Protagonist (Persona 3)

The protagonist of Persona 3 (The Journey) is a transfer student enrolling in Gekkoukan High School in Iwatodai City. He is an orphan whose parents died on the Moonlight Bridge in their car during a fatal incident a decade prior to the game. In Persona 3 Portable, he has a female counterpart.

Appearances

 * Persona 3 / FES / Portable: Protagonist (Male), Boss (The Answer)
 * Persona 3 Portable Drama CD Volume 2
 * Persona 3 (Manga): Protagonist, as Minato Arisato (有里 湊, Arisato Minato)
 * Persona 3 The Movie: Protagonist, as Makoto Yūki (結城 理, Yūki Makoto)
 * Persona 3: the Weird Masquerade -Ao no Kakusei- / -Gunjou no Meikyuu- / -Souen no Kesshou-/ Chapter 4: Pledge of Indigo/Final Chapter: Beyond the Blue Sky: Protagonist (Male), as Sakuya Shiomi (汐見 朔也, Shiomi Sakuya)
 * Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth: Protagonist (P3 Route), Party Member (P4 Route)
 * Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth - Side:P3: Protagonist
 * Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth - Side:P4: Supportive Character
 * Persona 3: Dancing Moon Night

Design
The protagonist has dark blue hair unkempt at the front, blue eyes and a light build, being shorter than average. His bangs covers his right eye. He is often shown with his hands in his pockets (except when holding weapons), leaning slightly back. He frequently listens to his earphones. Soejima designed the protagonist first, and formed designs for other characters around him. He maintains an air of neutrality, keeping with the supposed tradition of the Megami Tensei franchise that the player is the hero, while giving off an air of coolness. Earlier designs had him looking mature and collected, based on the trope of "cliche cool guy". At school and in Tartarus, he wears the school uniform of Gekkoukan High, accented with a loose black bow tie, a neck-strap mp3 player (Sony's NW-S20x series), and clip-on earphones (Audio-Technica model ATH-EM700 SV). On weekends off he is shown wearing a light gray double-breasted jacket, dark pants, and a khaki turtleneck sweater, along with his earphones. On summer days off he is shown wearing a navy blue and white T-shirt and black skinny work pants. He is never seen without his earphones except when he goes to the beach during summer vacation.

Ten years before the events of Persona 3, he has slightly shorter hair, his bangs hanging just above his right eye, and sports a navy blue elementary school uniform, a red tie, short black pants, white socks, and navy blue shoes.

Personality
In Persona 3, the protagonist is a silent protagonist aside from technically speaking in battle in certain instances. While being a silent protagonist, he is very stoic, reserved, and calm, gathered by the fact that he remains unmoved even when guns are pointed at him, as well as walking under a green sky and being surrounded by blood pools and coffins everywhere in the beginning of Persona 3. He appears very introverted, distant and aloof since he only observes the conversations of his party members and only speaks when someone is directed at him for his opinion on the matter. At one point, Yukari Takeba raises her voice at him in frustration, calling him "Mr. Perfect" and saying nothing ever fazes him. She then apologizes for her behavior; he comforts her and she says he "really is one-of-a-kind". His teacher Isako Toriumi comments that he is "kinda quiet, but real mature and intense looking (and hawt)" and that he uses proper grammar and punctuation online. Junpei Iori comments that all he does is wander around and talk to people.

Much of his personality traits are ultimately based on the player's actions and decisions. For example, he can be enthusiastic, upbeat and kind who engages with as many Social Links as he can. Likewise, the player can make him pessimistic, morbid and lonely who barely engages with Social Links. These possible combinations of traits provides a wide range of various interpretations on his characterization. The same goes for any possible romantic interests the player may desire to partner him with. The player can choose from Yukari, Fuuka, Mitsuru, Aigis, Chihiro, Isako (his teacher), Yuko and Elizabeth.



Hobby and interest-wise, he may enjoy black comedy, evidenced by the "morgue" joke as one of the possible dialog options. He is also open to playing video games such as MMORPGs, and on free days, the player can choose to "spend the entire day online" with the Hermit Social Link. Depending on the player's choice, he may join a running, swimming or kendo club, implying he mildly enjoys these physical activities.

In Persona Q, referred to as "P3 Hero" by default on StreetPass, he is seen as apathetic and blunt, often going straight to the point, but on many occasions shows a gluttonous side due to an unusually high metabolism that lets him eat without gaining much weight. He also shows a calm and quick side to himself during intense situations, such as forming a plan to separate the party into two groups to distract an F.O.E in the Inaba Pride Exhibit. While he comes off as somewhat aloof, he expresses an interest in strengthening his bonds with SEES, at one point pondering that simply being friends doesn't make you companions, but just having a common goal doesn't do the trick either.

In the manga adaptation, Minato Arisato is shown to be fairly calm and passive, and is characterized as drowsy or tired with a comically large appetite. Much like his other incarnations, he speaks only when addressed, and appears to be on good terms with Junpei Iori and Ryoji Mochizuki.

In Persona Club P3 Book, everyone at school thinks that he's too quiet, something that he himself admitted and realized whenever he is asked something, the only answers he comes up with are “Yes”, “No”, or “Whatever”. This led him to sometimes be easily misunderstood as a mean person.

Characterization in Persona 3 The Movie as Makoto Yuki
In the film series, Makoto Yuki is depicted as being much darker, ambivalent to the point of apathy. According to Noriaki Akitaya, the director of the movie, Makoto's characterization is one of his biggest challenges because his initial personality is decided by the players. This led him to incorporate mainly the most general traits of the protagonist from fan reaction to form Makoto's character.



Severely traumatized by witnessing the deaths of his parents as a child to the point of indifference, he has extremely neutral viewpoints on life and death and is uncaring of either. Without a will to live or a will to die, he once told Yukari that he doesn't care if he dies. Because of his unnerving lack of interest and motivation, he often acts only when told to do so and takes on tasks with little, if any sense of self-preservation. This is the main reason he allied himself with SEES, as he was requested to by Shuji Ikutsuki and had no reason to refuse the offer. Ironically, it is this apathetic attitude that allows him to fight Shadows so effectively; he battles without concern for his safety and cares little if he is wounded or exhausted by a fight, allowing him to take massive risks and deal immense damage.



Despite the fact that Makoto cares little for his own safety, he breaks through his stony and blunt attitude whenever his friends are in danger and even worries for their safety when any of them are put in a life-threatening situation, mainly because the thought of them dying reminds him of his parents' fate. Makoto eventually realizes the importance of lives and the bonds that he has with his friends, but as a result, he becomes more and more hesitant to defeat the Arcana Shadows and end the Dark Hour, fearing that after everything is over, he will return to his lonely and listless existence. As such, he tends to become confused and unfocused during battles against Arcana Shadows.

After defeating all Arcana Shadows and Ikutsuki's betrayal, Makoto once again distances himself from his friends as he believes they will eventually disappear, remembering Pharos's words before he disappeared: that forming bonds with others would only bring pain, since he would inevitably lose them. However, Makoto slowly opens up again after meeting Ryoji, who was insistent on becoming his friend.

The Journey


On April 7th, 2009, the protagonist is first seen departing for the Dorm in Port Island, but arrives late at midnight due to the successful suicide of a young man who flung himself onto the train tracks. During the walk to the dorm, he experiences the Dark Hour, and is confused upon the sudden change of the surroundings and the sudden halt of his earphones functioning, though he takes the hour in stride, seemingly unaffected. Upon reaching the dorm, he encounters a mysterious boy, who promptly gives him a contract to sign, providing players the opportunity to name him.

The protagonist transfers to Gekkoukan High School on the next day. His invitation to study as a transfer student is later revealed that due to his capability to adapt to the Dark Hour, he was moved to the co-ed dorm so his potential can be monitored.

During a full moon the next night, one of the Shadows attacks, causing the protagonist to awaken his initial Persona, Orpheus, using an Evoker. The protagonist has minimal difficulty using the Evoker because he is not afraid of death. The summoning sequence, however, was interrupted as Thanatos bursts forth from Orpheus' head, tearing apart Orpheus and slaying the Shadows. After dispatching the remaining Shadows, the protagonist fainted and was taken to the hospital where he is hospitalized for a week in a coma. While unconscious, he awakens in the Velvet Room, where he learns about his abilities. After recovering from his short coma, the protagonist later learns about the nature of the Shadows and the existence of SEES, and eventually joins SEES. The protagonist is the only character throughout the game with access to the Wild Card ability.

The protagonist's past is later revealed after Aigis' memories are restored. In the year 1999, when Death escaped the Kirijo Group, Aigis was dispatched and was in hot pursuit of the Shadow. It is during Aigis' confrontation with Death, during the Dark Hour, that the protagonist's parents died in a burning car crash. Presumably, the protagonist survived due to his potential allowing him to be active during the Dark Hour. Aigis, knowing that she could not defeat Death, sealed a portion of Death inside the protagonist, thus amplifying the protagonist's capabilities of summoning multiple Personas.



On December 31, Ryoji asks for SEES to make their decision and self-invites himself into the protagonist's room and sits on his bed. Killing Ryoji would result in erasing the memories of the Dark Hour (the cause of all their pain and suffering), allowing the members of SEES to live their lives as normal high-school students until the arrival of Nyx on the promised day. In an attempt to persuade the protagonist to kill him, Ryoji transforms into his true form as Thanatos, bringer of death. In the 'good' ending, declining Ryoji's offers to kill him results in providing the members of SEES with useful information regarding a confrontation with Nyx. When Ryoji leaves, he tells them to "look forward to the next year", presumably indicating that he, himself, hopes that they can put a stop to Nyx, as well.



In SEES' final confrontation with Nyx, specifically Nyx Avatar, the bonds he has forged with SEES and his other friends give him the power to fight the sorrow, depression, and apathy of humankind, which were what drew Nyx to Earth, by letting him create the final arcana, the Universe Arcana with the help of Igor. With the power of the The Universe, and the cheering on of his comrades he ascends to Nyx' true body, the moon, to combat Nyx itself in a one-on-one battle. After being downed and uplifted multiple times by the SEES members' prayers and Nyx's attacks, he eventually reaches his full potential and performs the Great Seal to miraculously seal Nyx, preventing the Fall.

After the battle, Ryoji's voice is heard congratulating SEES. Ryoji claims that the protagonist has "found the answer to life's greatest question." As the Dark Hour and Tartarus disappears, the protagonist is seen returning with a faint smile.



The protagonist clings to life for one month after fighting Nyx. He, unlike the others, retains his memories regarding the Dark Hour and Nyx in order to keep the promise he made to meet his friends on Graduation Day. After saying goodbye to everyone and all of his Social Links around the school and city, once his oath was fulfilled, he "falls asleep" in Aigis' lap on the roof of the school, smiling peacefully in the warm sunset surrounded by windmills. Aigis swears that she will live her life protecting him, unaware that he is dying at that very moment.

The Answer
In the playable epilogue of Persona 3 FES, it is revealed that the protagonist died the day after his sleep, leading to the members of SEES' confusion regarding his cause of death, as the doctor cannot find any unusual symptoms before his death, leading to speculation that it was some acute case of severe exhaustion. After the defeat of Nyx and the death of the protagonist, Aigis was the one who kept his Evoker, upon witnessing the Abyss of Time, the remaining members of SEES encounter a recurring silhouette resembling the protagonist. However, whenever they come into contact, the silhouette flees.



It is not until venturing into the deepest area of the Abyss of Time (Empyrean) that the silhouette is revealed to be a shadow resembling the protagonist's appearance. It manifests through the negative emotion and urge of seeing the protagonist one more time deep within the members of SEES. Making its entrance, the shadow challenges SEES, copying their Personas (all of which are colored with a grayish tint) except Psyche and Juno, retaining the Wild Card ability, and several attacks of the protagonist. After its defeat, the shadow dissolves into "letters", forging unknown words, and butterflies.



The "real" protagonist is later seen in the past, where he seals Nyx. In order to seal Nyx, the protagonist sacrificed his life to become the Great Seal. He was, however, capable of retaining his consciousness long enough to fulfill his oath between the members of SEES to meet again on Graduation Day. The protagonist is shown as a statue, crucified and bound to the door between Nyx and humanity. It is later revealed that Nyx was only awakened because Erebus, a grand being manifested from humanity's grief and negative emotions, was reaching out to Nyx to bring the Fall. The protagonist wasn't trying to seal Nyx, he was acting as a barrier between Nyx and Erebus. After defeating Erebus and realizing the protagonist's purpose, the remaining members of SEES swore to help him bear the burden by making the most out of their own lives.

Persona 4
The protagonist is briefly mentioned in Persona 4 in a conversation between the protagonist of Persona 4 and Margaret, after her defeat as an optional boss in Heaven. Margaret states that her sister, Elizabeth, left her position as Igor's assistant to find a way to free "The Blue-Haired" boy from the seal.

Persona 4 Arena
He is mentioned in Persona 4 Arena by the returning Persona 3 characters, as Yu Narukami reminds them of him due to not only his Wild Card ability, but also due to his understanding of the bonds with people.

Battle Quotes
Quotes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbnj-C4ktb4 and https://youtu.be/HA44tOlnBVY?t=147
 * "Orpheus!" (or any other Persona names) (Enemy weak to attack/Critical with Phys skill)
 * "Persona!" (Using Persona skill)
 * "Come forth!" (Using Persona skill)
 * "Take this!" (Heal a party member)
 * "Here!" (Using an item)

Persona 3 FES: The Answer (as ???)


Because ??? has the ability to use the party's original Personas, the player should avoid bringing in party members that are weak to each others' attacks. Metis is a safe option for two reasons - ??? cannot copy Psyche, and Metis has a good mix of attacks to hit with regardless of ???'s current active Persona.

Remember to scan ??? every time ??? changes to a new Persona for the first time to minimize the chance of team members wasting turns. While ??? doesn't retain the Personas' weaknesses, note that ??? will still take slightly more damage from said elemental attacks.

Passive Skills =
 * These skills are present in all forms.

Pallas Athena =

Trismegistus =

Artemisia =

Caesar =

Isis =

Kala-Nemi =

Cerberus =

Etymology
The name given to the protagonist in the film series, "Makoto Yuki," can be interpreted as "true courage,"

The first name given to him in the manga series, "Minato," translates to "harbor."

Both of these names allude to his role in the story.

Trivia

 * The protagonist's death at the end of the game is foreshadowed with the "memento mori: remember that you are mortal, remember you will die" message in the intro.
 * While the protagonist never speaks for the most part, only occasionally mentioning the name of the equipped Persona when gearing up for a powerful attack. Arming him with a bow will have him shouting "Come forth!" or "Persona!" when summoning. Even though this variation does not occur in the JP version, equipping him with other weapon types will make him intone differently.
 * The music played on the protagonist's MP3 player appears to be a remixed version of Burn My Dread. The same remix is also used again as background music in the very last battle of the game.
 * In the beginning of the scene Awakening (first Persona summon) one can carefully see that the protagonist is wearing the SEES armband even though he didn't join SEES yet, of course in later parts of the scene the armband doesn't show. A similar goof occurs on 7/11 - when Mitsuru gathers the group in the dorm and talks about the Kirijo Group, they are wearing their usual outfits instead of their summer outfits.
 * He is talented at making fox sounds.
 * Despite joining art class, his art skills are questionable.
 * During the credits roll, for both The Journey and The Answer, Messiah appears behind the protagonist's silhouette, indicating Messiah is his ultimate Persona. His actions in the game seem to support this, as he sacrifices his life to save humanity from itself. Furthermore, he appears crucified on the Great Seal, alluding to Jesus of Nazareth, the christian messiah, who died via crucifixion for a similar purpose.
 * The protagonist holds a distinct honor of being the only protagonist to be capable of wielding multiple weapons (although his default weapon is a One-Handed Sword). However, this was changed for Persona 3 Portable, in which he is only able to wield One-Handed Swords.
 * He is also the only character in the series able to use Fusion Raids without another character to assist him. In P3P however, Fusion Raids are now expendable items, and do not require that the specific Persona be around when they are used.
 * Ironically, despite the fact that knives are one of the few weapons he can't wield in the game, a knife is the first weapon the protagonist is given to fight with in the manga.
 * He is the only character, other than his female counterpart, known to use the "The Universe Arcana."
 * The Shirt of Chivalry, a type of costume for males in FES and P3P, is noted for the Kanji symbols on their backs that symbolizes the character. The protagonist's kanji means "honorable man" (漢), being the field leader of SEES and being able to strengthen bonds through Social Links.
 * There are some audio files hidden in the DVD disc of Persona 3 FES that contains voices of the protagonist and Aigis shouting the names of the other SEES members Personas.
 * When the protagonist of Persona 3 hears "Jika Net Tanaka", he describes it as an annoying song unlike the protagonist of Persona 4 who describes it as a cheery song. This implies that, despite the player's choices, he and the protagonist of Persona 4 have some semblance of a predetermined personality.
 * The way the shadow protagonist formed by the regret of SEES members alludes to the Metal Trio from Persona 2: Eternal Punishment manifested in Torifune out of Tatsuya Suou's guilt for breaking the promise with his former friends. While The Metal Trio in P2EP uses the golden version of their own ultimate Personas, the shadow protagonist in P3FES uses the golden version of the SEES members' ultimate personas.
 * In Persona 4 Arena, an additional color for Yu Narukami and his Persona mimics the colors of the protagonist and his Persona.
 * In Persona Q, should the players choose Persona 4 at the start of the game, before he introduces himself he is referred to as "A Boy with Earphones." In addition, in his Japanese gameplay trailer his name is written as "Minato Arisato" (likely since the manga was out a while before the movie series so it is his more popular name), while in English gameplay trailer his name is still written as "P3 Hero".