Koromaru

Koromaru is a playable character from Persona 3.

Appearances

 * Persona 3 / FES / Portable: Playable Character
 * Persona 3 Portable (F ): Strength Arcana Social Link
 * Persona 3 (Manga): Major Character
 * Persona 3 The Movie: Major Character
 * Persona 3: the Weird Masquerade -Gunjou no Meikyuu- / -Souen no Kesshou- : Minor Character
 * Persona 4 Arena Ultimax: Playable Character (paired with Ken Amada)
 * Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth: Playable Character
 * Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth - Side:P3: Major Character
 * Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth - Side:P4: Supporting Character
 * Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth

Design
Koromaru is an albino. When he joined SEES, he was given a special Evoker for dogs, a metallic collar around his neck. He has a red armband on his left arm, a miniature white t-shirt and very small angel-esque wings on his back.

In Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, he continues to wear his customised Evoker collar and wings, but also wears the orange jacket that Ken wore during the events of Persona 3 instead of a white shirt.

His "TV glasses" are red goggles.

Design Development
According to Shigenori Soejima, the idea of including a dog into the party was from the very beginning so the hard part was settling on a breed. Small dogs like Chihuahuas or Pomeranians couldn't be used because of their size, so the staff held a popularity poll to decide on its type. Dobermans would look too scary, although Koromaru's Cerberus was apparently modeled after one, so the final decision was between a Husky and a Shiba, although at first Soejima chose a Dalmatian. The poll decided on a Shiba, but a normal dog would look too plain, so the next move was choosing some clothes. Being a Shinto priest's dog, he thought of giving him the same garments. The wings attached to his costume were Yukari and Fuuka's idea.

Personality
Koromaru's personality is based on the famous dog. He is kind and has shown extreme loyalty, choosing to stay at his master's shrine long after his death and going for a walk everyday like he used to with his master. He is also very protective of the shrine, as shown when he risked his life to defend it, but got seriously injured in the process. According to Aigis, he considers the shrine a sacred place.

Koromaru also exhibits numerous human characteristics, despite being a dog. He exhibits intelligence far above that of most dogs. He is fiercely loyal, and particularly close with Shinjiro Aragaki, who often feeds him special food and takes extra care of him. He is a fan of a show called "The True Battles of Real Men," which exhibits acts of courage from real people. He begs the protagonist to take him to the theater for a special showing of the final episodes of the show. Koromaru whines and runs around after the movie until the protagonist agrees to purchase the boxed set after its release.

In Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, even though he gets along with everyone, he dislikes Kanji Tatsumi for some unexplained reason and refuses to let Kanji pet him. Of all (surviving) members of SEES, he seems to be the closest to Ken, judging by his decision to move in with him as shown in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax.

The Journey
Koromaru is a Shiba Inu who joins the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad in Persona 3. Koromaru was a stray dog that Fuuka Yamagishi and Yukari Takeba played with regularly. A housewife tells them that Koromaru's master, a monk from Naganaki Shrine, had died in an accident (about 6 months ago from June 20). Koromaru continued to protect the shrine and wait for his master's return.



One night (July 29), a rogue Shadow is detected outside of Tartarus. The shadow wanders into the shrine area, where it is killed by Koromaru. Akihiko Sanada manages to reach the shrine, only to find the shadow defeated and Koromaru injured. Akihiko is very impressed at the dog's bravery and intelligence, and Mitsuru Kirijo makes sure that he receives the best veterinary care possible.

On August 8th, Shuji Ikutsuki decides to have a special Evoker made for Koromaru that he can wear and use as a collar. He also wears protective clothing and fights with knives. Koromaru joins SEES after he recovers from his injuries. Koromaru cannot communicate directly with his dorm mates, but they manage to understand him through his actions and from Aigis translating for him.

Koromaru is called "a white beast with red eyes" by Akinari Kamiki, whose pen is stolen by the dog. Akinari doesn't seem too angry about the theft of the pen, but he will not talk with the protagonist until he retrieves the pen.

FES
In the FES version of the main game, the protagonist can take Koromaru for a walk in the evenings. Typically, Koromaru goes to the shrine to play. Sometimes, a dorm mate will accompany the protagonist, where they have a conversation while Koromaru plays. In the event the protagonist goes alone with Koromaru, he will get a random item, or have an encounter with a Social Link, which will allow their relationship to deepen.

Portable
Koromaru is now a Social Link of the Strength Arcana. However, his Social Link is only available for the female protagonist. You will need to get Dog Food from Fuuka to initiate this Social Link, and she will give it to you during one of her Social Link events. Koromaru's Social Link can be activated on August 15th. You may only take Koromaru on walks after completing his Social Link.

The Answer
Through Junpei's memories on the Abyss of Time, it is revealed Koromaru stayed alongside Junpei during a night at the Paulownia Mall while he was depressed because of his father's alcoholism problem. Being as intelligent as he is, Koromaru understood Junpei was in need of someone to stay by his side, something Junpei realized by seeing the scene again and now remembers fondly. A few hours after that, the Dark Hour came into effect and Junpei met Akihiko and awakened to his Persona.



During the events that led Aigis to fight against the SEES members, Koromaru and Junpei team up, acting as a neutral party. They intend to beat everyone so they can calm down, then think clearly about what they really want to do.

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
After the two heroes complete the request, The Power of the Wild Card, Margaret explains to everyone how their Personas can now evolve and attain new power. Koromaru and Shinjiro stick around after everyone else is dismissed, and ask if it is possible for them to keep their personas, rather than attaining new ones. Koromaru explains, through Aigis, that he awakened his persona when Shadows attacked the shrine he used to protect with his owner, and he now uses it to protect his deceased owner's house; he says that he does not want his persona to change so that he can never forget his failure to protect his owner. Margaret tells them that it should be possible for their personas to remain the same if they focus on keeping things the same when they start to attain new power.

Koromaru's co-op attack hits all enemies in the front row.

Etymology
Koromaru's name is written “虎狼丸” in Japanese the first two kanji meaning "tiger" and "wolf." It is a name given to children as a wish for them to grow up to be strong and have a long life. Strong and long-lived as the tiger and wolf.

Trivia

 * Koromaru appears to be based off, a famous dog of in Japan. Hachikō saw his owner, a Tokyo University professor, leave for work every day, and then he would wait for the professor at the train station in the evening. His owner died from a cranial hemorrhage while giving a lecture, but Hachikō continued to appear at the station, waiting for his owner to return. Hachikō appeared every night when the trains would arrive, hoping to see the professor. The dog's loyalty to his master caused him to return to the Shibuya station every day for almost ten years, something which inspired and impressed others. When Hachikō died, a statue was erected at the station in his memory, and Hachikō's remains were stuffed and placed in a museum.
 * Furthermore, if Elizabeth is designated as your battle support in Persona Q and Koromaru gets petrified, Elizabeth will remark that "he looks like he belongs outside a train station." This is a reference to the statue of Hachikō.
 * Besides Shinjiro Aragaki, Koromaru is the only party member in Persona 3 and Persona Q to not get an ultimate Persona. Instead, Cerberus remains as his Persona throughout the entire game.
 * Aigis is the only one who can "understand" what Koromaru has to "say." Once Aigis awakens to the powers of the Wild Card in The Answer, she understands less and less of whatever Koromaru tries to tell her. It seems that, by becoming more "human," Aigis also loses some of her non-human traits.
 * In Persona 4, quest #20 "We Wish Our Dog Would Return" is about helping a dog named Koro. However, it is a different dog.
 * Koromaru is the only major character in Persona 3 to get a palette swap for a different character.
 * It is possible that in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, since all other members of SEES had graduated, Koromaru became quite close to Ken since he was still in school. This may be why he fights alongside Ken as one character.
 * As well, this could be a reference to the fact Koromaru was very close to Shinjiro Aragaki, as he was often the one to feed him, even while he was in the streets. Ken is possibly now the caretaker of Koromaru as Shinjiro once was.
 * In the Persona 4 Arena The Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold Official Design Work, concept art of Koromaru was originally shown that Koromaru was going to have puppies with another dog, who all wearing matching red scarves. However, whether Koromaru bred with another dog is never stated in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax.
 * Yukiko Amagi would often call Koromaru by different names, specifically names of Japanese war generals, as Chie mentioned. Koromaru has been called Chosokabe, Masamune and Nobunaga, by Yukiko, likely after, and , respectively.
 * Koromaru being a sapient dog and persona user is similar to how Iggy from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is a sapient dog who is a stand user and while Iggy is far more aggressive in terms of personality and harder to initially approach, their personalities are otherwise similar. Additionally, Koromaru's distaste for Kanji could be a reference to the tension between Iggy and Jean Pierre Polnareff.