In more specifics, the Mask they are wearing represents their "compliance" with the society, the everyday mask we wear around people. When they tear it off, it's a symbol of letting go of societal inhibitions and becoming a rebel. The Masks become part of their costume, it's a sign of them now pretending to be part of the society for the sake of the ruse now, instead of being blind sheep, so to say, and whenever they use their Personas (the floating spirits) they tear the masks again to represent their "true selves". The game is very Jungian
The mask itself represents a facade. The attitude you put on to face whatever you are dealing with. And ripping the mask off is to reveal your true self, a glimpse to your abyss. The mask aka persona, reflects on the person as is witnessed by the world. Which is why they take names of famous characters. Example Blondie/ryuuji, persona is captain kid, or William kid. A famous pirate. Who once a noble lost it all. And with nothing to lose takes it all back. Ryuuji, a former honor student and star track runner. Lost it all and was reduced and labeled as a mere delinquent. On his road to take it all back.
In this story, the main Personas are based on famous rogue, thieves, and rebels as the cast are fighting corruption in society via their counterparts in a shadow realm version of the real world. The ripping off of the mask represents taking off the unjust label the wicked tries to frame you as and turns it into a weapon to fight back. Then, as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, they dive into the collective consciousness to steal their target's motivation for their evil actions to trigger a change of heart and desire to repent.
Arsen is arsene lupin the phantom thief from the french novels .- represent the search of justice Captain Kid is the famous pirate - represent revelion again injustice Carmen is the main character from, the opera - represent freedom from misogeny ( literally) Goemon is a legendary japanese folk character similar to Robin Hood. represent uncovering the vices of the world Jeanne - is based on jeanne of arc, represent figthing spirit to a superior cause.. there is so much simbolism in those... Ah the cat persona is The Zorro Btw
Makoto's persona is Johanna aka. Joan, the fabled female pope, representing breaking free of the unjust expectations society levies upon members simply due to birth, gender, etc.
to go a bit farther: it´s not only the personas that actually have some kind of meaning. Also the shadows (and, since Persona is part of the "Shin Megami Tensei"-franchaise, also the demons shown in the Shin Megami Tensei -games, as they share the same enemies, although they´re called Shadows, or when recruited, Personas, in the Persona-games, while they are demons in the main SMT-games) are in the vast majority, if not all of them, based on multiple different folklore (especially, but not exclusively the japanese). Although, the Personas of the main protagonist-party are "special" and were specifically made for the characters and the game.
@@gexianhen Also Necronomicon: Could be considered an object used by rebels or outcasts (Being cultists) Milady: Based on Milady De Winter, a character from the 3 musketeers. Robin Hood: A man who stole from the rich, gave to the poor. Loki: A trickster god Cendrillon: Cinderella, who could be considered an outcast and/or rebel from her family
To immediately explain this. The masks in Persona 5 represents the facade that you have to put on because of society. When you take the mask off, you’re casting away those societal shackles and letting out your true innermost self, which is what the Persona represents. And to give a little more detail on what "Shadow" people are, basically just the twisted deep desires of a person, the big ones who have their own realms called a "Palace" based on how much control they have in the real world and it represents what the actual person would imagine how they see where they are at (Like Kamoshida seeing the school he works in as his own Castle). It would be fun to see ya'll play this! Although the game does set time limits in the form of days and it's of course a turn-based RPG game, so it has a bit of difficulty, the story is amazing, often having more darker problems as well.
The description of a Palace reminds me of something from Destiny lore. Powerful beings have a "Throne World" or a pocket dimension they can shape to their own will and they can only be truly killed within their Throne World. The more powerful they prove themselves to be the bigger the Throne World gets.
Ninja Kitty Morgana does actually have a Persona named Zorro that he uses at 6:30, it's just that he already had it at the start so he didn't get an epic awakening moment like the others.
@@DefinitelyNotDefinitiveGames Funny enough, Yusuke goes by the codename "Fox". Zorro is Spanish for "Fox", so if anything they should have given Zorro to Yusuke or another codename.
The whiplash from "oh yeah awesome bike" to "you're the reason she committed suicide" was insane Also for context, the rotten adults they meet aren't the same guys who wronged them, kinda. They're the hearts of those evil people, and the way they look is based on what the evil person thinks about their domain (kamoshida thinks the school is his castle, so he's a king in his palace, kaneshiro thought of the city as his personal bank, so he's a bank manager, etc)
There’s also the Seven Deadly Sins motif. Each of the Palace creators embody one of them, and the Thieves who awaken in that particular Palace do seem to have the opposite traits. But I wouldn’t say there’s a Seven Heavenly Virtues motif for them, since it doesn’t quite match up the same way. Ann isn’t exactly the embodiment of Chastity to mirror Kamoshida’s Lust, for example, and Futaba doesn’t really have any of them to offset her own Sloth. But considering the juxtaposition of God and the Devil at the end of the game, it’s very interesting how the Palaces all have that motif while the “rebels, traitors, and thieves” are the ones to bring justice down upon the sinners personifying the Sins.
For reference, all the bad guys in Persona 5 are “Shadows” of real people. The first guy, for example, is actually the school gym teacher who beats and sexually harasses his students (even blackmailing Ann, the blonde girl, into dating him) but gets away with it because he’s a former Olympian. As such, in the metaverse (where these awakenings are), his Shadow is a king and the school is his castle with the students as his slaves.
It's not just because the guy is an Olympian but because the school didn't want to deal with the hassle such a scandel would bring and more worried about the school's reputation. It was easier to just ignore it. Also that the adults in this world tend to brush off the words of children for the convenience.
I will always love Futaba and her shadow. It's an awesome nod to how the Persona 4 cast had so many problems because they rejected their shadow's words instead of listening to what they were truly saying at first.
Well its harder to accept that the words are coming from you if people are near by, but futaba knew that they were doing something in her heart, which she would be smart enough that she knew it was her other self intuitively Side note, she is the only one shown in 5 not to be in pain when awakening
@@deathblade32 There's also the fact that Futaba's Shadow was actively trying to help the real Futaba overcome her trauma. Unlike the Shadows in Persona 4, Shadow Futaba was not malevolent or hostile to the real Futaba. She represented the part of Futaba that knew her mother's death wasn't her fault and that her mother truly loved her.
@@gamester512 that's because futaba shadow is more accurate to our own shadow, research Carl gustav jung and you'll see how the whole persona franchise is based on his work
Something I love about Makoto's awakening (the one with the sick motorcycle) is that up to that point she is a very calm and upstanding person, not acting out and playing the role of the perfect student. Then she reaches her breaking point and thats why every seemed so surprise.
And yet outside the Metaverse she is very much "team mom" and the serious honor student. She basically won't fold like a poker hand if someone in authority tells her to anymore.
@@brandonwithnell612 yeah she was very ready to start fighting Kaneshiro. Tho, mostly cuz she does have an emotional tie to him to begin with. For everyone else, it’s a bigger deal for them to face the shadow of what’s usually an abusive figure in their lives. Kaneshiro and Makoto had no relation, so it wasn’t a rebellion against someone, it was a rebellion against herself.
@@brandonwithnell612 Makoto also hadn't been abused or manipulated by the Palace Master's human self for months (or years in Yusuke's case). In that she was more like Joker's awakening, a bunch of unconnected things piling on and the Master was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Persona 5 is my top game of all time. Its the first and only game that made me legit feel sad it was over. Persona 5 is a 2016 role-playing video game developed by Atlus. It takes place in modern-day Tokyo and follows a high school student known by the pseudonym Joker who transfers to a new school after being falsely accused of assault and put on probation. Over the course of a school year, he and other students awaken to a special power, becoming a group of secret vigilantes known as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. They explore the Metaverse, a supernatural realm born from humanity's subconscious desires, to steal evil intent from the hearts of others.
I'm not sure if anyone mentioned it yet but each persona awakening's speech had an overall message of how to stop wearing there masks that they presented to society and be there real selves: from Penn_Anthony Persona Awakening Speech Meanings 1) Joker/Arsene: Even if people hate you or the world is against you, you have to fight for what you believe is right even if that means there will be consequences for you. 2) Ryuji/Captain Kidd: If people already have low expectations of you, you might as well act however you want and enjoy yourself. 3) Ann/Carmen: You can't hold yourself back by calling yourself weak, or else all is lost. The only way to live is to go all out and not be afraid of what others might think. 4) Yusuke/Goemon: If you see that something is wrong, you can't fix it by averting your eyes. You have to live by your own sense of right and wrong and to hell with what others think of your choices. 5) Makoto/Johanna: You can't live a life where you do nothing but obey the will of others even if it may seem like that is the right choice. If you want to find your own path, you'll need to deviate from the norm. 6) Futaba/Necronomicon: Don't let others deceive you with their false claims. Find the truth for yourself and don't let others pollute your mind with their beliefs. 7) Haru/Milady: Even if someone is close to you, that doesn't give them the right to control your future. If they insist on forcing their ideals upon you, than you'll have no choice but to betray there expectations. Still can't help but rewatch these awakenings due to how epic they are.
Didn’t expect to see Persona on the channel so soon! Persona is a branch of the Shin Megani Tensei franchise that is heavily character focused. In SMT: you summon demons in order to aid you in battle - often times these demons take the form of mythological deities and cryptids. Persona, takes these demons and changes the script - with each “demon” representing the repressed personality of the individual: “The Shadow”. Persona takes heavy inspiration from Carl Jung’s Analytical (Jungian) psychology - which proposes that we all wear masks when interacting with others (a persona) when facing the worlds problems. When with those close to us, we reveal our true face behind our mask, our shadow: the best and worst parts of ourselves. All the characters in Perosna 5 have personas themed after great thieves in ancient literature: from Zoro to Arsené Lupin (rival to Sherlock Holmes) himself. Our protagonist (glasses kid with the black fuzzy hair) was convicted of assault after saving a woman from sexual assault. With his life and reputation now ruined he choose to hone the power of his Persona to steal the unconscious distorted desires of criminals, and bring them to justice. Fun question: what what your Persona be? All of mythological and literature are yours to choose from - as long as they reflect your personality. Personally? Anansi the Spider was always a personal favorite: the African equivalent of the tricker god Loki - he is a god of knowledge and wisdom. Preferring to outsmart his enemies as opposed to fight them.
If I had to pick, I'd go with Hephaestus, Greek god of the fire and the forge. He was always defined as kind and hard working, but ugly in the eyes of the other gods, so I think that would fit me really well.
Arsene wasn't the rival of Sherlock Holmes. James Moriarty was. Arsene was a "Gentleman Thief" who only targeted other criminals and acted to help and protect innocent people. There are people who debate whether Holmes would be able to catch Arsene, yes, but to the best of my knowledge they have never met or interacted with each other in any way. As for who my Persona would be, that's an easy question to answer. It would be the biblical Archangel, Michael. The reason? Ever since my first time playing SMT 3: Nocturne, where I got him from a fusion accident at just *LEVEL 13* when Michael himself was *LEVEL 91* , ever since then, he *ALWAYS* appears for me whenever I need him most, as long as the game doesn't "lock" him behind some sort of quest. He has quite literally become my "guardian angel" in the entire SMT/Persona franchise.
@@gamester512 Arsène Lupin III crossed over with Sherlock Holmes in a crossover novel created in a novel by the very same name published in 1908 by _Maurice Leblanc._ The title of the novel was quite literally *Arsène Lupin Contre Sherlock Holmes.* The two were specifically described as nemesis in the novel due to Lupin getting the upper hand over Holmes in the early portions of the book. This is even a trivia fact _in game_ - and is referenced several other ways that I can’t say due to spoilers. Joker’s persona is based on this version ad Lupin, well as the entirety of the main parties Personas being based I primarily in their _literature interpretations_ - not the ones based in reality.
Now to have you guys react to the characters from Persona 5 Royal + Scramble awakenings, maybe even showtime attacks. 👀 Great video and reaction as always! 😊👌🏾
YES!!! You have no clue how much I wanted to see this! From a presentation standpoint Persona 5 has the best awakenings in the series PS: The video didn't have every awakening. Royal and Strikers have a few more if you wanna check them out
The “69” symbol you guys saw during Futaba’s awakening is actually the astrological symbol for Cancer (♋️). I couldn’t tell you what correlation it has to the aesthetics of Futaba’s palace though 😅😅.
@@DefinitelyNotDefinitiveGames it does take about 100 hours. But it’s not 100 hours of downtime. You really need all of those hours to progress and get story elements. Fortunately the game also gives you a multitude of stopping points and breaks so you don’t get overwhelmed.
@@fun_police8011 Yep. And it also offers "New Game Plus" that allows you to play through again to get things you might have missed in your first playthrough, or to try and get one of the other endings. They're pretty long games, yes, but the story is great, as are the characters, and you are always able to take a break whenever you want and then return to the game later. Persona 5 Royal even adds the "Thieves Den" optional area where you can just relax and play cards with the other Phantom Thieves and witness other stuff and interactions you wouldn't see in the main game. And then there's Strikers, which is effectively a "sequel" to the original Persona 5, but it plays much more like a Dynasty Warriors game as it's more of an action/hack-and-slash game, with none of the turn-based stuff being present. It would still be better to play P5 Royal before Strikers in order to have a better understanding of the story and characters though, but it's by no means a requirement.
I love the persona games and it’s neat seeing people get into it. I will say though these persona awakenings would probably be way more emotional and cool with the context and the journey to that point though. But damn the game is really long but fun. Especially Persona 5 Royal which adds another character who has there own persona awakening too. It’s just a really really good game. And the personas are cool. Love Johanna and Loki, some of my favorite of the bunch.
The main theme of this game is: Rebellion and Freedom. Rebel against those who hold power, and abuse said power to stand above others, and be completely free. Taking or ripping off the mask symbolizes that same act of taking our mask and releasing our true self we keep hidden away. A persona is the true self, and a shadow is the opposite of that; but they are both parts of the being, accepting your shadow is accepting yourself, hence creating your true persona. I love this game; also, you did miss one which is from the re-release Persona 5 Royal; but it's fine, I'm glad you reacted to one of my favorite games of all time.
I literally just beat my first ever playthrough (200 hour) game today! Was bawling my eyes out 😭. Easily my favorite game of all time now, I am extremely looking forward to this reaction!!!!
Kinda sad that this video only included vanilla P5, I really wanted to see your reaction to Maruki. While all the characters on P5 are meant to be indisputably evil people who abuse their power in the social hierarchy, Maruki (bonus boss for P5 Royal) is one of those cases in which the main villain has good intentions all throughout and seems to be legitimately sad when you want to stop him. Honestly one of the best Persona antagonists next to Nyarlathotep.
So the heroes in Persona 5 have personas based on thieves in various works of fiction and history, which goes well with the story of them being Phantom Thieves. All personas in the games are manifestations of concepts of the collective human mind, usually taking the forms of mythical creatures, demigods, angels, demons, and legends from all over the world. Persona is very much influenced from Niche's philosophy. The yellow eyes usually symbolize the emergence of one's inner shadow. The villains in these cinematics aren't the physical people but rather their egos manifested in their own "palaces", the way they perceive themselves in the world. They aren't good people as Kamoshida demonstrates very clearly with the first three characters.
You guys had some great takeaways and noticed a lot about the themes of the persona games with this minimum exposure. Hope to see you react to more persona in the future!
Yes! My favorite part of the Persona games. Always so intense seeing their awakenings. As for the cat, Mona, he already had an awakened Persona which is why he didn’t get an awakening. The most Mona got was a reveal of his Persona Zorro which was before Ryuji awakened Captain Kidd.
Yes!!! More persona content!!! I hope they react to persona 3 and 4 awakenings as well, as each game is different with the ways the main characters summon their persona!!
I'm sure for people who haven't played the game or watched the anime series, watching these without any context would be quite bizzare 😅 I love makoto with the bike still my favourite awakening but futaba's story was fantastic loved that so much
So here is a brief synopsis of the Awakened Persona each character has. Joker/MC: Arsene- The gentleman thief Arsene Lupin Morgana/the cat- I know we don't see his but I figure you'd like to know but he has Zorro, the folk hero of Spanish California. Ryuji- Captain Kidd, legendary pirate Ann- Carmen, gypsy woman and titular character of the opera Yusuke- Goemon, legendary Japanese thief/ninja Goemon Ishikawa Makoto- Johanna, the erased from history or folk tale female Pope Johanna Futaba- Necronomicon, as in the book from H P Lovecraft lore Haru- Milady, funny that you called out her Three Musketeers design as her Persona is Milady de Winter from the same story Akechi- Robin Hood, legendary thief.....and then Loki, God of Mischief Endgame Joker- Satanael, the true form of Satan
It's a cognitive science fantasy game themed after a loose interpretation of Jungian psychology. The characters enter into a psycho-space/cognitoverse/noosphere type of otherworld that resembles Shin Megami Tensei where cognitive concepts are made manifest in physical form and encounter shadows (in Jungian psychology shadows are the part of one's self that is hidden from the outside world) and awaken to their Personas (personae are mental masks that represent how you or your ego ((the self)) wish to be seen) that they can use to protect themselves in the other world.
The titular Persona in not just Persona 5 but the other games are based on the ideas of Psychologist Carl Jung. He described the Persona as "a kind of mask", designed on the one hand, to make a definite impression on others, and on the other, to conceal the true nature of the individual. There was also the Shadow, one's hidden or suppressed desires. He also was the guy who came up with the Collective Unconscious. "We all wear masks, and the time comes when we cannot remove them without removing some of our skin." - André Berthiaume. Something that applies well here.
Also in Gnosticism Yaldabolth is a god that wanted to control humans and Satanael is the Archangel that rebelled against him and gave humanity free will. So in a game where all personas are gentleman thieves, and a pirate, and a femme fatale, the ultimate persona is also the ultimate rebel.
I'm glad they gave it another chance. The Awakenings are one of the best parts of the game! And now you guys have a better understanding of the storyline and themes of Persona 5.
Also context for the ann awakening and the conversation with Kamoshida: In the real world Ann has pretended to date the real Kamoshida for weeks to gain infos on him and she is best friends with a girl named shiho, who is on the volleyball team Kamoshida supervises. Kamoshida has a history of physically abusing the male members of the team and sexually harrassing the female ones, which mind you is not even a secret, evreyone at the school knows about it but it is ignored because of the prestige the team brings to the school and if I say evreyone, I mean evreyone, the school principal, the victims parents... After a particular harsh assault on her, Shiho attempts to commit suicide and at the point in the story where the cutscene takes place it is unclear if she will survive.
@@DefinitelyNotDefinitiveGames Yeah, for all that he's just the starter villain, Kamoshida is the one that inspires the most visceral hate from most folks, mostly because his evil is just. so. personal, unlike the rest.
Though you guys are missing a lot of context I definitely think you got the point the transformation of the kids and the summoning of their persona. Love this video and I definitely love the ending talk.
Welcome to persona 5. The first villian; kamoshida, the pervert teacher. The one who physically abuses his students. Nominates one of the volleyball team to be beated when he is angry. Sexual predator to Ann to the point rumors spread that they are... "together".. and raped her best friend because she wouldnt give herself up to him. She then later tried to commit suicide. Ye... welcome to persona 5
there's still no clearance about whether Kamoshida raped Shiho or physically abused her very hard, the game doesn't clarify this moment and leaves it to player for come to their own conclusion.
@@BigusGeekus Yeah looking at the way Kamoshida is dressed and that whole scene where it’s apparent how he sees the female players make it pretty obvious he wasn’t just beating them
The cat does have a Persona, but because he isn't human he already unlocked it, it's called Zorro. Also each villain personified a deadly sin (plus Vanity and Sorrow), the PE Teacher was Lust, the Artist was Vanity, The Gangster (Bank Manager) was Gluttony, The Sphinx (Futaba's Mother) was Wrath, Haru's father (Space Man) was Greed, the others are Pride, Envy and Sorrow (not shown).
Akechi is at the same time Emptiness and Envy (this video they react is for vanilla P5. The boss of Sorrow is only of P5 Royal) and the thing with the deep voice who gets shot in the face by the building size Persona is the Seven Deadly Sins at once. Most likely you already know it, but for those who don't, better keep it like this.
For the record, Morgana (the kitty, though don't call him that to his face. He hates being called a cat) does have a persona. He just didn't get a cutscene showing his. It's Zorro.
Highly suggest checking out the royal and strikers awakenings, Violet & wolf have good ones and especially Sophia's and Maruki's are really deep in the symbolism
It's always awesome as a diehard persona fan to see people going into the series basically blind. I find it really interesting how far you guys are able to go with identifying some of the overarching themes and topics of the game from essentially just a collection of clips from the game. I don't know much about the channel yet, but for a compilation like this I think it'd be really cool and engaging if you two gave some sort of like opinion/analysis between clips, or maybe even like some sort of guesses about what the story could be about. I think that'd really personalise the reaction vid and make it unique, and maybe even give a bit more engagement with the audience on whether you guys are close or not.
God damn the futaba chapter always gets me. to give some explaination: Futaba lost her mother who worked on some technology. she was then murdered with a suicide note being made to blame Futaba. which leads Futaba to close herself in her room for a long time. to the point she was almost dying from guilt (she was considering suicide. she was also a amazing hacker and used her skills to track down the Phantom thieves (the main protagonists gang) and asking them to help steal her heart (it is basically her dark thoughts which makes people get twisted). as you saw she learned that the note was fake and try to battle her darkness and guilt. but after you help her, she is then in need of help to try and be able to talk to people because she has become extremely shy due to her isolation.
As someone who for years only got to experience this game on TH-cam. Then when the games got posted to the Xbox & switch. Seeing these scenes first hand is much better.
Interesting you compare Haru's costume to a Musketeer, her Persona is based off of Milady de Winter, a villain from The Three Musketeers. Also the ending when Satanael (Satan) is summoned and finishes the final boss always gives me goosebumps.
If you think these awakenings alone are wild, there's about three more between Persona 5 Royal (remake) and Persona 5 Strikers (Warriors-styled sequel).
Ninja kitty (his name is Morgana) has a Persona that we don’t get an awakening for since he had it before meeting Ren (Joker) and Ryuji (Skull) and it’s Zorro
Morgana (the cat) does have a persona, he had already awakened his before the game started and he’s the one that teaches the player how to use your persona
So the Persona series using a lot of Carl Jung psychology with the persona, the shadow and the true self. There’s that saying that comes from it that people wear mask to hide their true self and the characters tear off their mask to be their true self and show off their persona while fighting shadows and peoples darkness. Also Morgona the ninja kitty actually does have a persona and idk why this video didn’t show it but it’s name is Zorro. A lot of their personas since they are known as thieves and they steal things are named after tricksters. The main character Joker’s persona is Arsene named after Arsene Lupin one of Sherlock Holmes rivals. Ryuji had Captain Kidd named after William Kidd. Ann has Carmen named after a gypsy by the same opera. Yusuke had Goemon who is the Japanese Robin Hood. Makoto has Johanna which is a female pope she was able to trick people to thinking she was a man. Futaba has Necronomicon named after the same book which is found in H.P. Lovecrafts stories. Haru has Milady who is actually a character from the Three Musketeers and is a villain from that story. Akechi has Loki the trickster god and actually also has a second persona called Robin Hood which was a coverup. The last persona shown was actually Joker’s ultimate persona basically an evolution of his base persona and everyones persona can evolve, named Satanael which is another interpretation of Lucifer since their is already a Satan and Lucifer persona in the series since there’s alot of interpretations of them.
Though it had no "awakening," sequence, I wanted to mention that the kitties persona is Zoro, based on the vigilante from the novel and film "the mark of Zoro"
The overall series is quite creative to the topic of one's mask or "persona" they use to face everyday life. In 5 it's a literal mask. In 4 it's a playing card. In 3 it's their reflection of their spirit in the face of their last moments. Prior to that is their literal shadow, but that far back can be reasonably neglected by most. To each game is this other world that holds the truths of others, but presented differently game to game. In 3 is a 25th hour on the clock, the Dark Hour. In 4 is the TV World of shadows. In 5 are Palaces of the corruptions to their core, often residing around defining figures and reflecting their views.
Makoto is the best. So f***in’ cool every time. Plus the best line in the game: “Nah dude. That’s a bike” Also “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka” slaps. Great reference.
For a little context on the villains: Kamoshida is an Olympic volleyball player who uses his fame to take advantage of the girls he coaches at their school; trading sexual favors for kind treatment. Madarame is an art thief obviously, but his master forgery was a painting of a woman and her child, and that woman was the mother of the guy who awakened in that scene. Kaneshiro is a loan shark who gets kids to sell illegal product to lock them into his ownership forever. Wakaba is the murdered mother of the girl who awakened, but she believed it was her fault for her mother's death. The food mogul was the father of the girl who awakened there, and he was essentially a slaver working employees to death and tried selling his daughter off to the competition's CEO. Sae is the sister of the girl with the bike, she's a prosecutor who will do anything to win her case and advance in the system, including putting innocents away. Goro was just flat out a murderer trying to impress his father, the Prime Minister, named Shido. Shido is the corrupt PM who got the first character who awakened thrown into the judicial system. He was harassing a woman on the street, Joker stepped in, and the cops took the word of the politician because the woman wouldn't speak up. Shido also had numerous people killed to ascend to power.
If either or both of you ever have the time, the game definitely deserves your play through, but it does take quite a bit of time to complete, and especially so if you play the Persona 5 Royal, which is how the game should have been released originally. It's really well written.
To answer the question of "what's the deal with these guys and sex slaves?": to make the villains as detestable as possible. The heroes' method of justice essentially boils down to a form of mental manipulation. The characters themselves question the morality of this action. It becomes more easy to justify when the villains are truly the worst. Fun fact, everyones' outfit after awakening to their persona reflects their idea of 'rebellion'
I feel like playing the game would give more context to what’s going on. And makoto the girl with the bike is my favorite character, while her enemy the bank manager is actually a mob/mafia boss.
this is one of my favorite games of recent years. I bet seeing these clips got you interested in playing the game as well. I am thou, Thou art I is a genius saying which became something I myself adopted
A Persona is who you pretend to be to the world to protect yourself, symbolized by the mask. It protects you by not letting anyone get to know the real you. But if you can rip off the mask, and present who you really are to the world, the persona can switch from defense to offense, and then you will have great power. the whole series is based off Jungian Psychology and the Tarot. the fighting takes place in the collective subconscious, where you can see who people really are. The really bad people have carved an entire domain for themselves out of the collective subconscious making the levels of the game.
The raw ripping of the masks also symbolizes how hard it is to face and accept your true self in the face of an unjust reality. P5 is perfect in every way but the villains deserve a special shout-out. Of course, there is the super-natural aspect of the game but most of us have seen or heard of jerk teachers, corrupt politicians or company heads, and that makes P5 more relatable. And I hope you try P5 Royal as well because it also explores the fact that being a 'villain' or 'enemy' does not mean they are evil but instead they could simply have a different way of thinking than you, and could very well be right in the eyes of others.
10:04 they have the mask on, and when the ripped the mask off, they release their "persona", their true self, their inner power, and each persona symbolize with major arcanas from tarot cards, for example the protagonist's main arcana is "The Fool", means that he's a blank canvas
You should do the awakenings in 5 Royal and 5 Strikers too. Also, the previous Persona games. Persona 4 especially had some great awakenings, all which revolved around self-acceptance and the strength of friendship, much along the lines of the themes you mentioned. Akechi in P5 is also described as having the same power as Joker but his isolation and lack of connections (plus outside interference) put him in the situation he was in against the rest of the phantom thieves and is the reason why he never gained the ability to use more than two/three personas (while Joker can use many). Royal expands on Akechi too.
There are two more Persona awakening that don't appear in this video because they are from the spin-off/sequel game Persona 5: Strikers, as well as one more from Persona 5: Royal, both games of which I believe came out after this "All Awakenings" video did.
It's not jaundice, the Shadows of people have glowing yellow eyes. The protagonists display them as well when they first accept their Shadow in this game, which then allows them to use their Persona.
I mean this in best way possible but you remind me or proJared when he wasn't doing bad stuff :x you both seem so wholesome and sweet! I'm married and I've definitely wanted to do something like this for fun with my husband but still thinking about it. Thanks for the inspiration you two are so cute!! 😊
Remember the social and political issues within the story of Persona are Japanese in nature. If you're interested in better context about these villians and the issues these characters face, I would reccomend videos from Lady Virgilia. Most of these villians represent actual ongoing problems in Japanese society. Take the sports coach Kamoshida at the start for example. High school teachers in Japan have a lot more influence and sway over the future of their students than in countries like the US. There's a lot of interesting cultural differences going on. Understanding them makes Persona an even better franchise in my mind.
Alot of people have explained this series well, I actually have a playthrough of this game and it's actually a playthrough where I got a perfect Social Link by mistake. But to dig a bit deeper each character is basically an outcast of society in their own unique ways. In the case of the main character who has 2 different names, Akira Kurusu in the anime and Ren Amamiya in the manga. In his case he was falsely accused of attacking someone and that someone used his connections to basically set him up as a psychopath. This has caused people to see him as this dangerous criminal when he is anything but. As for Ryuji he's a bit of a hothead who often shoots his mouth off when he should keep it shut. His hotheadedness has gotten into alot of trouble and he's seen as the delinquent. Ann is Half-Japanese and because of her, forced, relationship with Kamoshida she's seen as basically a whore who sleeps with older men to make things easier for her and get favors. Yusuke is more complicated he's a bit of a weirdo with a bit of an overinflated ego and has very little social skills which causes him to ask things that are outlandish, but in reality he is taken advantage of by his mentor who stole artworks from his past pupils. Yusuke however stays by his side because his mentor raised him pretty much all his life. For Makoto she's seen as the perfect girl who is willing to do anything to ensure she get's into a good school. This causes alot of pressure on her as she is forced to maintain this perfect image though in reality she is struggling very hard to maintain this image and wants to help her sister who is... well that'd be spoilers so not sure if you want that. Futaba is what Japan calls hikikomori, which is basically a shut in. After an... incident with her mother she closed herself off from the world and is haunted both by memories of her abusive relatives as well as false memories of her mother. Futaba is unique in that she has a palace which I'll explain in a bit. Finally there is Haru, she's a curious case in that she's an outcast due to her status. She is the daughter of a wealthy company, Okumura Foods which owns the very popular fast food joint, Big Bang Burger. She's mostly an outcast with her father because he's the type who does everything for his own benefit and no one else not even his daughter. In his eyes Haru is a tool to gain status and power. Now then as people have said there is a metaverse which is like an alternate version of the world. Normally it just looks like the normal world except with a huge color shift. However there are individuals who have very strong warped desires, these desires are strong enough that they affect the metaverse and result in the creation of palaces which is a manifestation of those desires. A palace can be found only with the metaverse app and only after finding the correct keywords. First they need the name of the person, next they need to figure out what they see as the place they rule or see as their own, finally they need to figure out where the palace is. For example, the first palace the keywords are, "Kamoshida," "Castle," and "Shujin Academy" once those words are said the app will activate and take them to the metaverse. Uniquely everything else will appear normal but the location in question will look radically different. The Shadows of the Palace Rulers will be hyper exaggerated versions of the characters, as you see with Kamoshida he is mostly nude save his cloak and speedo's this is because he is perverted, see's himself as king and is overall just a downright abusive bastard. This game is quite fun and you'll resonate with it well should you decide to play it. Also don't let the numbering fool very rarely do the persona games interact with each other the closest is persona 4 and even then it briefly touches with Persona 3 and with only one character from 3. So if you've never played Persona, Persona 5 is good to start, I would recommend playing Royale version as it has so much combat and features refined it's almost a completely different game from the original. Of course if you don't want to play you can do my walkthrough but I do talk through it I try my best not to talk in cutscenes but again it's up to you guys. Anyway I hope I was able to help out in some way.
More persona 5 pls :D also you missed one from persona 5 Royal Royal is an updated version of the game with more content so it would be great to use it instead of the vanilla game
Totally unrelated, but as you guys have previously watched lore videos, such as Vaati's Elden Ring ones for example. Would you be down to react to Kirby lore? It's wacky as heck, and clashes a ton with the franchise's playful and cute front. The best recommendation I can think of is RPG Monger's "Attempting to Explain all of Kirby Lore in One Video", I think it's the name, they currently have two videos of Kirby Lore, but the first one, the one I mentioned is the most thorough but concise Kirby lore video in TH-cam I believe.
the enhanced version of Persona 5, Persona 5 Royale adds another party character that also has an awakening and Persona 5 Strikers adds 2 new persona users to the cast(though the new character introduced in P5Royale doesn't appear)
Now in case you guys don't know the location there in is called the Metaverse aka a Palace it's a realm in our reality made by human cognition or in a palace case one distorted by desires to form its own world with the rulers shadow in control. The reason why our heros awakens there power is because there rebelling against the rule of the Palace rulers and are becoming a threat Also each Palace is represented by a sin The Castle level (the guy in the Speedo) is known as the Castle of Lust The next level was of the old man artist called The museum of Vanity Then there's the Bank of Gluttony for the purple guy Then the Pyramid of Wrath for the woman sphinx thing (the girl with the UFO persona) Then there's the Space station of Greed for the rich girls dad (aka the girl that had a persona with a crap ton of guns) Then there's the Casino of Envy (best level of the game Then the Cruise ship of Pride (love the level and music HATED the boss story wise) And last two is Mementos/Prison of sloth that is the public palace And the laboratory of Empathy for the Royal version
To answer the questions about the masks it’s supposed to symbolize revealing your true self (a.k.a. Your persona) to the world
In more specifics, the Mask they are wearing represents their "compliance" with the society, the everyday mask we wear around people.
When they tear it off, it's a symbol of letting go of societal inhibitions and becoming a rebel.
The Masks become part of their costume, it's a sign of them now pretending to be part of the society for the sake of the ruse now, instead of being blind sheep, so to say, and whenever they use their Personas (the floating spirits) they tear the masks again to represent their "true selves".
The game is very Jungian
And sometimes "it hurts to be genuine"
The word "mask" in Latin is "persona"
I absolutely love the symbolism
The mask itself represents a facade. The attitude you put on to face whatever you are dealing with. And ripping the mask off is to reveal your true self, a glimpse to your abyss.
The mask aka persona, reflects on the person as is witnessed by the world.
Which is why they take names of famous characters.
Example Blondie/ryuuji, persona is captain kid, or William kid. A famous pirate.
Who once a noble lost it all. And with nothing to lose takes it all back.
Ryuuji, a former honor student and star track runner. Lost it all and was reduced and labeled as a mere delinquent. On his road to take it all back.
In this story, the main Personas are based on famous rogue, thieves, and rebels as the cast are fighting corruption in society via their counterparts in a shadow realm version of the real world. The ripping off of the mask represents taking off the unjust label the wicked tries to frame you as and turns it into a weapon to fight back. Then, as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, they dive into the collective consciousness to steal their target's motivation for their evil actions to trigger a change of heart and desire to repent.
Arsen is arsene lupin the phantom thief from the french novels .- represent the search of justice
Captain Kid is the famous pirate - represent revelion again injustice
Carmen is the main character from, the opera - represent freedom from misogeny ( literally)
Goemon is a legendary japanese folk character similar to Robin Hood. represent uncovering the vices of the world
Jeanne - is based on jeanne of arc, represent figthing spirit to a superior cause..
there is so much simbolism in those...
Ah the cat persona is The Zorro Btw
Makoto's persona is Johanna aka. Joan, the fabled female pope, representing breaking free of the unjust expectations society levies upon members simply due to birth, gender, etc.
to go a bit farther: it´s not only the personas that actually have some kind of meaning.
Also the shadows (and, since Persona is part of the "Shin Megami Tensei"-franchaise, also the demons shown in the Shin Megami Tensei -games, as they share the same enemies, although they´re called Shadows, or when recruited, Personas, in the Persona-games, while they are demons in the main SMT-games) are in the vast majority, if not all of them, based on multiple different folklore (especially, but not exclusively the japanese). Although, the Personas of the main protagonist-party are "special" and were specifically made for the characters and the game.
As someone who's beaten this game twice, this is still barely comprehensible lol
@@gexianhen Also
Necronomicon: Could be considered an object used by rebels or outcasts (Being cultists)
Milady: Based on Milady De Winter, a character from the 3 musketeers.
Robin Hood: A man who stole from the rich, gave to the poor.
Loki: A trickster god
Cendrillon: Cinderella, who could be considered an outcast and/or rebel from her family
Robbie goes hard as Akechi, should have won an award for that voice acting.
imma be hounest voice acting from the whole cast was top notch
Honestly
Easily my favorite English dub of any game
@@dekudude8888 Mine too, Robbie is quickly becoming my favorite VA of the decade.
Max Mittleman too😊
Nah because throughout this entire game Ryujis English VA goes SO hard it's amazing, like this man is must have destroyed his voice.
It's always the people who play the dorky guy friend who go the hardest. Junpei, Yosuke, and Ryuji are definitely my favorite guy characters per game.
Ryujis VA is Max Mittelman. An amazing VA in my opinion.
FOR REAL!?
His Japanese Va goes just as hard. Ryuji is just awesome
Max Mittleman and Robbie Daymond are so cracked in P5R
To immediately explain this. The masks in Persona 5 represents the facade that you have to put on because of society. When you take the mask off, you’re casting away those societal shackles and letting out your true innermost self, which is what the Persona represents.
And to give a little more detail on what "Shadow" people are, basically just the twisted deep desires of a person, the big ones who have their own realms called a "Palace" based on how much control they have in the real world and it represents what the actual person would imagine how they see where they are at (Like Kamoshida seeing the school he works in as his own Castle).
It would be fun to see ya'll play this! Although the game does set time limits in the form of days and it's of course a turn-based RPG game, so it has a bit of difficulty, the story is amazing, often having more darker problems as well.
The description of a Palace reminds me of something from Destiny lore. Powerful beings have a "Throne World" or a pocket dimension they can shape to their own will and they can only be truly killed within their Throne World. The more powerful they prove themselves to be the bigger the Throne World gets.
@@shadowboy0126 Yep, very similar.
To add to that, each "Ruler" represents a Cardinal Sin.
Ninja Kitty Morgana does actually have a Persona named Zorro that he uses at 6:30, it's just that he already had it at the start so he didn't get an epic awakening moment like the others.
Fitting name for the persona ☺️
@@DefinitelyNotDefinitiveGames Funny enough, Yusuke goes by the codename "Fox". Zorro is Spanish for "Fox", so if anything they should have given Zorro to Yusuke or another codename.
should have showed the cutsceen Zorro is first seen in
@@RustysRevenge It is compilation of Awakenings. Morgana as Shadow don't do that.
The whiplash from "oh yeah awesome bike" to "you're the reason she committed suicide" was insane
Also for context, the rotten adults they meet aren't the same guys who wronged them, kinda. They're the hearts of those evil people, and the way they look is based on what the evil person thinks about their domain (kamoshida thinks the school is his castle, so he's a king in his palace, kaneshiro thought of the city as his personal bank, so he's a bank manager, etc)
Thanks for adding the context 🙂
There’s also the Seven Deadly Sins motif. Each of the Palace creators embody one of them, and the Thieves who awaken in that particular Palace do seem to have the opposite traits. But I wouldn’t say there’s a Seven Heavenly Virtues motif for them, since it doesn’t quite match up the same way. Ann isn’t exactly the embodiment of Chastity to mirror Kamoshida’s Lust, for example, and Futaba doesn’t really have any of them to offset her own Sloth. But considering the juxtaposition of God and the Devil at the end of the game, it’s very interesting how the Palaces all have that motif while the “rebels, traitors, and thieves” are the ones to bring justice down upon the sinners personifying the Sins.
@@kadajsnightqueen Just to note, Futaba's Palace didn't represent Sloth, it represented Wrath.
For reference, all the bad guys in Persona 5 are “Shadows” of real people. The first guy, for example, is actually the school gym teacher who beats and sexually harasses his students (even blackmailing Ann, the blonde girl, into dating him) but gets away with it because he’s a former Olympian. As such, in the metaverse (where these awakenings are), his Shadow is a king and the school is his castle with the students as his slaves.
The Shadows are their mental state, literally inner demons., an exaggerated showing of their true self that they hide from society.
It's not just because the guy is an Olympian but because the school didn't want to deal with the hassle such a scandel would bring and more worried about the school's reputation. It was easier to just ignore it. Also that the adults in this world tend to brush off the words of children for the convenience.
I will always love Futaba and her shadow. It's an awesome nod to how the Persona 4 cast had so many problems because they rejected their shadow's words instead of listening to what they were truly saying at first.
Just think if Futaba didnt accept her Shadow it would have gone berserk, but i always love tha Nod to Persona 4
Well its harder to accept that the words are coming from you if people are near by, but futaba knew that they were doing something in her heart, which she would be smart enough that she knew it was her other self intuitively
Side note, she is the only one shown in 5 not to be in pain when awakening
@@deathblade32 There's also the fact that Futaba's Shadow was actively trying to help the real Futaba overcome her trauma. Unlike the Shadows in Persona 4, Shadow Futaba was not malevolent or hostile to the real Futaba. She represented the part of Futaba that knew her mother's death wasn't her fault and that her mother truly loved her.
@@gamester512 that's because futaba shadow is more accurate to our own shadow, research Carl gustav jung and you'll see how the whole persona franchise is based on his work
Something I love about Makoto's awakening (the one with the sick motorcycle) is that up to that point she is a very calm and upstanding person, not acting out and playing the role of the perfect student. Then she reaches her breaking point and thats why every seemed so surprise.
And yet outside the Metaverse she is very much "team mom" and the serious honor student.
She basically won't fold like a poker hand if someone in authority tells her to anymore.
i also like how shes the first member you dont have to encourage before her awakening, she just goes right for it herself
@@brandonwithnell612 yeah she was very ready to start fighting Kaneshiro. Tho, mostly cuz she does have an emotional tie to him to begin with. For everyone else, it’s a bigger deal for them to face the shadow of what’s usually an abusive figure in their lives. Kaneshiro and Makoto had no relation, so it wasn’t a rebellion against someone, it was a rebellion against herself.
@@brandonwithnell612 Makoto also hadn't been abused or manipulated by the Palace Master's human self for months (or years in Yusuke's case). In that she was more like Joker's awakening, a bunch of unconnected things piling on and the Master was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Also dont worry. Aside from the slave sister, makoto's thing was not sexual. It was about selling drugs.
Persona 5 is my top game of all time. Its the first and only game that made me legit feel sad it was over. Persona 5 is a 2016 role-playing video game developed by Atlus. It takes place in modern-day Tokyo and follows a high school student known by the pseudonym Joker who transfers to a new school after being falsely accused of assault and put on probation. Over the course of a school year, he and other students awaken to a special power, becoming a group of secret vigilantes known as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. They explore the Metaverse, a supernatural realm born from humanity's subconscious desires, to steal evil intent from the hearts of others.
Thanks for the quick summary of the game. 🙂
I'm not sure if anyone mentioned it yet but each persona awakening's speech had an overall message of how to stop wearing there masks that they presented to society and be there real selves:
from Penn_Anthony
Persona Awakening Speech Meanings
1) Joker/Arsene: Even if people hate you or the world is against you, you have to fight for what you believe is right even if that means there will be consequences for you.
2) Ryuji/Captain Kidd: If people already have low expectations of you, you might as well act however you want and enjoy yourself.
3) Ann/Carmen: You can't hold yourself back by calling yourself weak, or else all is lost. The only way to live is to go all out and not be afraid of what others might think.
4) Yusuke/Goemon: If you see that something is wrong, you can't fix it by averting your eyes. You have to live by your own sense of right and wrong and to hell with what others think of your choices.
5) Makoto/Johanna: You can't live a life where you do nothing but obey the will of others even if it may seem like that is the right choice. If you want to find your own path, you'll need to deviate from the norm.
6) Futaba/Necronomicon: Don't let others deceive you with their false claims. Find the truth for yourself and don't let others pollute your mind with their beliefs.
7) Haru/Milady: Even if someone is close to you, that doesn't give them the right to control your future. If they insist on forcing their ideals upon you, than you'll have no choice but to betray there expectations.
Still can't help but rewatch these awakenings due to how epic they are.
About futaba... "find the truth" hmmmm
Didn’t expect to see Persona on the channel so soon!
Persona is a branch of the Shin Megani Tensei franchise that is heavily character focused. In SMT: you summon demons in order to aid you in battle - often times these demons take the form of mythological deities and cryptids.
Persona, takes these demons and changes the script - with each “demon” representing the repressed personality of the individual: “The Shadow”. Persona takes heavy inspiration from Carl Jung’s Analytical (Jungian) psychology - which proposes that we all wear masks when interacting with others (a persona) when facing the worlds problems. When with those close to us, we reveal our true face behind our mask, our shadow: the best and worst parts of ourselves.
All the characters in Perosna 5 have personas themed after great thieves in ancient literature: from Zoro to Arsené Lupin (rival to Sherlock Holmes) himself.
Our protagonist (glasses kid with the black fuzzy hair) was convicted of assault after saving a woman from sexual assault. With his life and reputation now ruined he choose to hone the power of his Persona to steal the unconscious distorted desires of criminals, and bring them to justice.
Fun question: what what your Persona be? All of mythological and literature are yours to choose from - as long as they reflect your personality.
Personally? Anansi the Spider was always a personal favorite: the African equivalent of the tricker god Loki - he is a god of knowledge and wisdom. Preferring to outsmart his enemies as opposed to fight them.
That’s a great persona to pick 😀 Not sure what ours would be. So many options to choose from 😅🤔
My persona would be Avalon. The mythical sheaf of king Arthur's sword Excalibur.
If I had to pick, I'd go with Hephaestus, Greek god of the fire and the forge. He was always defined as kind and hard working, but ugly in the eyes of the other gods, so I think that would fit me really well.
Arsene wasn't the rival of Sherlock Holmes. James Moriarty was. Arsene was a "Gentleman Thief" who only targeted other criminals and acted to help and protect innocent people. There are people who debate whether Holmes would be able to catch Arsene, yes, but to the best of my knowledge they have never met or interacted with each other in any way.
As for who my Persona would be, that's an easy question to answer. It would be the biblical Archangel, Michael. The reason? Ever since my first time playing SMT 3: Nocturne, where I got him from a fusion accident at just *LEVEL 13* when Michael himself was *LEVEL 91* , ever since then, he *ALWAYS* appears for me whenever I need him most, as long as the game doesn't "lock" him behind some sort of quest. He has quite literally become my "guardian angel" in the entire SMT/Persona franchise.
@@gamester512
Arsène Lupin III crossed over with Sherlock Holmes in a crossover novel created in a novel by the very same name published in 1908 by _Maurice Leblanc._ The title of the novel was quite literally *Arsène Lupin Contre Sherlock Holmes.*
The two were specifically described as nemesis in the novel due to Lupin getting the upper hand over Holmes in the early portions of the book.
This is even a trivia fact _in game_ - and is referenced several other ways that I can’t say due to spoilers. Joker’s persona is based on this version ad Lupin, well as the entirety of the main parties Personas being based I primarily in their _literature interpretations_ - not the ones based in reality.
This gonna be good! In Akihiko's words: "I've been waiting for this!"
Did ya see that Shinji ?
Tres Bien!!!!
"Marin Karin!"
Woof woof
@@magnumsteel9770 Makima simps be like:
Definitely suggest playing this game for you to understand everything that is going on. Every single one of these stories is emotional and amazing.
Now to have you guys react to the characters from Persona 5 Royal + Scramble awakenings, maybe even showtime attacks. 👀
Great video and reaction as always! 😊👌🏾
😎👍😀 thanks for recommending more stuff to check out from series
@Definitely Not Definitive - Games You're very welcome! Always love and am looking forward to your content on this channel. 😊👍🏾
YES!!! You have no clue how much I wanted to see this! From a presentation standpoint Persona 5 has the best awakenings in the series
PS: The video didn't have every awakening. Royal and Strikers have a few more if you wanna check them out
We will have to check those out in a separate vid 😅
@@DefinitelyNotDefinitiveGames Alright, have fun!
Ive been waiting for you guys to go back to more persona the concept of this game and it's story is a beautiful thing
The “69” symbol you guys saw during Futaba’s awakening is actually the astrological symbol for Cancer (♋️). I couldn’t tell you what correlation it has to the aesthetics of Futaba’s palace though 😅😅.
The cat already has a Persona, he had it unlocked before you met him. So he never had an awakening scene
The Persona games are sooooo good! Very long and time consuming but fun nonetheless
We heard they are about 100 hours 😯
@@DefinitelyNotDefinitiveGames it does take about 100 hours. But it’s not 100 hours of downtime. You really need all of those hours to progress and get story elements. Fortunately the game also gives you a multitude of stopping points and breaks so you don’t get overwhelmed.
@@fun_police8011 Yep. And it also offers "New Game Plus" that allows you to play through again to get things you might have missed in your first playthrough, or to try and get one of the other endings. They're pretty long games, yes, but the story is great, as are the characters, and you are always able to take a break whenever you want and then return to the game later.
Persona 5 Royal even adds the "Thieves Den" optional area where you can just relax and play cards with the other Phantom Thieves and witness other stuff and interactions you wouldn't see in the main game. And then there's Strikers, which is effectively a "sequel" to the original Persona 5, but it plays much more like a Dynasty Warriors game as it's more of an action/hack-and-slash game, with none of the turn-based stuff being present. It would still be better to play P5 Royal before Strikers in order to have a better understanding of the story and characters though, but it's by no means a requirement.
I love the persona games and it’s neat seeing people get into it. I will say though these persona awakenings would probably be way more emotional and cool with the context and the journey to that point though. But damn the game is really long but fun. Especially Persona 5 Royal which adds another character who has there own persona awakening too. It’s just a really really good game. And the personas are cool. Love Johanna and Loki, some of my favorite of the bunch.
The main theme of this game is: Rebellion and Freedom.
Rebel against those who hold power, and abuse said power to stand above others, and be completely free. Taking or ripping off the mask symbolizes that same act of taking our mask and releasing our true self we keep hidden away. A persona is the true self, and a shadow is the opposite of that; but they are both parts of the being, accepting your shadow is accepting yourself, hence creating your true persona.
I love this game; also, you did miss one which is from the re-release Persona 5 Royal; but it's fine, I'm glad you reacted to one of my favorite games of all time.
I literally just beat my first ever playthrough (200 hour) game today! Was bawling my eyes out 😭. Easily my favorite game of all time now, I am extremely looking forward to this reaction!!!!
Kinda sad that this video only included vanilla P5, I really wanted to see your reaction to Maruki.
While all the characters on P5 are meant to be indisputably evil people who abuse their power in the social hierarchy, Maruki (bonus boss for P5 Royal) is one of those cases in which the main villain has good intentions all throughout and seems to be legitimately sad when you want to stop him.
Honestly one of the best Persona antagonists next to Nyarlathotep.
Yeah, no Yoshizawa either
The awakenings in Strikers were really good, too.
@@dustinrausch5008 oh for sure. Though 2 are well done too
@@dustinrausch5008 yeah, Wolf’s awakening was awesome
We will have to check out the ones for Persona Royal 🙂
So the heroes in Persona 5 have personas based on thieves in various works of fiction and history, which goes well with the story of them being Phantom Thieves.
All personas in the games are manifestations of concepts of the collective human mind, usually taking the forms of mythical creatures, demigods, angels, demons, and legends from all over the world. Persona is very much influenced from Niche's philosophy. The yellow eyes usually symbolize the emergence of one's inner shadow. The villains in these cinematics aren't the physical people but rather their egos manifested in their own "palaces", the way they perceive themselves in the world. They aren't good people as Kamoshida demonstrates very clearly with the first three characters.
You guys had some great takeaways and noticed a lot about the themes of the persona games with this minimum exposure. Hope to see you react to more persona in the future!
Yes! My favorite part of the Persona games. Always so intense seeing their awakenings. As for the cat, Mona, he already had an awakened Persona which is why he didn’t get an awakening. The most Mona got was a reveal of his Persona Zorro which was before Ryuji awakened Captain Kidd.
Yes!!! More persona content!!! I hope they react to persona 3 and 4 awakenings as well, as each game is different with the ways the main characters summon their persona!!
I'm sure for people who haven't played the game or watched the anime series, watching these without any context would be quite bizzare 😅 I love makoto with the bike still my favourite awakening but futaba's story was fantastic loved that so much
So here is a brief synopsis of the Awakened Persona each character has.
Joker/MC: Arsene- The gentleman thief Arsene Lupin
Morgana/the cat- I know we don't see his but I figure you'd like to know but he has Zorro, the folk hero of Spanish California.
Ryuji- Captain Kidd, legendary pirate
Ann- Carmen, gypsy woman and titular character of the opera
Yusuke- Goemon, legendary Japanese thief/ninja Goemon Ishikawa
Makoto- Johanna, the erased from history or folk tale female Pope Johanna
Futaba- Necronomicon, as in the book from H P Lovecraft lore
Haru- Milady, funny that you called out her Three Musketeers design as her Persona is Milady de Winter from the same story
Akechi- Robin Hood, legendary thief.....and then Loki, God of Mischief
Endgame Joker- Satanael, the true form of Satan
It's a cognitive science fantasy game themed after a loose interpretation of Jungian psychology. The characters enter into a psycho-space/cognitoverse/noosphere type of otherworld that resembles Shin Megami Tensei where cognitive concepts are made manifest in physical form and encounter shadows (in Jungian psychology shadows are the part of one's self that is hidden from the outside world) and awaken to their Personas (personae are mental masks that represent how you or your ego ((the self)) wish to be seen) that they can use to protect themselves in the other world.
The titular Persona in not just Persona 5 but the other games are based on the ideas of Psychologist Carl Jung. He described the Persona as "a kind of mask", designed on the one hand, to make a definite impression on others, and on the other, to conceal the true nature of the individual. There was also the Shadow, one's hidden or suppressed desires. He also was the guy who came up with the Collective Unconscious.
"We all wear masks, and the time comes when we cannot remove them without removing some of our skin." - André Berthiaume. Something that applies well here.
Also in Gnosticism Yaldabolth is a god that wanted to control humans and Satanael is the Archangel that rebelled against him and gave humanity free will.
So in a game where all personas are gentleman thieves, and a pirate, and a femme fatale, the ultimate persona is also the ultimate rebel.
I'm glad they gave it another chance. The Awakenings are one of the best parts of the game! And now you guys have a better understanding of the storyline and themes of Persona 5.
I love Persona never thought I'd see you react to this! The concept of this story is complex and beautiful, thanks for reacting to this!
Hopefully you guys will do the awakening's of both royal and strikers.
Thanks for doing this, nice to see a recommendation on completed
Man it looks like it hurts but it’s awesome how they awaken themselves
Also context for the ann awakening and the conversation with Kamoshida: In the real world Ann has pretended to date the real Kamoshida for weeks to gain infos on him and she is best friends with a girl named shiho, who is on the volleyball team Kamoshida supervises. Kamoshida has a history of physically abusing the male members of the team and sexually harrassing the female ones, which mind you is not even a secret, evreyone at the school knows about it but it is ignored because of the prestige the team brings to the school and if I say evreyone, I mean evreyone, the school principal, the victims parents... After a particular harsh assault on her, Shiho attempts to commit suicide and at the point in the story where the cutscene takes place it is unclear if she will survive.
😳😱
@@DefinitelyNotDefinitiveGames Yeah, for all that he's just the starter villain, Kamoshida is the one that inspires the most visceral hate from most folks, mostly because his evil is just. so. personal, unlike the rest.
Though you guys are missing a lot of context I definitely think you got the point the transformation of the kids and the summoning of their persona.
Love this video and I definitely love the ending talk.
Welcome to persona 5. The first villian; kamoshida, the pervert teacher. The one who physically abuses his students. Nominates one of the volleyball team to be beated when he is angry. Sexual predator to Ann to the point rumors spread that they are... "together".. and raped her best friend because she wouldnt give herself up to him. She then later tried to commit suicide.
Ye... welcome to persona 5
there's still no clearance about whether Kamoshida raped Shiho or physically abused her very hard, the game doesn't clarify this moment and leaves it to player for come to their own conclusion.
@@x_Psyduck_x makes me angrier with kamoshida to believe so. Tho is super sad
@@x_Psyduck_x In Ann's awakening sequence, his shadow pretty strongly implies that it wasn't just a beating.
@@BigusGeekus Yeah looking at the way Kamoshida is dressed and that whole scene where it’s apparent how he sees the female players make it pretty obvious he wasn’t just beating them
The kitty's persona was already awakened before meeting up with you, the protagonist.
The cat does have a Persona, but because he isn't human he already unlocked it, it's called Zorro.
Also each villain personified a deadly sin (plus Vanity and Sorrow), the PE Teacher was Lust, the Artist was Vanity, The Gangster (Bank Manager) was Gluttony, The Sphinx (Futaba's Mother) was Wrath, Haru's father (Space Man) was Greed, the others are Pride, Envy and Sorrow (not shown).
Akechi is at the same time Emptiness and Envy (this video they react is for vanilla P5. The boss of Sorrow is only of P5 Royal) and the thing with the deep voice who gets shot in the face by the building size Persona is the Seven Deadly Sins at once.
Most likely you already know it, but for those who don't, better keep it like this.
@@branlopgar even though Yaldabaoth uses all of the sins, he is supposed to represent sloth
Yusuke's awakening is hands down my favorite
For the record, Morgana (the kitty, though don't call him that to his face. He hates being called a cat) does have a persona. He just didn't get a cutscene showing his. It's Zorro.
Highly suggest checking out the royal and strikers awakenings, Violet & wolf have good ones and especially Sophia's and Maruki's are really deep in the symbolism
You're actually right about The Three Musketeers reference. Milady, Haru's persona, is based off from there
Nice 😀
This has to be my favorite video you guys have done so far. Love you guys.
It's always awesome as a diehard persona fan to see people going into the series basically blind. I find it really interesting how far you guys are able to go with identifying some of the overarching themes and topics of the game from essentially just a collection of clips from the game.
I don't know much about the channel yet, but for a compilation like this I think it'd be really cool and engaging if you two gave some sort of like opinion/analysis between clips, or maybe even like some sort of guesses about what the story could be about. I think that'd really personalise the reaction vid and make it unique, and maybe even give a bit more engagement with the audience on whether you guys are close or not.
Man I haven’t seen this series in a while, I recommend following this up with the Persona 5 Royal awakenings and the Persona 5 Strikers awakenings
God damn the futaba chapter always gets me. to give some explaination: Futaba lost her mother who worked on some technology. she was then murdered with a suicide note being made to blame Futaba. which leads Futaba to close herself in her room for a long time. to the point she was almost dying from guilt (she was considering suicide. she was also a amazing hacker and used her skills to track down the Phantom thieves (the main protagonists gang) and asking them to help steal her heart (it is basically her dark thoughts which makes people get twisted). as you saw she learned that the note was fake and try to battle her darkness and guilt. but after you help her, she is then in need of help to try and be able to talk to people because she has become extremely shy due to her isolation.
This was great. Morgana the kitty does have a Persona but you don’t see his awakening. His persona is Zorro
As someone who for years only got to experience this game on TH-cam. Then when the games got posted to the Xbox & switch. Seeing these scenes first hand is much better.
Been waiting for this one!
Interesting you compare Haru's costume to a Musketeer, her Persona is based off of Milady de Winter, a villain from The Three Musketeers.
Also the ending when Satanael (Satan) is summoned and finishes the final boss always gives me goosebumps.
If you think these awakenings alone are wild, there's about three more between Persona 5 Royal (remake) and Persona 5 Strikers (Warriors-styled sequel).
You'll love the stories behind the franchise
Ninja kitty (his name is Morgana) has a Persona that we don’t get an awakening for since he had it before meeting Ren (Joker) and Ryuji (Skull) and it’s Zorro
I highly recommend a playthrough. This game is long, but it will absolutely rock your world.
I'd watch. :)
One of my favourite games of all time, hope to see more from you guys about Persona!
Morgana (the cat) does have a persona, he had already awakened his before the game started and he’s the one that teaches the player how to use your persona
Joker: “Your god like power is no match for my gun.”
For his final smash, Joker uses a gun.
So the Persona series using a lot of Carl Jung psychology with the persona, the shadow and the true self. There’s that saying that comes from it that people wear mask to hide their true self and the characters tear off their mask to be their true self and show off their persona while fighting shadows and peoples darkness.
Also Morgona the ninja kitty actually does have a persona and idk why this video didn’t show it but it’s name is Zorro. A lot of their personas since they are known as thieves and they steal things are named after tricksters. The main character Joker’s persona is Arsene named after Arsene Lupin one of Sherlock Holmes rivals. Ryuji had Captain Kidd named after William Kidd. Ann has Carmen named after a gypsy by the same opera. Yusuke had Goemon who is the Japanese Robin Hood. Makoto has Johanna which is a female pope she was able to trick people to thinking she was a man. Futaba has Necronomicon named after the same book which is found in H.P. Lovecrafts stories. Haru has Milady who is actually a character from the Three Musketeers and is a villain from that story. Akechi has Loki the trickster god and actually also has a second persona called Robin Hood which was a coverup. The last persona shown was actually Joker’s ultimate persona basically an evolution of his base persona and everyones persona can evolve, named Satanael which is another interpretation of Lucifer since their is already a Satan and Lucifer persona in the series since there’s alot of interpretations of them.
Love that you guys are liking Persona 5. You should totally react to the showtime attacks as well as the stuff from P5R/P5S
Yes! Been waiting for this video to dropped ever since you watched the last Persona video lol
Though it had no "awakening," sequence, I wanted to mention that the kitties persona is Zoro, based on the vigilante from the novel and film "the mark of Zoro"
The overall series is quite creative to the topic of one's mask or "persona" they use to face everyday life. In 5 it's a literal mask. In 4 it's a playing card. In 3 it's their reflection of their spirit in the face of their last moments. Prior to that is their literal shadow, but that far back can be reasonably neglected by most. To each game is this other world that holds the truths of others, but presented differently game to game. In 3 is a 25th hour on the clock, the Dark Hour. In 4 is the TV World of shadows. In 5 are Palaces of the corruptions to their core, often residing around defining figures and reflecting their views.
Well this was an unexpected surprise.
I never saw it coooommmmmiiiiiinnnggggg!!!!!!
Makoto is the best.
So f***in’ cool every time. Plus the best line in the game:
“Nah dude. That’s a bike”
Also “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka” slaps. Great reference.
For a little context on the villains:
Kamoshida is an Olympic volleyball player who uses his fame to take advantage of the girls he coaches at their school; trading sexual favors for kind treatment.
Madarame is an art thief obviously, but his master forgery was a painting of a woman and her child, and that woman was the mother of the guy who awakened in that scene.
Kaneshiro is a loan shark who gets kids to sell illegal product to lock them into his ownership forever.
Wakaba is the murdered mother of the girl who awakened, but she believed it was her fault for her mother's death.
The food mogul was the father of the girl who awakened there, and he was essentially a slaver working employees to death and tried selling his daughter off to the competition's CEO.
Sae is the sister of the girl with the bike, she's a prosecutor who will do anything to win her case and advance in the system, including putting innocents away.
Goro was just flat out a murderer trying to impress his father, the Prime Minister, named Shido.
Shido is the corrupt PM who got the first character who awakened thrown into the judicial system. He was harassing a woman on the street, Joker stepped in, and the cops took the word of the politician because the woman wouldn't speak up. Shido also had numerous people killed to ascend to power.
If either or both of you ever have the time, the game definitely deserves your play through, but it does take quite a bit of time to complete, and especially so if you play the Persona 5 Royal, which is how the game should have been released originally. It's really well written.
To answer the question of "what's the deal with these guys and sex slaves?": to make the villains as detestable as possible.
The heroes' method of justice essentially boils down to a form of mental manipulation. The characters themselves question the morality of this action. It becomes more easy to justify when the villains are truly the worst.
Fun fact, everyones' outfit after awakening to their persona reflects their idea of 'rebellion'
Ahhhh persona 5.... the game where you save Christmas by battling god with the power of Satan
A version of him from gnosticism :)
I feel like playing the game would give more context to what’s going on. And makoto the girl with the bike is my favorite character, while her enemy the bank manager is actually a mob/mafia boss.
this is one of my favorite games of recent years. I bet seeing these clips got you interested in playing the game as well. I am thou, Thou art I is a genius saying which became something I myself adopted
A Persona is who you pretend to be to the world to protect yourself, symbolized by the mask. It protects you by not letting anyone get to know the real you.
But if you can rip off the mask, and present who you really are to the world, the persona can switch from defense to offense, and then you will have great power.
the whole series is based off Jungian Psychology and the Tarot. the fighting takes place in the collective subconscious, where you can see who people really are. The really bad people have carved an entire domain for themselves out of the collective subconscious making the levels of the game.
The raw ripping of the masks also symbolizes how hard it is to face and accept your true self in the face of an unjust reality. P5 is perfect in every way but the villains deserve a special shout-out. Of course, there is the super-natural aspect of the game but most of us have seen or heard of jerk teachers, corrupt politicians or company heads, and that makes P5 more relatable. And I hope you try P5 Royal as well because it also explores the fact that being a 'villain' or 'enemy' does not mean they are evil but instead they could simply have a different way of thinking than you, and could very well be right in the eyes of others.
10:04 they have the mask on, and when the ripped the mask off, they release their "persona", their true self, their inner power, and each persona symbolize with major arcanas from tarot cards, for example the protagonist's main arcana is "The Fool", means that he's a blank canvas
You should do the awakenings in 5 Royal and 5 Strikers too. Also, the previous Persona games.
Persona 4 especially had some great awakenings, all which revolved around self-acceptance and the strength of friendship, much along the lines of the themes you mentioned. Akechi in P5 is also described as having the same power as Joker but his isolation and lack of connections (plus outside interference) put him in the situation he was in against the rest of the phantom thieves and is the reason why he never gained the ability to use more than two/three personas (while Joker can use many). Royal expands on Akechi too.
I enjoyed this wayyy more than I thought I would 😂
The way joker peels the mask off is absolutely the most painful looking one.
I kind of felt like Skull/Ryuji ripping his off looked almost like he took his face with it.
@@BigusGeekus All of theirs looks like that, I think that is the implication actually.
@@nafereuskortex9055 You're probably right, but Ryuji's made it look that much more blatant to me.
i recommend the strikers and royal awakenings aswell
Morgana would be so mad watching this video being called a kitty so much
There are two more Persona awakening that don't appear in this video because they are from the spin-off/sequel game Persona 5: Strikers, as well as one more from Persona 5: Royal, both games of which I believe came out after this "All Awakenings" video did.
Persona 5 is such a good game
YES i never see anyone react to these and i love them
It's not jaundice, the Shadows of people have glowing yellow eyes. The protagonists display them as well when they first accept their Shadow in this game, which then allows them to use their Persona.
I mean this in best way possible but you remind me or proJared when he wasn't doing bad stuff :x you both seem so wholesome and sweet! I'm married and I've definitely wanted to do something like this for fun with my husband but still thinking about it. Thanks for the inspiration you two are so cute!! 😊
The Persona series is fantastic at illustrating the mental struggles we go through.
Remember the social and political issues within the story of Persona are Japanese in nature. If you're interested in better context about these villians and the issues these characters face, I would reccomend videos from Lady Virgilia. Most of these villians represent actual ongoing problems in Japanese society. Take the sports coach Kamoshida at the start for example. High school teachers in Japan have a lot more influence and sway over the future of their students than in countries like the US. There's a lot of interesting cultural differences going on. Understanding them makes Persona an even better franchise in my mind.
Alot of people have explained this series well, I actually have a playthrough of this game and it's actually a playthrough where I got a perfect Social Link by mistake. But to dig a bit deeper each character is basically an outcast of society in their own unique ways.
In the case of the main character who has 2 different names, Akira Kurusu in the anime and Ren Amamiya in the manga. In his case he was falsely accused of attacking someone and that someone used his connections to basically set him up as a psychopath. This has caused people to see him as this dangerous criminal when he is anything but.
As for Ryuji he's a bit of a hothead who often shoots his mouth off when he should keep it shut. His hotheadedness has gotten into alot of trouble and he's seen as the delinquent.
Ann is Half-Japanese and because of her, forced, relationship with Kamoshida she's seen as basically a whore who sleeps with older men to make things easier for her and get favors.
Yusuke is more complicated he's a bit of a weirdo with a bit of an overinflated ego and has very little social skills which causes him to ask things that are outlandish, but in reality he is taken advantage of by his mentor who stole artworks from his past pupils. Yusuke however stays by his side because his mentor raised him pretty much all his life.
For Makoto she's seen as the perfect girl who is willing to do anything to ensure she get's into a good school. This causes alot of pressure on her as she is forced to maintain this perfect image though in reality she is struggling very hard to maintain this image and wants to help her sister who is... well that'd be spoilers so not sure if you want that.
Futaba is what Japan calls hikikomori, which is basically a shut in. After an... incident with her mother she closed herself off from the world and is haunted both by memories of her abusive relatives as well as false memories of her mother. Futaba is unique in that she has a palace which I'll explain in a bit.
Finally there is Haru, she's a curious case in that she's an outcast due to her status. She is the daughter of a wealthy company, Okumura Foods which owns the very popular fast food joint, Big Bang Burger. She's mostly an outcast with her father because he's the type who does everything for his own benefit and no one else not even his daughter. In his eyes Haru is a tool to gain status and power.
Now then as people have said there is a metaverse which is like an alternate version of the world. Normally it just looks like the normal world except with a huge color shift. However there are individuals who have very strong warped desires, these desires are strong enough that they affect the metaverse and result in the creation of palaces which is a manifestation of those desires. A palace can be found only with the metaverse app and only after finding the correct keywords. First they need the name of the person, next they need to figure out what they see as the place they rule or see as their own, finally they need to figure out where the palace is. For example, the first palace the keywords are, "Kamoshida," "Castle," and "Shujin Academy" once those words are said the app will activate and take them to the metaverse. Uniquely everything else will appear normal but the location in question will look radically different. The Shadows of the Palace Rulers will be hyper exaggerated versions of the characters, as you see with Kamoshida he is mostly nude save his cloak and speedo's this is because he is perverted, see's himself as king and is overall just a downright abusive bastard.
This game is quite fun and you'll resonate with it well should you decide to play it. Also don't let the numbering fool very rarely do the persona games interact with each other the closest is persona 4 and even then it briefly touches with Persona 3 and with only one character from 3. So if you've never played Persona, Persona 5 is good to start, I would recommend playing Royale version as it has so much combat and features refined it's almost a completely different game from the original. Of course if you don't want to play you can do my walkthrough but I do talk through it I try my best not to talk in cutscenes but again it's up to you guys. Anyway I hope I was able to help out in some way.
More persona 5 pls :D
also you missed one from persona 5 Royal
Royal is an updated version of the game with more content so it would be great to use it instead of the vanilla game
Totally unrelated, but as you guys have previously watched lore videos, such as Vaati's Elden Ring ones for example.
Would you be down to react to Kirby lore?
It's wacky as heck, and clashes a ton with the franchise's playful and cute front.
The best recommendation I can think of is RPG Monger's "Attempting to Explain all of Kirby Lore in One Video", I think it's the name, they currently have two videos of Kirby Lore, but the first one, the one I mentioned is the most thorough but concise Kirby lore video in TH-cam I believe.
25:52 the fact that their literally is a ghost rider persona (Called Hell Biker)
If you can find a compilation of the Persona 4 cast interacting with their shadows, i would recommend watching and reacting to it
the enhanced version of Persona 5, Persona 5 Royale adds another party character that also has an awakening and Persona 5 Strikers adds 2 new persona users to the cast(though the new character introduced in P5Royale doesn't appear)
the theme of p5 is to rebell against sociaty and adults that opress you, I love it and it hits home to many people
Now in case you guys don't know the location there in is called the Metaverse aka a Palace it's a realm in our reality made by human cognition or in a palace case one distorted by desires to form its own world with the rulers shadow in control. The reason why our heros awakens there power is because there rebelling against the rule of the Palace rulers and are becoming a threat
Also each Palace is represented by a sin
The Castle level (the guy in the Speedo) is known as the Castle of Lust
The next level was of the old man artist called The museum of Vanity
Then there's the Bank of Gluttony for the purple guy
Then the Pyramid of Wrath for the woman sphinx thing (the girl with the UFO persona)
Then there's the Space station of Greed for the rich girls dad (aka the girl that had a persona with a crap ton of guns)
Then there's the Casino of Envy (best level of the game
Then the Cruise ship of Pride (love the level and music HATED the boss story wise)
And last two is Mementos/Prison of sloth that is the public palace
And the laboratory of Empathy for the Royal version
I like Carmen and Milady the best. Something about fighting in extravagant dresses is just **chef's kiss**