Phantom Thieves of Hearts



The Phantom Thieves of Hearts, is a group of Persona Users in Persona 5.

Appearances

 * Persona 5
 * Persona 5 (Manga)
 * Persona 5 The Animation The Day Breakers

Persona 5
Instead of actually going to the police, the protagonist, Ryuji Sakamoto, Anne Takamaki, and Morgana formed the Phantom Thieves of Hearts in order to target the “corrupt adults” and steal their “corrupt hearts” and change the world in order to rebel and fight against a complex system of slavery they are trapped in. The group is formed when the volleyball teacher of their school, Suguru Kamoshida, is revealed to have abused his students and molested Anne's friend, Shiho Suzui, which leads to the girl's attempted suicide. However, since Shiho is in a coma and no other student is willing to talk against Kamoshida, nor having any proof, the three decide to make Kamoshida confess his own crimes by stealing the arrogance in his heart.

They initially intend to end the Phantom Thieves once Kamoshida's case is over, but after encountering an arrogant politician, Masayoshi Shido, they decide to continue their Phantom Thieves activities. Their name soon becomes known after making a corrupt painter, Ichiryusai Madarame, confess his own sin in a live television. In addition to this, they also gain a new member, Madarame's former disciple, Yusuke Kitagawa. Their activities reach the police's attention, particularly investigator Sae Niijima, leading the team assigned to the Phantom Thieves case to be formed.

Furthermore, their methods are seen as questionable and unorthodox, and the Phantom Thieves have also received opposition and criticism for their actions. A high school detective, Goro Akechi makes an appearance on TV, where he is asked his opinion on the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. His response is that, whether or not they truly exist, they are criminals who should be brought to justice; he goes on to denounce their actions, and believes that forcing people to change what's in their hearts is wrong.

At the same time, people who support their actions also increased after the Phantom Thieves change the heart of money extorter, Junya Kaneshiro, whom the police has difficulty to catch due to lack of evidence. Syujin High School's student council president, Makoto Niijima, joins them as well after confirming that their justice is not wrong. From Kaneshiro, however, they learn of the existence of a third party who is manipulating the Palace for their own needs. The increasing support they gain earns interest from a group of hackers, Medjiedo, who demand them to cease their false justice and give them a chance to right their wrong by joining them. As Medjiedo declares an all out war against them, the Phantom Thieves changes the heart of a prodigy programmer Futaba Sakura, after she requested them to steal her suicidal tendencies in exchange for dealing with Medjiedo herself. Futaba joins the Phantom Thieves soon after.

The Phantom Thieves' name starts to get tainted when the principal of Syujin High School commits suicide, leading to the spreading of a rumor that the Phantom Thieves were the ones who changed his heart. To clear their name, they decide their next target, a president of food manufacturer, Kunikazu Okumura. They are joined by Kunikazu's daughter, Haru Okumura who also wants to change her father's heart. Unfortunately, things turns to worse when a mysterious masked Persona user kills Kunikazu's Shadow, causing Kunikazu to die as well in the real life during a press conference, before he can reveal the mastermind behind the conspiracy, and the Phantom Thieves are blamed for his death.

While trying to find a way to prove themselves, Goro reveals that he knows the protagonist and his friends' identities as the Phantom Thieves and the existence of Palace, and believing they are not the ones who killed Kunikazu, Goro offers to help them clearing their name. To do this, he suggests they steal Sae's heart to stop her from investigating the Thieves. After fulfilling their mission in Sae's Palace, someone leaks information about their whereabouts, so the protagonist uses himself as a bait, leading to his capture. While being interrogated by Sae, the protagonist reveals that the traitor is Goro and makes a deal with her to save himself and deceive Goro, who comes to kill the protagonist. Having successfully deceived Goro using the Palace's alter reality ability and with Sae's help, the protagonist safely escapes his confinement and goes into hiding after his apparent death is broadcasted.

From the recording of Goro's phone conversation, they find out that the mastermind behind the conspiracy is Shido, who is going for election to become Prime Minister and the one responsible for the protagonist's probation. Entering his Palace, they once again encounter Goro who is revealed to be Shido's illegitimate son and defeat him. Goro, feeling remorseful for betraying them, sacrifices himself to allow them to proceed. Reaching the end, the Thieves hijack the entire television to show their video that reveals Shido as the culprit behind the recent incidents in Shibuya, and declare war against Shido. Confronting Shadow Shido in his Palace, the Phantom Thieves succeed in stealing his heart and makes him confess his crimes at the live press conference when he is elected Prime Minister.

The Thieves celebrate their success and think it's now over for good. However, Shido's henchmen and personal doctor use the excuse that Shido currently has an unstable mental disorder and won't allow anyone to meet him, which means he cannot be judged despite having already confessed. They also manipulate the media to make people believe that the Phantom Thieves are deceiving them. Since Shido's subordinates don't have a Palace in the Collective Unconscious, Morgana suggests they go to the Mementos' core to make them confess. However, since Shido's subordinates don't have any treasures to be stolen, the Mementos and Palace will cease to exist once they reach the core. To bring Shido to justice, the Phantom Thieves agree to make this their one last heist.

When they reach the Mementos' core, they are confronted by a being called Yaldabaoth, a manifestation of humanity's desire to be ruled and the conductor of the conspiracy. He disguises himself as Igor to watch the battle between the protagonist and Goro, using that to determine whose will is stronger. As the real world is merged with the Palace, the Phantom Thieves confront Yaldabaoth. With the help of people who believe in them, the Phantom Thieves receive enough power to defeat Yaldabaoth, resulting in the Palace and the Mementos to disappear for good.

On Christmas Eve, Sae asks the protagonist to turn himself in so he can testify against Shido, since there's a lack of witness and solid evidence. However, this means the protagonist may have to be imprisoned in a facility, due to his history with Shido. To protect his friends, the protagonist agrees to Sae's request. In respond to his arrest, his friends try their best to prove his innocence and eventually succeed to do so two months afterwards, allowing the protagonist to be freed. However, since the protagonist's probation has been dropped, this means the protagonist has to go back to his hometown next month. With the leader leaving Tokyo, the protagonist and his friends officially disband the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

Trivia

 * Comments left in the anonymous poll "do you believe in the Phantom Thieves of Hearts?" in Yuki Mishima's "Ask the Phantom Thieves Channel" can be comical or even insulting, probably depending on the support rate:
 * "They act like elementary school kids."
 * "They treat this as a game too much."
 * "'Hearts' sounds lame."
 * The group has its own code name which can be named by the player (protagonist) after the first mission on Kamoshida Palace. The members used this name to disguise themselves as club activity or small community similar to SEES.