The True Face of Tohru Adachi; Persona 4 Golden Analysis
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ย. 2024
- Tohru Adachi is the Jester arcana of Persona 4 Golden. In original P4 he did not have a link but P4G added one which makes understanding his character all the more interesting. This video is a p4g analysis of Adachi as he is portrayed in his originating game. This video does not go into his characterization and arcs in Persona 4 Arena, or any other spinoff games.
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One thing I got from Adachi while playing for like... the third time, is that He can be encapsulated as The investigation team´s shadow as a whole: The ressentment for getting thrown into the sticks like Yosuke, The envy for more talented and succesfull people like Chie, The helplessness of not scaping from your own self imposed rules like Yukiko, The not understanding of women and manhood that allowed him for the murder of mayumi yamano and Saki Konishi like Kanji, The wish to scape from a world that doesn´t understand you like Rise, The void of Teddie, and the "not taken seriously" by the police force of Naoto. Like, one step wrong, and not only Yu... but anyone could have been turned into Adachi.
Holy shit I never noticed that- that’s so cool
...I've never put that together. Usually the villain in this situation is just the antithesis for the main protagonist, but no, he embodies the opposite of everyone.
No wonder he had no chance swaying anybody. No wonder he was truly alone. Each and every party member besides Yu had already given up on Adachi's way of thinking one way or another. He attempted to reach out to everyone, yet because they went through what he put them through, they couldn't agree with him.
In that sense, his own actions isolated himself even further and he didn't even know it. Everything he did for his own benefit ultimately landed him alone with nobody willing to listen to him. He probably won't even accept that if he took the time to think about it, or, then again, maybe he did. He has some sort of redemption arc in the Persona fighting games. It's his own acceptance of the situation, of his own downfall.
Best comment!
thank you for helping me like adachi even more.
Super late seeing this, but what a fantastic comment. I missed this, but I’m certain you’re exactly right and every one of Adachi’s traits was written with that thought process in mind.
Going into persona 4 golden, I knew Adachi was the culprit. And even then my honest thoughts were: "How could this bozo be the killer?" - I thought, wondering if I'd been tricked. Then it all came crashing down as the evidence pilled on, leaving me shocked at the brilliance of it all (truthfully, I'm a bit embarrassed I didn't connect the dots on my own).
Adachi was so well written that being spoiled had no ill effect on my enjoyment. In fact, it made me pay attention even more to Adachi's every word and action.
Wow, that’s a perspective I haven’t quite heard before. Now I’m kinda glad I was spoiled about Adachi being the killer.
Personally it was the opposite for me.
I didn't know anything about who the killer was yet I almost immediately put Adachi as the number one suspect without any proof simply because I found it too convenient that he shared all of this information to us etc. I had absolutely nothing to base this on, there were all of these red herrings occurring and yet I kept "yeah no way, this guy too sus, like he was with us searching in front of Rise's house right before she disappeared, and the fact the letter had no information on it was delivered to us, idk, but it probably was him", even though each time the game also provided somewhat plausible explanations and other suspects I kept on thinking it was him despite the odds. I felt like I was the local bad sheriff in a thriller that has his perfect suspect and blinds himself to the evidence to have him convincted.
I felt so vindicated when the game revealed that YES, my suspicions were not unfounded
Kinda like how people jokingly say that Nanako was the killer all along? Like, You thought that someone was pranking you?
@@ironwraith852 yes, kind of.
And then P5 uses that plot twist to place a scapegoat twist directly into your face to hide the actual true one; I swear P6 better have at least 3 Plot Twists XD
I like how Adachi is so jaded and feels like he's alone but his relationship with Dojima contradicts this. You can only see this in the accomplice ending, but Adachi carries around a lighter. He doesn't smoke, he carries it around in case Dojima needs it. The player can also see how much he enjoys hanging out with Nanako and Yu. Which I think is very realistic. I know in my life I've convinced myself that no one loves me or even cares but that was far from the truth
Oh i made this comment before reaching the end lmao
Real
The difference of being alone and feeling alone. Even if you aren't physically alone you still may feel like no one will ever relate to you or understand your thoughts and emotions. Maturity comes from understanding that it doesn't matter if people fully understand you because no one fully understand anyone other than themselves. Some may have to work harder to be understood but it's always possible
For what i understand, even he has repressed emotions towards the others, positive ones, saddly, he choose to be alone instead of seeing the opportunities and what is around him... Surrounded by a fog of lies he made for himself...
Wrong.
Adachi gets hit constantly by Dojima, is treated more as an underling than a partner, has to deal with his drunken ass on a regular basis. I image there’s a connection there but in the Golden Anime you see that when Yu arrives Dojima and Nanako start spending less and less time with him. Adachi did everything he should have in life and ended up in Inaba - lonely, out of place and just plain bored. Then Yu takes the one “friend” he did have. Take a walk in Adachi’s shoes, in the shoes of an adult, for about ten minutes and you’ll understand him WAY more.
The funniest thing to me is that despite the meme of "Shut up, Adachi" is that no one can shut up about Adachi. Either through the spoiler memes, arguing over his viewpoint, or making an hour plus long analysis of his character. Kudos to you for that last one, it was great!
It's always "Shut up, Adachi" but never "Shut up about Adachi. Shut up about Adachi"
@@VanNessy97No one ever says “Adachi, shut up.” Or “Adachi, hut’s up.”
TRUE!
I haven’t shut up about Adachi in a decade
"Do not kill the part of you that is cringe - kill the part of you that cringes"
-Tohru Adachi
Buetiful.
“Kill” adachi
hes doesnt say that
@@gavin-1237 you're trying to tell me that the guy in the over a decade old game didn't say "Do not kill the part of you that is cringe- kill the part of you that cringes"...
Who could've guessed... Maybe you should research what humour and Jokes are...
@@gavin-1237"Yes i did."
-Tohru Adachi
His role in P4 Arena Ultimax gives a nice bow to Adachi's story and arc. He plays by his word from the Golden ending and tries to live a quiet life in prison. The only reason things change is due to the intervention of Minazuki. He acts as a double agent who ultimately sides with Yu and the party.
It also shows that he really did care about the Dojima's as he gets pissed when his interrogator insults his boss. This actually reflects on his hatred of Yu in P4, as he felt replaced by Yu which fueled his loneliness and nihilism.
I actually found that intriguing that his outlook and ideaology hasn’t changed but he’s still willing to go through with the consequences of his loss even when given the chance to escape.
@@rustkarlAdachi can escape at any moment, lol. He still can enter TVs and his persona is still with him. He just decides not to.
@@lemonov3031
That’s… what I was getting at? He probably could escape but chooses to serve his time because of the self-imposed responsibility to accept his loss.
@@rustkarl theyre pointing out he ALWAYS has the power to escape, not just during the climax of p4au
I need to say here and now that Johnny Yong Bosch did an amazing job at playing Adachi.
Yes he did
It was better in the original than in the spinoffs since he needed to make Adachi and Yuu sound different, but overall, he did great.
Agreed
@@SecretIdentityStudio it’s definitely a jarring transition but I like Adachi’s voice at a high pitch. Makes him that more aloof and foolish and in certain contexts, more sinister. I like how soft spoken his voice naturally is but it’s also very mocking which is what he tends to do.
P4 is what made me aware of him and I probably wouldn't have watched other shows he's worked on like Code Geass if it weren't for his performance as Adachi.
Your comments about narcissistic people not being evil were like a breath of fresh air, so many TH-camrs won't make that distinction even when they're directly implying such. Always such good vibes in these videos
Thanks. Indeed I try not to pathologize people with different conditions. I think people can have negative traits that seem to reference or stem from an aliment without casting into the realm of "oooo look how weird and creepy and untrustworthy these people are" territory. Glad you appreciate these small distinctions and nuances I try to make
bitches and whores.
-adachi 2008
@@HidinginPrivate You said in the video something about talent being somewhat akin to a set of personality traits. My question is, if someone's personality is made up of maladaptive traits(Envious, lazy, entitled, egoistic), is it still wrong to say there isn't a 'Ticket called talent'?
The stereotype of narcissistic people being evil is easier to write. Making them actual people who are either struggling with themselves or have lost themselves to their delusion is hard to write, but is a lot better as it makes them human
@@P.H691 From what I've heard, stories that center around people with pathological narcissism tends to end with their death.
15:50 So there’s one thing I’d like to point out. I didn’t choose “Good for you” for that conversation so I never saw the part about his mother. Instead I chose “Does it make you sad?”. Adachi says he likes being alone (which he also mentions in the other option). And when the MC agrees with him, he then says “Hahaha, you're so cold for a kid. But that's the smart way to be. You can't be around tons of people and feel bad every time they do.” And the next part says
“> Adachi seems a little bit sad...”
I think that part kind of stuck to me throughout the rest of the game. I wondered why he seems a little sad at it. Was he genuinely (even for a tiny bit) interested in his friendship with the old woman? Was he sad that he realised he was nothing more than a replacement? Despite his narcissistic tendencies and the way he claimed he disliked how the old woman treated him, it felt like he was truly reaching out a little for that attention she gave. From the part he mentions his mum and what he says in the option I picked, maybe he was replacing the old woman as his mum, just as she did the same with him as her son. Idk maybe I thought too deeply about this but I’d like to think that this is one of the rare moments he lets down his masks before the reveal.
Good pick up! A LPer I was watching made that option too.
I remember seeing an analysis that said "Adachi completely lacks empathy", and I realise it can be seen when he and the old woman are in similar situations -- lonely at home. But Adachi -doesn't- relate to her at all. I do think he regrets it a tiny bit when it says "Adachi seems a little bit sad..." because we do see later on in his letter and Ultimax that he eventually comes to think having bonds isn't so bad after all.
If Adachi WAS empathetic, if he was a good guy like we all assumed he was -- getting along with others, having friends outside of work, making the most of his situation then I think the "good" path for his social link would have been to grow to accept the old woman as someone else who cares about him, and realise he cares about her too. But because of his stubbornness to be alone and inability to relate to others because of his lack of a social upbringing (entirely focused on his studies), it goes in the complete opposite direction.
I do think he can still be sympathetic. The magic tricks he does in P4G to make Nanako happy make me truly believe there is some kindness in him.
@@katiem9128I think Adachi’s Social Link in general is meant to depict what Yu could have become in another life and falling into personal stagnation because he lost the will to rise above his personal flaws to cleanse the dirt off himself.
The fact he cares for Nanako without pretence is an interesting piece of symbolism if you think of her as the pivot of the scales between him and Yu.
Yu sees Dojima the family man. Nanako sees Adachi the human being. Adachi sees Dojima the stern senior officer and Yu as a member of his senior’s extended family from out of town. Dojima sees Adachi as a bumbling clown albeit a friend before the reveal. Yu sees Adachi the jaded. Dojima, Yu and Adachi sees the same Nanako between them.
moral of the story: nanako is the real protagonist@@rayvenkman2087
I think they just got it right with Adachi. He’s such a good antagonist. They just made him very twisted but very human. He was full of himself and thought he deserved better. Blame went to everyone and the world around him. And once he had power then he abused it for his own amusement. Even before realizing he had the power to enter the TV he still tried to abuse his authority with Hiiragi.
I can appreciate that he didn’t have a motivation or goal that would even attempt to justify him. There’s no comforting motive that can give peace to say Yosuke. Adachi just did terrible things.
Not to say he’s uninteresting because he is interesting. I liked the bond with him compared to a similar one in another Persona game. Confronting Adachi alone in the TV was good. Same with lines like Adachi saying it’s ridiculous for the MC to be upset at Adachi’s “betrayal” based on a connection the MC decided on his side of it. Same with the gun shot later…scary guy.
One other thing I like about Adachi is that...his turn to villainy being the result of *boredom* means that it's entirely possible that his behaviour is influenced by fictional villains.
Why does he tell Yu that the investigation team should all come together to beat him? Because he's a JRPG villain who may also be a JRPG *fan,* and this may be an intentional model for his behaviour. His comparison of the investigation team to his own behaviour is shallow? It doesn't matter, he's a villain and "we're not so different, you and I" is a well worn villain trope. Of course he's going to say that, that's just what villains *do.* He's possibly leaning into the role of the villain, even though he denies any wrongdoing.
I feel like Adachi’s line about Yu’s having a certain idea of him is a subtle commentary from the devs on how a number fans interprets characters like Kanji and Naoto a certain specific way in their eyes while ignoring the finer points around them to uphold their interpretation of said characters. Yu sees Adachi as he sees him in his head, not the actual Adachi in front of him.
Hell, I’m sure Akechi would tell Joker that he’s the Akechi he wants to see; not the Akechi that actually is had the people behind Royal thought of including it in his Confidant. I think more characters in the series could do with that element in their connection to the player for greater immersion because not everyone is that easy to figure out or understand.
The Jester is from the Thoth tarot deck. It represents the exact same principles as the Fool, but is hypocritical in a sense that it also represents someone fighting back and lashing out at both the idea of contribution or cooperation and, especially in more social or work situations. Basically it's the denial of what the fool represents. As for Hunger, it's synonymous with a card called the Lust, which is the Thoth equivalent of Strength, and represents danger of losing control and an insatiable hunger or lust for power and dominance, rather than strength from within. It also represents the abuse of power
Plus the Jester is often known to be a gig employed by assassins and killers to get near to their targets past their security. Befitting Adachi’s nature pretty well.
Of course, the Thoth’s Fool isn’t called The Jester. Though I wonder if Golden’s The Jester is based on Folly or The Crocodile variants of The Fool?
the jester is also known as someone who *plays* the fool, but is not a fool card in true nature. they act like a bumbling idiot as a mask, an act. adachi acts as a fool, and so he's the jester. and when his true nature is revealed, he shows his entitlement - as if he deserves things he never earned. he hungers for a privilege he lost due to his own incompetence.
@@aerialdiveThe Jester's duty to the King was to make fun of him, to point out all of his flaws and short comings in a comical manner. In fact, he was the only one who could do it without losing his head.
The Jester is not a Fool, the Jester calls everyone else a Fool.
Related to his freedom, Adachi seems to struggle to actually make use of his opportunities. We see this in the P4 Golden Anime where he has opportunities to join school clubs and make friends, but he actively avoids those opportunities. Same goes for the old woman as Adachi avoids her and refuses to go on the dates she wants to set up for him, much unlike Yu who spends most of his time socializing and creates opportunities. Adachi did have lots of freedom because of his good grades, but he never actually made use of it, possibly because he never really learned or knew how to connect with other people. He may see it as something he wasn't allowed to do due to his mentality and perspective, even though he literally could. He may have been jealous of Saki being popular and social, wanting that for himself in a way. Which could explain his line about him just working hard.
I always found Adachi to be a really tragic character, since he is a dead ringer for so many people's experiences growing up. They get this idea that things will turn out well for them, and eventually someone will turn up for them, but that does not happen much. People neglect their social life and happiness for what they perceive will be long term benefits, not realizing that those social aspects are equally important too.
Adachi’s relatable for the harsh reality of adulthood but he also serves as a warning to those on their way to his age to not do what he did because it ends to ultimate emptiness. A cautionary tale of how single-mindedness may lead to success in a number of areas, it’s a subtraction from everything else.
My girlfriend isn’t much of a gamer, so I watched Persona 4: The Animation with her so she could experience part of my favorite series.
She suspected Adachi VERY early on because, and I quote, “Nobody gets that drunk off of beer.” I tried to play it off but I’m still amazed that *that* was the reasoning behind her guess.
Did she ever think it was dojima
@@ThiccFurryBoi34 Yes! When I tried to redirect/deflect she suspected Dojima, but it didn’t last long. Insisted Adachi “had to be involved”
@@HaxStudio honestly I still wish it was him instead adachi was cool and all but dojima would have been so messed up and shocking
Alcoholic moment 😂
My dad isn't interested in playing any of the games, so I have started watching it. So far, he's suspected Yukiko, before realising that it doesn't make sense, dojima, and now, adachi. He just thinks he's a bit suspicious, that's all of his reasoning.
Persona 4 Golden Animation (exclusively Japanese dub) goes even deeper into Adachi and his past. As a high school student, he was quite studious and was rather bright. When after school clubs and groups were formed, Adachi would politely decline. In his view it was a waste of time and would not benefit him. As time would progress, he would pass his tests but he would look out the window, notice those students have fun and feel lonely. In his mind though the ends would justify the means. Sure he might be a bit lonely now, but soon he would be an important detective so it would be worth it in the end.
Fast forward and he passes the police academy with flying colors. His hard work, studying, and lonely nights seemingly paid off. Unfortunately in a case he was working, he accidentally contaminated evidence, and the accused got off on a technicality. Adachi rather than lose his job was sent to work for Inaba as punishment.
As much as he complained about "working somewhere in the sticks", he grew to enjoy the time he spent with Dojima and eventually Nanako. Once Narukami entered the picture Adachi became a bit of an afterthought. His jealousy would begin to grow.
Fast forward to the confrontation in Magatsu Inaba. I think the focal point of his speech wasn't exactly the part about talent being a free pass to an easy life. I think it was his line "Stop trying to act all tough. You brats can't stand on your own, unless you deny everything I've said! Stupid teenagers! You have no idea what kind of shit I've been through!" In his mind, how could these spoiled high school children know anything about suffering and how cruel life can be. In thinking this he completely shuts out their own torments and suffering. During the fight in the anime between Adachi and Narukami, they are shown each other's memories. Narukami gets to see Adachi's loneliness and his frustration with how things in his life turned out. He even acknowledged that had circumstances been different, he would have been exactly like Adachi. Adachi in turn gets to see Narukami's memories. The frustration of constantly moving from school to school and of starting over each time. The loneliness of leaving his friends each time. And yet upon realizing they are more alike than he previously thought, Adachi becomes enraged because his illusion is shattering. His illusion that he is just in this fight because he has worked his ass off and has suffered. And now a city boy like him knows his brand of pain and didn't reach the same conclusion he did.
It should also be noted that it does show the accomplice ending. As Narukami is on the train he appears frustrated that he lied to his friends. We see Adachi look up to the increasing fog covered sky sigh and mutter in disappointment "How boring..."
This was a great video on my favorite Persona antagonist. Phenomenal work.
Containted evidence thing would make total sense when you take the accomplice route. He gets all happy when you burn the evidence. Maybe because he messed up evidence before and seeing someone doing it. Being a cop and all he could hold that power over Yu about messing up evidence and feel like he's in control (even so he messed up in the past and that's what led him to this path).
Oooooh, that's really interesting to hear about the pink alligator story being a dropped thread here in P4:Golden. That's actually an explored thread in the Adachi path in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, where Dojima's persistent friendship with him was the bird that was missing in the golden mention of the story here.
Could the bird be Nanako? While she isnt one of his victims, she does become a victim of the TV world due to him, and he does seem to warn Yu about someone he knows being the next victim despite having no reason to do so. He is also somewhat upset after Nanako dies, and I could believe he was genuinely upset there. Great video!
I feel as if you consider his parts of p4ga (before yu arrives in inaba) to be canonical to the game as well it makes a lot of sense he would be genuinely upset with nanakos death
The thumbnail of this video spoiled me when I was just starting my playthrough, 3 weeks and 127 hours later, I have returned
same
Same screw this guy
HOW MANY HOURS???? 💚✅🎄🤑🔫🍀🌲🌴🐍🐸☘️🌿🍃🥑🌱🐢🦖🐛🌳🧤🥝🦎🥦🥒🍏🦠🥬🚛🧩🐊🐲❎✳️🟩🟢❇️🈯️
same 💀
Yeah, but i instead of giving up and saying “Yeaht that’s our killer”, was trying to how the game shows it or maybe there are several culprits and Adachi is just a pawn. Game even one time made me believe that we found the killer lmao (Namatame)
Oh man, this is the video I've been waiting for, man. While Kanji's my favorite P4 party member, and Naoki's got the best social link, Adachi's really my favorite overall not just Persona 4 character, but Megami Tensei as a whole. I find him absolutely fascinating. All too often media (both real and fictional) likes to portray serial killers as far bigger people than they are or deserve to be. Usually they'll have some greater motives or a sad 'justification' and be portrayed as very intelligent and thoughtful, with their being tracked down usually being portrayed as a careful game of cat and mouse even though it's much more often the case that the police aren't even doing anything about it. Typically though, a 'game of cat and mouse' isn't usually had and is only argued by the killer and all the movies and documentaries about them. It's honestly a lot more rare for serial killers to actually be intelligent monsters who outsmart all those who pursue them.
I love Adachi, because he truly goes against all of that and feels like what serial killers are. You can certainly see why he came to his cynical world view, absolutely what with his poor luck despite the work he put in, coming to the realization the world just...isn't fair sometimes. But it isn't used as a justification or a reason, in fact, he's called out for being a brat because of this. Because while sure, it's true, life isn't fair, it's no justification to make it worse for others or worse, end it for others. The reality is Adachi is just completely pathetic. He's not a cool killer, his reasoning isn't any good, he's not a genius constantly outsmarting those who pursue him, he's not actually accomplishing any further goal by doing what he does, he's honestly pretty sloppy and as soon as he was gifted a method to cause destruction and misery with, he happily used it just for the fun of it.
I know all of what I'm saying sounds insulting, even though I said he's genuinely my favorite character. But that's sort of the thing. Adachi's the kind of guy who seems like he's really simple on the surface but you think there's something to see under there. But when you try to take a look at that layer under the surface, you see his second layer isn't any less shallow for the most part. (and very much in a good way). He's about as accurate to a serial killer as you can get with all how disgusting, pathetic and childish he is and the best part is he's an easy punching bag. Sure, he's frightening when he's actually alone with a woman, but once you take him away from that scenario, jokes at his expense are easy AND fun to make without feeling like low blows because there are no low blows when insulting actual filth like him. Adachi really feels to me like a piece of media actually portraying a serial killer right, and that's what makes me love and appreciate his writing too. And dipping into extended canon, the likes of his P4AU story really manage to expand on him more and even showing the potential for some growth without shying away from the awful shit he did. Nuanced, interesting and above all as I've said repeatedly, accurate, Adachi's the biggest character writing highlight I've seen across the MegaTen games I've played and I'm super super hyped to watch your analysis on him.
Great comment. Personally when I first played P4Golden earlier this year, I actually had no idea about adachi and didn’t guess it at all. My brother, who is a huge fan of the series and played with me throughout the game, could attest to the fact that when I got to the diner scene where you are given the choice to think over who the true culprit is I said out loud “it can’t be fucking adachi. Is it really motherfucking adachi?” I was actually very surprised because adachi, as you said, seemed to spineless and somewhat stupid to be the villain. Throughout my play through I mostly shook my head and thought the twist was kind of dumb and that Adachi’s personality before and after his reveal as the killer don’t relate at all, and that I couldn’t see joe the two interact. this video as well as your comment helps me to understand the purpose of adachi and how his imperfections are part of his personality. As you said, he isn’t a flashy invincible serial killer, he is a jaded pessimistic narcisist who took advantage of both his real life power as a police officer and the power given to him by izanagi. He was getting away through it funnil enough because things weren’t “fair” to those investigating him. He acts so cheated by the world. My brother describes adachi as “pathetic,” and at first I thought that was harsh, but I think looking back on his social link I start to see the pieces of how Adachi despite acting almost cartoonish post reveal is much more nuanced. Pathetic? Yes, but I think intentionally so.
While I do think that modern portrayals of serial killers are miserably skewed towards either literal monsters with no nuance or misunderstood anti-heroes with flimsy moral arguments, I don't think it's fair to dismiss Adachi and his character as just a pathetic punching bag to be dogpiled.
As a high schooler already disillusioned with the education system and what it means to be an adult I found everything I did to be meaningless in terms of finding happiness or a fulfilling future. Having witnessed many "Adachi-like" figures in my life (including my parents) I was fairly hopeless and didn't even put effort into following the system (beyond what my parents wanted from me). I now understand that the future is a collective of people's just as confused as I am, and that the struggle to compete with and support one another is what secures our futures - that it's not just following the plan society lays out for us. Even then I can't help but wonder if it's even worth it, if I should just die without trying because the thought of failure terrifies me. Like Adachi I want to test that theory with people around me but I either witness "the everyman" just living to survive or hear about some genius who I can't even interact with succeed with no insight on how to do so myself.
Tldr; fuck you I love Adachi and I want to kiss the poor man on his forehead
@@axis_tilted People don't shit on Adachi simply because he's pathetic, he killed people. It's really hard to forgive a person/character for something as grave as that even if they own their mistake.
I see a lot of myself in him, and I think a lot of other people have too. I've had some similar horrible thoughts cross my mind when I was in the deep end of that mindset. I didn't have the power to act on those dark impulses, thankfully. I didn't have nearly as many opportunities as him. I was either the butt-end of some kids' jokes or an absolute nobody, like some cross between mitsuo and adachi. I could very well have become one of the first school shooters if I had firearms at the time. The only thing pulling me out of it was that I didn't want to be like those shitty children that constantly belittled me and almost burned me once. I ended up falling into the same sort of lifestyle where I worked hard and ignored social situations just because I was too pissed to even look. Constant alienation blinded me, but the solitude after childhood schooling helped.
I only managed to pull myself out because my drive to get work done efficiently also involves helping coworkers. Same thing with team-based video games, you get more mileage out of working with others rather than commanding and/or micro-managing. Efficiency is the only thing that drives me to even bother, but that in turned has fostered a cooperative attitude with the people I talk with. Even if I have to limit my conversations to professionalism. I can't really claim to understand or feel bonds but that's the closest I've had. All I really have in the end is my work.
Man I wish I could read allat but you overestimate my attention span 😂
I read somewhere that "Magatsu" can also mean "Filth-Tarnished". For example, "Magatsu Izanagi" is Izanagi just as he escaped from Yomi, the underworld, and was covered in the grime and decay of that realm after feeling from Izanami. From that translation, "Magatsu Inabah" is the filthy, depressing, lousy place that Adachi sees it as, his punishment for one "minor" mistake. He doesn't see any good, only filth and despair.
i think the most interesting part of adachi is however much he parallels your embracing of social links and bonds- he's lying to himself. There's no reason to let the team know about namatame when nanako is kidnapped- it goes against the idea of the "game" he's been enjoying see go on
this is strengthened when once caught his letter says he was thinking about dojima and nanako. In the end- he had no reason to help you other than....he does care for nanako and dojima. He's lying to himself and convinced of his self pity- he can't see that there was already a connection to people who did care for him
I don’t remember if this was mentioned or not, but I feel that Adachi’s dissatisfaction comes from regret. In the magic trick social link, he states how he is good with his hands and that he could never make a living with them anyways, while also saying there is no job like a government job. This could be Adachi denying a form of his truth, as maybe we is only in this government job because his parents wanted Adachi to get a job that would make use of his good grades, which was all they really cared about for him.
as I always say regarding talent: "Talent is not a golden ticket to success. However, it does exist. It is merely the ability to pick up on and develop specific skills and abilities faster than on average, determined by the way your body is built or your brain is wired." If those skills are never presented or taught to you, or never trained, then you will never see that talent coming through. After all, hard work beats talent *until talent starts working hard.*
In the words of Akihiko.. I've been waiting for this. Adachi is great, can't wait to see the dissection
Hey Adachi, where have you been?
Somehow I got spoiled about Adachi being the true culprit just after learning Nametame’s full story. I guess that was the best possible time to get spoiled.
Adachi is such a fascinating villain. I think he might be my favorite all out villain of the Persona series. He’s very real. I feel like I’ve met Adachi. That’s the creepiest thing about him. Like you said, his views are a fallacy but they aren’t technically invalid because they are rooted in emotions. He’s goofy and lazy. He’s deplorable and self-centered. Every facet is true. He had and has the capacity for good, but let that fizzle out in favor of bitterness. He’s a tragedy of his own making. He’s truly fascinating.
This was an amazing analysis of my favorite villain of the franchise.
If there’s ever a character to represent a Persona Protagonist’s possible stagnation and refusal for self-improvement, it’d be Adachi.
With everything that happens in 4/Golden, it makes his interactions with Sho/Minazuki much more cathartic for not only is it a mirror for Yu and Labrys, but mostly fits Adachi, his actions remind him of himself and becomes extremely disgusted with him. His entire store in Arena Ultimax is a great representation of not only the character but the evolution of what he learned in Golden. His ending with Dojima definitely makes me cry
It always takes a second Rimmer for the original to re-examine himself and sort it out when he sees his own flaws projected back at him. No one hates a person more than a person who has the same personality as them.
Actually, the Hunger (known in the Japanese version as the "Lust" Arcana) is in the Thoth Tarot deck by Aelister Crowley. It's essentially a more chaotic, violent and animalistic version of the Strength Arcana.
I feel like Hunger is more fitting for what Adachi’s wants is versus the Lust. Hunger is something we all have and desires is a form of hunger. Hunger for power. Hunger for love. Hunger for entertainment.
Hunger can mean so many more things more than Lust does on the surface.
@@rayvenkman2087 You literally just described the Lust Arcana.
@@Hawkatana im pretty sure his point is just hunger sounds better than lust
@@pana7897 But it's literally what the Lust Arcana is.
@@Hawkatana yeah i know but he's talking about the naming convention, not the meaning
Another amazing analysis on such a good character! One of my favorite things you mentioned is that Adachi, who’s supposed to be this evil heartless killer, is also the “every-man”. It really encompasses how brutal life is sometimes and how easy it could be to fall into this faulty world view. Replaying p4g and you coming out with these videos to help me understand it better couldn’t have come out at a better time in my life so tysm for your hard work!
Once upon a time... I went threw exactly what Adachi went through. I could have turned out exactly like him. I got good grades all through elementary school. Then everything changed. My mom quit her full time job to make time for me. Almost smothering me. Then she remarried. She remarried someone who cared too much. We had very similar lives at that point. Only difference was that people cared to much about me. I regressed. Felt like nothing mattered. I rejected the care I was given and grew more and more hateful and bitter at their attempts to better me. If they gave up on me at anytime after I broke... I would be another Adachi. We share many of the same opinions, life views, and even likes. When I first met Adachi I could immediately tell that he was bothered by aspects of life. Tired of it. Kindness was annoying. No longer caring about learning just the task itself. Everything I have felt at one point and, to a degree, still do. I saw him and felt pity. Not of his position nor his treatment throughout the game but the fact that "there are people out there like me." I could never hate him. Not even when he killed and forced his way of life on to others. I only thought "I agree with a lot you say but... I can't agree with forcing your world into others." When I saw him again during p4 Arena, I was happy for him.
... I don't know exactly what Adachi has been through but I can understand. I too had, on the outside looking in, a not hard life. The truth is that it was hard. And that we were both unfortunate sissys that couldn't accept or deal with it. I'm glad I learned from him. Even if associating with him made my mom think I idolized a serial killer... I'm glad I learned from his mistakes.
I've heard several other people note that the difficulty of getting into a detective position in Japan, something Adachi would specifically be aiming for if he wanted to be able to legally carry a gun, would require top level academic performance. It's quite possible that either his own decisions or the demands of his parents meant that studying to keep up that high performance completely consumed Adachi's life as a kid.
There’s one thing that I find intriguing about Adachi.
He sticks to his rules.
He doesn’t cause more trouble because has a newfound empathy or take on life, but because he sticks to the rules of his game.
It's like the funny protein man says: I've been waiting for this!
I like let's think positive!!!
@@HidinginPrivate that's a very nice quote to remember and keep in mind. That aside, I'm only ten minutes in and already enjoying it immensely!
adachi is my favorite villian in persona, he has many layers to his character that doesn't make the writing feel sloppy, and the way he goes about himself both before and after he's revealed as the murderer makes me enjoy his character even more (even though i already knew he was the TV Tossing Troglodyte before getting into p4)
Adachi is a really good character, and one I sadly find myself relating to a fair bit. A very human character, and one of the best of Persona 4s cast
Some people give Adachi crap, because his motives for being a villain just didn't seem to pay off, and it's easy to see why they feel that way, but I also feel like that's what makes him a memorable villain. There's another video on him from a few years ago now that details how sometimes, being too isolated from the world can be all it takes for a person to become as twisted as Adachi is.
You might start to think you're above it all, or that the world sucks, or that only you know the "real truth" about the world. Plus, this analysis shows that a lot of careful thought and deliberation was still put into Adachi's character, even if he seems cartoonishly evil on the surface.
It's probably why P4 remains the best Persona for me. It just feels the most thematically complete, even if it can get tropey at times.
“It is easier to never try and believe in your own potential, than to give it your all and fail.”
I absolutely love the way you worded that.
I think the story with the pink alligator is suppose to contrast with Adachi as a character. Adachi IS the pink alligator, and while he is made fun of and is mostly seen as incompetent, he is still an alligator. A viscous animal.
He hungers for food and is depraved from loneliness and while the story book pink alligator found friendship through the bird, Adachi found murderous excitement through Mayumi and Saki. He didn't value the bird for their friendship or help, he took advantage of them and made them his supper. But he still hungered for more.
Considering that one variant of The Fool is called The Crocodile, I think the connection of the Pink Alligator to Adachi’s SL might be a nod to that despite the fact the alligator is a different species to the crocodile and the alligator being seen as the less aggressive one between them...
The way I knew Adachi was the culprit was because his silhouette matches perfectly with the shadowy figure you see in game from time to time...
I think "talent" could be described as any inherent skill or advantage you naturally possess. At least that's how the Japanese seem to use it. It's often correlated with genius, but I think it could be applied to something like beauty too. Sure, being beautiful doesn't guarantee you'll be an idol or something and you'd still have to put in the time...but if your dream is to be an idol and you inherently look gross or ugly, there's not much you can do about it. And there's quite a few studies related to IQ and its high correlation with success as well as many barriers to certain types of work based on your intelligence.
Of course the real irony is that Adachi himself is actually quite intelligent and talented. This is shown quite a few times in P4/Golden/Arena but is also commented on by the developers IIRC. In the end, I think he failed because he's the type of person who always half-asses everything and refuses to make connections with others--and I think part of that can be attributed to his intelligence and ego, which makes Adachi view himself above others. Ironically Adachi's "talent" ended up being a setback in some ways
I don't think he refuses to connect with others, he just doesn't know how to do it, he spent practically his whole life studying and isolated only with the thought that society and his parents put it in his head that if he studied he would have a great future, he developed all the skills to be a great professional, but when he needed the ability to socialize with others he just didn't know how to do it.
@@ReddsNoIdea He could, but his ego won’t let him. Otherwise he becomes a part of a town he fundamentally believes is beneath him.
One thing I appreciate about Adachi and how he's written is... he's kinda spoiler-resistant. As in, you get spoiled and you're like "Oh, this guy's the killer, okay" and then you play the game and you're like "...Wait, this clown is the killer? How? Have I been bamboozled?" And then the evidence piles up and it all comes crashing down and your mind is blown after all, even despite having been spoiled
As someone who had it spoiled years ago and just started P4G a month ago, this is facts.
''Babe wake up, its time to watch the Adachi analysis video again''
The final episode huh.... been a great series. Nice job
Also dojima teleporting into Junes was just great
There'll still be the full release w/ a lot of additional stuff that didn't get it's independent segment. But then, yeah it'll be done
Oh that's right still great series I'll be sure to watch the full release when it comes
I think that the bird to Adachi's Pink Alligator might be Yu during the accomplice ending, where he completely envelops Yu into his scheme, instead of outright on the nose killing him
I think the thing that sells me most about adachi is he’s meant to be the darker side of what can happen when you let the feelings of self doubt and thinking you’re all alone. He’s such a generic guy that you could see it being anyone. Whether it be the team, Yu, or even the guy next door. It’s such great writing for that reason. It’s hard to nail a character like adachi and that’s just another reason I love this game
12 hour ann takamaki analysis: nah
1 hour adachi analysis: ZAMN!!!! 😛
based pfp
I'm a simple man. I see an hour-long character analysis video of Adachi, and I like.
Glad you did
Glad you mention how much he like to contradict himself. It's very intentional and is a big part of his identity of choosing only convenient truth for himself instead of seeing the reality as it is
One take on Adachi’s social link is that it demonstrates his inability to do good in life with his powers, unlike Yu. It sets him up as a foil to our protagonist at every step.
Like Hiding pointed out, the first conversation in Junes centers around his resentment for being sent to the boonies. We, on the other hand, inevitably embrace every aspect of the sleepy town of Inaba, up to and including its residents. Meanwhile, Adachi rejects any meaningful bonds he might forge, stewing in his misery and passing much of his time in idle frivolity.
The old lady who befriends him represents the kinder side of human nature (its very existence of it belying Adachi’s skewed negative perception of humanity) reaching out even in spite of his complete apathy - a goodheartedness that he refuses to acknowledge even when it’s presented to him in a time he’s in need of companionship. The old lady , who bears a resemblance to the Death persona, could just as well have been a social link for Yu. It is Adachi’s ultimate shortcoming that he cannot find friendship and truth in others, whereas Yu is making friends left and right, becoming stronger through said bonds.
Even in Adachi’s advice toward Nanako, we see subtly where he fails to see the big picture: he is guiding her toward shortcutting a mandatory task. He’s unable to understand her genuine desire to complete it properly and learn/grow, as he sees his work as a compilation of necessary chores that just need taken care of; he lacks real purpose/fulfillment.
If this were a “normal” arcana as opposed to the Jester, it may have seen the social link’s arc pay off with the eventual realization that he needs meaningful interaction, as he forges a bond with the old lady.
The fact that he falls horribly short of said redemption and takes a 180 into seclusion really juxtaposes him with everything we’re meant to be.
shoutout this video’s thumbnail & title for single handedly spoiling the entire end to p4 for me
I would like to thank you for your comment on narcissism, I was worried that I was a bad person for having these thoughts, or how my imagination consisted of only how it involves me
It is still bad when I consider it that way, but at least I know how to go about it
This video’s title and thumbnail were my spoiler for adachi lmao
I appreciate your work, its always great to see someone who recognizes the genius of P4.
I have a few notes regarding adachi, I think you are missing some crucial points.
I think you are doing a disservice when you present adachi as merely a self indulging coward in denial. A key point to understanding the game, is that on a practical level, Adachi is right.
Adachi isn't motivated by malice alone, he also has an ideology granted to him by Ame no Sagiri.
I suppose the line between Adachi and Sagiri becomes blurry at this point, but their common assessment is correct.
Adachi isn't simply in denial of reality, he actively sees the truth as a hindrence and seeks to rid the world of it. Given the chance, people would rather wrap themselves in coping mechanisms and distractions rather than root themselves in reality. Most people, most of the time think and act this way. Truth is often too gruesome and is a hindrance to the life you wish you could've had, unless you are one of the lucky ones, who are born into a reality that is easy to accept. Its easy for a westerner to think anyone who works hard enough can have the life that they wish for, but if you are born in a country and into a family that allows that path, you are already one of the lucky ones.
Adachi doesn't see himself as lucky, and uses the "talent" excuse, but he is fundamentally correct.
The investigation team under youthful idealism clings to the concept of truth as if there is a moral absolutism to it that they are naturally drawn to, without understanding what it is they are fighting or, or what ideal they supposedly cling to. Which is why they fail to refute Adachi and simply assault his character and tell him to just shut up.
Why do we need truth to ground us to reality? Why do we need to be grounded to reality in the first place?
That is the question Adachi proposes, he is the inverse of the investigation team. He represents the protagonist's shadow self and possibly he is the protagonist 10 years into the future, where he encounters and crumbles under the gruesome hardships of lonely adult life. It is in many ways a personal inner struggle between the instinct to avert from reality and the need to ground yourself in truth. Under that lense, Yu and Adachi are the same person, undergoing this struggle and perhaps you can look at their conflict as a person having an inner dialogue with its younger / older self.
The game proposes the case for these two opposing forces. You can't toss Adachi's words as that of a madman, these are the thoughts and ideas of any thinking man who went through something in their life. To deny him is to deny your own shadow in a sense.
After his defeat Yu is faced with the question of why truth is so important in the first place, and failing to answer that is equivalent to admitting Adachi was correct.
Something I just thought about too, the Jester arcana is numbered 0 like the fool, then becomes Hunger, it's like Adachi is the fool of his own journey but since he has no friends (social links!) he never completes the journey and hungers for the world that Yu obtains
its ironic how he starts the video off by talking about how he managed to avoid the adachi spoiler, meanwhile this video (title and thumbnail) was the main spoiler for my playthrough
Yeah I didn’t get Adachi spoiled until seeing the thumbnail of your video thanks
I have to comment on the talent discussion because it's something personal to me. I think we can clearly and concisely define talent. I will do so here. It has everything to do with one's ability to master something. To process, understand, replicate, and iterate on a specific skill or action. Take learning piano for example. A talented person at piano/music can learn and understand the basics of music, learn how to read sheet music, and possess the hand/eye coordination to master said instrument faster and more deeply than someone less talented. Not to say someone less talented can't be successful at piano, but the trend would be that less talented people at piano would take longer to master, and their mastery would be more shallow as compared to the mastery of someone talented. I think this is where people like Adachi can sink into despair over talent because it can feel like a stacked deck against you. Sure you can work your ass off as an average guy and obtain moderate amount of success but someone more talented has passed your mastery level in a shorter amount of time with less effort. It's demoralizing at best and at worst maddening.
I have personal experience with this in my school as one of my best friends was extremely talented at playing trumpet. He never practiced a day in his life but found himself at first chair in high school with all of the trumpet solos. He would show up to band practice and blow away other kids who, no offense to them, were less talented. What stood out to me was that the other kids had personal one on one instructors tutoring them but they still were never better than my one friend, it was never close tbh. This lead me to really think about the nature of what is the difference between talented people and average people. Talented people can "master" something faster, more deeply, and sometimes with less training/instruction than others. I can't imagine how those other kids must have felt putting in so much effort practicing and getting tutelage from professionals only to get passed by someone who never practiced and was largely aloof about it. This is where Adachi is coming from I think in the conversation of talent and how it can be infuriating.
I wanted an Adachi video ever since I stumbled on your channel making P4 character videos but damn how did I not expect it to be this Long! *I love it*
It's pretty chunky!
Overall, a very great video! I think something that I don't see touched upon often in the general Adachi analysis sphere is how unreliable a narrator he is to his own actions and emotions, especially in his first confrontation with the Investigation Team, so it makes me glad that you mentioned that! As you said, his /emotions/ are valid; but the way he expresses them outwardly to others and acts on the surface is the problem; he's rife with contradictions. He's desperate to make sense of the world in a way that still makes him come out on top-- all signs point to emotional neglect, or at the very least a feeling that Adachi didn't feel comfortable enough to express things as simple as his dislikes to his family (like the tough renkon) or just that he did, but was never heard-- something that I always like to juxtapose to how he immediately notices when Nanako is saddened by the wasabi in their sushi meal, asking her what's wrong. But instead of processing all of his own hurt (as he grew up and didn't get everything he thought he would through studying/achievement alone) and understanding that his situation wasn't indicative of the entire world and what it must be like, he projected outward and lashed out in an attempt to look like he understands things that 'those teenagers' don't. It's as you said-- Adachi is a version of the truth, but a stagnated one that stopped searching; whereas Yu and his friends continue searching, even when 'convenient truths' present themselves to them.
I especially love that you tackled his flawed view of 'talent', too.
Admittedly, I was a bit perplexed by the random announcement that he'd shot someone. I don't think it's ever explicitly stated what Adachi's mistake is that gets him sent to Inaba, and his own comments about 'wanting to join the force so he could carry a gun' doesn't seem like a strong argument to that effect to me. I think that discussion hinges a lot more on deconstructing Chie's prior line, mentioning that out of all the career paths he could have chosen, he specifically joined the police force-- the inherent implication that Chie naively thinks the police are all just, and join in service of something greater than themselves (which doesn't correlate with her current view of Adachi at all). While I think it's a fair assumption to equate him joining for legally carrying firearms = holding power over others/being respected, implying that his mistake sending him to Inaba was directly related to the gun itself feels a bit much. Especially given that he's not really shown to have a trigger finger or impulse to use his weapon in a lethal manner- the farthest he goes is the incorporeal Adachi pointing the gun at Yu when his arcana changes and shooting beside him to attempt to get him to leave, but even the protagonist comments that Adachi's words don't feel like a threat (implying that he doesn't sense that Adachi actually will shoot him, even if they're at an impasse).
I also definitely don't think the accomplice ending is really a 'meme' ending and there's a fair bit to glean from it both for the protagonist's characterization as well as Adachi's, even if it isn't a true or canon ending. The version of the protagonist that would sacrifice the truth to protect his bond with Adachi, and Adachi's absolute shock that Yu would do something so awful, trying to understand Yu's 'game' when it's really just about Yu's self-destruction in service of preserving the convenient 'truth' as it is, is super interesting even in its morbidity! I think Adachi's shock is both tied into his /own/ assumption of Yu's character of being the perfect person who he envies so deeply being shattered, and the fact that someone would go so far to protect him from culpability. Especially given his own undercurrent of self-loathing. I like to view the 'bad' endings as facets of the protagonist's character-- not things that actually happened, but things that imply his flaws, and what 'could' happen if he let his weaknesses get the best of him.
I definitely appreciated this deeper dive into Adachi though, and definitely will go back to watch prior videos in this series! :)
This right here was the analysis I've been waiting for. In a twisted sense, Adachi's my favorite character in P4 not because his ideology is airtight or that he had amazing character development, cause he didn't. Instead, he's my favorite because he's ordinary. He's just a guy, like any other you'd see on the street. I even greatly disagree with what he says, especially talent as you've mentioned. But even if his argument can easily be debunked, there's a haunting truth in it.
If life goes just a bit little different, 'anyone' can be like Adachi. Just a little of our worst sides bleeding out, not so much we'd commit 2 murders and act as a catalyst for a handful of kidnappings, but enough where we'd change. We can either recognize it and work to better it, ignore it and go on with life, or refuse it endlessly. Or even worse, recognize it and embrace it. A resentment that we carry for any number of reasons.
Adachi's my favorite not because of growth or mastery, not because I even remotely agree with his viewpoints, but because he's a flawed ordinary man with a view of reality that, though warped, is one that can develop in anyone.
I feel like a broken record, since I said this under many of your videos, but again, MAD respect for your work☆
This was yet again an absolute delight, perfectly putting into perspective the different interpretations of "truth" in P4(G)
Amazing video man! My first experience finding out Adachi was the true villain was during a playthrough I was watching and my jaw dropped. You made a great analysis on him and made things a lot clearer about him in terms of hus social link, persona, arcana, etc.
This was an insanely informative video. I'm currently trying to suggest to friends who've played P5R to give P4G a shot.
32:10 is "yokubou"
I played with the Japanese voices, and I can say Adachi sounds so goofy until he's not.
there is so much i could say about this video, i can not describe just how much I learned and got enjoyment from this video, weirdly enough the learning and enjoyment kind of resembled the way I feel when I play the Persona games, very fun but also educational and very intellegent and interesting, I also never really thought about how well your voice is for these videos especially this one the way you speak really shows your emotion and makes the analysis all the more stunning, truly, a beautiful video :-)
Just some thoughts this brought up:
1) If the bird symbolizes willing kindness, victimization and regret, then I think there probably is a figure who fits that. Nanako. She and Adachi do seem to genuinely like each other. Adachi tosses her into the TV world not as part of his game but out of desperation. He really doesn't want to see her hurt, but he does it anyway because he's a slave to his own instincts,, in this case self-preservation.
2)Another point of the Jester in this case is not just that it stands for The Fool, Yu's Arcana, but I think that it specifically stands for the Reversed Fool. In the Tarot Cards can come either Right side up, or Upside down( Reversed) Typically a reversed card symbolizes either an inverse meaning or the dark side of an Archetype. We could say It's the Shadow. Only Yu in the game never faces his shadow-self, having been divinely gifted his persona. Or does he? Isn't it the job of a villain to serve as a heroes shadow? Here are some associations for the Reversed Fool Arcana. See if any sound familiar:
-Recklessness
-Carelessness
-Negligence
-Apathy
-Hopelessness
-Boredom
-Dead-end Jobs
-Delusion
-Being prone to accidents or misfortune
-Difficulty forming connections and relationships
3) For an interesting peek behind Adachi's curtains, there's a song called "Yin Yang" in the Anime Adaptation of Persona 4 Golden. It's framed as a conversation/Rap battle by Lotus Juice between Yu and Adachi during their confrontation, with Shihoko Hirata serving as a sort of a Greek Chorus, giving commentary On Adachi's character and actions. It also Highlights Adachi and Yu's mirroring and both of their status as every-man/player stand-ins. I'll quote a bit here. _Yu's lines will be in Italics,_ *Adachi in bold* and Hirata/The Chorus in Standard [Words in brackets have been added for readability]:
_You and I, we ain’t so different_
_I guess I had more blessings. Without it, [you] got belligerent_
_But I totally understand_
_[The] Glass was half-full for mine_
*And it looked half-empty for me*
[In Unison]
_Maybe that one glass made the path we took? Who knows?_
*Maybe that one glass made the path we took? Who knows?*
Chasing stars above (so, so far)
[He] Overlooks his own path (dark, dark night)
He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not
But he could just easily be
Oh, anyone
So lost, in the darkest night
Where’s the love
When one needs it?
Around and 'round there goes now
Waiting for another falling
Let there be stars to guide him the way
In this hollow night.
So numb, he’s become so numb
Weights of life,
So exhausted!
He will not be who he’s not
So sick of lies over lies, but
[He] Can’t tell what is a lie anymore
He’s going so numb.
Just let it go.
[The] Maze he has made!
I always assumed that at the start of the game, when Chie was mentioning about the rumor of the midnight channel how one student said that they heard their neighbor scream about how Mayumi Yamano was their soulmate that the person yelling was Adachi. Here was a man who clearly wanted more in a woman than just "Being able to cook" find out that his supposed soulmate was a hot news anchor, only to find out that she was already embroiled in relationship scandals. In the end he snaps and throws her inside the tv, claiming that if she begs hard enough then maybe he'll let her out. Only for a few days to pass and then they discover her body hanging off of a tv antenna. I also thought that the puking at the start was genuine, he probably thought he'd scare her into submission with his tv teleporting power, only to end up killing his supposed "soulmate".
is it ever explained how the victims end up hanging somewhere?
i think he told saki that he’ll let her out now mayumi
I assume it's a result getting thrown out of the TV world. Since it's powered via electricity, when they die they get spat out atop of power lines.@@vivvy_0
@vivvy_0 the fog of the TV world and real world swap so whenever it fogs in inaba the TV world is clear
Awesome retrospective dude! Also, in regards to the “pink alligator” story and how it relates to Adachi, maybe the bird is referencing the protagonist if you go through with the accomplice ending? While the protagonist doesn’t exactly die, his willingness to reach out to Adachi and cover for his crimes fundamentally ruins the life and relationships he made in Inaba. In a way, he’s consumed by Adachi and his greed by becoming an accomplice, and it’s implied that he will continue to do so for the rest of his life as Adachi continues to commit more crimes unscathed. The protagonist dies in a sense by having his life torn apart by lies before being used to further fulfill Adachi’s destructive desires. Ultimately, our protagonist is effectively consumed by the arcana of Hunger he tried to reach out for. How ironic.
Kinda unrelated to most of the video but it's nice to see someone else who is also growing frustrated with the "analysis" content on this site. I've been watching you for a long time and I always felt like you brought something different to anime analysis whether it be the way you connect it to your personal life or the EXTENSIVE amount of research you do. You are one of the rare anime analysis channels where I actually get something out of watching your videos rather than just putting them on for background noise. Your last video got me to read Flowers for Algernon, which was one of the best things I experienced this year. Anyway I just wish you the best in life regardless if you keep making content or not. The world needs more people like you in it that geniunely care about the impact they have on the world.
I'm pretty sure that it's mentioned somewhere that the mistake adachi made was modifying a model gun to shoot real bullets or something
I also think that the bird in the story is yu and the dojima, because they may not die, but they put their trust in adachi, imitating the bird trusting the alligator and ending their relationships with him, being severed by adachi, acting as if they never meant anything to him
I am so excited for the full length video.
Excited to eventually drop it
Your speech about talent really hit me at the perfect time. Very intriguing video for a very intriguing character, as well. For better or worse, I see a little bit of Adachi in everyone.
you can tell how passionate is this guy about the topic. awesome video
your analyses are so in-depth. i can tell how much effort you've put into all of them. great work!!
Thank you! Happy you've watched them
You know it's really great coming to see this while watching a TH-camr I'm a fan of go through Persona 4 golden completely blind, while I myself have played through P4 it's always fun to see other people come into it blind. And it's like you said in the Video Adachi is the least well kept secret in Persona 4, but I gotta admit I was surprised how most of this guy's watchers kept their mouth shut about him being the true culprit, made it more interesting when he suspected Adachi naturally.
I am so glad I clicked on this video when it showed up in my recommended feed! I loved your analysis in this video, so I decided to check out your other videos on the other party members. I LOVED those videos, they're amazing!! Your analysis is very refreshing, I'm so used to youtube analysis videos only acting as boring summaries. I hope that this video showing up in my recommended feed is a good sign for your channel. You deserve wayyy more recognition!
Absolutely my favorite part so far. It feels like a lot of themes of every other part got tied in so beautifully. Cant wait for the compilation vid!
the talent segment toward the end is some powerful stuff, thanks
50:35
I guess how I would define what someone means when they use the word "talent" in this way would be something akin to: "A genetic or otherwise inherent characteristic of a person that allows them to exceed the average amount of success in a given activitity for an average amount of effort."
For instance, I could train my entire life in the field of sprinting. If Usain Bolt puts even a bit of practice in, chances are, I'm getting smoked. We are, unironically, built different.
your note on analysis versus recapping was really insightful. i like watching recaps of games, etc, if i haven't revisited them in a while, but that one tangent made me realize how much work real analysis is, especially if you need to do background research.
I didn’t expect a video essay about Adachi to hit so hard. Good job 👍, this is a really good video essay
Note on the arcana; Hunger is XI. XI is typically the justice card in Rider Waite decks. You could see it as that hunger for the justice of what he is entitled to, versus the true justice that (in theory) a police officer should help with. Stealing of the number could also be how he, indirectly, almost killed the person symbolizing Justice, taking it like a vulture.
Idk I i know they had to have chosen that number for a reason
And that justice was akechi in p5
It brings tears to my eyes how far this side channel. I remember back when it was only at 35 subs and was only used for twitch clips.
Always look forward to these videos
i reallu love your persona 4 analysis series so much.. imreally hope you get the recognition you deserve! these are really well excecuted!
i wanna thank you for the caveat about narcissism not being bad. i’m not a narcissist myself but i hate that they (and other mentally ill people) get so much shit for things beyond their control that, in the case of personality disorders specifically, were more than likely caused by interpersonal trauma and abuse.
Thanks for talking about the translation of magatsu! I’ve always seen some differing translations of it, so it’s cool to see you analyze it!
Sure! I try to be thorough!
I'm two years late but I noticed an interesting thing and that's the Jester is an emloyed individual, working and living in the royal court. He stays put in one place and rarely leaves it as opposed to the Fool who's more free.
This is interesting as Adachi is a working adult who can't simply abandon his job as opposed to the Investigation Team who have a lot of time in their hands to investigate and goof off
I heard online that Marie and Adachi where new social links. My take on that info was that both of them where entierly new characters. As such I was 100% convinced that Adachi could in no way be the killer, because he was a later addition. Once I understood he was, it blew my mind. Later I stumbled on the original opening for P4, and actually saw him there. Only at that point did I understand that he was in the original game.
I love the Persona series and retrospectives like this let me see some of the small things I missed when focusing on certain social links or just forgetting lol. Awesome video bro
“What’s the difference?” I usually dismissed that line and considered it as a way of demonstrating how truly amoral he is. I’m no philosopher but I’m reasonably confident in saying there’s a pretty significant difference between murdering people and not murdering people.
I searched up something completely unrelated to adachi and this was the first video to pop up. The game has effectively been spoiled for me less than 40 hours in. Unfortunate
I know right? I search up one persona song last week (the video I searched up was the song that plays at night because I really liked that song) and this gets recommended to me. This dude literally just ruined Persona 4 for me because now I know exactly who the killer is.
@@just_an_internet_explorer8038 a comment further down helped me look at it from a different perspective. Although it's been spoiled for us now and we know who the killer is, we can appreciate how well written his character is and analyze his every word it. I decided to keep playing and I'm still enjoying it so hopefully you will too
@@sirgrace6606 thanks for that. I won’t give up on the game just yet
the game is more then a decade old, kinda your own responsibility if you look up stuff online
@@vivvy_0 did you read the part where i said i did not search up anything related to adachi? Clearly not
I have been wondering for a while what the hell he did to get sent down to Inaba. Knowing him, of course he accidentally shot someone with his gun when he first got it. 🙄
Fantastic video, as always.
I think Adachi does bring up good points, that they certainly are ahead of their time for how we view how discourse goes on the internet. But the points he brings up are just like the rhetoric he uses outside the dungeon, they are truths meant to couch a lie, making it a half-truth.
Like he is correct that not everyone wants ugly truths. But that is up to a listener to decide on what they want to do with such information.
Likewise, he is correct that people tend to latch on whatever claims to be the truth. But again, its up to the listener to accept it at face value or to inspect further.
This was a great watch
Ive always liked adachi cuz of how he resonates with ppl. Granted as u said. It doesnt invalidate his feelings but its never right to strip someone of their own ego and even growth. I do hope you cover his involvement with Ultimax but thats most likely a whole different topic than this one.
Good way to start the morning, and good on you for undertaking this project. I'm a bit late but I hope it was worth it to do all of these analyses on your end.
Great video and analysis for my favorite persona character. I didn’t know it was adachi the whole time because somebody told me it was nanako and I believed it the whole time thinking it would a good twist but was genuinely caught off guard it was adachi at the end.
Someone was actually cruel enough to pull the "nanako is the killer" meme on you unironically? God damn this community loves its memes
calling mitsuo quango bongo caught me so off guard 😂
It felt right
Okay, so finished the video. I really enjoyed it. Most of what was said I'd already understood from the game but there were some details I didn't notice or ideas I didn't consider. Similar to your Kanji video, this one also helped me realize my issues with how the fandom handles Adachi.
Adachi, as a character from a writing perspective, is done very very well. I always felt that. If anything, the new ending from Golden where you keep Adachi's secret is *brilliant*. Because to me, it shows Adachi won you over, perspective-wise. And there's some credibility to it. Yu and the others ARE teenagers. I, unfortunately, was forced to grow up way too fast and a lot of things I understood as a teenager/in college those my age are only NOW understanding a decade later. That is to say, Adachi is an adult. He has legitimately see and experienced how flawed society is and been beaten down by it... among other things. But that's for later. But Yu as not. And with your discussion with Adachi, the Accomplice End suggests to me Yu finally sees it Adachi's way and realizes he's right (because there are grains of truth to what Adachi says). So by protecting him, it shows a scenario where Yu is forced to suddenly grow up in a very twisted way due to a malignant hand... similar to how trauma in childhood forces you to grow up too fast and somewhat crooked... not that I'm speak from experience or anything... >.> So yeah. It's not a canon ending but I like it a lot. It was a good addition and again well written like Adachi himself.
The fandom, though. Gods, it's always the fandom I stg... Again, Adachi is well written... and he is the kind of person I fucking hate. A self-important, spoiled brat who refuses to genuinely grow up and mature. A very large section of my generation is like this. And I see it in their conduct, life choices and subsequent complaints about the consequences of their choices. So it's not a shock the fandom loves Adachi... because he's a mirror of how a good chunk of them act. They not only find comfort in seeing themselves, but then seem to think it's okay. Which ignores the whole point with Adachi: that yes, society is unfair. That yes, no good deed goes unpunished. Not to get topical, but the way some people are acting about Ian due to Florida being Republican is a great example, honestly. Those people take glee in the suffering that's going on because life was "unfair" and use this as an excuse for their own shitty, immature and self-aggrandizing behavior. A section of the Western fandom has taken Adachi and ignored the cautionary tale he tells and uses him as an excuse for their own bad action, subconsciously. And by the way, these are often the same people who spit on Akechi in P5. Because Akechi, when stripped of his facade, isn't all bad-ass, "rage against the machine" like Adachi. Because Akechi shows the ugliness of what happens to abuse victims and makes those same self-indulgent people uncomfortable because, to me, Akechi is a reminder of what happens when you act like Adachi; you continue an abusive cycle in the grand scheme of society.
So yeah. Adachi is a well-written character. I really enjoyed your analysis of him. And I just wish that section of the fandom would wake up and understand that Adachi is not something to strive towards or is an excuse for their own shitty behavior. Growth is painful. Life doesn't care about you. But we, as individuals, can at least try to make things a little kinder, a little less brutal and chaotic, and a little less abusive.
Shoutout to you for spoiling the plot twist for me btw, seeing the thumbnail and title on my recommended was enough to hint at the twist
Shoutout to you for whining about a plot twist that's been known since 2008 and then returning days later to cry even more 😂
@@quill6896For real, game is almost 16 years old by this point, Adachi was already mentioned in Persona 5 and his character was so much milked people even had wild theories that he was meant to be protagonist of P5 (joker arcana, hiding behind mask etc.)
Thats like getting spoiled on 1984 book and then being triggered.
@@ExtremeMan10 Fr 😂 People are gonna whine about spoilers when this game turns 30 lol
@@quill6896 Based, its sad at this point.
This is the first time I've come across one of your videos. Your level of depth and analysis has impressed me, there is this dare I say Petersonian level of magic when you explain all of these details that are seemingly so obvious yet also way too easy to miss. I've watched plenty of videos analysing different games, shows and movies but there is something deeply profound in the way you tackle these subjects. Big respect.
Yet if only he didn't spoil the entire twist of the game in the video thumbnail
@@poppapalpatine8624 I can totally see someone play Persona 4 in 2022 or 2023 without knowing the "twist" (I don't)
@@panthekirb7561 I actually played through it the first time a couple weeks ago when it got the switch port. Phenomenal game but I can't help but feel a bit disappointed I got this video in my reccomended and saw the thumbnail before I could beat the game
@@poppapalpatine8624 Well I'm sorry for you IG. Its just really unexpected for someone to not know this at this point. Persona 4 is one of those games where the twist worked well at first but it became so big that its like those movies where everyone kept talking about the twist and it became a part of pop culture.
I always love the connection between the main character and their rival in persona games Takaya says he doesn’t fear death and that he wants it, and yet in his final moments and with the lore behind Strega you get the feeling he hasn’t fully accepted death, while Minoto finds nothing in life to be exciting, but does get close to a lot of people and find a reason to care about life and when it came down to his final battle, he chose those who he cared about because that’s what it means to live, Adachi is basically Narukami from another timeline, Adachi didn’t take the path that was set for him instead he took that path that was meant for someone else, by believing he was meant for more he became less and less meaningful in the world while Narukami took all the paths that lead him to his happy ending, but he had to deal with letting it go so he can continue his own life, but unlike Adachi Narukami decided to let go, it’s also why Persona 4 is so much more light hearted in the beginning it’s to play up for the eventual truth that Narukami will have to be alone again and may lose his connections, Akechi and Ren both had their lives ruined by the same man both being forced to grow up with new people and both finding a purpose in their new life, but when both were handed power by the holy grail Ren decided to use it for helping humanity, while Akechi used it to get revenge, but both ended up hurting humanity, in an alternate timeline Akechi was the main protagonist of persona 5 but in our timeline he was the main antagonist of
REN’s character arc, which is why his act of sacrifice means so much to his character, he finally did something good he helped humanity for the better the first one of the two, to do so, because without his sacrifice none of the final arcs of the game wouldn’t happen since the phantom thief wouldn’t have gotten their chance to stoke without his distraction, these are what makes persona so strong is because the two central characters of the game always make sure that the player base while have two versions of every ideal the games throw at them
ADACHI! *vine boom* ADACHIiiiiii! **vinebooms**
True! That is totally me when I ADACHI! VINEBOOM ADACHIIIIII!