This is a video of culture. It'd be fantastic if you met people like (say) Haru every day, but in reality you're far more likely to meet an Ai or a Mishima and have to learn to appreciate their good qualities and deal with their flaws.
Thank you, and I agree wholeheartedly about meeting people like Ai. I think it’s good to have realistic characters in these games, not everyone is going to be super friendly and nice to you like Haru, and that’s why I think it’s important to have people like Ai, a rude snob (at first) that we all know from our own high school experiences. Some people we have to dig to find the better parts of it, and I think she’s very good and real because of that.
Mishima’s good qualities: you can increase your Confidant with him even if you treat him like shit. Mishima’s flaws: almost everything else (I lie... it is everything else)
Ai is one of my favorite social links, largely because I feel it ties into the theme of P4 the best. P4 tells us to not merely accept the first things we hear or see, but dig deeper and discover the truth for ourselves. There's an irony to be found in that a lot of people who love P4 also disregard a character like Ai because of a bad first impression. She's also very human. There's no crazy dramatic backstory, it's a perfectly believable set of circumstances for a teenage girl. I think the roof scene was a bit much though.
That is so true! I never even thought about how there was an irony like that but you’re so right, in a game encouraging you to dig deep a good majority of people see her first rank or two and then complain that she’s terrible, never seeing her character arc fully through. And agreed she is very realistic I’d say, though yeah the roof scene was a bit dramatic hahaha
The roof scene was played more for comedic effect showing just how far she can take things to exaggerate her reactions, as she's used to always get what she wants, but I don't think she really intended to do that. She just needed her time and someone to talk to. Attention seeking.
@@HeavenlyM nah, all the girls u meet in persona should immediately suck ur wiener dry instead of disliking u. since they can already experience that irl.
@@HeavenlyM all the girls should immediately bend over for the player in persona. if they wanted a girl to dislike them, then they can just go outside lolol
@@HeavenlyM all the girls should immediately be head over heels for the player in persona. if they wanted a girl to dislike them, then they can just go outside lolol
Funny thing I play this game months ago and when I finish Ai's social link, it actually surprise me that she wasn't a party member counting the themes in the game; facing the truth and accepting who you, the worse parts of yourself (your shadow) and well - the moon social link actually fits the themes of the game quite well, they have to learn to accept themselves. Honestly her social link was pretty unique from her having a crush on a character from a different social link which it changes based on what sports team your on to where you can go out with her earlier and it changes the dynamic completely (I didn't accept tho since I was dating Yukiko at the time and I wouldn't accept the confession of someone who wanted to kill themselves moments before, but I would of accepted her confession much later) and it made me wish that we get more unique social links like Ai's so when I see hatred for the character, it disappoints me because I found Ai to be pretty interesting as a character by the end and enjoy the story she had.
Agreed, and seriously I didn’t even think about it like that, you’re so right, she fits the games themes and accepting yourself so well, she underwent what pretty much every party member did. And yeah I did like that unique aspect of her social link as well, made the game feel a bit more alive including other people in there. And yeah I’m disappointed when I see the hate for her too, it’s what made me want to talk about her in the first place. She actually grows and people hate her and that is just dumbfounding to me.
It seems many people stop after the first few ranks and decide they hate the character, but I am the opposite her attitude motivates me to try learning what her problem is and if she gets better.
@thealliedpowers okay I went to check and dang, Rise looks like Saki or Ai a bit so Ai being a navigator would of been cool - honestly I felt like Ai and Naoki should of been party members, they were the 2 I felt would of fit the themes of the story with Ai or story reasons with Naoki since I think he probably would be on board finding his sister's killer.
Honestly I hate it when people hate on Mishima because he's a "simp" or he's a "loser". I feel like most people dislike him just because he's not some strong-hearted unflawed hero, but to me that's literally his appeal. He's just an average, a bit insecure, teen boy going through his own issues. Yes he's no Joker, Akechi, Ryuji, or Yusuke, which are all people with super strong motives and eccentric personality, but he still has his goals and flaws to overcome and no matter how small they are, they matter. Not every character needs to be the best person ever in the world for you to look up to or even hate, some of them are just regular flawed individuals. I also find his growth interesting, and his issues are ones I relate to, since I also latched onto a friend and was kinda annoying, and also had problems with my confidence. But I guess people find him a bit whiny in his social link, and I did too but he grew on me hard. For the actual topic on the video, yeah I really like Ai. They actually redeemed the "Bitchy popular girl" trope in her social link.
Honestly, it's funny. Ai's character development is so well done, part of me wonders if there was ever a version of the story where she was an optional party member.
I actually dated a girl just like Ai for the better part of a year. Beautiful, but also self-centric, talking non-stop about all the guys she turned down, and she did turn many of our dates into shopping sprees for her. However, her softer, kinder side did appear with the time. When I got a new job she bought me a cake, and when I got sick she treated me the entire weekend. If like Ai's later s.ranks she could really change that much... maybe we would have been married today.
I'm so glad somebody made this video. I've been trying to tell people that Ai Ebihara is a great character for over a decade, and people just don't ever want to hear it. I even made the mistake of choosing to date her immediately only for her to dump me, and I still ended up valuing her character more than many others. She's honestly so complex and interesting. To be fair, I just love well-written mean girls, so it was easier for me to tolerate her attitude, but that doesn't change the fact that the stuff in your video is all pretty on point. I'm actually playing P4G right now, and it's my first time playing P4 in the last decade, so I'm looking forward to how much my perception of the characters and story will change now that I'm an adult.
It's often the more hated characters that are the deepest (i.e. Yukari, Ken, and Teddie) I'm not sure how popular Ai is with the Japanese community, but I do know that Yukari, Ken, and Teddie are fairly popular there. Heck Yukari is Soejima's second favorite Persona character, behind only Aigis.
@@marrowyoutube it's mostly due to a mistranslation. In the Japanese version, after *spoilers* dies, Ken feels bad because he thought *spoilers* died because of him. In the localized release, he actually wishes he would have killed *spoilers*
Man, Ai's Social Link is one of the roughest to go through, cuz you'll either end up real happy or really damn sad, but that's why ot's so great, cause not all good things have to be happy, and her realizing that, in the bad route and in the good one were you reject her, you and her weren't meant to be, and in the romnce one, she learns to love herself and you.
I think way more links need to take inspiration from Ai, with branching design, possible breakability, and actual changes in attitude towards the protagonist beyond "not horny to horny". P5, love it, but it reduces everything to a simple formula where you inevitably erase their problem via metaverse. Took me a few times to get Ai's link because I was a purely horny persona fan once. Then again I like Yukari and rationalize her Answer meltdown. There's not enough "bitchy" characters in Persona, that's the reality of high school and life. Mishima underrated af, makes me emotional seeing him collect those signatures
I think the most surprising thing about doing a blind playthrough of P4G was finding out a lot of people hate Marie and Ai, I really enjoyed their social links and character progression
Definitely some day, I've played FES and am going through Portable and she's another really realistic character that doesnt deserve a vast majority of the hate she gets
I personally liked Fuka better, but damn was Yukari a great character. I don’t see why people hate her, especially after finishing the answer! She’s in grieving and is desperate to see Makoto again, out of all the character, well maybe next to Junpei, she is the most realistic and well written. I felt as though she could be a real person.
It's great that you bring up Mishima, since they both represent the Moon arcana, and their arcs have a lot of parallels. They both deal the traumatic bullying, and the feel worthless as a result. They both assume that being at the top of the social ladder will solve all their problems. They both find true self-esteem, with help from a friendly protagonist. My friend told me that the Moon in tarot symbolizes deep emotional work, which can be scary to do. It totally fits both characters. Makes me want to study how the other characters relate to their arcana. Great video!
I chose Ai in my first play through. I saw myself reflected in her (as a guy version). When I was little I was bullied to the point where it became emotional and physical abusive. I decided one day to become smarter and fitter than my bullies. I once reached my goal by doing Boxing and Soccer; started reading books grades ahead of my level. My bullies started fearing me because I hung out with the “cool kids” a couple grades higher. I was part of the biggest pack at school, but it came with the price of hurting others. I saw who I was becoming and sobbed one night. I left that group and befriended the kid the group would pick on. He’s the one who introduced me to Anime, RPGs, and much more. I’ll never regret breaking free from that terrible mold of a person I was becoming.
It only just hit me that some of the most hated characters in the fandom, are somehow the most realistic. It’s kinda sad that people hate characters because they aren’t this all-mighty hero who has 0 flaws whatsoever. That’s why I like characters like Mishima, Ken and Ai because I can relate to all of them
Ai is my fave SL in p4. I actually relate to how she feels right now. Similar to her, I feel as if my looks are the only good thing about me and I’ve felt that way for a long time now. I’m not as obsessed with looks and not as snobby or self-absorbed, but I do feel a strong kinship and relation to her. Her story makes me feel understood, tbh, which is why I love her SL so much!
I couldn't finish her arc but I was together with Yukiko when I got to the point where I could romance Ai. I was like "nah, I already have a girl and Yu looks like the guy who wouldn't date 2 girls at the same time". Thank god I was so loyal.
The reason why people hate her in the game is because in school people might have been bullied by the popular girls. Ai kind of resembles of the popular girls they have that power until the moment their parents get informed about their blowing they strip them of their power so when the other popular girls hanging out now make fun of her.
Huh, I really liked Ai's social link, it was one of my favourites in the game. While it's not a super relatable issue to be its once ive witness a bunch so it was really enjoyable. This video was a good watch :)
Her problem isn’t that relatable, but the explication of how she turned out like that, and her reflection about herself can be relatable by itself, and aligns very well with the theme of persona 4. Just my opinion of Ai :)
At least she didnt use you as a meat shield when she was tricking innocents into giving up their money, to the point where a heirophant character replaced her in one half of the portable version of the game, unlike some people
Huh... I never got to see her entire Social Link in playthroughs. I only saw a little bit into it and then how she is in the animation. I’m glad I got myself to watch this video because this is a real eye opener. I’ll definitely take a look at her full social link later to see if I can appreciate her development but by what you’ve said she doesn’t seem as bad as I thought.
completely agree, cant make an omlete without breaking a few eggs. you have to be able to see the worst in a character so you can relate and appreciate their taste(lack there of at times?) Ebe-chan not only comes off as a shallow bitch, but she has reason to and learns to discard that behavior thus overcoming her weakness and showing true complexity in the fact she can develop. Girls like Rise are suspiciously too nice and can be precieved as fake. im surprised that more people dont like ebe and go for the easy less human like waifu in Rise. I like Rise, but shes too unbelievable without thinking theres something she wants from Narukami.
I don't think it's about being a girl or a boy It's genuinely the second thing you said : if the character doesn't appreciate MC right away and through the whole link, the community will hate them, no matter what. I don't think Nishima is that close to Futaba honestly, but it's true that both have to go through a lot of character developpement in their SL and the largest difference is that Futaba appreciates your help while Mishima struggles a lot in the middle. I feel like nowadays, people heard too many advice like "yeah if someone is toxic cut them from your life" and became unable to just accept that other humans have flaws and a part of becoming friends is accepting them and trying to help them to be better even if they're not grateful for that right away.
I did hate her at the beginning but I knew if I can deal with Tanaka I can deal with her so I progressed and didn't regret a single bit of it. An A tier character if you ask me.
During my first playthrough I loved her confidant because she has what I would say, the most character development in one arc out of everyone. It took time to understand her but I think that gave her something that makes her somewhat realistic because most of the other characters are more of basic molded trophes (my bad spelling lol). She had something that made her feel real which almost all the other characters lack.
I actually like Ai a lot. She was bullied a lot for how she was, so she basically tried to blend in with that culture so she wouldn't be bullied anymore. But in the end she still didn't get what she wanted which was to be accepted. I think her story has a lot of parallels to Rise. I guess the difference though is Ai was looking for acceptance from others while Rise was trying to accept herself. Mishima I honestly wish they handled better in p5. He is a goober, but I would have liked to see his confidence get built up.
I might of dropped her social link too, but then I saw that she was the Moon social link, which intrigued me because it so mismatched the vibe she was giving off. Right then and there I knew there was more to her character and what do you know she turned out to be one of the best social links in the game.
People don't like yukari HUH? Also man this is really eye opening and I wish I could've at least finished it to see this kind of development happen for myself nice video man
Thanks for this. Was replaying OG Persona 4 these days and I'm finally exploring her route with a matured mindset. I only remember how'd her route is filled with reversals but I think it was one of the best. Just a regular human problem, about a young girl and relationship. I'm so glad that I pick to romance her first after her overreaction and then she realized that she only fell in love with the notion of falling in love. I even deliberately choose to break her S.Link in rank 9 because I realized that I was hounding her S.Link so far with romance in mind, forgetting that just like in irl, there's nuances and layers involved. It's a self-imposed punishment that I think was even sweeter as in her Max Rank, she talks about how friendship doesnt even have to stay the same and such, but the bonds and experience you gain from it is real. It's such an oasis admidst the wish fulfilment the other more "typical" S.Link are.
Also, me starting dating Rise in the week between Ai's breakup and mending was perfect lol. Like, we both get what we want in relationship. I get the cute girl and she got a close friend. It's win win.
To me the rank 6 relationship route being the worst route for her story is pretty fitting and it was designed that way. She grows when Yu is near her not because of her looks, but because he sees something in her while in the lovers route she stays pretty much the same because she still doesn't trust Narukami dating her because he may see something in her, but because of her looks. On another note, I like Ai from a mechanical perspective because I wish P5 had a Confidant system with branching paths like hers.
Ai is a well-written, dynamic character whose (real) romance is easily the most genuine, interesting, and sound one to be found in the series. Beyond that, her romantic Social Link is 1 of the most creative in the game, requiring Yu to care enough about her as a person to understand that she isn't in the right place (at that time) to be involved with another person that way, and being cleverly tied to her Arcana - since the Moon card is tied to deceptive appearances, offering the selfish player a false early path to romance is a perfect way to work within the Moon's theme. Best romance of the game, 1 of the best Social Links in the game in both quality and thematic authenticity - hell, 1 of the higher Social Links in the entire Persona series, period. Ai stands out as a beacon of excellence and a great, appealing character in SMT Persona 4.
If I like the generally disliked character, probably! Ohya is definitely one I want to do actually, I actually did her confidant and liked it a lot. Her rewards are bad I’ll admit, but her story is actually really good, I hate it when people call her boring because her confidant story actually ties into Shido and what not and is probably the opposite of boring in my opinion.
@@HeavenlyM My man, you’re a real one. She’s not my favourite but I really enjoyed her confidant too and I even maxed her out on my first playthrough (granted I was playing the game blind and didn’t know her abilities were bad lmao). I guess I just like how she’s the kind of person I can actually picture myself hanging out with irl, just vibin’ in the bar and talking shit you know. Plus her english VA is Yukiko so what’s not to like about that eh?
@@GiordanDiodato because hur durr protag is 16 and shouldn't be associating with an alcoholic. I swear every single argument these people bring up are just different variations of this same thing. Like damn maybe if you're a kid I'd understand but if you're a grown ass adult, don't act like you don't have a friend like this, you get what im saying?
Ai Ebihara isn't the only romance option in an RPG where going in for the romance too soon results in a breakup later and the closure of any further romance options. In Baldur's Gate II, there's a character who has a similar niggle in their romance storyline--although it has to do more with sleeping with her too soon. In that case it's because she's inexperienced with the world and with relationships, so going down that path ends up complicating matters. And to point to another BioWare case, there's Jack in Mass Effect 2, who sees everyone who helps her as "wanting something," a cynical belief you can gleefully confirm for her if you go full stupid and just have a one-night stand with her early on in your relationship with her. (Which, of course, pretty much cements your place in her mind as another selfish d-bag, so the more genuine and emotional romance path is no longer an option.)
People not like Ai clearly haven't done her social link. She's without question my favorite non-party member social link. She on the surface seems like a typical popular, pretty, rich bitch type character but eventually she opens up and tells you how she's into Kou/Daisuke and even about her painful past. That takes a lot of guts. That's not even counting into the facts that P4's main themes tell you, as the player, to not judge people on the surface and that everyone is hiding some ugly truth inside themselves. Ai is no different just because she doesn't immediately simp for the mc.
I really liked her Social Link. I actually wanted a snobby bitch as social link or a member so I was interested as to how her story will unfold when I first played P4. I went with the wrong route and got dumped by her but I still enjoyed her Social Link, one of my favorites to be honest.
Ai was definitely one of my favorite social links! And was one of the best written characters even though she was just a side character! I went through the doomed route and I still think that was good! It felt so realistic for a high school game. You go through a relationship that wasn't the right fit and you grow and learn and then in the end you even still get to be friends. It was such a surprisingly good story!
I used to go to class with a girl like that, but with an added helping of chuuni. And almost true to form, she was kind of a loser in high school so she was really trying to take it all back once she got to college. So yeah, I get it.
Wait, people didn't like Ai? Did they actually finish her social link? I agree with pretty much everything you say here, her character growth is what MADE her interesting. The slow breaking down of her shell to reveal the scared, anxious kid beneath the haughty ojou-sama persona is well written and on-point thematically, and while I understand why people got annoyed over it, even the early-romance trap fits her character thematically. Everyone else gets their romance option at SL8-ish, whereas hers is at 5 or 6? Much earlier in your relationship, where you weren't as truly bonded yet. So she feels that your relationship isn't genuine, because compared to the other characters, and how social links canonically work... it isn't. Your just good friends basically playing at dating.
I think you hit it on the head, people dislike Ai because her brand of asshole is unbelievably common. Not many people have hashed out morality with murderers, or faced down evil power hungry gods, but I'm willing to bet that the vast majority of us have met someone like Ai. _Especially_ in high school. It's very difficult to leave that behind and recognize that the people who made your life hell once upon a time are just people with their own flaws and problems, and it's easier to latch on to the bitterness. Plus the portrayal of her route in the anime is very yikes and essentially turns Yu from a calm, emotionally intelligent observing friend, into a coward who looks like he's stuck in an abusive relationship. Her bullshit gets dialed way up.
So I recently played this for the first time and dated Yukiko first and during the playthrough while doing Ai's s link I really enjoyed the interactions a whole lot more than Yukiko and kind of wished I had dated her first and watching her actually grow more. I just finished my second playthrough where I dated her and my lord she deserves the world
I will admit I didn't like her, when I first played the game. Not hate, since she only did things, that I felt were not likeable, when first starting out her social link. She really is a character you have to be patient with for her story to really get good. Then on my 3 playthrough I decided to do her dating route mostly, because I wanted to see some of her events in the game, and found her valentine story the best of the game. You learning a bit more about her past, and even what her dad did to show how much he loved her was the cutest thing to hear. Sure she is not best girl to me, but she is a character I really did enjoy learning about, and it made me wish there was more to learn about her after 3rd playthrough was over.
after the big event that could possibly ruin her link she became one of my favourite characters. I'm so glad they put something like that in, made it a lot more worthwhile than the typical pretty girl who's so insecure about herself that she's just always unhappy. It's called character development
WAIT WHAT, people don’t like ai?!?! I’ve been playing persona 4 and so far she’s best girl, tho that might change since I haven’t completed naotos social link yet.
its bc they remind them too much of villanized "mean girl" tropes. usually hyper feminine characters are looked down upon as being shallow or villainous bc of misogynistic tropes in character design, theres a video somewhere that i forgot the name of it that analyzes why characters who are typically feminine or represent girly tropes are always characterized as being villains it has nothing to do with the actual content of the characters, just what they represent subconsciously to people who were bullied or consumed too much of the trope. back in the ~day~ so many people who hated yukari were "im not like other girls" girls with hella internalized misogyny
I came to understand Yukari, I can't stand Marie's personality because I don't feel like her story or our time together is compelling, and I love Ai Ebihara because of these same reasons. She's an amazing character, realistic and difficult to understand, just like normal people.
Ai was always one of my favourite Persona 4 social links. Granted, I do like the story type where someone is basically forced to become something as a self defence, but is then given the freedom to become who they actually are.
It's funny that in a game that is all about accepting one's initial inner flaw and moving on to become a better self, people judged Ai basing on her initial flaw and never for once care about her development, which is depressing to think about. Chie got simped because they found her cute, while underneath that cute facade, she is jealous of her own closest friend's reputation. They justify such jealousy because she faced her shadow, but it's only after Yosuke straight up told her to cut the damn crap. People simp Yukiko for her look and elegance, yet beneath that a seething hatred to her closest friend for "not being a prince and rescue her from a cruel fate". Yukiko, too, faced her shadow, and it's all well and dandy. Unlike those two, Ai seemingly started out being a flat out jerk. People just never see her weaker, more vulnerable younger self because that piece of information is hidden behind a quite tedious Social Link. She faced herself, but in a much more subtle way than having her hidden self straight up bitch slapping her. In reality tho, Ai was a lot stronger than both Chie and Yukiko, since she realized her own flaw by her own accord with just a little push from Yu. I'm not too big of a fan of her (really I'm only interested in Margaret and Marie) but imo, her character is leagues above Chie and Yukiko
It is strange that Ai is one of the only social links you can date, but also end up breaking up with, if you become her boyfriend too early on. I think the reason is because deciding to date her, after she got rejected and attempted suicide, isn’t ever the best time for relationships. It’s no surprise that she feels insecure, if you were to agree to date her on the sixth social link. She needed to get herself together. Not to mention you don’t straight up reject her so much as you just ask her if she genuinely wants YOU as her lover and not just some boy toy. The frustration is understandable for those that tried to make Ai their girlfriend, only for that to backfire when they realized they had to not accept it on the first round. I definitely agree that having Ai be the only social link you can romance, but not from the first ask, is unfair. With Persona 3, you had girlfriends that broke up with you, but all had equal qualifications that needed to be met. Here, it feels like Ai is more superficial than all the other girls, which isn’t true when you look at the context of the reason why it doesn’t work the first time around. Perhaps, the best way to solve this is to have other girls you can romance also have similar outcomes where you can date them too early, but will lead to heartbreak. Like maybe have Yumi and Marie also be choices that can lead to a breakup, if you romance them too early. All of them would be non persona users. At the very least, it wouldn’t look as though one girl is being superficial just because you can’t be her boyfriend right off the bat. It would just be another requirement to win your girl.
Bro you just saved yourself. If you didn't say "just joking" after you called Futaba cringy I would've went ape. Just kidding but seriously Futaba is so good
@TrueAlfalfaMale Unpopular opinion here but I actually love that video. But yeah I see where you're coming from with the Futaba thing. I don't personally agree but I'll be lying if I said you didn't have a point
like Heavenly's said, unless the girl sucks up to the main character right away, chances are they're gonna be hated, at least for the west. Some other examples include: Yukari Takeba from Persona 3 Cheria Barnes from Tales of Graces Alisa Reinford from Trails of Cold Steel (more polarizing than outrighjt hated) Rita Mordio from Tales of Vesperia Marie from Persona 4 Golden Ironically, Sheena Fujibayashi from Tales of Symphonia is sort of an example of that kind of trope, though she's not that hated amongst the western Tales fandom (In fact, most westerners prefer shipping her with Lloyd). Maybe it has to do with having the biggest breasts of all the characters?
Well this just popped up in my recommendations, hearing your points you are correct on some of them. I appreciate the fact that you under went the her routes to attempt to understand her character. That said you have not changed my opinion of her she's not my most hated character in the series nor of persona 4. I dont like her but I don't hate her. It sounds I could possibly have a civil polite conversation.
I respect it. It all comes down to perspective, whether you’re willing to look past her early ranks. Some people don’t like characters who are rude to them, others do, especially if that character comes around eventually. All depends really, and even still as a character looking past her growth she’s still a valley girl for the most part so I respect people who don’t like her for that end of things.
I'm on my first playthrough right now, and it blew my mind when my moon social link suddenly reversed because Yu called Ai out for being cruel to that one boy in the 2>3 social link. She's been one of my favorite social links, along with emperor, jester, and justice.
My P4 romance every time. The romance route and worrying that her partner means what he says resonates with me. Also she fits with Mitsuru and Mikoto in a weird sorta way.
I think this social link is a sort of test for the player in order to see if they will actually go through actually tolerating her in order to help her. Considering they fully acknowledge the fact she acts very badly shows that its a very intentional part of her character that player should pick up on. As for the reasoning behind why yu went to the trouble of hanging out with her is kind of the weakest part of the storyline mostly because why would he its not like he knows he gets some benefit out of doing at first so they must intend for the player to be motivated to see her for some reason, but maybe didn't realize her introduction could easily be misunderstood in terms of the path she will take. Honestly, she should have been a party member who was sent to through the tv as it would better introduce the problem like the others.
Had no Idea she breaks up with you if you decide to date here early. I rejected the first opportunity mainly because I was staying faithful to Rise, but I also knew she was in some type of rebound considering the fact that I felt like I was more of a distraction from the pain of being rejected than an actual boyfriend.
Man I gave up on this social link cause my ass was to lazy to figure out how to fix the reverse on the social link, plan to actually do hers next playthrough
That bit you mention about people loving girl characters, yeah, I'm not really that type of person because I see men and women as equal, equally capable of anything they want to do in lives and I'll always get hooked into them, but only if they're well written and it makes me want to help them solve their problems, and yet, the Persona fanbase is full of these creepy women loving guys that I always find disturbing. Also, I think there's one part in the Social Link that made people rage quit Ai's Social Link is one part at the beginning when she straight up rejected the guy because he wasn't good looking, one particular opinion you pick, which many would often pick the opinion because they want to call her out of her behavior, results in the Social Link to reverse. I think that's what made people start to hate her and result in never finishing her Social Link since this possible reverse that can happen this early as you can imagine, would make people draw to the conclusion that she's a rude bitch, not willing to listen to a criticism.
Ok you changed my opinion. I agree that the persona community really want their girl simps. And Ai has a good backstory. People really just hate the deep characters because they don’t really understand.
indeed. It's why they hate Yukari in fact, unless the female character in question is a total badass (Velvet from Tales of Berseria), a lot of characters like Yukari, Ai, and Alisa (Trails of Cold Steel) get thrown under the bus.
@@HeavenlyM if thats true, then i wont defend them. But from what i heard its mostly "she was forcefully added to P4". As for my part i havent played original P4 So i just found her not very intresting and didnt finish her social link (and liked Ai tbh)
In my case I don’t saw her because I give priority to Persona users, Fox and Golden new Social Links and I didn’t know she exist only when I go Rank 3 or 4 with the deportist duo but and not only her, same happen with the Konishi little brother and you’re right is a good character and I personally I prefer romance a Persona user girl like Rise or Kasumi in 5
People who tries to complete every social link no matter what : “Do people really hate her?” I mean, there really are people who Don't care about the extra exp and ultimate personas?
The worst social link in P4, in my own opinion, no doubt, is the girl from drama club of the Sun arcana. I played OG P4 since 2014 that's 6 years and I only signed in the drama club once. The social link is terrible, unimpressive, with her constant bitching about her life and her dad
Yumi? Yeah wasn't a fan of her, hence why I'm more into Ayane, cause she actually grows as a character, unlike Yumi, who just complains about her daddy issues more than Yukari complains about her mom.
@@HeavenlyM I feel like Mishima should have had more to say then: "pHaNtOm THiEvEs bRo" but other then that he was alright and then Futaba went from a shy and shut in girl to a parody of gamer culture, which don't get me wrong I didn't expect her to be a shut in the whole game but my god the sudden and completely opposite personality switch wasn't very well done in my opinion. I feel like the change of heart should have brought her out of her shell and fixed her lack of wanting to live but then she should have grown to be confident over the course of the game.
This is a video of culture. It'd be fantastic if you met people like (say) Haru every day, but in reality you're far more likely to meet an Ai or a Mishima and have to learn to appreciate their good qualities and deal with their flaws.
Thank you, and I agree wholeheartedly about meeting people like Ai. I think it’s good to have realistic characters in these games, not everyone is going to be super friendly and nice to you like Haru, and that’s why I think it’s important to have people like Ai, a rude snob (at first) that we all know from our own high school experiences. Some people we have to dig to find the better parts of it, and I think she’s very good and real because of that.
or a Yukari
I went for romance for her because she was the best character,
Best development, and her SL makes sense
I don’t get the hate for Mishima. Personally, I’d love to have a friend like Mishima. A fellow nerd to have a deep nerdy discussion with.
Mishima’s good qualities: you can increase your Confidant with him even if you treat him like shit.
Mishima’s flaws: almost everything else (I lie... it is everything else)
Ai is one of my favorite social links, largely because I feel it ties into the theme of P4 the best. P4 tells us to not merely accept the first things we hear or see, but dig deeper and discover the truth for ourselves. There's an irony to be found in that a lot of people who love P4 also disregard a character like Ai because of a bad first impression.
She's also very human. There's no crazy dramatic backstory, it's a perfectly believable set of circumstances for a teenage girl. I think the roof scene was a bit much though.
That is so true! I never even thought about how there was an irony like that but you’re so right, in a game encouraging you to dig deep a good majority of people see her first rank or two and then complain that she’s terrible, never seeing her character arc fully through. And agreed she is very realistic I’d say, though yeah the roof scene was a bit dramatic hahaha
The roof scene was played more for comedic effect showing just how far she can take things to exaggerate her reactions, as she's used to always get what she wants, but I don't think she really intended to do that. She just needed her time and someone to talk to. Attention seeking.
@@HeavenlyM nah, all the girls u meet in persona should immediately suck ur wiener dry instead of disliking u. since they can already experience that irl.
@@HeavenlyM all the girls should immediately bend over for the player in persona. if they wanted a girl to dislike them, then they can just go outside lolol
@@HeavenlyM all the girls should immediately be head over heels for the player in persona. if they wanted a girl to dislike them, then they can just go outside lolol
Funny thing I play this game months ago and when I finish Ai's social link, it actually surprise me that she wasn't a party member counting the themes in the game; facing the truth and accepting who you, the worse parts of yourself (your shadow) and well - the moon social link actually fits the themes of the game quite well, they have to learn to accept themselves.
Honestly her social link was pretty unique from her having a crush on a character from a different social link which it changes based on what sports team your on to where you can go out with her earlier and it changes the dynamic completely (I didn't accept tho since I was dating Yukiko at the time and I wouldn't accept the confession of someone who wanted to kill themselves moments before, but I would of accepted her confession much later) and it made me wish that we get more unique social links like Ai's so when I see hatred for the character, it disappoints me because I found Ai to be pretty interesting as a character by the end and enjoy the story she had.
Agreed, and seriously I didn’t even think about it like that, you’re so right, she fits the games themes and accepting yourself so well, she underwent what pretty much every party member did. And yeah I did like that unique aspect of her social link as well, made the game feel a bit more alive including other people in there. And yeah I’m disappointed when I see the hate for her too, it’s what made me want to talk about her in the first place. She actually grows and people hate her and that is just dumbfounding to me.
It seems many people stop after the first few ranks and decide they hate the character, but I am the opposite her attitude motivates me to try learning what her problem is and if she gets better.
did you know that the early concept drawings for Rise looks scarily similar to who would end up being Ai Ebihara? I think there's something there.
@thealliedpowers okay I went to check and dang, Rise looks like Saki or Ai a bit so Ai being a navigator would of been cool - honestly I felt like Ai and Naoki should of been party members, they were the 2 I felt would of fit the themes of the story with Ai or story reasons with Naoki since I think he probably would be on board finding his sister's killer.
Honestly I hate it when people hate on Mishima because he's a "simp" or he's a "loser". I feel like most people dislike him just because he's not some strong-hearted unflawed hero, but to me that's literally his appeal. He's just an average, a bit insecure, teen boy going through his own issues. Yes he's no Joker, Akechi, Ryuji, or Yusuke, which are all people with super strong motives and eccentric personality, but he still has his goals and flaws to overcome and no matter how small they are, they matter. Not every character needs to be the best person ever in the world for you to look up to or even hate, some of them are just regular flawed individuals. I also find his growth interesting, and his issues are ones I relate to, since I also latched onto a friend and was kinda annoying, and also had problems with my confidence. But I guess people find him a bit whiny in his social link, and I did too but he grew on me hard.
For the actual topic on the video, yeah I really like Ai. They actually redeemed the "Bitchy popular girl" trope in her social link.
exactly. the Western fandom prefers the flawless heroes
Mishima is hilarious. Especially since you can shit talk him the entire game.
I love Mishima's social link. Because you see him go from what is a loser than to a bitch than he's just like dame I was kinda a hoe :/
I don't hate on him as a "simp" or "loser"
...I hate on him as a quisling
Definition if you need it: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quisling
@@skolkor If that's true, I REALLY need to go back to start so I can make progress on his social link/confidant rank (if that's how you shit talk him)
Honestly, it's funny. Ai's character development is so well done, part of me wonders if there was ever a version of the story where she was an optional party member.
I actually dated a girl just like Ai for the better part of a year. Beautiful, but also self-centric, talking non-stop about all the guys she turned down, and she did turn many of our dates into shopping sprees for her. However, her softer, kinder side did appear with the time. When I got a new job she bought me a cake, and when I got sick she treated me the entire weekend. If like Ai's later s.ranks she could really change that much... maybe we would have been married today.
I'm so glad somebody made this video. I've been trying to tell people that Ai Ebihara is a great character for over a decade, and people just don't ever want to hear it. I even made the mistake of choosing to date her immediately only for her to dump me, and I still ended up valuing her character more than many others. She's honestly so complex and interesting. To be fair, I just love well-written mean girls, so it was easier for me to tolerate her attitude, but that doesn't change the fact that the stuff in your video is all pretty on point.
I'm actually playing P4G right now, and it's my first time playing P4 in the last decade, so I'm looking forward to how much my perception of the characters and story will change now that I'm an adult.
It's often the more hated characters that are the deepest (i.e. Yukari, Ken, and Teddie)
I'm not sure how popular Ai is with the Japanese community, but I do know that Yukari, Ken, and Teddie are fairly popular there. Heck Yukari is Soejima's second favorite Persona character, behind only Aigis.
lemme get this straight, you said "the more hated characters that are the deepest", and you mentioned ken.. people dislike ken?
@@marrowyoutube Yeah, only because they tried to kill their edgy husbando.
well it made sense when you think about it, he was really going through shit and it seemed logical at the time
@@marrowyoutube And they were just a kid
@@marrowyoutube it's mostly due to a mistranslation. In the Japanese version, after *spoilers* dies, Ken feels bad because he thought *spoilers* died because of him. In the localized release, he actually wishes he would have killed *spoilers*
Man, Ai's Social Link is one of the roughest to go through, cuz you'll either end up real happy or really damn sad, but that's why ot's so great, cause not all good things have to be happy, and her realizing that, in the bad route and in the good one were you reject her, you and her weren't meant to be, and in the romnce one, she learns to love herself and you.
Surprisingly, she actually turned out to be one of the social links I enjoyed the most
I think way more links need to take inspiration from Ai, with branching design, possible breakability, and actual changes in attitude towards the protagonist beyond "not horny to horny". P5, love it, but it reduces everything to a simple formula where you inevitably erase their problem via metaverse. Took me a few times to get Ai's link because I was a purely horny persona fan once.
Then again I like Yukari and rationalize her Answer meltdown. There's not enough "bitchy" characters in Persona, that's the reality of high school and life. Mishima underrated af, makes me emotional seeing him collect those signatures
But I like Yukari, Ai, and Marie...
that’s good, that means you have taste!
I think the most surprising thing about doing a blind playthrough of P4G was finding out a lot of people hate Marie and Ai, I really enjoyed their social links and character progression
Yukari is surprisingly popular in Japan.
@@hayatoart I think most people hated Marie cause she was kinda unnecessary.
@@HeavenlyM I like Marie and late game yukari but idk ai
0:48 Yukari is Best Girl, and now I'm rooting for a "In Defense of Yukari Takeba" video.
Definitely some day, I've played FES and am going through Portable and she's another really realistic character that doesnt deserve a vast majority of the hate she gets
@@HeavenlyM Another man of culture, I see. th-cam.com/video/HX0amRSafYE/w-d-xo.html
you are a man of culture
Yukari is super overhated as a character... at least here in the west.
I personally liked Fuka better, but damn was Yukari a great character. I don’t see why people hate her, especially after finishing the answer! She’s in grieving and is desperate to see Makoto again, out of all the character, well maybe next to Junpei, she is the most realistic and well written. I felt as though she could be a real person.
@@snyperguy5006 I think it's because of some people's mentality of "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few"
Ai is great. People are complicated. Ai is complicated. We like Ai.
You openly just ripped the couch off of the persona community and called them niceguys. Very strong start. I like it.
It's great that you bring up Mishima, since they both represent the Moon arcana, and their arcs have a lot of parallels.
They both deal the traumatic bullying, and the feel worthless as a result. They both assume that being at the top of the social ladder will solve all their problems. They both find true self-esteem, with help from a friendly protagonist.
My friend told me that the Moon in tarot symbolizes deep emotional work, which can be scary to do. It totally fits both characters. Makes me want to study how the other characters relate to their arcana.
Great video!
I chose Ai in my first play through. I saw myself reflected in her (as a guy version). When I was little I was bullied to the point where it became emotional and physical abusive. I decided one day to become smarter and fitter than my bullies. I once reached my goal by doing Boxing and Soccer; started reading books grades ahead of my level. My bullies started fearing me because I hung out with the “cool kids” a couple grades higher. I was part of the biggest pack at school, but it came with the price of hurting others. I saw who I was becoming and sobbed one night. I left that group and befriended the kid the group would pick on. He’s the one who introduced me to Anime, RPGs, and much more. I’ll never regret breaking free from that terrible mold of a person I was becoming.
It only just hit me that some of the most hated characters in the fandom, are somehow the most realistic. It’s kinda sad that people hate characters because they aren’t this all-mighty hero who has 0 flaws whatsoever.
That’s why I like characters like Mishima, Ken and Ai because I can relate to all of them
Ai is my fave SL in p4. I actually relate to how she feels right now. Similar to her, I feel as if my looks are the only good thing about me and I’ve felt that way for a long time now. I’m not as obsessed with looks and not as snobby or self-absorbed, but I do feel a strong kinship and relation to her. Her story makes me feel understood, tbh, which is why I love her SL so much!
Yukari Takeba, Marie and Ai Ebihara protection squad! Assemble!
Reporting for duty 🙋🏼♀️
I couldn't finish her arc but I was together with Yukiko when I got to the point where I could romance Ai. I was like "nah, I already have a girl and Yu looks like the guy who wouldn't date 2 girls at the same time". Thank god I was so loyal.
Of all the protagonists, you got that vibe from Yu? lol.
The reason why people hate her in the game is because in school people might have been bullied by the popular girls. Ai kind of resembles of the popular girls they have that power until the moment their parents get informed about their blowing they strip them of their power so when the other popular girls hanging out now make fun of her.
Huh, I really liked Ai's social link, it was one of my favourites in the game. While it's not a super relatable issue to be its once ive witness a bunch so it was really enjoyable. This video was a good watch :)
Yeah, it’s definitely not the most relatable issue to have, but I still think her journey and how she overcame it was great. And thanks! :)
Her problem isn’t that relatable, but the explication of how she turned out like that, and her reflection about herself can be relatable by itself, and aligns very well with the theme of persona 4. Just my opinion of Ai :)
@@__-uk3qx her problem could be relatable to some people, though.
@@GiordanDiodato I agree, but the way she changed and thought can be relatable too :)
Mishima is very underrated honestly. He’s such a sweet boy. Also, people don’t like Yukari? She’s got so much spunk!
its hilarious to hear someone have to explain a compact lmao
I just realized smth the most hated social link in every persona game with the feature is always the moon arcana
At least she didnt use you as a meat shield when she was tricking innocents into giving up their money, to the point where a heirophant character replaced her in one half of the portable version of the game, unlike some people
Huh... I never got to see her entire Social Link in playthroughs. I only saw a little bit into it and then how she is in the animation. I’m glad I got myself to watch this video because this is a real eye opener. I’ll definitely take a look at her full social link later to see if I can appreciate her development but by what you’ve said she doesn’t seem as bad as I thought.
Ai: "i dont like superficial relationships"
Palpatine: *ironic*
completely agree, cant make an omlete without breaking a few eggs. you have to be able to see the worst in a character so you can relate and appreciate their taste(lack there of at times?)
Ebe-chan not only comes off as a shallow bitch, but she has reason to and learns to discard that behavior thus overcoming her weakness and showing true complexity in the fact she can develop. Girls like Rise are suspiciously too nice and can be precieved as fake. im surprised that more people dont like ebe and go for the easy less human like waifu in Rise. I like Rise, but shes too unbelievable without thinking theres something she wants from Narukami.
I don't think it's about being a girl or a boy
It's genuinely the second thing you said : if the character doesn't appreciate MC right away and through the whole link, the community will hate them, no matter what.
I don't think Nishima is that close to Futaba honestly, but it's true that both have to go through a lot of character developpement in their SL and the largest difference is that Futaba appreciates your help while Mishima struggles a lot in the middle.
I feel like nowadays, people heard too many advice like "yeah if someone is toxic cut them from your life" and became unable to just accept that other humans have flaws and a part of becoming friends is accepting them and trying to help them to be better even if they're not grateful for that right away.
Heavenly, I was not a sub until today. You my guy are cultured.
I did hate her at the beginning but I knew if I can deal with Tanaka I can deal with her so I progressed and didn't regret a single bit of it. An A tier character if you ask me.
During my first playthrough I loved her confidant because she has what I would say, the most character development in one arc out of everyone. It took time to understand her but I think that gave her something that makes her somewhat realistic because most of the other characters are more of basic molded trophes (my bad spelling lol). She had something that made her feel real which almost all the other characters lack.
I actually like Ai a lot. She was bullied a lot for how she was, so she basically tried to blend in with that culture so she wouldn't be bullied anymore. But in the end she still didn't get what she wanted which was to be accepted.
I think her story has a lot of parallels to Rise. I guess the difference though is Ai was looking for acceptance from others while Rise was trying to accept herself.
Mishima I honestly wish they handled better in p5. He is a goober, but I would have liked to see his confidence get built up.
I might of dropped her social link too, but then I saw that she was the Moon social link, which intrigued me because it so mismatched the vibe she was giving off.
Right then and there I knew there was more to her character and what do you know she turned out to be one of the best social links in the game.
People don't like yukari HUH?
Also man this is really eye opening and I wish I could've at least finished it to see this kind of development happen for myself nice video man
Thanks for this. Was replaying OG Persona 4 these days and I'm finally exploring her route with a matured mindset. I only remember how'd her route is filled with reversals but I think it was one of the best. Just a regular human problem, about a young girl and relationship. I'm so glad that I pick to romance her first after her overreaction and then she realized that she only fell in love with the notion of falling in love. I even deliberately choose to break her S.Link in rank 9 because I realized that I was hounding her S.Link so far with romance in mind, forgetting that just like in irl, there's nuances and layers involved. It's a self-imposed punishment that I think was even sweeter as in her Max Rank, she talks about how friendship doesnt even have to stay the same and such, but the bonds and experience you gain from it is real. It's such an oasis admidst the wish fulfilment the other more "typical" S.Link are.
Also, me starting dating Rise in the week between Ai's breakup and mending was perfect lol. Like, we both get what we want in relationship. I get the cute girl and she got a close friend. It's win win.
To me the rank 6 relationship route being the worst route for her story is pretty fitting and it was designed that way.
She grows when Yu is near her not because of her looks, but because he sees something in her while in the lovers route she stays pretty much the same because she still doesn't trust Narukami dating her because he may see something in her, but because of her looks.
On another note, I like Ai from a mechanical perspective because I wish P5 had a Confidant system with branching paths like hers.
We need a video like that for Yumi, specially cause she reminds me so much of Maya in P2
OMG yeeeeees!, finally someone said it, ai is one of(if not the) SL in P4/P4G for me.
0:13 what a perfect explanation…. I love both mishima and futaba, but people are way too hard on mishima
Ai was the girl i dated in my first playthrough, and i don't regret it.
Big respect for that
Ai is a well-written, dynamic character whose (real) romance is easily the most genuine, interesting, and sound one to be found in the series. Beyond that, her romantic Social Link is 1 of the most creative in the game, requiring Yu to care enough about her as a person to understand that she isn't in the right place (at that time) to be involved with another person that way, and being cleverly tied to her Arcana - since the Moon card is tied to deceptive appearances, offering the selfish player a false early path to romance is a perfect way to work within the Moon's theme. Best romance of the game, 1 of the best Social Links in the game in both quality and thematic authenticity - hell, 1 of the higher Social Links in the entire Persona series, period. Ai stands out as a beacon of excellence and a great, appealing character in SMT Persona 4.
This is honestly a pretty good video, will you be doing something similar on other generally disliked characters like Ohya from P5?
If I like the generally disliked character, probably! Ohya is definitely one I want to do actually, I actually did her confidant and liked it a lot. Her rewards are bad I’ll admit, but her story is actually really good, I hate it when people call her boring because her confidant story actually ties into Shido and what not and is probably the opposite of boring in my opinion.
@@HeavenlyM
My man, you’re a real one. She’s not my favourite but I really enjoyed her confidant too and I even maxed her out on my first playthrough (granted I was playing the game blind and didn’t know her abilities were bad lmao). I guess I just like how she’s the kind of person I can actually picture myself hanging out with irl, just vibin’ in the bar and talking shit you know. Plus her english VA is Yukiko so what’s not to like about that eh?
@@justs_ no joke, I found someone who hated her because she drinks a lot. Like, how does that make her a bad character?
@@GiordanDiodato because hur durr protag is 16 and shouldn't be associating with an alcoholic. I swear every single argument these people bring up are just different variations of this same thing. Like damn maybe if you're a kid I'd understand but if you're a grown ass adult, don't act like you don't have a friend like this, you get what im saying?
@@justs_ oh and I found someone who hated her because she has a bowlcut
...like a certain popular P4 character
Ai Ebihara isn't the only romance option in an RPG where going in for the romance too soon results in a breakup later and the closure of any further romance options. In Baldur's Gate II, there's a character who has a similar niggle in their romance storyline--although it has to do more with sleeping with her too soon. In that case it's because she's inexperienced with the world and with relationships, so going down that path ends up complicating matters. And to point to another BioWare case, there's Jack in Mass Effect 2, who sees everyone who helps her as "wanting something," a cynical belief you can gleefully confirm for her if you go full stupid and just have a one-night stand with her early on in your relationship with her. (Which, of course, pretty much cements your place in her mind as another selfish d-bag, so the more genuine and emotional romance path is no longer an option.)
all hail queen ebihara
People not like Ai clearly haven't done her social link. She's without question my favorite non-party member social link. She on the surface seems like a typical popular, pretty, rich bitch type character but eventually she opens up and tells you how she's into Kou/Daisuke and even about her painful past. That takes a lot of guts. That's not even counting into the facts that P4's main themes tell you, as the player, to not judge people on the surface and that everyone is hiding some ugly truth inside themselves. Ai is no different just because she doesn't immediately simp for the mc.
I really liked her Social Link. I actually wanted a snobby bitch as social link or a member so I was interested as to how her story will unfold when I first played P4. I went with the wrong route and got dumped by her but I still enjoyed her Social Link, one of my favorites to be honest.
Ngl I didn’t even know this character existed until today. Now I have something else to look forward to when I play through 4G’s ng+
Ai was definitely one of my favorite social links! And was one of the best written characters even though she was just a side character! I went through the doomed route and I still think that was good! It felt so realistic for a high school game. You go through a relationship that wasn't the right fit and you grow and learn and then in the end you even still get to be friends. It was such a surprisingly good story!
I used to go to class with a girl like that, but with an added helping of chuuni. And almost true to form, she was kind of a loser in high school so she was really trying to take it all back once she got to college. So yeah, I get it.
Wait, people didn't like Ai? Did they actually finish her social link?
I agree with pretty much everything you say here, her character growth is what MADE her interesting. The slow breaking down of her shell to reveal the scared, anxious kid beneath the haughty ojou-sama persona is well written and on-point thematically, and while I understand why people got annoyed over it, even the early-romance trap fits her character thematically. Everyone else gets their romance option at SL8-ish, whereas hers is at 5 or 6? Much earlier in your relationship, where you weren't as truly bonded yet. So she feels that your relationship isn't genuine, because compared to the other characters, and how social links canonically work... it isn't. Your just good friends basically playing at dating.
I think you hit it on the head, people dislike Ai because her brand of asshole is unbelievably common. Not many people have hashed out morality with murderers, or faced down evil power hungry gods, but I'm willing to bet that the vast majority of us have met someone like Ai. _Especially_ in high school. It's very difficult to leave that behind and recognize that the people who made your life hell once upon a time are just people with their own flaws and problems, and it's easier to latch on to the bitterness.
Plus the portrayal of her route in the anime is very yikes and essentially turns Yu from a calm, emotionally intelligent observing friend, into a coward who looks like he's stuck in an abusive relationship. Her bullshit gets dialed way up.
So I recently played this for the first time and dated Yukiko first and during the playthrough while doing Ai's s link I really enjoyed the interactions a whole lot more than Yukiko and kind of wished I had dated her first and watching her actually grow more. I just finished my second playthrough where I dated her and my lord she deserves the world
I was actually pretty surprised to see how unpopular Marie and Ai were when I played P4 for the first time because I think they're cool.
I will admit I didn't like her, when I first played the game. Not hate, since she only did things, that I felt were not likeable, when first starting out her social link. She really is a character you have to be patient with for her story to really get good. Then on my 3 playthrough I decided to do her dating route mostly, because I wanted to see some of her events in the game, and found her valentine story the best of the game.
You learning a bit more about her past, and even what her dad did to show how much he loved her was the cutest thing to hear. Sure she is not best girl to me, but she is a character I really did enjoy learning about, and it made me wish there was more to learn about her after 3rd playthrough was over.
after the big event that could possibly ruin her link she became one of my favourite characters. I'm so glad they put something like that in, made it a lot more worthwhile than the typical pretty girl who's so insecure about herself that she's just always unhappy. It's called character development
Persona Simp always hate on a character that rude at first because it reminded them of how real life girls act around them
WAIT WHAT, people don’t like ai?!?! I’ve been playing persona 4 and so far she’s best girl, tho that might change since I haven’t completed naotos social link yet.
Always wanted to go for her s link for a second playthrough. She legit scared me in first playthrough.
She is my first choice everytime. I see the fact that i got the friendzone ending three times in a row as a challenge
I always love her, and her story was so good too in the anime
its bc they remind them too much of villanized "mean girl" tropes. usually hyper feminine characters are looked down upon as being shallow or villainous bc of misogynistic tropes in character design, theres a video somewhere that i forgot the name of it that analyzes why characters who are typically feminine or represent girly tropes are always characterized as being villains
it has nothing to do with the actual content of the characters, just what they represent subconsciously to people who were bullied or consumed too much of the trope. back in the ~day~ so many people who hated yukari were "im not like other girls" girls with hella internalized misogyny
But the fact that Yukari is hated yet portrayed in the fanbase is funny (iyk,yk)
I came to understand Yukari, I can't stand Marie's personality because I don't feel like her story or our time together is compelling, and I love Ai Ebihara because of these same reasons. She's an amazing character, realistic and difficult to understand, just like normal people.
Just because she's not a nice person doesn't mean she's a bad character
Ai was always one of my favourite Persona 4 social links.
Granted, I do like the story type where someone is basically forced to become something as a self defence, but is then given the freedom to become who they actually are.
I love her so much.
It's funny that in a game that is all about accepting one's initial inner flaw and moving on to become a better self, people judged Ai basing on her initial flaw and never for once care about her development, which is depressing to think about.
Chie got simped because they found her cute, while underneath that cute facade, she is jealous of her own closest friend's reputation. They justify such jealousy because she faced her shadow, but it's only after Yosuke straight up told her to cut the damn crap.
People simp Yukiko for her look and elegance, yet beneath that a seething hatred to her closest friend for "not being a prince and rescue her from a cruel fate". Yukiko, too, faced her shadow, and it's all well and dandy.
Unlike those two, Ai seemingly started out being a flat out jerk. People just never see her weaker, more vulnerable younger self because that piece of information is hidden behind a quite tedious Social Link. She faced herself, but in a much more subtle way than having her hidden self straight up bitch slapping her. In reality tho, Ai was a lot stronger than both Chie and Yukiko, since she realized her own flaw by her own accord with just a little push from Yu. I'm not too big of a fan of her (really I'm only interested in Margaret and Marie) but imo, her character is leagues above Chie and Yukiko
People who shit on Mishima are just subconsciously hating on him because he's similar to them.
Ai has always been my favorite character.
In this video, I can’t tell the difference when you say “Ai” or “I”.
lol never really thought about it like that
Aiyiyi
It is strange that Ai is one of the only social links you can date, but also end up breaking up with, if you become her boyfriend too early on. I think the reason is because deciding to date her, after she got rejected and attempted suicide, isn’t ever the best time for relationships. It’s no surprise that she feels insecure, if you were to agree to date her on the sixth social link. She needed to get herself together. Not to mention you don’t straight up reject her so much as you just ask her if she genuinely wants YOU as her lover and not just some boy toy.
The frustration is understandable for those that tried to make Ai their girlfriend, only for that to backfire when they realized they had to not accept it on the first round. I definitely agree that having Ai be the only social link you can romance, but not from the first ask, is unfair. With Persona 3, you had girlfriends that broke up with you, but all had equal qualifications that needed to be met. Here, it feels like Ai is more superficial than all the other girls, which isn’t true when you look at the context of the reason why it doesn’t work the first time around.
Perhaps, the best way to solve this is to have other girls you can romance also have similar outcomes where you can date them too early, but will lead to heartbreak. Like maybe have Yumi and Marie also be choices that can lead to a breakup, if you romance them too early. All of them would be non persona users. At the very least, it wouldn’t look as though one girl is being superficial just because you can’t be her boyfriend right off the bat. It would just be another requirement to win your girl.
Bro you just saved yourself. If you didn't say "just joking" after you called Futaba cringy I would've went ape. Just kidding but seriously Futaba is so good
Nope she is more of an npc like nishima
@@Honest-King To be fair, she's the navigator, which is about as NPC as you can get in terms of party members.
@Holy Emperor Souther Cringe? I would have to disagree. Care to explain why?
@Holy Emperor Souther I don't know if I would say they have a step sibling relationship. You just live in her dad's cafe. That's about it.
@TrueAlfalfaMale Unpopular opinion here but I actually love that video. But yeah I see where you're coming from with the Futaba thing. I don't personally agree but I'll be lying if I said you didn't have a point
Same can be said for Shu Nakajima, the nerd you have to tutor.
Yeah he's a prick in the begining be he gets better.
Ai happens to be one my favorite characters from the game. Sucks she's so unpopular.
agreed :( she’s a good character and deserves a better reputation in the community
like Heavenly's said, unless the girl sucks up to the main character right away, chances are they're gonna be hated, at least for the west. Some other examples include:
Yukari Takeba from Persona 3
Cheria Barnes from Tales of Graces
Alisa Reinford from Trails of Cold Steel (more polarizing than outrighjt hated)
Rita Mordio from Tales of Vesperia
Marie from Persona 4 Golden
Ironically, Sheena Fujibayashi from Tales of Symphonia is sort of an example of that kind of trope, though she's not that hated amongst the western Tales fandom (In fact, most westerners prefer shipping her with Lloyd). Maybe it has to do with having the biggest breasts of all the characters?
Well this just popped up in my recommendations, hearing your points you are correct on some of them. I appreciate the fact that you under went the her routes to attempt to understand her character. That said you have not changed my opinion of her she's not my most hated character in the series nor of persona 4. I dont like her but I don't hate her. It sounds I could possibly have a civil polite conversation.
I respect it. It all comes down to perspective, whether you’re willing to look past her early ranks. Some people don’t like characters who are rude to them, others do, especially if that character comes around eventually. All depends really, and even still as a character looking past her growth she’s still a valley girl for the most part so I respect people who don’t like her for that end of things.
I'm on my first playthrough right now, and it blew my mind when my moon social link suddenly reversed because Yu called Ai out for being cruel to that one boy in the 2>3 social link.
She's been one of my favorite social links, along with emperor, jester, and justice.
I hate how Yu sounds like you and Ai sounds like I...
hahaha yeah i guess thats a bit of a problem when talking about Persona 4 that I never considered lol
gotta love the Japanese language.
I love Yukari
I’m ok with Marie
I like Ai
My P4 romance every time. The romance route and worrying that her partner means what he says resonates with me. Also she fits with Mitsuru and Mikoto in a weird sorta way.
I deadass thought she was well liked within the fandom
oh, i wish... 😔
For me she was best girl in p4
I think this social link is a sort of test for the player in order to see if they will actually go through actually tolerating her in order to help her. Considering they fully acknowledge the fact she acts very badly shows that its a very intentional part of her character that player should pick up on. As for the reasoning behind why yu went to the trouble of hanging out with her is kind of the weakest part of the storyline mostly because why would he its not like he knows he gets some benefit out of doing at first so they must intend for the player to be motivated to see her for some reason, but maybe didn't realize her introduction could easily be misunderstood in terms of the path she will take. Honestly, she should have been a party member who was sent to through the tv as it would better introduce the problem like the others.
Had no Idea she breaks up with you if you decide to date here early. I rejected the first opportunity mainly because I was staying faithful to Rise, but I also knew she was in some type of rebound considering the fact that I felt like I was more of a distraction from the pain of being rejected than an actual boyfriend.
Man I gave up on this social link cause my ass was to lazy to figure out how to fix the reverse on the social link, plan to actually do hers next playthrough
That bit you mention about people loving girl characters, yeah, I'm not really that type of person because I see men and women as equal, equally capable of anything they want to do in lives and I'll always get hooked into them, but only if they're well written and it makes me want to help them solve their problems, and yet, the Persona fanbase is full of these creepy women loving guys that I always find disturbing. Also, I think there's one part in the Social Link that made people rage quit Ai's Social Link is one part at the beginning when she straight up rejected the guy because he wasn't good looking, one particular opinion you pick, which many would often pick the opinion because they want to call her out of her behavior, results in the Social Link to reverse. I think that's what made people start to hate her and result in never finishing her Social Link since this possible reverse that can happen this early as you can imagine, would make people draw to the conclusion that she's a rude bitch, not willing to listen to a criticism.
I accidentally went in a date with her in my second play, let's see how it goes
Ok you changed my opinion. I agree that the persona community really want their girl simps. And Ai has a good backstory. People really just hate the deep characters because they don’t really understand.
indeed. It's why they hate Yukari
in fact, unless the female character in question is a total badass (Velvet from Tales of Berseria), a lot of characters like Yukari, Ai, and Alisa (Trails of Cold Steel) get thrown under the bus.
@@GiordanDiodato True
Marie is hated by more people than Just "she isnt nice"
You’d be surprised how often people say they hate her just cause she’s a tsundere
@@HeavenlyM if thats true, then i wont defend them. But from what i heard its mostly "she was forcefully added to P4". As for my part i havent played original P4 So i just found her not very intresting and didnt finish her social link (and liked Ai tbh)
In my case I don’t saw her because I give priority to Persona users, Fox and Golden new Social Links and I didn’t know she exist only when I go Rank 3 or 4 with the deportist duo but and not only her, same happen with the Konishi little brother and you’re right is a good character and I personally I prefer romance a Persona user girl like Rise or Kasumi in 5
Well an upside to ai is she doesn’t burn our bread, and she can afford extra jam
Great arc I was just doing it for the social
Ai for me is second best but Yukiko is best girl hands down
People who tries to complete every social link no matter what : “Do people really hate her?”
I mean, there really are people who Don't care about the extra exp and ultimate personas?
yep
@@GiordanDiodato Well, that is sad.
The worst social link in P4, in my own opinion, no doubt, is the girl from drama club of the Sun arcana. I played OG P4 since 2014 that's 6 years and I only signed in the drama club once. The social link is terrible, unimpressive, with her constant bitching about her life and her dad
Yumi?
Yeah wasn't a fan of her, hence why I'm more into Ayane, cause she actually grows as a character, unlike Yumi, who just complains about her daddy issues more than Yukari complains about her mom.
yumi was just....... yikes. I love Ai and i didnt know why people didn’t really give her a chance
Her personality reminds me of Flay from Gundam Seed
you said it all man
I feel like I'm the one person in the world who *kinda* likes Mishima but hates Futaba
hahaha probably, I’m in a similar boat sort of. I really like Mishima and think Futaba is just alright
@@HeavenlyM I feel like Mishima should have had more to say then: "pHaNtOm THiEvEs bRo" but other then that he was alright and then Futaba went from a shy and shut in girl to a parody of gamer culture, which don't get me wrong I didn't expect her to be a shut in the whole game but my god the sudden and completely opposite personality switch wasn't very well done in my opinion. I feel like the change of heart should have brought her out of her shell and fixed her lack of wanting to live but then she should have grown to be confident over the course of the game.
@@HeavenlyM I'm honestly the opposite. I think Mishima is an alright character, but think Futaba is an overall treat.
@@HeavenlyM FINALLY SOMEONE ELSE WHO THINKS LIKE ME
It's perfectly fine to like a realistic character more than an unrealistic one.