Yu Narukami

Yu Narukami is the protagonist of Persona 4, although the player can give him a new name.

Appearances

 * Persona 4 / Golden: Protagonist
 * Persona 4 Manga: Protagonist as Souji Seta (瀬多 総司 Seta Sōji)
 * Persona 4 The Animation: Protagonist as Yu Narukami
 * Persona 4 Arena / Ultimax: Playable Character as Yu Narukami
 * Persona 4 Arena (Manga)
 * Persona 4 The Magician: Major Character as Yu Narukami
 * Persona 4 The Golden Animation : Protagonist as  Yu Narukami
 * Lord of Vermillion Re: 2: Beast Tribe
 * Persona 4: Dancing All Night: Protagonist
 * Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth: Protagonist/Playable Character

Design
Yu has pale skin, short bowl-shaped gray hair with matching gray eyes and is quite tall, but is a head shorter than fellow Persona user Kanji Tatsumi.

At school and in the Midnight Channel, Yu wears the conventional school uniform of Yasogami High and wears gray glasses in battle. In the summer, he wears a light uniform. On days off, he is shown wearing a black jacket and gray turtleneck shirt along with black pants. On days off in the summer, he wears a short sleeved white collared shirt and brown pants. At the school festival while cross-dressing, he uses a female uniform with black leggings as well as a wig with long pigtails. He also has a black blazer which he is occasionally seen wearing in the manga adaptation of the game.

In Persona 4 Golden during the newly added Halloween event, he dresses as a vampire, wearing a huge black top hat, a white chemise along with black suspenders and black pants while he wears a snow suit with a beanie and yellow goggles, black turtleneck and possibly a white sweater vest during the ski trip event. On colder days in the winter, he wears a white winter coat with black and white pad scarf and matching black gloves under his school uniform.

In Persona 4: Dancing All Night, Yu is shown wearing his Yasogami High School uniform, except the sleeves are rolled up and has a yellow bandana wrapped around his right arm.

Personality
In Persona 4, he is a silent protagonist except for instances where he audibly speaks when summoning a Persona and so on. His personality is ultimately based on the player's actions and decisions. However, when he hears Jika Net Tanaka, he describes it as a "cheery song" unlike the protagonist of Persona 3, who describes it as an "annoying song", which may indicate some semblance of a personality. Also, in Persona 4 Golden, the Investigation Team members comment how he doesn't talk much when equipped with the Butler Suit. His dialogue choices make him seem very neutral, as opposed to the protagonists of Persona 3, and includes some limited sense of humor along with occasional flirtatious or silly behavior.

In the manga adaptation, Souji Seta is a distant loner who demonstrates a high level of maturity, his overly formal speaking tone being one of the most telling signs. Seta has a pessimistic outlook on life due to his parents and having to move frequently as a result of said parents' demanding careers, but he eventually warms up as he explores friendship.

In the anime adaptation, Yu Narukami is depicted as quiet, polite, and calm for most situations. Before the awakening of his Persona, Yu seemed to be emotionless and cold at times, as well as occasionally deadpan. Afterwards, however, he is shown to value the bonds of friendship between the members of the Investigation Team and is highly concerned about his friends, going to great lengths in order to help others. Fortunately as he grows closer to the group he opens up more and more, and by the end he is as unique (though still quieter) as any of the other characters. He has a dry sense of humor, and sometimes does questionable things which he thinks are funny. He also seems a bit naïve and oblivious to certain situations, which somehow keeps working to his benefit; especially when dealing with the girls, as he is able to get away with things that would warrant a smack for any of the other male characters, mainly due to how little he would mean offense. His biggest insecurity is abandonment, he has the fear of losing contact with all of his friends when he moves away from them. By the end of the show, he accepts his Shadow and acknowledges that he has to accept being separated from them when the time comes.

In Persona 4 Arena, Yu has also shown to be a fairly sarcastic person and occasionally makes jokes at the other Investigation Team members' expense, but he is, for the most part, the most mature of the group (most notably is the fact that attempts to target his personal insecurities, more often than not, fall flat). He has a sharp mind, and is able to quickly realize the trick behind the tournament that forces the group to fight one another. He deeply cares for his friends and one of the few ways to truly anger him is to threaten either them or Nanako which causes him to become very cold. He also has a great understanding of the bonds of people, which lead Aigis and Mitsuru to realize that despite their different appearances, Yu reminds them of the protagonist of Persona 3. He does notably trust Yosuke completely and generally understands him best out of the entire Investigation team and vice versa. This continues the theme that the anime established that in the entire Investigation Team, Yu and Yosuke are closest with each other and generally lead the team side by side, as well as discussing plans with each other on serious issues.

Yu's most consistent trait in all of his depictions is his need to be connected to people. He views himself as a weak person and gets his strength from his bonds and being accepted by others. This is shown in the anime and by his own admission in Persona Q, when he is separated from them, Yu withdraws into himself and loses the confidence he normally portrays.

Profile
A high school student who moves to the countryside of Inaba to live with his uncle Ryotaro Dojima and cousin Nanako Dojima for a year as a result of his parents working abroad, and attends Yasogami High School.

Persona 4
The protagonist first appears in the Velvet Room, where he encounters Igor and his assistant, Margaret. Igor remarks that a mystery awaits, and it is his fate to discover it. The Protagonist later awakens from his subconscious, and reminiscences about his old school.

Upon reaching Yasoinaba, the protagonist meets up with his uncle Ryotaro Dojima, who introduces his daughter, Nanako Dojima. On the way back, Dojima stops by the gas station, and the protagonist is welcomed by an attendant of Moel Gas Station, who offers him a job. The attendant gives the protagonist a handshake and shortly after he begins to feel somewhat sick, but dismisses it as car sickness as they go on their way.

After the protagonist falls asleep, he awakens in a fog-ridden area. He hears a voice, telling him to follow it if he wishes to find the truth. The Protagonist eventually encounters a presence, but the heavy fog makes it impossible to see the other person. The voice claims to be intrigued by the Protagonist, and decides to lend him his power for the time being. The next day, the Protagonist enrolls in Yasogami High School and befriends Chie Satonaka and Yukiko Amagi; and then make friends with Yosuke Hanamura the next morning after helping him from his accident. Chie later tells the Protagonist and Yosuke about the rumor of the Midnight Channel, and asks them to try it out. The Protagonist also meets Saki Konishi, an upperclassman and Yosuke's senpai who is working at Junes.

Later that night, the Protagonist tries to gain access to the Midnight Channel and sees a blurred image of a female student in his TV. Intrigued, the Protagonist touches the screen of his TV, and discovers that he can reach his hand inside. The TV pulls him in, but gets stuck instead because the TV screen was too small. He manages to pull himself out and accidentally knocks himself on the head.

The next morning, the Protagonist, Yosuke and Chie have a discussion about their discovery, and come to the conclusion that they all saw the same female student. The Protagonist tells Yosuke and Chie about how he was sucked into the TV, and the latter assume it was a weird dream. The trio goes to the electronics department of Junes, and goes over the TV sets on display. The Protagonist tries to re-enter the TV this time, using a wide-screen TV large enough to insert his body in. Seeing the Protagonist stuck midway inside the TV, Yosuke and Chie accidentally push them in the TV, and the three fall on the Midnight Channel. Eventually, they encounter a bear who urges them to leave.

The next day, during a school assembly, the team learns that Saki had passed away in a violent accident. Devastated, Yosuke swears to investigate the Midnight Channel, and they conclude that the female student they witnessed on the Midnight Channel must have been her. He asks the protagonist to help him, due to his capability to enter the TV. The protagonist and Yosuke then enter the Midnight Channel, leaving Chie behind to keep her from harm. Inside the Midnight Channel, the protagonist and Yosuke once again encounter the bear, who introduces himself as Teddie. Infuriated by their presence, Teddie angrily accuses them of being responsible for "throwing people" inside the Midnight Channel. Upon learning that the protagonist and Yosuke aren't responsible, Teddie makes the pair promises to help find the culprit, and gives them a pair of glasses, allowing them to see through the fog in the Midnight Channel.

During their investigation, the Protagonist and Yosuke are ambushed by monsters that Teddie calls Shadows. The Protagonist hears a voice, calling out to him to awaken his true self, and is presented with a card. Crushing it triggers the awakening of his initial Persona, Izanagi, and dispatches the Shadows. Bewildered by his power, Teddie is intrigued by the Protagonist and comes to respect him.

The protagonist and Yosuke later end up in a liquor store, owned by Saki's family. Inside, they hear an inner voice of Saki expressing her hatred towards Yosuke for being annoying, and Junes for ruining her family's business. While Yosuke is devastated by this revelation, another 'Yosuke' makes his entrance, and mocks him for hating having a boring life and wanting to be the hero that would solve the case of Saki's death. Yosuke's continuous declination of his shadow's taunts causes the other 'Yosuke' to transform into a Shadow and attacks them. The Protagonist defeats the shadow using his Persona, and Yosuke is forced to come to terms with his true feelings, which awakens his first Persona, Jiraiya. The Protagonist and Yosuke leave the Midnight Channel and are scolded by a worried Chie in the real world.

Later that night, the Protagonist tries to tune in the Midnight Channel again, and encounters a blurry image of a young woman in kimono. Yosuke concludes that it is an image of Yukiko Amagi, which was similar to what Yukiko wore during a TV interview. To further complicate the issue, Yukiko hasn't been showing up to the school, and Chie becomes worried. Yukiko later reveals she's been busy helping out at her family inn and has been forced to skip school. However, still worried, Yosuke suggests the Protagonist to tune in the Midnight Channel tonight as well.

One night, the Protagonist encounters a show called "Princess Yukiko's Search for Prince Charming" in the Midnight Channel, where Yukiko is dressed up as a princess in a journey of scoring herself a "hot stud", or a Prince Charming. As Yukiko's behavior in the TV was rather bizarre and out of character, Yosuke calls the Protagonist, and suggests to meet up in the Junes Food Court the next morning.

The Protagonist, along with Yosuke and Chie, eventually sets out to rescue Yukiko. Along their way Chie faces herself, and receives her own Persona. The Protagonist, Yosuke, and Chie later create the Investigation Team, dedicated to investigate the origins of the Midnight Channel and solve the bizarre murder cases. Through the team's activity within the Midnight Channel, however, they all express the same question upon the Protagonist's latent skill of invoking his Persona without having to face his other self. As the story progress, the Protagonist receives an anonymous threat letter telling him to stop his activities of saving people. Despite the team's worries, they've decided to continue watching the Midnight Channel. The Protagonist eventually receives the threat again. This time, however, the letter directly tells the Protagonist that if he does not stop his actions, someone close to him will die.

The letter was later discovered by Ryotaro Dojima, and upon thinking the Protagonist's possible connection with the recent murder cases, the Protagonist was detained at the Police station. Ryotaro eventually coerces the Protagonist to spend a night in the police station, but during midnight, he is shocked to see Nanako's silhouette in the Midnight Channel, who is revealed to have been abducted. The Investigation Team eventually discovers the identity of Nanako’s kidnapper, and the person who had been sending the warning letters, based on bits of information salvaged by Dojima. The Investigation Team finds out the true murderer is actually Taro Namatame, the lover of Mayumi Yamano, the first victim.

The Investigation Team eventually succeeds in saving Nanako, but her health begins to deteriorate critically after her exposure to the Midnight Channel, inevitably falling into a coma. The Protagonist's decision on what to do with Namatame will determine whether she will wake up or die from the coma. The Investigation Team eventually manages to sneak in Namatame's ward. Grief-ridden and devastated, members of Investigation Team try to kill Namatame by pushing him through the his hospital room's TV. Depending on the Protagonist' decisions of dealing with Namatame, Nanako may die or awaken.

Bad Ending
In the Bad Ending, if the player decides to find and kill Namatame after Nanako is hospitalized, Nanako will die. The protagonist will then have to move back to his hometown, never finding the real culprit.

Neutral Ending
The Neutral Ending is the result of the player calming the Investigation Team down, and failing to identify the culprit. This will result in Nanako being revived but remaining hospitalized, and Teddie returning to the TV world. The game then skips to Spring, where the protagonist prepares to return home and Ryotaro asks him if he's ready. He tells the protagonist that it is too bad that Nanako is unable to see him off due to her hospitalization, but eventually gives him thanks in the end. The protagonist finally returns home, leaving the mystery unsolved.

Normal Ending
In the Normal Ending, the protagonist manages to calm down the Investigation Team, and points out his doubts about Namatame being the murderer. The Investigation Team eventually found out the murderer of Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi is actually Tohru Adachi, who was also the one sending him the threat letters. Cornering him, the Investigation Team manages to defeat Adachi. However, after Adachi's defeat, it reveals that in actuality, Adachi was only playing a small role of the whole plan: he was controlled by a being named Ameno-sagiri, who plans to turn reality into a Shadow-ridden world. The Investigation Team eventually manages to defeat Ameno-sagiri. By proving humans' potential towards Ameno-sagiri, Ameno-sagiri promises to lift up the fog that has been infesting Yasoinaba, but exclaims that as long as humanity wishes for the fog to return, he will awaken once again. The Normal Ending ends with the protagonist bidding a heartfelt farewell to his friends, and leaves Yasoinaba.

Accomplice Ending
Unique to Persona 4 Golden, if the player calms down the Investigation Team, correctly guesses Adachi as the killer, and Adachi's Social Link is at Level 6 or higher, a choice is given: Either confront Adachi or destroy the evidence that would help incriminate him. If the latter is chosen, on the night before the protagonist leaves Inaba, he will meet with Adachi, alone, at the police station. Choosing to be vague will cause Adachi to leave, triggering the Neutral Ending.

Otherwise, the protagonist will claim to be on Adachi's side. Adachi will then put a lighter and the warning letter that was sent to the Dojima residence atop the table. If the player does not burn the letter, Adachi will say he didn't "expect much else." He'll then laugh it off, and say he would send the letter to forensics. Before leaving, he will subtly threaten the protagonist, idly noting he should be careful on his way home as "you never know what might happen." This will trigger the Neutral Ending. Should the player set fire to the letter, Adachi will call the protagonist's phone, telling him he'd be keeping tabs.

With this, Adachi's Social Link is maxed, and the protagonist will receive the key item, Adachi's Number.

On the ride out of Yasoinaba, the protagonist will spot Adachi crossing the train tracks. He will clench his phone, and the screen fades to black.

True Ending
The True Ending takes up following the events of Ameno-sagiri's defeat. Similar to the Normal Ending, the protagonist decides to visit his friends one last time. Prior to leaving the Dojima Residence, Nanako gives to protagonist a letter. After bidding farewell to his friends, should the protagonist decide to regroup the Investigation Team one last time in Junes, the True Ending unlocks. The letter states Adachi's feeling of uneasiness despite his game being over and it is up to the protagonist to solve it.

The Investigation Team eventually realizes that Ameno-sagiri said that those who have awakened their powers are supposed to play their roles to override the world with shadows as well, which implies an existence of a conductor who gave the protagonist, Adachi, and Namatame their power to enter the TV as well as their Personas. Igor would later then tell the protagonist that he is going to grasp a truth even his powers cannot predict, and he will play a role in assisting the protagonist. Igor then gives the protagonist the Orb of Sight, which erases lies and reveals the truth, playing an important part of the final boss fight.

Reminiscing his actions during his first visit to Yasoinaba, the protagonist remembers the gas station attendant, and eventually goes to visit her during the rain. The attendant reveals that she took an interest in the protagonist's potential, and decides to give his powers a little push through their handshake. The attendant also mentions that Adachi, Namatame, and many others are awakened by her as well. She stirred the spark in the protagonist so he could awaken other peoples' Personas, and fulfill their role in her experiment.

However, the protagonist's power of the Wild Card is something the attendant did not foresee. The attendant also reveals that Ameno-sagiri is actually birthed from an aspect of her. Chastising the protagonist's greed to reach out for the truth, the attendant finally reveals her true identity: the great goddess Izanami. Izanami then tells the protagonist that since he is so determined to stop her, she shall await the protagonist in the other world, but tells him that he should also have the preparation to accept his loss towards her as well.

In the protagonist's final confrontation with Izanami, he uses the Orb of Sight, revealing Izanami is already dead, as she loses her current form and reveals her true form, Izanami-no-Okami.

When Izanami-no-Okami is on the verge of being defeated, she tries to send the protagonist to the underworld with her "Thousand Curses", but her attacks is repeatedly intervened by the protagonist' comrades, each shielding him from harm. After falling to the curse himself, the Protagonist hears the voices of his friends, telling him to continue fighting. Accumulating the power of the bonds he forged, the Protagonist channels the powers of his Social Links to his initial Persona, Izanagi, transmogrifying Izanagi into his true form, Izanagi-no-Okami. Returning to the battle and enduring all of Izanami's assaults, he summons Izanagi-no-Okami defeating Izanami with Myriad Truths.

Upon Izanami's defeat, Izanami tells the Investigation Team that she will no longer interfere with humanity, and encourages them to live their lives with their own decisions, though she cannot ensure their happiness. Igor would later tell the Protagonist that due to his efforts, the fog within humanity's hearts has finally lifted, and tells them to see the bright future of the world he had created with his own eyes. The fog on the Midnight Channel was lifted, revealing a beautiful, peaceful land which Teddie remembers was once the world he lived in. The story ends with the Protagonist bidding a heartfelt farewell to his friends and leaves Yasoinaba. As the train leaves the station, the Protagonist pulls out a group picture of the friends that he spent his year in Inaba with while Teddie's voice is heard in the background, promising that someday they will meet again.

New Epilogue
As an exclusive bonus content to Persona 4 Golden, if the Protagonist manages to save Marie before defeating Izanami, the scene will then shift into a few months after the last scene of the true ending, where the Protagonist will reappear at the Inaba train station for a visit. He will find several changes around town, such as Namatame giving a passionate speech about change while running for mayor, and the remaining family shops working together to make sure they all stay open next to Junes. The Protagonist will eventually meet up with his friends, who changed since the last time they all met, and will head to the Dojima household, where a surprise party was set up earlier by Ryotaro.

While eating, the Protagonist will learn about the recent changes in the neighborhood and see Marie on the news as the popular new weather girl (depending on their relationship, she may also declare her love for him while on the news). Nanako will appear shortly after, welcoming back her "Big Bro", and sits down with the rest of the group. Nanako will then whisper something into everyone's ear before they all welcome the Protagonist "home". As the rest of the Investigation squad starts to complain to Kanji who said something different than everyone else, the Protagonist will respond by smiling brightly. The scene ends with another group picture of the Protagonist and his friends including Marie all smiling together.

Persona 4 Arena
During the events of story mode, Yu returns to Inaba for Golden Week where he reunites with Dojima and Nanako for a meal until Margaret takes him into the Velvet Room. Soon he sees the return of the Midnight Channel alongside Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko as the four of them investigate. However, all of them get dragged into a weird fighting tournament called the P-1 Grand Prix. When the Grand Prix started and he first had to face off with Yosuke, he told him that "Nanako" got inside the TV World again. He soon finds a young girl who claims to be Yasogami High School's Student Council President but is also forced to fight Chie and Yukiko. Eventually, he encounters a girl who shares his power, as well as Margaret's sister, Elizabeth, who had left the Velvet Room for her own reasons. Yu arrives in the announcement room, he is reunited with "Nanako", but it turns out to be an illusion created by Shadow Labrys and she reveals the President's true form as Labrys. After defeating Shadow Labrys, Labrys is suddenly hacked by the true mastermind behind the incident who somehow knows who he is. After Labrys leaves with Mitsuru Kirijo, Akihiko Sanada, and Aigis, Yu decides to reform the investigation team and plans to finish this case.

In Elizabeth's story mode, Yu and Aigis help her understand the nature of the Wild Card throughout the course of the story. She eventually gains her own Fool Arcana, then continues on her journey.

Playstyle
Yu's moveset is reminiscent of a standard "shoto" character (such as Ryu from Street Fighter), directly borrowing multiple moves of fighters from previous Arc System Works games such as Ky Kiske from ' and Rei from '. He is a Jack of All Trades complete with a traditional projectile/anti-air/expansion type special move format, along with a strong offense with his firm being one of the most radiant traits about him. He does not have many weaknesses and utilizes a lot of the system mechanics into his gameplay. With his two expansion type attacks, one either hits overhead with the other one that uses his Persona hits low, giving him a decent mixup game. This makes him a very basic character and easy to pick up for beginners as well as advanced players who learn to use the mechanics and integrate them into Yu's game. Also, his attacks also tend to have good range, and his Persona attack setups tend to be standard for those aiming for the aforementioned okizeme.

Score Attack
Yu is the 10th character the player faces in Score Attack. His buffs involve an overall increase in power and the ability to cancel any move into each other making combos that were otherwise impossible.

Persona 4 Arena (Manga)
Yu Narukami faces off against Akihiko Sanada as his first opponent. Despite winning he takes several severe injuries that would affect him in his next fight. His next opponent is Yosuke, and though the two fought each other fiercely and refused to believe what the illusions were saying, he fell unconscious and loses due to the injuries he got from his fight with Akihiko.

Persona 4

 * "Izanagi!" or the name of any of his other Personas, e.g. "Pixie!", "Satan!", "Jack Frost!" and etc. (Enemy weak to attack/Critical with Phys skill)
 * Persona! (Using Persona skill)
 * Full Battle Quotes
 * Persona Names

Persona 4 Arena

 * "What? Sister-complex Kingpin?" (In response to his title)
 * "What's going on?" (Starting Arcade Mode)
 * "It's only natural." (in E3 trailer)
 * "Here goes!" (While chosen in the Character Select screen)
 * "Lend me your strength." (While chosen in the Character Select screen.)
 * "Good to see you guys again." (Upon seeing his friends again in story mode.)
 * "I see!" (While performing Big Gamble)
 * "Go!" (While performing Zio)
 * "Cunning." (While performing Awakening super move, Ziodyne)
 * "Strike through! Ziodyne!" (While performing super move, Ziodyne)
 * "COME ON!" (Character's long string of combo ends.)
 * "I can still fight!" (Awakening)
 * "HRAAGGHH!" (Awakening)
 * "Gotcha! Cross… Slash!" (While performing Awakening super move, Cross Slash. If attack connects.)
 * "Cross Slash! Persona!" (While performing Cross Slash)
 * "Let's end this…" (Instant Kill)
 * "Thousands die while a million are born." (Izanagi's transfiguration into Izanagi no Okami while performing Instant Kill; if it connects.)
 * "This fight… is over!" (while Izanagi no Okami performing Instant Kill)
 * "Behold, the truth!" (Alternate quote on Myriad Truths)

Etymology
His first name 'Yu' literally means 'quiet', a reference to him being a silent protagonist. It is also an oral pun among the English fandom, which involves the pronoun "you."

His surname 'Narukami' literally means 'howling god', which is a reference to a recurring entity in the series and to his initial element Electricity, since Narukami is a Japanese god of thunder. 'Narukami' can also be read as "to become a god", foreshadowing how Yu manifests the World Arcana in the true ending. However, the characters of his name mean completly different things (respectively, they mean "sound" and "above"), meaning that the reference is an oral-only pun.

Persona 4 Arena Moveset
Some of Yu's moves in Arena are named after certain expressions, such as Kenkon Itteki (乾坤一擲 lit. Gambling Effort/"To Stake On for All or Nothing"; localized as Big Gamble) and Shishifunjin (獅子奮迅 lit. Lion Fury Haste/"Being Intense and Forceful"; localized as Raging Lion). Izanagi also gains the skills Swift Strike (Denkou Sekka/Volt-Speed in Japanese) and Ziodyne, which it did not have in the original Persona 4 (though they can be gained from proper fusion). Yu is also the main Jack-of-All Stats character of the cast (and to a lesser extent, Mitsuru), and is one of two characters to have two Personas (the other being Aigis), namely Izanagi for all normal Persona attacks, Specials and Supers, and Izanagi-no-Okami for his Mortal Blow attack, Myriad Truths (known as Ikuman no Shingon lit. Many Myriad's True Words in the Japanese versions).

His latest move in Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold also amps up the theme naming of his attacks, which is known as Yuumou Kakan (勇猛果敢 lit. Dauntless Courage/"Being Daring and Resolute"). His new SP Skill also joins in, being known as Shiden Issen (紫電一閃, lit. Violet Electric Single Flash/"Brandishing a Sword/Flash of a Sword or Lightning"; since the term "issen" often refers to brandish a sword). The literal translation of the move also plays hand-in-hand with his lightning theme, funny enough.

General

 * While he is actually an unnamed character in Persona 4, he has the name Yu Narukami in Persona 4 Arena, which exists in the same continuity as Persona 4 and remains as his canon title.
 * He was initially nicknamed "Banchō" (番長, lit. "Delinquent Boss/Leader") by Japanese fans for being the protagonist and his Persona Izanagi's leather long coat which is reminiscent of the stereotypical banchō. The title was eventually picked up by Atlus Japan for the mock title of Yu in Persona 4 Arena, while Atlus NA translates "Banchō" as "Kingpin".
 * When wearing the "Cheer Squad Outfit" in Persona 4 Golden, the other members of the Investigation Squad will mention how similar he looks to Izanagi.
 * The calendar in his room in the Dojima Residence features both the logo of Persona 3 as well as a promotional art of the game featuring the protagonist of Persona 3 and Thanatos. In Persona 4 Arena, his updated calendar features an image of from  instead.
 * He may also have knowledge of English (JPN) or Spanish (USA) when certain optional conversation choices are used during the conversation with a woman in Okina City appearing in Persona 4 Golden. He may also have basic knowledge of French, as there is a magazine in his room with the title Prêt-À-Porter. He may also (rarely) have French phrases in conversation choices.
 * The protagonist (along with Izanagi), together with Aigis (Messiah and Athena) and Elizabeth (Thanatos), appears as a cameo character in Square Enix's arcade game, Lord of Vermillion Re: 2. He belongs to the Beast Tribe, and his skill is Ziodyne.
 * He has the same English voice actor as Adachi in Persona 4.
 * He also shares the same Japanese voice actor as Touma Shikura from Persona trinity soul.
 * In Persona 4 the Animation, Yu is the only party member who doesn't deny his Shadow's accusations.
 * When the protagonist wears the Gekkoukan High School uniform, he imitates the Persona 3 protagonist's victory pose when wielding a two-handed sword, a one handed sword, a bow, and an axe.
 * In the instructional manual of Persona 4, the protagonist is named "Raidou Kuzuhona" in reference to Raidou Kuzunoha the XIV.
 * In Persona 4 Golden, during the events of the ski trip when Yosuke says that it's the protagonist's turn to tell a scary story, the player can choose three options. The first being that he can tell the events of what happened when the boys tried to get back at them except calling Kashiwagi and Hanako "Kashiwagi and Hanako monsters", the second is that he can tell them about his experiences in the Velvet Room, mentioning a blue room and Igor (though he calls him a "man with a long nose"), the final choice being to refuse telling anything at all.
 * Similiar to Tatsuya from Persona 2, the player can make Yu flirt with male characters; nothing comes of it, though. A particular example is Teddie, who on the 20th of January in Golden, when he practices his speech when welcoming Nanako home, involving a "'Welcome home, dear' kiss". The player can take this seriously, though Teddie backs away, and Dojima later walks in.
 * While the game portrays the protagonist as a calm and neutral individual, one scenes shows him to be also aggresive as well. In the events regarding the decision to kill Namatame, if the player made all the correct choices, the dialogue choice "Calm the hell down!" will be shown. This shows that, while the protagonist is calm and decisive, he has limits as to how much tolerance he has. In addition, he hardly ever shows this, as shown when the Investigation Team was surprised by his outburst at Yosuke.
 * In Persona Q, should the players choose Persona 3 at the start of the game, before he introduced himself he is referred to as "A Calm Boy".

Persona 4 Arena

 * Yu and Teddie are the only characters that do not face their "shadow" in their Persona 4 Arena story mode. Yu does face his "shadow" in his Arcade Mode though and immediately picks up that his Persona and Shadow cannot co-exist.
 * Yu shares many similarities and parallels to his fellow Wild Card wielder and predecessor, Aigis:
 * They share Room 2-2 as their default stage.
 * They are the only characters to have received themes that are full remixes of a battle theme (Reach Out To The Truth and Heartful Cry) from their original game.
 * They both change their Personas to their alternate forms during their Instant Kills.
 * In their story modes, before they proceed to the Announcement Room to confront General Teddie, they both must fight Elizabeth, who wishes to see them unleash the Wild Card's true power. In addition to this, they are the central characters of Elizabeth's own story mode, where she pursues them both in order for her to understand the true potential of the Wild Card.
 * In Aigis' story mode, Elizabeth saves her from the Malevolent Entity's deceptions and illusions, and will confront her for almost giving in to them, and will deliberately let her win, and reminds her that she is never alone and her bonds will lead her to the truth. This scene is extremely similar to the scene when Margaret confronts Yu in the animation finale when he also gave in to illusions Izanami created.
 * Yu's Furious Action "Big Gamble" is based on his critical-hit animation from Persona 4.
 * Sometimes when Yu K.O's the opponent, he will say, "I should leave them be" a reference to an early prompt in Persona 4, where text box would say, "You should leave him be" after seeing Yosuke get injured.
 * Yu, Naoto and Mitsuru are the only characters who possess skills in their movesets they do not naturally learn in their original games; however, in Yu's case, in the original Persona 4, it's possible to re-create an Izanagi with the skills Swift Strike and Ziodyne.
 * Despite having various expressions in the art book of Persona 4 Arena, Yu is shown with only three expressions through out the game.