes. Doppelgangers, or more specifically, Evil Twins, are a common antagonist in fictional writing, who are duplicates of a character, created by some phenomena, typically from another world/universe, and typically have a distinctive difference in appearance to the original character, most often hair styles or eye color. Yellow is also the complementary color to purple. Purple is the most common color you will find for velvet material. Complementary colors are opposites on the color wheel, but they are able to emphasize one another in works of art. Yellow is also the color that represents fear, ugliness, egoism, betrayal, madness and sickness. However, yellow also represents enlightenment.
Naoto persona isn’t based on robot boy but rather detective Conan. An anime about A young detective who can solve mysteries that even adults cant. Naoto came to terms with the fact that she doesn’t need to prove herself anymore to other but rather solve mysteries to help others instead
Takes guts (coffee lol) and caracter to turn any weakness or undesirable trait into strenght, that is what occurs to our party members. And is what many don't do in real life, becoming like Adaichis or Namatames (false messiahs) or Rises before facing her shadow, insteading of becoming "Yu" and the rest party members. And yellow is also a reference of over abundance of omelettes in this game. lol Mitsuo can represent another problem in Japanese society, like Futaba, he's social awkard, shut-in, is like that kid of "me,me,me", lives in his fantasy world and with his waifus (in his case Yukiko,lol) , so the fetus in a game armour, can reflect his immature personality, Adaichi is basically the adult version of that. I know Adaichi isn't a shut-in, but in some way he's like Mitsuo empty, hollow and shallow without any human connection or empathy.
Something interesting about Shadow Mitsuo: he's the only boss who doesn't add "the true self" after saying "I am a shadow."
*taste BONELESS*
One thing about Shadow Rise I think is worth noting, is that in her boss form she retains her pigtails, something that makes Rise recognizable to her fans. It's practically a recognizable symbol that you rarely see her without
In regards to Teddie, Just as Shadow Teddie is a void that consume everything to nothingness but the Persona can use the empty space as a container. The same way Teddie in the end looks for his own purpose, protecting his friends and the TV world, something that can be put inside a hollow vessel. Kintoki-Douji's design also complements Teddie's desire to likeable with the cape and the cartoonish elements to its design.
At first, I just wanted to make sure my understanding is correct in how similar the personas are to Magia Record Doppels. Then I noticed one of the characters wielding a freaking golf club. Funny, because a certain golf club wielder in Magia Record recently unlocked her -Persona- Doppel. Sadly the game takes a similar approach to Persona 4 in just rendering their shadow versions as clones (though ironically, covered in shadow when the actual Shadows of Persona 4 aren't), when this particular shadow already has a completely unique design separate from her human and monstrous selves that's seen in the manga and movie.
Edit: Shadow Yukiko and a few later ones have unique designs, so I guess it's not every shadow that's a simple clone with an aura.
When Mitzuos shadow disapears he still has a shadow, but with other traits. He ignores his social side, his need for real connection, et.c. Such sides of himself are now his shadow. Since he himself is a delusional killer, meeting his shadow again may be more plesant then most such encounters, since he is denying much of his more empathic sides and needs.
I think Kanji's Dugeon's BG Music is kind of symbolic too, where the first bit sounds like music from a club, which could symbolise his hidden femininity. The loud drum part interrupting it could symbolise the ultra-masculine image he's using to cover up the hidden feminity
About Yosuke shadow (which is my favorite) the main reason he riding on the frog imo is cuz hes trying to go with the flow not wanting to be alone in the world this is shown by his big smile and and the red Scraf for the red scarf he wants to be a hero where ever one would rely on him so he wouldn't have that feeling of emptyness and its the pretty much the same with the smile he trys to be upbeat and get everyone in highs spirit even not happy himself he try to please other so they won't leave him like i said its all my imo and i could be completely wronb
One thing that should be pointed about Naoto regarding her Persona design, is the fact that Sukuna-Hikona is really small and looks like an actual insect.
The police views Naoto as just an annoying, little kid (even Dojima admits to his distaste of her when he returns home drunk) and nothing more than that. "Annoying and little" is also a very fitting description of bugs to the society, as most of them are viewed as worthless pests.
It also carries a really long lightsaber which can refer to Naoto wanting to become an adult, or a "big boy" for everyone to see who she really is.
I always thought that the frog part of Yosuke's Shadow was his desire for entertainment since frogs are creatures that jump around all the time.
Naoto’s Shadow and Persona’s small side can also be how most people don’t think she is useful. But small things can do something that others things can’t and the small size also show how that some small things are stronger than bigger things, like how the Shadow and Persona are the smallest and strongest at the same time.
I like to think the reason that Shadow Teddie and Mitsuo appeared as unemotional as they did because they never made an appearance on the Midnight channel. As we learn later on, the Midnight channel was formed around the perception of society whenever someone became highly recognized on TV. The Midnight channel would then twist this and create shadows based on these preconceived notions. Which is one of the reasons why Kanji's Shadow appears as overly exaggerated as it did. In contrast, nobody really knew who Mitsuo was, nor did he make any TV appearances so his Shadow would reflect on this. No societal perception would just cause it to lack any sense of personality. Same with Teddie, absolutely no one outside the TV world knew who he was and just like Mitsuo Teddie Shadow was completely devoid of any personality outside of Teddie's personal insecurities.
Yoske’s Shadow; Bordem, weakness, and Spite
Chile’s Shadow; Envy, and Domaince
Yukiko’s Shadow; Helplessness, and bird cage.
Kanji’s Shadow; femininity.
Rise’s Shadow; something that she’s not.
Teddie’s Shadow; identity.
Naoto Shadow; gender identity.
Naoto's shadow also symbolized ageism
The frog part could also be a reference to Jiraiya's origin, which comes from "The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya" (Before anyone says anything, no... it's not just Naruto, it's a real Japanese legend) where the main character Jiraiya himself uses Frog magic which is pokemon-style super-effective against users of Snake Magic, such as main villain Orochimaru
soundcloud.com/midnight-channel-233411453
The little songs between each segment are really a nice touch
In a way I find the symbolism of both the shadow and personas of the main characters very fascinating
I've always wondered how you saw this symbolism. Details on the persona I would've shrugged off as aesthetic-only.
The singing between chapters were beautiful and amazing. Damn, each shadow is amazing at singing.
The yellow on Tomoe and Shadow Chie are also opposites of each other. Like how in the shadow the boots, helmet, and gloves are yellow while in Tomoe everything else is yellow
Naoto's issue is not gender identity confusion but rather her struggle as a woman to prove herself in a supposed "manly job" of investigation/law enforcement. She clearly identifies herself as female but decides don a facade of being man because it is the only way that male adults would not look down on her in her profession as a young detective. She is a young genius but she thinks society are secretly not taking her seriously due to her age. The pressures or living up to the name of a family of detectives and the desire to be taken seriously by the public are her struggles,
I like to think that Kanji’s Male symbol on his left as the one he prefers because it’s held lower than the “female” symbol on the right
A completely pitch-black liquid figure with red, bloody eyes and mouth dripping down, occasionally flashing yellow and blue, with a red, veinlike rope hanging around the neck going up, up, up.
I'd say the roses in Kanji's shadow form look more like a funeral flower standing arrangement, even more so with him in the middle, arms crossed. But I'm not sure what to make of it.
Btw each persona game have arcana personality with them, like persona 2 the world arcana,persona 3 death arcana, and persona 4 justice arcana
16:13 another aspect of this particular persona you could extrapolate because of the small stature, head, wings and the nice looking suit does look very similar to a cricket or more specifically Jiminy cricket the character who helped Pinocchio on his quest to be a "real boy" after roll the whole aspect of excepting her true gender is a key point in Noto's social link.
I heard the Midnight Channel Musical and lowkey screamed thank you
And chie shadow with the hood and black hair, reminds me of a squid.
Love your Persona symbolism videos, keep it up!
more good thing from persona 4, nice music, really good
im so glad you used music from midnight channel the musical!!
Most people: kanji gay
Me, an intellectual: chie yukiko gay
Why Not Both
girls bff does not equal lesbians...
@@Ocean_Lord_derpfish They follow this anime trope of two best friends with romantic subtext, which for some reason is only acceptable for girls in Japan. TV Tropes or something can tell you more, I'm not an anime watcher. Erin Fitzgerald, who voices Chie in everything except vanilla Persona 4, has also stated that her script read like Chie was "madly in love" with Yukiko... and ran with it.
@@volibear1931 yeah but don't you think this kind of trope kinda get old already? I barely see platonic girls bff nowadays in media.. it's all ship... 🚢
@@Ocean_Lord_derpfish Fair enough. Platonic relationships in general aren't acknowledged enough in the media.
It makes me wonder what the character’s personas in Persona 5 would look like if they were monsterous beings within their shadow selves. Then again, it does happen but with random bad people who have big impacts on the story instead of the heroes.
The only thing that comes to mind is an idea for Shadow Makoto-one strapped to a vehicle. Take the concept of Johanna being a way for Makoto to go where she wants and reverse it-Shadow Makoto has no control of where the car goes, she's just along for the ride.
I mean, we did see Futaba's shadow.
@@bonnjust4001 True, the unique and difference with her and the others is that shes the only kid with a palace while the others were adults. Plus because of her mental issues with her Mom’s death, the cognitive monster version of herself was more in control of the Pyramid palace then Shadow Futaba. Plus Shadow Futaba only cared about her real self learning the truth of her past rather then wanting her admit they are one of the same.
Ryuji's would be punk-based showing how originally he just let himself fit into some label
*SPOILERS FOR PERSONA 5* what's funny is that in persona 5 dancing star night you can give say ann yellow contacts and the discription says "yellow contacts. do these show the true self" and (this is what the warning was for) if you played persona 5 then you know that you change futabas heart but did you know that in a reference to persona 4 her shadow becomes her persona because she faced her self
Say, where did ya find that “And I am a shadow and I am the true self” song for every character?
Also who..... who said snow is weak and worthless snow may look fragile and everything but once it focuses on all of its power it can be a harsh tyrrant that no one can stop
> True growth
> Persona 4
- I am you
- No!
*shadow boss fight*
- okay, you are. I just 2ember2admit
Social links:
I wanna protec...
*10 days later*
I wanna protec!
Persona 4 has awesome characters, but there is no real growth outside of 1 dungeon. Expt for Yosuke, Teddie and, mb, Kanji. They kinda have it in social links (Teddie had real growth and development. Best character in p4).
For growth you have p3. Junpei is better written then whole p4 cast. And he has no sl. Sorry for my bad english
Yes a reference to the Hiimsday comic
Also great video btw please do more
You mean, it symbolic part?
But what of Namatame and Adachi?
Opti PKA Those two were given the true form of their personas before they can do the shadow boss thing
i really love this. Entertaining and informative content. I can't wait to watch your P5 version of this.
I thought the designs were kinda super obvious, and in fact, they are
They’re relatively simple but, people love analyzing shit.
Made Timestamps for those who want to use them
💛 *Timestamps*
0:00 Intro
1:25 Briefly Explaining The Use of Yellow
2:37 Shadow Yosuke
4:09 Shadow Chie
5:56 Shadow Yukiko
8:27 Shadow Kanji
10:58 Shadow Rise
12:27 Shadow Teddie
14:36 Shadow Naoto
16:21 Shadow Mitsou
17:55 Outro
Why is it that mitsuo is the one I can relate to the most and the representation of him is also relatable
댈타쿨Deltacool That’s troubling, please work on that!
Also, Kintoki Doji uses a missile. A very specific kind, being a tomahawk
In think Teddie is a shadow of a young Teenager who wants/wanted to hide his inmature/innocent part and also his sexuality thats why Teddie has a childish personality and looks like a living toy but also is very interested in girls.
About Amano's eye, in the anime it turns out Amano's eye really is a camera lense.
Now do one for the bosses of Balan Wonder World, that game is SCREAMING for a dive into the symbolism in the levels and the boss designs. After all... you're destroying their happy places to force them to face reality.
I bet someone already noted this: But Yosuke's shadow could also be a foreshadowing to his Persona. Jiraya. Something that is commonly seen with Jiraya is him riding atop a frog. Even in something like Naruto, he can sometimes be seen riding on top of a toad. Anyway, the shadow also uses this design. A humanoid figure riding on top of a frog. Like the frog saga Jiraya